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2004-11-02T14:57:30Z

I have been inspired recently by others to write more of Danica's story....so I bit the bullet and created her own LJ. I suspect only my fellow ling friends will be inclined to read it, but it's here mostly for me. For chronological purposes, I have entered her background first.... :)

I suppose most everyone has already read it, but oh well. ;)

“He came straight from fairyland, clutching a moonbeam. If you look closely, you’ll still see the reflection of elves and magic wishing trees in his dreamy little eyes, maybe even a trace of stardust smudged behind his left ear. His wings may have disappeared by the time he gets to the delivery room, but there’s probably a small bump where they were once fastened.” (Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs on “The Pisces Child”)

            Dianna huddled under her bed and read those words over and over, turning each one over in her mind, memorizing them. These words were like pure gold to her, as if they unlocked the secret to her entire being. Straight from Fairyland, she thought…But her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her father’s footsteps on the stairs. She clutched her books to her chest and kept as silent as she could.
            She watched silently as her father’s feet paced back and forth looking for her. “Dianna Rae Jensen, you get out here this instant! We have company!” After ten minutes had passed with still no sound, he stomped angrily back down the stairs. Dianna counted the stomps under her breath until she reached twenty, and then let out a sigh of relief.
            The second she let out her breath, the blankets that hung over the edge of her bed were lifted, and her mom peeked through down at her.
            “How’d you…?” she gasped.
            “Because you’re my daughter, that’s how,” her mom smiled, and sat down beside the bed. “What are you reading this time?”
            “Linda Goodman. Are you gonna tell dad?” The little girl’s eyes appeared very concerned. Her father didn’t like her filling her head with that ‘astrology nonsense.’
            “Still? You’ve been reading that book since you talked grandma into buying it for you 3 weeks ago. It’s a wonder it hasn’t fallen apart yet, considering I think you’ve slept with it too.”
            “Well, it’s a little worn, but I’m not done learning it yet. Please don’t tell dad?” Dianna looked pathetically at her mother.
            “Don’t worry, I won’t. Keep your books under your bed, he’ll never think to look there,” she winked.
            Dianna grinned happily, and crawled out from under the bed into her mom’s lap. She rested her head gently on her mother’s chest and whispered “Thanks mom.”
The woman wrapped her arms around the small girl and held her tight. “Can you come downstairs now? Your aunt and uncle would really like to see you.”
She sighed heavily, “Oh, alright.”

            That night after the guests left, Dianna went to bed. For a reason unknown, her mind dwelled on the wishing tree mentioned in her astrology book. Finally, her thoughts drug her outside to stand beneath her favorite tree. Dressed in her favorite nightgown, she made a wish to the tree.

Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream
Lingering in the golden gleam –
Life, what is it but a dream?

            Innocently, her voice reverberated into the night. The wind picked up around the tree, blowing her auburn hair wildly around her face and filling her nightgown with air. Not completely sure what was happening, she stood unmoving, and unafraid. Water began to fall from the sky, as her grandmother’s voice echoed throughout her mind.

In spring, when woods are getting green,
I’ll try and tell you what I mean:
In summer, when the nights are long,
Perhaps you’ll understand the song.

For this must ever be
A secret
Kept from all the rest
Between yourself and me.

            Soon, Dianna was drenched with rain, and she knew herself. Not the Dianna that her mother and father knew, but as Danica. This was to be her name in this life. This time she would be the Morning Star. She would help guide her sisters, though she was not sure where they were just yet. And she knew the meaning of her grandmother’s words. She could never tell her family what she was, she thought, looking down at her now tan skin. Eshu, she thought, and smiled. “I really am straight from faerieland,” she whispered to the tree. “But don’t say a word, it’s our secret!” Happily, she ran back into the house, leaving wet puddles as she walked.

            The next morning, Danica woke up cheerfully, but her body resisted the joy. Her human self ached, she was dripping with sweat from fever, and her throat ached so bad she could barely swallow. She tried to sit up, but it seemed a nearly impossible task. Tears welled up in her eyes as she struggled against the air around her.
            Eventually, Dianna’s mom came in and saw her suffering daughter. They took her temperature and whisked her off to the hospital. Mononucleosis. No cure, it has to run its course. It was probably a result of her midnight escapade in the rain, her father said. Make her comfortable, the doctors said. She couldn’t eat, so they kept her at the hospital to make sure she didn’t get too weak. She seemed to be seeing things that weren’t there, so they drugged her. She begged for her astrology books, but she wasn’t allowed to have them. Her mom sat with her through the days, frustrated at that she was had no means of helping the sick little girl. Her father sat with her in the evenings, worried for his beloved daughter. She seemed to be lost in a non-existent world, and he worried he would never get her back. But, there was no reason to worry. As the days passed on, the monotony and banality of the place wore on Danica’s faerie soul until it slowly went to sleep again, and all she knew was how to be Dianna.
            Dianna was released from the hospital about two weeks later. She continued with her astrology research, but not with the same vigor as before. She didn’t really do anything with the same vigor anymore. The drugs seemed to dull her creativity, and she felt as if she was in a fog. But her marks in school were high and her parents were so proud of her. It must mean that she was doing well, right? She was never sure, but the encouragement from her elders made her believe it.
            To far away to help, her grandmother knew what had happened. Dianna began to dream fantastic dreams about dragons and elves, but mostly about the dark skinned elegant creatures. She didn’t know what to call them. They seemed Arabic or African in her dreams. They were wanderers, and they always told the most fantastic stories. Children flocked to them. They seemed to know hundreds of languages, and in her dreams Dianna knew them too. There always seemed to be tension between these beautiful creatures and the elf-like ones. Dianna took up some dream interpretation in junior high, but none of the books seemed to have the key to unlock the reason for her nightly visions.
            As she got older, the dreams became more intense. She heard words like Uhuru (freedom) and knew what they meant. She heard words like Ojo and Iku, but didn’t understand. She came to know the elegant creatures of her dreams as Eshu and some of them were called Oba. Finally, she took these words to the library, intent on finding a hidden meaning to why they haunted her nearly every evening. That was not all she found that day.

            In her dreams, Dianna knew that these “eshu” were somehow connected to Africa, so she looked for a collection of mythology that included those lands. It was not easy to find, and there certainly wasn’t much, but she did locate a few anthologies. She took the books to one of the reading sections with couches, and set about discovering the meanings of her dreams.
            Across the way sat a young man about her age. She didn’t notice him right away, as she was buried in her research. He cautiously looked over his books at her, studying her ever move. By now, Dianna had grown into a beautiful young woman. He could almost see the stars in her eyes, and he was fascinated by her.
By chance, Dianna looked up, and their eyes locked, then she blushed and looked away, like the shy teenager she was. Intrigued, he came to sit next to her. “Mythology? Are you studying for school?” His piercing eyes looked down on her intently.
“No…” She whispered shyly. “Just an interest in mythology, I guess.” Then she noticed the book in his hands was Parker’s Astrology. Her eyes lit up. “And you?” She motioned to the book.
The boy blushed, “Oh, it’s just a hobby. It’s nothing, really.”
Dianna smiled, and pulled her much worn copy of Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs out of her purse. “I understand.”
The boy grinned. “I’m Devin.” He offered his hand.
She took it. She didn’t want to let go. For a moment, she studied him intently. “You’re a….Libra?” she asked.
“Yes!” He seemed surprised. “You’re incredible.”
She blushed again, “No, just Dianna.”
“Well, just Dianna, it’s my pleasure. Would you like to go get some lunch?”
Dianna nodded, and let him take her by the hand and lead her downstairs. The mythology books were forgotten on the table by the chair.

After lunch, they went to a movie. After the movie, they went to dinner. After dinner, they went to coffee. Soon, nothing was left open, and they were left with nothing but to go home. Dianna became sad as they pulled into the driveway at her parents house, and Devin noticed immediately. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not ready for the night to be over,” she said softly. “I’m sure my parents are worried though.”
Devin smiled sweetly, “Don’t worry, we’ll have tomorrow.” She bit her lip and blushed for the hundredth time that night. She was like the epitome of a woman in his eyes, shy and sweet and feminine. He was protective and romantic, just what she had always wished for.
Then came the eventual uncomfortable pause. She knew he was going to try to kiss her. A woman always knows when a man is going to attempt a kiss. Don’t ever think she doesn’t. There is a smell or a feeling in the air. She has a split second to decide whether she will allow him to follow through with it or not. On this night, Dianna allowed him to kiss her. One childlike kiss. Their noses and teeth collided, and it was certainly not what she had always dreamed. But she knew tomorrow would be a new day, and another chance, so she headed into her house to face her parents.

The loveliest tinkle as of golden bells answered him. It is
the fairy language. You ordinary children can never hear
it, but if you were to hear it, you would know that you had
had heard it once before.

            Quickly, Dianna and Devin became inseparable from one another. He took her to his parks and they spent time in nature. She took him to her book stores and museums. For the most part, her parents liked him well enough. He seemed to inspire in her the same excitement that she had as a child, so her mother loved him too. Her father still hated her interest in the occult and astrology. At this point in her life, he finally gave up at trying to keep her away from it, though. He really did love his daughter, and he wanted her to be happy. Her books and this boy seemed to keep her very happy, so he decided to stop taking them from her, on the condition that she continued to do well in school, of course.
            At night, the dreams continued. Sometimes Devin worked his way into them somehow, but he was different there. He was somewhat green in color, and he seemed at home in the forests of her mind. Iroko was the name given to him in her dreams. But he was not like the others. He was part human too. Some called him half blood. Some called him kin. She called him hers, just as she was his. It was like they had known each other before, but not. He was new for her, fresh every day.
             Dianna debated for a long time about whether or not to tell Devin about her dreams, particularly after he began appearing in them. Yet somehow in her heart she knew that this part of her was a secret. A time would come where she could share this side of her, but not yet. At least not until she herself knew what it all meant.
            They graduated high school in May of 2003 and took a fabulous trip to Ireland for the summer. For the time they were there, the dreams stopped. Dianna and Devin spent day and night together. During the days, they traveled the cities. They explored the country and ran through the green fields. Many times Dianna thought she saw things in the corner of her eyes. She was starting to remember again, but the the nights distracted her. They kept her in the here and now. But, the nights they spent alone together were particularly wonderful. Without the dreams, Dianna was able to simply enjoy his company, and they enjoyed each other, body and soul.
            In the fall, they attended the local university together. Dianna decided to study English and foreign language, with the intent to become a teacher. Devin was still a free spirit. He wasn’t yet sure what he was going to narrow his studies to, but that was ok for now.
Freshman year came and went quickly. On her nineteenth birthday, Dianna’s mother surprised her with the trip of a lifetime. She was to travel to California with Devin for an astrology conference. The same one she’d been dreaming of going to since she was about twelve years old. It would certainly be a trip that she would never forget.
On April 18, they left for California by car. The week kept them busy. Ascendants on Monday, Moon Signs on Tuesday, Progressive Natal charts on Wednesday. Thursday evening, Dianna found herself outside alone by the pool resting with her books. She lay in the grass admiring the sky and the stars, whispering rhymes from her book. A particular one began to stand out in her mind as she gazed up at the heavens.

Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream
Lingering in the golden gleam –
Life, what is it but a dream?

Without warning, the stars began to blink out, one by one. As each star faded, Dianna felt a pin prick to her body. It was as if her entire body was asleep on pins and needles. With each pin prick, a memory returned. First, she remembered the tree when she was eight, the wish she made, the wind and the rain. Then she remembered the Eshu, and all of their stories, and all of her lives. Now the dreams made sense to her. The Ojo and Iku, the Oba, and the Iroko. It all made sense. Devin was kinain. It rushed to her mind, so fast that it all became painful. She cried out in the night for it all to slow down, She wasn’t ready to be Danica again. But this time there was no choice. Her sisters would need her soon. Azianne and Badra, those were the last names she remembered them by. At last, she knew her whole name, as she would be known in this life. She was sa’ Danica Zahrah al’ Doveinya. She was a princess of the blood and a seer. The Morning Star.
Devin came running at her cries, desperate to know what had happened. Tears streamed down her face, and she saw the glamour about him that he didn’t yet see. “What’s wrong?” he begged to know, but she couldn’t tell him just yet.
“I’m going to have to go somewhere….Away for awhile,” she whispered.
He shook his head, confused. “Where are we going? And why?”
“Not we, just me. For now at least.” It was indeed a strange thought. The two had not been separated since the day they met.
Devin was more confused, and moreover he became sad. “How do you know? When will you leave? When will you come back?”
“I’m not sure,” she whispered. “But I’ll be back. I can tell you that. I won’t leave until after we’ve gone home, ok?”
He nodded solemnly. That night he refused to let her go, suddenly their time together was a precious commodity.
A few days after they returned home, she headed off on a path into the woods. From the tears they cried on parting grew two flowers in the forest. The rain that poured from the sky proved that she would return. With that, Danica walked off into the night in search of her sisters, and to regain the time she had missed while asleep.

sister_star

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