Air by Terra Harmony

I’m just going to open up my memories to you, and you just, well…receive them.” I was trying to recall exactly how it worked with Shawn, but this time I was on the giving end instead of the receiving end. “It is going to feel weird, because they are my memories. You will feel all the emotions and physical senses I experienced, or at least how I remember them. Don’t try to control anything. Just let it happen.”
    He looked hopeful. “You are full of surprises. Just when I think you are way too inexperienced for any of this, you come up with something that is years of training beyond any Gaia I’ve known.”
    I studied him for a long moment. “You’re sure you want this?”
    He nodded eagerly. “If this works, it’ll be everything I need to understand what happened.”
    “Yeah, we’ll see how you feel about it after the fact,” I mumbled. We joined hands and closed our eyes. I took a few moments of deep breathing to clear my head and relax my body. I needed to be completely focused. Once I was ready, I thought back to the night Susan and I attempted a mission on our own. Shawn had taken me then, and Micah needed to know everything, starting from the very beginning. Once the images were clear in my own head, I mixed my thoughts with the smallest bit of energy and sent it out to Micah. I kept the flow as steady as my own thoughts, and soon felt him absorb them. I snuck a peek at him every now and then. He looked pleased at Susan and me accomplishing the mission on our own. He tightened up when the waves came, knocking me unconscious.
    I went through my experiences on Galapagos as best as I could remember, in the order they happened. I tried not to leave out any details, my penguin ‘guard dog’, the way the island drained me of energy, and Shawn’s constant attacks – both sexual and physical. Opening one eye slightly, I swear I almost saw bruises forming on Micah’s face in the same places I remembered being hit. I shared my escape plan, the episode where Shawn finished his mark on my shoulder, and the rituals and blessings that gave me hope.
    I paused, gathering strength for the next part; the hardest part of all to share. I considered leaving it out altogether, but that wouldn’t have been fair to Micah. If we were going to clear the air, everything had to be shared. He began to break the bond but I interrupted him, “Wait, I’m not finished yet.”
    He looked at me, wide-eyed, as if he couldn’t imagine anything else that could have possibly happened.
    I smiled sadly, and thought to myself, you haven’t seen the half of it .
    Once ready, I conjured memories of our trip to the beach and creating the storm. I showed him how Juan died. I revealed my conversation with Shawn several days later when he told me how Susan, Micah, and he had all been adopted by Cato at young ages. He also revealed Micah’s role with each Gaia; including executing each one once a stronger Gaia was found.
    “I would never–” Micah moved to pull away.
    “Hush,” I scolded. I continued forcing memories across to him, memories of how Shawn taught me to share memories, and how he shared his memory of the night of the saining – my initiation into the Seven. Micah was there to carry out the deed should I have made the wrong choice. Whether or not he would’ve gone through it was left unclear. I peeked at Micah again, nearly pulling back at the tears streaming down his face. I instantly felt regret, but it was too late, the damage was done. I tried ending on a positive note, my triumphant escape leading up to where Micah found me laying on the rocky shore. It didn’t help, we broke the bond and Micah looked thoroughly distraught.
    “I’m sorry,” I started to babble. “That’s hard for someone to endure all at once – maybe we should have done it in sessions.”
    His face was unreadable, so I continued, “Or maybe not at all; this was a stupid idea.”
    He held up a hand, cutting me off mid-babble. “Why are you