Eternal Fire Read Online Free PDF

her healing powers,” I said. “Though her powers have never been tested on humans, only animals.”
    He led me next to a stream, where we rested in the shade on the soft, lush grass.
    After a few minutes, the pain began to subside. “This Immortal thing is kicking my butt. Sometimes I wish…I wish I was human again.”
    “ When I was young and upset, my mother used to take me for a walk in the forest and show me the beautiful sights and sounds of nature. She taught me how to slow nature down. I want to show you that now, as I believe it might be of some help to you, my dear. Being Immortal allows one to look at life in a spectacular way at times,” he said. “Close your eyes.”
    Always ready to trust him completely, I closed my eyes. “All right. What now?”
    He gripped my small hands in his much larger, stronger ones. “Tell me what you hear.”
    “ I hear you talking, silly.”
    “ No, beyond that. What do you hear…around us?”
    “ Hmm. A flapping sound, I guess. Maybe birds or bees flying in the wind.”
    “ Listen more closely.”
    “ Wait…it’s not bees! It’s moving so fast, flapping its wings hundreds of times per second. I know! It’s a hummingbird.” I opened my eyes to see the tiny bird hovering over a red flower. Everything was in slow motion, so slow that I could see every single flap of its beautiful wings. I met Victor’s gaze and smiled. “It’s amazing!” I then quickly stood and glanced around at my surroundings, trying to take it all in.
    Victor came from behind and wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling his head on my shoulder.
    Every sight, sound, and smell was magnified, and the crisp and familiar scents of the conifer forest took me back to my days as a human. “It smells like I’m surrounded by hundreds of Christmas trees!” I said in absolute awe. Victor knew what I was talking about, since I’d filled him in on our yuletide customs. He had a right to know about the most wonderful time of the year, even if he had no chimney to speak of.
    Glancing around, I saw a brown and tan mottled grasshopper in flight as it jumped from one blade of grass to another. “I can hear it!”
    “ What?”
    I focused and strained my mind to reach beyond the borders of my brain, beyond the barriers of my physical shell. The sounds were near and yet so far away. I concentrated on them and imagined they were like tidal waves crashing against a shore. As they drew closer to me, I called to them, and with each call they inched just a little bit closer, until I could discern them.
    There we so many of them, calls and whispers, moans and whistles. And then there was something else. Strange, but not unpleasant.
    “ A grasshopper,” I whispered, pleased with myself. “It’s clicking. Calling for its mate.”
    Victor laughed at my childlike wonder. “Yes, my love. What else?”
    I pointed. “See that tree over there? It sounds like a popcorn-popper with all the little cicadas clicking together, singing their songs.”
    “ Popcorn?” he asked, wrinkling his brow.
    I laughed. “Never mind. I’ll tell you about that later.” I glanced up. “There are two columns of midges swarming high above the trees.” Next, I glanced down and saw a shiny, iridescent beetle scurrying over a green leaf to hide in a rotting log. It was illuminated by intermittent flashes of sunlight as the leaves swayed in the breeze. Tiny mushrooms grew nearby, covered in a thin layer of brown fuzz. As I moved in the sunlight, the colors changed from yellow to light brown.
    “ Can you hear the swarms of bees?” he asked.
    I tuned in closely, trying to focus my ears amidst the abundant sounds of nature’s chorus. “I hear them! They’re buzzing, collecting pollen. I can hear them when they land on the flowers!” A gush of wind blew past the wildflowers in the grass, and I could hear every single petal as it fluttered. When a drop of dew splattered on the dirt, I could hear the miniscule collision.
    He gave me a gentle