I stood atop the 32-story building overlooking the city. It was a place I would call home, if only for a little while. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, concentrating on the source of the Light I felt situated in the city streets of Toronto, its flashing lights and booming sounds.

Focusing my energy on the Light, I blocked out everything: sirens blaring, horns honking, the low rumble of engines, the chiming of bicyclists weaving in and out of traffic. The arguing of two co-workers below at the bar; the sound of passionate love-making coming from the building across the street; the steady stream of jazz music playing within the club. It all just started to fade away.

I had reached a point of complete and utter stillness.

Squeezing my eyes tighter, I focused solely on drawing in the energy I searched for. At first there was nothing and I began to feel frustrated. Although as a Guardian, I wasn’t supposed to feel frustrated. We weren’t supposed to feel anything, really.

But that was besides the point.

I was feeling what would be described as “frustration” when I finally noticed it.

I smelt chocolate.

It was the scent of rich, smooth cocoa filling my nostrils to a point that caused my mouth to–I could almost taste it. It had been some time since I had tasted chocolate. In actuality, I didn’t recall the act of ever eating chocolate before but it seemed so familiar to me.

So I must have, right?

I attempted at focusing on my other senses instead of the deliciousness of chocolate wafting into my nostrils. I began hearing the chatter of voices, followed by a vision of people conjured in my mind. Everything was hazy at first but the first thing I could distinctly see was the pulsating rhythm of Light coming from one person in particular. It glowed brightly, its ray of beauty within the essence of the being, as if winking back at me. The being was sitting off to the side, alone.

It was almost as if they were waiting for someone.

Snapping out of the vision I opened my eyes and a sense of calm passed over me. Placing on my sunglasses I smiled to myself, pleased.

My mission had finally started.

…………………

Excerpt from Bless, unpublished work.