Page 29 of I Will Always Find You
On the day Pietro turned nine, Abriana experienced a vivid prophetic vision, a troubling glimpse into a dark future event.
In this vision, she beheld a handsome man with fiery red hair—locks that shone like molten copper in the oppressive darkness that sought his destruction. He wielded a unique form of witchcraft: Zagovory, a form of Slavic verbal folk magic, specifically incantations and spells. Abriana knew a bit about it, enough to know it was hardly a match for the terrible evil the red-haired man found himself against, one that clawed at the edges of her vision, creating a feeling of deep despair inside her.
As the battle of magic raged, Abriana could not shake the feeling that the confrontation was bound to end in tragedy for the handsome, courageous man. For all his magic, fearlessness, and spirit, even strengthened by a heart of purity and selflessness, it would not be enough. Abriana recognized this evil as a force of tremendous dark power, a fiend with iron teeth and the smell of human flesh on its fetid breath.
The Tuscan witch’s intuition proved correct; the malevolent immortal quickly overpowered the red-haired man, trouncing him mercilessly.
Then the vision moved past the man’s defeat, and Abriana beheld her beautiful Pietro, now a young man, enter the fray. However, she accepted that it was him for only a moment before the vision revealed the truth: it was not her sweet boy but the Romani witch in adult form.
Abriana, unable to take action and merely a spectator of these future events, watched as the Romani witch stepped confidently between the great evil and the near-dead man with red hair.
In a hoarse voice, the defeated sorcerer begged his would-be rescuer to run, to leave him behind, and to save himself. Abriana could see that such an appeal was a pointless waste of the man’s remaining strength. It was clear as day to her that neither would ever abandon the other, a resolute stance evident on both their faces.
Abriana could sense that these two young men shared a bond beyond friendship; they were profoundly emotionally and possibly spiritually connected. She wondered if they were always destined to meet. Could this be the purpose of the reincarnation? Abriana had so many questions.
The reality of romance and passion between two men was something she did not question. Abriana had always known that her Pietro was unlike her other grandsons, and she loved him all the more for it. To her, it was no different from being born a witch—someone innately linked to the source of creation; living one’s true self was magical.
Abriana was deeply moved, captivated even by the undeniable love she felt flowing between the red-headed man and Pietro—no, she had to stop thinking that, believing that, as much as it pained her to do so.
He was that man, the Romani witch reborn. Her Pietro was gone forever.
Just before the vision ended, Abriana was overcome by feelings of frustration, failure, and fear. And then she sawviolence, blood, and the gruesome deaths of both brave young men.
The terrifying vision completely overwhelmed Abriana’s senses, unravelling her grasp on reality. She cried out in emotional distress for Pietro as she fell to the floor of their bedroom in a disoriented heap.
Her family, rushing to her side, lifted her off the cold floor and carried her back to her bed. Abriana convalesced there for nearly a week, her energy and spirit having been severely drained by the horrors she witnessed in the vividly detailed vision.
Pietro’s mamma, well-versed in the naturalist remedies passed down from her husband’s grandmother—though unaware of the mystical elements behind her herbalism—managed to brew a healing tea using the few lessons Abriana had shared about the medicinal properties of certain roots. The concoction aided in the matriarch’s recovery.
Upon regaining her strength, Abriana reflected deeply upon her vision.
She accepted that the red-haired man was profoundly, even mystically connected to Pietro’s soul, though not to him but tothe other; this vision was intended for the Romani witch, the sleeping consciousness, upon his waking. Abriana felt compelled by divine providence to share this dark future with him, to guide him and prevent tragedy, and she believed that wholeheartedly.
There was never a guarantee with her premonitions that she would immediately understand their meanings. They were often puzzles, mysteries, and enigmas that Abriana had to decipher to use for guidance—and as warnings—if she wished to alter the futures they revealed to her.
This time, however, she clearly understood what the vision revealed and what it needed to impart to her. She grasped it with her heart, her mind, and deep within her very soul: she neededto prepare Pietro for the future with every advantage she could bestow upon him.
That way, when the Romani witch ultimately took control of Pietro’s body, he would have access to all her arcane knowledge, in addition to the inherent mystical abilities she saw he possessed in her vision.
Though mortal, she was a witch of considerable strength, and over her long life, she had come to know much of magic’s deepest mysteries. This added power might give the Romani witch a crucial advantage in his battle against the formidable evil that loomed on the horizon, preparing him for the confrontation when their paths inevitably crossed.
And so, in secret, day and night, Abriana seized every opportunity to teach Pietro her magic, revealing the power and elegance of witchcraft away from the eyes of those who lived only in the mundane. She poured everything she knew, including the darker aspects of her magic, into the boy to give the Romani witch a better fighting chance against this future great evil.
Pietro was an eager and enthusiastic student; no one could have asked for a more promising, naturally gifted apprentice.
Abriana had only ever taught her witchcraft to one other person: her daughter, Pietro’s grandmother, who sadly died in childbirth while bringing Pietro’s papa into the world.
Overwhelmed by grief for not being able to save her child in time with her magic, Abriana had retreated from practicing witchcraft for years, cursing her gift of foresight, suppressing it, believing it had failed her when she needed it most. In her pain, she wanted nothing to do with it.
It had taken the birth of her great-grandchildren, whom she loved immensely, for Abriana to eventually move past her grief and once more seek harmony with both the natural and metaphysical worlds.
As the years passed, Pietro grew in magical strength, but remained humble and ever solitary. He gave up all his relationships outside of family ties, including friendships and romantic possibilities, to concentrate on his mystical studies.
Abriana had never asked for this sacrifice; her great-grandson offered it willingly.
Once, when she asked Pietro if he felt lonely, he replied that his family was enough for now, though one day he would make room for companionship. He wanted to wait for that special person he believed the universe was destined to create just for him.
And when Pietro ended that conversation by stating that he hoped his future mate had red hair, Abriana forced a smile, suppressing the gasp of shock that wanted very much to escape.
