Fire - Betrayal (10 page)

“Oh,“
I said shocked. “You do know that it is not such a great place to live here on the Earth, compared to
other
places.  Life here is very hard for some.  And some do not survive.  Our seasons range from very hot to extremely cold, we have storms, hail, strong winds and fire.  The seas are not calm but rough, deadly to some.  Earthquakes shake the ground causing manmade structures to collapse, killing people and animals. We have landforms with no vegetation or water, people die there. Some of our animals attack humans and can kill them.  Many of the animals eat meat.  People are slowly destroying the Earth by using its precious resources but never replacing what they use, or they take more than they need.  Are you sure you want to work and live here?“

“Yes!” they all replied at once.

I looked down at my plate of cake crumbs puzzled.  It was unlike Terreans to want to come into this world.  There must be something else.

“Can you tell me if you have been sent here on a mission to accomplish something?”
I questioned.

“No, “the eldest answered quickly.  “We were sent here to…. experience something.”

“What exactly?”I asked intrigued.

“The pain and suffering of your people,” he replied, looking at the pot of tea, ashamed to tell of the truth.

“And, why do you need to experience pain and suffering?” I inquired, still confused.

“To teach us a lesson.”

I took a deep breath, shocked that they were sent to learn a lesson here on the Earth.

“
Well, you will find many lessons here on this planet.  But you may be well and truly surprised to find that in amongst the pain and suffering is love and joy, and caring and kindness.  These things can ease pain and suffering, or even take it away.  Your lessons may not be as easy as you think.”

“Are you able to help us with the house and the money?” asked an older woman,
impatiently.

“I can take you to a shelter, where you will find many homeless people.  There are government workers there who will be able to help you get started. To get a house, you need money to buy it with.  To get money, you have to get a job and get paid money.  It will take you quite a while to save up enough money for a house.  But if you need to talk to anyone about anything, you are welcome at my house anytime,
anytime at all
, ”  I explained, making sure that they understood.

Then
I led them to my car, and drove them to the shelter.  I hoped that they would find what they were looking for there.

Moonlight Sonata

The black car slowly drove by again the next day
, observing the people who came to help themselves to the free fruit.

They did not stop.  They just
cruised along very slowly, again arousing my suspicions.

The black car drove by everyday for five days, but then, on the sixth day it stopped.  Two
rear doors of the car opened. Two tall men, in dark coats and dark sunglasses crossed the tree lined street to the baskets of fruit.

They did not grab and fill a bag quickly like the homeless people, instead, they picked up each of the seven fruits and studied them in detail – looking at them, smelling them, hefting them, and running their fingers over the skin, then replaced them back into the baskets, and left.

The men walked back to the black car in silence.  Once they were inside the car, its driver slowly accelerated down the street.

After that,
I saw them no more.  Obviously, their curiosity had been quelled after they had handled the fruit.  The black car and the men in black had made me very nervous. More so because Ben wasn’t here with me, he was away interstate, and had been for some time.

After the visitation of the Terreans,
I found I had gained enough courage and confidence to return to Grandy’s drawing room again.

I
opened the sash windows, and stopped to look at the photographs of Grandy on the mantel piece.  How I missed her.  We did have such a close relationship.  I loved her like my own mother.

Then beside the photograph of Grandy,
I spotted the locket that Grandy had left to me.  It had a golden mid length fine simple chain, with a heart shaped locket on it.  Inside the locket was a miniature photo of Grandy and Poppy, when they were young.  I treasured this gift from Grandy, and I decided to wear it again, with pride.

I
sat on the sofa in front of the open fireplace, and then I let my eyes wander over the old wooden coffee table just in front of me.

I
visually examined the strange teal rock with purple bits that jutted out of it - the memory storage rock. I did not want to touch it again, especially while wearing the seven jeweled ring.  The memory of the connection with the mind scanning and the magnetic pull, and Ben leaving me after I gained knowledge through the memory storage rock was still too raw.  I knew that it would partially open an old wound, and I did not want to go there.

I
peeled my eyes away from the ‘rock’ and let them wander around the room, settling them on the black baby grand piano. It had been such a very long time since I last played it.  I could feel it beckoning me over.

I
sat comfortably on the piano seat, and lifted the lid to the ivory keys. The black baby grand piano was glorious with its shine and its flowing curvy outline.

Gracefully,
I positioned my fingers ready to play Moonlight Sonata, my favourite piece of music that I knew off by heart. It always moved me to the core of my being, and would take me off to an unknown, but peaceful place, making me unaware of anything happening around me as I played.  I loved it. I loved how it made me feel.

***

I skipped up the steps to the portico more than excited about seeing Cate again after being away for six weeks. I hesitated before I opened the front door, focusing on the piano music flowing out of the house, unfamiliar with the sound. As I entered the house, I thought that Cate had a CD on. It wasn’t until I reached the open door to Grandy’s drawing room, that I realized that it was in fact Cate playing the piano.

I
leaned against the door frame, mesmerized by her.  Although I had known her for a few years now, I had never heard her play the piano.  She was good, very good.  Her skill level was high, and she played with precision and feeling.

My
heart quickened.  I wanted to go over to her and touch her, and kiss her, but I could see that she was totally lost in her music, and I should not interrupt her.

I
delighted at her perfect posture as she sat at the baby grand piano.  I admired her beautiful blonde curly hair, which was starting to grow long again.  I watched as her elegant fingers moved up and down the keys. And then I took a short sharp breath, hardly being able to believe that she had chosen to love me.

Then she
finished playing the piece of music, and took her fingers from the ivory keys and placed them into her lap.  She took a deep breath, before she turned to leave the piano.

And then got the shock of her life.

She gasped, jumped and put her hand over her heart.  I had unintentionally scared her.  But then, as soon as she realized it was me, she ran to me her face pleased.  I smiled coyly at her as she wrapped her arms around me.

***

Ben held me off the ground, and then slowly let me slide down his body until my feet reached the floor again.  His whole body felt electrified.  He burned his cerulean eyes into mine.  Then he carefully moved his face closer, brushing his lips over mine until I moaned, and then he kissed me deeply.  He pulled away momentarily and whispered my name, before I moved my hands to his face and kissed him again.  My head was spinning, and my knees felt weak. I had to stop before I could stand no more.

P
ulling away from the kiss, I slowly opened my eyes and looked into his. I could see the passion that he felt for me, his eyes still burning into mine.

“Ben, hold me,”
I whispered.

He wrapped his arms tenderly around
me and held me close to his body.  I could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and his breath on my hair.

“I love you,“
he said in a low voice.

“I love you more,“
I teased.  I heard him laugh quietly to himself.

He released his hold on
me, and then held my hand as he walked with me to the sitting room.

We
sat closely together, talking about what each had been doing while we were apart.  I filled him in on as much as I could, but did not mention the visit from the Terreans.  I was sure that I had helped them, and they were getting on with their experience of “pain and suffering”.

Neither did
I mention the black car that had been of concern to me for more than a week. I was satisfied that they were no longer interested in the fruits that they had encountered.

Ben did not divulge much information about his time away with work, as it was complex, at times confusing
. So he just gave me tidbits of information that he was happy to give me.

The only thing that I knew about his job at Earth Sphere was, that
he would go away with a team of professionals in his field, and sometimes they succeeded in their job, sometimes not.

That night,
Ben took me out to an Italian restaurant for dinner.  It was in the centre of the city and a very popular place for well-to-do people to dine.

I
wore an elegant black evening dress.  The bodice was tightly fitted, while the fluted skirt ended just above my knees, showing my legs, ankles and my gorgeous black high heeled shoes.

We
walked hand in hand into the restaurant, stopping at the entrance, greeted by the waiter.

“I have a booking for Ben Adams,” Ben said.

“Yes indeed sir.  And your lovely wife’s name is?” he asked.

“
Cate,“ replied Ben, looking at me and smiling.

“
Cate and Ben, we have your table prepared over here.  Please follow me,” instructed the waiter.

I
was seated first, and then Ben sat opposite me. The table was small and intimate, adorned with flowers and candles in the centre.

As soon as the waiter had taken
our order for some wine and left, I giggled at Ben.

“Thank-you husband for bringing me to this fine Italian restaurant.  How did you get a booking by the way? It is always booked out for months in advance?”
I stated.

“I get what I want,”
he replied smiling crookedly at me.

We
looked at the menu, discussing the finer details of the dishes, before we ordered.  When the waiter had left, Ben reached over to touch my hand.

“Dance with me
Cate,“ Ben requested.  Then he got up, still holding my hand, and walked around the table to me, his eyes connecting with mine.

My
heart started to beat very fast.  I slowly rose from the table and placed my right hand on the side of his face lovingly.  Then he led me to the dance floor.

A small orchestra played slow romantic music
as Ben took me in his arms, in the classic waltz pose.  But I wanted to be closer to him, so I brought my body closer to his, resting my head next to his.

“You look absolutely beautiful
Cate.  I’m having trouble concentrating with you dressed this way tonight.”

“Good,”
I whispered.

“I just wish all of the men would stop looking at you.  I know what they are thinking,“ Ben said.

“And, what would that be Ben?” I asked curiously.

“Mmmm, the same thing that I am thinking
Cate.“

“And that would be?”
I asked again.

“Aaah.  I don’t think I should tell you, or even show you for that matter.  It would break our promise,”
Ben replied rawly.

“But Ben, I am your wife remember?”
I teased.  I heard him quietly laugh to himself.

At that moment, the meal was delivered to the table, and so
we left the dance floor.

“Dance with me again later
Cate,“ insisted Ben.

We
ate our meals slowly, savoring every bite of the fine Italian food, savoring each other’s company throughout the meal.

After a short while, dessert was served, just one dessert. 
We had ordered it this way to share it together, as we often did, from very early on in our relationship, even before the very first kiss.

It was symbolic to
us, to our commitment to each other.

Then Ben again took
my hand in his, and slowly brought my hand to his lips, kissed it gently, not taking his eyes off me.