Tomorrows Child (19 page)

“We have time,”
I whispered, “It will be fun getting to know each other all over
again. See how it turns out.” I was delaying what I felt inside my
heart… I could love Phoenix. I knew that already; but when I do
fall in love, I want it to happen naturally, not because it was
destiny.

“I do know you,
Psyche.”

“No, Phoenix,
you know who I was, before this life. I might be much the same in
your eyes, but I’m someone new. I don’t even know the person you
remember, not really, I’m sure there’s much for us to learn. It’ll
be fun. I’ve never been… in love.”

“True, it will
be fun, I know that. Falling in love with you is always fun. But
you’re so reluctant to embrace your future, I thought you would
push me away too.”

I saw the
sadness in his eyes, and my heart ached to hold him, to take away
his pain. I felt it too, as our hands interlocked across the table.
I knew there was nothing to fear, but I was afraid. I knew why
Phoenix hadn’t kissed me. This was my choice. Our destiny was in my
hands.

From across the
table, our bodies were separated by a chasm that holding hands
wouldn’t satisfy. I let go of Phoenix’s hand and stood.

“It’s okay,” he
said, “you don’t have to choose me. You’re free to choose whomever
you want.” Want was the key word, but in that moment, it scared me
more than the creatures of the night. Phoenix thought I had already
chosen and was walking away, but I was about to leap over the
divide that separated us.

As I approached
him, I could feel my heart pound and the knot in my stomach twisted
low and heavy. I reached out and pressed my hand against his heart.
It thumped against my hand. He was so warm. His face flushed and
his eyes glistened. I brushed my lips against his. I could taste
the peppermint and honey sweetness on my tongue.

First kisses
are supposed to be awkward, unnatural and clumsy, but his wasn’t.
It was perfect. I was surprised, surprised by my response,
surprised by his. I pressed my lips against his and moved closer.
My body responded in ways I’d never felt before. I pressed against
him until there was no space between us, not a sliver of air
remained. I wanted to be closer.

Phoenix didn’t
resist. He kissed me exactly as I imagined. He wanted me more than
I wanted him, but he was stronger. He held my arms and pushed me
away. Between rasping breaths, I said, “I thought this is what you
wanted.”

“You have no
idea how much I want you, but I thought you wanted love, not some
quick lusty fling.”

“I do want
love, but you make me crazy. My heart beats faster when you’re
around. I can feel you in a room without seeing you there and I
know when you walk up to me without even looking. This is making me
crazy, I think I love you already, but I am afraid.” That was the
truth, I had lied about wanting time, but lust had taken over, and
he was right.

“In this
moment, you think you love me, but tomorrow you may see this
differently.”

He pulled me
closer and held me tightly. “Give it some time, let this sink in
and then see if you feel the same. But you have other questions and
we have time for that now.”

I couldn’t even
remember what we were talking about, let alone my questions!

“Yes, there are
questions,” I said. “When did this happen? Does Tahinah know?”

“Of course she
knows! There are some rules about who we tell, but if family asks,
we can’t lie. I’d only been here a few days when Tahinah asked me
who I was. She had suspected something from the first day, but it
was beyond her understanding, so she let it go.”

“What
happened?”

“Ruben and
Tahinah took their kids swimming at the falls. They used to go
there in the summer. There was an accident. Their eldest son fell,
hit his head and got caught in the rapids. He was unconscious, but
not dead. I stood by and watched. It took only seconds for them to
revive him. In those few seconds, his soul let go of the body and
their son and I swapped. It was no more complicated than that,
except your body has to be very close to death, or at the very
least, unconscious.”

“So it’s like a
possession. You’re like a body snatcher.”

“No, possession
is when a soul enters a body uninvited, usually two souls living in
the one body. That can only happen when a spirit hasn’t crossed
over, when they’re lost and desperate to live again. Occasionally,
there is a more sinister reason for a possession, but most of the
time, it is the action of a lost and confused soul.”

“In a way, this
was a good thing,” I said, “Tahinah and Ruben didn’t lose their
son, you got a perfectly good body and the first soul got to go
home. That’s how it should be all the time.”

“Yes, I
suppose, but there son was a different a person. Who we are, is
defined by our souls, not our bodies. We are what’s inside – who’s
inside; the body is just a vehicle that suits this dimension.
Sadly, Tahinah had a difficult time and she did mourn her first
son. She refused to allow me to call her ‘Mum’ and demanded to know
why he left. It took a long time for me to explain, but she
searched until she found others like me, and now she’s an expert.
She actually wrote books on the subject and was quite famous in
certain circles.”

“How long have
you been here?”

“Nine years;
their son was only ten.”

“Phoenix, this
is so out there! You know that, right? Like out there with UFOs and
dragons.”

“Yeh, I know.
For a human, everything is ‘out there’; but you do have a pet
dragon, so it’s not that ‘out there’ for you anymore.”

“Why did I
decide to come back without you?”

“You were
always coming back. You’re from the line of daughters in the
prophecy. It was your destiny. You could have left it for another
member of your family, but this was your choice. The timing was off
anyway and their birth would have been wrong. You had to go. We
always knew this, but it didn’t help me deal with it.”

“I thought when
I made it to heaven, everything would be perfect. You’re telling me
it’s no better than being human.”

“It’s
different, to be sure, and the emotions are different, more able to
be controlled. But I didn’t know how much your absence would affect
me… it didn’t have to. I could have done any number of things to
help, even taken your memory away while you were gone. We always
have a choice. But I don’t want to tell you about life at home, you
need to discover that for yourself.”

We were still
talking when the sun peeked over the horizon. Phoenix held me for a
long time and sat on the edge of the bed, as I lay down, too tired
to stay awake any longer.

“I should
go.”

“You should
stay, your father said not to leave. What happened to Navarre? He
was supposed to arrive at midnight.”

“He did. You
were ravishing me at the time.”

“Why didn’t you
say something?”

“I was trying
to decide if I would let you have your way with me.” He smiled with
the same cheeky grin that I’d seen more often on Navarre’s face.
“He is probably outside, standing guard. I wouldn’t worry too much,
Navarre takes this warrior thing very seriously.”

“You can lie
beside me if you like. I don’t think it matters very much now. If
you’re mine, you may as well stay,” I smiled.

Phoenix’s deep
violet eyes sparkled, “I can only stay if you plan on sleeping.” He
kissed me gently on the lips. I could still taste honey, but I
didn’t respond like I did the first time. He lay on top of the
covers with his hand on my hip. It was nice to have him here. I
felt safe and that was the last thought I had before I fell
asleep.

I wrenched
myself out of bed, too tired to care about the weather, but too
cold not to be affected by it. The rain fell lightly, but it only
melted the snow and made the sludge worse. The fact that the wind
blew constantly, creating horizontal drifts of icy needles made the
day even more miserable.

The problem
with all this was that I was happy. It was Basil’s funeral today
and I was happy. The wind blew and the rain fell, but I was happy.
Phoenix made me happy. The truth made me happy. Crazy as it
was.

Waking up alone
made me wonder if any of it had actually happened, but there was a
note on the table…

Psyche,

I have to prepare for
Basil’s funeral. Sorry, I couldn’t wait. Please come over to
Tahinah’s when you’re ready. You don’t have to come to the funeral
if you don’t want to, everyone will understand, but we would love
to have you there.

Blessed Be, Love
Libby

PS Sweetie, I’m so glad
Phoenix finally told you everything.

This one line
tagged to the end of a note was all I needed. The truth had been
revealed, an answer to one of the many mysteries that haunted my
life. I wasn’t crazy and it wasn’t a dream.

The tribe had
gathered on the veranda at Ruben and Tahinah’s. Originally, I
thought the veranda was nothing more than a pretentious extension,
but now it appeared to be a practical living area.

I couldn’t see
Libby or Phoenix and a moment of panic welled up in my chest. This
was my usual reaction to an unfamiliar situation and I took a deep
breath to control myself. These people were friends, so there was
no reason to panic. Although tea was the brew that sustained us on
a daily basis, today was one of the few days I wanted coffee. I
hadn’t recovered from the lack of sleep and if I were going to make
it through the day, I needed coffee.

“Psyche
Darnell!” I heard a familiar voice yell across the veranda, “Nice
that you could join us.” I searched the sea of faces. The voice
belonged to Lachlan Taylor. “Did that boyfriend of yours keep you
up all night?” he laughed.

A voice loomed
above the crowd “Lachlan, keep it to yourself today, please.” It
was Tahinah. She stood beside me and rested her hand on my
shoulder. “How are you, sweetie?” Phoenix walked up and handed me a
steaming mug of brewed milky coffee. The smell was heavenly.

“I’m good,
thanks, Tahinah, a bit tired though.”

“Phoenix told
me what happened. About time, I reckon. He’s been moping around
here for a long time, long before you arrived. I’m glad it’s turned
out for the best.” Tahinah was smiling in a way only a mother does
when her children are happy. She really had accepted Phoenix as one
of her own. It was a good result for them both.

“When is the
funeral?”

“Soon, Libby
and Abigail are just about finished. Basil was a religious man and
they want to do the best they can for him, under the circumstances.
We can’t bury him in a cemetery so we’re doing everything we
can.”

Phoenix
explained that they were selecting verses from the Bible that would
bless the ground before they buried Basil. He had some wishes that
needed to be taken care of and when that was finished, they would
come and get us. I had only ever been to one funeral, so I didn’t
know what to expect.

Since Libby
respected Basil, I expected she would be preparing a Christian
burial or as close to one as their knowledge and resources allowed.
Mum had had a more Pagan burial rite performed, with a blessing
given to the earth that had sustained her. Her eulogy was about the
circle of life and death and our continuation into the spirit
world. It was what she wanted.

Phoenix arrived
with more coffee, “Do I look that tired?” I asked and he smiled and
nodded.

“Gee, that’s
great; I can’t even lie and pretend that I had an early night.
Lachlan is going to have a good time making fun of me today.”

“He was here
when I got home this morning and has been giving me a hard time all
day. But it’s harmless fun, Psyche, I wouldn’t worry too much.”

The service for
Basil was held on his property. Libby and Abigail sent for us not
long after I finished my second cuppa. When we arrived, everything
had been prepared. The body was wrapped in white cloth and the
grave had been dug on a hill in a far pasture so that Basil could
watch over the rest of us as the years passed. Of course, most of
us believed that Basil’s spirit would be free to roam amongst us if
he chose to or return home and cross over. But Basil believed he
would remain with his body until Jesus came to take him home.

The truth was
irrelevant; Basil had chosen his own resting place and his wishes
were observed. There would be no cross or stone to mark his grave
because to Basil, it would be a waste of good farmland. He knew
that we would honour this place as a sacred site, but future
generations would never know that this was Basil Huxley’s final
resting place.

With all the
gloom that surrounded us on a daily basis, I found the funeral to
be uplifting and inspirational. The stories of Basil’s life flowed
from the mouths of the tribe like poetry. They were either part of
his life or had heard the stories so many times they knew them by
heart. Libby held Basil’s Bible and read verses that had been
highlighted; she finished with the Lord’s Prayer. Basil would have
been grateful for the inclusion.

The afternoon
flowed into mountains of food and stories of his life. Basil had
been a hard nut to crack and his beliefs and lifestyle were at odds
with the members of the new community. Libby was the mediator for
many years, but eventually Basil had become family.

Ruben said it
was the children that won the old man’s heart. The truth was more
likely linked to the fact that Basil distrusted authority and was
inspired by every conspiracy theory imaginable. The one unifying
fact was that they all believed in the same basic philosophy
“Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.” Basil was a true ally
in this regard and a wealth of knowledge when Libby and Tahinah
began holding regular “preparation” meetings and workshops in
primitive skill techniques and subsistence living.