Tomorrows Child (40 page)

Libby dragged
me to an old box that held my mother’s clothes. Vintage clothing
from when she was my age.

“You can’t be
serious. These clothes are what, twenty years old?”

“What else
would I do with them? Throw them away?”

Libby was
serious. She also washed them regularly and kept them in perfect
order, checking stitches and buttons and repairing them, if
necessary. They smelt like patchouli and lavender, instead of
clothes from second-hand stores or old packing.

“I think you
should wear this.” Libby held up a skirt made from two different
fabrics. One was a paisley print and the other was royal purple
velvet. The two fabrics were cut into eight strips, narrow at the
waist and wide at the bottom. They were sown so they swirled and
flared as the skirt fell to the ground. It was crazy, but I loved
it.

“This blouse
will go perfectly. It was your mother’s favourite.”

“Thank you.” I
kissed Libby on the cheek and ran to my room. The blouse was creamy
white cheesecloth with tiny flowers embroidered all over the front.
Tiny pearl buttons were sewn in rows down the centre, but it didn’t
actually open.

Both the skirt
and the blouse fit and seemed tailor-made for my new body. I
swirled to test the skirt and wasn’t disappointed.

“Oh Libby! I
love it! It’s just beautiful. I didn’t know Mum was ever this
skinny.”

“Celeste ate
like a horse, and never stopped. I couldn’t fatten her up no matter
how hard I tried. She’s like you that way. Maybe now you can slow
down a bit. I’d feel better if you put on a bit of healthy
weight.”

We were the
last to arrive and were greeted by cheers, applause and smiling
faces. I blushed instantly. Flowers adorned the garden, while
garlands of dandelions and braided stems of lavender hung from a
bamboo gazebo. Emily ran up and placed wreaths of dandelions and
tiny daisies on our head like floral crowns. Everyone wore them,
even the men, and I wondered who had taken the time to make
them.

“Greetings,
sweet Psyche,” Tahinah hugged Libby and me as if we had been away
on an extended holiday. I looked for Phoenix, but my eyes fell on
Navarre’s smiling face, which greeted me.

“This is for
you,” he said as he tied a bracelet of flowers around my wrist.
“It’s a tradition that everyone gives gifts that remind us of
spring.”

“No one told
me. Libby, why didn’t you tell me? I could have made
something.”

“Mmm-hmm. When?
In your spare time? You had enough to worry about without braiding
flowers.” Libby was right, but it didn’t make me feel any better
knowing that everyone else had taken the time.

“There’s always
Beltane. You can make me something then,” said Navarre. “You look
beautiful, by the way.”

I knew that
Phoenix was approaching me from behind. I felt him coming across
the lawn. I smiled, but didn’t turn.

“Hello,
Psyche.” I turned and smiled at him. He kissed me on the cheek and
placed a flower in my hair. It was a tiny pink daisy.

“See? Even you
had time to do something.”

“It hardly
qualifies as a spring gift,” said Phoenix.

“We have
something to do before the celebrations start,” Tahinah said,
pointing to the children. They walked towards us, holding hands.
They were so tiny and cute. I still couldn’t remember their names.
I knew Jalani, but the others were less familiar. I felt a pang of
guilt that I hadn’t gotten acquainted with these little children. I
remembered these little ones had twirled with Navarra at Mabon, all
those months ago.

“They tell me
there is something important they need to say,” said Tahinah.

The children
sat in a semi circle on the lawn and Jalani called to her mother.
We walked over and sat in similar circular fashion on the grass,
though we were much less orderly. I was less intrigued than the
others because I had some idea what they would say. But I was
probably the only one and maybe Phoenix.

Jalani was the
first to speak. “We are the children of the rainbow light. We know
that you have many questions about the light and we will do our
best to answer them.”

“This is the
dawning of a new earth, it is a time of healing and a time of
change.”

“Psyche didn’t
place the crystal to repair the veil. She placed the crystal to
bath the earth in rainbow light and to awaken us, the rainbow
children, and begin the process that will transform the earth, just
like so many others did when they placed their crystals.”

“This is the
just beginning, but with every beginning, there is an ending. As
one age ends, another begins.”

“Do not be
concerned about the veil, the balance will be restored, but it is
not the balance of good and evil, nor light and dark, as you might
have suspected. The rainbow light restores the balance in a unique
way, the way it was meant to be.”

“The door to
heaven has been opened and the earth will be transformed.” The
children spoke as if one mind controlled many voices.

“We are all
seeking to return home, where our spirits can be truly free.”

“The earth
experiment was necessary, but the experience has been harsh and
death is cruel and unnecessary. Every soul has experienced enough
death and grief, though there are still some that must complete
this journey. Not everyone on earth today will have to die to enter
into heaven.”

“There are some
souls that are here simply to love. Love has always been the lesson
to be learned on earth. Others are here to bathe in the rainbow
light and be healed.”

“Shhh. Your
minds have many questions.” The children smiled at each other and
continued.

“The
inhabitants of earth became lost and complacent. Fear and apathy
stole their ability to thrive, but humans always wanted more. Power
and greed motivated many, so many fought, killed and died for
power. In the end, all they gained was more fear and lies. Seldom
did humans discover the true purpose of life or find true love.
Almost no one discovered the truth of unconditional love or the joy
of simple existence.”

“Remember that
the veil will not be repaired. It will continue to diminish. Heaven
and earth will become one. Some have to follow the path they set
for this life and they will not escape the pain of death. Free will
and destiny will always prevail.”

“The veil will
remain, in part, until everyone’s destiny has been fulfilled and
all this has come to pass.”

“The new earth
will allow us all to experience the physical without the need for
painful births and sorrowful deaths.”

I wanted to ask
about people like Volante, people motivated to act in despicable
ways. Truly evil people didn’t deserve an easy way out; and as if
my thoughts had been spoken aloud, the children answered.

“The punishment
for evil acts is not to be sent to the bowels of hell, for hell
only exists in the minds of man. The punishment is to linger in the
nothingness until they have understood the physical and emotional
pain that they have caused others. Coming to terms with one’s own
failings is punishment enough.”

“All souls
choose to spend time in the nothingness and some may decide to
remain there. It is a choice. Those unable to deal with their
actions and choices will be absorbed into the nothingness, while
others will return to the light, at peace with their past. There is
no escaping this; it’s just how it is.”

“Psyche, we
thank you for what you have done, for without you, the world would
still be in darkness. But your journey has just begun.”

“There is much
to do before this planet truly becomes a new earth.”

We waited for
more, but that was all they said. They stood up, hand-in-hand, and
ran off to play under the jacaranda tree.

“I told you my
girl is a genius.” It was Ruben, standing at the back of the
circle, smiling and shaking his head.

“You think she
said all that because she is clever?” Tahinah asked. “Maybe it’s
because they are special.”

“They were
channelling,” said Trinity, “I could tell by their auras. They were
all connected to the light.”

“Channelling is
a better explanation than genius. Not that I’m saying they’re not
all little geniuses, Ruben, but they spoke so clearly. The only
thing that has changed since I last saw the children was the
rainbow light. Normally, I don’t understand a word they say, but
that’s what you’d expect of a four-year-old.”

We hadn’t
really talked much about the light or what happened on the mountain
since we returned. We were all lost in our own thoughts on our way
home from this morning’s event. I wondered what everyone thought
and if they knew exactly what had happened.

“Psyche?”
Phoenix looked at me. He knew what I knew; I could tell by the
glint in his violet eyes. “Maybe now is a good time to tell
everyone what you know.”

“I guess, but I
am still trying to figure it out myself.”

Lachlan limped
over to the fire pit and began to build a fire. The others
followed.

“It sounds as
if it will be a long night,” Ruben smiled and sat himself on a log
near Tahinah. Phoenix held my hand and walked me to the fire
pit.

“Well? The
night’s growing cold and we still need time to get the party
started.” I missed Lachlan’s teasing.

“Well, the
energy’s changed, that’s for sure. It’s vibrating faster, a lot
faster. The pulse of the earth, that’s stronger too. It’s hard to
explain, but I think everyone should be able to feel it and use it.
If you couldn’t before, you should try now.” I looked around, a few
people nodded, whatever that meant.

“Why did it
happen? I mean, this has been a long time coming and there has been
a whole lot of fuss. There must be a very good reason that it
happened at all,” Ruben asked. I thought Ruben understood what was
going on, but he was as confused as I had been.

“I think there
are many reasons why this happened. The earth needs to heal, for
one. Even the songs and the light aren’t enough, but it’s a start.
As for us, the children were right about the veil. I knew as soon
as I picked up the stone. The veil was never part of the original
design. When it was created, it sort of stuffed things up. It’s
taken all this time to get it right again.”

“But what has
it got to do with us? Humans I mean?” asked Tahinah.

“I think it’s
over, living like we do. Maybe we’re not meant to die, but I don’t
think we should be so isolated from the truth either. I can’t see
the future, but maybe we will just travel back and forth as we
please.” I shrugged. Some of it seemed clear, but there were parts
of it I couldn’t get straight no matter how long I thought about
it.

“People are
mean. We really did lose our way, but not recently; it started a
long time ago. This was the only solution. We were given so many
signs, so many chances, but I don’t think we ever really had the
truth, so that made it hard to make the right decisions.” I
understood this perfectly. Without the truth, it is hard to find
your way.

“Anyway, I
think it’s like the yin yang symbol. We always saw it as two
halves, a balance of two opposite things. Like good and evil,
feminine and masculine, or whatever, but we were seeking balance
when we needed to seek equality. We were always struggling by
allowing one or the other to dominate. But we were wrong. Men and
women are not stronger or weaker than the other. Men and women
together don’t balance until they are both equal. Equally, they
make things whole. We have the balance within us, both sides
contained within the whole.”

I could see
that I had confused everyone, “Before the rainbow light, the energy
had two distinct characters. I didn’t realise it then, but the
energy was distinctly different, depending on one’s intention. It’s
like it was separated, but now the energy is blended; both sides
are equally expressed within the whole.”

“So that light,
will it stay like that?”

“Yes, that’s
how it should have always been. The rainbow light was part of
creation. There was a time on earth when these lights were always
in the sky. It will be easier now.” I said.

“I don’t think
I’ll be able to sleep while the that light floats around like
that,” said Lachlan.

“Well, you
either get over it or get used to it. You done with that fire yet?”
said Ruben.

“Pretty much,”
he said, as the first flame flickered up and licked the dry
wood.

The women
hadn’t said much at all and I looked around the circle and wondered
what they were thinking.

“You did well,
Psyche,” Tahinah smiled.

“We perform a
ritual for the equinox. Would you like to come?” Trinity was asking
me to be part of their ritual. Trinity, of all people! My aura must
be looking better tonight.

“Thank you, I
would love to, but I’ve already had an encounter with a goddess
today. I think I’ll skip it, if that’s okay,” I said.

“That’s fine,
there’s no pressure, just thought you might like to join us.”
Trinity smiled at me for the first time. The women all stood up and
disappeared into the forest beside the house.

“So, how did I
do?”

“Pretty good,”
said Phoenix.

“You could have
answered all their questions.”

“Yes, probably,
but the same rules apply. I can’t just feed them information. They
have to discover it for themselves.”

“Isn’t it
frustrating, watching me struggle and getting nowhere?”

“Many things
about you are frustrating. But there could be worse things to deal
with.”

He was right.
It could be a lot worse.

“Which goddess
visited you today?”

“Persephone.”

“And what did
she have to say?”

“Maybe it’s a
secret,” I smiled, “but it’s not. She said I had to learn the
secret of my gift. I wanted to thank her for what she did, but she
said I would be able to thank her in the future.”