by Ocean
46
Wanted: a couple good bodies
“We’ve got to sneak in around the military boats. If they catch us, we’ll rot in a jail cell. Keep your eyes peeled,” Naomi said. “The island used to be so beautiful, peaceful when we were here. I’ve read it’s completely different now. The government.”
She shook her head.
Four sets of eyes scanned the surrounding waters.
“Let me take the wheel,” Devin said. “Naomi, you handle the throttle.”
“It looks like the coast is clear,” Naomi said. “Now what?”
“Watch me. Get ready and hold on.” Devin stood on her tiptoes and peered over the steering wheel.
“What are you going to do?” Rosie asked.
“I’m going to run the boat up on that beach.” Devin tilted her head in the direction of the shore. “As soon as the boat is beached, get away from it as fast as you can in case any soldiers come searching for it. We’ll travel faster if you carry us,” Devin said. Naomi and Ria each nodded in agreement.
“And you know where the cemetery is, right?” Devin asked.
“Oh yes,” Naomi said. “I know exactly where it is. It’s not too far from here. That is, if it’s still there.” She took a deep breath. “Ready?”
Devin returned the question with a nod. Ria clung tighter to Rosie, and Naomi pressed on the throttle. The boat picked up speed and Devin steered it toward the sandy beach. As it was about to hit land she yelled to Naomi, “Cut it!” Naomi pulled back on the throttle.
Rosie closed her eyes.
The sound of the engines died, replaced by a grinding noise as the bottom of the boat slid onto the sand. Rosie peeked one eye open and squeezed it shut again as the tree line quickly sped toward them. She kept her eyes shut until the boat stopped moving, then slowly opened them.
The boat had stopped inches from a large coconut tree.
Naomi grabbed Devin and leapt off the side of the boat. Ria clung to Rosie and climbed down the back.
Naomi and Ria took off running into the dark, green mossy forest, each cradling one of the nuns.
Naomi, with Devin’s body, was able to travel quickly through the tangled vines. She sprinted with one arm wrapped around Devin and the other hand outstretched like a linebacker making a block, pushing branches and spider webs out of her way. Ria struggled to keep up in Rosie’s body. Downed logs that Devin effortlessly leapt over, Ria, would stop and climb over, one leg at a time.
Rosie could tell by Ria’s labored breathing that she was fading fast. The huffing and stumbling were familiar to her. She vividly recalled how she felt when she and Devin had been running through the forest on Doll Island, how she had struggled to keep up. She knew exactly what Ria was experiencing now.
“You’re doing great Ria,” she offered words of encouragement. “Keep going.”
Without warning, Naomi stopped and pointed. Rosie followed the tip of her extended finger and saw the reason she’d stopped.
In front of them, was a clearing in the woods. Tombstones stuck up from a raised elevation on the ground, lined in neat rows. Some were grayed and stained with age, some newer, whiter. It was eerily quiet. As a cloud passed in front of the moon, the silver light that had guided them was dimmed, as if someone had snuffed out a candle.
As if not to wake the dead, Ria whispered, “The cemetery.”
47
Eureka!
Naomi and Ria placed Devin and Rosie on the ground.
“Whoa,” Devin said as she looked up at the tombstones that towered over her. “This is creepy.”
“Yeah,” Naomi said. “It is creepy, but if we’re ever going to find two bodies that’ll work for us, this is the place. Okay, let’s split up. Devin, you go that way.” She pointed to the right. “Ria, you take those rows, and Rosie, you go that way. Look for any gravesites that are new.”
The four went in separate directions. Rosie raced, looking at gravesites to her left and right. Most were older, the people having been buried there for decades. Dried grass, the color of hay, scattered the tops of all the graves. Vines reached from nearby trees and crept along the tops of the tombstones.
When Rosie would reach the end of a row, she’d turn and come back down another line of graves. She was about to start on her third row when she heard it.
“Here! I found them!”
48
The silver lining of a tragedy
“Over here,” Ria yelled. Rosie dashed toward her and quickly saw what she’d discovered. She stood at the foot of two side-by-side, mounds of fresh dirt. The single tombstone was large and wide, covering the width of two graves.
Naomi read aloud the words crudely inscribed on the vertical stone.
“Here lies Theresa Boudinette and Suzanna Dilardi. Taken from this world too soon by an angry sea. As you loved, inseparable in life, shall you remain together in death. May your souls now rest in eternal peace.” At the bottom of the engraving were two intertwined hearts.
“I wonder what happened to them?” Rosie asked.
“Sounds like they drowned. Look.” Naomi pointed to the birth and death dates. “They were just buried two days ago.”
“And they’re great ages,” Ria said. “Twenty-four and twenty-six. That’s perfect. I wonder what they look like?”
“It doesn’t matter what they look like,” Devin said. “These are your new bodies. Naomi, go get those shovels.”
She pointed toward a groundskeeper’s cabin. Two shovels lay perched against the side of the building.
Naomi grabbed a shovel in each hand, returned to the group, and handed one to Ria.
“Start digging.”
49
We’re really diggin’ you
The dirt was still loose and was easy to shovel. Ria and Naomi effortlessly dug down only a few feet when their shovels each hit something at the same time. They stopped digging and glanced up.
“What ever happened to six feet deep?” Ria asked.
“Don’t stop,” Devin instructed. “Keep shoveling.”
Ria and Naomi dug with increased intensity, carving the dirt away from the coffins with their shovels. Naomi finished first, then hopped over and helped Ria with her side.
“That’s enough,” Devin’s words were filled with urgency. “We only need the tops cleared off.”
Ria climbed out of the holes they’d dug. Naomi tossed the shovels up, and Ria jammed them into the ground. The air was moist, and their clothes were soaked in sweat.
“Okay,” Naomi made eye contact with each of the others that hovered side-by-side over the gravesites.
“It’s time. Let’s do this.”
With her hands, she dusted the remaining dirt off the top of one of the coffins, then grabbed the edge of the lid.
Clouds had drifted away, and a gray shadowy light filtered down from the moon. Naomi grunted as she struggled to lift the lid. As the cover slowly rose, Rosie made out the shape of a body deep inside the dark interior of the coffin. And, as Naomi and Ria had predicted, it was wrapped tightly in a coarse canvas cloth.
Naomi reached in and gently took hold of one of the corners of the cloth. Her gaze flittered momentarily toward Ria before, tentatively, she tugged on it.
“Wait!” Ria shouted.
50
Can’t wait to meet you
“Shit!” Naomi yelped. She’d dropped the cloth as if it’d been on fire and had jumped back, clutching at her own heart. “You scared the crap out of me. What?”
Three sets of eyes focused on Ria.
“Shouldn’t we be a little more respectful? I mean, say a prayer or something?”
Naomi, Rosie and Devin paused and exchanged glances.
“Well make it quick,” Devin glanced toward the horizon. “We don’t want to be frozen in these bodies another day.”
Ria closed her eyes and bowed her head. The others followed her lead.
“Heavenly father. We pray for the souls of these departed women and hope they are si
tting beside you bathed in the glory of your loving peace. We want them to know we appreciate their sacrifice and hope they find comfort that their bodies, rather than decaying in the earth, will provide a lifetime of joy for us. We thank them for this gift. Amen.” Ria made the sign of the cross.
“Amen,” three voices repeated the word then the women crossed themselves.
“I’m not so sure we should thank them yet for their bodies,” Naomi said. “We haven’t seen what they looked like.”
“Like it or not,” Devin pointed toward the coffin. “Your souls are going into those bodies this morning.”
Ria, Devin and Rosie took a step closer to the edge of the grave and peered down. Naomi took a deep breath and slowly pulled the corner of the blanket away from the face of the first body.
Rosie peered down at what appeared to be a sleeping woman. She was pale but otherwise healthy looking. Her features were petite and delicate. Her face pretty in a natural way with plentiful, thick, dark hair and olive colored skin. Someone had taken the time and care to decorate her face tastefully with light makeup. Naomi pulled the blanket down further to her waist. She wore a beautiful lace top that hung off her shoulders. Her hands were folded neatly on her stomach. Bright red nail polish decorated her fingernails.
“Oh, she’s beautiful,” Ria said, holding her hands to her own chest.
“She looks so peaceful,” Naomi said.
“Quick, uncover the other one so we can get on with this,” Devin said.
Naomi jumped up from the grave, then down into the second hole in the earth. Again, she groaned as she tugged at the heavy lid of the coffin. There lay a second body, also wrapped tightly in a coarse blanket.
As the canvas was pulled back, another face was revealed. This one was sturdier, more solid than the first. Short, ruffled, curly black hair. Thick eyebrows, and full lips. As Naomi exposed more of the body, it was obvious this woman had more muscles, wider shoulders, and was larger in girth than the first woman. She appeared to be a healthy looking mid-twenty-year-old who had simply fallen asleep.
“Perfect!” Naomi said.
“Great,” Devin said. “Let’s get on with it then.”
“How do we do this?” Ria asked.
“First, you and I will switch into these,” Naomi indicated toward the deceased women. “Then, their bodies will be available so they can switch back into them.”
“Oh no,” Devin said. “No, no, no. Not a chance. We’re not letting you go first. That means the souls of two dead women will be transferred into our bodies. No way.”
“Why not?”
“Because, what if for some reason, the spell doesn’t work properly trying to get back into our own bodies while there’s a dead person’s soul in there? I mean, this is rather complicated, and it’s not like we’re experts.”
“But, if you go first and make the change with us, that means we’ll be stuck in the nun’s bodies.”
“Exactly,” Devin said.
“But then, what if you’re lying to us and don’t change us from the nuns into these two bodies? Then we’re screwed.”
Devin laughed.
“You can trust us,” she said. “Sound familiar?”
Ria and Naomi exchanged glances but neither spoke.
“Devin,” Rosie elbowed Devin. “We don’t have time for this nonsense.”
Devin’s face grew serious. She lowered her gaze and nodded.
“Fine. Get on with it then.”
Rosie closed her eyes. The words were a jumbled mess in her head.
Will I remember how to say them properly?
Suddenly, something Devin had said popped into her mind as clearly as if they’d just been spoken.
When I need to do something, even if I’m afraid I can’t do it or I’ll fail, I take a deep breath and say to myself, ‘You have to do this.’ ‘You can do this.’
Rosie began, slowly, carefully.
Chagga zee. Morang–
“Wait!” Devin grabbed her arm, and Rosie jumped. Her eyes snapped open.
“What?”
“We forgot. Remember? ‘To place the soul tight to where it belongs, hold on tight to that to which it longs’.”
“Oh, right!” Rosie said. “Quick. Naomi, give something that you want to Devin.”
Naomi’s face went blank.
“What do you mean, give her something I want?”
“Give me something you want,” Devin repeated.
Naomi first looked down at the ground, then she glanced at their surroundings.
“We’re in a cemetery. There’s nothing here that I want.”
Her gaze fell on Ria. “Except Ria.”
“It can’t be Ria.” Devin’s voice was sharp with impatient urgency. “Check your, I mean my, pockets.”
Frantically, Naomi searched her pockets. Her face flipped from angst to elation. She reached into a side pocket of her cargo shorts and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. A smirk crossed her face.
Devin tried, but couldn’t hide a smile as she snatched the cigarettes.
“Give me those,” she said.
“Get closer together.” Rosie gave Devin a gentle push toward the grave where Naomi stood. “You’re supposed to be an arm’s distance away, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.” Devin shuffled to the side of the grave. “Okay, go ahead,” she said. “Say the chant. Let’s finally, get back into our own bodies.”
51
The big test
Rosie closed her eyes. Mentally, she practiced saying the words. She envisioned her and Devin each back in their own bodies.
Please make this work.
She took a deep breath and chanted, trying to mimic the tone of strength and intensity that she’d witnessed the Shaman use when she’d recited the spell that had sent them back to their own time.
“Chagga zee. Morang witchabak. Nosquito Witchabak. Mozzubee bahaba bangoo. Dooha. I command a reverse Devin and Naomi!”
Rosie remained still, silent, with her eyes closed. She didn’t dare open them. She didn’t dare breathe, instead, she continued to pray and listened. The night was eerily quiet.
“Holy Shit!” Devin’s voice came from inside the grave. Rosie’s eyes popped open, and she inhaled a deep breath. It was Devin’s voice coming from Devin’s body.
“Devin?” She spoke the word tentatively as she gazed down at Devin.
The Devin in the grave patted her chest.
“Rosie! You did it!” Devin’s face was bright with an enthusiasm that Rosie hadn’t seen since the picnic. “It’s me! I’m back in my body. Holy crap! You did it.”
Rosie swallowed back a sob. The sight of Devin, her joyous smile, blurred as tears filled Rosie's eyes.
“Rosie! Ha. Ha!” Devin leapt out of the grave, picked Rosie’s little doll body up, swung her around then hugged her tightly to her chest. “I’m so proud of you. You did it! Now, quickly. Change yourself back.”
Devin held Rosie at eye level. To be looking into Devin’s beautiful face, into her sparkling eyes and devilish smile, created a warm stir inside Rosie’s chest.
“I’m afraid Devin,” she said. “What if it doesn’t work?”
“It’ll work,” Devin ran a knuckle under Rosie’s chin. “Quick, do it before the sun comes up.” She planted a kiss on Rosie’s forehead and placed Rosie back on the ground.
“Yeah, hurry up and change back so you can change us before the sun rises,” Naomi’s voice came from the nun doll.
“Okay,” Rosie said, “Ria, give me something you want.”
Ria bent forward and popped a contact lens from one of her eyes.
“I always wanted to get rid of those stupid glasses. The contacts were wonderful.” Tenderly, she placed the lens in the palm of Rosie’s small, doll hand, and curled Rosie’s fingers around it.
Ria then bent down and tenderly picked Naomi up. She hugged her and said, “Go ahead. I’m ready.”
Rosie closed her eyes.
“Chagga zee. Morang witchaba
k. Nosquito Witchabak. Mozzubee bahaba bangoo. Dooha. I command a reverse Rosie and Ria!”
52
Feeling like my old self again
The world spun. Rosie had no idea what was up or down. Every nerve, muscle in her body tingled. It felt like they were being stretched. She was light-headed and nauseous. As if her brain had been pulled through time and space. She didn’t know where she was or who she was. She kept her eyes tightly shut.
“Rosie?” Devin’s voice was nearby.
Rosie cracked one eye open.
The first thing she noticed was her perspective on the world. Instead of seeing things from two feet from the ground, she viewed the world from five feet, six inches. She opened the second eye. The second thing she saw was Devin. Devin stood before her. They looked at each other, eye-to-eye.
Rosie looked down. She was hugging Naomi, the nun. She put the doll on the ground. Naomi sprinted to embrace Ria.
Rosie’s palms went to her own face and felt it.
It’s my face. My own face!
She felt her chest, her stomach, her shoulders, and hugged herself.
Mine. All mine! I’m back in my body! I did it!
She opened her mouth to speak.
“Devin.”
Devin’s body slammed into Rosie’s, and they embraced.
“I told you! I promised I’d get us back into our own bodies. I told you, I never break a promise.”
Devin’s grip around Rosie was so tight, Rosie felt she might be strangled, but she didn’t mind. The warmth of her own body, and that of Devin’s pressed against hers, were heavenly. The softness of their skin was amazing. She touched Devin’s arms, stroked her cheek, ran her fingers through her hair. Never again would she take being alive, being human for granted.