The Cornelius Saga Boxed Set

by Tanya R. Taylor

  She walked the pathway to her husband’s grave with a heavy heart, desperately needing to be near to what remained of his physical body, and to just pour out her heart to him. After all, it was their little girl who was suffering.

  She knelt beside the grave and with her hand, swept away the dust and debris that had covered his tombstone, then gently rested the flowers in front of it. For a while, she only sat there reminiscing on the life they shared together and the times when Wade and Mira were little children playing in the yard and even “bat and ball”, as they called it, in the street in front of the house with the neighbors’ kids. She remembered the good times and the not-so-good times – all with a grateful heart that, in spite of everything, they made it through, and their later years were much better than the previous ones. Her eyes were filled with tears as scenes of when Mira was a baby flashed through her mind – even the day she was born – how proud they were that they now had a daughter. They were special memories – something that could never be taken away from her and Michael, the love of her life.

  “Remember those precious moments, Michael. Oh, how I wish you were here right now!” she cried. “There’s no way I can do this on my own. I must be a bad mother to even entertain the thought of stopping Wade from coming to see his own sister because I’m afraid I’d be giving up and she would… die! I don’t know what else to do. All I know is I need you and I miss you so much!”

  Sara spent two full hours at her beloved’s grave before finding the strength to leave.

  * * * *

  The room was much colder than usual. In fact, it was freezing. Lying there without use of her physical limbs felt more than weird. She wondered why she couldn’t move and why her eyes would not open. Each time her mother and Rosie came by, she could clearly see and hear them, but not the usual way. Most times, when they left, she even followed them to the main entrance and blew a kiss as they sadly headed off. She knew it was tremendously difficult for them, but it was for her too. Yet, despite all of that, she knew she was lucky to at least be mobile in a spiritual way. The thought of being stuck in that bed both physically and spiritually was inconceivable, yet there were others in that hospital who were exactly like that – immobile in every way. Some could not see or hear. They were completely trapped in a body which barely clung to life.

  The freezing temperature of the room was soon accompanied by the man on a mission. This was the moment she dreaded. He had now shown up at her bedside and Mira was staring him in the face. Those eyes of his, though dark, glistened as if they were made of water. She was determined it was not her time. She would not be leaving and he would not be the one to take her when that final moment arrived. Against her will, she felt her body elevating to a seated position, and the feeling of angst intensified as he stretched out his arm toward her. In a flash, she felt herself crash through him and she medically flatlined. Suddenly, she was near the ceiling, then up through it she went and outside she hovered above the hospital, watching the wandering souls below who encircled and walked through and through the building. She knew many of them had made the hospital compound their home or their prison for decades. She felt herself rising even more quickly than before and before she knew it, she was standing at least fifty feet in front of the most beautiful pair of golden gates she had ever seen. They were sparkling, and gigantic. Behind them appeared to be a beautiful city, but from the distance she stood at, she could not see very far. Then in front of the left gate, she noticed a man standing there. His face was glowing, and he was looking in her direction. Then he smiled and she immediately recognized him.

  “Dad, is that you?” she asked with every fiber of her being, hoping she was right.

  He opened his arms and she ran as fast as she could towards him. In a moment, she felt what she had longed to feel in all the years he had been gone. His warm, loving embrace was exhilarating and she never wanted to let go.

  He looked into her eyes and caressed her cheek. “How’s my favorite daughter?”

  Mira smiled widely. “Dad, I’m your only daughter!”

  They both laughed heartily. The length of time they had been separated now seemed insignificant. “I never want to leave you, Dad.”

  “I want you to know that I love you, Mira,” he said, “and I always have – even when I didn’t know how to say it. And I want you to forgive me.”

  “For what?” Mira was perplexed.

  “For not being able to protect you from what happened on that highway.”

  “It’s okay, Dad.” She sought to assure him.

  “You don’t understand. It was all in the plan,” Michael continued. “You were supposed to be there at that precise moment in time – not for the sake of suffering, but it was one link in a chain of events that will lead to a better future for you. You don’t see it now, but you will later.”

  “You’re right. I don’t understand and right now, I don’t want to,” Mira said. “I’m here with you and that’s all that matters.”

  “You’re not here to stay, honey. You have to go back. Rosie and Sara need you and so does that special person in your life.”

  Mira grimaced. “Who are you talking about, Dad?”

  “You know – that guy you told not to contact you while he’s away because you wanted him to concentrate on what he went there for in the first place. That guy who never tells you ‘no’ regardless of how much it kills him.”

  Mira formed a guilty smile.

  “By the way, there are some people here who’d like to see you.”

  “Me?”

  “Is there someone else here I’m speaking with?” Michael looked around with loving sarcasm written over his face.

  He led her by the hand and they walked past the gates into a place that seemed magical. She saw the awe-inspiring landscapes stretched far beyond the horizon, with flowers that softly sang and daintily danced. They seemed… alive. The streams were glistening beautifully under the cloudless skies and the wide pavement they stepped on was comprised of perfectly and evenly carved blocks of golden bars, skillfully attached to each other. The air was clean and held the scent of fresh flowers, and structures located throughout were of the most beautiful architectural designs one could imagine. Everyone they passed were genuinely friendly. All of their faces glowed, just like Michael’s, but each in his own unique, mysterious way.

  Michael and Mira approached an amazing waterfall filled with an array of colors that were more luminous than those she’d seen on earth. In fact, the colors she’d always known were paler versions of these she was now looking at with her spiritual eyes and she was blown away by their radiance. Two people stood near the waterfall – a man and an extremely beautiful woman. They both appeared to be in their late twenties. She recognized them both right away as they understandably, hadn’t aged at all. It was Karlen Key and Andy, the love of Karlen’s life. Andy was as handsome as she remembered him being the day he and Karlen were united in the former plantation house when Mira was just thirteen-years-old. It was their love and unwavering commitment to each other even in death that had silently shaped Mira’s own life. Their relationship was the “yard stick” by which she measured any potential romantic relationship in her life and even the relationships of others.

  Karlen and Andy quickly approached Mira and they each embraced her.

  “My! You are absolutely gorgeous, Mira!” Karlen exclaimed.

  “And so are you.” Mira smiled.

  “I want you to meet Andy. You do remember him, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do.” Mira nodded.

  “You were so young then,” Andy said. “You’ve surely grown into a lovely young lady. I know we look practically the same age as you do, but as you can imagine...” he glanced at Karlen, “...we’re much older.”

  “Yes, I know and thank you.”

  “They wanted to speak with you about something really important,” Michael told her.

  “Can we sit down?” Karlen asked.

  Behind them was a bench
made of solid wood which appeared to have been designed for royalty.

  She sat down with Mira as the men continued standing. Karlen turned to Mira and gently placed her hand in hers. “I watched you blossom as each earthly year went by and was so proud to have played a key role in your life. But Mira, it’s now time that I tell you that because of our affiliation, you’ve taken on the wrong perception of what an ideal romantic relationship is and because of that, you’ve set the bar too high, not only for yourself, but for others.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Birds were chirping around them. They seemed to be singing the same melody. The sound was harmonious and soothing to the senses.

  “When someone is brought into your life, it’s important that you recognize their purpose and the role they are sent to play,” Karlen went on. “You’ve based what you want in a relationship on what Andy and I have. The way you’ve chosen to see us makes us appear as though we were not human. We’ve had our share of troubles while we were there; we’ve had arguments that were so bad, it’s a miracle, we not only loved, but still liked each other in the end. You didn’t see all of that, Mira. You only saw some things. Real relationships are not ‘perfect’. Ours was never perfect, but what mattered was that we loved each other genuinely.” She patted Mira’s hand. “That’s what you should aim for – a genuine love that doesn’t have to be perfect. That type of love will stand the test of time. You must let down your guard and give that one true love a chance. You understand?” Karlen seemed to search for the answer in Mira’s eyes.

  “I’m afraid,” Mira admitted.

  “I know. And you will get hurt because that’s the way life is. But you both will get through it and life will go on.”

  Mira was listening intently and Karlen had, in so many words, repeated what Sara had once told her before Michael died.

  “But why is this so important?” Mira probed. “It isn’t that important to me.”

  “But it is!” Andy chimed in. “You just haven’t allowed yourself to ‘feel’ in that way. We hope when you go back, that will change.”

  Karlen stood up in her long, white, elegant gown that fell loosely to her ankles. She extended a hand to Mira. “We’ll be with you every step of the way.”

  “Until we see you again – here, with us,” Andy said.

  Michael was smiling. “It’s time to go back, honey, and continue your work.”

  Although Mira loved Rosie more than anything else, she couldn’t help feeling like she wanted to stay there with them.

  Reading her mind, Karlen said: “It’s okay to feel that way. Everyone feels that way when they get here. It doesn’t mean you love her any less.” She leaned in and kissed Mira on both cheeks, then Michael led her back to the gates.

  Outside again, Michael took his daughter’s hand and kissed it, then let it go. In an instant, she was traveling backwards through space and time with amazing speed, and then there was a thump. She was back inside her body. She still could not open her eyes or move her limbs, and she watched as the doctors and nurses scrambled to get a heartbeat, which came moments later.

  7

  _________________

  “Hey, Pumpkin. How was school today?” Sara tried her best to seem cheerful.

  Rosie had just hopped in the car. She didn’t look happy. “Fine,” she replied.

  Sara pulled off and they headed down the street.

  “Any homework today?”

  “A little.” Rosie looked at her grandmother. “Does Bobby know about Mom?”

  That question took Sara by surprise. “No, not yet, honey.”

  “Aren’t you gonna tell him?”

  “Yes,” Sara replied. “I’ll call him tonight. Since he’s away on that job training course, I didn’t want him to be worried.”

  “I understand, Nana.” Rosie could sense she wasn’t feeling well. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine!” Sara tried to perk up again. “I paid your grandfather a visit today. Actually, I just left the cemetery.”

  “He’s not there, Nana!” Rosie remarked, almost sarcastically.

  Sara knew where she was coming from. Nevertheless, she replied, “To me, a part of him is.”

  After dinner, they watched a comedy show together in the living room. Although it was well after six o’clock in the afternoon, the sun was still out and fresh, cool air seeped in through the screen door. Rosie was sitting on the floor in front of the television and Sara was lying on the couch in her favorite house dress.

  The phone rang and Rosie sprung up to answer it. Sara’s heart started pounding, as each call, in her mind, could bring either news of Mira’s recovery or that of her demise.

  “It’s Uncle Wade!” Rosie exclaimed before handing the phone to Sara.

  Sara breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  “Hi, honey. How is everything?” she asked Wade.

  “She’s still the same,” she went on, moments later.

  As Rosie watched TV, she paid more attention to the telephone conversation.

  “Honey, I was thinking... I’ve arrived at the conclusion that I must have been very selfish asking you to do what we discussed earlier on...” She was careful not to make that conversation clear to Rosie as she knew she was listening. “I think it’s time you came.”

  “Are you sure, Mom?” Wade asked. “Does this mean you’ve given up?”

  “It means nothing of the sort. I’m just looking at it a different way now and not allowing fear to control me any longer.” She spoke almost in a whisper.

  Wade was relieved. “I have to perform a procedure tomorrow, so I’ll make arrangements to come home the following day. I’m glad you see things in a different light, Mom.”

  “Me too,” she replied.

  “Are you going to call Bobby now?” Rosie asked after Sara ended the call with Wade.

  “I’ll call later on tonight. He only has a week left in Maryland, so he’d probably finish off before coming home anyway.”

  Just then, they heard the screech of the screen door and a large, burly man wearing a bandanna ran inside the house. He was wearing a navy tank top and faded blue jeans, and he was dripping sweat as if he had been running for miles.

  Sara sprung up. “Who the hell are you? Get outta my house!”

  He pulled a blade from his back pocket. “Lady, I’m in no damn mood to be ordered around! Get on the floor! Both of you!”

  Stunned, Sara reached for Rosie and pulled her near. “Let’s just do what he says, honey, and he’ll leave,” she said.

  Rosie hurried to the floor and they lay on their stomachs.

  Sara could not see what he was doing, but he scrambled around as if in a panic. “Mister, I don’t know what it is you want, but please take whatever is here and go. We don’t want any trouble,” she said.

  “Shut up, before I slice that throat of yours and shut you up forever!”

  Rosie winced at the threat.

  They heard him twist the lock on the screen door, then close the main door behind it.

  “Get up here!” He demanded.

  Sara and Rosie sat on the couch, as he instructed.

  “I need to hide-out for a few days, then I’ll be on my merry way, ya hear?”

  “You mean… you want to stay here?” Sara reluctantly asked.

  “Where else, hoe!” He threw his hands into the air; still holding the blade. “You have a husband?”

  Sara was unsure of how to respond. “He’s passed on,” she finally said.

  “Uh huh. Well, that works out for me just fine.” He smiled. “Now, I need to know where your rope at?”

  “Rope? I don’t have any rope.”

  “You better find some, lady. And I ain’t playin’.”

  This was beginning to feel like a bad dream to Sara. “Look, Mister, I don’t know who you are or why you need to hide out, like you say, but I have a daughter who’s fighting for her life in the hospital and I don’t need this. Whatever it is you’d like to take, you can take it a
nd be on your way. You can’t stay here.”

  He rushed over and grabbed her by the neck. Rosie screamed.

  “That mouth of yours gonna get you and this li’l girl killed. I ain’t warnin’ you no more. Do as I say or I’ll cut your throat from ear to ear, right here and now.”

  She put up both of her hands in surrender.

  “Now... that rope I asked you for.”

  Just then, the phone rang and Sara’s heart sank.

  “I have to get that,” she said.