by Karen Badger
“I believe we will see her again, Frankie,” Leilani said. Leilani placed a hand flat on Spencer’s stomach. “Please join me,” she said to the others.
Leilani patiently waited while both Frankie and Makenna placed their hands atop hers. She closed her eyes. “The four of us are ohana, not because we share blood, but because we share a common sense of love and compassion. The ties that bind ohana cannot be broken by death. Our oversouls will touch one another again and again through the ages. It carries with it, all the memories from all our lifetimes. It is what allows us to recognize one another through countless lives. Goddess Pele, we call on you to protect our sister, Spencer and to grant her safe passage into her next life.”
Leilani opened her eyes. “We will keep you in our hearts, Spencer, until we have the opportunity to be together again. Aloha, my sister.”
Before long, each woman tired. They lay on the deck beside their friend and drifted off to sleep.
Frankie stood securely wrapped in Leilani’s arms as they watched Spencer’s body slide off the incline and into the ocean. Tears ran down both their faces and they said their final goodbyes to their friend.
Makenna stood at the railing, her knuckles white with the intensity of her grip. She kept her back to the others to hide her sorrow. She watched Spencer’s body slide beneath the water and then closed her eyes and silently called on her aumakua to see her safely home. “Safe travels my love...until we meet again.”
Chapter 28
Spencer felt like she was floating. Beneath her was total darkness. She rolled onto her back and was met with a brilliant light that appeared to be shining through a layer of water.
Where am I?
Held buoyant by her red life vest, Spencer floated along for quite some time. Sometimes her surroundings grew cold, and sometimes warm.
What has happened to me?
Spencer couldn’t move her extremities. She was able to do little more than succumb to the movement of the water around her. After a time, she drifted off, only to awaken to the sun setting above her. The beauty of the sky ablaze in red and orange brought tears to her eyes.
This is so peaceful.
A sudden movement to her right caught her attention. She fought the water splashing into her face to see what was coming toward her. Soon, a shape emerged through the waves. It was a fin extending above the water.
Spencer couldn’t look away, noting the fin growing larger as it approached. She felt a sense of excitement at the prospect that she was no longer alone. Oddly, she felt no fear.
Come closer.
Before long, she felt something bump her side. She tried to touch her new companion, but her arms would not obey. She tried to speak, but no sound came from her throat. She was caught in suspended animation. All she could do was watch.
Her companion swam under her until its fin gently made contact with her side. It pushed her along through the water, for several yards and then submerged and circled around again. It did this more times than Spencer could count.
Where are you taking me?
Before long, the sun set behind the horizon and the day turned to dusk, but still, her companion persisted. After a time, her companion suddenly stopped and surfaced close to her face. It hovered there for several moments, watching her. She looked into the one eye she could see and understood at that moment that it was sent to keep her safe.
Thank you my friend.
A sense of loneliness descended on her as her companion submerged for one final time and swam away. All alone again, she looked around in the bright light of the crescent moon and noticed the shore was but a few short feet away.
Thank you for seeing me safely home, aumakua.
***
Please come back to me, my love.
Spencer rolled her head to one side. She was aware of a distant voice talking to her.
I love you sweetheart.
Spencer frowned.
I miss seeing your beautiful green eyes. Spence, please open them for me.
Spencer’s eyes flew open. She blinked a couple of times to focus her vision. There above her was a beautiful Hawai’ian woman with long dark hair and brown eyes. The woman was smiling broadly at her as tears rolled down her face.
“I have missed you so much, koʻu aloha. Welcome back.” Makaya lowered her face to Spencer’s and kissed her tenderly.
Spencer felt a jolting surge of desire with an intensity that took her by surprise. All Spencer could do was stare at her. Tears formed in pools at the corners of Spencer’s eyes and spilled into her ears.
Makaya wiped away her tears and then cupped Spencer’s face between her palms. “I see so much fear in your eyes, my love. Please don’t worry. I will be here for you, no matter how long it takes.”
Spencer felt tears well again and they spilled out onto her cheeks. Whoever this woman was, Spencer felt safe with her.
“Please don’t cry, Spencer. Things will get better. I promise.”
The woman wiped the tears from her eyes once more and then sat up. It was then that Spencer noticed something familiar. This woman had a crescent moon tattoo on her left breast, with a trail of stars that disappeared into her blouse. A phrase ran through Spencer’s mind: I am over the crescent moon in love with you.
Spencer allowed an overwhelming feeling of love to fill her chest. She found it difficult to breathe, and she closed her eyes in an attempt to regain her composure. When she opened them again, suddenly, everything was clear.
“Makaya?” Spencer’s voice was raspy and faint.
Makaya picked up Spencer’s hand and placed it on her own cheek. “Yes, my love. You don’t know how happy it makes me that you know who I am. I was so afraid you would be lost to me forever.”
Spencer wept. “I love you, Mak.”
“I love you too, Spence.”
“W...where am I?” Spencer asked.
Makaya continued to hold Spencer’s hand. “You’re in the hospital on the island of O’ahu.”
“What happened?”
“You were involved in a boating accident, love.”
“I wasn’t shot in the head?”
Makaya abruptly sat back. Her eyes opened wide. “For the love of Pele, why would you think that?”
Spencer became agitated. “We were on a pirate ship. We looted the treasury and while we were escaping, I got into a sword fight with you, and your first mate shot me.”
Makaya placed both hands on Spencer’s shoulders. “Sweetheart, there haven’t been any pirates in Hawai’i since...since...”
“Since eighteen eighty-four,” Spencer supplied.
“Yes, since eighteen eighty-four when the treasury was robbed and the economy of Hawai’i collapsed because of it.”
“I was there, Mak. I was part of the raid, and you were too!”
“I was not...and neither were you. Spencer, you’ve been lying in this hospital bed in a coma for nearly six weeks.”
“My body may have been here, but my soul was in eighteen eighty-four. I swear I was there, Mak. I swear it. And you were too. In fact, you were captain of a pirate ship.”
“Spencer, do you hear yourself? I was a pirate? Really?”
“Yes, and I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. It was you, Mak. I could never feel this way about anyone else. It was you.”
“So, how is our patient today?”
Spencer’s attention was suddenly drawn to the doorway where the doctor had just come into the room. “Frankie!”
The doctor’s head snapped up. “You’re awake! That’s marvelous!”
Makaya abruptly stood up from the side of the bed where she’d been sitting. “Wait a minute. Spencer, how do you know Doctor Wetmore’s name when you’ve been in a coma this whole time?”
“I just know it. She was there too, and so was her partner, Leilani. Leilani helped to plan the raid.”
Makaya walked a few feet away and then turned to face Spencer once more. Worry was clearly etched onto her brow.
; “What am I missing here?” Dr. Wetmore asked.
“Spencer insists she traveled back to eighteen eighty-four and participated in a pirate raid, and apparently all of us were there as well...me, you, and Leilani.”
A tall native woman who was passing by Spencer’s door, abruptly stopped and looked in. “Did I just hear my name?”
“As a matter of fact, you did. Please come in,” Dr. Wetmore said. “Spencer, this is...”
“Leilani Kanhanamoku. We’ve met,” Spencer said.
Leilani looked confused. “It’s true that as your case worker, I’ve stopped by to see you several times, but you’ve always been comatose. How is it you think you know me?”
“You were involved in the eighteen eighty-four raid on Honolulu. I was there with you,” Spencer explained.
Leilani grinned. “You got one thing right...I do have an ancestor with the same name who helped plan that raid, but it surely wasn’t me.”
“But you look just like her. You and Frankie were partners. I lived with you while I was recovering. Your father was the chief of Kauai.”
“One of my great grandfathers was the chief of Kauai. That is true. But again, it wasn’t me. Heck, I’d be, what...one hundred sixty years old?”
Spencer struggled to raise her hands to her head. “I feel like I’m losing my mind.”
Dr. Wetmore approached the bed and sat on the edge of it, facing Spencer. She extended her hands, palm up, to Spencer. “Give me your hands,” she said.
Spencer haltingly lowered her hands and after two attempts, settled them in Dr. Wetmore’s palms. “Not too bad. Now that you’re awake, we’ll need to add physical therapy to your daily routine. And while we’re at it, we’ll do a full psychological workup as well.”
“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?” Spencer asked.
“You sustained a pretty bad head injury when the water ski hit you. There is a mild amount of brain damage in that area. It would not be uncommon for there to be memory loss, or delusional fabrications, but I have confidence that the other parts of your brain will compensate and you’ll make a full recovery.”
“I am not delusional,” Spencer insisted. “Leilani thought the same thing when I woke up in eighteen eighty-four and told them it was two thousand nineteen. If there’s one thing I know for sure, I’m not delusional.”
Dr. Wetmore reached for Spencer’s chart on the wall near the door and recorded a few notes. “We’ll schedule a full workup for you during the next day or two, but until then, feel free to push yourself physically.”
Dr. Wetmore turned to leave, but stopped short and returned to Spencer’s bedside. She leaned in close as if to examine her more closely, and whispered in Spencer’s ear, “By the way, thank you for finally using my first name. The ‘Doc’ thing was getting old.” She leaned back, winked at Spencer, and then left the room.
Epilogue
Frankie pushed the door open to her home and carried the groceries, through the entry way and into the kitchen
“Hey love, let me help you with those.” Leilani met her halfway across the kitchen and took some of the bags from her.
“Thank you, Lei.”
“How did the rest of your day go?” Lei asked.
“You mean, after Spencer woke up? Other than all the documents I needed to process on her, it went well. Now that’s she’s awake, the real fun begins.”
Frankie put her bags on the countertop and then walked into the circle of Leilani’s arms for a warm embrace. “Hmm, this feels good.”
“That was a close call today in Spencer’s room.”
“Yes it was. I didn’t expect her to remember the details so vividly after a head injury.”
“I guess we made quite an impression on her,” Lei remarked. “If you recall, she referred to us as her family when she was so angry with Makenna for disrespecting me after the raid.”
“I feel bad for lying to her all those weeks.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was so adamant about not believing she was from the future.”
“Yeah, but at the time, you weren’t aware that you were also from the future. You know as well as I do that our missions are subconsciously planted in our minds. We were as unaware of what was going to happen as Spencer was. It isn’t until we returned to the present that we realized why we were there.”
“I know, but it doesn’t feel good now. She kind of grew on me when we were together, you know?”
“One thing I struggle with, Frankie, is about why there is so much secrecy around these missions. I mean, I understand not letting our subjects know what’s going on, but why keep it secret from even us? As far as we knew, we were from the year eighteen eighty-four. Why do they use our subconscious minds to execute the plans?”
“I asked that question once. What I was told is that any time someone jumps into the past, their presence changes the space-time continuum. By doing it through our subconscious minds, they believe the impact will be minimal because we are programmed to focus on specific tasks rather than affecting random things that might change the future in a more global way.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Leilani said.
“Let me give you an example. Our mission this time was to assure the raid was successful without casualties. When the raid originally took place, many people were killed, including individuals who had the potential of benefitting our government. Our mission was not to stop the raid, or to broaden the scope of the raid...it was only to prevent people from dying. As you know, we were successful on that front—primarily thanks to Spencer. If Gibson had succeeded in killing Makenna, the outcome of the raid would have been different, and we would have failed in our mission.”
“So, when we jump into the past, it has to be into the body of an ancestor, right?”
“Yes. That is correct,” Frankie replied. “The ability to control the physical being our souls occupy when we jump is easiest when we share a bond with that person...specifically if that person is family.”
“So, how is it that all our ancestors happened to be in the same place at the same time? I mean, the Leilani in eighteen eighty-four, was the chief’s daughter, and Frankie in eighteen eighty-four was his doctor.”
“And Makenna, who is Makaya’s ancestor, was a pirate,” Frankie added.
“What about Spencer? How did she end up in the middle of all of this?”
“I’ve been giving that some thought, and the only answer I can come up with, is that we are connected by the concept of ohana...our sense of family.”
Lei shook her head as though to clear the confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“Here’s what I think, Lei. When we were sent back on our mission, it was done under chemically induced comas and controlled conditions. That allowed the government to choose where and when we landed. Spencer, on the other hand, arrived on the scene because of a coma induced naturally through her boating accident. There were no controlled circumstances. There was no one directing where and when she would land. There was no programming of her subconscious mind. She knew she was from the future because that information wasn’t programmed out of her like it was us. When she jumped, I don’t think that’s a coincidence that she landed with us. Just like it’s not a coincidence that the four of us were in the same place today in Spencer’s hospital room.”
Leilani’s eyes opened wide. “I am beginning to understand. On the ship, when Spencer died...we had the ceremony. I remember it word for word. The four of us are ohana, not because we share blood, but because we share a common sense of love and compassion. The ties that bind ohana cannot be broken by death. Our oversouls will touch one another again and again through the ages. It carries with it, all the memories from all our lifetimes. It is what allows us to recognize one another through countless lives.”
“Exactly,” Frankie said. “When Spencer had her accident in two thousand nineteen, she almost died. While she was hovering between life and death, her oversoul sought out ohana, and it found
all three of us in eighteen eighty-four. Our oversouls are destined to meet again and again throughout time. It is possible that eighteen eighty-four was the last time the four of us were together in the same place.”
“So, what happens now?” Leilani asked.
“Right now, I’m going to make myself a coffee. Can I get one for you?” she asked.
“Yes, please.”
Frankie opened the coffee maker and inserted a pod as she spoke. “As to what happens next…I have an update briefing with the company tomorrow to discuss Spencer’s condition and to plan a covert interrogation. That is why I recommended a full psychological workup on her. I think we can learn a lot from her spontaneous jump experience...and of course, I want to make sure she gets the best care possible on the road to a full recovery.”
“What did you think about Makaya?” Leilani asked.
“When I first saw her, I understood why Spencer thought she and Makenna were the same person. What freaks me out though, is that they do both have the same tattoo in the same exact location on their bodies,” Frankie said.
“In the Hawai’ian culture, ancestral family is one of the most important parts of a person’s history. It is not uncommon for traditions to be passed down from generation to generation—including tattoos. My mother had the same tattoo my grandmother had,” Leilani said.
“But yet, you are a blank canvas,” Frankie said.
“For now, anyway. Maybe someday I will carry on the tradition.”
Frankie handed a mug of coffee to Leilani and then picked hers up from the countertop. She held it high before her in an invitation to toast. Leilani raised her own cup and they clinked the rims.
“To ohana,” Frankie said. “May we always be together through countless lifetimes.”
THE END
Photo Credit: Song of Myself Photography
See Karen’s author page at www.karendbadger.com
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