by Julian Cheek
And then, as if a dim light came on, illuminating his last vestiges of reason and wisdom, he looked one more up at Sam and garbled, “Sam, chosen one. It would appear that even here in your reality, the people of Maunga-Atua die!” And with that, the sight left his eyes and he collapsed in a heap before Sam.
Sam screamed like never before. He screamed the scream of someone with nowhere else to go. He screamed with pure unadulterated loss at all that had tried to flood him with guilt, depression and self-loathing. How could I have witnessed an impossibility? he thought, amidst the chaos in his mind.
A reassuring hand came and rested on his shoulder and he turned back to see who it was. “Alice?” he cried out in loss. “What are you doing here?” Tears streamed down his face as the events of his last weeks came crashing into his world, shattering so many walls he had built, he was afraid they would never be able to be built back up again.
Alice looked at him briefly once more, her eyes blazing their iridescent purple. Compassion and love poured out of her. Then her eyes slipped off his and gazed off into the distance, looking at something. Sam turned to see two other figures approach him. Slowly, carefully. Fearful. T’rui and Gasha had come running as soon as they had heard their colleague cry out. For them, they had been equally shocked at what happened to this world as they interacted with it. Destruction and what seemed like disease did not occur like this in Maunga-Atua. Here, however, their very passing seemed to affect the very fabric of this place, causing destruction the longer they stayed there.
They came running round a street corner just in time to see their closest friend, Akana, fold into himself, gripping the person who stood in front of them, until he disappeared into a mess on the floor. The remaining man appeared to be unharmed. Their confusion turned to some joy as they too recognised who stood before them and they started to walk towards him, not quite sure what had befallen their comrade, but determined to get Sam to respond.
Their approach was halted as their eyes fell on the one who stood behind Sam. T’rui cried out. “Aronui! Aronui, we are unworthy.” They both stopped instantly as they saw this creature, who myth had painted and their emotions had adorned with too many baubles. Here she now stood. Looking at them. Eyes ablaze and hair electrically charged and weaving in the still atmosphere. They had seen an Anahim! They had witnessed what no one should witness and they had found Sam. What a tale this would be in the telling, once they returned.
“Go!” Alice said quietly to Sam, pulling him behind her. “Go and be what you were meant to be and save that which must be saved. Even now, your world is being destroyed and you have no choice but to act, and act now.”
Without further words, she shoved Sam backwards and took his place, looking at the two who stood before her, daring them to approach further.
Sam ran! He ran back into and through the town, oblivious as to who might be watching him. He ran, almost sub-consciously up the winding road that took him to Blacknest Hill until, exhausted and panting for breath, he reached the very top and stopped.
Silence.
Quiet.
Peace.
Like a soothing balm, the space caressed him with its atmosphere. It gave him an immediate sensation that all his troubles and woes really counted for nothing when you saw the bigger picture. And here it was in front of him. Clouds moving lazily in the afternoon sky. Fields waving slowly in the breeze. The town below seemingly unaffected by what had just transpired.
The bigger picture, he thought.
No longer was there any doubt as to the existence of Maunga-Atua. The man dissolving in front of him put paid to that! In fact, he thought, he somehow knew that Maunga-Atua was real. He just did not want to believe it. He reminded himself, “Sam, you didn’t want to believe that David had died and yet you know he did. It doesn’t really matter whether you chose to believe it or not, it still happened.”
His thoughts moved onto the other “happenings” that occurred around him, and a moment of pure Eureka-ness burst on in his world. It didn’t matter whether he believed anything or not. It was still going to happen. With or without him.
He reached a decision. It was easy now that he had got some perspective.
Sam’s eyes fell on the beacon of rocks, built decades ago by the cartographers of the county at the time. It stood dead centre of a clearing, indicating the highest point on the hill. It stood as a sentinal for whomever wished to visit here. It had a purpose regardless as to who knew it. Only it, this mound of crudely constructed rocks, could be the sentinal for this place. And whether you liked it or not, it simply was. And it did its job perfectly.
Somehow, standing here, this crude rocky totem seemed an appropriate place for Sam.
Looking around to make sure that none disturbed him, he moved to the beacon and sat down in the lee of it, looking out for a moment towards the fields in the distance, the clouds, the birds. He had no answers, but, like water in a raging torrent, he was willing to be carried now and trust the moulders to mould him for this much much bigger picture.
Sam looked out into his world and slowly fell asleep.
The end of book one.
About the Author
Julian Cheek is an Architect by profession and lives with his partner in Hampshire, UK.
His childhood years were spent in Southern Africa where his parents worked when he was just a young boy. Growing up in a land rich in character and beauty, his free time was often spent playing in the fields and streams around his neighbourhood.
Being a typical innocent young boy, Julian had friends from many cultures, creeds and colour. The fact that people were different was no more or less important than whether it rained or not. The main point was that people were people and friends were made regardless of status or caste. It is this important element that the author wishes to highlight in his stories, some based on actual events. That a friend is a friend! No matter what he or she believes in, stands for or looks like. A friend is someone who is there for you through thick and thin, and obviously, someone who you feel totally at ease with.
It is this ethos that he carries with him in his family and professional life as well. Everyone is equal and everyone has a contribution to make to this place we live in.
Copyright
Published by Clink Street Publishing 2018
Copyright © 2018
First edition.
The author asserts the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior consent of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that with which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
ISBNs: 978–1–912562–19–0 paperback
978–1–912562–20–6 ebook