“I never believed in God. Perhaps that’s why I was punished because I know there are a hell of a lot of murderers that get into Heaven. Perhaps they repented or whatever, but I never got the chance. Where was God, if he exists, at any time in my life? I made my way by myself. I took care of myself, since no one else was going to do it, and I never hurt anyone but myself along the way, so why should believing in a God have any bearing on anything?”
“I mean, shit! Hell was a holiday after the life I was given.” She paused. I saw her hang her head. She’d stopped crying, and I got the feeling she was choosing her next words carefully. “Be that as it may, I’ve come here tonight to ask you, to beg you, to reconsider my fate. Any crime I’ve committed, I’m certain I paid for while I was on earth. I was paying for it long before I even committed it.”
“I’m not asking you for forgiveness. I’m not asking for mercy. That won’t help me now. I ask for understanding. All of you on this council are obviously wise, intelligent beings. I appeal to that part of you, to understand my situation and to overturn the initial judgement. That’s all.”
Rosamond bowed. I felt like applauding.
The twelve council members talked in quiet voices, listening and nodding as they debated the case before them. Only the ball of light at the centre remained still and silent. Finally, the spirits on either side of God’s representative leaned in close and whispered their decisions. For a nerve-racking minute there was silence. Finally, the light spoke, in a booming voice that reverberated through the entire clearing.
“Rosamond LeSeur, you have presented your case in a clear and concise fashion. I have listened to the findings of the council and I am in agreement. Looking back over your case I think the judgement you received was a little too harsh and as you have already served twelve years in Hell, I think we can rightfully release you.”
Rosamond squealed and clapped her hands. She was beaming when she turned around to face us.
“However, this does not mean you have admittance to Heaven.”
“Thank God,” I mumbled.
“It means you are free to roam as many spirits are. It means that once again you have no home. You can pass through Heaven or Hell, should you desire, but you are not bound to remain in Hell nor are you permitted to stay in Heaven.”
“Thank you,” she said giving a little jump. “Thank you all so very much.”
She hurried back to us, threw her arms around us both and kissed each of us in turn on the cheek.
“And thank you both for your part.” She squealed in my ear and set it ringing. “How fortuitous we met.” Then I heard her whisper into Reginald’s ear. “Do we have to hang around here or can we split?”
I laughed and hoped the answer would be yes.
Taking Reginald’s lead, we stood, bowed our heads respectfully towards the council members and walked from the clearing.
We hurried along the path, giggling and telling each other to shush until we came out into the grassy field on the other side.
Rosamond hugged us again.
“I feel like we should celebrate,” she said. “But alcohol is no good to us. Neither is cake.”
“We could go and scare some people,” said Reginald.
I couldn’t believe my ears. “Reginald, that’s not like you.”
“We all have our hidden side,” he replied with a sly smile.
“Okay then,” I said. “Let’s not wait a minute longer. You can show me how the experts do it.”
Rosalind squealed again. “Oh this is going to be a night to remember. It already is.”
Chapter 8
For several years afterwards, Rosamond, Reginald and I travelled the world together. We had only to think of a destination and our spirits would be there. Of course, it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. I had to concentrate. Reginald began by teaching me how to go from one room to another just by willing it. Once I had mastered that, he tested me over increasingly longer distances. I sent myself to the other side of the town we were staying in, and then to another town altogether.
Rosamond already knew the trick so she spent her time seducing weaker-willed spirits and flirting with those she had no hope of tempting. She especially liked working on more highly evolved souls. Her goal, as she explained it, wasn’t to couple with them, but to watch their resolve waver. To see the flickering expressions of temptation on their face before their concerted efforts to resist won over.
Reginald and I became lovers. What had begun as intimate friends turned into a wonderful love affair.
“It was fate,” Reginald had said. “Both dying at the same tree.”
But as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
As years turned into decades and an entire century passed, we found ourselves growing tired of everything. There wasn’t a country we hadn’t visited, an experience we hadn’t tried nor a haunting trick we hadn’t played.
“Haven’t we been here before?” asked Rosamond as we drifted down the Rue Joseph de Maistre, past the Cimetiere de Montmarte, in Pigalle, Paris. “I’m sure that tired old revolutionary over by the wall had me up against these same walls not ten years ago.”
“How should I know who you’ve had and who you haven’t had?” snapped Reginald. “I’d need a set of encyclopaedias to find that out!”
I closed my eyes and concentrated on blocking out their bickering. I was certain Reginald had never quite forgiven me for inviting Rosamond along with us.
Eventually Reginald and I drifted apart, too. Our passion faded and with it went the conversations, the cuddles on a cold night, and the knowing smiles we used to flash each other when no one else was looking.
We were wafting along a cobbled lane in old Jerusalem when Reginald stopped in his tracks.
“I can’t go on,” he said, his whole being slumping forward. “I’m tired of this.”
Rosamond and I looked at each other.
“Tired of what?” I asked.
Reginald sighed. “Of you. Of her.” He stuck his thumb out in Rosamond’s direction. “Of this aimless wandering. Of trying to find amusements. It’s a hollow existence and I’m so bored I could kill someone.”
Rosamond had a hand on her hip. Her nostrils were flaring.
“Well, no one’s asking you to stay. Go ahead and fuck off! Morgan and I can do quite nicely by ourselves.”
While initially offended, I couldn’t complain. I was feeling the same desire for something to change.
“The Sea of Light.”
The voice came from in front of us. All three of us looked down simultaneously. The spirit was barely there. His body appeared as no more than a wisp of smoke. His face was so gaunt that his eyes bulged from their sockets.
“Pardon?” I said.
“You can see me?” asked the spirit.
“Of course we can,” said Reginald. “Now what’s this about a Sea of Light?”
“I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation,” said the spirit, looking in our general direction, but not directly at us. “The time comes when we all welcome the Sea of Light. I am Hebel.”
“But what is it?” I asked.
“It is the source from whence all knowledge flows and the final destination of all knowledge.”
Reginald huffed and rolled his eyes. “That tells us very little, my friend.”
I glared at him.
“Is it Heaven?” I asked, leaning forward to better hear the frail voice.
Hebel cocked his head to one side. “No, it is not Heaven. All souls, even those in Paradise, eventually dissolve into the Sea of Light.”
Rosamond walked to the other side of the lane and leaned against the building—her way of saying she was bored, uninterested in the topic of conversation, or both.
“Where is the Sea of Light?” I asked.
“Yes, where is it? And what’s the fastest route?” Reginald was beginning to annoy me, like a mosquito in the night I just wanted to swat.
“I seem to recall that
the Sea of Light is everywhere,” Hebel replied.
“Pffft!” Reginald levitated until he was higher than the roof of the building before descending again.
“I know because I’ve been wanting to go for such a long time now.” Hebel raised a shaky hand and slowly scratched his scalp. “I wanted to go but I had nobody to help me.”
“This man is quite clearly out of his mind,” whispered Reginald.
I elbowed him, violently.
“Go on,” I said.
“Two or more spirits are needed to find the Sea of Light. It takes the intention and power of at least two.” Then suddenly he became more animated. “That’s it. With four of us, we could easily find it. If you’re certain it’s what you want. There’s no turning back.”
I stood up and looked at the others. “What do we want to do?”
Rosamond looked at Reginald and he looked at me.
“I want to go,” he said so quietly it could almost have been a whisper. “It’s time.”
I looked at Rosamond who averted her eyes.
“Rosamond?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s awfully…final.”
“That’s the point,” I said. “Aren’t we sick of each other and of travelling endlessly without purpose? Or is it that we’ve just had enough of everything?”
“What are you going to do?” she countered.
I looked at Reginald. “I’m going with him.”
Reginald looked at me with an expression I hadn’t seen for a long time. He walked up to me and kissed me passionately in front of Rosamond and Hebel. I wrapped my arms around him and the kiss became even more passionate.
“I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather be with,” Reginald said.
Rosamond looked close to tears, as close as a spirit could be. “Alright then,” she said hurrying across to join the hug. “I suppose I’ve done as much here as I can. And somehow, wandering the world without you guys, even you…” She winked at Reginald. “…wouldn’t be the same.”
She kissed Reginald on the cheek, which took us all by surprise.
“Okay,” I said turning to face Hebel. “We’re ready. What do we do?”
Hebel moved slowly towards us. “I can’t thank you enough for your kindness. Had it not been for you noticing me, I’d have faded away until no one could find me.”
He took his position opposite me and we all held hands, forming a circle.
“Are we ready?” asked Reginald.
Rosamond gave a single nod.
“Yes,” I said.
Already I could notice the brightness of our luminosity. I could even see Hebel in more detail, his spirit no more than a flesh-covered skeleton.
Slowly, we began moving to our left, like we playing a game of Ring-A-Rosy. Faster and faster we went until I felt something else take over. I felt laughter rising up in my stomach and when I looked at the others they were grinning, too. Then we started going even faster. The others became a blur and I could see a bright light forming at the centre of our ring. I watched it, golden and sparkling, spread out towards us.
Just before it reached me I felt an intense stab of sadness at the thought of never being able to see my beloved friends again. Then I watched my body dissolve into the light, but still I spun. My mind was flooded with images and words. I had the sudden feeling I knew everything there was to know, every secret the universe had. I recall thinking that as civilised and advanced as we thought we were on the earthly plane, we didn’t really know anything at all.
I remember thinking…
Prologue
Mr M sat in front of his laptop, listening to Kate Bush, and confronted by a blank screen.
“Come on,” he mumbled. “Come on. Come on. Come on.”
He touched his fingertips to the keys, hoping that by showing the universe he was ready to write that an idea would materialise in the form of words on the screen. Frustrated, he flopped back in the chair, staring out the window at a small bird building a nest in the tree outside. It was fascinating watching the little creature flying back and forth to its half-constructed home with bits of hair and fibre, weaving a sturdy dwelling for itself and its babies with its beak as its only tool.
“Come on,” he said one more time.
He closed his eyes and let the words of “Sat in Your Lap” take over his consciousness.
At some point the music seemed to fade, but Mr M was only partly aware of the fact. His consciousness was being filled by a light which was growing brighter and brighter. There were stars in this light and wisps of white swirling, barely visible, in the brightness.
He heard a voice. At first it sounded far away, but as it grew louder Mr M realised whoever it was he could hear was telling a story.
He called out with his consciousness. ::Hello::
There was no reply. The voice simply kept speaking, spilling out its story for anyone who could hear. Once Mr M realised what it was he was hearing, he leaned forward, placed his fingers on the keyboard of his laptop, and began typing.
My mother told me I was born on a night so dark and stormy that even the spirits dared not venture forth from their crypts. She added, with a tone of mild irritation, that getting to the hospital had been an obstacle course of fallen branches, stray rubbish bins, and scattered pieces of outdoor furniture.
“I thought I was giving birth to the Antichrist,” she said.
THE END
Unexpected Ending
Rob peered upwards through the windscreen. The sky looked nasty. Already the fallow fields had been painted white by the first snows. He’d missed the weather report that morning, but some of the guys in town had said something about a blizzard and by golly it looked as if they were right.
He pushed his foot a little harder against the accelerator. Feed and water the horses. Feed the chickens. Collect the eggs. He made a mental list of the chores that would have to get done the minute he got home because once the storm hit, there was no doing anything. Get some wood in. Thankfully he wouldn’t have to chop it. Rooster McGee and his sons did all that, and delivered it, too. It wasn’t cheap, but the crops had been good for the past couple of years and for once the bank account wasn’t as anaemic as it usually was.
He was approaching Reynolds Road, a dirt road that went right past his front gate, when he saw the figure of a man walking towards him along the side of the bitumen. Curious, he pulled off the main road and stopped the car, watching as the man got nearer and nearer.
The stranger had his head down against the growing winds. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to walk right into the SUV. Rob tooted the horn. The man looked up. He was handsome, rugged, and sported a thick moustache. Not too unusual for these parts, though still a sight he never got sick of seeing. He gestured for the man to come around the other side and get in.
“How’s it going, buddy?” he said as the man climbed into the passenger seat and threw his backpack onto the seat behind. “Not a good day to be out taking a stroll.”
“I know. Pretty crazy, huh?” The man held his gloved hand out. “Darren. But call me Duke.”
Rob shook Duke’s hand. “Where you headed?”
“Just into town,” said Duke, opening the top couple of buttons on his jacket. “Was going to drop in and see some family.”
Rob put the car into gear and headed down Reynolds Road.
“You got family in Amberville? Who?”
“The Masterson’s. Ellen’s my mum’s sister.”
“Yeah, Jim and Ellen. Know ‘em well. Good people. Listen, I gotta get back to the house before this storm hits. I can take you into town, but by the looks of things it probably won’t be until tomorrow. You can bunk down at my place, if you want. It’s no problem.”
Duke considered the offer. “I guess there’s no way I’m going to be able to walk it, is there? I mean before all hell breaks loose?”
Rob shook his head. “Definitely not.”
“Well, if you don’t mind.”
“Cour
se not. Glad of the company.”
“I thought I’d be able to make it in time,” said Duke. “I got off the bus at Lawson and thought I could hitch a ride, but you’re the first car I’ve seen since I left.”
“Folks are getting ready for the storm,” said Rob. “You haven’t got a car?”
“I had one, but I sold it. Sold everything so I could get out of the city. Had enough of the rat race and wanted to get away from it all. See what happened. See where life took me.”
Rob laughed. “Man, I admire that. Sometimes wish I could just up and leave. Been in this town my whole life, probably die here, too.”
Fifteen minutes later, they came to a beaten up mail box sticking up through a clump of dead weeds. “This is us.”
Duke was about to say something when his mobile phone rang. He took it out of his jacket pocket.
“It’s Ellen,” he said. “Just a minute.”
While Duke explained the situation to his aunt, Rob drove up the track to his weatherboard house and parked the SUV in the garage next to it.
“Okay, got to go,” he heard Duke tell his aunt. “See you tomorrow.” He put the phone back in his jacket. “Ellen says to say hi.”
“Nice of her. Now, I’ve got some chores to do,” said Rob. “You go on in and get settled.”
Duke hoisted his backpack out from the back seat. “Is there anything I can do? I want to earn my keep.”
They walked out into the wind, which bit at the exposed skin of Rob’s face.
“Put your bag inside and if you wouldn’t mind getting some wood in. It’s around the other side. I’ll show you.”
Forty-five minutes later Rob returned from his chores to a house that was toasty warm, courtesy of the roaring fire Duke had got going.
Paranormal Lovers Box Set Page 17