Children of Eternity Omnibus

by P. T. Dilloway

  Samantha stiffened when David approached them in the center of the town square. She prepared for him to pull out a weapon or at least try to hit her as revenge for Veronica’s death, but he only held up his empty hands and said, “I’m sorry. I’ve been a fool. Twice now. First with the reverend and then with her. Can you ever forgive me?”

  “Of course I can,” Samantha said. She reached out her hand towards David. He took it warily, as if expecting a trap, but then pumped her hand with vigor. When she finally let go, she looked about her. “I think we should go somewhere private to talk about all this.”

  David fell in with them as they went into Rebecca’s bakery. She locked the door behind her so no one else could get inside. Prudence, Wendell, and David pulled up stools before the hearth while Rebecca leaned against a corner and Samantha stood in the center of the room. “I think we’re going to have a lot of work ahead of us to sort things out,” Samantha said. “First we have to make sure to have some food ready for when they snap out of this. We should inventory the pantry to see if we need any more supplies. I can get anything we need tomorrow when I go back to Seabrooke to talk with Joseph. I’m sure he’ll understand—”

  “Samantha, I think you should go with Joseph to California,” Prudence said.

  “What? I can’t go now. Not with things the way they are.”

  Prudence stood up to look Samantha in the eye. “You saved us from Reverend Crane and you guided us through all the dark times since, but we’re not children anymore. It’s time for us to learn to care for ourselves. And it’s time for you to go and make yourself happy.”

  “I can’t leave you. You’re like my family—”

  “You are my family, Samantha, but in every family there’s a time when you have to go out on your own to live your own life.” Prudence reached out to take Samantha’s hands. “What you have with Joseph is special. You can’t squander it for us.”

  “But—”

  “She’s right,” Wendell said. “We’ve spent almost four centuries with someone else looking after us: Reverend Crane, Miss Brigham, and you. It’s time we look after ourselves.”

  “We’ll be fine,” David added. “It’ll take an adjustment, but we can do it. We’re ready now.”

  Samantha looked to each of her friends. In their eyes she saw the resolve and determination to make things work. Prudence was right: they weren’t children anymore. They didn’t need her. “All right. I’ll leave in the morning.”

  Prudence hugged her, followed by Wendell, and even David patted her on the back. Rebecca stayed in her corner, saying nothing. Only later, after Samantha retreated to the cabin for the night, did Rebecca speak to her. She appeared in the doorway as Samantha tried in vain to sleep and said, “I want to go with you tomorrow.”

  “What? Why?”

  Rebecca sat down at the edge of the bed, looking down at the floor. “There’s no place for me here anymore. All the others are adults now, but I still feel like a kid.” She reached out to pluck a throw pillow from the floor. “Molly used to sleep on this pillow when she came into the bed with me.” She threw the pillow into the darkness. “Everything here reminds me of her and it hurts. I keep thinking she’ll come through the door any moment and crawl into my lap the way she did when she was three. But she’s gone and I’m still here.”

  Samantha crawled over to the end of the bed to cradle Rebecca’s head in her hands. She knew the pain of losing a loved one all too well. Her parents, her aunt, Andre, and her unborn child had all been taken from her. “Leaving isn’t going to make the pain go away,” Samantha said. “It will follow you.”

  “I’m afraid of what will happen if I stay,” Rebecca said, indicating the scratches on her wrists. “I don’t think I can make it here, feeling her all around me.”

  “All right, come with me to Seabrooke tomorrow. We’ll figure something out.”

  Rebecca thanked her and then spent the rest of the night sleeping next to Samantha in the bed. Flurries of sobbing punctuated Rebecca’s snores throughout the night. Samantha didn’t sleep at all, watching over her troubled friend.

  By the morning, Rebecca seemed to have recovered. She whistled as she packed her few belongings and made Samantha a hearty breakfast of eggs and fresh bread. “I can’t wait to get over there and see what it’s like,” Rebecca said. “Is it really so different from this place?”

  “It’s like a whole new world,” Samantha said.

  “Good,” Rebecca said. Samantha saw on her friend’s face the same look she’d worn all those years after leaving Andre at the prom, the mask of hope that a change of scenery—a fresh start—could erase the past. In time Rebecca would learn, as she had, that the pain would always remain with her, a stain that could never be washed away.

  As for her own belongings, she had little to carry with her from Eternity except memories. A few clothes were all she carried in a knapsack to the beach. The entire town showed up to wish her and Rebecca farewell. Prudence and Wendell stood at their head so that they were first to embrace her.

  “Promise you won’t forget us,” Prudence said.

  “I could never forget you,” Samantha said. She pulled off the metal necklace, the half-heart whose other half lay underneath the rubble of the fountain cave. “I always wanted to give this to my best friend.” She draped the necklace over Prudence’s neck and then they hugged again.

  “Wherever you end up, make sure you give Mr. Pryde your address so we can write you,” Wendell said. “California isn’t so far away.”

  She kissed him on the forehead, his face turning red as it had when he was a boy. “I will,” she said. “I’ll write you every day.”

  She received the congratulations and well wishes of everyone in Eternity, including Helena. “You’re not so bad as far as savages go,” Helena said. Samantha knew this was the closest to a compliment she would get. She embraced Helena and then climbed onto the boat next to the Primrose. Rebecca followed her up, waving shyly to everyone.

  “I’ll be back to visit,” Samantha said. “This isn’t goodbye forever.”

  “We’ll be waiting,” Wendell said.

  “Take care of yourself, and Joseph,” Prudence said.

  The boys pushed the boat into the water and soon Samantha and Rebecca were being carried away by the wind. They waved from the back of the boat until the children of Eternity were reduced to specks on the horizon and then disappeared.

  Chapter 48: The New Eternity

  Once Samantha and Rebecca’s boat faded over the horizon, the residents of Eternity made the slow trek back to their town. Prudence and Wendell lagged behind, the last to give up on waving to Samantha and Rebecca. “They’re gone,” Prudence said as if convincing herself.

  “It’s for the best, like you said,” Wendell said.

  “I know. I wish it wasn’t. That’s wrong of me, isn’t it?”

  “No, of course not. She was your best friend. Your sister. You’d be a lousy friend if you didn’t miss her.”

  “I suppose you’re right.” She took his hand and followed him along the path towards town. As she went, she began to understand the price for her adulthood was letting go of childish things, including her dearest friend. She squeezed Wendell’s hand to reassure herself that while she had lost a friend, she had gained something more in Wendell, something she hadn’t possessed since Rodney’s death.

  Without Reverend Crane they couldn’t marry formally, but in spirit she knew they had already wed in the cavern after being taken captive by the reverend. They had exposed their greatest secrets to each other there; they had come to understand each other completely. They had grown strong enough so that nothing could tear apart their love.

  In town, they found everyone again milling about the square. “What do we do now?” Helena asked.

  “For now we go on like normal,” David said.

  “Why should we listen to you?” John asked. “You betrayed us to that devil girl.”

  “She was a demon child,” David sa
id. “She bewitched me with her charms and her promises. I’ve learned from my mistakes now. I only ask for a second chance.”

  “A second chance to betray us,” one of the boys scoffed.

  “I think my John should be in charge,” Helena said. Phyllis and a handful of the boys mumbled their agreement while others supported David.

  “Him?” David said, pointing to his rival. “He’s not even old enough to shave yet. You’d have him in charge of us?”

  “Why don’t I show you how to use a razor right now,” John said. He reached to his belt for a knife, followed by David producing one of his own. The candidates circled each other, their supporters chanting their names.

  Prudence watched all this in horror. She saw Rodney’s dream slipping away so soon after coming within reach. I shouldn’t have asked Samantha to go. We do need her after all.

  Without realizing it, she slipped into the gap between the combatants. “Have you all gone mad?” she shouted, surprised by the sound of her own voice. “Samantha hasn’t been gone an hour and you’re already at each other’s throats. If we settle our disputes this way we aren’t any better than Reverend Crane or Veronica.” She looked at the faces around her, meeting their eyes with her stern gaze. “It’s time for us to start acting like adults and settling our problems with words instead of violence. We have a great opportunity here to build a community based on peace and civility. We can either seize this opportunity or become murdering savages like our old masters. The choice is in our hands now. What are you going to do?”

  David sheathed his blade and bowed to Prudence. “I’m sorry,” he said. He reached out to take her hand. “I think we’ve found our leader already.”

  “Me? But I can’t,” Prudence said.

  “Her?” Helena said. “John, do something.”

  John put his knife away and then took Prudence’s other hand. “I agree with David. I think Prudence should be in charge. Without her, we’d all still think we were children.”

  The crowd cheered, except for Helena, who gave a strangled cry and then stomped away with Phyllis on her heels. Prudence stood in the center of the square, unsure of what to do or say. Her entire life since the day with Reverend Crane in the forest had been spent in the shadows, avoiding responsibility. How could she lead them?

  Wendell made his way through the crowd to stand at her side. “I don’t think I can do this,” she said.

  “Of course you can and I’ll be here to help.” With his kiss, a wave of confidence ran through her. They had been through so much together already and survived, this couldn’t be any worse. She imagined Rodney looking down on her at this moment, that grin she’d fallen in love with coming to his face.

  “I’ll do it,” she said to another round of cheers.

  She spent the rest of the day taking stock of their situation. They had enough food to last for a month with careful rationing. The crops remained in good order, promising a bountiful harvest in the fall. Only the housing situation presented a real challenge.

  Now that the children had their memories back, the couples like John and Helena wanted to remain together instead of sleeping apart. This arrangement she knew would be awkward when everyone changed their clothes at night and in the morning. Arguments were bound to break out as well over who moved into which dormitory. Prudence sat alone in the church, praying for guidance in solving her first official dilemma. Samantha would know what to do, she thought. Not me.

  Wendell slipped into the pew beside her. “I thought I’d find you here. Things are turning ugly outside. If we don’t do something pretty soon we’ll have a civil war,” he said.

  “I’m no good at this,” she said. “What do I know about leading people and solving problems? I’ve never been anything but a housewife and seamstress.” With these words the solution appeared before her.

  By nightfall she and Wendell had worked out a way to subdivide the dormitories into living spaces for the married couples. They used bed sheets, tablecloths, and bits of fabric sewn together to fashion makeshift walls. As for assigning the couples to a dormitory, Prudence numbered each living space and then drew lots. Helena still complained about her having to sleep in the smelly boy’s dormitory, but otherwise everyone went along with the plan.

  Once everyone had settled in for the night and gone to sleep, Prudence dropped onto her bed in the cabin. “This is going to be harder than I thought,” she said.

  Wendell rubbed his hands along her back as he said, “We’ll get through it. There’s nothing we can’t do.”

  “You’re right,” Prudence said. She turned her neck to kiss him on the cheek. “We can make this a really wonderful place if we try. The kind of place Rodney dreamed about.”

  Wendell lay down next to her on the bed, frowning at the mention of Rodney. “Do you still love him?” he asked.

  “Of course I do. He was my husband. I’ll always love him, but not the same way I love you. You’ve helped me become so much more than I ever thought possible.” She patted the bulge of her midsection, which had become so much less pronounced in the last three years because of her diet of love. “I love you, Wendell. Nothing can change that.”

  She rolled over to face him and began lifting up his nightshirt. “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “I’m sure,” she said. As she pulled the nightshirt off, she knew Reverend Crane no longer held sway over her life. The girl she thought had died in the forest had merely been sleeping in a glass coffin all those years, waiting for a man to come along and wake her. This man lay beneath her now and she would never let him go.

  Chapter 49: Sunset

  Joseph was in the process of packing his bags when Samantha stole into his bedroom and covered his eyes. “Guess who?” she said. “You better get this right.”

  “Mrs. Schulman, how many times have I said I’m flattered, but I’ve already got a girlfriend? A much younger, more beautiful girlfriend.” He twisted around to face her. “I wasn’t sure you were coming back. I thought your cousins might need your help.”

  “They wanted me to be happy,” she said. “So I came here.”

  He motioned to the knapsack she carried. “Are you planning on going somewhere?”

  “I thought I might go to California,” she said.

  “Funny, I thought I might go to the same place.”

  “Maybe we should go together?” she said.

  “Are you sure about that? I could transfer to MIT or the state college so you can be closer to your cousins. I know how much they mean to you.”

  “They don’t mean the same to me as you. I love you, Joe. I don’t care where we go so long as it’s together.” She kissed him, relief flooding over her now that she’d said these words at last. “I lost you once. I’m not going to do it again.”

  “What about Veronica? Is she really gone?”

  “She died three years ago. Molly used the fountain to go back and stop her.” Samantha described Molly’s sacrifice to destroy Veronica and the cave. She finished with tears in her eyes. “They’re both dead, but I still remember them being here with me.”

  She was surprised to see Joseph crying as well. “I can’t believe it,” he said. “She was so kind to me when I was there. If it weren’t for her, Veronica would have killed me before you showed up. I can’t believe she’s gone.”

  They stood there in silence for a moment before Samantha asked, “How’s your dad?”

  “He’s fine. He doesn’t remember what happened, or at least he won’t let on if he does. He might be repressing it.”

  “That’s probably for the best.” She wiped away her tears before adding, “I brought a friend over. I hope your father won’t mind if she stays here. She’s going through a rough time right now and I thought this might help.”

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  “She was Molly’s adopted mother.” Samantha described Rebecca’s relationship to Molly and their last moments. “She’s been dead for the last three years, but now she’s back to life. I t
hink it’s a little too much for her to handle.”

  “That’s horrible,” he said. “I’m sure Dad won’t mind if she stays here. He’ll probably be glad to have someone around.”

  They went downstairs, where Rebecca sat mesmerized in front of the television. She startled when Samantha introduced Joseph. “Joe, this is my cousin Rebecca.”

  “Sam told me about Molly. I’m really sorry,” he said.

  “Thank you,” Rebecca said. She motioned to the television to change the subject. “This really is amazing. How do they shrink down those people to fit them in the box?”

  Joseph sat down with Rebecca on the couch to give her a full technical description of how television worked. Rebecca looked to Samantha for help after a minute. “What Joseph is trying to say,” Samantha said, “is that they send a signal of light into this box, producing a miniature copy of the actual.”

  “It’s wonderful,” Rebecca said. She became even more enthralled when Joseph showed her how to use the remote control to flip channels. When a child with curly red hair came onto the screen during a commercial, Rebecca broke down into tears. Samantha sat beside her, patting her back.

  “It’s all right. See, it’s gone now.” Rebecca recovered her wits after a few minutes, wiping her eyes and blushing with embarrassment. “All better now?” Rebecca nodded.

  Behind Rebecca’s back, Joseph flashed Samantha a look of concern. She didn’t want to mention what Rebecca had already tried to do to herself or else Joseph might want her put into a mental institution. Samantha better than anyone knew it took time for these wounds to heal and even then scars remained.

  They were still watching television two hours later when Mr. Pryde returned home. “There you are,” Mr. Pryde said to Samantha. “Joe said he wasn’t sure where you’d run off to. Who’s this you brought with you?”

  “This is my cousin Rebecca,” Samantha said.

  Rebecca heaved herself off the couch to shake Mr. Pryde’s hand. “It’s good to meet you, sir. Samantha has said a lot of nice things about you.”