by Shea Meadows
Ricky crossed her arms in front of her, glaring directly into Chester’s eyes. “That’s my inclination, but now that you’ve suggested it, I figure it has to be the wrong thing to do.”
He rocked back and forth on his heels, looking confused, then raising his eyebrows and smiled as if the light was finally dawning. “She’s talking to you, isn’t she? That’s why you’d even consider staying. Confess that’s true, isn’t it?”
Ricky turned away, looked down and spotted Pigeon, who was preparing to shimmy under the alley gate. She grabbed the cat and cradled the animal in her arms. “This isn’t something I want to talk about now. I’ll let you know what I decide when I’ve sorted it out. I have to talk to Beth Ann since we’d be living together. She’s the one to talk to about classes, not me. I’m still not sure where I’ll fit in.”
He grabbed her shoulders and turned her so they were face to face once again, the squirming cat sandwiched in between them. “Come clean! Is Moon talking to you? If she is, I can help you, see. I’m trained in this stuff.” His garlic breath surrounded her in bursts as he shouted in her face.
“You have no right to insist I tell you anything.” Ricky’s face heated with anger. To judge by the cat’s actions, Pigeon was offended as well. She lunged forward, nipping the hand that was clamped on Ricky’s shoulder. Chester pulled back in alarm, his hand poised to pummel the cat. George came up from behind and restrained him.
“Chester, maybe it’s time for you to leave. I understand people grieve in different ways, but I won’t put up with violence. If you want to stay a part of Moon’s organization, you better get your anger under control. The trust won’t be employing people who try to solve problems by intimidation.”
Chester turned away and lowered his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me. It was a natural reaction. An animal bites you, you give it a swat.”
“It was the reason Pigeon nipped you that worries me. From what I saw, he was protecting Ricky. I know you don’t agree with the provisions of the will, but is it fair to take it out on her? No more private talks with Ricky until you get your head on straight. I’m sure you can work this through. You’ll have to, if you want to stay.”
Chester shook his head and rubbed his swollen hand. “Sorry for coming off so strong, Ricky. See, I was only trying to help.” With that, he stomped back to the porch, leaving George alone with his daughter.
“I’m glad you came out when you did. I don’t trust him. I can’t figure out why Moon trusted him either.” Ricky rubbed her fingers through Pigeon’s fur as she and George walked slowly back to the house.
“It’s been a long two days. Our nerves are wacky. Day after tomorrow is the memorial service. Tomorrow we’ll have to help Beth Ann set up the space for it. I’m sure Jessica and Dylan will help too. Why don’t Stan and I leave for now, so you and Beth Ann can sort things out?”
Ricky nodded. “Sounds like a plan. I have some thinking to do, and Beth Ann will have to get me up to speed on a few things. I’ll call you in the morning. We can’t start setting up until tomorrow night. The space is being used until then.”
A short time later, Beth Ann sat studying the will and other related documents as Ricky petted Pigeon, who lounged on the couch, taking up a full two places. It was the first time since Ricky had awoken from her nap that Chester hadn’t been around. Ricky’s thoughts went back to the vivid dream, and from there, to an internal conversation with her sister.
Should I tell her about my dream? You gave us the house together. She has to know what I’m doing. I’m sure she could help. Surprisingly there was an answer, a voice that seemed to come from the corner of the room.
I didn’t want to put her in danger with the information. Someone has to be around to keep the organization going. We can’t all be leaving our bodies. Besides that, she’s pretty limited at this point in her etheric communication.
The answer was unnerving. So I’m expendable but we have to protect Beth Ann?
Moon’s voice laughed in reply. I guess it does sound like that, but really, you’re safer than Beth Ann would be. She knows about these things, has studied them for years, but you come by it naturally, and I’ll be helping you the whole way. If I tried to do this through Beth Ann it would be extremely difficult. She’d feel me, but she couldn’t hear or see me.
Ricky laughed out loud in response. Okay, I get that, but why not work through Chester or one of your other forth level graduates.
Moon’s voice sounded a bit sarcastic. Isn’t it obvious about Chester? He’s got something going on. We’ll talk more about that after you’ve looked at what’s upstairs. As to the others, they can work with me but not as well as you. We have a unique connection. You’ll understand soon enough.
“Ricky, is Moon in the room and are you two talking? I can feel her.” Beth Ann had been watching her for the last several minutes.
Ricky nodded. “Yeah, that’s what’s happening. I have one more thing to ask her.” So give it to me straight, big sister, can I let Beth Ann in on it?
Moon sighed. I guess you’ll have to. She’ll drive you crazy trying to get it out of you. If we wanted to keep it secret, you shouldn’t have talked to me with her in the room.
“Thanks,” Ricky said out loud and smiled at Beth Ann. “She’s given permission for us to go on a treasure hunt together. Come with me. I’ll tell you about my dream as we go.”
The two women walked up both sets of stairs to the teaching level of the house with Pigeon trailing behind. Ricky recounted the dream as they went, pointing out that she’d yet to see the third level while awake. It would be interesting for both of them to see how accurate her out-of-body experience really was. The upper level stairway looked the same, with the scuffed-up wood just as Ricky had seen it. The door was unlocked and opened into the same long, carpeted teaching room.
“Yes, this is the same,” she said, a shiver running up and down her spine. “There are the pillows and the screens Moon pointed out to me. She told me how the room was set up when more than one class was going on up here.”
Beth Ann smiled. “Now, anyone who didn’t believe in this stuff would think you have a lively imagination and had been up here on your own when we left you earlier in the day. But knowing Moon, I have no doubt you’re telling the truth.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s hard to believe that I came up here without my body. Maybe I was really awake, but then how do you explain Nellie, Moon, and the flying cat? The clincher for me will be if there’s something hidden in the pyramid room.”
Beth Ann let Ricky lead the way to the cupola room on the far end of the third level. It was the only way they could be sure Ricky knew where she was going. The cooper rod pyramid structure sat in the middle of the small, round room just as it had in the dream. Ricky looked around, stunned to see it with her physical eyes but not really surprised. Even without Nellie and the cat flying around, the space was pretty much the same.
Ricky knelt down as she had seen Moon do and moved the rug, uncovering the sliding wood panel. This was the moment of truth. Something was hidden here that was connected to her sister’s death. It was time to discover the first piece of the puzzle. It was the first answer to a host of questions that might bring them all some clarity or perhaps make things even more confusing.
Ricky reached into the recess, as Beth Ann and Pigeon watched. Inside was an array of polished gemstones of different colors, sitting on top of a stack of red, leather bound books. When Ricky opened the first one, it contained notes in Moon’s distinctive handwriting.
“I think you’ve found your project for the year,” Beth Ann said with a sad smile. “I hope this information doesn’t have the same end result for you as it did for Moon.”
Chapter 7
Ricky stumbled into Moon’s bedroom, carrying the books, with the gemstones resting in a velvet bag on top of the pile. It was two a.m., and she was too blurry-eyed to continue. For the last several hours, she and Beth Ann had gone through
the books one by one, trying to figure out their contents. Repeated appeals to Moon’s ghost had brought only silence, and without her sister’s input, there was very little to go on.
She undressed quickly and showered. The hot water soothed her tense muscles. Trying to make sense of the information was harder work than a busy shift on the geriatric acute ward at the hospital. At least as a nurse, she’d made progress, came up with answers, saw constructive outcome. With this task, nothing was any clearer after hours of exploration.
As she got ready for bed, Ricky reviewed what they had found. The books were ledgers of some kind. Each contained the records for a month, starting with June of 2000, up until a half-filled volume for the present month. The notations included charts linking individuals, locations, and time periods. Many of the people had died, others were alive, with a living person usually linked to a dead one— not always someone who’d died in the last hundred years. The location of the linked parties was not a commonality, nor was the gender. It was impossible to figure out how they were related without Moon’s clarification.
The stones were also a mystery. Beth Ann remembered seeing them in 2000 when Moon returned from studying with a teacher in India. Moon had told Beth Ann they were sacred and energized to specific harmonics frequencies. No one but Moon touched them. Beth Ann found a velvet bag for them, and Ricky very gingerly put them in. They now sat on top of the pile of ledgers on Moon’s bedroom desk.
Ricky sat in the center of the bed with Pigeon curled up in her lap. One more time, I’ll try to contact her one more time.
“Moon, come on! Why give me a project without explaining it? For heaven’s sakes, give me a little help!” Pigeon looked up to the corner of the room and yowled softly, then jumped down and sauntered to the dresser, looking up at it then back at Ricky. “Pigeon, you can fly; how come Moon never taught you to talk?”
Pigeon sprung up from the floor to the dresser, nudged the velvet bag with her head, and then looked expectantly toward Ricky, who covered her face with her hands in response.
“It’s too late for fun and games with shinny things, Pigeon. We’ll play with them in the morning.” A thump and the sound of rolling objects indicated the cat’s disagreement. The bag was now open on the carpet, and the stones strewn around the floor. “Did you do that by yourself, or did Nellie help you? I can’t leave something Moon considered sacred laying on the floor.” With a sigh, Ricky got down on hands and knees near the dresser and started retrieving the stones.
“I think there are seven,” she mumbled, trying to remember how they looked. Most of her attention had been on the books. “Here’s the red one.” She held it so the dresser light illuminated it. “It looks like a ruby. These might be worth something. And this looks like an emerald. The blue one is pretty, gold flecks in it, but I’m not sure what it is. Where are the other four?”
She lay down on the floor and looked under the dresser, retrieving a good sized yellow topaz. She spread them in the palm of her hand. “Three more? Where are they hiding?” Pigeon batted a round orange stone, causing it to land near Ricky’s knee. “Thanks kitty, we’re still missing two.”
Ricky’s eyes were getting blurry and her body ached for sleep. “Why did you have to upset the bag, Pigeon? Maybe you can survive on cat naps, but I need at least six hours.”
She looked up to see a bright amethyst that seemed to float briefly an inch or two above the carpet about a foot in front of her, then drop slowly to the ground. “Optical illusion or maybe Nellie. I know she can manipulate solid objects. She did it with the doors. And here I am explaining it to you, Pigeon. You’ve lived in this crazy house a lot longer than I have. One more missing.”
Moon’s voice sounded in her ear. It’s the diamond. Do you want me to get it for you?
Ricky laughed, her voice tinged with hysteria. “Yeah, sure. Float it on over.” Ricky blinked and rubbed her eyes, but it was really there: a raw diamond hunk floating leisurely through the air, just above the carpet, starting from its landing place near the door.
I’m not as good with this as Nellie, Moon complained. She’s had years more practice.
Ricky gingerly took the stone when it reached her.
Now you’ve got them all, should we get to work? Moon’s voice sounded impatient, as if her sister had been the one obstructing progress.
“Moon, I’ve been calling you for hours, and you ignored me. Its two-thirty, and we have to set up your memorial service later on today. Unlike you, I have a body that needs sleep.”
Stop complaining. I couldn’t very well explain things with Beth Ann there. This is your project, after all. You can share what you want, but you’re the only one who’s going to get everything I know about it. You’ll have to use your judgment about how others might help. I’ve already enlisted one ally for you. You’ll find out who that is soon.
“Moon, I just don’t get this. I have to be the least qualified embodied person on the face of the earth. Why not work with someone else?”
Moon sighed, a sound that moved the curtains around the bed and windows. It’s our bond; you’re my bridge. You’ll get it after I explain a bit, but it’s easier to show you than tell you. I promise you’ll feel renewed in the morning, as if you’ve had the best night’s sleep in your life.
“No arguing with you I guess,” Ricky muttered, “where do you want me?”
Might as well get comfortable. Take the stones with you and lay in bed.
Ricky complied. The room felt ten degrees cooler than it had, and the light quilt felt wonderful as she pulled it around her body.
Okay, a little set- up is needed. This will be more involved than a simple out-of-body trip. You’re going back in time a bit. I’m teaching you some observation techniques. It would be so much easier if you’d been the least bit interested when I was alive. Maybe read my books.
“Stop picking on me and tell me what you want. I’m trying to help now; I can’t change how I felt before.”
Another sigh. Yeah, sorry, even I can’t change the past, only make peace with it. Okay, hold the stones in your hands, all of them at once, and imagine you’re linked to them. Say something like. “I am open to using these stones for their intended purpose. I trust they will guide, protect and assist me in my plans.”
Ricky repeated this while cupping the stones in her palms. She felt a throbbing, prickly sensation. Again her eyes played tricks; a flashing glow seemed to emanate from around her hands.
Good. Now for the layout. First, put the remote for the light near your hand. Next the stones. They’re tuned to your energy centers. Put the ruby between your legs, right below the base of your spine. Good. Now put the garnet, that’s the orange one, just above your pubic bone. Okay, then the topaz just above your navel. It’s good if they touch the skin. Right. Now the emerald over the heart, and the sapphire, the blue stone, on your throat, right there where the bones meet. Good. Now the amethyst on your third eye. A little higher, okay? Now, push the remote to turn off the light. Fine, now the diamond just over your head on the pillow. Breathe deep, calming breaths. What do you see?
The room should have been dark, since the moon and stars were hidden behind a blanket of clouds. Instead, there was a nimbus cloud of light with spikes of color surrounding her body. Ricky blinked several times, thinking it would disappear, but it remained. After a moment or so, she could make out Moon’s form sitting next to her on one side of the bed and Nellie on the other. The cat was curled up in a ball at her feet, its spirit floating out of its body to join the ghostly forms.
“I can see you guys and a whole lot of light and color that seems to be coming off of me. Am I awake or asleep?”
Does it really matter? We’re working up to the point where you’ll be able to see us whenever you want. Your third eye needs opening. You’re doing really great.
Moon? Can I go with you and Ricky? I promise not to say anything. I’ll just watch.
Not this time, Nellie. This’ll be Ricky’s maiden voyage so
to speak. She doesn’t need distractions. You stay here and keep Pigeon out of trouble. If you behave, we’ll show Ricky your life another time. Moon’s voice made it evident that the subject wasn’t open to further discussion.
Nellie reached over and gathered the cat’s spirit, then blinked out of the room, probably to bother Beth Ann or play in the pantry. The house would be creaking and groaning most of the night.
So, we’re alone. The first time and place I’m taking you to is two years ago June, 2000. It was my initial encounter with the phenomenon of linking. You’ll be like a fly on the wall. You’ll ride along with me but have your own view point. You might notice something I didn’t see then, so pay attention. First we have to shift dimensionally, so don’t let it freak you out.
It was like going through a blinding snowstorm in a car, but the snow was multicolored, and there wasn’t anything analogous to a car. Ricky was a point of consciousness moving through layers of sparkling spirals and pulsating beams. No hands, no feet, no head, only thought and awareness— somehow seeing and experiencing. Her thoughts swirled around with the confusing array of color.
“Dr. Roy would tell me to go to a psychiatrist or a neurologist immediately. He’d say the stress of Moon’s death has brought on auditory and visual hallucinations.”
Moon’s voice spoke from the color storm: “Dr. Roy has always been full of shit anyway.”
Ricky laughed. This was too good a trip to start analyzing the experience and things were changing now. “If I start thinking too hard, I’ll wake up and miss the whole thing.”
The colors were becoming solid, moving into shapes: blue sky, green grass, a hedge forming in front of a brick house. Moon standing on a small cement porch, carrying a medium- sized embroidered green cloth sack, and knocking on a door.