Anomaly

by Caitlin Lynagh

  ‘I don’t… I don’t understand.’ Matthew could sense the shock in his son but there was a flare there too. Little speckles of golden light winked into existence and began to drift around the edges of Kyle’s eyes and for a moment Matthew could see the young boy Kyle had once been. He could see the young eyes that had looked up at him long ago, for strength, for love, for wisdom.

  ‘No, I know, but you will. Somehow, Alice saved my soul Kyle; I can change things now for the better. I’ll even buy myself that drum kit.’ Matthew paused. ‘Where’s your mother and sister, Kyle? You should get them.’ Kyle was speechless, his eyes never leaving Matthew’s face as he stood up slowly. He looked confused and a little bewildered, it was as though his facial features couldn’t decide whether they should be frowning or not.

  ‘Yes, OK, I will Dad.’ He opened the door and hesistated for a moment. ‘Thanks, Dad,’ he said. He flashed a smile and gave a brief awkward nod and then he left. Matthew smiled as he leant back against the pillows. I told him, Alice.

  Thirty-Six

  He turned his face upwards to the sun-dappled clouds and closed his eyes as a breeze fingered his hair and brushed against his cheeks and ears. He wasn’t concentrating on anything in particular, just enjoying the peacefulness of the moment. The last few months had been – different. His father was recovering at home and had sold the business. He had retired early and bought himself a drum kit. The family joked about it but at least he had a good excuse to exercise himself back to health. His mother was relieved and music was a passion they could share at last. Hailey was still working at the book shop and she had signed up for a creative writing course. Cameron had applied for Sophia’s Master’s degree at Red Oak and Kyle had switched his degree back to physics. It felt good. Life felt right at last.

  The nightmares had left him, and he was finally catching up on his lost hours of sleep. He felt better, more energized than he had ever done before. He was going to do it, he was going to be a physicist, he was going to do research, and he was determined to discover something amazing. He opened his eyes and lowered his head; he could feel his determination burning through him, spreading outwards from the centre of his torso and rushing through his limbs.

  ‘There’s obviously an afterlife?’ he said as he turned to look at her. Alice sat beside him, her fair arms hugging her knees to her chest. He couldn’t believe he could actually see her.

  ‘Yes.’ She nodded, her lips curving upwards into a smile.

  ‘So religion was right all along. But science offers so much evidence. And which religion is correct?’ He had been puzzled by these questions for weeks. Surely Alice’s existence, souls, the afterlife, lent themselves towards religion. Did that mean that science was wrong and religion was correct? Or was there something else?

  ‘Science transcends the limits of what we can ever know and it evolves constantly, but that’s not to say that religion isn’t important for people too. Only imagination can honestly transcend science, the metaphysical implication of this fact creates a paradox, which gives us an illusion of reality. It gives power to faith, and what is faith? Religions use faith, they have prayer and that prayer has energy, but faith is really just, trust.’

  ‘So…’ Kyle said slowly; he was even more confused now.

  ‘Neither are correct or incorrect, that is to say they are both right and wrong.’ Alice grinned at him. ‘Mankind’s ability to learn, to question and to collaborate, gives science to our being. It creates an individual soul. Yet, our emotions and morals and ideas often stem from our conscience, and religion, if anything, is the study of our conscience. There is nothing more godlike than a human being who is guided by their conscience, creating a path of kindness, compassion, and selflessness for future generations to walk upon.’

  ‘Wow. They’ve been at war with each other for centuries.’ Alice gaze at him for a moment, her blue irises flickering with crimson which Kyle now knew represented love, and a lilac to represent creativity.

  ‘There is abundant power in the process of living that allows the science of the soul to transcend physical death and to exist within the complex science of the unseen universe. Everything is held between the now timeline and the human timeline; life, the afterlife, the universe in its entirety, everything. Our imaginations then become the fuel for creation,’ Alice said.

  ‘Who told you all of this?’ Kyle asked. He didn’t fully understand her meaning but he had a feeling it would come to him eventually.

  ‘Ahrl.’ Alice’s smile grew.

  ‘Who is Ahrl?’

  ‘That would take a very long time to explain.’ Alice placed a finger to her lips as she looked out across the lake. ‘Let’s just say he is a very old soul.’

  ‘Sophia is right,’ Kyle said.

  ‘Sophia knows more than she lets on,’ Alice replied. ‘You should talk to her if you want to find out more.’ Kyle was silent for a few moments as he mulled over her words.

  ‘Did you tear out the pages from your notebook?’ he asked.

  ‘No.’ Alice shook her head. ‘I wrote the words but I didn’t tear out the pages.’

  ‘Then how?’ Kyle frowned. Alice tapped the side of her forehead as she looked at him.

  ‘Ahrl placed some suggestions. Talia’s friends tore out and hid the pages, though I doubt they can recall doing it, or realised their significance. The initials, your initials, were drawn by a curious little boy with a marker pen, and a teenager doodling at the skate park.’ Kyle’s lips drew flat and his brow creased further. ‘People do random and odd things all the time; do you remember all the doodles you did in the back of your homework diary at school, or even why you did them?’

  ‘No. I guess not.’ Alice flashed him a triumphant smile.

  ‘We place suggestions with our minds and imaginations. It doesn’t mean that the living always listen to us though, they still have freewill to make their own choices. We are the little voice at the back of your mind, the sudden change in emotion, and the silent questions.’

  ‘You were there when the van… you saved me?’ Alice watched him but kept silent. ‘You’ve been here all along,’ Kyle said as he gazed across the lake.

  ‘Yes, that was close,’ Alice replied. ‘But I had to. You see if Talia hadn’t found my notebook and sent it to you, if you hadn’t found the missing pages, if that van had crushed you, if Sophia hadn’t been in the chapel, if you hadn’t visited my grave, if your father hadn’t collapsed, if you had missed your train… there were so many ifs, so many things could have happened differently and I’ve only listed a small fraction of those possibilities. Certain things had to happen in a certain order and at certain times, so that you could figure out what sort of person you wanted to be. It was a long shot. Quantum tunnelling. Your path through life is complicated; there are many twists and turns, and the truth often presents itself in fragments.’

  ‘No one will believe this.’

  ‘No probably not, does it matter if they do? It’s true for everybody regardless. The decisions you make, and the decisions your parents make, and even the decisions that strangers make, will all affect you and change the world around you – a gravitational consequence of events. You have to decide whether you agree or not.’

  ‘And what if you do nothing?’

  ‘That’s the same as agreeing,’ Alice replied with a sad smile.

  ‘You helped my father, didn’t you?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Kyle said. ‘He’s a different man already; I’ve never seen him so happy.’ Alice smiled. ‘How can I see you?’ he asked. She was as beautiful as she had ever been, if not more so. He found it difficult to believe that they were sat here having this conversation, one of them alive and the other dead.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Alice replied, shaking her head. ‘Perhaps it’s because you needed to see me.’

  ‘Need
ed to?’

  ‘Yes, so I can tell you to not be afraid.’ She let go of her knees and traced her fingers over the grass beneath them. ‘Your flesh belongs to the Earth Kyle, but your soul belongs to something much bigger.’ They sat there in silence for a few moments as Kyle’s mind digested her words. He drew his left cheek between his teeth as he sat pondering everything he had ever believed about life. He knew he would have big decisions to make and he yearned to do the right thing, but he knew it wouldn’t always be simple and easy.

  ‘What do I do now?’ he asked quietly as little waves broke across the shoreline like sleepy breaths. Alice titled her head towards him and captured his eyes.

  ‘That’s up to you, all I can tell you is that you should be true to yourself and always act with compassion and kindness. Your life is based largely on luck; bear that in mind when you look at others.’ Kyle nodded and they sat there in silence for a few moments. Suddenly he unzipped his rucksack and pulled out Alice’s penny jar. ‘What are you going to do with that?’ she asked as he stood up. Kyle grinned at her.

  ‘I know of a wishing well that will keep these safe.’ Alice stood up, her feet and body not disturbing even a single blade of grass. She walked over to him like a graceful dancer and stood beside him as they looked out over the water.

  ‘I think that’s a good idea,’ she said. Kyle held out his hand and she placed her palm against his; it was almost holding hands but not quite. However, as they stood there side by side, one seen and the other unseen, he could feel the warm tingle of Positive energy sparking between their fingertips.

  ***

  Sophia opened her eyes and sat up slowly in the armchair; her neck was stiff but this wasn’t unusual for her. Flo was sitting opposite her on the large sofa; she too had just opened her eyes and straightened up.

  ‘Did you see?’ Flo asked.

  ‘Yes, yes I did,’ Sophia replied. ‘He can see her.’

  ‘So he can.’ Flo’s dark eyes sparkled with amusement.

  ‘What now?’ Sophia asked, as her Aunt Cassie came in, carrying two glasses of water.

  ‘It’s time to help the next person, or people,’ Flo replied. ‘The pendulum has swung, Positive is in control for the time being.’ Cassie nodded as she handed Flo and Sophia a glass each. ‘Cassie here is going to write about Alice’s and Kyle’s story, though she will change the names around to be sure.’

  ‘Write a story?’

  ‘Yes, a fictional story of course,’ Flo replied and winked at Sophia. Sophia bit back a chuckle; her grandmother was sly. ‘I’m assuming Kyle has been accepted for a physics degree now and Cameron has been accepted on the Master’s course?’

  ‘Yes,’ Sophia replied.

  ‘Good, then it’s time to move on. You must still work with them him, but we Letos have busy minds and too little time.’

  ‘All time is now,’ Sophia reminded her. ‘There is only the future.’

  ‘Too true, too true,’ Flo said as she pushed herself up from the sofa. Sophia watched as Flo and Cassie left, then stood up and walked over to the window. Kyle and Alice were on the right path now. Elias would insist on bringing Kyle to their home and teaching him all they knew about the afterlife, but it could wait. She was looking forward to working with Kyle in the future. Sophia could feel the buzz, the slight vibrations, of a thousand thoughts, memories and emotions clambering around her mind and begging for her attention. She only had to let her mind reach out with its invisible fingers and focus on one, and again, like a raindrop heading for an ocean, another decision, another moment, another life, would fall into her knowledge. The uncertainty in the world would become a little more certain, and a single moment in time could change everything. The Letos would be ready; they were always ready.

  Author Notes

  Anomaly is inspired by real people, places and events but is sadly still a fictional story. The science aspects of this story – though fictional until someone intelligent proves otherwise – are based on real ideas and it’s not impossible to imagine the existence of the afterlife within the science discoveries of the future.

  You will notice there are some intentional teasers concerning Sophia Leto and The Thirteen, do not fear they are supposed to be there and do not affect this story. However if you are hoping to find out more about these two, I will be writing more novels which will focus solely on Sophia Leto and The Thirteen as part of The Soul Prophecies series in due course.

  Much of this story and its topics are open to personal interpretation, and I do hope will spark debate. I only ask that wherever you do this, that you debate with courtesy, compassion, and respect for other individuals. Remember, even the smallest of decisions can have the biggest effects so make them Positive ones.

  Acknowledgements

  A big thank you to my editors: Emma Pritchard, for being so patient and putting up with my inconsistencies, Alison Williams for being a terrific copy editor, Bruce Nicholson for understanding my science ideas and making sure they were easier to understand. Also to Karen Holmes for being brutally honest and giving me some much needed confidence in my work.

  Thank you to the Hudson family, Mike, Stacy and Hannah, for putting up with me, my crazy ideas and rantings. Another thank you to Hannah for all the wonderful and brilliant marketing she has done for me.

  Thank you to Robert and the team at Matador for their work on the book and also to Jennifer for the cover design.

  I’d also like to thank all of my family and friends for being so encouraging and patient with my writing.

  And of course, I will always thank with my whole heart, Aaron.