Where is all this coming from?
An icy calm traveled along her nerves and reached out to her veins, numb. Lifting her chin, she glared, silent. There’s nothing more to say, her mother’s action spoke loud and clear.
“Joy—” Her father stood between his wife and daughter.
Her temper gone now. Too much fluttered around in her mind, she couldn’t grasp it.
“I’m outta here.” She brushed passed them.
“Don’t let her leave this house!” her mother yelled and a scuffle sounded behind her.
“Leave it be, dear.” Her father’s words were tense. “You have to let her go. She’s her own person and your demands are unreasonable.”
“You shouldn’t have struck her, Mom.” Her sister’s voice reached her ears as she shoved the screen door open. “I hope she doesn’t go back to that…asshole.”
She rolled her eyes but kept walking. Who is this asshole? The ex I left?
“Hey, Joy.” Her brother Chaz grabbed her upper arm and stopped her tirade across the front yard, “Don’t let Mom’s actions bother you.”
“I won’t.” She shrugged to release his hand. “But I’m not staying here either.” She turned to the car parked in the driveway. A gift from their grandparents for her birthday, no pain came with the emergence of the memory.
“Joy—” Chaz leaned a hand against the hood of the vehicle.
“It’s all right. I’ll be fine.” She opened the driver’s door and slid in. “Tell Dad I’ll call him later.”
“Okay.” He stepped back as the engine roared to life. “Just be careful.”
“I always am.” She grinned, winked, and waved as she pushed the gearshift.
“Yeah, whatever!”
Too much information came in about a past she’d forgotten. She needed to get home and relax before the headaches started.
What she really required was…the thread went dead. It wasn’t what, but who.
“Jairo…”
Tears gathered in her eyes and she punched the steering wheel.
Dammit!
Chapter Twelve
Hey Joy,
I don’t know why you aren’t answering your cell or calling me back so I am trying this route.
My brother was in an accident after leaving the cabin, part of the road gave way. The water level had dropped so his truck stayed where it landed and did not float downstream. But he suffered a knock to his head and now is in a coma. I know this is asking a lot, but can you fly to Calanthia as soon as possible? My family believes you are the only one who can reach Jay in this sleep-state he’s in. Please?
The doctor can’t understand why he’s not waking up. His concussion wasn’t severe. What we need you to do may be far fetching, but it’s worth a try.
Call me as soon as you get this.
Thanks,
Jezzaray
Joy stared at the computer screen, worrying her bottom lip.
She remembered him fully now. Sometime after she’d left her parents’ house she pieced the episodes together in their right order. Certain memories she couldn’t place, but eventually she’d have them in their respective spots.
Events revolving around Jairo stood out more than the others did.
The message from the woman she befriended and who later introduced her to her Twin Flame stole her breath.
Joy didn’t know what to do.
Jezzaray wanted her to fly to their home on the island nation of Calanthia. She vaguely recalled a conversation about where Jairo lived. She hadn’t considered visiting his home country, just like she hadn’t contemplated the two of them ever physically meeting. Contemplation flew out the window as what transpired at the cabin filtered through her mind. Her cheeks warmed.
Those images were bright and in full color. Somehow, she just knew they were real and very recent.
Was that why her doctors found nothing wrong with her, because it wasn’t her?
Joy had hit her head while in Miami, which the experts agreed could cause the short-term memory loss. They couldn’t find a source for the migraines. Once the contusion healed, they said she should not have any more paralyzing painful ones. Yet she did. Only recently had those lessened in intensity, but they still brought her to her knees.
She glanced at the phone on the desk and for the first time since arriving noticed the message light. She pressed the button.
The playback revealed Jairo’s voice. He called the day they left the cabin and went their separate ways. They wouldn’t remain apart, he had things to attend to and so did she.
“Te amo. Siempre te amare. Tu eres mi vida, mi ser.”
I love you. I will always love you. You are my life, my being.
Tears filled her eyes as more memories fell into place.
The ringing by her laptop drew her blurred gaze. The ID said…Jezzaray.
Joy stiffened. The sound echoing around her, she couldn’t bring herself to answer. Part of her wanted to hear about Jairo and the other feared the dreaded words.
He was gone.
She stared at the phone until the voicemail clicked on.
“Hey, Joy. Jezz here, did you get my email?” Pause and a sigh. “Listen I need you to come to the hospital. My family and I believe you are the only one Jay’ll hear in his unconscious state. Please? If I have to beg I will, but the effect won’t be the same over the phone. Call me back. I’ll make all the arrangements for your flight. We need you here. For Jay…”
A click and the line went dead.
She reached for the device and stopped. The words her mother said reverberating through her mind…
“You have got to stop living in the dream world. It’s not healthy. In the end, you’ll only get hurt. I should’ve never let your grandparents fill your head with that fantasy gibberish. They’re nothing but make-believe childish fairy tales.”
Were they nothing but a fantasy? The lump came back.
Logical thinking said it wasn’t possible for them to know each other. Yet they did. Instantly, leaving no doubt to what flowed between them.
She had been branded by the fire. They had knowledge about each other no one else did. They shared thoughts. They are one soul.
“This is the real world. Once you realize that the better off you’ll be.”
Gripping her head between her hands, Joy tried to block her mother’s lectures completely. They kept rolling over and over inside her mind. She ground her teeth and focused on what she sensed deep within herself, the place where their connection dwelled.
She and Jairo had known each other long before ever meeting in the physical world. She closed her eyes. The exercise didn’t eliminate the words completely, only quieted them.
Why couldn’t her mother accept her? Why was she always trying to change her? She wanted to scream at the injustice from a parent.
Part of Joy wished to do what her mother demanded. She couldn’t bring herself to walk away from Jairo though. If he chose to leave, fine, but she refused to do so on the terms of uncertainty, fear of change, and being scared of the unknown.
How many other people have given up a relationship like theirs because of the difference in belief systems? Or they feared the intensity and were afraid of the unexplained?
She’d gone the route her mother desired once and tried to ignore who and what she was. It led to pain and habits that took years to overcome. She refused to take that way again.
She knew what existed between her and Jairo was beautiful, even if they did end up in each other’s faces sometimes. He never raised a hand to her…although he’d paddled her ass because she socked him in the jaw.
She giggled and tears spilled forth as the image came to the forefront.
Well, he did piss me off.
Somewhere along the way, they ended up naked and making love.
Joy could never be her mother. For the simple fact of not being full human. She saw things differently and believed the complete opposite of the woman who gave birth to her. They wer
en’t even close to being the same person.
This time no anger speared her, just a deep seated sadness. People like her mother would only ever get to experience one dimension in life. To them there was nothing else.
Joy grabbed the phone and inhaled, redialing Jezzaray’s number. She’d travel to this place called Calanthia and do whatever she needed to for Jairo.
After he was healthy…well, she’d think about that then.
* * * *
“You’re seriously going to fly to a strange country to save Jairo?” With arms crossed watching her pack, Stacy leaned against the doorframe to her bedroom.
“I am.” Joy folded the clothes and set them in the case. A sense of deja vu encircled her. This time she wasn’t running away.
“You’re passport? You’ve never left the States.” She stepped into the room. “Hell, are you sure this is the right thing to do?”
“I am.” She turned to the closet and removed an item.
“What about your mom?”
She froze. What about her? Once she made the decision to save Jairo the words her mother used to keep her confused weren’t as loud.
“I have to do what’s right for me, Stace.” Joy folded the piece she held and laid it with the others. “My mother can live her life the way she wants to. She married my dad, but chooses to ignore what he is. He loves and accepts her the way she is, like your dad does your mom. I want to be accepted for who I really am.”
“I bet the Ancient Gods are laughing their asses off at our family right now.” Stacy nudged a shoulder into hers and winked.
“I’m sure they are.” She chuckled, closed the case, and grabbed another.
Stacy stopped and faced her. “You’re awfully calm about all of this.”
Joy stepped over to the dresser and removed what she wanted and dropped them in the open bag. Her hand remained and she shrugged.
“I don’t sense a major urgency. It’s strange, I can feel and see Jairo. But he’s behind a glass wall. I just can’t reach out and touch him. There’s no danger to his health.”
“So you remember everything now?” Stacy’s brows shot up. “No more holes?”
Joy turned back to the bag and rearranged the clothing inside.
“I still have blank spots, but I recall bits of what I didn’t before.” She added a pair of jeans and shorts, along with a couple of T-shirts lying outside the bag, and adjusted them. “We’ve talked about Twin Flames all our lives, Stace, listening to our grandparents recount the tales. As for the gaps, many are small, mostly pertaining to my childhood and teen years. Like when your mother and mine got together and ganged up on our dads concerning their parents?”
“I remember. They went about it the wrong way.” Her cousin gave a little shiver and wrapped her arms around her mid section. “It was horrible.”
“Exactly, I only get a spotted view now.” Joy zipped the bag closed. “I know the why, but the smaller details I don’t have. The doctor’s say I may never regain them. Which is fine, I got the gist of it and that’s what matters.”
“So you’re flying off to save the world, huh?”
She laughed and hugged her cousin.
“Not to save the world per se.” She chuckled when Stacy returned the motion. “Only a certain stubborn male with whom I share a soul.”
“Isn’t it the same thing?” Stacy stepped back and grinned.
“I guess, huh?”
Was that what she was doing? She swallowed. Some things were just too over the top for her to be able to wrap her wounded mind around at the moment.
An evaluation could come later, after she remembered every detail, and hopefully, a visit with Jairo would prompt both of their recoveries.
About the Author
First a storyteller, Alix Richards didn’t get around to recording her stories on paper until she was ten. The creative worlds grew with time and experience in her imagination. Finding her own ‘twin flame’ inspired her to look again at those worlds and characters she’d set aside when life demanded her full attention. Between plotting, chatting writer friends off their balconies, love stories and meeting new people, Alix spends time with her family and friends, happy to share her real life with the ones who mean the most to her. She’s friendly, stubborn, and outspoken but still enjoys laughing and crying while reading a good book. She’s a romantic with a harsh realistic twist, because some things just don’t happen in everyday life. However, it doesn’t stop her from believing anything is possible. Alix would love to hear from you, [email protected]
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
About the Author
Twin Flames: Soul Memory Page 8