Answering Ascension

by Amy Proebstel

“Sixteen years? That’s as long as they’ve been alive! Hopefully, I’ll get to hear the story sometime.” He shook his head at the idea of being apart for as long as that. He was even more grateful for the memories he had of his mother; it was more than Juila or Jena had of their own mom. He had only been separated from his mother for half of his life.

  “It is going to take some time to take in all of these details,” Amanda cautioned.

  “You’re telling me!” Behn said. He needed some time alone to think. He stood up and said, “I’m going to go home now. You can be sure I’ll be back with a ton more questions, but you’ve given me plenty to consider.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Juila offered as she stood up from the arm of the chair. She had been worried when Behn had removed his blindfold. She had dire predictions of her grandpa Daven swiping Behn’s mind. She was glad it had all turned out so well. Now she would not have to keep this huge secret from the one person she had begun to care about on Earth. In fact, it was ironic that the person to whom she had been attracted had also originated from Tuala.

  She walked by his side, and neither said anything until after Juila had closed the front door behind them. “Are you going to be okay?” she inquired.

  “Yeah, I asked for it, didn’t I?” he chuckled. “I just had no idea what I was getting myself into when I wanted answers about your necklace.”

  “If you want help learning to use yours, Jena and I are very good at it,” she offered shyly.

  “Really? You’d help me?” He had stopped walking and turned to face her.

  “Of course. Your journey has been more perilous than my own. I had plenty of help along the way, and I’d do the same for you. I can teach Valentina and Jon, too, if you wanted.” She plunged her hands into her pants pockets to hide how nervous she suddenly felt.

  “I’d rather keep this to myself until I can really prove it to Val. She is really set on keeping things status quo with our adoptive family. I understand her need, but we have a mother out there who is probably wondering about our well-being.”

  Juila nodded understandingly. It was Behn’s call as to what to share with his siblings. She would help wherever he needed. She offered, “Why don’t you come over after school every day and we can give you private crystal lessons in the library?”

  “I’d like that,” he replied. “Hey, are we still on for the movies tomorrow?”

  “As long as you’re not too freaked out after all you’ve discovered about me today.” She looked up at him with hope in her eyes.

  “As it turns out, you and I have more in common than I ever would have guessed. Hopefully, you’re not too freaked out about me coming from some strange colony,” he joked.

  Juila laughed. She was glad he could make a jest about it. She had fresh hope for them actually having a future together. “I’m good with weird!”

  “Me, too,” he laughed along with her. He really needed to get home even though he wished he could stay and talk more with Juila. Not knowing what else to do, he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. He pulled away and smiled as he turned to get into his car. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow!”

  “Yep, I’ll see you, too,” she called after him as she lifted her hand to wave. As he drove away, she frowned at how lame her reply had sounded. There were so many other things she could have said, but, no, she had to say something dumb. She walked back into the house to see what her family had discussed during her absence.

  She came into the living room and looked around in confusion. “Where’s Grandpa?”

  “He went home,” Riccan replied. “How did Behn seem when you walked him out?”

  “Pretty normal, actually. He’s going to come over after school every day so we can teach him how to use his birth crystal.” She looked over at Jena and said, “He doesn’t want to tell either of his siblings about any of this until he has learned to use his crystal.”

  Jena nodded with understanding. She had been reading Behn’s thoughts and knew he was going to be okay with this new information.

  Juila turned back to their parents and said, “Behn and Luke are also going to be taking us out to the movies tomorrow night. I hope that’s okay.”

  Amanda smiled at her beautiful young daughter and said, “I think it’s a great idea. Behn will need something normal to do after spending an afternoon learning to use his crystal. I may have learned while I was dreaming, but the lessons were tiring nonetheless.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “HEY, BEHN. WHERE have you been?” Jon asked when he came into Behn’s room and found him resting in bed on his back.

  “I gave Luke, Jena, and Juila a ride home,” he answered.

  “You sure were gone a long time. What took you so long?” Jon persisted. He could tell Behn was keeping something from him. Eventually, he would work it out of him.

  “I stayed at the girls’ house and visited with their family. I didn’t realize it had gotten so late,” he replied lamely.

  “What did you talk about?”

  Behn realized there was not much he could share with Jon unless he wanted to tell him the truth. Even then he did not think Jon would believe him. Not yet anyway. He had to answer, so he said, “Riccan’s dad came over, and he talked about his family.”

  “It sounds kind of boring,” Jon said as he plunked himself down on the bed next to Behn. “Did you ask Juila out already?”

  “Yes. We’re going to the movies tomorrow night with Luke and Jena. Why?” He looked over at his brother. It was not like him to be so curious about Behn’s personal life.

  “Val and I had a bet going.”

  Behn rolled over and propped his head on his hand and asked, “What was the bet, and who won?”

  “I won, naturally. We bet on how long it would take you to ask her out again. Val thought you’d wait until the end of the week,” he replied with a grin.

  “I’m glad to hear I’m so interesting to the two of you. You both need to get a life!” He rolled onto his back again and then decided to turn the tables on his brother when he asked, “So when are you going to go out with Sofia?”

  Jon actually blushed as he turned his head away toward the door. He wished he had kept his mouth shut.

  Behn poked him in the ribs to try to get him to answer.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think she’s really that into me.”

  “Why would you say that? I thought the two of you did something after school today.”

  “We did. We went to the frozen yogurt shop. Sofia hardly said anything the whole time we ate. As soon as we finished, she couldn’t get me home fast enough.” Jon shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t understand what happened.”

  “It might not have had anything to do with you. You should call her and find out.”

  “No thanks,” he said and shuddered at the thought of getting the cold shoulder over the phone as well. It would only make the whole situation worse. It was better to just let it go.

  “I’ll ask Juila about it tomorrow,” he suggested. “I’m going to be spending the afternoons at their house for a while. Juila asked for my help with some studies.”

  “Sure! Studying! Ha!” Jon poked Behn in the ribs and then jumped off of the bed before his brother could retaliate. He beat a hasty retreat out of the bedroom just as something hit the back side of the door. He laughed loudly for Behn to hear and then returned to the living room to watch his favorite TV show before dinner.

  Behn turned his head back up toward the ceiling. He really wished he could talk to someone about all of the things he had learned that day. The longer he thought about it all, the more fantastical it all seemed. Things like this did not happen to adopted kids, not unless it was part of a fantasy fiction movie.

  He really did remember his mother teaching him to use his birth crystal. That was a memory he had forgotten. Could he do it on his own? He suddenly needed to try. Behn sat up on the bed and crossed his legs in front of him. He pulled the crystal out from under his collar and n
estled it in his palm.

  His thoughts began to focus on the childhood memory and how it felt to succeed in making the energy come out of the stone. He continued to stare at the crystal and willed it to do something. Just as he was about to give up, he felt a pull of energy. A small light appeared outside of his crystal.

  “What are you doing?” Val asked from the doorway.

  Behn dropped the crystal and looked up guiltily. He had no idea what she had seen, so he tried to sound casual as he said, “Nothing. I was just looking at the mounting of the crystal.”

  “Bull, I saw you doing something. Spill it!” Valentina walked into his room like she owned the place.

  “You’re reaching, Val. Besides, Jon told me about the bet you had going. Don’t you have anything better to do than keep tabs on me?” He decided to use a diversionary tactic since she seemed determined to stay in his room and make trouble.

  “I was just messing with Jon to cheer him up since his disastrous outing with Sofia. I don’t get that girl. Jon is a perfect gentleman. Any girl would be lucky to go out with him.” She sat down on the bed where Jon had vacated.

  “Yeah, Jon’s a good guy. I told him I’d ask Juila about it tomorrow. There had to have been something else going on,” Behn agreed.

  Val turned and looked at him and asked seriously, “What were you doing with your necklace, Behn. Don’t tell me it was nothing, either.”

  “I was just looking at it, Val. Our mom gave this to us when we were little. Don’t you think it’s a little strange that we can’t take them off?” He sidestepped her question with one of his own.

  “It is weird.” She pulled her own pendant out from under her collar. Today it was a bright green as the sunlight touched it. She was always surprised to see how different it could be colored depending on the ambient light. Its color ranged from purple to red to brown to bright, almost lime green. “How come mine changes color and yours and Jon’s stay the same?”

  “I don’t know. It’s another mystery.” He looked down at his gray stone. It always looked the same, and he was glad. “Hey, have you ever heard of the Roanoke Colony?”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked, surprised at his sudden change in subject.

  “I heard someone talking about a Roanoke Colony today, and I couldn’t place where I’d heard it before. Do you have any ideas?”

  “Have you looked it up on the internet?” She stood up and walked over to his desk where his computer was already turned on.

  “No, I hadn’t gotten that far,” he admitted. He was just as happy to let Valentina do the research. His mind was too preoccupied at the moment.

  Valentina sat down in the chair and typed out a few words in the search engine. She hit the enter button and waited a few seconds for the results to appear. She scanned the results and summarized her findings, “It looks like it was an English settlement founded by Sir Walter Raleigh in August of 1585 on the coast of North Carolina. The original one hundred or so colonists suffered from a lack of food supplies and attacking Indians and returned to England a year later. Another hundred people decided to try to settle the same place again in 1587 with John White. White returned to England to get more supplies when the war with Spain delayed his return to Roanoke. By the time he finally returned in August 1590, everyone had vanished.”

  She finished talking and asked, “What’s this about, Behn?”

  He had been wondering the same thing. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “It must be a different group.”

  “Who?” Valentina demanded.

  “I heard some kids talking about finding the lost Roanoke Colony over spring break,” Behn lied.

  “That sounds stupid,” Valentina replied. She got up from the computer and turned to leave the room. She called over her shoulder, “Dinner should be ready in about ten minutes.”

  “Okay, thanks,” he called out to her as she left the room. He fell back onto his pillow and contemplated this new information. What if the colonists from 1587 had accidentally stumbled on a way into Tuala? Could there be gateways between the worlds? Is that the reason the people on Tuala were so scared to use the powers of the birth crystals? It would make sense if they had kept to themselves and still believed as the people from the 1500’s believed. The people of that time had been a superstitious lot. It could go a long way in explaining their fear of outsiders.

  He would have to ask Juila what she thought about his new theory. It did not sound any more outlandish than the one about him coming from a different world. It seemed everything was plausible these days.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Elder Debbon had experienced one frustrating event after another this day. He was glad to finally go to his house and get away from all of the petitioning constituents. If he had been forced to see one more sniveling petitioner, he could not account for how he would have reacted. Petre MacVeen had been the last person he had seen during the day, and he was always trying, even on a good day.

  Petre had actually accused him of delaying his decision on a matter he had disputed over a declan before. Petre wanted compensation from Elder Vargen for a stolen artifact. Elder Vargen had denied having ever received anything. Without proof, Petre could not present a case worthy of judgment. It was a simple matter where no evidence of wrongdoing appeared to exist.

  He teleported himself directly into his office at his home several gania away from his work Residence. Many Elders chose to live in the Residence where they worked. Debbon had found it better to separate the two houses for his own peace of mind.

  Debbon sat down wearily at his desk and rested his head in his hands. He used the elemy to relieve his head of the pulsing ache behind his eyes. It had been a long time since he had been so upset.

  There was a brief knock on his office door before it was flung open. His son, Willian, stood framed by the doorway. He stalked into the office and put his fists on the other side of Debbon’s desk. “How long has Jena been gone?”

  Debbon looked up at his son uncomprehendingly for a moment. How had Willian found out? “What are you talking about?”

  “I just came from one of the special sessions. Rasa told me both Jena and Juila are on an extended vacation. Where did they go? When are they coming back? How come I wasn’t asked before Jena left?”

  Debbon did not like the way his son talked about Jena like she was personal property. He scowled back at his son and ordered, “Sit down!” He pointed to the chair behind Willian and refused to say another word until his errant boy complied.

  He used the few moments of rebellion to compose his thoughts before he answered his son. “I met with Jehoban a couple of mesans ago. He reunited the girls with their mother. They are spending time with her for a while. You were not consulted because Jehoban had made the decision.”

  Willian still looked rebellious despite the fact Jehoban had been the one to choose. “You’ve known about this for mesans, and yet you didn’t think to tell me? I want to know where Jena is so I can go visit her. Don’t you think I should meet her mother as well?”

  “No, Willian. I think you should let Jena have this time to herself. There will be enough time with her once you are married,” Debbon reasoned.

  His son scowled at being denied. Jena was his betrothed. She belonged to him, and he should be her first priority in everything. It did not matter that Jena had never known her mother. She should depend solely on him and nobody else. “I want to hear it directly from Jena. Send her a message that I want to talk to her.”

  Debbon stood up and walked around his desk. “I’ll not be ordered around by you, Willian. If you want to send Jena a message, then I suggest you get on your patil and make it happen. If she replies to you, then you’ll have your answer.” Debbon was angry enough to strike his own son. He balled his fists to contain himself and walked stiffly out the door of his office. He had sought sanctuary in his own home and yet he had managed to find discord there as well.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Behn and Luke picke
d up the girls from their house right at seven-thirty in the evening. The movie was scheduled to begin at eight, so they had a few minutes to kill before they had to get going.

  Riccan pulled Behn aside and asked him, “How are you feeling today?”

  Behn smiled at Riccan’s question and replied, “I’m fine. I just wish I could have come over today after school to have the girls give me my first lesson. I never knew keeping a secret from my brother and sister could be so complicated!”

  Riccan chuckled. He was an only child, so he had no experience with which to compare. “Hopefully, you won’t have to keep it from them for too long. They may actually have memories which you don’t have which may help us in the search for your mother.”

  Behn shook his head and replied, “I don’t think so. Val and I have talked about our dreams and memories at length.”

  “Just consider it, Behn.” Riccan patted his arm and then turned to kiss his girls goodbye. He wished he could have spent more time with them, but he had ended up working late and was too tired to time it home. “What movie are you going to see?” he asked Juila.

  Juila turned to Behn and raised her eyebrows in question.

  Behn chuckled and answered Riccan’s question, “It’s an Adam Sandler comedy called The Waterboy. I hear it’s pretty good.”

  Riccan chuckled again since he had seen the movie trailers and knew it was about a young man who wanted to play football. He was not sure what the girls would think of the subject matter, but it really did not matter so much as the company. “Have fun, you guys. I expect you both to be home before midnight.”

  As much as he tried to play the stern father, he knew he could always check in on the girls through their necklaces. He had the sudden idea that Behn’s mother could still be monitoring her children on Earth through their crystals. He would have to ask his father if it were a possibility.

  Amanda came away from her daughters to stand by Riccan’s side as the two couples left the house. She tweaked him in the side and said, “You sound like a very concerned father.”