Valentina sat back with a disgruntled sigh and rubbed her temples.
“I have news about our mother,” Behn changed the subject.
“What?” Valentina perked up a little.
“She’s been appointed the leader in Roanoke, and she and our sister have moved back to our old home. We could go back there and visit, even spend the night, now that she has her own home again. What do you think?”
Valentina was horrified to think about going back to the town where Grobin used to live. She groaned in agony as she clutched her head. “I need to lie down again. My head is killing me.” She swiveled in the chair and took the two steps to flop down on the mattress.
Behn watched her curl up on the bed with her back to him. He kept feeling like he should try to keep her talking. For a moment there she had seemed like her old self, but now she was closing herself off again.
Not wanting to leave things the way they were, Behn crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed. He reached out to touch her shoulder and was shocked when she about jumped out of her skin. “I’m sorry to have startled you, Val. Do you want to talk about what happened?”
Valentina’s head whipped around, and her eyes bored into his as she asked, “What did Juila tell you?”
Behn raised his eyebrows at her sudden change of tone and then shook his head slightly as he replied, “All she said was to give you some time. A lot of people are afraid of dying, Val. Anything you said while you were up there was only your fear talking. You don’t have to be ashamed of wanting to live.”
Valentina shut her eyes to hide her relief. It seemed as though Juila had not betrayed her confidence and Behn was unaware of what had really happened while they were being held captive. She breathed deeply while she thought of how to reply to Behn’s statement. Her heart rate began to decrease as she said, “I don’t want to talk about it, Behn. Can you please let me rest?”
“Okay, but if you decide you want to, I’ll listen.” He wanted to stay and comfort her, but it seemed as though she wanted to be left alone. His hand hovered over her shoulder, and he thought better of touching her again. With a shake of his head at how useless he felt in this situation, he stood up and quietly left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Valentina waited until she heard the door click shut before she allowed her emotions to take control. Her shoulders shook with the strength of her muffled sobs. She stuffed her pillow up against her face to keep anyone from hearing the tormented cries of fear.
Her brothers could never know what she had endured at the hands of Grobin. She was certain they would kill him, and it would ruin their lives. Secretly she wished she had been able to kill Grobin herself, but she had proved weak and paralyzed to do anything to help herself.
While the physical wounds of the attack had been healed from her body, the mental wounds were still raw and painful. Valentina’s mind kept replaying the act over and over, each time creating a more violent and intense scene. She felt so violated and scared for her future. Until she knew the outcome of Grobin’s physical attack, Valentina could not possibly return to a normal life. Normal, she scoffed, I will never be normal ever again. I’m tainted, used goods. Nobody will ever want me now.
Fresh tears poured from her eyes. She cried for the innocent girl who had been taken from her. She cried for how simple it had been for Grobin to take her. Mostly, however, she cried for her shattered future. After a while, the tears seemed to have run out. Valentina’s wracking sobs had exhausted her entire body until all she could do was close her eyes and pray for sleep without dreams of Grobin.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
RASA SPENT ONE more night at the Stel house before she knew she would have to return to Manzanit to continue with her studies with Elder Wilken. The extra time spent on Earth was mostly to benefit Gevena. The girl had been so traumatized by her recent past that Rasa wanted to make sure she had some peaceful time to recover before they took her to Manzanit to begin her new life.
Several correspondences had been sent and received from Elder Wilken regarding his opinion on the best plan of action for the displaced girl. He had been thrilled to hear that Gevena had wanted to return to his Residence. His own daughter was grown and had moved far away; he was going to enjoy having another young girl around. She would be like the granddaughter he would never have.
The morning arrived along with a thunderstorm. She always enjoyed the feel of the air around her and the smell of the charged particles. She sat at her open window and watched the flashes of lightning as they lit up the sky. The storm was coming closer which thrilled her.
Her bedroom door opened, causing Rasa to wonder who would need her at this early hour. She saw Gevena enter, her eyes wide with fear. Rasa swiftly left the window seat and went over to give the young girl comfort. “Hey, it’s okay,” she said soothingly as she rubbed the girl’s bony back.
“I hate thunder,” she whispered. “It reminds me of the times my father would come home drunk and tear the house apart in his rage to find more money to go out and gamble again. He always made so much noise with his yelling and stomping.”
“I’m sorry, Gevena. I love the storms; they remind me of Jehoban’s power. He controls everything, and I imagine each flash of lightning is a visual reminder to pay attention, and the thunder is His voice proclaiming His power.” She pulled away from Gevena and said, “Let me go close my window so it won’t be so loud.”
“No, Rasa, you don’t have to do that. I like your explanation of the storm better than mine. Maybe if I thought of it your way, then I could begin to appreciate it rather than fear it.”
Rasa smiled at Gevena’s attempt to please her. “Do you want to sit at the window seat with me then?”
With only a slight hesitation, Gevena nodded and followed her to the window. She sat down with her back to the edge of the window drawing her legs up in front of her with her nightgown pulled over her knees. She folded her hands across her shins and rested her chin on her knees.
“How do you feel about going to Manzanit today? I have obligations I need to get back to, and I think everything is under control here now.” Rasa watched Gevena’s expression carefully to make sure she was actually ready. She was pleased to see the girl did not flinch like she had previously.
Gevena rubbed her lips together and began to gnaw on them nervously as she thought it over. Finally, she nodded her head while her chin remained resting on her knees. She already owed so much to Rasa for offering her a place to live, the least she could do would be to agree to leave when Rasa needed to go.
“You’re going to love it there. We have so many private gardens where you can relax and hear yourself think. We can enroll you in school so you can catch up on the things you’ve fallen behind in.”
Gevena groaned at the idea of school. She knew how far behind she actually was and she hated to have to admit her lack to Rasa. She decided to tell on herself right away rather than wait for Rasa to find out on her own and be disappointed. “I stopped going to school several anons ago. My father told me it was a waste of time and he wanted me to be at home to take care of him while he was drunk. I’m sorry, Rasa.”
“Don’t worry about it, Gevena. We’ll get you caught up in no time. I will make sure I’m available to tutor you so you can catch up with the rest of the kids your age. It’ll be fine, you’ll see,” Rasa said as she patted the girl’s toes where they peeked out from the skirt of her nightgown.
Gevena wanted to believe it could be so simple. She tried to feel as confident about the situation as Rasa obviously was and she smiled tentatively. “I’ll try not to disappoint you.”
“Don’t worry about that. As long as you do your best, I’ll always be proud of you.”
Feeling shy at the praise, Gevena turned her head to look out the window. She wished Rasa could have been her mother instead of the woman who had left her when she was only a toddler. All of her life she had wanted to make her father proud of her, yet he always found fault in whate
ver she did. Here Rasa was saying she would be proud no matter what, it was almost too good to be true.
“When are we going to leave?”
“Right after we eat breakfast. There’s nothing to keep us here, and plenty awaiting us at home.”
“I wish I could have said goodbye to Juila and Jena. They’ve been so nice to me. I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have a sister or even a best friend. Since I’ve gotten to know them, it seems like they’ve taken on both of those roles with me.”
“They are both able to fly telepods, so I’m sure they’ll come and visit you once you’ve gotten yourself settled in. I told them last night that we’d be going.” Rasa stood up and walked across the guest bedroom where she picked up two envelopes from her nightstand. She returned to the window seat and held out the notes to Gevena. “The girls asked me to give these to you since they weren’t going to see you before you had to leave.”
Gevena held the paper in her hand, wondering if she should open them now or wait until she was alone. Opting for the latter, she set them down on the bench seat beside her. It made her feel even more special to have her own private notes to read. Nobody had ever written to her before, and it was exciting to imagine a little longer what the girls might have shared with her.
“It looks like the storm has blown itself out,” Rasa commented. She stared out the window and wished it could have lasted longer. She sighed at the inevitable. Her time off was officially over, and she was going to have to return to her duties with Elder Wilken again. “You best get yourself ready to head out. Meet me in the kitchen when you’re done.”
Gevena scampered off of the bench with her letters held tightly to her chest. She looked forward to the adventures ahead of her while also worrying about learning a new place and meeting new people. Her life had definitely taken a turn for the better ever since she had been rescued by Juila. It was a debt she doubted she could ever repay, but she would do her best to find a way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sofia could hardly contain her curiosity over what Jon had seen and remembered because of his visit home to Tuala. The incident with the telepod had overshadowed the purpose of their trip. Everyone had been so happy for them to return safely, that Jon’s original idea of seeing his childhood home was temporarily forgotten.
She caught up to Jon as they were heading to lunch. She put her hand on his arm to be able to keep up with him in the crowded hallway. “What was your home like?” she said quietly as she leaned closer to him.
He smiled down at her and answered, “It was really cool. The house was just a small shack, but I remembered a lot more than I thought I would. Just like it was for Val, I could see us all living inside the cabin, laughing and talking. There were some things I recognized outside the house, but not nearly as much. I was a pretty sickly kid, so I spent most of my time indoors.”
“Did Val have any breakthroughs from going there again?”
“I don’t really know. She’s been so quiet since…you know.”
“Is she really okay? I mean, it’s been three days now, and she still hasn’t come back to school. I really doubt a migraine would last this long. Maybe there’s another problem.”
“Maybe, but I sure can’t imagine what it would be. It’s possible she just wanted Christmas break to be a week longer!” He chuckled at his own joke even though he knew it was unlike his sister to ditch school.
Sofia merely smiled to be polite. She had seen Valentina’s face when they were trying to get her off of the telepod. Something was definitely wrong with her. Her suspicions were heightened when Juila had translated Valentina directly to her room rather than taking her through the house where all of the other people were congregated. It seemed there was more to Valentina’s story than anyone was sharing.
“Have you had any more breakthroughs since you’ve been home?”
“Not really.”
“What was it like up in space?” Sofia had been dying to ask him about it.
“Big!” he shivered at the memory. “It was dark, cold, and really quiet. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t make a good astronaut now that I’ve had some experience with it.”
They got into the lunch line, so their conversation naturally came to an end. Sofia continued to fantasize about their epic adventure. She was certain there was more to what had gone on, and Jon was just downplaying the gravity of the events. Valentina seemed to still be suffering from the journey, yet it remained unclear why.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Neal’s meetings with Dr. Medin had been both amazing and disturbing at the same time. After each hypnosis session, he felt like he was more in control of his memories, even if they did make very little sense. Just as the doctor had asked, Neal faithfully wrote down all of the details he could recall of the time he had been missing.
He flipped back through several of the journal pages and reread what he had noted. It still seemed as though his mind were working in a dream-like state since many of the accounts made little sense.
One particular story had him living with a woman who looked like Amanda, who he believed was named Vinia. She had stood in their kitchen and asked him what he wanted for dinner. He had told her and then instantly the food appeared on the table. Obviously, this story was just that: a story.
He hoped the truth would eventually become apparent. He rested his temple on his left fist as he tapped his pen onto the page of the journal. He contemplated what more he could do to encourage his memories to return. So far he had followed all of the doctor’s instructions of eating right, getting lots of sleep, and writing in his journal.
Thinking there was one other option, Neal picked up the phone and dialed Amanda’s phone number. He hoped she would take his call. Several more rings sounded in his ear before the answering machine turned on. He listened to Amanda instructing him to leave a message after the beep.
The beep sounded, and Neal said, “Hi, Amanda. Thanks for referring me to Dr. Medin. I think it’s helping a lot. I’d love to sit down with you and Riccan to talk about a few things which are still confusing. Give me a call and let me know when we can get together. Thanks. Bye.”
He hung up the receiver and sighed deeply. It was too much to expect Amanda to be sitting around waiting for his phone call. Hopefully, she would call him back. With another sigh, he flipped the pages in his journal to the last page written in. After another few taps of his pen on the table top, he began writing a few more details of memory.
Chapter Forty
CAPTAIN AHN CAME home from work and walked into the eerily quiet front entrance of their house. He had grown used to the sound of Danika’s giggling and nonsense chatter. He sighed as he took his coat off and hung it in the hall closet.
Barla appeared at the end of the hallway and smiled as she stepped toward him. Ahn still thought she was the most beautiful and amazing woman he had ever known. After being married to her for more than two declans, he never tired of her warm embrace when he arrived home from work. She was the reason he came home rather than work late hours down at the dock as he had once done in the past before she had appeared in his life.
He pulled back from her and gave her a passionate kiss. “I love you, Barla,” he whispered with his lips still touching hers. He could feel her lips curl in a smile as he knew she would. He rested his forehead against hers and said, “The house is entirely too quiet with only Corva running around.”
“I know what you mean. I spent all day going from room to room expecting to hear Danika’s babble and see Vinia carrying her around getting her tired enough for a nap. Maybe we should look at taking in another orphaned baby.” She was always ready for more children, yet Ahn had been less receptive for the last several anons.
“Now it’s one thing to have a baby with a mother, and it’s quite another when you are expected to be the mother. Call me selfish, but I want to spend my evenings with you!” He pulled her beside him and began walking down the hall to get to the kitchen. “I’m famished. What should
we make for dinner tonight?”
They reached the doorway to the kitchen and Ahn had his second surprise for the day: dinner was already made and set out at the informal table for them. “You made glawlets!” It was his favorite dish, and he promptly became distracted by the thought of eating them.
“I also made enskil dumplings with foxl crisps and butter along with baked krumpli with clotted cream. Here is a bowl of tocolas and a pot of java. I had so much time on my hands that I thought I could go all out and get this ready as a surprise for you.”
“You are amazing.”
“I have to admit I used my birth crystal to create some of the easier things, but it was good practice. Corva should be home any minute, and then we can sit down to eat. Why don’t you go upstairs and wash up?”
“Gladly! If Corva isn’t here by the time I get back, then we’ll just have to be rude and start without her!” Ahn winked as he turned around to head up to his bedroom to get changed into more comfortable clothes and to freshen up.
Barla rushed to the back door to see if Corva were on her way back from the neighbor’s house. She really disliked beginning dinner without everyone present. It felt incomplete when they left anyone out, even if they were late.
She could hear Ahn stomping around upstairs, and she smiled as she imagined him rushing through his routine to get back down to his favorite meal. The glawlets were a typical breakfast food, but Ahn had insisted it was proper to eat good food at any time of the day, so she made the exception for him.
Still looking outside, Barla heard Ahn coming down the stairs just as Corva jumped over the back fence and ran through their yard. Barla was pleased to see Corva was still young enough to be a tomboy. All too soon she would become a serious young adult and not want to be playful anymore unless a boy were involved. Barla opened the door and called out, “Hurry up and wash your hands. Ahn is coming downstairs right now and he’s excited about the glawlets!”
Ascension Vision- The Levels of Ascension Box Set Page 24