Between Ascension, page 14
part #9 of Levels of Ascension Series
Amanda turned and grinned at her parents before she nodded to Shemalla and replied, “They are my daughters’ best friends. Juila is actually dating Behn. Small world, huh?”
“This just keeps getting stranger and stranger!” Shemalla exclaimed. She gulped her tea to try to settle the butterflies in her stomach. With everything happening all at once, it was no wonder she had experienced a sense of unrest the day before. Her life was shifting, and it seemed as though the world itself was going to change very soon if what she knew to be true were really coming to pass.
“I’d say it’s too much of a coincidence,” Diane added as she looked at her husband in alarm. She did not like how intertwined everyone’s lives were becoming and how their daughter seemed to be the center of it all. She wished she could have her simple life back, the one where all three of her daughters were little kids, dependent upon her for everything, safe, and healthy.
“It’s getting late, and I think we should probably get going,” Chris said as he rubbed his palms over his thighs in anticipation of standing.
Shemalla was surprised to see it was actually getting dark outside. She had not realized so much time had passed. “I’m sorry, I should have offered you something to eat. Are you sure you can’t stay longer?”
“That’s kind of you, Shemalla,” Amanda said as she stood. “We do have to go, but if I can get your phone number, I can keep in touch with you.”
“Yes, certainly, I’d like that very much. Wait just a sec, and I’ll get something to write it down on.” She rushed out of the room, eager to get back before they tried to leave without it.
“Does anyone else think this is bizarre?” Diane asked her husband and daughter.
“Absolutely, but it’s also rather amazing,” Chris said with a grin ensured to annoy Diane because of his optimism.
“Of course, you’d say that!” Diane swatted his knee and chuckled softly.
As he had intended, he was able to break her out of the melancholy mood she had been fostering for the last couple of hours.
Shemalla rushed back into the room with her hand outstretched with a piece of paper. Amanda reached forward and took it from her.
“Just for grins, can I ask you something personal?” Amanda inquired.
“Sure, what is it?”
“Is your birth crystal filled with white diamonds?”
With raised eyebrows, Shemalla reached up and pulled the pendant out from under her blouse to show the clear crystals on the silver tree of life. “It sure is!”
Amanda leaned forward and nodded. She knew it would be a surprise, so she also pulled her own pendant out from under the collar of her shirt and said, “So is mine, except mine is set in gold. Do you think that means something?”
Shemalla stopped hearing anything Amanda said as soon as she realized the girl from Earth was showing her an unmistakably Tualan birth crystal. “So Alena really did perform the ceremony for you? That’s amazing!”
“No, Rasa performed it for me after Jehoban gave this to her to gift to me. Just like you said, there are some things of the story we once knew which would differ slightly with reality.”
“Too true! Which reminds me, if you didn’t come to Roswell to locate your children, why did you come here?”
“Two reasons, really. First, my sister has gotten caught up with drugs and is now incarcerated in the jail here in Roswell. We need to find out if there’s anything we can do for her, but mostly for her children. They’ve been taken away and put into foster care.” Amanda stopped talking as her mother began to sob with the telling of the story.
“You said there were two reasons. What was the second?”
Amanda looked her straight in the eyes and said, “To find you, Shemalla. In fact, given your history with lost children, you might be able to help with getting my nieces released to my parents. What do you think?”
“Definitely! Can we plan to meet for dinner tomorrow night? I can do some asking around and let you know what I’ve discovered. What are your sister’s name and her children’s names?”
Chris stepped forward and said, “Carrie Covington is our daughter. Her girls’ names are Emily and April. Do you really think you’ll be able to get them back for us?”
“I’ll do my best,” she promised.
Diane rushed forward and hugged Shemalla. She clung to her with the desperation she had been harboring for the hopeless situation. Never had she imagined that this woman might be their savior in this mess.
Amanda ripped the bottom off of the piece of paper Shemalla had handed her. She dug in her purse until she found the pen at the bottom. Rapidly she scribbled down the names as well as her own cell phone number. She held it out to Shemalla and said, “If you need any information, please call me right away. Thank you for everything!”
“I haven’t done anything yet,” she protested.
“You’ve restored my hope in this terrible mess,” Diane said as she pulled herself away from Shemalla as she wiped the moisture from her eyes. “I can’t tell you what a relief it is to know there is someone who will be advocating for us in this.” She smiled weakly and took her husband’s arm as he offered it to her. They moved past Shemalla on their way to the front door.
Amanda stepped closer to their host and murmured, “I don’t expect a miracle. Just knowing you’ll try will be good enough for me. Thank you for the offer to help.”
“Of course. I’ll call you tomorrow to make arrangements for dinner.”
“That sounds perfect. Tomorrow we were planning on visiting Carrie at the jail and then trying to find out the legal process for getting the kids out of the system. Should we leave off on the second part until after we hear from you?”
“No, go ahead. I’ll be working a different angle in any event. It won’t hurt to have you going through the normal channels.”
“Very good. We’ll see you tomorrow then,” Amanda said and then surprised Shemalla by giving her a quick hug. She moved away from her and hurried over to where her father was holding the door open for her. Amanda raised her hand in farewell and then turned to go to the truck in the driveway.
Chapter Twenty
AMANDA COULD HARDLY wait to get back to her room to talk to Riccan about what had happened that day. She looked at her clock as they got into the elevator of the hotel. They had stopped to get something to eat before returning so it was already after six-thirty which would make it nine-thirty for Riccan. She knew he would not be asleep so early, so she was able to relax marginally.
When the elevator doors opened, she stepped out ahead of her parents and waited for them to join her in the hallway. “I’ll see you both for breakfast,” she said as she leaned forward to hug her mother first and then her father. “Sleep well.”
“You, too! And don’t stay up too late talking with Riccan,” Diane admonished.
Amanda blushed at being caught by her mother and once again cursed how transparent her thoughts were on her face for everyone to read. She turned and rushed down the hall, slid her card into the door slot, and entered the room when the latch clicked open. She let her purse and coat slip off of her arm into the chair by the bed as she used her other hand to flip open her phone and hit the speed dial button to call Riccan.
Flopping down on the bed, Amanda held the phone to her ear and waited impatiently as the third ring sounded in her ear. Relief rushed through her as soon as she heard Riccan’s voice answer the call. “Hi,” she sighed out.
“Hey, babe. It sounds as if you’ve had a rough day. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Most certainly!” She spent the next half hour going over all of the revelations of the evening without any interruption from Riccan. When she finished, she sighed deeply and waited for his response.
“It sounds as if Shemalla will be coming to the rescue again for your family and I’m really relieved. What was your take on her?”
“I feel like we can trust her, but I want to be certain. Is there any way you can ask your dad if he can do a background search, or whatever it is you call it in Tuala, on her? I don’t want to share any vital information about the prophecy with her if she can’t be trusted. Do you know what I’m saying? Jehoban has put a big assignment on all of us, and I don’t want to be the one to bring it to ruin.”
“As if! Amanda, when are you going to figure it out that you are the reason this is even happening at all. You are the center of it all, and we’re all supposed to defer to your judgment.”
Amanda sat in stunned silence as she absorbed what Riccan was telling her. She had never thought of any of it in the way he proposed it, and it frankly scared her. She did not want to have such a burden of responsibility put upon her. To cover her shock, she asked, “Will you talk with your dad? Please?”
“Of course, but I don’t think it’s necessary. So are you still hoping to come home on Wednesday?”
“Yes,” she sighed in resignation, “unless we can miraculously get everything settled sooner.” She could hear a lot of noise coming over the line, and she asked, “What are you doing?”
“I’m in the office, getting the patil out while trying to hold the phone up to my ear. Just a second.”
Amanda had to pull the phone away from her ear as a loud noise issued from the speaker as Riccan tossed the phone down on the desk so he could complete his task.
“Sorry about that, the phone slipped out of my hand. Okay, I’ve got the messaging system up and running. Tell me specifically what you want to ask Dad.”
Amanda tapped her fingernail on the back of her phone as she tried to compose her thoughts into something coherent. “Okay, write this: Daven, please petition Jehoban for permission to speak openly with Shemalla Paramasivam. Also, please let me know if you already have any information on her which would preclude me from asking for her help. Thank you.”
“What are you really thinking Amanda? And don’t tell me you just said it all because I know you better than that!”
“Well, then you must know me better than I know myself because I don’t have any answers for you. Maybe I’ll figure it out while I sleep tonight, but it just feels important to cover all of my bases as soon as possible.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vinia had not heard anything back from Elder Daven regarding the discovery of Ozian in their colony. Until she heard otherwise, she could only assume, then, that it was okay for him to stay with them. As it was, Ozian, as he was now being called, was fitting right in and helping out wherever he saw a need. Of course, the women were all intrigued by the handsome stranger in their midst, with the exception of Agetha who continued to spout off negative sentiments to anyone who would listen.
Overall, the community was healing from their ordeal with Viceroy Blair and their unexpected trip to Earth. It had always been the men’s dream to return to their homeworld, yet the women had found the new land to their liking and had wanted to remain behind. With the tyrant, Grobin, and his cronies gone, peace had once again descended on the community, and the women were free to talk and laugh with one another again.
No one mentioned what their future would look like with so few men or children to keep the settlement viable. For the time being, it was enough for them to try to maintain a sense of normalcy. Crops had been harvested, what little had remained after being left untended during their absence. The women were no longer fearful for their survival through the winter since Elder Daven had provided them with enough food to keep them through the harsh mesans ahead.
Groups of women moved off into the forest to gather wood for their fires. The birds were singing in the trees making everyone feel at ease since they would not be singing if there were storms brewing or danger around. Vinia sat outside her cabin, watching the industry around her, as she mended the quilt from her bed. She had the ability to fix it with elemy, but she did not openly display her power to the villagers who had shunned the skills since arriving two hundred anons ago, seeing them as abnormal and evil.
Vinia’s thoughts turned to her children, wishing they were playing out front as they used to only an anon ago. She sighed as she realized they would never again be young enough, or free enough, to play as they had before. So much had happened in such a short time, and her life was so different now.
Even as she mourned the loss of the childhoods of her three eldest, Danika began to cry inside her cabin. With a smile at how fortunate she was to still have her youngest, she set her mending to the side and went inside to comfort her baby. “Hi, sweetie. Did you have a good nap?” she asked as she leaned over to tickle the whimpering child’s tummy. She could see her clout needed changing, so she used her powers to take care of it before she picked her up.
No matter what injunction the villagers might have against using elemy, Vinia could not see the purpose of dealing with stinky bodily functions manually. It was a relief to have the nasty task handled without any fuss. She picked up her now clean and dry baby and held her to her shoulder as she returned to her chair outside.
Danika was fussy and kept squirming until Vinia opened her blouse and put her to her breast to suckle. Vinia knew she should be trying to wean her, yet she could not get over the idea that this would be the last child who would be needing her in such a way. Nealan had been disgusted by the idea of sharing her breasts with the baby.
Vinia realized suddenly that she had not thought of Nealan in quite some time. Not too long before, she had believed she would marry him, and he was the center of her universe. It was funny how much had changed in such a short amount of time. Responsibility for the village had replaced her dreams for the future, and she found she was quite content with the way things had turned out.
She felt a stab of guilt since the last she had heard was that Nealan had been having a hard time with his recovery. It was too much to believe he would want to return to Tuala after all he had endured at the hands of Elder Vargen. Vinia, herself, could not stomach the idea of living on Earth even though her three other children had found happiness there. She belonged to Tuala as much as Nealan belonged to Earth, this much was unmistakable.
Ozian stood at the edge of the clearing, watching how Vinia and her baby were so content together. It made him wish he could be a part of their world. While he had been attracted to Juila, more than ever, he felt himself being drawn to Vinia even though she was several years older than himself. Anons, he corrected himself. He was going to have to remember the proper terms for things if he were going to try to stay and fit in.
With this new idea in his mind, he stepped forward and decided to keep Vinia company. Vinia looked up and smiled at him, which was encouraging. “Hello,” he said when he got close enough. Even though he had spoken quietly, the one word startled Danika enough to cause her to lose her hold on her mother’s teat.
Ozian saw her exposed breast and felt a thrill of excitement shoot through him. He wished he could trade places with Danika, wished he could hold Vinia close and nuzzle her breasts. The depth of his sudden emotion surprised him, and he blushed slightly and turned his face away until Vinia could resettle her daughter to eating.
“Would you mind if I kept you company?” he asked.
“No, I’d love it, but I don’t have another chair out here. Do you want to go inside and get one?”
“Sure.” He went inside and returned swiftly with a short bench from the dining table. He positioned it to the side but facing Vinia for easier conversation. “I have a few questions about life here. Would you mind talking about it?”
“Not at all.” She gazed lovingly at her daughter as she stared up at her while she suckled. There was nothing else she would be doing until after Danika finished her meal. Talking with Ozian was a welcome change.
“What are your customs for dating? Or do you even date here?”
Vinia smiled suddenly and asked, “Why do you ask? Has some girl caught your fancy?”
Blushing furiously, and cursing his fair complexion for making it so obvious, Ozian looked down at his hands clasped in his lap. “As a matter of fact, someone has.”
“I’m sorry for teasing, Ozian, it’s just such a novelty to have someone new. Let’s see, courtships have been encouraged, but they usually only last a few weeks before the couple would get married. For the past several anons marriages have simply been arranged by the men of the village with little regard to what the women might want. I’m sorry, but I think you might find some resistance to your advances for a while.”
“Even from you?” Ozian asked hurriedly before he lost his nerve.
“Me? What are you saying, Ozian? You want to be with me? Nonsense, I’m too old for you.” She felt her own cheeks warming at the thought of being with another man so soon after Nealan.
Emboldened, Ozian pushed, “Are you saying you’re not interested in me?”
“No, it’s not that…” she stammered and finally stopped talking.
“I’d like to court you, Vinia. No, that’s not exactly true. I want to marry you and take care of you and Danika.”
“I’m flattered, Ozian, but you can’t possibly mean that. I mean, what about your people back on your own planet? Don’t you think you’ll eventually want to go back home? I can’t risk another relationship with a man who won’t remain content to stay here in Tuala. After all, I have Danika to think about, and she’s getting old enough to start forming memories and bonds, and that wouldn’t be fair to her.”
“I hear what you’re saying, Vinia, and I assure you Tuala is where I want to be. My home planet is dying and far too provincial for me in any event. I’ve seen how you lead the people here and how you care for your daughter, and I admire and respect you for it. I want to help you, but most importantly, I want to be with you…in every way. Please say you will at least consider my offer before you refuse outright.”
“I’ll agree, but only so it’ll give you time to reconsider and possibly choose someone more appropriate for you from the village girls. I don’t want you to discover you settled for me because you didn’t want to wait to find the right person.”
