A Girl Between (11 page)

Belinda turned back to Tess, “Elsa, how are you doing?”

I swallowed and said quietly, “I’m alright.”

“We want to go back in again.  Are you ready to continue?”

“Yes, we can go on,” I responded.

Belinda turned and made eye contact with Tess. “Take a deep
breath and clear your mind, then go back again, through the brightness, and
then
The Between
to the blackness and the light.  You’ll be going to the
previous life.”

“There is another previous life?”

“Yes, there is a previous life before the time of
The Between
.”

In my mind, I again see intermittent flashing images of
light and dark.  I try to slow it down so that it becomes a picture.  Finally,
I can see my hands.  That is so strange. “My hands are purple.” I remarked.

“Purple hands!” exclaimed Belinda, “Look around and see why
they are purple.  There must be a reason.”

“Now I see.  I am picking bunches of purple grapes and
putting them in a woven basket.  That’s why I have purple hands,” I answered.

Belinda asked, “Can you describe anything else about
yourself?”

“I have on wooden shoes with a wide leather strap.  I am wearing
a rough brown dress and my hair is pulled back into a braid.”

“What else can you tell me about you or where you are, Tess?”
questioned Belinda.

“I am a German girl and my name is Gysel.  It looks like I
am in some vineyards in a large valley because I see mountains around us.  We
are working this land in order to pay the tithe to the church.  I am aware that
it is located by a very old Germanic city near Luxembourg.” 

“Can you tell what the time frame is?” enquired Belinda.

I hesitate before I answer, “I believe it was just before
the time of the long war between the Protestants and Catholics in the German
lands.”

Belinda directed to Mercy, “Look up the long religious war
in Germany, probably during late Middle Ages.”

Belinda turned to Tess and spoke crisply, “What else can you
say, Gysel, about what it is like there?”

“I am getting a very bad feeling about how things are here. 
I see a man on a horse that appears wealthy by his dress.  He is wearing a big
purple robe with a strange pointy hat.  Villagers refer to him as the
archbishop.  He is obviously the one in charge of the people working here
because everyone is very afraid of him,” my response is almost a whisper.

Belinda asked, “Why do you feel that things are going badly
there?”

“The archbishop is powerful and corrupt.  I also sense that
he has special powers that he uses for his own gain.  He is masquerading as a
great church leader when, in fact, he is an instrument of the devil.  I have
tried to stay invisible around him.  I have not used my healing powers for a
long time because I know it would be my undoing here,” I hoarsely whispered.

“How is your life there?” questioned Belinda.

“It is very hard.  Papa has the wasting sickness so my younger
brother, Gunther has been staying home to care for him.  We are falling behind
on our tithe to the church and I’m afraid we cannot catch up, for if you do not
pay, you end up in the dungeon.  I also worry about being charged with
witchcraft by that archbishop.  I am very careful because so many women are
being accused,” I assert quietly.

“What happens to those who are accused?” Belinda asked.

“They must undergo torture to determine if they are
‘practitioners of sorcery’.  For example, if someone is thrown into the river
and they float, they must be guilty of witchcraft.  If they sink (and drown),
then they are probably not witches.  They are also stuck with pins and
stretched out on the rack to force them to name others.  Once accused, it is
impossible to escape persecution,” I answer in a hoarse whisper, feeling a
trembling take over my body.

Belinda directs comments to Mercy.  “I think it’s time to
end this for today.  Tess has heard some very distressing personal stories. ”

Belinda faces Tess to instruct her.  “I am going to count
backwards from ten to one.  As I count, your eyes will get less and less
heavy.  When I get to one, you will open your eyes and feel wide awake.  You
will remember everything we have talked about today.   Ten, nine, eight . . . .
. . . . . . . . .one.”

I opened my eyes and saw Mercy and Belinda smiling at me.  I
felt as if I have just woken up from a series of disconnected nightmares.  The
only difference is, I remembered everything and I believed they were real. 
And, surprisingly, I feel fully refreshed as if I was asleep for a long while. 

“I just have one question for you, Belinda.  I spoke about the
hanging of witches in Connecticut and the persecution of witches in Germany by
that archbishop.  Do you know if those things actually happened in history, or
were they just crazy dreams on my part?”

Mercy said, “If you don’t mind, Mom, I’ll tell Tess about
the time frame.  It may help with her question.”  She looked at her computer
screen before continuing, “I looked up the time frame you mentioned when you
were in Germany.  You said it was before the war between the Protestants and
the Catholics in the German lands.  I believe you were referring to the Thirty
Year War that occurred in Central Europe.  That was from 1618 to 1638.”

Belinda regarded me seriously before answering, “So that
means that you were probably living in Germany either in the late 1500s or the
early 1600s.  Of course, I cannot answer any question specifically regarding
your personal stories.  I can tell you that witches were executed in
Connecticut by hanging.  The number of young children who were imprisoned is
unknown because many of the early court records were lost or destroyed.  In Germany,
many witches were prosecuted between the 14
^th
and the 18
^th
centuries.  It is known that some corrupt leaders of the church were among the
most zealous witch accusers.  So, yes, what you described during your
regression truly did happen in history.”

Even though I was looking forward to going to the fair with
Ian, my thoughts kept returning to the time I spent with Belinda and Mercy.  Belinda
was right about one thing; if she had just told me that I was a witch and that
I had lived previous lives, I would never have believed it.  The experience of
the hypnosis and the regression was what convinced me.  I now acknowledge that
I am a witch and that I have been a witch for at least two past lives.  Everything
I saw and revealed during the regression came out of a real memory.  It wasn’t
just some crazy made-up story.  Belinda said that I should be hypnotized at
least one more time to find out more about my past.  I know it would be best
for me to learn about these things, but at the same time, the regressions are
very unsettling.

Tonight, I just wanted to be a normal teenager and have fun
with Ian.  I planned on duding myself up and that meant I definitely needed
help.  Rainy happened to be here for dinner so she helped me out by
contributing her vast knowledge of hair and makeup.  She always carried her
hair goo and make up stuff in her purse, so it was readily available.  I ended
up wearing black leggings and a stretchy striped top with leather flip flops.  When
I checked myself out in the mirror, I decided that her fussing and poking was
worth sitting through.  Annie even nodded approvingly when she saw me.

The doorbell rang.  That must be him.  Think I’ll let
someone else answer the door.  After all, I didn’t want to seem too anxious.  Then,
I hear mom call up, “Tess, you have a visitor.”  Visitor!  She knows I have a
date with Ian.  Why would she call him a visitor as if he was unexpected?

“I’ll be right down,” I yelled.  One more glance in the
mirror and I walked gracefully (ha) down the stairs.  I could hear the murmur
of a male voice as I was descending.

“Hey, I . . . ,” I started to call out; then I saw that it
wasn’t Ian.  “Uhhh , , , , hi, Will.” 

What was Will doing here?  I wondered.  “So, how’re you
doing?” I asked.

Will looked up at me, “I’m doing fine.”  He did a quick
double take, “And you look great, Tess!  I’m still getting used to the new
you.”

“Thanks, Will,” I answered, “you’re not looking too bad
yourself.”  He WAS looking good.  He flashed me a sweet smile and a dimple
showed.  Did he do that on purpose?  I swear he’s done a kind of a guy
makeover, but what do I know?  Since that day I met him at the robotics club,
his hair and his clothes have definitely been upgraded.  I’m not always the
most observant though.  Maybe it’s a figment of my imagination.

“Hey, Tess, I was driving by your house and I was thinking
about going to the Tri-Town fair in Andover tonight.  I thought that you might
like to go too.” 

This was awkward.  “I’m sorry, Will.  I’m going to the fair
with someone else,” I answered.

Will was taken aback for a minute.  I thought I caught a flicker
of disappointment before his expression was a bland nonchalance.  “Guess I’m
too late.  I’ll have to learn to ask up front next time.”

Talk about timing.  I heard a truck door shut.  It must be
Ian.  Now he’s coming up the walk, whistling.  I didn’t even know if Will and
Ian knew each other.  Before Ian could press the doorbell, I opened the door
and he came right in, smiling at me.  Ian stopped smiling when he saw Will.  A
moment went by when I just didn’t know what to say.  I finally swallowed and
turned to Will.  “Will, do you know Ian Miller?”

Was it my imagination or did I see Will narrow his eyes for
a second?  “Yeah, we knew each other at school.  I believe you were in my
Calculus class last year.”

Ian answered, “I remember you, Will.  You were the math
brain, if I recall.  You used to correct Mr. Underwood at times.  I have to say
that I enjoyed that.”  Even as Ian was complimenting Will he had a little smirk
on his face.  What is it with guys?  Do they have to be competitive about
everything?

Right at that exact moment, Rainy, Eve and Annie appeared in
the front hallway, all glammed up for the fair.  They just stood there smiling,
looking between me, Will and Ian.  I knew they were hoping for some major drama
to occur.  Well, they were going to be sorely disappointed because nothing was
happening, at least not in the open.  Finally, Eve yelled, “Hey mom, remember
you said that I could borrow your car to drive to the fair tonight?”

“No, I don’t remember, dear.  Your grandma and I have our
meeting at the church and we need the car.  I’m sorry,” Mom responded from the
kitchen doorway.

“Mom, how are we supposed to get there?” inquired Annie.

Will quickly spoke up, “You girls need a ride to the fair?  You’re
certainly welcome to come with me.”  He suddenly appeared very happy.  Boy, he
sure jumped on that opportunity fast.

Rainy turned her head and noticed Will.  “You’re familiar.  Actually,
you remind me of the math brain that won the math league contest last year.  That’s
not you, is IT?”  Rainy squinted her eyes and studied Will’s face for a minute.
 “It does look like you.  I remember seeing you at the awards assembly.  You
were standing up on stage with all those other geeks.  But you look a lot
cooler than that guy looked.”

Will tried to look deferential.  “Actually, yeah, that would
be me.”

Rainy, who’s not exactly known for her tact asked, “What
happened to you?  You look REALLY different.”

Will responded with wide smile, “Well, you’re welcome to
ride with me.  I plan on parking over by the band shell.  I have a good friend
playing with the ‘Two Timers’. “

Rainy squealed, “You know someone in the ‘Two Timers’?  I
love that band.  I saw them play in Boston last winter.  Can we go with you?”

Will perked up even more, if that was possible.  “Sure, love
to have you.  Let’s get going.  The parking lot fills up quickly over there.”

Annie and Eve waved at me as they left.  Annie added, “Bye,
you guys.  See you there.”  Rainy was busy chattering away with Will.

I was feeling a twinge of jealousy watching Will leave with
three attractive girls and looking so happy.  What the heck is wrong with me?  Why
am I being so greedy?  After all, I’m with Ian.  I’ve been looking forward to this
moment all week.

Ian cleared his throat.  He’d been watching me the whole
time.  Hope he can’t read my mind.  “So, are we ready to go?”

“Yeah, sure, let’s head out,” I answered.  “Bye, Aunt Amy
and Grandma,” I yelled toward the kitchen.

As we were riding in the car, I made a point to try and see
Ian’s aura but it was too dark to see much of anything.  It has been bothering
me that I’ve never been able to see any colors at all around him.  It was
unusual for me to go this long without getting some kind of a read on a person.
 I felt like he was deliberately holding himself close to his chest, almost as
if he sensed that I had an intuiting ability and he was blocking me out.  Was
he trying to hide something?  The fact that he used to date Tonya didn’t help
matters.  What kind of a guy dated Tonya? 

Ian turned and smiled at me as we pull into the parking lot.
 Why was I dwelling on all these paranoid thoughts?  I always do this to
myself.  It was as if I had to ruin my own good time.  I smiled back at Ian,
determined to thoroughly enjoy myself.

As we arrived, you could see swarms of people walking
towards the fairgrounds from every direction.  This should be great.  The
closest thing to this that I’d ever been to was a church carnival when I was a
little kid.  Uncle Frank didn’t like us going to country fairs.  He said that
it was a waste of money and that all the junk food would make you sick.

As we were walking, Ian started talking about what he wanted
to do.  “I haven’t eaten dinner so why don’t we first grab a bite to eat and
then walk around and check things out.  Let me know if there’s anything you
want to do.  I love the rides, but it’s best to get your food half way digested
before you go on those.  Greasy foods and crazy rides can result in disaster!”  He
grinned at me.

As we were walking around I noticed a couple of things about
Ian.  He seemed to know lots of people.  I hadn’t really seen anyone that I
knew yet, although I wouldn’t expect to.  Occasionally, I would see a group of
kids that looked familiar to me and I presumed that they went to Woodley High
School.  I also noticed that just about every girl we passed gave Ian the once
over.  Then, they checked me out with a mixture of envy/dislike in their eyes.  I
have to say that I was new to this experience.

I had to admit that Ian looked like a blue jean God,
although that’s not what necessarily attracted me to him.  In fact, I’ve always
been mistrustful of very attractive guys.  They’re usually too full of
themselves to be good friend/boyfriend material.  They get accustomed to being
the object of crazy girl worship which tends to result in an insufferable ego.  Nothing
is more unattractive than a guy with a big ego.  So far, Ian doesn’t seem to
suffer from that affliction.  He exhibits a strange combination of shyness and
cockiness.  It’s very appealing.  Maybe other girls see the same thing in him.

“We’re almost up to the counter.  Do you know what you want
to eat?” Ian asked. 

“How about a hot dog with the works?” I answered.  I loved
hotdogs.

As we sat down to eat Ian suddenly laughed and asked, “Have
you noticed something about the guys around here?”

“No, I don’t think so.  What’re you talking about?” I asked,
puzzled.

“All the guys are checking you out and then they’re looking
at me like I’m a lucky guy.”  He responded, smiling at me.

“What??  You’re crazy.  I haven’t noticed that at all.”  I
looked at him dubiously.  Is he joshing me?

“I’m not kidding.  You’re a knockout and you don’t even know
it,” he said in more serious tone.

I shrugged and just looked at him.  How do you respond to
that?  Is he just trying to flatter me?

We head to the band shell when I get a strange prickly
sensation around my neck and back.  I hate that feeling because I’ve had it
before and it never leads to anything good.  It’s almost like someone’s
shooting tiny darts at me.  I stop and turn around.  Wouldn’t you know, it’s
Tonya.  She’s with her gang and she’s glaring at me with a look of pure hatred.
 What is it with her?  Ian turns to see what I’m looking at.  The minute Tonya
sees him looking she puts on a big phony smile.

Tonya strides over to us and puts her arm through Ian’s.  “Well,
Ian.  It’s so nice to see you.”

“Hi, Tonya,” Ian leans in and gives Tonya a quick hug.  Then,
he disengages himself and takes a step back from her arm hold.  “Have you ever
met Tess?”

Tonya’s eyes quickly narrowed when she glanced over at me
but she answered casually, “I’ve seen Tess around school.”

“Tess is new in town so I’m showing her some of our famous
sights,” Ian said while smiling at me.

Tonya stepped toward Ian with part of her back to me.  “Well,
Ian, if you’d like to join us later you’re welcome to.”

Ian glanced between Tonya and I before he responded, “Thanks
for the invite but we’ll be doing our own thing tonight.”

“I’ve missed you, Ian,” she says to him with a fake innocent
look.  “When will I get a chance to see you again?”

“Now’s not the time, Tonya.  Besides, we’re a done deal.  You
know that.  Nothing has changed,” Ian said in low firm voice.

Tonya’s sweet talk quickly transformed into anger, “I think
I understand.”  She made a point to stare at both of us.  Then, she stalked off
to her gang.

“Tonya seems a little perturbed,” I remarked while smiling.
I couldn’t help myself.  

Ian didn’t say anything at first.  Then, he said in a flat
tone, “She has a crazy streak.   That’s why I stopped seeing her.”

“Did you go out with her for very long?” I asked innocently.

“We went out for a few months last year.  After a while,
this other side to her personality emerged.  I didn’t like it and I broke it
off with her.  She tried to come on to me a few times since then, but I don’t
think she was really interested in me.  She just liked being the one in control
and she didn’t like getting dumped.”  Ian looked at me and shrugged.

Ian didn’t seem too comfortable so I figured it was time to
change the subject.  I blurted out, “Hey, I think I can hear some music.  Is
that the band everyone’s talking about?”

Ian turned his head to listen. “Yep, that’s the ‘Two Timers’
all right.”  He grabbed my hand and started pulling me in that direction.  That
was fine with me.  When we got there, a slow sappy country song was playing so
we got to dance real close.  That felt like heaven to me.  I fit into Ian’s
arms perfectly.  Ian was a good dancer in general which is fortunate
considering that I was NOT.

When the music speeded up Ian showed me how to dance to the
fast country songs.  It took every ounce of my self-control to avoid looking
like a total klutz on the dance floor.  Ian didn’t break out in uncontrolled
laughter so I figured I was passable.  The entire time I was thinking that I
better not see anyone with a camera or I’d have to break their arm.

I got to dance one more slow song with Ian.  I was
thoroughly enjoying myself when I made the mistake of opening my eyes and seeing
Will dancing with Rainy.  I couldn’t stop staring at them.  They were both
laughing, having a good old time.  And what was THAT?  Will had dimples!  I’m a
big sucker for dimples.  How come he never showed that dimply smile to me?  Here
I go again.  I gotta snap out of this! I’m acting jealous and I’m dancing in
Ian’s arms.  I can be such a jerk!