Dimensions of Genesis (26 page)

Translucent tears glided down her cheeks as
she whispered, “I love you”

Touching his cheek, she turned to leave the
room.

Don't look back Lily, just go. She told
herself as she walked bravely from the bed.

Pausing at the doorway, however, she couldn't
make herself go without one final look. Turning around, her eyes to
the floor, she slowly raised her chin to take in the last
moment.

Her eyes rested on the bed, ready to finish
what she'd started. Lily was shocked, however, to see Gabe's female
companion sitting up in bed, looking at her.

Her long cascading hair draped over the
shoulders of her white nightgown. Beautiful porcelain doll features
on her perfect and petite face. She stared doe-eyed at Lily as she
sat perfectly still, a sweet smile spreading across her tiny
face.

Staring directly into Lily's ghostly eyes,
she spoke.

“Oh...hi Mommy!”

A Change of Plans

The beasts apparently had some tricks of
their own. David found this out the hard way as he attempted to
ascend the tunnel. David and Michael were only fifty feet from the
ground when the shadows began their attack.

The dark creatures below had conjured their
own form of energy weapons. Several of the larger shadow beasts
surged with dark energy. Powerful shadow waves released and ripped
through the air like a sonic boom. Exploding from the surface of
the earth, the waves tore large holes in the walls of the
tunnel.

David and Michael dodged the onslaught of
dark waves as they fought to climb higher.

“David! Use your weapon while I try to
stabilize the tunnel!” Michael shouted over the roars of beasts
below.

David tried to centre himself as best he
could. Focusing on his core energy, he envisioned protecting his
loved ones. It was far more difficult in the lower dimension and
when under stress. As he tried to fire off the protective wave, it
sent a small wave crashing down onto the beasts. Many of them
roared and scattered in all directions, but the two largest,
including the huge demon, stayed to fight.

David again, closed his eyes and tried to
imagine his mother ailing in bed and how he'd wished he could
protect her from the sickness that consumed her. Forcing the images
to the front of his thoughts, he realized he was simply too
fatigued to create another wave.

David suddenly pictured Evangeline. He hoped
with all his soul he'd get to see her beautiful lavender eyes
again. As he thought of her, warmth crept into his heart, a
sensation unlike any he'd experienced before. A heat flooded his
system as her lovely face stayed planted within his
imagination.

A pulse surged through his body, as though
charging him with pure energy. Suddenly, a huge flash of white
light came from David's chest sending out an explosion of energy
like a shock wave.

A dozen black shadows disintegrated instantly
as the light touched them.

“Whoa!” Michael yelled, “What was that?”

“I have no idea!” David hollered to the
angel.

“Go!” Michael bellowed as he pointed up the
tunnel.

David moved quickly up the tunnel; looking
back once to make sure Michael was also on his way. The archangel
followed closely behind, but turned once to seal the entrance,
barring the creatures from sending another negative energy
wave.

Safely ascending and beyond the reach of the
beasts, the two breathed a sigh of relief.

“Sorry.” David said after he'd relaxed a
little. “I...had no idea.”

“I understand.” Responded Michael
compassionately, “I should have explained what might happen if they
see us.”

“Why did they attack us?” David wondered,
bewildered by the violent response of the creatures.

“They recognize us as the enemy. They realize
we are there to help the humans.” Michael explained.

David nodded, still trying to calm
himself.

“Normally, when you are attempting to help a
lost soul, you will only have to fend off one or two of the dark
energies at one time. We were in a very large city, full of very
negative energy. It was my fault for choosing that area, I
apologize.” Michael shook his head as though annoyed with
himself.

“Well, it certainly made for an exciting
field trip!” David joked, trying to lighten the mood.

The two reached the mouth of the tunnel,
which opened graciously into the field of Heaven, tired and
shaken.

Evangeline was waiting for them at the
outskirts of the meadow. David smiled wide at her, relieved to see
her again so soon. He noticed an odd look on her face, one of
concern.

“David, Michael. I have some very important
news I need to share with you.” She stated her voice serious.

“Please, tell us.” Michael said quickly.

David glanced worriedly back and forth
between the two higher beings. He was already exhausted from the
field trip, he wasn't sure he could handle yet another stressful
situation.

“We no longer need David to rescue many lost
souls.” She stated as her lavender filled with apprehension.

“What? I don't understand.” David said,
distraught. He'd come so far and learned so much. He didn't want to
give up now.

Michael looked sombre, as though Evangeline
had already informed him privately, through telepathy.

“David, we still need you. It's just...the
quest has changed.” She lowered her eyes as she continued, “The new
quest, however, is far more dangerous than the original.”

Angel

Lily turned around to see if there was anyone
standing behind her. Being a ghost, the little girl could be
looking through her at someone else. There was no way the little
girl could see her, could she?

Upon seeing there was no one behind her, Lily
again faced the little girl, who was still staring at her.

“Do you want to see my teddy?” The child
asked, looking at Lily with innocent eyes.

“Can you...see me?” Lily stammered as she
walked slowly to the bed.

“Of course I can see you! Don't be a silly
bear Mommy.” The little girl said as she reached under the blankets
and produced a teddy bear. “This is Mr. Binx, he's my favorite
bear.”

“Very nice.” Lily responded with a smile as
she tried to decipher who this child was. “What's your name little
one?”

Giving Lily a pouting look, she stated,
“Mommy, don't play games. You know who I am.”

Mommy? Why does this child keep calling me
that? Lily wondered, Quinn! She has to be Quinn's little girl.
Quinn and I have always looked very similar...except Quinn cut off
her hair.

Completely confused, Lily persisted in a new
direction. “Is that...Uncle Gabe?”

“What?” the child frowned at Lily, “No,
that's my Daddy!”

Okay, let's see here. Maybe Gabe and
Quinn...got together...and had a child together...Lily smothered a
pulse of pain as she contemplated Gabe and Quinn together. This
child looked to be about five years old. According to the number of
red roses that Gabe had left for Lily in the tree house, she'd been
dead for five years. The math didn't add up. Lily felt like she was
playing a game of Clue, but the puzzle pieces didn't fit
together.

The little girl finally sighed, apparently
sensing Lily's frustration, then declared. “Hope. My name is Hope
Lily Konstantinos.”

Shocked, Lily managed to respond. “What a
beautiful name!”

“How come you never visited me before?” Hope
blurted out suddenly.

Lily sat on the bed beside Hope. It was
obvious the child wasn't afraid of the fact she was chatting with a
ghost, so Lily didn't think she'd mind.

“Um...I've been...away, for a while.” Lily
had no other way to answer, she had no idea what was going on.

The whole situation reminded Lily of the
weird Twilight Zone shows her brothers used to watch late at night
when their parents were sleeping. Her brothers knew those types of
shows wouldn't have been permitted by their parents, as they were
paranormal in nature.

So, late at night, the children would sneak
downstairs and quietly find the channel the show was on. Lily never
liked watching the scary shows, they gave her nightmares, but she
loved being up late with her brothers.

Maybe I'm having some kind of dream. A
hallucination or something. Lily considered. Everything since her
fall from the tree house had been bizarre, to say the least, so why
couldn't this be part of the craziness.

As Lily sat on the edge of the bed, Hope
leaned in closer to her and whispered, “I'm tired Mommy, I'm going
back to sleep. Will you be here when I wake up?”

“Um, sure, I'll stay.” Lily smiled at the
beautiful child. It really was amazing how much Hope looked like
Lily, her hair, her skin, her eyes.

“Thank you.” Hope said as she yawned and lie
down, pulling the blankets over herself. “Daddy said we might go
visit you tomorrow. We always go for ice cream after. I like
chocolate.” Hope murmured as she fell asleep.

Lily stared at Hope's angelic face for a few
minutes, watching her drift off to a world of dreams.

“Visit me?” Lily repeated, wondering if she'd
heard the child right.

~

The next morning, as Lily watched Hope and
Gabe awaken for the morning, she felt an intense sadness sweep over
her.

This is supposed to be my life. She thought,
her heart heavy with regret, I'm supposed to be waking up with my
family right now. Kissing Gabe good morning. Helping Hope brush her
hair. This life was supposed to be...something else.

Watching Gabe as he performed his fatherly
duties with ease and tenderness, Lily wondered what life would've
been like if she hadn't died. She would be the one helping Hope get
dressed. It would be Lily that made Hope chocolate chip pancakes
and whipped cream in the morning. Lily would be the one to kiss her
when she fell and scraped her knee.

Wait! Lily snapped at herself angrily, This
child can't be yours, so quit your stupid daydreaming Lily!

Lily decided to smarten up and take things
more seriously. She couldn't go around pretending she still
belonged in the world of the living. She was dead. She knew she’d
have to just face that fact.

Besides, the pain that swelled in her chest
from thinking about ‘what could have been’ was terrible.

Lily felt stupid tagging along behind Gabe
and Hope as they went about their daily business. She sat beside
them as they ate breakfast, then followed them outside and watched
them play on the swing set.

It surprised Lily that Hope never mentioned
anything about seeing her the evening before. She surmised the
little girl must have forgotten all about the encounter, plus it
didn't appear that Hope could see Lily now.

Maybe I'm just going crazy! Lily thought to
herself, though she wasn't convinced. She knew she had not imagined
talking with Hope. Lily had also not forgotten what the little girl
had said about going for a visit.

What on earth could she have meant? She
wondered as she replayed Hope's words in her mind. Suddenly, she
understood. Oh...my grave. They're probably going to visit my
grave. She thought with a heavy heart.

Gabe diligently pushed Hope on the swing.
Though he was smiling, his blue eyes harboured a deep sadness.

It's all so sad, thought Lily wistfully; we
should have had a lifetime to spend together. It must be so hard
for him, taking care of a little one and having no one to share his
life with.

“Daddy?” Hope said suddenly as she swung back
and forth on the swing.

“Yes sweetheart.” Gabe answered.

“Are we going to see Mommy today?” the little
girl enquired, her long hair swaying with the breeze of the
motion.

Sighing, Gabe appeared to struggle
internally, finally he answered. “We can if you like sweetie.”

“Oh goodie! I would like a chocolate sundae
with sprinkles after.” She grinned, licking her lips in
anticipation.

“Honey.” Gabe said as he stopped the swing
and looked at Hope seriously. “We don't go visit your mother just
so we can get ice cream afterwards, okay? Do you just want to go
for ice cream instead?” He asked, apparently hoping to avoid the
visit.

Hope thought pensively for a moment,
contemplating her answer, then spoke confidently. “No, I want to go
see Mommy. I told her we'd visit her.”

Lily was surprised when she heard Hope speak
of their conversation. She was sure the little girl wouldn't
remember it at all. Scanning Gabe's reaction, Lily was unsure as to
how he was going to respond.

“You...told her?” Gabe asked, obviously
confused.

“Yup. Last night, she came to visit me.” Hope
stated bluntly.

Sighing deeply, Gabe lifted Hope off the
swing and turned her to face him. Crouching down onto one knee, he
looked her in the eyes and spoke. “Sweetie, we've talked about the
difference between dreams and what's real, right?”

Hope nodded as she listened intently to her
father.

“Mommy's not able to visit you, she's...” he
paused, apparently searching for the right words. “well,
she's...not here anymore.” Gabe explained as tears filled the
corners of his eyes.

“But she was in the room last night, she
looked like an angel.” she told him excitedly.

Lily's heart filled with warmth when she
heard Hope call her an angel. She didn't consider how the little
girl might see her. An angel! Lily thought, How beautiful!

Gabe pinched the bridge of his nose with his
thumb and forefinger, obviously trying to think of how to proceed.
Just as he opened his mouth to explain further, Lily's mother
hollered to them from the front door.

“Lunch!” Maggie yelled with a smile.

Hope moved to run to the house, but Gabe
stopped her gently. “Let's not talk about this sort of stuff in
front of Granny, okay? It might...make her sad. Okay beautiful?”
Gabe told her softly.