Fallen (39 page)

We repeated the
same
process
until all the messages were delivered: the two of us racin
g each other to the next scroll;
Eran
following
me
and helping to deliver the message
;
and
Eran
escorting me back to
retrieve
the
next scroll
.
I had never had so much fun.

After
delivering
the last message
,
we stood
anxiously
in the middle of the hall, both knowing it was time fo
r the last scroll
…
mine
.

It was quiet as
usual
but this time I
actually felt the
breeze
,
flowing
constantly
through the hall
,
as the temperature dropped.
As it continued to cool some,
I wondered if
Eran
had done this purposely. If so, I was thankful
,
because it
helped
me
overcome a sudden bout of
nausea
. How could
anyone
feel
faint
in
the afterlife
?
I wondered. But
there
I
stood
, holding on to
Eran’s
stable,
solid arm
,
not allowing myself to let go because I didn’t trust myself not to
collapse
.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked, watching me
with a concerned expression.

“I-I think so.”

I drew in a deep breath and turned
toward
the wall. This time, there was no racing up it. I moved slowly, deliberately, as he floated beside me, still watching, still
looking
concerned.

And then he stopped.

We were in the B
section, I noticed. He reached out and pulled a scroll from
its
pocket.

Billings
,
Montana
.

“You’re a long way from home,” he stated, insinuating the distance from
Louisiana
to
Montana
.

“I never even knew I’d been there.”

He
noticed I was trembling and asked dubiously,
“Would you like
me
to do the honors?”

I stared at the scroll
for a moment
but reached out to take it
.

Then my
hand slipped
,
and suddenly
,
I was falling.

The cool wind raced by me
, the shelves becoming a blur.

All of a sudden
,
I felt Eran’s
arms wrapping tightly around me,
holding me
securely
to him
. I felt our bodies intrinsically intertwining
;
my legs
seemed to fuse with his
and my chest pressed
comfortably
up against him.
I enjoyed the
warmth and safety his firm body offered.

A moment later – far too soon – he was whispering in my ear.

“We’re on the ground now.” He smirked down at me, knowing I had been focused on…other things.

“Thanks,” I said
,
stepping back away. “I’ve fallen before. It doesn’t hurt.”

“I see.
I’m still learning
your limitations here.”

We stood in
uncomfortable
silence until I realized I still held the scroll. I loosened my grip on it
, allowing
it to unravel,
coming to rest
some ten feet away.

I drew in a shaky breath,
closing
my eyes for a moment, and said, “Magdale
ne Tanner.” I instantly glanced
up at
Eran
to mak
e sure this was correct – after all,
my name could have changed between this life and the last
. B
ut the scroll began to move.

It ended up
toward
the bottom of the list.
My eyes traced the names down until they landed on
my past lives.

Previously
Magdalene Tanner
– Died
Billings
,
Montana
, October 12, 1990

Previously Margaret Talor
– Died
Gettysburg
,
Pennsylvania
, July 3, 1863

Previously Marie Lafayette – Died
Paris
,
France
, July 14, 1789

Previously Anna Willowsby – Died
London
,
England
, April 13, 1665

Previously
Friedrich
a Schaffhausen – Died
Muehlhausen
,
Germany
,
June, 5, 1525

I
felt
my eyebrows
raise
together as a sense of confusion came over me. The dates
and places
looked so familiar
,
but I couldn’t figure out why.

“Notice anything?”
Eran
asked.

“The dates…
and
the…
” I replied, shaking my head.

And then it hit me.

“The dates
and places
are the same as yours
…
” I looked up at him. “Is that odd?”

He laughed to himself
, taking a seat
on the stone bench. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice. Then I wouldn’t need to explain. But I should have known you’d see it. You’re too observant for your own good, Magdalene.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, still standing where he’d left me, too frightened to move.

Why was he so reticent?

He put his face in his hands,
rubbing exasperatedly, and then
sat up quickly
,
as if he’d made a firm decision to be straight
forward
with me. This was good. I needed to
fully
understand what was going on because that woozy feeling was coming back again.
Advisedly,
he began to speak.

“It’s not that you went to earth at the same time I did. It’s the opposite. I followed you. I followed you b
ecause you’re a messenger and I a
m a guardian –
your
guardian. It wasn’t me who chose to return to earth during volatile times, Magdalene. You chose it. Y
ou understand that people need
your service most during turbulence, chaos
,
and so you
go
. I follow to protect you. It was only this last time that I didn’t
trail you
, thinking I’d
be more capable of keeping you safe
in this form than in any other.”

“I chose?”

He nodded. “It’s always been your choice.”

And then he
snickered
to himself. “I couldn’t understand why you didn’t recognize me that first time I saved you in the street…when the
Ford
Mustang was chasing you down. To be honest, I was hurt about it until I realized the reason. You had returned to earth as a reborn.
Reborn’s
don’t begin again with a memory. Doing so only impedes their progress in the next life.”

“We’ve known each other before?” I asked
,
barel
y above a whisper because that was
all the energy I could muster, the rest of it
was focusing on
my shock.

“Oh, yes.”

“For how long?”

“Lifetimes, Magdalene.”

I moved to
the bench
, uncertain my legs
would endure much
more of this news before collapsing. “Lifetimes…
” I whispered
,
indulging in
the impossibility of it.
“You’ve followed me for lifetimes…”

“I have,”
he admitted, though he didn’t seem as inhibited about it as I would have thought.

I stopped in front of him.
“Were we friends?”
I inquired
,
knowing t
h
e opposite could have been true
too
.

He confirmed my fear
.
“No
t always
.” But then he chuckled and I
felt
slightly placated. “
Would you like to hear our story?
”