Within the Cards (37 page)

A strong wind blew from the north. Ellie touched my arm, and she pointed toward the northern sky. We all looked in awe. This old witch known as Anesidora to me was standing with her husband Epimetheus, his brother Prometheus and Zeus, the God of thunder. She was no longer an old witch, but she was the beautiful woman in the picture of Elizabeth’s mind. She had completed her task with my help to right the wrongs of evil that she unknowingly released. Pandora had returned to her throne as a Goddess, and she would watch over us from the heavens. She smiled, and I noticed she was holding the box. I turned to look at Ellie and then turn back as they disappeared. Elizabeth laid her head on Ultress’s arm. Lauren and Dee held hands. Thomas held Graylee, and Ellie and I smiled at the existence we had in front of us.

With the box safe from evil hands, Ultress took the key I willed from the hands of his sons and placed it on a gold chain. He turned to his wife and secured it around her neck. He trusted her to keep it safe. She looked up at him and smiled. She knew he loved her more than he loved his immortality. He held her chin and kissed her lips. The rest of us watched and knew they were the reason each of us stood on earth today. They were our creators.

Once we arrived back at the arched gates. It was time for our parting. Ellie held out her hands to her mother.

“I am glad you’re with me now, and you’ll remain in my heart.” Ellie spoke softly.

“And you in mine dear daughter as you have always been.” Lauren returned softly with a smile. They embraced holding their love tight. It was a love Ellie remembered from her childhood. Ellie then turned to Dee holding out both hands. Dee reached out to her, and they joined together.

“Thank you sister for everything you gave up and did for Daught and me. I love you.” Ellie’s voice was again soft toward her sister. Dee started laughing.

“Nothing to it little sis. Besides I’m kind of getting use to the smell.” She said to her sister and then winked at me.

“I don’t think she gave that much up. It looks to me like she gained.” I looked back at Thomas. He laughed and then smiled at Dee. Graylee jumped down from Thomas’s arms and ran to Ellie. Ellie picked her up and gave her a big hug, as did Graylee return.

“I’m gonna miss you little one.” Ellie spoke as she twirled around with Graylee in her arms. They both giggled. Dee leaned against Thomas and watched. Ellie put Graylee down, and she ran to me. I bent down, and she hugged my neck. I looked up at Thomas and Dee.

“What do you think about that?” I asked as I pointed to her brother and Ellie’s sister. She looked in their direction and smiled.

“Don’t worry; I’ll keep an eye on them.” She said as she hugged me again. We all began to laugh. Graylee ran to Ultress, and he picked her up. Elizabeth shook her head.

Ellie looked at her family and then at me. She felt pleased that her family accepted her creation and loved me as she did. She walked over to her grandparents. The smile on her face told the story of pride for these two immortals. Ultress place Graylee on the ground and wrapped his arms around his granddaughter then picked her up high into the air swinging her around. The cherub giggle was loud and full of happiness.

“We’ll see you soon my children. Finish this class if you must, but return home to your rightful place to rule with us in this new world.” He spoke to both of us. Ultress’s tone was firm, but gentle. Ellie hugged her grandfather again, and I shook his hand.

Again, I shook Ultress’s hand and embraced each of the females. Our parting was gentle except for Dee. She walked with Ellie and me to the end of the graveled path. She hugged Ellie, and then she wrapped her arm around my waist as if being a loving, gentle soul. With a swift motion, her foot connected to my butt. Everyone began to laugh. Ellie shook her head as the cherubs sang though her laughter. I grabbed Dee before she could escape and picked her up with her back facing my chest. I whirled her around and around making the world spinning around us. Dee and I had formed a relationship that would become the entertainment of our eternity. As we waved goodbye, Ellie and I held hands. She looked up at me and smiled then we vanished back to our human-like existence to a place called Delmont.

EPILOGUE

Ellie and I were ready to go to our class this morning as we started for the door of my dorm room. Of course, once we returned to school, Ellie redecorated my room to suit her comfort in black and crimson. As we reached the door, Ellie looked at me, but I knew what she wondered. I held up the research paper that was due this morning. It rested in a leather backing. She smiled and kissed me.

Walking up the stairs to the building in which contained the lecture hall where Ellie came back to me. We walked together holding hands. The thoughts of others made me smile. Yes, I was deeply in love with the breathtaking, beautiful being that laughed at these thoughts. We stopped on the top step realizing all eyes looked in our direction. I pulled her close and kissed her. The thoughts of our classmate were racing with thoughts of “what the heck.” They were in disbelief, and they stared in awe.

Trish, Meg, Jen and Brit stood in a circle with their mouths open. I heard Ellie’s thoughts of a fly landing on their tongues. With the moment ending, she pulled back and smiled holding my eyes for what could have been an eternity for humans, but it was only a short millisecond of time for us.

Ellie giggled as we listened to their thoughts. They were in shock. Trish’s thoughts of jealously rang out above the others. However, one voice was missing and something was telling me there was something wrong. The brunette male I now knew as Michael wasn’t here. I searched for him, but my thoughts were dark. He was not of the living. My memory of the professor’s thoughts came back to me, and I wondered if he completed his violent act of murder. I search through the thoughts of the others students standing around waiting to go to class. They were unknowing of his missing. They thought he was off doing drugs or laying up with a woman somewhere.

We turned to enter the building as the wind blew a breeze that chilled our immortal souls. The smell was one we both knew. A small child deep in the jungle of South America named Graylee described the smell as the ‘stinky one’. Ellie looked at me. Our eyes turned tense. We both knew she was near. I felt a cold chill run down my back as Ellie’s grip became tighter on my arm.

My thoughts went back to Anesidora’s tomb and the last card she drew for me:

Card:
The World
; in the reverse – This card shows accomplishment, a fulfillment, the completion of a personal cycle, a project, a series of events or a chapter in one’s life. However, this card lay in reversed. It showed completion delayed, resistance to change, an indication that events have not yet concluded.

I knew this card would hold our future and would again put Ellie and me in the middle of a new adventure.

SUZI:

“They will pay, I will make them pay.

The whispers of the wind blew.

The End

Donna M. Altman

Author of Within the Cards

Donna lives in Georgia near her two sons and beautiful granddaughter. She has a degree in Science but has always had a love for English literature. She views her writing as a form of meditation. When asked about her characters she said, “I have a passion for breathing energy and emotion into the mysterious characters that float within my imagination thus allowing them to live within the human world”. Donna hopes you have enjoyed reading Within the Cards, which is her debut novel. Presently, she is working on the sequel due out November 11, 2011.