Chapter 2 of Journeys Beyond the Peaks - "A Strange Gift"

1. 2. A Strange Gift

          We don’t talk much about that night—not even with each other.  There’ve been times before when Ian has seen things that seemingly aren’t there.  But it’s the first time I’ve seen what he saw.  I find myself thinking about the power of suggestion, though.  Maybe that’s all it is.  Still, I can’t just shrug it off.  There had been something very strange about that early spring night.

          Spring passes in sunny days and cooling showers.  Finally, it’s my thirteenth birthday, and I hope Dad will keep his promise to answer my questions about this ‘sixth sense’ thing. 

          Mom says I can have one friend sleep over for my birthday since she isn’t much for hosting big parties.  So I take what I can, and invite Ailish to come over on the Friday after my birthday.  Ali and I have been friends ever since fourth grade.

          As I’m getting ready to blow out my candles, I glance over the top of the lighted cake at Dad and see him smiling at me.  Then he suddenly looks down, and I wonder if he’s going to keep his promise or not.  But then I think maybe he just wants to wait until Ali isn’t here.

          I wish I hadn’t thought this because I can’t get Dad off my mind all night, while Ali and I are watching old Vids in our PJ’s and talking.  Watching Vids has been part of my birthday ritual for a long time, but tonight I’m not into it.  Looking over at Ali, I see her trying not to doze off.

          “Maybe we need to watch something else,” she says when she sees me looking at her.

          “Yeah, this Vid is way older than I am.  But I still like the music.”

          “They don’t make them like this anymore,” she admits.  “I mean, this was one of those old movies people used to pay a lot of money to watch in a theater.”

          “How strange—sitting in a big room with a bunch of strangers.”

          “I can’t imagine it, Cinda.”

          “Have your parents ever been to one of those old theaters?”

          “Hey, it’s the year 2077,” she laughs.  “There aren’t any theaters left.”

          “Oh yeah.  I guess it was a waste of space.  Now everything is housing and hydroponics, in the cities at least.”

          “The food has to come from somewhere.  We’re just lucky to live in one of the few farming areas.”

          I just shrug and look back up at my Vid-wall.

          “Maybe we should search The Strat for another Vid,” she says into my silence.

          But instead of replying to this, I hear myself asking, “Ali, do you believe in psychic powers?”

          She turns and stares at me, her face full of surprise.  “Psychic?  You mean like people who can do séances?  My mother doesn’t allow that.”

          Her reply makes me realize I should be careful what I say to her.  I don’t want to get Mom or Dad in trouble.  “Uh well, I’m not sure about that.  It’s just my mom was talking about a sixth sense one day.” 

          “Oh, that!  Like ESP?”

          “I guess so.”

          “Well, I did see a Vid about it once.”

          “Do you still have it?”

          “Sorry, ‘fraid not.  My mom always returns Vids to the Strat as soon as she can.  She’s such a neat freak.”

          “Do you remember any of it?  Can we find it in The Strat?”

          “Well, we can scan for it if you want to.  I think it said some people seem to read minds.”

          “Did it prove they could?”  I’m dying to know more about this.

          “It gave examples of how some people were just extra-good at reading body language, you know, and clues others missed.  So, it seemed like they were reading minds.”

          “Have you ever felt like you could sense someone’s thoughts?”

          She’s laughing softly now.  “So you want me to read your mind, Cinda?”

          Before I can reply she places her hands on top of my head and closes her eyes.

          “I’m getting something,” she says in a mysterious voice.  “Yes, there it is.  You’re very hungry. I can see a picture of food in your mind.  Pizza and chocolate cake.  You’re telling me it’s time to raid the cool box.”

          I look up and see her grinning from ear to ear.  “You silly,” I laugh.  “Anyone could have figured that out.”  But I’m only saying this to hide my disappointment.  There’s a hollow in my stomach that isn’t from hunger, like there’s something I need to find out tonight.  I can tell Ali isn’t going to be any help, and I don’t want to get her mad at me, so I just say, “All right already, this talk about food has made me hungry.   Come on, I’ll race you there.”

          She’s suppressing giggles, but I’m trying not to sigh in frustration as we make our way to the kitchen.

***

Ali and I don’t get any sleep that night, but we do have fun making up fantasy stories about dragons and princes and castles—things we’d never really see, except in Vids of course.

          The next day I feel groggy and tired, like I could just drop off to sleep any minute.  Ali leaves soon after the breakfast Mom makes us—another favorite of mine, pancakes and sausage.  I’m glad she still has these old-fashioned recipes.

          “You look like you’re about to fall asleep on that plate,” Mom says, as she takes it from me.  “Why don’t you get some rest?”

          “But if I sleep now, I might not be able to sleep tonight.”

          “Just take a short nap,” she smiles.

          As I crawl in between the purple sheets on my bed I wonder what Dad is doing today.  But I must have fallen asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, because I don’t remember anything else until I wake to the sun shining in my eyes.

          I put my hand up to make a sunshade because it’s so bright.  Then I realize the light isn’t coming from my window, but from the foot of my bed.

          My heart begins to pound and cold prickles creep up my arms.  “Who’s there?  Dad?”  I try to keep my voice from quavering.

          “Don’t be afraid, Cinda,” says a musical voice.  “I’m Alexia, but you can call me Lexi.”

          “Mom, Dad, where are you?” I shout, shaking all over.  Then I feel a cool hand take mine. 

          “Don’t worry,” her voice comes again.  “I’m not a ghost.”

          But I’m in a panic now.  Throwing back the bedcovers, I leap past the glowing figure, grab the door knob and try to yank it open, but it’s stuck.  Has she locked me in?  Then the door flies open, but as I try to run a body moves into my way.

          “What’s wrong?” says a deep voice.

          “Oh Dad, I’m so glad you’re here.”  I’m barely able to get the words out.

          “What’s wrong?” he says in my ear, pulling me closer to him.

          My mind is beginning to whirl in confusion, and I stagger back to my bed.  The figure is still there and is glowing even brighter than before.

          “Who are you, anyway?” Dad snaps when he sees Lexi.

          “I’m a GAP-crosser.  Don’t you remember me, Evin?”

          “A what?” he snaps.  “And when did I meet you?”

          “Long ago.  You were very young, so perhaps you’ve just forgotten.  You came to help find my Uncle Jael.”

          Dad collapses onto the foot of my bed, and the look on his face has me even more confused and frightened.  “What is it?” I whisper.

          “A GAP-crosser,” he mutters.  “It’s been so long.”

          “I remember when you and your father came to help us.”

          “You knew my father?”  By now Dad sounds like he’s about to cry.           I’m curious, but the

sound of his voice is upsetting, so I edge closer, clinging to his neck, and end up seated across his lap.  Then I hear him say softly, “I should have told you sooner, before they came for you.”

          “Came for me?  Dad, please don’t let something take me away.”

          He can hear the fear in my voice, and rocks me like I’m still a little girl.  “It’s all right, Cinda.  Don’t worry.  No one is going to take you against your will.”

          “Are you sure?  What’s this all about?”

          Lexi moves closer to us, and I can’t help looking at her.  She’s glowing even brighter and her voice gets edgy, “You should have told her sooner, Evin.”

          “She’s still too young,” Dad replies.

          “She’s the same age your Aunt Ginna was.  And your father was only nine years old when we first came for him.”

          Now Dad’s muscles are tensing.  “Who are you to tell me how to raise my own child?”

          “Some things just have to be, Evin.”

          It’s strange to hear her calling Dad by ‘Evin’, even though it is his name.

          “Okay,” he sighs heavily.  “Cinda, like I said when you asked me before, it’s complicated.  It goes all the way back to when my father was a boy, right after he and his sister, Ginna, moved here with their mother.”

          That’s before I was even born. But what does it have to do with me?  I close my eyes again, hoping the strange girl will disappear.

          “You’re first-born, so you need to know.”  Now I hear him trying to keep his voice calm, even though my eyes are closed.

“You have the power to become a GAP-crosser, Cinda,” says Lexi.

          I open my eyes in spite of myself as she begins to speak.  She’s still there.  But this time I’m looking at her more closely, shocked to see how much she looks like me.  The shining light has dimmed enough to reveal she has dark, straight hair—same as mine.  But my eyes are hazel like my Dad’s, and hers are a piercing green that seems to look right through me as she catches my gaze.

          “So, you noticed we look similar,” she smiles.  “I think you may be my forerunner.  That’s why I came to you first.”

          A sick feeling rises into my throat and takes away all the words I might have said.  I sense tension building in Dad, and this makes me even more afraid.

          Pulling myself out of Lexi’s green stare, I look up into Dad’s face.  “Please tell me what all this is about.  I feel like I’ve fallen into a space-invaders Vid.”

          “Yes, it’s time,” says Lexi.

          Dad turns his head slightly and looks directly into my eyes.  “You probably won’t believe this, but here goes.  The GAP-crossers who came to get my father and his sister said they were time-travelers from a parallel universe.  Years later, our dad told my brother Dain and me about it.”

          “Grandpa Parker was a time-traveler?  Is that how he died?”  As soon as I blurt this out, I wish I hadn’t. 

          Dad’s jaw is set in a hard grimace and his eyes flash in anger.  I can tell he doesn’t want to talk about his father, and he moves his jaw back and forth, grinding his teeth before he finally sighs, “No.  I don’t think the cancer my father had was related to time-travel.”

          I nod silently to myself.  Dad has never even told us how Grandpa Parker died.  The look in his eyes frightens me.  It’s not just anger or sadness.  There’s almost a look of hatred as he glances at Lexi.

          “And these GAP-crossers came and took him someplace, like being abducted by aliens?”

          Lexi lets out a quiet chuckle.  “Not aliens.  We’re human just like you.”

          “Are you joking?”

          “No, Cinda.  Many strange things are out there in the wide Universe.  Your father and your grandfather have even done battle with a huge red dragon.”

          “But dragons aren’t real, are they?”  I’m beginning to wonder if I’m in the middle of a strange dream.

          “That dragon sure seemed real,” Dad mutters.  “But I was just a boy.”

          Now Lexi turns her gaze on Dad, “Evin,” she says sharply, “I think you’d better start at the beginning and tell the story in order.  You’ve delayed too long, and time is short.”

          “How can time be short when it’s a circle?”  Dad is staring at Lexi, but suddenly she fades into a mist and is gone.  “Okay,” he sighs, as he moves me off his lap.  “You’re getting heavy, my teenage daughter.”  He shifts into the chair that’s just across from my bed.  “There, I can breathe again.  Now, I need you to just listen for awhile, okay?  I know this is going to sound crazy, but I can only tell it if you don’t interrupt me, Cinda.”

          “Where did she go?” I gasp.

          “Back into the GAP, I suppose.”  There’s anger in his voice.  “I didn’t want you involved in this, but it seems I have no choice.”  He takes a deep breath.  “GAP-crossers are time travelers, who can cut across the space-time continuum.”

          “The what?”  As soon as I speak, he puts a finger to his lips.  “Oh, yeah.  Sorry.”

          “This is why I wanted to wait until you were older.  A good physics class would help you understand some of this.  There are more than the three dimensions we see around us here.  Anyway, the first GAP-crossers my family experienced took my father and his older sister on a journey through space and time.  Dad told us about it when I was about seven or eight.  It was a good thing he did, because one evening shortly after, two strangers came who said they, too, were GAP-crossers.  They needed my dad’s help to find Jael, one of those first time-travelers.  They said he’d disappeared, and only my father could help because he was his forerunner.”

          “Like Lexi says I am.”  These words slip out before I can stop them. 

          Dad gets a strange look on his face, but it’s not anger or confusion.  I can’t really tell for sure, but he seems like worried and doesn’t want me to see.  He doesn’t scold me for interrupting this time but takes a deep breath before he goes on.  “My father agreed to go, even though my mother wasn’t too pleased about it.  Later, our dog Shadow took me with him into one of those GAPS, saying we needed to fight the Red Dragon.”

          “Dad, this is too weird with all this talk about dragons.”        

          He moves closer to me and takes both of my hands in his.  “Don’t worry about the dragon,” he whispers.  “He’s not your concern.”

          “I hope so.  But did you say your dog took you?”

          “Shadow, yes.  He was no ordinary dog.  He just showed up on our porch one night and never left.  Then he began communicating with me by some sort of telepathy.”

          “You’re kidding, right?”

          “No, Cinda.  I know it happened.”

          I shake my head and look across at his face.  He seems like he’s still sane.  “So, is this super-dog still around somewhere, Dad?”

          He shakes his head.  “Shadow went off alone to die when I was about eighteen.  I probably shouldn’t have named you and your brother after us.  I guess names and their meanings have a lot of power.  Your brother’s name, Ian, is the Scottish form of Jon, and mine is the Welsh form.”

          “Who’s Jon? Was he one of the time-travelers, Dad?”

          He nods.  “That name means sent by God, or gift of God.  I hope they don’t try to send Ian through the GAP—or you.”

          I shrug and try to wrap my mind around all this.  “But Dad, I’m still confused about what the GAP is.”

          “I’m sorry.  Maybe I shouldn’t tell you anymore.  You’re too young.”

          “No. please don’t stop now.  I want to understand.”

          “Okay.  But I wish Lexi had stayed.  I’m not first-born, so I can’t really explain the GAP—it’s just a way to cut across the distances and times.  Now, try to be quiet for me, okay?”

          “I’ll listen, Dad.  I promise.”

          “Well we did help fight off the dragon, and rescue my father’s friend, Jael.  Then Shadow brought Dad and me back home.  It felt like we were gone for years, but according to my mom, it was only a few days.  So, our lives got back to normal for a few years, until Dad got sick.”

          As he stops, I see the pain in his eyes and move closer where I can touch his shoulder, but this time I keep my promise not to interrupt.

          “After our father died,” he continues, “My brother Dain showed me a message Dad left in our hayloft.  And not long afterwards, another GAP-crosser—an old man with a bushy white beard—came and took both of us with Shadow to help defeat the Red Dragon.”

          “Again?”  The words leap from my mouth.  “How come that dragon keeps coming back?”

          “He’s very powerful.  But he can be defeated in the end, with the right weapons.”

          His voice fades, and I feel his hand sweating in mine.  Looking up, I can see tears shining in his eyes.

          “I wish I’d known Grandpa Parker,” I whisper.

          “Me, too.”  Then he stops talking and we just sit for a long time. 

          “Are you a GAP-crosser, too, Dad?”

          “No.  Only first-born have the ability.  My older brother Dain could do it on his own, but I needed Shadow to take me.”

           “Does this mean I really have this—uh, power?”

          He nods.  “That may be why Lexi came.  Dain kept telling me there was some kind of call.”

          “Dad, is this why you and Uncle Dain don’t communicate much?  Did something bad happen between you out there in the—uh, GAP?

          He shook his head.  “It’s something else.  But I don’t want to talk about it.  You should ask your Great-aunt Ginna.  Maybe she can explain.”

          By the tone of his voice, I knew I should change the subject.  “Do you mean Uncle Dain could call the GAP-crossers to come?”

          “Not exactly.  He said it happened of itself—‘not when I want it, but when I need it most,’ is what he told me.”

          “So, I somehow called Lexi?”

          “Perhaps.”  He closes his eyes and slowly shakes his head.  I’m wondering if he’s just trying to stop the tears.

          “But who is Lexi?  What did she mean about that ‘forerunner’ stuff?”

          He opens his eyes slowly, and I see flecks of green shining in his hazel irises.  They seem to show most when he’s upset or excited.  “A forerunner is someone who comes before, but is closely related to someone in the future, or even in another parallel universe.  My father was a forerunner of Jael, and that’s why the two of them could merge with each other in the GAP.”

          “Dad, this is weird.  What does Lexi want with me?”

          He just shakes his head.

          “Where did she come from?  Do you know?”

          He looks into my eyes steadily before he replies.  “If she’s related to Jael like she says, then she’s from the future, Cinda—from the Thirty-first Century.”

          My mouth opens, but no sound comes out.