Chapter 4 - "After the Storm" - Book 1 of The Journeys Saga

Journeys Saga Book I - New working title "A Voice in the Past"

Photo below is Long's Peak, Colorado Rockies.  One of the Fourteeners mentioned in Chapter 3.  It's known for its unusual flat top.  This photo taken in Rocky Mountain National Park by Paul Erler, Sept. 2017.

Leah is right.  The storm soon passes, and we crawl back out of our tents to warm up camp stoves and start supper.  By the time we’re finished eating the sun is back out, and we can watch it disappear behind the mountains to the west of us.  There are only a few patches of the white ice pellets left in the shadiest spots.

          “I’m sorry we’re not allowed a campfire,” says Jeanine.  “It would be fun to sit around, sing songs, and tell stories.  But it’s getting dark.  Without a fire, I guess we’ll just have to get into our tents while we can still see them.”

          As Leah and I crawl back into our tent, I hear her humming a tune.  “What song is that?” I ask.

          “It’s called ‘The Happy Wanderer’.  It’s an old camp song.”

          “Please sing it for me.  I’ve never heard it.”  Shivering, we quickly crawl into our sleeping bags to get warm.  “I’m glad Jeanine said to get in our tents.  My hands feel like ice.”

          “Mine, too.”

          As I lie there in the gathering darkness, Leah’s voice begins the song, “I love to go a-wandering…”

          But I must have dropped right off to sleep, because I never hear the end of the song.

          It’s still dark outside when a yellow light glows beside our tent door.  “Who’s there?” I whisper, thinking it’s someone with a flashlight, maybe Jeanine checking that we’re tucked in.

          “Cinda, come out here for a minute,” says a female voice.

          “Wait,” I whisper.  I see no reason to think it isn’t Jeanine.  After all, we’re up here isolated in the mountains.

          I crawl out of my sleeping bag as quietly as I can.  Leah stirs and mumbles.  I freeze.  Once I feel confident she’s still asleep, I unzip the tent door.  The sound seems like a passing jet in the silence of the night.

          “What’s wrong?” Leah’s sleepy voice asks.

          “Nothing.  I—uh—just have to go pee.”

          “Oh—‘kay.”  She pulls her bag over her head, as I heave a sigh of relief.

          Once I’m out the door and it’s zipped again, I shade my eyes and try to focus on the bright figure blocking out the night.

          “It’s me, Cinda.  Lexi.”

          My legs give way and I sit flat on the ground, but she reaches down and helps me up.  At the touch of her warm hand, I shiver for an instant. Then the warmth seems to flow into my body as she pulls me away from the cluster of tents to a pile of boulders several meters away.

          A cold chill freezes my backside as I sit down next to her.  Then it rises to my belly and runs through me like a knife.  “Why are you here?”

          “Because it’s time to come with me.”

          “Do I have to go?  I’ve finally made some friends, and this will make me miss my one chance at camping in the mountains.”

          “Don’t worry.  I can take you through the GAP, and we’ll be back before morning.  No one will even know you’ve been gone.”

          “How can you do that?”

          “I just fold space and time--and cut across the GAP.”

          “What is the GAP, anyway?”

          “It stands for Galactic Antipaterminal Passage.”

          “Is that like a Wormhole?”

          “Sort of.  Wormholes are in space.  But GAPs can be anywhere.”

          “Why do I have to do this?”

          “Because you’re the one being called.”

          “I thought I called you.  That’s what my dad said.”

          “Well, it’s a two-way thing.  You and I are meant to work together, Cinda.  I need you, and you need me.  Please, just come now.  One of your ancestors is in great need—your six-times-great-grandmother.”

          “My what?”

          “Please come with me, okay?  I think you’ll like her.”

          I take two deep breaths before I answer her.  By now, my eyes have adjusted to the light coming from her, and I can see those same green eyes shining at me that I saw in my bedroom a couple of months ago.  “Okay, prove it,” I mutter.

          She reaches over and takes both my hands in hers.  The yellow light seems to flow from her into me.  My hands begin to shake as I see them become a glowing gold.  It’s like they’re turning to molten metal.  Then everything turns pitch black around me, and I feel a wind as sharp as ice.   It pulls and tears at my hair, and I grip Lexi’s hands as tightly as I can.  Then in an instant, the black is lifted like a curtain and I see a sky full of stars.  The rocks and the mountains are gone.  Looking down at my feet, I see they’re standing in wet sand.  In the distance, I hear the sloshing of waves and the call of seabirds.

         

          “Lexi, where am I?”  My voice seems to echo like I’m in a long tunnel.

          “Don’t panic, Cinda.  I’ve brought you through the GAP to Denmark in 1847.”

          “What?”

          “You’re actually near a place called Hohn, in the district of Schleswig.  Right now it’s ruled by Denmark, but the people here see themselves as more German than Danish.  It’s okay, you’re with family.”

          “How?”

          “You’re ‘within’ your six-times-great grandmother, Elena Hansen.  You and she are now merged and she’s thirteen years old, just like you.”

          “I don’t believe this.  I have to be dreaming.”  My voice can barely squeak out a sound.  “This is impossible.”

          “No, I can assure you this is all real,” she says calmly.  Her words echo inside my head, but I don’t hear them with my ears.

          Everything around us is shaded, like it’s twilight or just before dawn.  Then as the light begins to brighten, I decide it must be dawn.  The sun seems to be rising out of the sea in bands of pink and purple clouds.  Gulls are flying above the waves and occasionally dipping down to grab some food, calling to each other raucously.

          “What’s going to happen now, Lexi?  If I’m ‘within’ this Elena, what happens to me?”

          “Just relax and let Elena be herself.  You’re here to help her.”

          “But how can I help?  I don’t know anything about Denmark in—whatever…”

          “Eighteen-forty-seven.  People are much the same inside, no matter what time and place they’re in.  Elena at thirteen has some of the same questions and feelings you do.”

          “But how will I know what to do?”

          “It will come to you as you need to know.  Don’t worry.”

          “That’s a bit vague.  I can see why Dad wasn’t too happy to see you in my bedroom.”

          “I wish I could tell you more, Cinda, but it would interfere with what needs to happen.”

          “We’re so far from my time, over two hundred years.  I’ll be totally out of place here.”

          “The Lord we serve doesn’t change, remember?  The Book says ‘He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.’ ”

          “The Book?  What book?”

          “I think you call it The Bible.  Don’t you believe in the True Lord?   

“Oh, you mean Jesus?”

          “Yes, that’s one of his names.”

          “Well, sure I’ve heard the stories about him at church.  A few years ago, I was baptized and gave my profession of faith.  We still go to church most weekends.  My dad doesn’t always come with us, but I wish he would.”

          “Is he angry with the Lord about his father’s death when he was so young?”

          “I think it’s something like that, Lexi.”

          “That’s another reason why you need to be here, Cinda.”

          “How’s my going back over two hundred years going to help my dad?”

          “I can’t explain it all.  You wouldn’t understand right now.  Don’t worry about fitting in.  Elena is the one everyone will see and hear, not you.”

          I’m already beginning to feel my real self fading, and my insides flip over, like I’m on a steep rollercoaster.  I want to ask Lexi more questions, but my own consciousness seems to be disappearing along with my voice.

          By now the ball of the sun is completely above the horizon before us, and the beach is bathed in yellow-orange light.  My feet are still planted on the sand, and I can just make out the dark shapes of some pointed-toed shoes.  When I try to take a step, it feels like I’m glued to the ground.

          “Lexi, why can’t I move?”

          “Don’t panic.  We’re still settling into our new time and place, and new bodies.  It takes a bit longer when we go backwards in time.  Try to follow the Lord’s guidance, and things will fall into place as they’re supposed to.”

          I want to turn my head to see where her voice is coming from, but none of my muscles will respond.

          “Okay, I’m really confused,” I take a deep breath to try calming myself.  “Are we trying to change history here, or something?”

          “Nothing as big as that, Cinda.  There are just some paths that would’ve been better not taken.  And we’re here to redirect those choices.  And keep the wrong things from happening.”

          “Sure sounds like change to me.”

          “Well, it is.  But not changes of the big things that happened in this century.  Just some smaller details.”

          “And this will change my dad’s attitude?”

          “We hope so.”

          “We?  We who?”

          “I can’t tell you right now.  You just need to merge into Elena, live her life with her.”

          “I don’t want to lose my identity, Lexi.”

          “Don’t worry, you won’t.  The little risk is outweighed by the benefits.  Please, Cinda.  Just trust me, and the True Lord.”
          “All right.  I’m not sure I have a choice anyway.”

          “Yes, you do.  But I hope you’ll make the choice to help your family.”

          By this time, the sun is moving higher in the sky, and I can see the dunes around us.  Now when I look down I’m surprised to see black button-up shoes on my feet.  “Ouch, these shoes are pinching my toes.  But at least I can move again.”

          I hear a low laugh.  “Shoes haven’t developed comfort yet in 1847.”

          Then I notice I’m wearing a long skirt reaching to my ankles.  The wind is whipping it around my legs, and I must gather it up toward my waist so I can walk.  “These clothes are crazy.”

          “You have to fit in with the people here.”

          “I sure wish I could wear blue-jeans.”

          “Sorry.  They haven’t been invented yet.”

          “When did jeans get invented, anyway?”

          “About two or three years from now, in San Francisco.  Levi Strauss finds that the denim used for ships’ sails makes a sturdy, tough pair of pants for the gold miners in the 1849 gold rush.”

          “Oh, Levi’s!  Can’t we go there and get me some?”

          She laughs aloud.  “No, not really.”

          “I thought you could take me anywhere and anytime, Lexi.”

          “No, that’s not how it works.  Can we please get on with this?”

          “So, what am I supposed to do first?”

          “Just relax and let yourself slide into the background of Elena’s mind.  Then things will become clearer.”

          My heart is pounding—or is it Elena’s?  Taking a deep breath, I look down at my hands where they’ve gathered the heavy woolen skirt.  They don’t look at all like my hands.  They’re much smaller, but not fragile. 

          Now my body begins to regain its balance as I turn and walk away from the shore.  In the distance, I see a small cottage, and my feet want to take me there.

          “Wait.  Lexi, where will you be in all this?  Am I here all alone?”

          “Look at me,” her voice echoes in my head.

          Turning to my left, I see a girl standing next to me in a long dress similar to mine.  “Who are you?”

          The girl next to me shakes her head.  “Elena, you’re such a dreamer.  Has your mind gone across the sea again?  I’m your sister, Elka.”

          Her voice is familiar to Elena, and I quickly nod, “Oh, yes.”

          “Are you inside her?” I ask silently in my mind.

          “Don’t worry,” says Lexi’s familiar voice.  “I’m right here.”