by Lacuna Reid
The journalist writing the books started off sounding skeptical, but after examining hundreds of cases, he too became convinced. Every once in a while, a young child begins talking about things they couldn’t possibly know about – like a little boy of about three years old who talked about how he died in a plane crash in World War two and could describe it in great detail, right down to the model of plane and the location at which it crashed, or a little girl whose first words, at three years old, were her trying to call her grown children before she went in to the operation that would end her previous life.
Sometimes, Dr Stevenson even recorded these children meeting people from their past lives. That little girl was able to provide so much detail that they could track down her past life family, visit them, and recognize each one. She could hug her former husband and identify herself in a photo album – that was me wearing my black dress… that was around the time I got sick.
Shivers run down my spine as I read these compelling coincidences.
I reach for another cracker only to find I must have eaten them all unconsciously while I was absorbed in the book. I get up and make another snack and quench my thirst with a drink of water. Then I get straight back into the book. I can see why Theo wanted to lend it to me. This is the kind of book that could turn many skeptics into believers, and probably has.
The cultural context seems to make a big difference in whether people are likely to listen to children who speak of past lives. In places where reincarnation is a common belief, like Lebanon and India, the children are less likely to be discouraged or told they are speaking nonsense and are more likely to be believed.
There was a recurring pattern where many children had phobias of something related to the cause of their death... the little boy who died in the plane crash was terrified of flying, or the girl who died on the operating table in the past life had developed a phobia of hospitals.
My only phobia that I can think of, is being alone at night… I’m terrified of being chased by something. As a child, it was always a wolf that I imagined running close behind me, gaining on me. I could almost feel its breath on the back of my neck and I didn’t dare turn around. As an adult, the wolf was replaced by a man… for months after I left Cliff, I thought I saw him out of the corner of my eye. I was terrified of him following me down the street… but judging by the crime statistics, that wasn’t an irrational fear at all. So many women are killed by their male partners or ex partners, and despite Cliff never actually attacking me, knowing how cold and calculating he can be, I wouldn’t put it past him.
I read another few chapters and then set down the book for a moment. I take another sip of water. My head is swimming with all this new information and the possibilities for how it relates to me… to us… I can’t help, but keep reading.
Dr Stevenson also noted that sometimes babies are born with birthmarks that relate to the cause of death in a past life.
I absentmindedly bring my fingers to the place under my left breast, my birthmark that looks a bit like a lopsided heart… both Helio and Elias had seemed to pause a moment too long when they noticed the mark… Was that what they were thinking of? Was that how I died? It might not have been in Ancient Greece, and actually the book goes on to say it would have been the most recent life before this one… the French life? Are there others?
I wish I knew more about it. It’s mildly infuriating that these guys all seem to know way more than I do, especially Gino, who has apparently even had past life regressions. I’m torn between going to find him right now and being glued to the book that I’m so close to finishing.
An unusual thing happens as I near the end of the book; the journalist ponders over all the unanswered questions raised by the possibility that reincarnation might be real… and a voice in the back of my mind seems to rise to answer them.
If reincarnation is real, how do you explain population growth, how can there be more people alive today?
What makes you think there’s only one planet? The voice in my mind chuckles, it’s a light voice, exactly how I would imagine a guardian angel to speak, but clearly coming from inside me.
If people will have to come back to learn from their mistakes, why don’t people stop committing crimes?
It’s all part of the learning process…
Shivers run up and down my spine, ripping out over my arms to my fingertips… it’s almost as if something deep inside me knows the answers to this better than the experts in the book.
How peculiar.
I put the book down and head out in search of Gino… in search of answers.
Chapter Five
Mira
Gino is the first one of the guys I met, but despite being in multiple situations where he could seduce me and the obvious attraction between us, he always seems to maintain his distance. What is he trying to protect himself from? I knock on the door to his apartment. Well, I try to. The high-security door is solid steel and knocking doesn’t seem to do anything. I feel silly, then I notice the green button, which I assume must be a door bell, on the wall next to the door. Just as I’m about to press it, the door clicks then slides open.
“Mira!” Gino is there, his gorgeous green eyes sparkling in excitement. There’s something elfin about his good looks and graceful frame, like he should have pointed ears and long blonde hair instead of the modern blended short-cut style he has. “Wonderful, you’re just in time for afternoon Aperol Spritz!”
“Oh really?” I say. “That’s something Italians actually do then, not just a New York fad.”
He laughs, then his face becomes more serious. “All good things come from Italy.”
He leads me through his modern apartment, which always strikes me as such a stark contrast to the classical style of Theo’s architectural design vision for the rest of El Cielo.
We go out onto the sun-drenched balcony and Gino pulls up a chair for me, the sweet and slightly old-fashioned gesture makes my body hum with warmth. I sit down at the scandi-minimalist table that looks simple, but has the aura of something that costs more than everything I’ve ever owned. Gino disappears back inside and emerges moments later with two large wine glasses filled with bright orange fizzy liquid, ice cubes, and slices of lemon.
I take a sip as Gino sits beside me, enjoying the refreshing tangy aromatic beverage that’s almost as good as a margarita.
“I’m glad you like it more than a martini,” Gino teases me, reminding me of the night we first met when I made a somewhat poorly considered drink choice after walking out on my last job.
“I’m glad you found me,” I reply, thinking back to that night… What were the chances? In all of New York City, in all of the world… he happened to find me.
Gino takes my hand in his, kissing my knuckle, he looks into my eyes. “I’m sure fate had something to do with it.”
I lose myself in those forest-green irises for a moment. Desire shoots through me, before I come to my senses, remembering what I just did with Elias… and with Theo a few days ago.
Guilt gnaws at my chest.
I know they said they share everything, but I’m not sure that was what they meant…
“Gino…?”
“You’ve come looking for answers,” he replies, “…more information.”
I nod.
“The meeting we had was barely scratching the surface,” says Gino. “I… we… didn’t want to overwhelm you, to freak you out, but the fact that you’re still here and that you want to know more means you are coming to terms with the truth.”
“Reincarnation is real,” I begin counting on my fingers, “you were looking for me before we even met… we all share dreams… memories of a life in Ancient Greece, something has brought us together – something keeps bringing us back together…”
“Is that what you want to ask about? Why is it we keep coming back?”
“That’s one question I have…” I say. I’m not sure how to ask the other one… hey… is it okay with you guys if I s
tart fucking each and every one of you?
“I wish I had a simple, clear answer for that one, Mira,” Gino says, taking a sip of his drink and swallowing before he continues. “I’ve done a lot of research, as I said. I’ve even had past life regressions. I’ve read books…”
“I just read one,” I say. “Old Souls.”
“That’s a wonderful book, especially for those wanting evidence that reincarnation exists… it shows a lot of compelling evidence, but it doesn’t go as far as delving into Mondo Degli Spiriti.”
I raise my eyebrows.
“The Spirit World,” Gino translated.
A shiver runs through me, just like the one when the voice from deep inside me answered the questions that the experts in the book struggled to grasp. I explain to Gino about the experience, hoping not to sound like a lunatic, and he simply smiles, reaching over to lift a strand of my hair and tucking it behind my ear.
“It’s fate…” he says.
“Tell me more!” I say. “I need to know all about the Spirit World… and about your past life regressions. I want to know everything!”
I reach towards Gino in my enthusiasm, grabbing his upper arm.
“Please?” I ask, as a wave of arousal shoots through me, met by a hunger in Gino’s eyes.
I realize I might well be asking for something else entirely.
“Of course,” Gino says, leaning towards me, tangling his fingers through my hair. “Anything for you, cara mia.”
He tilts my chin towards him and suddenly our lips are locked in the most exquisitely intricate kiss of my life.
Gino’s hands begin to wander over my clothing, deftly exploring my curves.
I lean into him, grabbing his collar with one hand and a fistful of his perfect hair with the other, enjoying the lingering flavor of Aperol.
I may have already had amazing sex with Elias this morning, and I would have totally been satisfied with that alone, but there’s something racing through my veins now, and I’m not sure if it’s El Cielo, or the pheromones of its owners, but I’m hungry for more.
He pulls back and downs his drink. “I wish I could continue this… all afternoon,” Gino says, looking at me sadly. “But alas work calls.”
I’m more than slightly disappointed. This is the third time Gino could have made a move to bed me and yet there’s something holding him back…
“Before you go, do you have any other questions?” Gino asks. He is getting up already and walking towards the door, even though, I’d rather he lead me to the bed. I have so many questions… far too many to ask, but my mind just lands on the obvious thing that has been bothering me.
“Can you tell me why Theo gets so…”
“So distant and broody?”
“Yes.” Those are exactly the words I was looking for.
“It’s his way,” says Gino with a shrug. “I like to think it’s how he processes things, you know? He’s trying to learn his lessons from past lives.”
“His lessons?” I say. “So, then what are my lessons?”
“Only you can tell us that, but I know someone who can help you find out.”
“You do?”
“Mira,” Gino says, leaning towards me once more. “Remember how I’ve had past life regressions?”
“Yes.”
“Well, think about whether that’s something you’d like to try.”
“Yes… it is. I don’t need to think about it. I just need to understand all this.”
Gino smiles. “Okay, let me book you a session with my local hypnotherapist.”
“You’d do that?! Thank you. I don’t mind paying.”
“Absolutely. And don’t even think about paying for this. It’s just as much our past as it is yours and we all want to know more.”
“Thank you!” I say, reaching towards Gino and pulling him into a hug.
“Can you tell me about your regression?”
“I can,” Gino says, leaning in to kiss the tip of my nose. “But perhaps we wait until after you have yours, so you can see what it’s like. I don’t want you to be influenced by what I tell you.”
“Okay,” I sigh. “Is it… scary?”
I think about being in hypnosis …the possibility of re-living past lives… and deaths…
“Nothing you need to worry about, mi amore.”
Chapter Six
Gino
It’s hard to watch Mira walk away. My body and soul are screaming out for her – and so is my cock.
I reach for the bulge in my pants as the door closes.
Did she see it… did she see how much I want her and her petite curvy body and her brilliant mind and her beautiful soul…?
Part of me wants to run after her and show her exactly how I feel, but instead I unzip myself and let my imagination take over, picturing Mira, her eyes green like mine, but more emerald, her radiant complexion, her dark silky hair.
In my mind, I take myself back to the kiss we had moments before, but instead of pulling away, I let my fantasy play out.
I want to pull her close, to claim her mouth with mine, to claim her pussy, to press her up against the wall and make her come until she screams…
I could be doing all this now… but something is holding me back… my old pain and heartache.
I fantasize about the look in her eyes as she comes in my hand…
As much as I want Mira’s body, my mind is not in the right place and I need to make sure I get this right, especially after everything that happened in the last life, in France.
In my mind, Mira reaches for my cock… she takes me into her mouth, sending me to heaven with her tongue… then just as I’m ready to come, I pause.
We were foolish, in France… all of us. We wasted our opportunity to make things right, and now that we have another chance, I’m not going to screw it up by jumping into things too soon; not when there’s something I need to resolve first.
In my fantasy, I push Mira down onto the bed and she smiles up at me, opening her legs wider to take me in so that I can fuck her exactly the way she wants to be fucked…
I close my eyes and wrap my hand around my cock, harder, imagining Mira’s tight pussy as I thrust into her in my mind, over and over again until we are both cast out over the edge of ecstasy.
I come into my hand and then go to the restroom to freshen up.
I wash my hands and splash water on my face.
Before I can be close to Mira, I need to sort myself out. I owe her that much. I can’t bear the thought of fucking it up again with her. Not this time. Not this life
I look at myself in the mirror and see the old heartache there.
Elias…
I leave my apartment and head for the kitchen garden where I know he’ll be.
I see him here, plucking laterals from the tomato plants. Even stooped over like this, he’s unnaturally handsome. My cock twitches again and old feelings that I’ve been suppressing come to the surface.
I clear my throat and Elias glances up at me. I stand there for a moment, just looking at him, not sure what to say. I want to clear the air – to clear away the past and start fresh – to start again with him and to finally be able to take the next step with Mira.
“Gino,” Elias says, and he can tell what I’m thinking about – just like he always could… it’s there, all that old emotion and pain and regret.
When we first met, all the memories of past lives rushed back to me… We were close, intimate… When he was Lasonas and I was Alfio… and in this life, meeting him again I fell in love with him all over.
Of course, there was Mira – before we knew her in this life she was always on our minds, but for me, there was Elias too… only he didn’t feel the same way.
It hurts to be pushed away, but when it’s by a soul mate, it is enough to rip a heart apart.
When we first met, I was so drawn to Elias, and I know he felt it too, but he was uncomfortable about his sexuality and grieving for his lost mother. I was open with him… I
told him exactly how I felt, unable to contain my excitement for finding a fated lover. I held on to that love for years, despite it never being returned. I even gave him a ring I’d had made for him… but he broke my heart. He gave the ring back, and in my despair, I threw it into the El Cielo lake.
“I’m sorry,” Elias says… as if that old history was still just as fresh in his mind, as if it happened yesterday. Neither of us moves, we just look across at each other. I see the pain, the grief, the need in his eyes.
I nod, and then I turn and walk away.
“Gino… It was perfect.”
“What was?” I ask, glancing back.
“Mira came to me, and we connected… we…”
My gut churns. So, he has made love with Mira too… him and Theo. That’s what he thinks this is about?
“It’s not that,” I say. “I mean, sure, I feel some kind of jealousy, but it’s not because you were with her. It’s because I wasn’t there… with you…”
And with that I turn away again, before the tears take hold, and walk off leaving Elias standing there, speechless.
Chapter Seven
Mira
I glance in the mirror as I wash my face; I’m practically glowing, radiant. My cheeks are rosy, perhaps reflecting the ‘good exercise’ I’ve had today with Elias…
So, now I’ve been with Elias and Theo. It’s too bad the latter is being so distant again, I’ve been craving his touch, but maybe he won’t be interested in me now that I’ve slept with one of his good friends… that’s too bad... I think back to the intense sex I had with Theo on his desk.
I feel a cold prickle down my spine, and I wonder if it’s the same thing that has been slamming doors and chilling rooms around El Cielo… the same thing that makes me feel as if I’m being watched.
