Dimensions of Genesis
By: Danielle Q. Lee
Dimensions of Genesis
Copyright © 2010 by Danielle Quinlan-Lee
ISBN 978-0-9865680-0-8
Aethereal Publishing
Cover Image by Karen M. Koski
Smashwords Edition
Published by Danielle Q. Lee at Smashwords
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. And any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead (or in any other form), business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Acknowledgments
A big thank you to my sister Crystal, for all her support and being my ‘number one fan’. A big hug to my husband Chris, who is the most patient and understanding person I’ve ever met.
Revelations
Five years in the future…
Kneeling before the Council of Shadows, David could hear the ghost girl weeping. Her head bowed shamefully, he cringed as deep, ominous voices commanded her, “Choose!”
Held captive before her were a man and a girl, presumably the ones she loved most while she was alive. Again they ordered her to choose, “Who is to live...and who is to die?”
This is how the dark beings have always dominated their prey, David empathized with the girl; they inspire guilt and fear, and then feast upon the wounded spirit.
Watching cautiously from his vantage point high in the mountains, David crouched, hidden far from the glaring eyes of the beasts. The girl’s agonized cries reverberated off the steep walls of the mountains as she struggled with the impossible decision to end the life of one to spare the other.
Fear swept through David as he watched masses of shadow serpents slither at her feet like a sea of black leeches. Each beast snarled and salivated with cruel intention, undoubtedly hoping for the order to devour her.
She's the one. He lowered his eyes as hopelessness eclipsed his heart; she is the soul we need to save this world.
He yearned to rush to her, into the valley of death, to spare her this sorrow. There’s just too many of them. Hundreds...maybe thousands. If only she would remember who she really is. He thought nostalgically as he recalled the moment of his own awakening.
Raising his eyes to the heavens, his eyes bore witness to the very sight he'd been dreading.
It's here, we're too late.
Defeated, David watched as the Wave poured into Earth's atmosphere, enshrouding the sky with darkness. Though beautiful, he knew it carried the power to consume an entire dimension. Earth's dimension.
Turning his attention to the scene below, he was puzzled to see the young girl now standing and approaching the Judges. Raising her hand to touch the reflective surface of the Council's judicial bench, she traced the outline of her face with her finger. With such agony painted upon her face only moments before, David was confused when she suddenly smiled at her mirror image.
“Choose!” the Judges' voices thundered like an avalanche. David winced as their evil energy, a vile and bitter wave of hate, resounded through the valley. The jagged cliffs echoed the Council's order like a deep snarl.
The girl continued to smile at her reflection, seemingly unconcerned with their demands and oblivious to the danger hurtling itself through space.
Looking again to the sky, the Wave only moments from arrival, dread washed over his ethereal body like a cold front had passed through his soul.
Everything depends on her decision.
“Choose!” The six Judges stood as they pounded their gavels with such force that tiny sparks ignited with every crash.
As the Wave growled overhead, she raised her head indignantly as though challenging the six tyrannical adjudicators. The young girl then spoke boldly, announcing her decision.
With the roar of the oncoming Wave, David did not hear her choice. Frantic, he peeked over the edge of the cliff, his heart stopping as chaos ensued within the ocean of evil beings. The furious beasts screeched as they charged the helpless phantom girl.
She had chosen.
Forbidden Fruit
In The Beginning...
Apprehensive as the heavy door slammed behind her, Lily Donovan scanned the austere environment. Glancing at her watch, Sunday mass didn’t begin for another forty-five minutes and the nearly empty church intimidated her.
Removing her white sweater, damp from the rain, she hung it in the coat closet provided for the congregation. Thinking ahead, she chose to hang it at the end; closest to the door.
That way, I can escape quickly after the service. She thought slyly.
Placing the sweater on the rung, she cringed as the hangers clattered together. Even the most subtle noises were like a freight train in an empty church. Pensively, she compared the ambiance of the church to a library, wondering why it was necessary to remain hushed within walls of religion.
Selecting a seat near the confessional booth, she was dismayed to find it was occupied.
Looking at her watch again, her bottom lip protruded into a slight pout, I hope that person doesn't take too long. My parents will be here in twenty minutes!
Two tiny gray-haired nuns sat two pews ahead of her. Their heads bowed, they fumbled their beaded rosaries in earnest. Suppressing a giggle with the back of her hand, the Sisters reminded her of a dirty joke she’d heard about two nuns going into a bar. It involved sheep, it was a bad one.
Straightening her suit jacket, she noticed a smear of syrup on the cuff of her white blouse; all that remained of her mother’s delicious Sunday breakfast. Lily looked around to ensure no one noticed as she gave her cuff a quick lick cleaning.
Out of boredom, her eyes wandered around the church. In the corner, a tiered table hosted many lit candles. Each candle's flame represented a prayer for a loved one. Flinching as she envisioned herself tripping and plunging headfirst into the illuminated vigil, she knew that if anyone was going to end up a human torch; it was her. Trouble and mishap stalked Lily like a blood-thirsty mosquito.
Her gaze paused on the altar, drawn to the wooden cross mounted behind it. A plastic version of Jesus was impaled on the cross, nails in his hands and feet. Red paint simulated blood weeping from the wounds. A thorny crown adorned the model’s head while fake blood drizzled down his face. It was the expression on his face, however, that caused her to cringe. Staring upward to the sky, his mouth gaping, a look of horror painted upon his face.
Grimacing, she wondered. Did they put that horrible statue there to make people feel guilty or is it to make us feel sorry for him? Either way, it didn’t motivate her to come here every Sunday.
Lily could never put her finger on her inner resentments towards the whole church 'thing'. She'd actually taken time to think about it, but never resolved her feelings. It could have been that her parents had always forced her to go to church or simply because church
was boring. She couldn’t deny she had a relationship with this 'God' guy, but he reminded her more of a grandpa she rarely visited.
At seventeen, she was relieved to be too old for the weekly Sunday school class, but she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the children corralled into the back room during service.
Recalling a time she'd argued with the nuns, her memory drifted back to one of the more heated debates during Sunday school.
“Well, all I’m asking is if there was only Adam and Eve,” twelve year old Lily proposed calmly, “and they had Cain and Abel…how did the rest of the people come about? I mean, Eve didn’t, like, you know…with her sons? Did she?”
Lily remembered being sent out of Sunday school class that day, one time among many. Her parents were notified, by a flustered nun, after mass. Of course, the real punishment came later, in the form of a spanking, courtesy of her father’s leather belt.
Shaking off the unpleasant memory, Lily glanced at the confessional booth again, sighing as impatience crept up.
Touching her curly caramel-colored hair, she assessed how frizzy it may have gotten on the way to church. Rain had devastating effects on natural curl. Thankfully, she'd sprayed a bit of hairspray in it before she left home; in hopes it would stay put for a few hours.
Most of her corkscrew curls hung to her waist, except for a few shorter pieces in the front. Methodically, she placed a couple strands over the large crescent-shaped scar on her forehead. She smiled, thinking back to the day she'd earned that scar; the day she met Gabe.
Gabe, along with his mother and two siblings, had just moved to Summerland, British Columbia from Greece.
That was five years ago already. She thought affectionately, picturing the first time she saw Gabe's handsome Greek features. Even though he was fifteen at the time, and she was only twelve, something...almost supernatural...drew them together.
Her eyes glazed over as she daydreamed back to the moment she first saw him...the way his black hair shone in the sun, his crystal blue eyes...
Grow up Lily! She scolded herself. He obviously doesn't like you that way!
She noticed two young altar boys enter and begin preparing for the service. Turning her wrist over, she checked the time; generating a wave of fresh anxiety.
“9:10.” She muttered under her breath, tapping the folded step on the pew ahead of her.
Adjusting herself, she placed her feet on top of the retractable prayer step. Being short, only five feet tall, had its advantages. The prayer step, folded onto the back of the pew ahead of her, would be too high for a taller person to rest comfortably on. For Lily, however, it performed more like a footstool than a penance cushion.
Bored, she leaned forward to grab one of the psalm booklets in the shelf. As she shifted her weight, the hinged step her feet had been resting on, suddenly flipped down, plunging Lily's face into the pew ahead of her.
To make matters worse, the commotion created a crashing noise that reverberated throughout the church; startling everyone, making them turn and stare at her.
Reorganizing herself, Lily touched her battered chin and saw traces of blood on her fingers.
“Jesus.” She hissed under her breath as she dabbed her throbbing chin. Her curse was apparently louder than she thought as the two nuns turned and glared, their wrinkled faces contorted into a disapproving frown.
“Our…lord and savior…” she stammered, trying to cover up her curse.
The two nuns shot her a scornful look, and then turned their attention back to their rosaries. She fought the urge to stick her tongue out at them.
Well, that was fun. Lily thought wryly as she searched her purse for a compact mirror and a Kleenex to clean off the blood. Before she could assess the damage done to her chin, however, she noticed movement from the back of the church.
Someone was emerging from the confessional booth.
“Alright!” She exclaimed, ignoring the nuns shushing her and rushed over to the booth.
Pushing back the thick black curtain draped over the entrance, she entered into the dark box. Arranging the curtain behind her so no one could see inside, she sat and waited for confession to begin.
After a few moments of silence, a deep male voice emanated from the other side of the confessional screen.
“Peace be with you.” He said professionally.
“And also vit you.” Lily replied, but she'd disguised her voice by imitating an old Polish woman. “It has been two veeks since I had confession.” Lily smothered a giggle as she continued her charade.
“Please continue.”
“Oh thank you, thank you. Vell, let’s see, twice I say the Lord’s name in vain, vonce I forget to say grace before I ate and…vell…” She stammered in her Polish dialect.
“Yes?” The deep voice asked inquisitively, urging her to continue.
“I…oh I cannot, it is too sinful!”
“We all have things we may be ashamed of,” he said with kindness, “but to ask forgiveness for them is divine.”
Biting the insides of her cheeks and taking a deep breath, she quelled the giggles that were fighting to break free.
“Vell,” she whispered, pretending to be nervous, “Many times…I have impure thoughts of…of…the young, dark-haired priest…in this church!” With that, Lily put both her hands over her mouth, desperate to smother the fountain of giggles.
“Oh…uhhh….” the deep voice stuttered steeped in horror.
There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Lily bit her lip in anticipation, awaiting his response.
After a couple of tense seconds, she heard a loud sigh come from the other booth. Then he spoke with a stern, but relieved voice.
“Lily!”
The dam burst and Lily laughed until tears poured down her face.
“Oh Gabe! That was priceless!” She giggled as she pushed the heavy curtain aside to leave the booth, but it fell back before she’d gotten far enough out. The curtain swished roughly onto her head, knocked her off balance and filled her hair with static.
Lily watched as Gabe flew out of his side of the confessional. An irate look painted upon his handsome face. He obviously had intentions of scolding Lily for her inappropriate behavior in the church.
The moment he saw her, however, his annoyed look evolved into a reluctant smile.
Her hair, disheveled and full of static from the brush with the curtain, stuck out like a butterscotch-colored dandelion. A large scratch on her chin, caked with remnants of dried blood, blemished her linen skin. Mascara streaked down her face from the tears she'd shed due to her laughing fit.
She grinned impishly, her green eyes fiery with rebellion.
Taking her arm, Gabe led her quickly to a back room in the church. Closing the door behind him, he chuckled with an affectionate sigh.
Approaching her with a look of playful disdain, he towered over her tiny five foot frame. Attempting to pat down her wild hair, he managed to tuck most of the wild strays behind her ears.
Lily’s mind was busy creating excuses and witty remarks as she prepared for the onslaught of reprimands she assumed she'd hear from Gabe. She waited for his usual speech about respect for the church, his profession…blah, blah, blah, but it never came.
Oh sure, the silent treatment. She thought dryly, though in truth, that was the worst punishment in her eyes. Lily could handle the reprimands and scolding, but for Gabe to withhold talking to her; was agony.
Softly, he cupped her petite face in his large, warm hand. He retrieved a white handkerchief from his pocket, licked it lightly and began wiping away the assortment of smudges on her face. After successfully removing the dried blood and smeared mascara, he paused, holding her face with both of his hands. Staring at her affectionately, he ran his thumb over the old scar on her forehead.
“Oh, my Lily,” He said quietly, gazing down at her, “Whatever am I going to do with you?” His icy blue eyes penetrated hers as he smiled, dimples materializing as his lips curved up.
The mischievous smirk she wore slowly melted from her face. Lily's emerald eyes fixated on his face. Her heart beat madly in her chest as her head spun from his touch.
As she gazed up at him, the atmosphere seemed to shift with intent. As though an energy—a presence—embraced the room. Lily’s eye’s closed as she heard a whisper within her soul, ‘Kiss him.’ it said, gently nudging her toward him.
The muse appeared to inspire Gabe as well as he stared intensely into her eyes, though his face bore the expression of an anguished internal debate.
Standing before one another, the whole world existed only in that room. Anything outside became a blurry memory. Beyond the door, the realm of Earth disappeared; there was no church, no people, and no nuns. The sentinel statues faded to transparency as did the staunch ambiance.
Standing motionless in the church room, facing one another, reality melted like fresh fallen snow on hot skin.
Lifting her chin, Gabe leaned in to her. So close, she felt the warmth of his breath on her face. Closing her eyes, his lips inched towards hers, as though drawn by a gravitational pull. Fate forced its way through the veil of denial.
As his lips grazed her own for the first time, Lily's memory drifted back to the day they first saw each other. She'd never forget the moment they met, though it felt more like a reunion than a first encounter. The recollection of that day sealed in her mind as the best day of her life, well, other than the part where she almost died.
The Book of David
The pressure on his chest always came first.
A deep-seated panic washed over him as he became lucid within his dream.
Floundering in an ocean of liquid that smothered him from all sides. His senses dulled by the fluid, suffocating him with its density.
Frantic for a breath of air, his lungs blazed with pain. David searched the black abyss for some signature of light, to shine a path to salvation. With no sense of direction, he couldn't tell which way was up or down.
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