by Shea Meadows
She looked at her daughter with a question in her eyes. “Go ahead, Mommy. He won’t drop me. When our energy fields blend, he’ll recognize me for sure.” Ricky carefully handed Nory to her former brother, who received her with equal care, obviously a veteran baby holder. Their eyes met, and Nory gave William her biggest grin and with it a stream of memories about times he had played with her when they were children. William’s grin matched Nory’s and he murmured to her.
“Hi, little sister, it’s been a long time. So you came back in, did you? Father was crazy but talented, and he passed his skills to all of us. Too bad I’m the only one of the Restons left in a body.”
Ricky smiled as she felt the bond growing between them. “Are there any ghosts hanging out around here? Nory is great at finding them and sending them on. She showed us she remembered how to do that work right after she was born.”
“A whole slew of them. I used to have the talent too, but the dark cloud descended on me, and I denied my abilities and refused to use them. That’s why I sold the house in the first place; besides the fact it was a drain on my finances. My wife hated being there. She felt the ghosts of the rest of them, and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t do anything to make them move on. So I was grateful when Moon Angel wanted to buy it. She’s passed on too, hasn’t she?”
Ricky nodded. “She’s working with me from the higher vibrations.”
Ricky heard a gasp from a woman eavesdropping next to them. William looked around noticing how many people had given up the pretense of participating with the singalong and were focused on their conversation.
William handed Nory back to Ricky. “So many nosey parkers around this place. Let’s find somewhere private. Maybe you and Nory can clear the ghost from my room.” He backed up his wheelchair and skirted the edges of the group, drawing stares from the gossips. Bonta and Gimma saw them going and Ricky gestured to them to follow. The song leader smiled as they left and called out, “Guests are welcome to participate.” Ricky smiled and nodded and mouthed “Thank you.”
William led the group down the hall to the elevator and up to the second floor. “I have a private room. Costs more but it’s the only way I could handle living here,” William commented as they went into a fairly comfortable room with big windows looking out over the wooded area near the facility.
“Who are these young ladies?” he asked, smiling at the twins.
“I am Bonta Maybum, and this is my sister Gimma. We are visiting with our mother Katera, who is a good friend of our dear heart sister, Ricky,” Bonta answered for both of them.
“There are some chairs in the sitting room down the hall. Could you girls bring a couple into the room? I don’t have enough seating for so many lovely visitors.” He stayed sitting in his wheelchair and directed Ricky and the baby to the leather recliner near the window.
Ricky sat in the chair and looked at Nory who was signaling her need for a meal. “You have children and grandchildren. How comfortable are you with a mother breastfeeding near you? Or should we find another place?”
William’s face turned slightly red, and he cleared his throat but recovered quickly. “If you have a blanket or something that would be fine. Can’t let my little sister starve. I’m sure she’s anxious to grow bigger so she can get into everything.”
Ricky grabbed a baby blanket from Nory’s supplies, and Nory nursed happily near her long-lost brother. “Tell me about your family, William. I’m sure Nory would love to hear.”
William cleared his throat again and his eyes watered. “My wife went on over two months ago. I have four children, twelve grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. They were taking turns looking after me and keeping the house clean but it was difficult. Two of the kids, who are now in their sixties, live in other states and have their own responsibilities.
“I hired a woman for a couple of weeks to take the burden off them, but then I had a small stroke. I needed physical therapy and am taking drugs for my heart, so I decided to sell the house and move in here. From what the docs tell me, I should be able to go into one of the apartments in a few months. My speech is back to normal, and I’m making progress, but still need help.”
Ricky nodded. “I know you’re going through a difficult time. It’s a big adjustment. I used to be a nurse when I lived in Chicago and worked with seniors when they were hospitalized. You made a brave decision to come here. It seems like a nice place.”
Just then Bonta stuck her head in the door. “There are two ladies sitting in the room with the extra chairs, who want to play cribbage. Would you mind if we joined them?”
Ricky smiled. “Not at all; William, Nory and I have a lot to talk about.”
William chuckled. “If I’m guessing right, those aren’t your average teenagers. Can you tell me about them?”
“How long do you have? That might take a while.”
William looked at his watch. “It’s ten-thirty and lunch isn’t until noon; I have PT at one and I’m sure you have more important things to do.”
“You’re the important thing I have to do this morning. I think you have information that could help. Tell you what, how about if I give you the Cliff Notes version of what went on the last couple years then I get to ask you questions about what it was like to live with your father?” Ricky asked.
William nodded. “First tell me that I’m right. When I knew Nory before, she was my sister Eleanor, or Nellie, as we called her. Or are you humoring a crazy old man?”
“No, you’re spot on. You obviously still have your psychic abilities. Nellie was haunting Moon’s house when I moved in. Moon had already died and her friend Beth Ann warned us there was a house ghost, but I didn’t believe in anything at the time. She soon changed my beliefs. So let me give you the overview.”
Ricky spent the next half hour, while Nory nursed and then napped, telling William about the Soul Stealer, her bonding with David who she later married, and the final show down with the Stealer that occurred in the Prime reality. Within the story she filled him in on the amazing abilities of all of Moon’s friends and mentors. She went into detail about Katera and the twins, telling him about their ability to shape shift. He asked questions here and there, but for the most part, listened quietly, absorbing all the information.
When she finished, Nory was snoozing on her chest, but Ricky could see her spirit body floating near the ceiling talking to a spirit in the form of a young woman who had been observing everything.
“William, the ghost that you mentioned shares your room with you is watching, but I don’t think it’s really a ghost,” Ricky said.
“Yup, it’s my spirit guide. I’ve been hearing her more lately. I think she’s preparing me to cross over, but I’ve done my best to ignore her. I’d really like to get well enough to move to the apartments and play with the other over-aged delinquents.”
“They have fun places for entertainment in spirit world too,” Ricky said with a smile.
William chuckled but his laugh turned into the type of hacking cough Ricky had heard often in the Senior Trauma Ward during her last nursing job. After William’s voice returned, he sighed. “Looks like I’m not anymore immune to body breakdown than the next guy. You better ask your questions. I think I’m going to need a nap before lunch.”
“So here’s the problem. One of the reasons Nory came back was to find the source of a strange feeling she experienced when in the house on York. She loves the house, but she noticed before she died that there was a persistent vibration combined with a low frequency sound that seemed to be increasing. She told Moon and I that she thought it might be responsible for the death of your sister Sandra, your infant brother who died at birth, and perhaps your parents.
“She was nine when she died, so she might be wrong; you were older but didn’t really spend much time at home, if her recollections are correct. She looked at it more closely after she stopped haunting the house. Her perspective was clearer when she got to the other side. She connected it to an artifa
ct your father brought back from an archeological dig, most likely in Xian which is in Shaanxi Province in China. She said he sealed it in a specially constructed room in the cellar of the house.”
Ricky paused, and William looked out the window with a faraway look in his eyes. “The baby who died was named Paul, and Father was upset but he was more frustrated with the time it took to clean up the mess rather than the loss of a child.”
“You are echoing Nory’s sentiments,” Ricky told him. “She thought your Father saw his wife and children as impediments. Everyone but you died in the house, is that true?”
William nodded his head. “Everyone but Father and I. After Nellie died, Mother followed. Father signed over my guardianship to a friend of his, a very distracted scientist named Brewster Hooking. The man was way too busy for me. I was twelve at the time, and Father had put me in Chancellor, a boys’ school in Connecticut. Hooking paid my tuition and expenses with a generous trust Father set up. That was his idea of good parenting… That and the letters.”
William rolled his chair over to a small roll-top desk that sat next to his dresser and opened the bottom drawer. He pulled out a brightly polished mahogany box and opened it with a key he took from another drawer. Inside were four stacks of letters, each stack tied in brown string, each in their original envelopes, with one single letter with a post-it, that stated, “last letter received, 1942”.
“Father wrote every other month for four years then one letter the year I turned eighteen. I’ve kept them. Not because they were special, but as a reminder of what a horrible person he was. If I ever felt inclined to sentimentalize his behavior or forgive his cruelty to our family, a quick read reminded me what a pompous bully he was. If you would like to borrow them for a few days, make copies of them, perhaps, you have my blessings.
He gave a long, shuddering sigh. “I talked to your sister about him and asked her to do me a favor. She was known for her ability to read the Akashic Record of those who passed over. As far as we knew, Father died in China when I was eighteen. That’s when all his assets were turned over to me. I know the probable year, 1942, just before the Second World War, but no one knows the date. I asked Moon if she could read his record. What she read was correct and could be verified from my memories and his letters, Brewster Hooking’s recollections and others of Father’s acquaintances. But big chunks were missing, as if he had somehow learned to block out things. Moon said she had never seen anything like it.”
Ricky nodded. “That’s what she told us yesterday. The record holds nothing on the artifact that Nory claims he brought home in 1936. It stops after your mother’s death, not including his return to China. Your letters might give us insight about what he was doing then.”
William looked ready to fall asleep, more emotionally drained than physically tired. “Please take the box and the letters and bring them back in say, four days? That would be Sunday. You’ll have more questions after reading them and maybe even answers that you can share with me.”
Ricky wrapped the sleeping Nory in her blanket, and Nory, seeing Ricky was about to leave, returned to her body. Ricky leaned forward and gave William a hug and he returned it; he smiled as he ran his finger through Nory’s downy hair. “I never thought I’d see my sister until I crossed over; thank you for this wonderful gift.”
Ricky carried Nory down the hall to the sitting room and could hear giggles and happy conversation even before the girls and their card partners came in view. The older women were Hispanic, round and joyful, and were giving the girls their best advice on finding a man as they all pretended to be involved in the cribbage game.
“Oh, here are Ricky and Nory; it must be time for us to go,” Bonta observed.
“Not until we see that baby you’ve been bragging about. Hello I am Maria Insata, and this is Glory Estes. We are these girls’ unofficial grandmas as of today,” said the taller of the two.
“I’m Ricky Clark, and Nory seems to be waking up. Would you like to hold her for a minute?”
Nory squirmed as Ricky handed her to Maria, then opened her eyes wide and smiled as she reached out to touch Maria’s face. “She’s so alert for a tiny one. Eight days old? It seems impossible. Usually preemies sleep most of the time.”
“Don’t hog the beautiful princess,” Glory demanded with arms out for the transfer. Nory cooed and touched Glory’s swollen fingers, a look of concentration on her small face.
“We should get going while she’s in a good mood. Don’t want her crying in traffic,” Ricky said with a chuckle.
Glory reluctantly handed the baby back to her mother. “Are you visiting William again soon?”
“We’re coming back Sunday. Perhaps we’ll see you then.”
The girls gathered things together, Gimma carrying the mahogany box, while Bonta carried the baby bag, following Ricky and Nory to the elevator. Many more women were crowded into the reception area waiting for the doors to open. Murmured conversations were evident as they walked through the group. Nory leaned on Ricky’s shoulder so she could look back at the gawkers as she passed by. Ricky heard her telepathic monologue as they walked out of the building. “The ladies upstairs were kind to Bonta and Gimma, but these ladies don’t deserve a smile. No wonder William calls them nosey parkers.”
The twins helped settle the baby in the infant seat and sat next to her for entertainment. Gimma showed Nory the mahogany box. “Does this belong to your brother?”
Nory reached out her hand and ran it over the shiny service and started to coo, but then took on a worried expression and whimpered instead. “The box upsets you?” Bonta asked.
“I love that it has William’s vibrations, but the letters in it make him angry. He thinks of our father as a villain and maybe he’s right. William loves his children and grandchildren and even his great grandchildren, including one who’s not much older than me. But our father used us for his own purposes and never knew how to love.”
“Don’t let it bother you, Nory. You have a dad who loves you more than you can imagine. He was ready to move out of our house as soon as we knew the artifact could hurt you. So let go of Norton Reston if you can,” Ricky advised.
“I’m not ready to do it yet, Mommy. My former father is still playing the evil ghost and has tools to make people do what he wants. Moon and I discovered that when I was in spirit world. I have to let it bother me until we solve the problem. Then we can go back to our house and enjoy our family life like we thought we would.”
“Okay, sweetheart, I understand your position, but please don’t keep anything from us. You are an important person in this quest, but you can’t do it alone. No more out of body trips to China. You weigh seven pounds. Your body needs you to stick with it so it can grow up.”
Nory sighed and looked troubled. “How big do I have to be before I can fly around on my own?”
“Let’s say twenty pounds. You can travel out of body in our temporary house, wherever that turns out to be, but nowhere further. Then you can take further trips only with me, Daddy or Moon. Does that sound fair?
“I guess. I’ll try to stay in my body, but sometimes dreams pull me out.”
“Whatever you do, no field trips to our house on York Street; stay away until the artifact is removed. Got that?”
“I don’t much like it, but I agree. I can see your point. Bonta and Gimma, want to play like we’re birds and fly around in the car?”
“No shapeshifting until you’re two,” Ricky said, trying not to laugh.
“And I thought you’d be a fun mommy.”
This conversation sent the twins into gales of laughter.
* * *
Chapter 5
When the group visiting William returned to the hotel, they found David, Katera and George gathering everything they had brought with them the night before. David stopped long enough to cuddle the baby and kiss his wife. “We’ve got most of it pulled together, along with bags of groceries. I called Rita, our housekeeper, when we were at the house on Du
Pont, and she met us there and cleaned.”
“I take that to mean we’re renting the house,” Ricky said with a smile. “What do you think of it?”
“It has three floors, and we could do classes on the third. I’ll get some of the group to bring chairs and supplies from our classroom. It was built in the early sixties, so about forty years newer than our place and no ghosts that we know of-or deadly artifacts hidden in the basement. There are five bedrooms, five baths, three full and two with showers. It’s fully furnished, modern style so nothing either one of us is used to, but it will be easier to use their furniture than putting it in storage and moving ours in,” David informed her.
“I had modern in the apartment I shared with the undercover alien in Chicago. He bought the furniture, not me. Someone ended up with a whole apartment full of fairly new furniture when he deserted the place,” Ricky said. “How much will it cost a month?”
“They could rent it for $9,000 a month, but since they loved Moon and are friends of mine,” George told her, “you’re getting it for $2,000 a month plus utilities and insurance, after you plop down a refundable security deposit of $20,000.”
“Gulp,” Ricky said with a look of shock. “I’m not used to numbers that big. Can we afford it?”
“No problem, dear heart. Just the royalties from one of the books will cover it without touching the Money Market or the money in Moon Angel Spiritual Network Trust. I already had our lawyer, Stan Jacobs, send the paper work as an email attachment to Florence and Charles in Palermo. They’re fine with you folks moving in before everything is cleared on their end,” George said. “There’s one more thing: this is a short-term contract. We have to be out before May of 2006, that’s when his position in Italy ends. Do you think it’s possible to figure out what the artifact is, how to get access to it, and how to stop it from doing what it’s doing to the people that live in the house?”
“Have you asked Moon that question? She’s known there was a problem for at least a year, and Nory knew about it since 1936. If they couldn’t figure it out, I hesitate to offer a firm commitment to solving the problem in two years,” Ricky said.
