So as the first week came to an end, things fell into place. But there was still someone I needed to see. I wasn’t entirely sure that I’d receive a warm welcome, but I knew I had to go look for Elizabeth.
It was a beautiful sunny day, cold and crisp but not a breath of wind. When I finished bathing Ceylona, I handed her over to Mom and asked if she’d mind watching Ceylona while I went across to the gardens for a quick run.
I put on a baseball cap and my running shoes, and headed out the door. Before I even got out of our front yard I could feel my heart pounding. I walked up the stairs from King Street, and headed straight over to Sam’s tree, and stood breathing in the cold fresh air. I did a few stretching exercises, then decided that I might walk briskly the first lap, and build up to a slow run after that. I headed off to the left to do clock-wise laps, and as I walked down past Elizabeth’s bench, she was nowhere to be seen. Or maybe she just wasn’t allowing me to see her? I continued down toward La Trobe Street, then back up the hill and around to Sam’s tree. It had been some time since I’d been running, but the air in my lungs was invigorating and I wondered if I could manage a few laps. I was just about to start to run when I saw her. She was standing next to her bench. Had I simply missed her the first time around?
I approached slowly, smiling tentatively. She looked as sweet as ever, standing there just looking at me. I couldn’t tell if she was angry with me or not as there was no expression on her beautiful face.
When I got to the bench, I sat down on one end, hoping she would sit on the other. She didn’t sit, but she did come close.
‘Hello, Elizabeth,’ I said before remembering that it wasn’t actually necessary for me to speak out loud.
‘Hello, Lili.’
‘Are you angry with me, Elizabeth?’
‘Angry? No, I wouldn’t say I was angry. Disappointed, I suppose. You didn’t trust Sam. You should have, you know. He missed you, terribly. We all did.’
‘I’m sorry. I know that now. But I was scared, for Ceylona. It doesn’t mean I don’t trust him. I missed him—and you too, of course.’
‘Yes, Ceylona. He told me all about her. I hoped you might bring her to meet me, but I suppose you’re afraid I might scare her?’
‘Scare her? Oh, no of course not! I’ll bring her here to meet you. Sam or Crystal can come with us. I just wanted to see you by myself first, to make sure everything was fine between us.’
‘And why wouldn’t it be? Do you feel that guilty?’
I dropped my gaze to the ground, and could feel the colour rising to my cheeks. Of course I felt guilty. How could I not?
‘You needn’t feel guilty. Sam explained that you were frightened for Ceylona. I understand, sort of. But really, between all of us, she would have been quite safe; she will be safe if you stay here. You’re breaking Sam’s heart by going. You know that, don’t you?’
I knew this was what she’d say to me. I knew she would simply confirm what I already knew, and I’d been reluctant to hear it from her. But there was no avoiding it.
‘Of course I do. And you know that I’m breaking my own heart too. But what else am I to do? Ceylona is a normal, human child. I made a choice to live here in this world. But I can’t make that choice for her. When she’s older, and can understand what it all means, she can decide for herself. But until then, we have to live somewhere safe.’
Elizabeth just stared at me for a moment, her little face suddenly looking so young and innocent. I could tell she was hurting too.
‘So, will you tell her about her father—who, and what, he is? And will you tell her about me?’
I hadn’t thought of that. Would I tell her, everything? And if so, when? When would she be old enough to understand? And as for Elizabeth, well, I hadn’t even told Mom about Elizabeth yet.
‘You haven’t told your mother about me? What, am I too horrible and vulgar to meet her?’
‘Elizabeth, please—it’s not you. It’s just that, well, there’s been so much for her to take in that I didn’t want to complicate things further by adding in the whole ghost scenario.’
‘I see. But she’s had no trouble believing everything so far. And I know you’re leaving soon so there isn’t much time left. It’s a beautiful sunny morning—a perfect chance for her to meet me, and not be frightened. I’ll wait. You go get them both, please.’
I could tell by the tone of her voice that Elizabeth would be hurt if I didn’t at least try.
‘Okay. I’ll bring them over if I can get Crystal to come with us. You’re right, it’s a beautiful day.’
‘Of course I’m right,’ she said, a grin on her face.
As I walked toward Crystal’s house, I began to wonder if I was over reacting again. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful morning—surely there was nothing to worry about. Need I really bother Crystal with this? But then the memory of that terrible rogue vampire crept back into my mind and I shivered involuntarily—surely Crystal won’t mind.
Fifteen minutes later we returned. Mom was carrying Ceylona in the baby carrier, with me on one side or her and Crystal on the other. Crystal’s hand was possessively caressing Ceylona as she cooed and chatted to her. As we approached the bench, I could see Elizabeth standing there, and much to my surprise, Henry had joined her. How wonderful to see him too.
Mom obviously didn’t see them, and all I’d told her was that there was someone that wanted to meet Ceylona. I had Mom sit on the bench, then I took Ceylona from the carrier and held her facing Elizabeth while Crystal stood guard.
It was immediately clear that Ceylona could see the ghosts, as her gaze was fixated first on Elizabeth, then on Henry, then back to Elizabeth. Ceylona giggled and made such cute little noises, then reached out as if to touch Elizabeth.
‘Well, it seems she knows her Aunt Elizabeth, doesn’t she,’ said Crystal, smiling.
Mom looked over at us, with a question on her face. Then she simply sighed, raised her hands in this sort of ‘I give up’ gesture, and folded her hands in her lap.
‘Yeah, Mom, I’ll explain later,’ I said, then turned my focus back to Ceylona who was making this cute little gurgling sound, her face intent upon Elizabeth.
‘Hi there, Ceylona,’ said Elizabeth, all traces of disappointment gone as she looked up at her tiny niece. ‘Oh, Lili, I so wish that I could hold her. You know, I rarely miss being able to touch things, but now, well, I could just cry.’
‘Don’t you dare, or you’ll get me started for sure,’ scolded Henry, with a bit of a sniff.
I smiled at Henry, and thought, so that Mom wouldn’t hear, ‘Henry, you big teddy bear you; don’t you start crying.’
Ceylona’s focus now seemed to be directed toward Henry. It was obvious that she could see him, but could she ‘hear’ our conversation as well? Did she know, somehow, that I was ‘talking’ to Henry?
‘Yes, Lili, she hears us. And she knows who we are—all of us. She’s a very clever little girl. She is very young, and has been sleeping a lot obviously, but she is also learning very rapidly. She seems very advanced,’ replied Elizabeth to my unspoken question.
‘Oh, I forgot that you do that,’ I said out loud to Elizabeth, remembering Sam telling me that she likes to hang around at the market and flirt with the little babies. I looked over at Mom as I spoke, but she was still just looking down at the ground, gently shaking her head and sort of wringing her hands. I’d explain it all later.
‘I don’t think I’m entirely biased, although of course, she does come from a very fine family,’ Elizabeth laughed.
‘So, do you think … I mean … is she much more advanced than a normal baby then? I mean, do you think she is … do you think she could be …,’ I looked at Crystal as I asked, and I could see the hope written across her face. I suspected it was just as clearly written on my own.
‘No. I’d love to tell you that she is a dhampira, but I can’t. I mean, I can’t say one way or the other. She’s clever, that’s for sure. But so are lots of other b
abies.’
Henry stepped forward then, and the look on his face reminded me of the look I’d seen on Sam’s face when he held Ceylona. It was peaceful and full of love.
‘You should be very proud of this daughter of yours. She’s very special,’ he said turning to look at me. I could almost feel his struggle—it was as though he was a piece of metal fighting against the pull of a strong magnet. ‘She makes me remember things that I’ve not thought about for many years … people who have passed on … and who are waiting for me to join them … I’m sorry, but I really must be off.’
And with that, he was gone. Off to check on his dwindling stack of gold perhaps? Or was he actually gone, as in gone and not coming back?
‘No, he hasn’t left here yet, but I don’t think he’ll stay much longer,’ said Elizabeth, with a faraway expression on her face. ‘Somehow Ceylona has made him remember people that he loved, and that love him.’
And thinking about Henry leaving must have triggered other thoughts for Elizabeth, as when she spoke again it had nothing to do with Ceylona or Henry.
‘There are others, you know. It wasn’t just me that was disappointed when you left. There were some that thought you might be able to help them let go.’
‘Oh, I was afraid of that. I’m so sorry, but I don’t think there is enough time for me to do much now. I mean, we’ll be leaving in just a few days.’
‘Yes, I know. I’ve told them. It’s a shame we got their hopes up.’
Now I felt even worse. It wasn’t just Sam that I’d be hurting by leaving; I was letting down others that had been given a glimpse of hope as well.
‘I hate to break this up, ladies, but we really need to leave. Now,’ said Crystal, in a voice that was calm but very firm.
‘What’s wrong, Crystal?’ I asked, trying not to let my voice betray the panic creeping into me.
Mom stood up and took Ceylona out of my hands and popped her back into the carrier that was still around her neck. When Ceylona was safely snuggled against Mom’s chest, she took my hand and leading the way, started marching back up the gentle hill in the direction of Sam’s tree, and the path that would take us home.
‘What is it?’ I asked again, looking back over my shoulder at Crystal who was just behind us. I could still see Elizabeth standing next to her bench watching us leave.
Crystal’s voice was still quite calm, and very low, but I heard her as clearly as if she had shouted it out. ‘I don’t know, but I can smell a vampire in the area. I don’t see him, or her, but I’m sure I got a bit of the scent of one just before. Let’s not take any chances.’
~~***~~
Later that night, when Ceylona was fast asleep, I told Mom all about Elizabeth and Henry, and how Sam had taught me to see them. I even told her about Rachel. Well, I didn’t tell her everything about Rachel, just that I’d actually seen her and that she was my ‘vision’ and that she’d told me where to dig to find the gun.
I was amazed when, just as she’d done with the vampires, she believed me. In fact, she said that not only did she believe me, but that everything now made more sense. She had wondered why Sam couldn’t simply take me and Ceylona away from here, for a few years if nothing else. Knowing the situation with Elizabeth, she now understood. In her view, Sam’s dilemma was not unlike my own. Mom understood that. And the more we talked about it, the more I began to see that this whole situation was just as difficult for Sam as it was for me. Why on earth was fate testing us so much?
~~***~~
The next morning Crystal rang and invited us to come over for dinner that evening. She wanted to do her special lamb shanks for Mom as a farewell dinner. Michael’s connections had come through faster than he’d predicted; Ceylona’s passport would be ready to pick up tomorrow.
Although there was a big part of me that didn’t want to leave at all, knowing the paperwork was done and that I could now book the flights, I suppose I just wanted to get it over with. Mom sat beside me while I rang the travel agent and together we worked out the best flights.
‘She’s saying the best price for us will be the flight that leaves Tuesday. It goes via Sydney.’
‘Oh—Sydney? Can you ask her if we can go up a day or two before, so I can see a few of the sights?’
I asked the question, and she replied that yes, it was quite possible for a small extra charge. And she could book us a room at a reasonable hotel as well.
‘Mom, what do you think? Should we make it two nights so you can see a bit more?’
‘That sounds good. I mean, who knows if I’ll ever come back here—I might as well make the most of it now.’
It only took a few minutes for everything to be booked, and an email to be sent to Sam’s new computer. And even though I’d known we would be leaving soon, having completed the bookings I now felt completely drained. I looked over at Mom and tried to smile.
‘I’m glad were going via Sydney,’ Mom said, ‘I mean, can you imagine what my colleagues back at the office would say if I’d gone all the way to Australia and hadn’t seen the Opera House? Lili, you’re okay with this aren’t you?’
‘Oh, sure Mom, it’ll be great, you know, being tourists for a couple of days. That’s fine,’ I replied, trying to sound happy even though I felt like my heart was being wrenched out of my body.
She must have sensed what I was feeling as she sighed before speaking again. ‘Now, I certainly have seen all I need to here in Melbourne, so I’m going to just sit, and enjoy the company of this beautiful grand-daughter of mine. But as for you—I want you to go out somewhere with Sam. Enjoy these last couple of days.’
‘Are you sure? I mean, you don’t mind? I could take you to the shopping centre down at Southbank, if you want.’
‘No, really, I don’t need a thing. And I don’t need to see a thing. We’ll do more of that in Sydney—and I can get any last minute shopping done there if I think of anything. Now—you go find Sam, and the two of you just enjoy this time.’
That lifted my spirits a bit so I thanked her, kissed Ceylona’s cheek, and then headed out the door. I’d go to the market and see Sam there, and coax him to play hooky again.
It didn’t take much in the way of coaxing—the moment he spotted me, he punched Tom in the arm and pointed in my direction. Tom nodded at me and flashed that big grin of his, then went back to the customer standing in front of him. Sam was beside me in three quick strides.
We walked hand in hand back up Dudley Street toward King Street, then around the back to where Sam parked his big black car. Within a few minutes we were heading over the Westgate Bridge toward what I liked to call our little beach. When we arrived it was all but deserted.
All I wanted was to be near him, so we just walked. Every now and then I’d bend down and pick up a rock or a smooth bit of glass, and Sam would toss it out over the water. I never saw them hit—I’m sure they went well beyond my vision.
When we got to the end of the beach, we sat on a dry patch of sand with our backs to some rocks, trying to stay out of the wind as best we could. It was cold, but bearable—especially when Sam slid around behind me and put his arm around my shoulders blocking the wind completely. I’m sure I could have endured the North Pole if Sam was with me.
We sat there staring out at the water and watching the clouds float by for what was probably close to an hour. And yet I still couldn’t think of anything meaningful to say. I’d miss him—so much so that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to bear it. But it had been my decision—I could hardly complain to him about it. Instead, I just soaked up his presence, and tried to capture an image of us sitting there—an image that I could pull up from the deepest depths of my memory once I was thousands of miles away.
To be true to you, throughout eternity—that’s what we’d said when we got married. And yet, I was running away, for Ceylona. How was that being true to him? I sat there, trying to think of some other way, but it was useless. I’d been down this path so many times the past few weeks. If there had been an
other way, surely I’d have thought of it by now.
I guess I sighed. No, I’m sure I did. And as I did, Sam tightened his hold on me and whispered softly into my ear. ‘The time will go quickly, you’ll see. We’ll be back here before you know it, sitting right here. And you’ll tell me you can still remember how sad you’d been on that day when you’d taken Ceylona away. And I’ll laugh, and say yes, it was sad, but how wonderful it is that she’s all grown up—safe and healthy—and we can be together again.’
‘Oh, Sam, I just wish … I wish things could be different.’
‘Do you? Do you wish it enough … I mean, shall I speak to Crystal?’
‘No, no please. I’m sorry I said that—I don’t wish things were different. Things are what they are. And you’re right, the time will pass quickly, and I’ll come back here and we’ll be together again.’
He turned me so I was facing him, and gently brushed the hair away from my lips so that he could kiss me. And I threw my arms around his neck and squeezed as hard as I could, wishing I could somehow bind myself to him so that we would never have to part.
But I knew. I knew when I’d made the decision to leave Mladen’s school, and I knew now. I couldn’t stay and risk Ceylona’s life, no matter how much it hurt to leave.
~ Chapter Twenty-seven ~
It seemed impossible that we were actually going. We’d checked our bags, and gotten our boarding passes without a hitch. No one questioned us. No one told us that we couldn’t leave. No one came running up to say it was all a mistake and that of course we must stay.
As we made our way toward the security checkpoint, each step became harder and harder. I felt like I was in some sort of dream. I had visions from movies running through my head; wretched souls being marched toward the gallows, or worse, to the electric chair. Could those minutes have been any worse for them, than these were for me?
Sacrifice (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 2) Page 23
