Mark, Winston and Jack made up for any fatherly figure Tom ever needed. Even Mad-Doris was okay. Upon realisation she was mad, the majority of her hyperactivity seemed to fade. Tom was at the beck and call of George and Harold. It wasn’t often anyone got a smile out of George, he was always moaning about anything he could and arguing any subject with Harold so Tom thought it was an honour that he was the only one who could please him.
The job, Tom’s happiness, the house itself, and all its occupants were, she hated to admit, great; it was her that wasn’t.
The night before her birthday, Amy heard a knock on her bedroom door. She placed her book face down on her bedside table and walked barefooted to answer it. As she opened the door, her face dropped.
‘May I speak with you for a few minutes please?’ Mark asked with a solemn expression. She took a deep breath and opened her door. ‘Thank you,’ he said.
‘Make it quick,’ she said, hating her own tone.
‘I just wanted to speak to you about tomorrow. I want you to feel reassured that it won’t hurt.’
‘You’ve told me it won’t hurt. It’s like winning the lottery, isn’t it?’ Amy replied with a roll of her eyes as she sat cross-legged on the bed.
‘That was a silly thing to say.’ He smiled, hoping she would smile back, which she did briefly allow.
‘I’m not worried about opening the channel,’ Amy clarified. ‘It’s visiting the Decision Maker that’s worrying.’
‘You won’t visit Omnipion until your mind is in a fully relaxed and willing state.’
‘Then I can never go!’ This time, Amy smiled first and as she did, her heart seemed to smile too. She then felt tremendous sadness for the way she treated him, which felt worse than the anger. ‘Sit down,’ she added, her tone softer.
For the first time in three months, Mark’s eyes filled with hope. He sat facing her, his eyes locking fully with hers, sending shivers down her spine. ‘Don’t you want to know anything about the experience? It’s stranger than a Light-Void. It’s a powerful, metaphysical experience.’
‘Adaizi said a vortex will split the sky and open a channel inside me.’ Amy shrugged but it was obvious she wished to learn more. She wondered if it would change her.
‘It won’t change you,’ he promised, and no sooner had the words left his mouth, a new, awful reality dawned on her.
‘You can read my thoughts, can’t you?’
‘Not word for word, unless you let me. I can sense what you’re thinking.’ He grimaced in anticipation to her response.
Amy took a deep breath before she spoke. ‘This is why I’m so edgy around you. You must know how I feel about you and…’ Unable to continue, she hung her head in shame.
‘But if I could just talk to you about that…about us…and what we had…’
‘I don’t want to, Mark, it’s too painful. Don’t you understand?’
‘Yes I do!’ He looked desperately hurt as if he was feeling her pain and reached forward for her hand. ‘That’s why I need to talk to…’
‘Back to business please!’ she said, taking her hand from his and trying to rub away the feeling of tenderness he’d implanted deep under her skin. ‘You were going to tell me what will happen to me.’
Mark took a deep breath to gain composure. ‘You will sit in the centre of the stone circle, where we will form a ring of light for you to sit on. We will then elevate you to meet the celestial vortex we’ve created, which will form the channel inside you. It will feel like nothing you’ve ever felt before.’ Amy felt alarmed and her face must have reflected the feeling as Mark’s voice raised a notch. ‘A wonderful power. It’s a wonderful feeling!’ he added, trying to reassure her.
‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I believe you.’
‘When the vortex closes, you will return to the ground, open and ready. You may note a few changes in your senses, but it’s nothing to be alarmed about. Even when you invoke the light, you’ll still always feel like you.’
‘I’ll be lifted off the ground and sent into the sky?’ Amy said, seemingly missing the point.
‘The sky comes down to meet you so you only lift halfway.’
‘Oh well…that’s okay then!’ she said, rolling her eyes.
‘You’ll be perfectly safe. I’ll be with you. Adaizi will be with you. And two other Guardians from the other side of the world are coming to help.’
‘Oh.’
‘One thing that might be weird…’ he started, then hesitated.
‘What?’
‘We have to chant to aid your lift.’
‘And?’
‘Well, I don’t want you to think I’m some kind of weirdo.’
‘Too late for that, mate!’ she said, allowing her old manner to come back fully.
‘Fair enough,’ he replied, his smile as wide as it could be.
Looking into his eyes, so pure and yet so lost around her, she could’ve easily allowed herself to believe he loved her the way she loved him. Once she imagined her mouth touching his, she sat up and took note of herself.
‘Well, is that it, then?’ she asked in her now unconvincing cold voice.
Mark stopped smiling and, after giving an appreciative glance, left. As the door closed, she sighed with confusion and relief.
Amy didn’t sleep. As the house came alive with residents, most making their way down for breakfast, her heart flipped over. She knew once she left her room, the day would fly by, and once she started the day, the night would soon follow. It didn’t feel like her birthday; it felt like doomsday!
As she descended the stairs, everyone at the table sang ‘Happy Birthday’. Amy hadn’t expected anything and was suddenly overwhelmed when everyone held out their presents.
Before she could speak, Mad-Doris threw a small box at her, which bounced off her temple and landed on the floor. She clapped as though pleased with herself.
‘Thank you, Mad-Doris. I think?’ Amy said, rubbing her head as everyone laughed. Luckily the box was light. Amy opened it to find a box of tissues. ‘Err…very nice!’ Amy smiled confusedly.
‘Here,’ Jack offered, pulling up the chair by his side. He pushed a small box towards her. ‘Open it.’ Amy pulled the ribbon and the paper parted to reveal the watch she’d seen in a catalogue and told Jack she liked but would never buy, as it was too expensive.
‘Oh Jack!’ she cried, throwing her arms around him. ‘You shouldn’t have! I wasn’t hinting, you know!’
‘I know,’ he said.
Everyone in the home passed her a gift of their own: mostly bubble baths and toiletries because they knew she loved them, and then it came to Tom who, after sitting there quietly and smiling happily as she opened each present, passed her an envelope.
‘This is from me and Mark,’ Tom claimed. Amy’s eyes shot to Mark’s as she curiously opened the envelope. It was a voucher for a day’s break at a luxury spa, an extremely expensive place Alicia had said she would love to afford.
‘I can’t accept this,’ she said, guilt coursing through her veins as she spoke. She had treated him horridly and he had spent so much money on her.
‘Yes you can,’ Mark asserted, as if she were mad. ‘We put towards,’ he added, as if Tom could have possibly afforded half of the cost.
‘But…’
‘No buts. It’s your twenty-first. You deserve to have everything you want!’ He then looked at her strangely. ‘Jack’s offered to babysit tonight while I take you for a night out!’
‘What?’ she said, his strange glance lost on her.
‘Tonight,’ Mark stressed, his eyes urging her to get with it.
‘Oh, tonight.’ Amy sighed. Jack was smirking at her as if ready to ask when the wedding will take place, making her want to scream.
Mark suggested taking the day off from cleaning but she wanted to keep herself busy. Once Mark finished in the classroom and Mary was preparing tea, Amy felt nauseous. It was after dinner, when Mark glanced at her sympathetically, that she began to shake.
> ‘Put something comfortable on,’ he said, ‘but still make it look like we’re going for a drink.’
Amy suddenly looked confused. He didn’t know women at all. There was no such thing as comfortable and going out for a drink. When she got to her room, she opened her wardrobe and stared. Her eyes lowered themselves to the bags her mother had given her. She smiled and pulled out a pair of elasticated jeans. They were comfortable but out of fashion. Nevertheless, they could be dressed up with a vest top and heels.
She changed, did her hair and makeup, and shoved a pair of thick, woolly socks in her going out bag. Taking one last look at herself in the mirror before she left, she stared into her grey eyes, wondering if she would ever look at herself the same again. Her ruby lips quivering, her nostrils moving in and out with the deep breaths she used to try and to calm herself, she knew something was about to change. As if she wanted to instil her own, old impression fully into her mind, she kept staring.
A knock on her door made her jump. ‘Are you ready?’ Mark asked. Amy stumbled in her heels as she walked across to answer.
As she opened the door, she was met by a wonderful sight. Mark was dressed in a forest green jumper that made his eyes pop, and a pair of jeans that accentuated his muscular legs. They were obviously his best clothes and he certainly looked sharp. Even his hair seemed tamed, like he’d used product.
‘You look nice,’ he said.
‘So do you,’ she said. ‘How are we getting there?’
‘Light-Void. We’ll walk past the hill and move from there.’
‘Okay,’ Amy said, her nerves shattering as they walked.
As they reached the bottom steps, everyone stood smiling at them like they were in a ceremony. Amy kissed Tom goodnight and told him to be good for Jack and he gave her an excited smile. After many people wished them both a great evening, Amy and Mark left the home.
Once they reached the clover-covered hill, Amy’s knees give way and as she turned to take Mark’s hands, her eyes filled with tears.
‘You’ll be fine,’ he said. She cleared her throat and looked deep into his beautiful eyes, wishing she had what she used to have with him. Amy tried to look away but he gave her a gentle shake and her eyes darted back to his. ‘You will be fine!’ he repeated.
‘Okay,’ Amy said, giving him a sad smile. Even though she pretended she didn’t trust him because of the deceit she felt, she knew she could.
‘Okay.’ He nodded and stood straight. ‘Ready?’
‘Ready as I’ll ever be!’ she claimed, taking his warm, soothing hands.
After the warp, they stood in the centre of Stonehenge. As Amy looked around, it wasn’t what she expected at all. Half of the circle had collapsed and she had no appreciation for the rocks that still stood proudly in position, trying their hardest to stay upright despite the rest. She imagined being blown away but she felt let down. Even as the warm breeze, bringing a smell of rosemary and reminding her of burning incense, wafted past her nostrils, it didn’t feel mystical at all.
Looking up at the ash-coloured sky, with a hint of yellow still rippling from the setting sun, she wondered what was about to happen to it.
‘Hey, beautiful gal,’ Adaizi murmured from behind. Amy jumped, still shaking, and smiled warily.
There were two other Guardians there: a small Chinese man with grey, mid-length hair who must have been at least seventy years old, and a beautiful Indian lady around Amy’s age with large, Eastern eyes. The Guardians smiled serenely at her with appreciation and love.
Adaizi’s eyes sparkled. Amy turned to Mark and he held her gaze again, as if giving her one last chance to feel at ease.
‘Mark,’ Adaizi said to urge him. Mark smiled sadly at Amy as his eyes followed suit.
As Amy stared in awe at Mark’s sparkling eyes, she realised for the first time that he was a wonderful, magnificent being. She didn’t feel upset for her loss, she felt in the presence of beauty: these four beings loved her with all their hearts. As if the love flowed from them and into her body, she felt like she was being held in a warm, caring embrace.
‘Are you ready, Amy?’ Mark asked, his voice like velvet.
‘I think so.’
‘Let us position ourselves,’ Adaizi instructed, taking the other Guardians’ hands. All four joined hands around Amy and closed their eyes.
‘Wait!’ Amy interrupted. ‘I need my socks.’ Mark giggled as she fumbled around with the zip of her bag and kicked off her heels. She bent down awkwardly and cleaned the bits off her feet with her jeans before putting on each sock. ‘Done!’ she said, standing upright. Her eyes caught Mark’s, who, even under his sparkle, still looked amused. All four then closed their eyes and began to make a strange humming sound that was like magic to her ears.
Sending shivers down Amy’s spine, the humming was electrifying and strange. A choir of weird, wonderful noises. Noises that seemed to churn something inside her body. As if her molecular structure was being cleansed, she felt lighter. It reminded her of Tom’s music. She realised he must have been searching for this kind of peace. The noise made her want to cry with pleasure.
A pool of light formed under Amy’s feet, turning green grass into white light and, as it did, the Guardians reopened their eyes and eight blinding rays shot out like laser beams, making a crisscross pattern across her head.
Amy quickly closed her eyes but could feel the power oozing out of them warming her face.
‘You trust us, right?’ Adaizi asked.
‘Yes,’ Amy said shakily. She had trusted she would be fine since Mark had convinced her, but she was still naturally nervous.
‘Can you sit crossed legged on top of the light?’ Adaizi asked. The light had formed a sturdy seat, and Amy sat on it. The coldness of it seeping into her body created a gentle, loving feeling.
As the four Guardians, standing like stone themselves, hummed again, ripples of light flowed out from underneath her. The ripples encompassed the legs of the Guardians then spanned out, reaching the full extent of the stone circle, making her feel like she sat in a smooth sea of light. It then made its way back.
Once the light returned, Amy was lifted from the ground; it was only about an inch, but the feeling made her heart skip a beat. The light spanned out again, this time faster. After hitting the stones it flew back under Amy and she lifted farther from the ground. Even though the lift made her panic, she knew she was safe.
The lift, taking her through the Guardian’s crisscross of light, made her feel energised. The gentle, pleasurable feeling gave her a huge sense of well-being. She felt powerful, like her inner being was coming alive. As she ascended, her stomach untied all knots, the fog in her mind lifted, and her heart opened, clearing the pain she held. All feelings of misery and turmoil abolished, she felt strong, worthy, soothed and at ease.
Something made her look up and, as she did, the dark grey sky rippled. A few strips of light grey clouds shifted oddly, joining together above her head in an ominous, swirling motion. As the swirl expanded, it gave way to a vast, black hole.
Like a gateway through time and space, Amy felt like she was witnessing the whole universe. The ripples of light under her rose up, forming a cylindrical body around her. She could still see through the veil of light to the surrounding landscaped area, but she could mostly see up to the dark, wide whirlwind that was now being created above her head.
She then rose farther from the ground and the whirlwind pushed its way out of the sky and lowered itself towards her stream of light, ready to join it. As if every ounce of her fear had disappeared, she didn’t care how high she was being lifted, she only cared for her cylinder of light and where it was taking her. She wanted to embrace the whirlwind which, twirling and sinking towards her, formed into a sturdy tornado.
As the tornado picked up speed, the pool of light below her accelerated too and she shot up so high that she could no longer hear the humming of the Guardians. She couldn’t comprehend how far she was from the ground but, because of
how she felt, she didn’t care.
The two cylinders hit each other at an extraordinary speed and, dark into light, light into dark, they made a magnificent, sparkling, grey stream. The impact made her feel a tremendous rush of power. The light, soaring to the sky, penetrated the black hole and turned it into a dazzling saucer. She felt as if she was being anaesthetised for a moment and then it happened: a bright laser-type beam shot through the vortex and penetrated her body.
She inhaled as she felt the beam move around and form something strange inside her—obviously the channel. The feeling itself, not painful but certainly felt, was like cold bubbles bursting inside her.
No cares in the world at this point; it was her and the power and nothing else mattered. It had consumed her. She exhaled as the beam shot back. Her head felt light and weightless as if her body had tapped into some higher form of harmonious meditation. The state of euphoria and serenity she felt was indescribable.
After the cylinders separated, she began to descend. Clear minded, calm and satisfied with a sensational feeling of vitality, she longed to stay. She knew once she was out of the light she would begin to feel her normal, anxious self. As she gazed up at the sky, the black hole closed, the whirlwind slowed to a stop and, as she touched the ground, the clouds streaked across the sky like nothing had happened.
Breaking free of their bind, the Guardians stopped humming and their eyes stopped shining. Mark held his hand out to her but she couldn’t move. She didn’t want to move. As the light disappeared altogether, she could feel all those good feelings rush away and she sat in dread, waiting for her old depression to hit.
‘Beautiful,’ Adaizi whispered, making Amy look up. As she did, she noted a faint white light around her as if she were glowing. Amy took Adaizi’s hands and pulled herself up. As she turned to Mark she could see a faint white light around him also. Light surrounded the two guests as well.
‘My name is Feng,’ the Chinese man said. He held his bright hand out for her to shake. ‘It’s been a pleasure,’ he added, bowing his head to Amy then to Adaizi and Mark. He then turned to the Indian lady and bowed. ‘Goodbye, Swami.’ The air warped beside her, a sure sign of a Light-Void, and in a flash, he was gone.
The Guardian's Protector: The Chamber of Souls Page 21
