Lost Souls

by Wendy J. Shores

  Dalton stirred the soup with the spoon he had been given and seen chunks of things he had never seen before floating on the top. Despite the fact that he couldn’t name a single thing that was in there, the delectable fragrance implored him to taste it. With the first sip that trickled down his throat, the flavors burst forth with amazing clarity. He could taste everything both individually and meshed together in a wonderful bouquet of flavor. It made him think of a hundred different things, cookies at Grandmas when he was young, turkey with the family on Thanksgiving, the first lemon meringue pie Marissa had ever made him. All of the memories that he held most dear when it came to meals, were in that bowl. It was incredible. And delicious! It made him happy, sad and nostalgic all at the same time. As he ate, it was like watching a picture show of his life play inside his head. He’d never had an experience like it. By the time he’d finished, he was perfectly content. Not overly full but no longer hungry. He did however have a little trouble holding his eyes open.

  “Come,” said Amelia. “Sleep now and we will talk at length when you wake up.” She led him through several rooms before stopping at a door that was slightly open. She pushed it open further and he stepped in to a large but plain room with a huge bed in the middle of it.

  “This will be your room from now on Dalton.” She told him and smiled.

  Fighting to keep his eyes open, Dalton thanked Amelia and went to sit on the edge of the bed which was firm yet as soft as goose down. Getting his shoes off proved to be a battle in itself since his feet were still so wet and swollen. Even untying and running his fingers along the inside rim of the shoes and spreading his toes as wide as possible didn’t help the tight feeling much. Finally he won the struggle, and at this point was so fatigued, getting undressed was a challenge that he soon gave up and fell down on the bed in complete and utter exhaustion. As soon as he’d laid his head on the pillow, he was asleep. No dreams, no nightmares, just a blessedly uninterrupted and deep sleep.

  ***

  VOICES IN THE other room penetrated his slumber as he struggled to wake up and slowly remembered where he was. He strained to hear what was being said. Low, murmuring voices, obviously trying not to wake him, could be heard on the other side of the door. He stretched his sore muscles and rubbed his still tired eyes and wondered how long he’d slept. Sitting on the side of the bed, he reached down and gingerly put his shoes back on his still considerably swollen feet and got up to go out to see who else had gathered in the hut. He rubbed his hands across his face and felt for the stubble that he knew must be there. Instead, it was as smooth as if he had just shaved. He wondered if he should cough to announce his arrival, cough so everyone could hear it, or if he should just walk out there like he had been there forever. Grasping the knob firmly, he gave it a turn and a pull and walked his way back through the rooms into the main one. There had to be at least fifty people there now, each assembled around the room in various places, mostly coupled up and whispering to each other. As soon as one head turned his way, they all did. He realized, looking at their eager faces, how desperate they all must be to get back to their own homes, back to the world they remembered, back to their… dimension? Could that be the answer? Was he was in a different dimension? As he looked around, everyone stared at him. He thought of how hard it would be for them when and if they did get back. Most of them had been gone for decades, some for centuries, some even longer than that and it would be a whole new world to them. A world without the loved ones they were longing for, a world they would probably feel like an alien going back to. His heart hurt for them. Each one of them must remember their parents, their siblings, a wife or husband or children. He wondered exactly how the time flowed here and if they had any idea how long they had really been gone for.

  Dalton cleared his throat and walked over towards a chair that sat vacant at the long table. It was at the head of the table, the same place he had sat the night before to eat, but today he felt reluctant to take it. He wasn’t sure if it was kept for someone else or if it had been appointed to the person they considered the head of the clan. Amelia, who sat beside it, nodded to him and motioned with her arm for him to sit.

  “We have much to talk about,” she told him. “We’ve all been discussing things since you went to sleep, trying to decide which way would be the best way to tell you what we know and it has been a unanimous decision to show you rather than tell you.”

  “I don’t understand…” Dalton replied.

  “You couldn’t. There is nothing in your world that could ever prepare you for what you are about to learn Dalton. I must implore you to keep an open mind and to know that everything happens for a reason. Yours will become apparent soon. We are all so very happy to have you here and it’s true what Madoc said earlier, we have waited a very long time for you to make your appearance. We have known you would come since shortly after each of us got here. Your destiny has been preordained long before you were even born. But for now, let’s leave that be. As I said, you will soon know all you need to know. Please come with us.”

  Amelia stood and walked to the door. She turned and motioned for Dalton to follow her. What choice did he have? Everyone looked so expectant of him and so excited in a strangely guarded way. The legs of the chair scraped on the rough stone floor as he stood to follow her. She held out her hand and took his as she led him toward the forest of trees that blocked out the horizon and everything else he had seen earlier. He heard the shuffle of feet and turned to see the whole congregation of people had followed them out. As he looked at the numbers, it seemed to have doubled since he had sized up the crowd inside.

  “How many people are here?” he wondered aloud.

  “All told, there are about 4000 of us here. We believe the first person to come was Spartacus.”

  Dalton looked at her in disbelief. “Spartacus? As in the famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War?”

  Amelia smiled, “One and the same.”

  “That’s simply amazing, no impossible! However did he get here? Its not like they had airplanes back then and there is no way he could have found his way to Devils Kettle…”

  “What’s Devils Kettle?” Amelia inquired.

  Dalton went into a brief description of how he’d ended up there and walked on in amazement, wondering who else was here and how they had managed to get there. At the edge of the forest, the mass of people stopped. Out of the blue there appeared a shimmering light, almost blinding in its brightness, just hanging there as if in thin air, beckoning to them to follow it. Amelia looked at Dalton gravely.

  “This is the way to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We have traveled this path many times before. Every time we go, we lose some of the members. They succumb to the evils that entice them along the way. I beg of you, turn a blind eye to what you see as we venture along. We cannot afford to lose you now that you are finally here.”

  “Amelia,” Fred whispered getting her attention, “We must trust in him and let him guide the way.”

  Looking down Amelia sighed, “Of course, you are right.” And then looking back to him said “Dalton, lead the way.”

  Dalton took a step forward and, as if by magic, a long iron rod appeared replacing the shimmering light yet still floated in midair. As he grasped it, an electrifying force seemed to course through his body and the trees that lay before him suddenly came to life, twisting and turning, bursting this way and that way, sprouting branches and leaves that quickly blocked their way and turned into something resembling a dense tropical rainforest. Gone was the peaceful forest that had been there when they’d first arrived, now it looked like something you needed a machete or a hatchet to get through. He instinctively knew that they all must follow the narrow path and let this rod lead the way, and to be sure no one let go of it on their journey. He turned to tell them, but as he looked into their eyes, eyes that suddenly seemed wise and all knowing, he knew that his words were not necessary. He faltered as he sensed by the anxious looks on their faces that they
already knew the words that remained unsaid. Still, he yelled to them, trying to make eye contact with as many of them as possible, “Stay close! Follow the path and help one another if you see they need it. We all must stay together! Let’s not lose anyone on this journey…” There was a general murmuring of agreement and nodding of heads as they slowly started on their way.

  Silently they began, trudging through the jungle of trees and vines and shadows. Snakes slithered around their ankles and huge spiders sat in their webs which were sparkling with the morning dew and haphazardly knitted between the trees. A dark, low hanging mist had formed around their ankles and now seemed to slowly thread its way higher and higher the farther in they traveled. Eventually, as they walked, it had made its way to their waist and wisps of the mist crept ever closer to their heads trying to block their view and make it harder for them to find their way. Dalton shouted out to everyone to stay on track and to hold on to the rod no matter what. Something deep inside was directing him, almost like a compass, guiding him and showing him this was the way to go.

  Screams could be heard from far behind him and shouts from others to hold on. He heard weeping and moaning and other noises he wasn’t able to readily identify. He couldn’t afford to look back as he was having a hard time staying on course himself with weeds springing up from the earth where just seconds ago there had been nothing. Glancing off to his immediate right, as he looked through the trees, he could see the strangest building with scores of people hanging out of windows, laughing and shouting at them to come and join the party. He could see women being fondled by men, throwing their heads back and roaring with laughter at something their partners had whispered in their ears, others were waving money promising riches to those who joined them.

  “Who are these people and why are they separated from the rest of the group?” Dalton asked Amelia who was also struggling to hang on to the fence.

  “Pay them no mind, we don’t know who they are but we stay far away from them and their temptations.” she replied.

  Still he could hear shouting behind him and people begging others not to go. Splashing could be heard from some who had left the path and fallen in the river that coursed along beside them. The temptation to look was strong and difficult to ignore, but Dalton held fast and led the way, holding the rod in one hand and clutching Amelia’s hand in the other. Sweat poured from his brow and he could feel it trickling down his back, soaking the shirt he had pulled on earlier that day. Most of it was surely from the sudden humidity but Dalton also knew some of it came from the struggle he himself was having to stay on the path. Suddenly, Dalton froze in his tracks. His grip on her hand immediately tightened as his mouth dropped open and he gazed ahead. He could not have said a word if his life depended on it. In front of him, finally, was a clearing, and in the middle of the clearing was a tree. Not just any tree, it was the most beautiful and perfect tree he had ever seen in his life. Every leaf, every limb was almost like a painting. The scent coming from it was the headiest and most enticing scent he had ever smelled. It smelled fresh and clean, like lemons, and then in the same breath, it smelled sweet and warm, like vanilla. As he went to remark on it, the smell changed and suddenly reminded him of freshly folded linen that had been hung on the clothes line to dry. It was incredible. It was the most alluring object he had ever come close to.

  “What kind of tree is this? Dalton stammered.

  “This,” Amelia motioned grandly with her arms, “is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It has been here forever and a day and will be here yet when our time ends.”

  Incredulously, Dalton knew what she said was true. He dropped her hand from his and slowly made his way to the tree. As he drew nearer, he noticed the fruit. Huge pear shaped fruit almost the size of a coconut hung everywhere there was a space. He reached out to grab one, drawn to taste it but before he could, Amelia laid her hand on his shoulder.

  “Dalton, before you do this, I must explain. This is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This is the same tree of which you heard when you used to go to church when you were a child. The same tree that Adam and Eve ate from in the beginning of time, the one forbidden to us by our Father himself. We have been granted permission from Him in a dream that one of our Elders had eons ago. Before you take the fruit and eat it, you must know what will happen and be prepared for it. Once you take a bite, it will be like a movie playing in your head going faster than anything you can imagine. It will play your life up to this point and then play lives you have previously lived just as fast. Soon the images will start to mesh and the data will be coming to your brain faster than you could ever visualize. Try to stay calm. There will be information that we have already had access to that will floor you. Just know this Dalton; everything you learn will be the truth. There are no lies whatsoever. We can talk when you are ready. I am here to serve you and to be as helpful as I can be.” As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes and Dalton felt an anxiety he hadn’t known in years begin to bubble up in his belly. Ever so slowly, he reached above his head and gently wrapped his hand around the nearest fruit and pulled it off. As soon as he did, a flower burst forth and just as quickly fell off as a new fruit took the place of the one he had removed. Incredible.

  Dalton closed his eyes in anticipation and raised the fruit to his nose, enthralled in the scents that bombarded him. He opened his mouth and bit into the fruit, feeling the juices burst into his mouth and trickle down the sides of his chin. It was even more wondrous than Amelia could have told him. He was looking back on his life, running with his father, studying with his mother, going to church on Sundays with his Grandmother and Grandfather, oh how he missed them! He was going back now, back to when he was a young child; sitting on his Grandmothers lap and the two of them singing so loudly that people across the street had come out onto their porches to see what all of the ruckus was about. Back further to being a baby, held oh so lovingly and securely in his mother’s arms. Looking up into his father’s face and watching him smile with pride. What an astonishing experience this was. He looked down at his body which was now lying on the ground beneath the tree. He had curled into a fetal position and he was now in the uterus of his mother, warm and secure and so loved. As he went back and back to the space before he “was,” there was nothing. Then as he looked up and seen the bright light, he knew. He knew as surely as he existed, this was his Father, the one that knew him through and through, His Heavenly Father.

  “Father!” he whispered, emotion choking his voice away until it was barely there. “Father, I don’t understand! I don’t understand what is happening! I think I am alive but I feel like I have died. I am with Amelia Earhart and others who were thought to be dead and have been gone for a very long time. I am confused and I still don’t know what to do or what to say despite eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil...”

  The compassion and love on His face as he smiled at Dalton was almost too much to bear.

  “My Son, you have done well. Even as we speak Death is honing in on everyone who is with you now. If he finds them, all that we have worked for will be gone and he will have won. We must stop him at all costs! I had to do things differently this time,” He explained. “When you were crucified a piece of me died with you that day and I couldn’t bear to go through that pain again,” as he spoke a tear that reminded Dalton of the most beautiful diamond formed in the corner of His eye. “This is why I resurrected you and brought you back home with me. Mankind wasn’t ready yet to know your kindness and love. I worry that they still aren’t but now we don’t have a choice. We are running out of time. I have made promises only you can help me keep. Your mission now is to get back to your dimension and lead the people there back down to where you are now, to the Tree of Life, which lay beyond this tree. When the time comes, only you will know the way. Once they eat from the Tree of Life, there will be no more death; our people will have the eternal life I promised them. We will have succeeded in destroying Deaths evil and he will be no more.
I promised in my house there are many mansions for those who believe in me. You know this is true. We are ready now to receive those who believe. There is so much hatred and so much evil in the world, I had to keep your identity a secret until I knew the time was right. I know now it is. My Son, you must lead the innocents back to the Tree of Life. Eternity is counting on you. I am counting on you. The knowledge you seek has been granted to you but now my hands are tied. There are universal laws even I must live by that forbid me to tell you anymore. You must put the pieces of the puzzle together Dalton and find your way.”

  With that He embraced Dalton and held him close. Dalton could no longer contain himself and openly wept on His shoulder. Everything was flooding into his brain at lightning speed, his crucifixion, the cruelty that had been bestowed on him, and the cruelty he had seen in mankind at that time, the evil that grew and flourished despite his warnings. He remembered Judas, the one who had betrayed him. He remembered Mary, his Mother, and Joseph, the man who had raised him and had shown him love beyond measure. He remembered Mary Magdalene, the woman He had loved, the same woman who now reminded Him strangely of Marissa. He looked at His Father who nodded His head and admitted He had brought her back for Him once again. That the vows they had made to one another would withstand the test of time for all eternity. No wonder Dalton had felt the pull of attraction, the feeling of familiarity when he had first seen her. No wonder he had felt like he’d known her. He did.