by Jesse Reiss
Chapter 32
Angelina was alone in the house again. She spent the morning futzing around the empty home, wandering here and there, mostly spending time in Neil’s room and going through his things. Other than Lee’s room, she had the full run of the place and loved to explore. After a few hours being nosy, she grabbed Pillars of the Earth, which Neil said she could borrow, and with a sandwich and a glass of juice, sat on a chair on the porch, reading. She wore a tank top and shorts with no shoes or socks and was glad for the shade because the temperature was again in the 100s. She loved the heat and the sun and wished she could be at the beach or in a swimming pool to make her afternoon complete.
An hour later a Maroon 5 ringtone blasted from her cell phone and she looked down. It was Nanny. “Hello Nanny,” she answered pleasantly, surprised to be getting a call from her.
“Angie!” the hushed voice of Nanny spoke, “I am only calling you as Sam made me swear to you that I would and you know what he would do if I didn’t.”
“What’s happening?” Angelina asked, feeling worried.
“If someone here finds out I’ve called you, I’m dead meat. I mean, we all know what happened with you here the other day at the house and all and when you never made it to him, Sam demanded to know as well. He threatened to tell Lucy all kinds of bad things about me until I told him.”
“How is Sam doing?” Angelina asked.
“Well, that’s the thing. He’s scared as hell. They’re taking him to the hospital later this afternoon for tests and overnight monitoring and observation and then doing some operation on him tomorrow. You know, some brain thing that those doctor guys do.”
“What?” Angelina asked, shooting straight up.
“Yeah, some brain thing. I don’t know what it is. It’s like something to make him able to see. He’s really, really scared Angie and all he wants is you to be there with him. But Lucy won’t allow it. Look, if it comes back to me that I told you, I am so up the creek, you hear me?”
Picturing Sam crying for her brought tears to her eyes and made her chest ache. “Yeah, I hear you,” she said softly.
“I made a pinkie promise to Sam that I’d call you and tell you and you know how Sam is about those things. If I broke the promise, he’d never forgive me.”
“Thanks for calling Nanny. I won’t get you in trouble. What hospital are they taking him to?”
“Kaiser Permanente on Sunset. He’s going to be given his own special wing, doing an operation on a Saturday — off the normal schedule so it is kept confidential and all that.”
“So I should try to come by and see him tomorrow morning?”
“I don’t know, Hon,” she insisted. “You aren’t allowed to see him, you know what I mean? I’m doing as I promised Sam. You can’t just show up — you’ve got your own celebrity issues to deal with, you hear? We’re following what’s happening with you too, you know. You are the talk of the whole household. The talk of the whole town.” There was a pause as neither spoke. “I feel so sorry for both of you.”
“Thank you, Nanny. What time is the operation?”
“I don’t know. I’m supposed to show up there tomorrow morning at 8 am to help keep him company before and afterwards.”
“Thank you Nanny. Thank you. You are a true friend.”
“You’re welcome, Hon. And I’ll stay your friend if this never comes back to me, you know what I mean?”
“Sure, of course. Thanks again.”
She hung up and slumped back into the chair, frustrated. She hated feeling helpless about helping Sam. She lay on her back wondering what she could do to help him and couldn’t come up with anything. She was prohibited from being with him. It broke her heart.
Neil’s mountain bike, propped up against the side of the house, gave her an idea of at least something she could do to take her mind off all her problems.
She shot up and wheeled it into the house, carrying it up the stairs and through the garage. Going back inside, she put on shoes and changed into long pants. She tied her hair in a ponytail and put Neil’s UCLA baseball cap on her head. She put her mother’s large frame Gucci sunglasses on her face, like she had seen celebrities shopping at Whole Foods do. She didn’t even recognize herself.
She threw her backpack over her shoulders and headed out the door, coasting down the mountainside to Los Feliz Boulevard. From there she turned west, heading uphill, pumping her strong legs and enjoying the feel of her body getting the exercise it so often craved. It was disgustingly hot and dry and she was pulling from her water bottle and sweating as she joined in with the cars, climbing the hill.
She reached Vermont Street and headed north, up into Griffith Park.
◊
Angelina arrived at the tree, parked the bike beside the trunk and climbed it like she had done before.
Tyoo-Rut and Mary were there to greet her with hugs.
They wanted to know about Virginia immediately. Angelina explained the bird was doing well with her recovery, but the whole thing had turned into a media circus. She told them the bird should be able to be released in the next couple days and she would bring her back to them to be care for. They were pleased with the news.
Mary could tell that something was up with Angelina as she seemed stressed and nervous. “Is there something else bothering you Angie?” she asked.
“There is a lot on my mind right now, but nothing you can help me with. I will try your acorn tea again, if you don’t mind.”
“No, we insist,” Mary replied with a smile and they went back to their house in the tree.
With everyone seated around an oak table, Angelina asked one of the many questions that had been burning on her mind since she discovered the tree’s inhabitants. “You have been here for hundreds of years, Tyoo-Rut, and you haven’t aged a day since, so what is to eventually become of you?”
“The tree will move on soon and when it does, so will I.”
“Hmm. What do you mean by ‘move on’?”
“This tree is dying, really only due to old age. Viruses are attacking its root and trunk system, which it is no longer able to fend off. I don’t think it has much longer to live — in tree years, that is — maybe forty or so in your years. And, when it dies, the universe that it has created here will go along with it and I will move on as well.”
“Are you looking forward to that day? I mean, do you want the tree to die so you can move on?”
“Do you want your body to die so you can move on?”
“No! Of course not!”
“Okay. I am as content here in this home of mine as you are in yours.”
“You don’t find it boring, do you?”
“Hardly, but, oh would I like to explore, see other galaxies and planets and possibly interact with other universes. Would this not be fun?” he asked with a smile.
“Sounds like fun, yes, but I don’t know if it is something I would want as I’m happy being who I am.”
“Yes, well that is because you are unaware of the potential that is innately within you and what is possible out there.”
“What do you mean?” Angelina asked with a frown.
“Humans have the false idea that they think with their brains. That’s the fallacy,” he explained. “The brain is no more than a switchboard for the spirit or the mind — which are the same thing. The mind and the spirit are the true source of identity and are the person. A tree, with its roots and its strength, is able to hold a strong position in space in the Universe and therefore he is stronger spiritually. He has no nerves so has no pain to hold him back or cause him to cower or withdraw. With no pain he isn’t held in the past and can only create the future. Do you get that? The tree has no communication that you can understand, so you don’t think of it as something conscious.”
Angelina nodded. “The tree is one of God’s greatest creations,” she added.
“Yes, and look at the beautiful universe Qua-Oar has created for us!” he said, spreading his arms out. “For hundreds of years, eve
ry night I could stand at the top of the tree and look out through the clear sky at the stars. I could see the Milky Way and track the planets and watch falling stars. The tree gave me great wisdom as we shared the power of its experience together. Then people came and built this big city here and I haven’t been able to see the night sky since. I would like to be able to see Qua-Oar’s creation again.
“Qua-Oar is your God, right?” Angelina asked.
“That’s right! Not my God, but…just God. That’s all.”
Angelina felt her head start to spin with all the philosophy and physics she has crammed in over the past few days. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Balfour entered with a big smile on his face. “It brings me great pleasure to see you again Angelina and I hope Virginia is recovering well, yes?”
“Yes, Virginia will be okay,” she said, shaking his large rough hand and trying hard not to stare at the noose around his neck.
“You will be bringing her back here?”
“I intend to, but she will need a while to recover and they are saying she will no longer be able to hunt or defend herself.”
“If we have to, we will figure out how to do it for her.”
Angelina looked at her watch and got eager to get on her way back home. “I better get going, I can’t be missing when my mom returns home.”
Angelina Hugged Mary and Tyoo-Rut, and Balfour offered to walk back with her to the trunk and send her on her way.
“Balfour, how come it feels like I’ve been here before?” Angelina asked as they walked along the boughs.
“You don’t recall?” Balfour asked with a surprised look.
“Recall what?”
“Well, what is it that you do remember?”
“Remember about what?”
Balfour stopped walking and looked at her as he pondered something. “Maybe it is best you don’t remember,” he said, as if talking to himself. “Well, do you remember when you were born?”
“My birth! Are you kidding? Of course not.”
“Then you assuredly don’t remember what happened before you were born.”
“I should think not!”
“This place is familiar to you, is it not?”
Angelina thought about what he was implying. “It seems to be, like I said earlier, but I don’t think I’ve been here before.”
“Well, like I said, it is probably best if you don’t remember.”
They walked on in silence as Angelina pondered what he was saying. She was intensely curious now, but her stomach was flipping, nervous about what she would learn. A question popped into her mind that she knew had something to do with something. “Balfour, do you know who stole Tyoo-Rut’s oak heart?”
There was a long pause as he thought about how to answer the question, looking at her intently. “Are you playing games with me Angelina?”
“No!”
“Who have you told about your visits here?”
“My Mother.”
“No one else?”
“No one!”
“Why have you told no one else?”
“They would think I’m crazy. They wouldn’t believe me at all!”
“Yes, they would think you were crazy. And I’m glad to see you don’t think you yourself are crazy.”
“I did think I was crazy at first, but not anymore.”
“Well, that’s good.”
“You are avoiding my question. Do you know who stole the heart?”
He smiled a big toothy smile. “There are two people who know who stole the heart and I was sworn to secrecy on the matter so cannot divulge that information.”
“From what I gather you are saying, if you were to tell me who stole it, there would still be two people who have that information.”
His smile broadened and she smiled back at him, a knowing, say-no-more smile.
She said her goodbyes and climbed down the tree and hopped back on the bike.
On her way down the trail, before she got back to the main road, she passed a small group of teenagers with beer and large bags, looking like they were planning to camp out on the hillside overnight, something Angelina knew was not permitted. They hooted and whistled at her as she passed by and she thought about stopping and talking to them, but didn’t want to be recognized.
The trip home to the Stanley’s house was mostly downhill and she did it in fifteen minutes.
It was nearing dinnertime when she returned home. Neil had arrived and greeted her with a big hug and kiss, telling her she’d been on his mind all day. He thought nothing of her borrowing his bike.
They stuck their heads into the refrigerator together, planning a meal of ravioli, Neil’s favorite. Paula and Lee would be eating out and coming home late, so they only had themselves to cook for.
As they sat across from each other at the table eating and smiling at each other for different little sentimental reasons, Angelina interrupted the small talk with a serious demeanor. “I need to ask you something,” she said.
“Okay — sure,” Neil responded, looking curious.
“The past couple weeks have been utterly crazy, as you know. But in all honesty, you don’t know even half the story.”
“I know you two have been through some tough times.”
“I’m not talking about the ‘tough times’, I’m talking about some really crazy, weird, out of this world stuff. I mean, craaaaaazy.”
“Okay, yeah, I guess there are some things that seem a little crazy. But…like what are you talking about?” Neil continued to smile at her, but had a hesitant look in his eye.
“It starts with that owl, which as you noticed, seemed to understand our conversation. And it goes to that gold coin that I found, which I know I asked you not to ask me about it and you’ve been really good about that, but I feel there are some things you should know about it.”
Neil could see Angelina was having a hard time talking about this, so reached over across the table and held her hand.
“The coins were actually given to me by someone very, very old,” she continued, trying to figure out how to say this best without sounding utterly crazy.
“Yeah?” Neil said, urging her on.
“Well, let’s say I seem to be gifted or maybe cursed is the better word, with an ability to see things that others can’t. And I’m not talking about delusory, psychotic stuff, I’m talking about real stuff, that others can’t see.”
“You have proven to me that you are clearly not the psychotic-type, so I don’t want you thinking that I have that idea at all,” Neil said.
“Thanks,” she said with a smile. “I at first thought I was going crazy, but I’ve since been able to sort things out for myself to know that it’s not me that’s crazy.
“So are you saying you can see things right now, here in this room, that I can’t see?”
“No! Not like that. There’s a place that…” Angelina realized she didn’t know why she was telling him this. Without showing him, he would only worry or think she was really nuts. She was beginning to think that if he really loved her, he would accept it, even if he were convinced it was all in her imagination.
Neil picked up her uncertainty, “If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to, you know. We could talk about something else.”
“Well, let me ask you this: If I told you I believed there was a place I could go that was separate from this world and had people living in it that were originally from this world, but no longer here, would you believe me?”
“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “You’d sound like a Christian trying to get to Heaven. Fine with me.”
She laughed out loud and threw her head back, clutching her chest. Of course! Perfect analogy she thought.
He looked at her and smiled. He noticed how beautiful she looked when she laughed. Her eyes seemed to squint up and sparkle and her golden brown face glowed as her perfect white teeth showed fully. He was madly in love with this woman, crazy or not, he de
cided. She was perfect for him.
“So, where did you get the gold coins from then?” he innocently asked.
She thought of what to say, a big mischievous smile on her face. “Someday I will show you and it will blow you away, I assure you.”
Their conversation was interrupted by Angelina’s phone ringing. It was Ken from the sanctuary.
“Hey, is this the ‘bird girl’?” Ken asked mockingly.
“This is Angelina, yes.”
“Hey, wanted to tip you off.” He dragged out his words like a cocky informant with a dark scandal. “The media circus is getting heavy down here and the authorities that run the place aren’t happy with it. They are planning to put your bird out tomorrow.”
“What do you mean, ‘put it out’”?
“You know, ‘put to sleep’, ‘mercy kill’, ‘assisted suicide’.”
Angelina’s heart leapt and her eyes went wide. “No! How do we stop it?”
“Well, we could call in the Humane Society, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Council and a hundred other groups to organize up the animal rights protestors and even fight it with the state government, but I don’t know if that’s gonna work. Sure would be good publicity though. I could even make a speech and stuff”
She cut him off from his ridiculous fascination — “Why do they want to kill her?”
“Well, like I said, this bird has human blood on its hands, so to speak. But your story stirs sympathy with people. Others are going to want keep it alive and study the bird and try to find out why it did what it did. You know, bring in the animal psychologists and such. I tried to bring that argument up with my bosses here, but they weren’t interested.”
Angelina tried to imagine Virginia having to go through a session with a psychologist like she went through at the Currys’ house and the thought made her shudder.
“I don’t like those ideas Ken. I’m paying you good money on this. What else do you have?”
“Well…this might get me in trouble, but I’m willing to help, as part of the deal we made, that is.” He continued to lay out a plan, which had Angelina relaxing and nodding in approval.
After she hung up, she closed her eyes and shook her head. Tomorrow, she thought — with Sam and Virginia — it would be the worst day of her life. It troubled her deeply, but there was nothing she could do about it now, so would try to enjoy the rest of the evening chatting with Neil.
When Paula returned home, Angelina made small talk with her and acted like she spent a boring day hanging around the Stanley’s home. She casually mentioned that Neil and she were going to get up early while Paula and Lee were still sleeping and go down to the beach where she was going to teach Neil how to surf. She felt awful for giving her mother a white lie like this, but justified it by explaining to herself how it was the greater good.
