CHAPTER FOUR – EVA
It found the rocket and saw the many lines, cables, pipes, tubes and hoses attached and Humans were crawling all over it – Slig just waited patiently on the top and eventually the human numbers began to dwindle - it knew that the time for the machine to leave the earth was near – the rocket had mist and steam coming from it and at once, a huge noise with fire was blasting from beneath. Most of the pipes and lines fell away and the supporting towers let go of it. The countdown had reached one, then ignition.
Slowly the machine moved directly upward and although Slig could not feel or hear the powerful rumble of the rocket with its clouds of vapor and fire issuing underneath, it gained a different sense of motion. It couldn’t of course, physically grip the rocket but made sure it kept its presence on and around the top. It locked onto itself. As the rocket ever increased in speed away from the ground and began to approach the outer atmosphere, Slig did notice that the invisible Aura seemed to get ever weaker.
The gap between Whisps and the living physical world was measured as the width of an atom - another useful tool and concept that Whisps borrowed from Humans. Slig could now see that this distance was very much reduced, in fact, the gap was nearly non-existent – any second now and there would be actual physical contact. Slig began to feel things. Even though there was still a miniscule gap between its world and the physical, it knew that the machine was on the fringe of the Aura boundary – it would be entering the unknown and would be the first Whisp to make this contact – as knowledgeable and as brave as it was – it had no idea of what would befall, or indeed, befall the fate of all Whisps. Within a micro-nano-second, Slig’s being finally made contact with the outside skin of the rocket – it was actually touching – it was sliding down the huge cylinder and managed to grasp onto something non-metallic, a stretchy black material.
Eva was strapped in and actually enjoying the forces and pressures on her body. She thought of Steve and Darren and Megan – they and her parents and friends would be watching the liftoff. She was grateful for the rigorous training back at Houston because no way would she have survived the liftoff without that preparation. Now it was time to concentrate on this mission, she was one of a team and each had their own important procedures to follow.
Minutes earlier, Steve, Darren and Megan were seated in the Assembly Hall of Frederick Middle School. Besides Eva’s class, the hall was filled to overflowing with such people as the Mayor and his entourage, local invited business people and sponsors of the school and the pastor with some church elders. There was also a group of “special” children who would see their experiments being conducted in space by Eva. Of course there was the ever presence of the reporters and the cameras.The hall was lovingly decorated by the schoolchildren and everywhere one could see posters saying “Bon Voyage, Miss”, “Our teacher is in space”, “Frederick teachers’ Rock – in Space” plus a collection of models and drawings. A large screened television was set up on the dais and everyone was seated just in time to see Eva and the crew walking along a gangway to enter the rocket.
Steve saw Eva clearly as she waved to the camera; she was looking happy and radiant.
This was the third time that everyone was assembled here, and each time the liftoff had been postponed – this was the closet yet and looked to finally be it.
It was Darren who yelled out loudly “there she is - that’s our Mom!” It still took a while but eventually a hush came over everyone when the loudspeakers attached to the TV began the countdown from 10. After the countdown reached zero, the audience immediately began to clap and cheer as the mighty rocket slowly lifted off. There were oohs and aahs as the rocket began to accelerate and the television cameras tried to keep track of it by zooming in. The trail of vapor behind the rocket increased in length and it was an awe inspiring sight for the spectators crammed into the Assembly Hall, and indeed for spectators all over the world.
The rocket then exploded in a huge fireball and disintegrated before the tail end had left the Earth’s atmosphere.
The audience at Frederick Middle School was mute. Only Megan turned to Steve and said “daddy? – why isn’t mommy’s spaceship going any further?” For all intents and purposes, Megan was watching a television show – the impact of what she saw was beyond her comprehension. Steve’s face was frozen, his smile slowly gave way to a face of bewilderment – his mind frantically trying to decipher just what was going on – his eyes widened as his brain revealed the full extent of what has just happened. The immediate thoughts of disbelief gave way to pleading to God that everything was not as it seemed…. perhaps Eva and the crew had ejected safely. The high pitched and excited voice coming from the loudspeakers kept repeating things such as “O no! O my God, No No, this is a tragedy - the rocket has completely disappeared – this is just unbelievable – it’s an enormous ball of fire and white smoke – it’s an utter disaster – there’s nothing left of it!”
Steve’s first reaction was to grab his children in a hug and turned them away from the television screen. He tried to cover their ears and cried out loudly in utter frustration “will someone turn off that fucking TV!!”
No one immediately came to his aid, most people just sat there stunned, hands on mouths, shaking their heads in disbelief. Even the insensitive and hardened media people failed to film and capture the scene of this family’s emotional mutilation. Steve began to shuffle to the door, still tightly holding onto Darren and Megan, “daddy, will Mommy be coming back from heaven soon?’’. As if on cue, the people around him started to offer anything, to share his grief, to find some means of supporting him “can we do anything for you?” It was of no use to try to console him – he must be strong – he was the protector – the kids must come first – he would have to wait to sort his own self out. At the back of his mind lay the realization that he would never see his beautiful bride again. He tried to suppress that thought; he would not accept this truth until he returned to a sane state and reality.
All humans within the machine were in fact, vaporized.
Slig swirled and swirled and tumbled back into the realm of the Whisps. It returned to the Aura to find the Whisps in utter chaos – it didn’t matter where on the planet they grouped for safety - Slig had achieved nothing.
Slig had upset the harmonic balance between the physical and non-physical world – the fact that it caused the non-existence of some Humans was of little consequence. Slig, as an individual knew that there was substance in the plan of making physical contact outside the Aura - it had “felt” something in that nanosecond.
It would not attempt to go on another flux to the physical. It decided that it would simply be a Whisp. It would just flux around and wait for the next Swirl Chaos – and the next time that happened, it would just tumble and swirl around like the rest of them – Whisps would look to Slig for an answer, but Slig let it be known that Whisps would simply have to find another adventurer. It would be interested, but it would never again become involved.
CHAPER FIVE – AGGIE
10 Human years later
As Robert bent down to kiss Aggie, two small teardrops fell from his tired eyes. They softly landed on Aggie’s temple and slowly slid down and alongside her face. These transparent beads glistened and reflected some of the multi-coloured lights from all the machinery and paraphernalia surrounding her hospital bed. The first teardrop broke its surface tension and dissipated on the edge of the oxygen mask covering her nose. The mask gave his beloved daughter much needed assistance with her breathing and for the last few weeks, Robert had become used to the hissing noise of the vital air being pushed through the tubes. It was not loud, yet somehow it synchronised with the pitch and rhythm of the beeps and whirs of all her life support systems.
It was now dark and Robert stepped back to seat himself in the armchair and nod off for the few hours before daybreak, just as he had done so many, many times before – however this time it was different - he was overcome with gratitude.
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Audrey took a quick look through the window of Aggie’s room and saw Robert settle down. She thought to herself that she had been working in the Oncology Department far too long, had seen so many sad and pathetic incidents and wondered if she would ever be able to forget the faces and tragedies she encountered along the way. What a fine man is Mr Robert Kellor – a good looking fellow, a hero of space exploration, a loving husband and father, yet just look where the course of fate and destiny has taken him. His wife was plucked from him less than a year ago in a highway accident, then his only child became crippled and confined to a hospital bed and dying from acute leukaemia - with absolutely no chance of survival. There he sits, just as he has every day for so long now. This is his lot and Audrey’s heart ached. Yes, she would definitely ask to be transferred to another department, she had had enough - she had her own sanity to worry about. She promised herself that at the end of this shift, she would confront the Human Resources Department and speak her mind and that would only be a few hours from now. Nurse Audrey did not want to be the one to draw the sheet over Aggie’s head and see the grieving of a heartbroken father – she did not want to be the person who would have to rearrange and reset the machinery and equipment when the room became vacant, again. She did not want to be the person to bring in the next child and watch another life expire.
Audrey passed by Aggie’s window an hour later, all was well, the systems were still in harmony and Mr Kellor looked relaxed in his chair. Audrey did not know that Robert Kellor had died quietly an hour ago.
The second teardrop slid alongside Aggie’s cheek and as she stirred, the teardrop slipped into a little dimple which extended under the oxygen mask. The air flowing through the mask’s tube took up the drop and it entered Aggie. Dwarg was in that drop - he had left Robert.
Whilst lowering the hot coffee cup and saucer onto Aggies’s bedside table, Nurse Audrey thought it unusual that Robert was still asleep – by now he would normally be awake and, God bless him, be ready for another day of keeping company with his daughter.
Audrey always made sure that Mr Kellor got a cup of coffee first thing in the morning – it was the last thing on her list of things to do before finishing her shift and she always gave him a reassuring smile. She was a little tired and thought that she may postpone her appointment with the HR Department. She looked at Robert Kellor again, and then realized that all was not well.
She grasped Robert’s arm and tried to find a pulse, his skin was cold, and she knew, even before she pushed one of his eyelids up, that he was dead. She quickly turned to push the alert button behind Aggie’s bed. As she reached over Aggie, a voice said “my daddy is dead, isn’t he?” Audrey was startled as she pushed the button, glanced down and saw Aggie looking directly into her eyes. Aggie had removed her oxygen mask and Audrey immediately saw a face that was not the ashen and forlorn face of the dying child she had been caring for – it was still the same girl, but the face was warm, fuller and rosy.
The quivering in Nurse Audrey’s voice must have reflected her state of mind, “sweetheart, we have to wait for the doctor - how are you feeling?” Before Aggie could reply, two nurses hurried into the room and Audrey tilted her head toward Robert. All she could do was to try and become a screen between Aggie and the nurses who were now examining him.
“I feel fine thank you Miss – don’t worry, everything is all right - I know what is happening.” More nurses arrived and in a while, managed to lower Robert onto a wheeled stretcher and quietly pushed it out of the room. Audrey was absolutely perplexed as Aggie wriggled herself further up her bed and sat almost upright – it was unbelievable; Audrey could not help but approach and embrace Aggie, fully expecting a huge outburst of hysterics. “I told you I was OK – you know what I would really like right now? – a warm bagel with squeezed cheese and maple syrup on it and a lime flavoured thick shake, and would it be alright if I give my Aunt Edna a call? I need her to come and take me away from here.”
The next few hours saw Aggie’s room constantly busy with the comings and goings of surprised and enquiring medical people. Scans, tests, probes and pathology inspections all showed and proved that Aggie was a healthy young girl with absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Blood tests now revealed no trace of leukaemia, counts were perfect, and her cognitive skills were, if anything, above average. Further, and to the sheer amazement to all and sundry, was the fact that all her muscles were firm, active and working. She had been bed-ridden for such a long time – surely there should have been some degenerative effects. Nurse Audrey had no intention of leaving the hospital now and had gone to great pains to be able to present Aggie with her first meal of a bagel with cheese, syrup and a lime thick shake. She was seeing all this unravel and had witnessed the strange event of a father dying at the same time that his daughter was truly reborn. She saw this as a strange yet true miracle and decided that there had been divine intervention.
As inexplicable as it was, the doctors could give no reason for further treatment and Audrey’s face glowed as she went about removing the drips, tubes and sensors off Aggie.
She had overheard Aggie talking with Edna Kellor on the telephone and realized that in all the time she had been caring for Aggie, she had never actually heard her say anything at all, apart from the last few hours.
Aggie’s answers to the doctors’ constant questioning were very mature for a 10 year old; her voice did not croak or strain and her words were exact, unemotional and lucid. On several occasions, Audrey was compelled (and in some instances, forcibly) to remind those who would ask her patient these questions, that Aggie’s father had just died that day. Aggie seemed quite at ease with this loss – almost as if she had expected it. The most common words to Aggie were “I’m so sorry about your dad Aggie” and her most common reply was “Thank you Doctor, Robert Kellor was a wonderful Human.”
“How much longer do I need to be here, Doctor?” – no one seemed to have an immediate answer – “we still need to check up on a few things, sweetheart – but it looks like maybe a few more days and we will see then.”
Audrey had finally taken a few hours off to rest herself. Before she returned to begin another shift at the Oncology Ward, she called into the chapel and spoke with Father Stuart at length about the miracle she had witnessed. Whilst it all looked quite nice to everyone, Father Stuart was rather sceptical with what he was hearing from Audrey.
He had already heard about the child’s remarkable recovery and although this is a place of healing, something was not quite right. “I’ll come up with you, if you don’t mind, I would love to see the work of the Lord” and escorted Audrey to the elevator. Aggie was sitting on her bed. Another nurse had helped her put on her “outside” clothes. She smiled at Audrey as she and the priest entered her room.
“Aggie, this is Father Stuart – he is our hospital Chaplain and would like to meet you.”
Aggie extended her hand and Father Stuart gently shook it - “Hello Aggie, I’m so very pleased to see you and I’m so glad that you are not sick anymore – you are a brave girl and God must be watching over you.”
“Thank you Father.”
“Child, I pray every day for the people and the girls and boys in this hospital to get better and it seems that He has chosen to make you well and we should thank Him for that. Will you pray with me and offer God our thanks?” There was a vast difference between Father Stuart’s intentions and his actions. Before Aggie could reply, Father Stuart placed his bible on her lap and bent his head to pray. In fact, he had actually placed the bible there to see if he would get any adverse reaction from this (seemingly) innocent child. He closed his eyes and silently began with his prayer. This moment of serenity was immediately smashed asunder by a deep, booming and nightmarish voice which drove him to his knees. “You! - get your ass outer here and take your book with you!” It surely was the Devil, and Satan was not happy.
A trembling Father Stuart looked up at Aggie – she was
smiling but not looking directly at him; she was looking over his head, at someone else.
“Hello Aunt Edna.”
“Hi darling, sorry I’m so late.”
Aunt Edna had a particular dislike for all things religious and it took a fair bit of self control to prevent her from kicking this quivering and intruding priest out the door. “Git out – we don’t want you here.”
Father Stuart left Aggie’s room on his hands and knees and hissed to himself, Bitch from hell. He was not to know that Edna had been the young victim of a trusted and lecherous priest.
“Aunt Edna, this is Nurse Audrey, she has looked after me all the time I was in hospital. She has been my friend and I owe her so much.”
“Pleased to meet you Audrey, we cannot begin to repay you for all your love and care. I believe Robert would also have wanted to thank you for all your kindness and friendship.” Audrey was still a little unnerved with what had just happened, and simply smiled as she shook Edna’s hand.
“I don’t know what to think Edna, I was heartbroken when Robert passed, yet we have Aggie back with us, good as new – I’ve never been happier yet never been sadder. You are certainly going through strange and interesting times.” At first impression, Audrey did notice that Edna was a “hippy” type of person – she certainly spoke her mind and seemed not to be too confused as to the goings on of the past few days. As to her reaction to Father Stuart, she knew immediately that Edna had an axe to grind with priests and would explain her thoughts to Father Stuart later. Of immediate concern was the fact that Edna had come to collect Aggie and Audrey had no authority to release her.
“We’re off now Audrey; here is a copy of my driver’s licence, my social security number and my contact details. Sweetheart, kiss Nurse Audrey goodbye, we are off to Vermont.”
“Goodbye Miss” Aggie whispered into Audrey’s ear, “and daddy thanks you with all his heart.” Dumfounded, Audrey watched Edna and Aggie leave the room – they did not even look back. She sat down in the armchair beside Aggie’s bed – realized that this was the chair Robert had died in – she jumped up and headed for the Human Resources Department.