“This year we will learn the final stages of flying. You are all very well trained in flying through all kinds of weather and conditions by now, so I am almost ready to let you leave the nest, so to speak. You are ready to fly, non?”
Most of the class nodded. We had really learned a lot the last two years and most of us felt like this year would be a piece of cake.
“So now we step it up a little, oui? You want to be better than all the others? To fly higher and maybe even faster than anyone else.”
“I want to fly as fast as the Angels!” Nigel yelled from his seat.
“Me too,” Acacia said.
Nigel turned his head and looked at her with a smile. Then he turned to look at Professor Grangé again. “Could you teach us that?”
The professor laughed.
“Exactement! That is exactly what I am going to do,” he said.
An outburst of great excitement filled the classroom.
“I am going to teach you to fly faster than the speed of light.”
A great silence came over the class.
“But that’s impossible,” Frederic Cornwell said. “Nothing moves faster than light according to Albert Einstein.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. According to his theory of general relativity.”
“Ah … but then we are in luck,” Professor Grangé said with a huge smile.
“Why?”
“Because I have asked Monsieur Einstein to come today and be our guest speaker in this very classroom,” Professor Grangé said while gesticulating wildly.
There was a murmuring in the classroom. Excited eyes looked at each other.
“Albert Einstein? The Albert Einstein?” Alexandra Cornwell said.
“The one and only.”
“But how … why?”
Professor Grangé looked at us all, still smiling.
“You will meet a lot of famous people in Heaven. You will have to get used to it, non? Monsieur Einstein will be here in a minute and I do not want anyone to be … um what would you say … starstruck! You promise me that, oui?”
We promised and as we did we heard a tiny knocking on the door to the classroom.
“Oui?” sang Professor Grangé very loudly.
Through the door oozed a little man with crazy wild white hair. He looked just like the photos I remembered from my books in school. Even the heavy white moustache looked the exact same. His eyes were friendly looking. He seemed a little perplexed as he entered the classroom, but as soon as he saw the professor he smiled widely.
“Professor!” he said and approached him. They gave each other a loving hug before Mr. Einstein turned to look at us students.
“Boy, they get uglier every year, don’t they?” he said with a grin.
“They sure do,” the professor answered while laughing. “But this bunch is smart. They have learned the basics faster than any class,” he said and winked.
“Good. Very good indeed,” mumbled Einstein. “Now, how do we begin? Well, as you all probably know—well at least I hope they still teach you about me in schools on earth. Do they do that?”
“Yes, Mr. Einstein,” Nigel replied.
“Good.” He paused and glanced at the class before he continued, as though he had to rewind the memories first. “The thing is … I used to be a theoretical physicist. I made a lot of theories based on years of research. Some even said I caused a revolution in the world of physics. And that is all very nice. I don’t mind them saying all these nice things about me, but the thing is … I was wrong.”
A few of the students in the class gasped. He had caught my attention too, which was quite an accomplishment.
“I have always said that nothing can ever move faster than the speed of light. But that is incorrect. I discovered that when I died and came here. At first I thought it was the difference between our worlds, but it is not. It is actually also happening on earth. And I am quite amazed that in the fifty-six years I have been dead, no physicist on earth has discovered it yet. I have been keeping a close eye on them on earth and tried to help them discover this and it is not until now that they are beginning to realize it. The last thing I heard, European scientists have measured some subatomic particles called neutrinos that were moving a shade over the speed of light.”
Mr. Einstein went to the chalkboard and started writing. Then he made a drawing of some mountains before he started explaining: “They sent the accelerated neutrinos from Switzerland through the Alps to particle detectors 450 miles away in Italy. When the two labs synchronized their watches, it appeared that the neutrinos had made the journey 0.0025 percent faster than a beam of light would have. That splinter of a second isn’t much. Nevertheless I am really excited about this discovery because it is the beginning of something new for the humans. Soon they will have to rewrite all the books—my books,” he laughed cheerfully. “And it will throw the faculties at major universities around the globe into a collective tizzy. But I say it is about time. I have been waiting years for this. But to get to the point of what I am telling you here, there are not only particles that move faster than light, there are also spirits and Angels who are able to do it.”
Nigel raised a trembling hand.
“Yes, young man?”
“Ddd …does that mean that they are traveling in time?” He stuttered.
Einstein looked at Nigel with great impression.
“Yes, young man. That is exactly what it means.”
“Does that mean that we can travel in time as well?”
“Exactement!” said the professor who stood behind Einstein. He could no longer hide his great enthusiasm.
We all gasped.
“Particles that move faster than light are essentially moving backward in time. Think of it as being shot before the trigger is pulled,” continued Einstein.
“So we are able to fly back in time?” repeated Nigel as if he didn’t get his reply. It was a lot to take in at once. I had to give him that.
“Yes,” answered Einstein. “All of you posses the ability to fly that fast. That doesn’t mean that you will, just that you can.”
No one spoke for a long time when we left the classroom. It was one thing to have been taught by the great Albert Einstein himself, it was another to have overthrown all we claimed to know about physics. It wasn’t the first time we had this feeling, but time travel? That was too far out. But the professor had declared he was going to teach us that this year. The more I thought about it, the more exciting it got. Just think of what a spirit could do!
I hadn’t been with Mick all day and I was happy to float into the hall and see him waiting for me at the table. My classmates had finally started talking again when we sat down.
“I can’t believe we can actually fly faster than the speed of light,” said Nigel with big eyes.
“It is pretty cool,” said Acacia. She licked sparerib sauce off her fingers.
“So I guess you had a visit from Mr. Einstein,” said Mick.
I nodded and picked at a chunk of potato with my fork while pictures of Jason went through my mind.
“No appetite again? What is going on with you today?” he asked with a low voice. “Is everything all right?”
I looked up and met his eyes. Then I forced a smile and tried to seem normal and relaxed. “Yeah. Everything is great. I am just really tired. It has been quite a day. How was yours?” I said trying to change the subject.
“It was great.”
“So could you tell me a little about what you were doing?” I asked.
“Well, it was nothing really. I was helping this man. He had just lost his wife and needed to be comforted.”
“So what did you do?”
“I gave him a dream. It was actually his wife who wanted my help. She needed to contact him and tell him she was doing fine, that he shouldn’t worry, and she was in a good place now, that it was okay for him to let her go. But since she is only in first year, she didn’t know how to use dreams. So she a
sked me for help the other day and I did. I caught his dream for her.”
“Why did she ask you?”
“Because I helped her when she died. I was the one who brought her here so she feels somehow connected to me. That happens.” He paused and grinned. “Do I detect a little jealousy?”
I didn’t answer his question, since I didn’t want to hurt him. I didn’t feel anything remotely like jealousy, but he didn’t have to know that. “What happened in the dream?”
“She showed herself to him in a place where they used to love being, and she helped him to understand. When he wakes up he will still think it was just a dream, but he will be filled with peace, he will have closure, and can move on.”
“That is really neat. I like that.”
Mick nodded with his mouth full. “That is just some of what makes being a spirit fun.” He paused before he continued. “So are you happy about your assignment?”
“I have no idea.” The potato finally ended on my fork and I put it in my mouth.
“What do you mean?” asked Mick, after drinking from his cup.
“Well, it’s just … really weird.”
“Third-year assignments usually are.”
I laughed, but was then serious. “I guess. Mine is just too easy. I don’t see what part is supposed to be hard.”
“Maybe you just haven’t figured that part out yet. What does it say about your assignment in the folder?”
“That I have to help this woman in her mid-forties get to the other side. I have to help her spirit get on the boat and arrive at the school.”
“When will she die?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
Mick laughed. “Well maybe you should start by finding that out, silly.”
He was right. Why hadn’t I thought about that? At least I needed to know when this woman was about to die, so I could be there and fulfill my job.
“You’ve got a point. How do I do that?”
Mick laughed again. “You of all people should know that!” He looked at me like he was expecting me to have guessed it by now.
“No, I don’t. How?” As the words left my lips, I realized that I did know where I could get that information. I had tried it on the first year. “The book of meant-to-be,” I whispered.
That was the book that showed who was about to die and when. It was the same book that I had accidently peeked in during my first year here and discovered that Jason was about to die. I had decided to help him and had changed his destiny, in the intention of giving him a second chance. But I had ruined his life on earth instead. And now he’s coming anyway, I thought to myself and felt a tickling in my stomach. I looked at Mick with a twisted smile and hoped he didn’t suspect anything.
As I was thinking, I saw Mick’s face become serious, like he knew my thoughts. “How about I check out the date for you. I can go to the book and find the date. You don’t have to do everything yourself.”
“No, it is okay. I can do it.”
“Are you sure, because it is really no problem for me to check it for you. I have to look in the book anyway.”
“It’s okay. I can do it myself. This is my assignment and I want to do it all right.”
Mick became silent and I wondered what went through his mind. By the look on his face it was quite a lot. “It is really no problem.”
“Mick. I want to do some stuff on my own. I am a third-year student now. I will be graduating soon and I want to accomplish that by my own efforts, not your help. It’s very nice of you, but this is my job to do, okay? I have gotten this assignment to grow somehow, and that is what I intend to do.”
“Oh. Okay,” he said while staring distantly out in the air. “At least let me escort you there.”
“What is it you think will happen to me on my way through the corridors of this school?”
“I don’t know, but last year something did. We still have someone at the castle whom we can’t trust.”
“How do you even know they are still here?”
“I don’t know. I just sense it.”
That made me laugh. Not because it was funny; it was more in an insecure manner to kind of lighten up the conversation. Mick could be so serious sometimes especially about protecting me—and that scared me. I didn’t want to be afraid every day. And the only way I knew to keep fear away was to laugh at it. Either that or ignore it. “Okay. You can escort me. But I will go into the chamber alone. I want to do this by myself, remember? So you wait outside.”
Mick sighed. “I don’t like to leave you alone in there, but if it is the only way you will have it, then all right.”
Mick paused and smiled. The worried expression wasn’t all gone yet. I grabbed his hand and held it tight.
“So how are your feet?” he asked and looked down.
“They are fine. Don’t worry.” I answered.
He chuckled. “No chills?”
I sighed and looked at him. “I am not having cold feet, Mick.”
“I am glad to hear that.”
Knowing his story I knew he really meant that.
Chapter 8
It had been two years since I had last been in the chamber. Nothing has changed since then, I thought. Except me. I entered and walked toward the huge stone table in the middle. On top of it lay the book of meant-to-be. It contained pictures of people dying and leaving earth. I took in a deep breath while the memories of Jason being beaten to death by his step-dad ran through my head, and I felt my heart race at the very thought.
As always the book was open, turned to the page showing the next person who was about to die and come to this school. The first one wasn’t anyone I knew, so I flipped a couple of pages and then I stopped. My breath caught in my throat. There he was. Once again I saw Jason’s last minutes in this book. This time he was older. He was walking in the street that looked like the area where I used to visit him back when he was a homeless drug addict. What was he doing there again?
He looked much better than the last time I had seen him, I was pleased to see. He wasn’t skinny anymore, but really fit and seemed to have been working out. He had become really handsome. His hazel-nut brown eyes no longer had that tired and worn-out empty look in them. They were so full of life. He looked like he was going somewhere, walking with a lot of strength.
Then suddenly three guys came from behind Jason. The one who appeared to be the leader had most of his face covered with a hood. They stopped Jason and pushed him into an alley. I hadn’t noticed this last time, but there was actually sound on the pictures. It was really low, but just loud enough for me to hear the guy in the hood say, “Didn’t I tell you that if you ever showed your ugly face in this neighborhood again, I would kill you?”
But Jason didn’t seem afraid of these three guys. He tried to force his way through them. “I have somewhere to be right now,” he said and started walking. That was when one of the guys pulled a knife and pressed it against Jason.
“What do you want from me?” he asked.
“You still owe me, man,” the guy in the hood said.
I recognized his voice. He was that drug dealer I had seen Jason with last year.
“I paid you everything,” said Jason. “We’re even.”
The drug dealer shook his head. “No we ain’t. Not until I say so, we ain’t. I helped you big time, now you help me. It’s payback time.”
Jason shook his head. “I am not doing anything for you.”
“Oh yes you are. You do what I tell you to.”
“Or what?”
The drug dealer looked at his friends. “Can you believe this guy?” Then he turned and looked at Jason while he pulled the knife to his throat. “Or I will kill you.”
Tears stung in my eyes and I put my hand to my mouth. I knew how this was going to end, or it wouldn’t be in the book. But still, this was brutal.
“Come on,” Jason said. “Let’s be reasonable. I have paid you what I owe you. I’m out of all this. I don’t do this anymore.??
?
The drug dealer was in Jason’s face now. “So you think you can just leave and then come waltzing in here on my street, in my ‘hood and think that everything is just a-okay?”
“I’m only passing through, going to visit someone. Just let me go.” Jason’s voice still seemed incredibly calm.
“Just passin’ through, huh?” The drug dealer laughed and looked at his friends. “He’s just passin’ through.” They all laughed.
“You know what? I don’t have any time for this,” Jason said and tried to leave.
The drug dealer stuck the knife under his nose. “If you walk out of here, I will kill you.”
“And if I don’t. If I stay?” Jason asked.
“Then you work for me. You owe me your loyalty. I was good to you once, when you needed it. I gave you drugs, man. You came to me beggin’ for it. Beggin’ for my mercy. I gave you some and you didn’t even pay. Now that is a true friend. And you don’t run out on friends like that. That makes them mad. You hear me?”
“So what you are telling me is that I have to sell drugs for you or you will kill me?”
“You owe me, man.”
Then Jason did something I had never expected. He laughed. He laughed out loud in their faces. “I am not afraid of you,” he said. “I am not afraid of dying. Do you know why? Because I know I am going to a much better place. So if my time is up, then it is up. There isn’t anything I can do about it. I have someone whom I love waiting for me on the other side. I haven’t seen her in years and I really miss her. So go ahead. I’m not falling for your tricks again. I’m not bringing other people into misfortune again. I’m clean and so is my consciousness.”
My heart stopped beating. Could he be talking about me? Did he finally remember me? I was in shock and had to hold onto the stone table. Had he been waiting for me to come back all these years?
“You ain’t leaving, I am telling you,” the drug dealer said. “I don’t buy all that Heaven-is-for-real-bull-shit you just pulled on me.”