All over Again

This edition published in May 2012

Copyright © Lynette Ferreira

The right of Lynette Ferreira to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

A Read with Lynette Ferreira Digital Edition

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All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental

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Cover Created and Designed by Tahn
é
Dobson

In the first draft, Elizabeth met up with Devlin again, when she regressed back across the years. However, when it was time for Elizabeth to come back to the present day, Devlin kept following her.

This would have turned
My
Recycled Soul into a paranormal romance. She would have broken up with Jared because she could always feel Devlin with her, and this could have made her relationship with Jared awkward.

The problem was how to get rid of Devlin again, without losing the heart of my story.

I wanted
My
Recycled Soul to be a simple love story - a story of discovery that even through many lifetimes, many mistakes and many different choices, we always end up where we are always supposed to be…

I look back at the road, so very happy, about to retaliate, and it is with shock that I see a big silver car speeding towards us and in a flash of a second I look to make sure Jared is wearing his safety belt.

>>><<<

The sun is bright and shimmering through the trees, rays of sunbeams dance over me. The forest is vast; the trees seem to go on forever, the darkness getting deeper and deeper.

I look around taking in the tall trees, the green undergrowth and the shadows deeper within.

Distracted I wipe my hand over the fallen tree trunk that I am sitting on. I feel faint indentations, and looking down I see a heart carved there. I softly follow the outlines, smiling. Devlin and I carved it here, it seems a long time ago.

After the longest while, I take a deep breath and stand up, following the pathway out of the forest.

I am almost out of the forest, seeing the glimmer of green rolling hills through the many tree trunks, when I hear someone call my name and turn.

Devlin!

My heart jumps to my throat when I see him and I call to him joyously, “I thought you weren’t coming today. I have been waiting for ages?”

“Would I miss spending a day with you – never.” He laughs, surprise lighting up his face.

“I was just going to go and look for you,” I say as I skip back to him.

I smile, as I get closer. I see his dark hair falling over his forehead and down so that the tips just brush his shoulders, his full lips match the color of his rosy cheeks perfectly, he is sunburned, his jaw strong. He has the features of an angel. I look into his violet blue eyes and sigh softly.

He grabs me, laughing exuberantly and he swings me around, my long dark hair waving out into the wind. I lean my head back, enjoying the wind on my face, my laughter weaving through the trees, bouncing back to my ears.

He puts me down, looking at me intently and I run my hands over his muscular arms.

“You are so silly,” I laugh.

“A silly little thing called love,” he agrees, his eyes laughing.

I smile. “So, what shall we do today, silly little thing?”

“Let’s go horse riding,” he suggests.

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” I agree.

He takes my hand, and leading me along the narrow path, we walk into the sunshine.

Letting him go, standing on top of the hill, the whole valley stretched out before me, rolling hills disappearing over the horizon into the hazy distance, and while Devlin walks on, I open my arms wide and look up at the sky, letting the sun shine on my face.

“Hey sun-goddess,” he calls from where he stopped, waiting for me.

I laugh and run to him, into his arms.

He holds me tight and kisses me on the forehead.

“Come.” He pulls me by the hand down the hill.

“You are always so impatient,” I reprimand him.

“And you always want to stop to smell the roses. The same sun as yesterday, the same grass, everything is the same.”

“No, it is not the same, everyday is different and special, never to be taken for granted.”

He looks at me puzzled. “Where did that come from?”

I laugh. “I don’t know.”

We walk to his house, a wooden structure with a grass roof.
Behind the house, there are two horses grazing.

The horse, I usually ride, when I sneak away from home, is chocolate brown, while Devlin likes to ride on the statuesque white stallion.

Devlin saddles the horses, while I lean against the shoddy fencing and I stare at him pensively.

It feels as if I have not seen him in the longest time, yet I know I met him yesterday in our usual place – the fallen tree trunk where we have spend endless hours talking softly.

When he hands me the stirrups, I gracefully mount my horse and then I lean forward to bury my face in her mane. I take a deep breath and pat her on her neck taking the reins in my hands.

As soon as Devlin is on his horse, he nudges him and lurches forward. Galloping away, he yells, “Come slow one, see if you can catch me today.”

He laughs and I nudge my mare, she is obviously not as fast, but we manage to keep up.

We ride far, never meeting another person and when Devlin stops he slides off his horse and waits for me, while smiling and pretending to be impatient.

I reach him and dismount, jumping down onto my feet.

We leave the horses to graze and sit in the grass besides them, the daisy scattered grass swaying in the gentle breeze.

Devlin puts out his arm and gently he pushes me backwards, until I am lying on my back. He lies down next to me, and stares at the blue sky for the longest time.

He suddenly asks seriously, “Have you ever tried to find the words to say something, but no matter what you think of saying, you know it might come out wrong?”

“No.” I laugh.

“I am trying to be serious here.”

A quick frown flashes between his eyes. I try to stop laughing, but I cannot get rid of the grin on my face.

He sighs. “Okay, fine, I am just going to say it.”

He sighs again deeply, yet he says nothing and just continues staring up at the sky. I turn onto my side facing him and start tracing circles on his arm with my fingertips, looking down into his eyes.

He looks at me and then looking back at the sky he says, “Don’t look at me that way, I have waited too long for you and today it was as if you never left.”

He faces me again, looking sad. “If I kiss you now, take you in my arms, I will be selfish and not tell you what I need to tell you. Then one day in the distant future you might stumble across something that would yank your memory back and then you will hate me forever, for not telling you the truth from the start.”

I have no idea what he is talking about, because I was waiting for him today and he saw me only yesterday, how could he have waited for me too long?

He takes my chin between his thumb and index finger, slowly pulling my face towards him, while his face reaches up.

I forget to breathe and close my eyes
. J
ust as I feel the soft touch of his lips on my own, he draws back and it is as if it never was.

He settles his head on the ground again and sighs. “How can I tell you the truth when this is the miracle I have waited for? I know all about hope, but can I really wait to first meet you again in another lifetime?” He asks himself, more than me.

He sits up abruptly and stares over the rolling hills. I now get worried; he was confusing me with words of lifetimes and waiting.

He turns towards me and I can see fear and despair in his eyes. “Did you know Eilish is the Gaelic interpretation for Elizabeth?”

“Yes, Devlin I do, I can speak Gaelic quite fluently and you know this?” I look at him frowning.

“No, Eilish, you ARE Elizabeth,” he says
,
sadness clouding his eyes. “Eilish and Elizabeth is the same person”

I look at him confused, sitting back from him.

“What are you saying, Devlin? I am not Elizabeth, have you lost your mind?” I ask panicked.