Fire - Betrayal (19 page)

Breathing in deeply, I
walked over to Cate and lay down beside her as she slept.

My beautiful, beautiful Cate
…..

The Sign

A gentle breeze blew into the tent
as I finally woke from my unconscious state.

The first thing that
I was aware of was that I was in an unfamiliar place.  Confusion and disorientation dominated my head.

Then
, I was aware of Ben lying beside me.  I heard him whisper my name, and felt his lips kiss my head.

I
looked to Ben.  He was smiling at me, and his eyes were full of love for me.

Then
I looked around the receiving tent.  There were no walls, just white wispy lengths of material that gently fell to the ground.  The bed was dressed in white linen, with white linen pillows.  There was a small white table that displayed a large vase of beautiful flowers of varying shades of colour, that had a combined fragrance of sweetness and peace. The same white wispy lengths of material were used for the doors to the tent, but were pulled to the sides, leaving a capturing view out of the tent of a teal lake, that was so still, it mirrored the pristine environment around it.

Then, as if summoned, Jacinta appeared at the entrance of the receiving tent, smiling.

“Cate, welcome, it is good to see you conscious again.  Ben was very worried about you.”

Jacinta looked to Ben affectionately when she said this.
  And I did not like what I saw.

Then
I remembered that Ben had spent two years here recently, so Ben and Jacinta would already know each other.

She
held Ben’s eyes for longer than I liked.

“It is nice to meet you finally
Cate.  When Ben was here for two years, he ranted and raved on about you the whole time.  It’s good to have a face to your name at last,” Jacinta said in a friendly tone.

“It is nice to meet you too Jacinta. I have seen you in my Grandy’s memory before, so to a certain degree, I feel that I know you already, but that is only the familiarity of your face that makes me feel that way,”
I said, as Jacinta smiled at me.

“
Cate, your energy is very low, you are exhausted, that is why you collapsed.  Eat these fruits, they are remarkable and will give you the instant lift and energy your body needs,” Jacinta instructed.

As
I ate the familiar santé fruit leisurely, Jacinta talked to me explaining the protocol for non-Terreans.

“
Cate, you are in the receiving tent because firstly, you were unconscious, and secondly, you are from the Earth.  We call people like you an intruder, although, you are more of a visitor to us, so we don’t feel so threatened by your presence.  The purpose of the receiving tent is to gauge your spirit, your character, and your motive for being here.  While you were unconscious I did connect with your brain because I was searching for the cause of your unconsciousness.  I had Ben’s permission to do this.  But now that you are conscious again, I must ask for your permission to read into your mind.  All that I will ask you to do, is to lay down on the bed, and allow me to place my hands on your head to look into your mind.  It does not hurt or feel uncomfortable in any way, in fact, it may relax you so well that you will sleep deeply and peacefully.  Do you give me permission to read into your mind Cate?” asked Jacinta in a quiet calm voice.

I
looked up at Ben.  He raised his eyebrows and nodded yes, encouraging me to do as Jacinta asked.

“I do give you permission Jacinta, although I wish for Ben to stay in the receiving tent with me for the duration of the
intrusion
into my mind,” I requested.

Jacinta looked over to Ben. 
I knew that they were mind communicating, and it made me feel uncomfortable being left out of the conversation.

“Of course
Cate, if you don’t mind though, I may see things that he hasn’t been able to see with his undeveloped mind reading skills.  Are you sure that you want him to stay?” Jacinta questioned.

“Yes.” 
I lay down on the white bed, and breathed in deeply.  I had nothing to hide, except my lack of confidence of being in the parallel world.  I was inferior to the Terreans, and I knew it.

Jacinta placed her hand and fingers on
my head, positioning her fingers strategically to connect with energy points into my brain.  The mind reading had begun.

My
muscles and body relaxed instantly.  My eyes became heavy and my breathing even and slow.  I fought to keep my eyes open, but I lost the battle.  I went into a deep and peaceful sleep.

***

I kept my eyes on Jacinta as she searched Cate’s mind and memories.  Jacinta’s hand was red with warmth, her eyes closed as she concentrated on the information being transferred to her.

Then she breathed out slowly and released her hand, confident that she had gathered all of the information that she needed for the council.

Jacinta looked up at me.

“
Ben, as I said before, you have done well to help Cate heal.  She has been through a deeply traumatic ordeal.  However, her mind would have healed without your intervention. I do question your decision to speed up this process.  Was it for you, or her?”
Jacinta expressed through her mind.

“
I felt totally responsible for the damage that had been done to Cate by my absence, so it was my responsibility to help her heal.  I did everything with the best intentions, with only Cate’s well-being in mind,”
I explained.

Jacinta looked into
my eyes for an extended period.  I could see that she was highly attracted to me. Then she turned back to Cate, looking at her.

“
You know Ben, in Une Autre Terre, we do not read into the minds and emotions of our loved ones. There must be a distance between each of your knowledge and thoughts.  You both must be allowed to have your own private thoughts and feelings. If you are in her head all the time, it can only lead to destruction of your relationship. Please heed my advice,
“ she advised me.

“Jacinta, over all the years that I have known
Cate, I have stayed out of her head.  It was only when she was in very bad shape that I decided to help her in this way.  But now that you have confirmed her extent of healing, I will not use my gifts of mind reading on her again, unless it is a life or death situation,
” I informed her, “
Thank-you for your concern and advice Jacinta,
” I said, bowing my head to her, indicating that the conversation was over.

But
Jacinta maintained eye contact with me, trying to engage me in deep eye connection. I knew what she was trying to do.  She was trying to claim me as hers.

I
then turned to Cate, whom was still in a deep sleep.  I brushed some of her locks from her face and then settled down on the white bed beside her again, and placed my arm protectively around her and fell asleep, peacefully for the first time in a long while.

***

I woke first, happily, and felt Ben’s arm around me.  I smiled to myself, I felt like I was in heaven – the whiteness that surrounded me in the receiving tent, the gentle breeze, the view of the teal lake, the birds singing, the fragrance from the beautiful flowers on the white table, Ben’s breathe on my neck, and his beating heart against my back.

I
ran my fingers along his arm to his hand, then brought his hand to my lips and kissed each of his fingers.  He moaned quietly.

I
turned my body to face him.  His eyes were still closed, but he smiled crookedly, making my heart skip a beat.

Then he
slowly opened his eyes to look at me.  Our eyes burned into each others. I slowly brought my lips to his, and we kissed slowly, both enjoying the pleasures that the kiss brought with it.

“I love you, “Ben whispered.

“And I love you,” I whispered back.

Then
I looked up.  Standing at the door to the receiving tent was Grandy.

Immediately,
I raced over to her and hugged her tightly, tears streaming down my face.

“Grandy,“
I breathed, feeling overwhelming relief to see her again.

“My dear, dear
Cate.  Thank-you for fulfilling my final wish, I can’t thank you enough.  I wish there were words to express how I feel about you, but there aren’t.  Now this is even better, to have you here with me in person.  I am blown away.  I am so excited to see you. Come on Cate, you’ve got to meet your Poppy, James, he can’t wait to meet a grandchild of his.”

And with that Grandy grabbed
my hand and whisked me away out of the receiving tent, and down a very long path to what looked like a village.

Terreans everywhere stopped and looked. At first their glances and stares were curious, and then smiles appeared on their faces.  They could see the utter joy on
Grandy Katie’s face as she ran holding onto my hand. We were like school girls off to the candy store.

James stood with tears rolling down his cheeks
as we stopped in front of him.  When my eyes met Poppy’s, I saw the same cerulean eyes that Ben had, and I warmed to my new Poppy straight away.  I hugged him and then stood back.  Poppy looked me over, he looked very pleased with his new found grand-daughter.

“Hello
Cate,” Poppy said to me, bowing his head slightly.

“Hi
Poppy!” I said, beaming at him.

At that point, Ben had turned up behind
us.  He smiled at the happy reunion, then stepped forward and touched James’s hand, as Terreans did, then he walked over to Grandy Katie and gave her a warm hug.

“Ah Ben,” Grandy Katie said smiling, pleased to see her favourite Ben again.

We all walked down the main street together to go to a café, turning heads as we walked by.

The Terreans looked at
me because I was different to them.  My eye colour was intriguing to them, my hair colour interesting with its natural streaks My body was more shapely than the women’s of the Terre.  Then I watched as the Terreans eyes would wander over to Ben.  He had just recently left their world to return to me, and they were familiar with him, but still, they could not help looking him over.

He was taller than the other Terre males. His muscular development outdid the others easily.  He walked with authority and a presence that the other Terre
an males did not have, and yet, he served others, putting himself last.

We
had just sat down to enjoy an afternoon tea together when Ben was called away to the Council of Elders.  He had been expecting it, but not so soon. It was Jacinta who appeared at their table summoning him to the meeting.

“
Ben, the council awaits you.  You must come immediately
,” instructed Jacinta.

“Excuse me everyone.  I won’t be long,” Ben said
us.  Then he bent down and gently kissed me on the lips.

Jacinta escorted Ben to the meeting of the council elders, walking next to him. 
I could tell that they were mind communicating, and I felt a tinge of jealousy that I couldn’t talk with him in that intimate way.

***

After five minutes, Jacinta and I arrived at the edge of the rainforest.  A lone large black boulder sat next to a tall strong broad leafed tree with a very wide white, brown, pink and orange trunk.

Jacinta placed her hand on the black boulder.  After a second, the boulder glowed blue around her hand.  She indicated to
me to place my hand on the boulder.  Again, after a second, the boulder glowed blue around my hand.

Suddenly, a wooden platform appeared next to the trunk of the tree.  Jacinta and
I stood on it, and it smoothly rose up beside the tree, stopping midway, revealing a stone door.

Jacinta placed her hand on the stone door.  It slowly slid sideways and Jacinta entered the room of the
Council of Elders.  But I could not.  I had to wait outside until I was invited in to the meeting. I found a slit in between the door and the tree trunk and peered into the room.

Jacinta bowed as she approached the twelve men and women who sat around an oval polished granite table, but Jacinta did not sit.

“Jacinta, it is a pleasure to see you again.  How is our new visitor from the Earth faring?
” asked the Highest Elder of the Council.

“
Your Highest, Cate is doing well.  It seemed that she was unconscious from lack of food.  I gathered four santé fruit for her, and she has regained her strength and energy. I looked into her mind thoroughly, and I was impressed with what I found.  Firstly, she is of pure heart, mind and body.  She possesses an amazing capacity for compassion that I have not seen in any other Earth person.  She has been truly loyal and faithful to Une Autre Terre since receiving the knowledge from her Grandy Katie, and feels very protective of our world.  She will not betray us. She is highly receptive to learning of our ways, and has leader or teaching qualities that are untapped.  I judge her to be of genuine and trustworthy character.  I would by very happy to call her a sister.” 
Jacinta bowed her head towards the Elders to signal the end of her report about Cate.