Piercing The Fold (18 page)

The sun seems so much brighter here. The special sunglasses from Siobhan came off a day ago. It really is stunning. We arrive around five in the evening. The sun is casting shadows on the sidewalks that are lined with palm trees and beautiful brightly colored hibiscus flowers. We have the windows down.

The term “sea breeze” is something I never understood until I actually experienced it driving alongside the ocean. I look over at Ezra with a smile on my face. He gives me a conservative smile and winks at me.

Ezra’s mood had changed immediately upon crossing the Florida state line. He is more reserved and quiet than usual. He keeps checking his side and rearview mirrors for anyone that could be trailing us.

I keep quiet, knowing that he has his way of being a guardian. And if I didn’t respect that and let him be, then how could I expect the same from him.

“So, did you get in touch with the connection in the file about our digs?”

This distracts Ezra enough to break his stare.

“We are staying near Coral Gables at Coconut Grove.”

Ezra is scrolling through his iPhone and quickly changes the subject. “This car will not suit us any longer. We are set to stop at a dealership and swap cars. My connection there has everything prepared for us.”

“Us. Wait. I’m getting a car?”

“Miami is not like Marietta, Jesca. You are not in Georgia anymore.”

Ezra saying that is intended to strike a chord of seriousness.

No, I’m not in Marietta anymore. I am in an unfamiliar environment both in the physical and metaphysical sense. I have an intimidating purpose ahead of me. Why me? Why ask? It just is. All I know is that I am a puzzle and the pieces of me have been disconnected. For the life of me, I am hastily doing all I can to reconnect the pieces before I enter the lion’s den.

We pull up to a BMW dealership. I give Ezra a sideways glance.

“Yes, Jesca. You and I are getting BMWs, a superior automobile.”

Thirty minutes later, I am in my fully equipped 5 series BMW following Ezra. He is in his fully equipped 7 series. We are heading to our villa. I hear a phone ring. It sounds like it is coming from all around me. I look in the center console, nothing. It keeps ringing, then stops. The ringing starts up again.

Who would be calling?

Ezra.

Damn it, Ezra! Where is the phone?

I move my right hand hastily under the front car seat, no. In the glove compartment, no. The ringing stops again. I refocus on the road.

Once again, the ringing starts.

Ah! Ezra. Enough! Why don’t you just tell me where it is!

I pound the steering wheel, and a loud chime sounds in the car just then. “Phone. Answer or Ignore call.”

I cautiously respond to the soft female voice. “Answer.”

Ezra speaks over the car speakers. “Well, it’s about time!”

“Sorry, you could have used your abilities you know!”

“Check under the passenger seat. You should find what you’ve been looking for.”

I reach under and pick up a white iPhone.

“I have taken the liberty of programming in some numbers for you. Jim, from the dealership programmed everything in your car.”

I scroll through the contacts. Sera, Roan (Delilah). Sera, Bethany.
How did he do this so quickly?

“Thank you, Ezra.”

“You should give them a call. Let them know that you are safe.”

“Is there anything I shouldn’t tell them?”

“No. They are your parents.”

There is a long pause.

He continues, “Talk to them. If you are worried that it might put them in danger, don’t worry. Sebastian has sleepers in place around your family, as well as us for that matter. We will be to the house in fifteen minutes or so. Enjoy some time talking with them before we get there.”

I push the button on my steering wheel that has a picture of a phone on it.

(Chime.) “Phone.”

I smile. “Dial Roan Sera.”

(Chime.) “Dialing Roan and Delilah Sera.”

On the third ring, Dad picks up. “Hello?”

A knot forms in my throat instantly. “Dad. It’s me, Jes.”

It is wonderful to hear their voices. They say they are settled into a beautiful cottage-like home in Boulder, Colorado. Bethany will be attending the University of Colorado in the fall. I am so tempted to tell them I miss them. I know that I can’t, though. They would worry, especially Mom. She cries the entire time we are on the call as it is.

“Can we visit you soon? Can you come visit us?”

I stumble over Mom’s questions. “Uh. I’m not sure when that will happen.”

I really hadn’t talked with Ezra about all that. I didn’t want to make any false promises to Mom, Dad, or myself for that matter.

“Lilah. She is a guardian now. It wasn’t that long ago for you and I, remember. Jes, sweetheart, you have a duty ahead of you no matter how much I want to protect you. We won’t see you for a while. I’m sure Ezra and you will discuss these things as they come up. That’s Ezra’s way.”

Dad is right.

“Yeah. Mom, you know that we can talk on the phone. It will be just like back home in Marietta. I have always been independent, Mom. It’s just you are a little further away now. That’s all.”

“Yes, Jes. You have always been brave, strong and confident. I love you, baby.”

My voice cracks a little. “Me too. Uh, I gotta go. We are at the villa. I love you.”

“Love you, sweetheart.”

They hang up first.

We pull up to the gate at The Cloisters in Coconut Grove. Ezra reaches out of his window and punches in a code, and we both drive through. The entrance of the property is park-like. The cobblestone road is lined with a canopy of saluting palm trees with smaller azalea bushes peppered along the path. It seems like the colors of objects and details have been heightened since leaving the facility. Everything appears so vivid and new to my eyes.

We pull up to a white stucco villa with dark brown tile roofing. The drive is lined with small lantern landscape lights. The garage door is made of bamboo, stained to a dark brown to match the roof. A huge, sago palm is near the front porch. A lantern, table, and two chairs are tucked into a perfect welcoming corner on the front porch.

Ezra is already out of the car, unloading the luggage. He works quickly. Within minutes, he has the door open and our luggage inside with all the lights on. I get out of my car and walk up the drive to the front porch. The flowers that line the walkway are so lush and full of life. Even at dusk, the colors are so vibrant. I can hear rolling waves from the ocean.

“Do we live close to the ocean?”

“Oh, we live very close to the ocean.”

I walk into the house with two of my smaller bags. I am amazed at the furnishings in the living room. It reminds me of the hearth room in the facility. Ezra is fumbling around in the kitchen.

I turn to look at what he is doing.

He is eyeing food in the most amazing refrigerator I had ever seen. The doors are clear glass. You can see everything in it. It is very well stocked. My stomach instantly growls, giving me its opinion.

Ezra calls to me, “Hungry?”

I tour the rest of the house, taking in the surroundings.

“Yes. Starving.”

Ezra starts listing off a plethora of foods he has discovered. I claim one of the smaller rooms of the three.

The master is huge and beautiful, spa-like really.
It would be nice, but I should give it to my superior.

This got Ezra’s attention. He calls from the kitchen, “Superior? Really?”

I round the corner back to the kitchen. “Stop that! I mean I respect your thoughts. Can you please respect mine? I was raised to respect my elders, you know.” I smile at Ezra, prideful of my witty sarcasm.

Ezra rolls his eyes and walks off. “Well. I am grateful. My bad back and achy tattered old feet will thank you as well.”

A gigantic television is in the center of our living room. I roll my eyes. “Was this your idea, Ezra?”

“What? Oh, don’t start on me.”

I mumble, “Such a guy thing.”

I spot the back door and open it. A moist breeze immediately touches my face and blows my hair back. I feel the moonlight on my skin. The moon is climbing slowly over the sparkling ocean, only feet from the back porch. The beach is white until it touches the crawling, dark water.

“Wow. That is ocean front.”
How could we afford this?

Ezra comes up behind me and joins me on the porch. “Connections, my dear. Byron Haynes is out of the country, Japan actually. He is a biologist working closely with our foundation.”

I walk back into the house, and Ezra follows.

“Of course. Connections.”

I sense some apprehension in Ezra.

“There wouldn’t be any Ushering at work here, would there?”

Ezra is walking to the kitchen. He stops and turns to me. “Touché. He is a founding father. He wasn’t planning a long trip abroad. But Sebastian made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse. It is advantageous for us and a long time deserved for Mr. and Mrs. Haynes. It’s a win-win situation.”

Ezra pops a cherry into his mouth. “You should start practicing. Like, now. You are going on an interview in the morning.” Ezra turns and starts to prepare two meals.

I sit down at a bar stool. “A what?”

Ezra finishes preparing the food and is placing it on each plate. “An interview at a bookstore near the University of Miami. Oh, c’mon. You are the adaptive soul that does well in the field, and I’m the brains, remember? Plus, you need to be involved in the community. Take in the environment and the people.”

I realize the logic. “Yeah, you’re right. I need to feel around a bit. Get a hold of my surroundings. That’s the only way I can really function.”

I yawn a little. I try to hide it.

Ezra quickly takes note. “You should hit the sack after dinner. I have some research to do, but I won’t be far behind you.”

Ezra puts on the local news while we eat. It was a typical news report. Recent environmental violations and resolutions, robberies and domestic tragedies, upcoming events, road closures, and weather.

Rarely does a robbery or murder occur in Marietta. Not a whole lot of anything happens in Marietta, and that isn’t a bad thing.

Ezra shakes his head.

I am a little apprehensive about going to bed. I haven’t slept in a bed out of the facility in weeks. I know how to defend myself, so I’m not physically or mentally vulnerable in that respect. Still, I am bombarded by the images of fear that have terrorized me after leaving the facility.

Ezra thinks,
You are stronger, Jes. I wouldn’t lie to you about that. Stronger than you know. You are safe.

With that, I clear my plate and straighten the kitchen for us both; a mindless distraction helped.

Ezra begins looking through files at the table. I look over.

“Anything I can help with?”

“No. I have this side project I’m working on. It has to do with the Bermuda Triangle and the active team of physicists that have been researching in the field. The project is peppered with Sondian and Dobrian scientists for obvious reasons, theories of possible portals and vortexes through space-time.”

I am astounded. “I had no idea Dobrians and Sondians were working together.”

“They aren’t. They are undercover. As would I, upon joining the team. We would know who is a Dobrian and who is a Sondian. But we wouldn’t let the enemy know we knew. It’s a little complicated.”

I walk over to the files and sit next to him. Ezra quickly picks up the files and proceeds in carrying them to the master bedroom.

“Good night, Jes. Please get some rest.”

“Night, Ezra.”

The first night in the house is not so bad. No lucid dreaming. I might have kept it at bay since I am so anxious and unable to fully relax during sleep. At some point in the middle of the night, I feel a presence. Can’t tell if it is in my dream or in my actual room looking over me. I am so exhausted by that point; I don’t spend much time analyzing it. Plus, it doesn’t feel threatening. It feels warm, comforting, and familiar.

Nate?

By the time my mind connects with my body to open my eyes, the presence is gone.

I go back to sleep quickly after clearing my mind. After I am down, though, the thoughts of him come creeping back. That kiss. The feeling of powerful energy drawing us into each other. I slowly open my eyes again. I am restless and missing Nate’s and my connection.

Ezra and I are out the door at the same time in the morning. He is heading to a meeting with the field team researching the Bermuda Triangle. I am heading out to the interview at the bookstore about three miles from the house near the university. I drive. Ezra thinks I should drive as much as possible to get a better lay of the land. I am a bit nervous, even though I plan to use Ushering to assist in being hired.

The bookstore is a few blocks away from the beach. It is on a very busy street with quite a bit of foot traffic due to the proximity of the university. Ezra and I both agreed that it would be a perfect fit for me, not just because of my past experience, but because the likelihood of an attack on me in a crowded public area would be slim. He doesn’t want to leave me unprotected.

I feel a bit nostalgic for the bookstore back home when I open the door and hear an old-fashioned door chime. I take a deep breath and push all of those memories back within me. I can’t help but smile because of the coincidence, though.

An older woman with long, salt-and-pepper hair peeks out from behind a stack near the middle of the store. She is small, petite. She walks out toward me and looks me up and down, dissecting me with her light honey-colored eyes. Then she looks into my eyes and stares at me.

Usher her, Jes.

I stare back into her eyes. Everything around her blurs. “Hi. My name is Jesca Gershon-Sera.”

Still staring at me, she seems to ignore my words. The woman then circles me and speaks. “So you are here for the job, my dear.”

Her voice is soft, but not weak. It is a determined and confident soft voice.

Good. Now hire me.

I reply, “Yes, I am, ma’am.”

She comes to face me quickly and hushes me with her olive-toned hand, demanding silence. She clicks her tongue in a somewhat disapproving manner. “My name is Olivia Walker.”

I have heard that name before.

Luke Walker? Nate’s mentor?

I hear her in my head.
Yes, that is right. My son is Luke Walker.

She looks at me apologetically for the intrusion in my thoughts.
My apologies, but it’s best if we don’t discuss specifics of our relationship in the open. Oh, and nice try with the Ushering.

Olivia gives me a wink and a brief, soft smile. She touches my hand. A familiar current of energy passes between us. She puts her other hand on top of the one already holding mine. She gives a light, reassuring squeeze. A squeeze that tells me I am safe.

Still holding them, she closes her eyes. I watch her as her eyelids maintain a rapid movement. I wonder what those eyes are seeing behind her curtained eyelids.

She smiles and lets out a little giggle. She slowly opens her eyes and sets them on mine. Still holding my hand with hers, Olivia takes one of her hands and places it on top of my head. I instantly feel a wave of energy pass from my head to my toes. I am not sure, but it feels like she washed all of my fear and negative thoughts away.

I can only do that if you believe that God works divinely through me to allow me to do that.

I nod in understanding. She is a healer, just like her son.

“You are hired.”

Ms. Olivia, as she prefers to be called, spends the first day showing me around the shop. We need to look like the real deal to any spying eyes. The back room is large enough to be a small apartment. It expands to its own kitchen and an upstairs loft. I soon discover that Ms. Olivia lived in this house all of her life, since she was a little girl. Her parents added on to the house, which was a convenience store for years. As she grew into a teen, the store became a restaurant for a while. When her parents passed, Ms. Olivia inherited the shop. When she married, her husband converted it into a bookstore.

Looking at the store from the street, it did stand out a bit from the rest of the upscale shops and boutiques that lined the strip. Don’t get me wrong, it didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. More like an eclectic, aged boutique that resembled a house.

The first few days of work with Ms. Olivia are not work at all. Ms. Olivia gives me homework.

So this is all making sense now. Ezra and you had this planned all along.

Ms. Olivia smiles, turns, and greets a new customer. She leaves me with a stack of books: Physics, Deepak Chopra, Cosmology, Metaphysics.

Apparently, the bookstore is the cover for the real purpose of Ms. Olivia’s store. Most of my days at the store are spent in the back room studying, reading, learning, and applying. Other days, I am permitted to witness Ms. Olivia’s experiences with her customers. They are amazing stories of everyday people that on the outside look collected and at peace. You wouldn’t think that they would step foot into a bookstore and entrust a woman to reveal the weight of their life. Physically and mentally unbearable pain, poverty, abuse, guilt, addiction, vanity, and hatred; it ran the gamut.

Day by day, I watch her use her gifts, her life force, to heal lives as they enter her store. They are drawn to her like a magnet as soon as they enter that door. Throughout each encounter, I can hear her thoughts, prayers to God. She is giving thanks and accepting His divine grace to share with each person she heals.

“Praying to God cleanses me and prepares me for the healing of others. My meditation with Him rejuvenates my life force.”

I am continuously in awe of this woman. She is old enough to be my grandmother, yet she has endless energy and stamina; she is unwavering. And she attributes it all to God’s amazing grace bestowed upon her. I am humbled to watch Him at work through her.

I was meant to see this woman and God at work in unison. Meant to witness the harmonious symphony of it all.

It is quiet in the store one afternoon. I am reading
The Cosmos
by Carl Sagan.

Ms. Olivia clears her throat to get my attention. “Jesca. I am going to visit a friend. Would you watch the store for about an hour? Will you be fine?”

“Sure, Ms. Olivia.”

“All right, dear. How about you close the store in about an hour; it has been slow today. You have been studying so hard. A little break, huh?” Olivia winks and smiles at me.

I smile back. “I don’t mind. I’m really interested in this book. I can stick around if you would like?”

“If you would like. It’s up to you. I will be late. I plan to have dinner out tonight. Please don’t wait for me to lock up, all right?”

I nod in agreement.

After Ms. Olivia leaves, I quickly become absorbed again in the endless possibilities of our universe through Sagan’s eyes. I am so involved in my thoughts as I read, I must have missed the chime at the door.

Was there a chime?

A tall, dark-haired man is standing at the first set of stacks whistling a familiar tune. His back is to me as I watch him. His silhouette is familiar. He reminds me of Nate. His shoulders are broad and muscular.

Oh, Jesca, stop it.

He has on black jeans and a white T-shirt, very casual. From the brief glimpse of his profile, his hair is a bit longer in the front than Nate’s but the same shade of dark brown.
Stop it already.

He looks a little taller than him too...and more muscular definitely.
Enough Jes!

The guy must feel me watching him. He cocks his head in my direction, not revealing his face yet. “Hi there. I’m looking for something full of suspense and mystery. Can you recommend anything?”

Oh. My. God. Did he really just say that?
I drop my book getting up off the stool. I bend to retrieve it. “Uh. Yes, I...um...just put one of Dan Brown’s latest novels in the stacks today.” I quickly walk around him, trying not making eye contact.

I can feel him look at me, though. His eyes are a heavy weight of intensity. It makes me nervous and anxious all at once.

 I shift my eyes to the bookstore clerk, catching a glimpse of her profile.
She is breath-taking.
I ask her about a book to distract her from my staring and stumbling to my aid. After that, I could only focus on her as she fumbled through a nearby rack. She is magnetic in every sense of the word. Her presence is suffocating and intoxicating at the same time. The movement of her hand over the books as they glide along the bindings is so intimate, it makes me consider moving closer to her. 
Mesmerizing and magnetic, that is what she is.
Finding the book she wants, she gently pulls it from the stacks and turns to me.

With book in hand, I turn toward mystery guy. Our eyes meet for the first time since he walked in.

“Oh.” The sound I utter is both a combination of ‘I have seen you before’ and ‘wow’. He is absolutely gorgeous. Deep, tan, radiant skin.
His eyes.
They are light hazel, resembling a deep, spring-fed quarry. It reminds me of a place.

Home. Georgia.

The guy looks just as lost in me as I am in him, but only for a minute. He collects himself more quickly than I do and extends his hand to receive the book I’m holding out to him. His hand brushes mine. Just that small brush radiates warmth that shoots straight through me. I have seen him before.
Where? Think, Jes.

Like he is responding to my thoughts, the guy extends his other hand to me. “I’m Alexander Crest. Xander.”

He couldn’t have heard my thoughts. Could he? Put the block up just in case Jes.
My response is slow. “Oh, sorry. I’m Jesca Gershon-Sera. Jes.” I place hand in his. The familiarity becomes more pressing. “I think I have met you before.”

A smile spreads slowly over Xander’s lips and he looks down briefly, almost shyly. “I get that a lot. I must have one of those familiar faces.”

I think I know this girl.
The distraction of her presence keeps me from focusing too much on where I know her from. She looks at me awkwardly, then down at her hand that I am still holding.  I pull my hand away and clasp the book she has given me with both hands.

She fidgets with her small hands. I have the urge to reach for them, still them. I look away and scratch my temple. 
What the hell are you doing Xander?

I look back at her just as she shifts her stance. “Um. Is there any other type of book you are looking for?”

 “No. I think you took care of what I’m looking for.”

Do I know her from the club?
If I could just stay with her longer, I would remember. I look to the back of the store, where she appeared from earlier. “What are you reading back there?”

Jesca replies, “Oh. Um. I’m taking a few classes at the nearby community college, and it’s pretty slow today. So I just set myself up in the back.”

 “Well, it sounds extraordinarily boring.”

She smiles and God I feel my heart pound, instantly gratified having brought happiness to this amazing woman in front of me with my well-placed sarcasm. I needed to buy me more time with her and if sarcasm and whit was the way, I was going to use it.

It had to have been recent. She is too familiar to be someone I met a long time ago.

Jesca continues, “Well, in the subject matter’s defense, I find a lot of it fascinating. At times the content of physics can spiral into an overwhelming monstrosity. But if I stay close to the surface, I think I’m safe from drowning in catatonia.”

I must be looking too hard at her, because she looks away and takes a deep, nervous breath.   I look away quickly and feel the need to explain myself. 
I never feel the need to explain myself!
“Sorry, you just look really familiar also and I am trying to place where I have seen you before.”

She is so going to think I’m a stalker.

“And since you said it first, that can’t qualify as a cheap pick-up line.”

Jesca smiles and moves quickly to the cash register, but not before I see the blush developing on her cheeks. She stutters, “So, will that be all?”

 “Actually, would you, um, have coffee with me?”

She stops mid-stride and I feel nervous all of a sudden. You must know that I don’t do nervous. Never have. But with her, I am.  “You know what. I’m sorry. You must think I’m some weird stalker. Never mind. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

Sorry if I offended you? C’mon, Xander, you’re dying here.

His words are so sincere, I find myself wanting to be with him longer. “Wait. I’m pretty new to town. It would be nice to get out and about. Coffee sounds great.”
If he was a threat, I would feel it, right? He is safe.
“You’ve been the only customer in the past two hours. I can meet you out front in a couple of minutes. I just need to lock up.”

I can’t help wanting to be near him.  He makes me feel a rush of emotions that I haven’t felt in weeks. Since...since...
Don’t go there Jes. 

He hands me the cash for the book and I hand him his change and receipt quickly.  His eyes remaining focused only on me. “Great. I’ll meet you out front, Jesca.”

Just the way he says my name makes my heart react and I want to smile. I bite my lip instead. “Great.”

Xander walks backwards a few steps, eyes fastened on mine, then turns and strides out the front door. As soon as the door shuts behind him, I dash around the cash register and to the back room to collect all of the books Ms. Olivia had given me to read. I hit the lights and heads to the door hastily. When I reach the door and touch the handle. I stop and breathe.