Between ascension, p.21
Between Ascension, page 21
part #9 of Levels of Ascension Series
Instantly, she understood Willian’s dilemma and wished she had not reacted as she had in the clearing. This had not been planned, nor was it able to be reined in. For the first time in her life, she felt the perfect connection of two souls. With great reluctance, she withdrew her hand and began crying.
Seeing and feeling everything along with Jena, Juila rushed forward and embraced her sister. She was thankful her sister was finally free of Willian, but she also felt her heart breaking for the complete loss of the relationship. There had to be something she could do to help ease the pain, yet she could not think outside of Jena’s tumultuous thoughts.
“What’s going on?” Vinia asked, unable to bear the strange actions of her guests any longer.
“Something I’ve never witnessed before,” Elder Daven replied. He sat down on the bench as he composed his explanation. “It appears as though Willian and Valentina are soul-mates. When they bumped into one another at school, their life-lines fused together, and now they are bound together for eternity.”
Valentina seemed stricken with fear at Elder Daven’s proclamation. The way he said it sounded so final, almost like a death sentence. She wanted to have some say in her future, but this changed everything. Her choice was now taken from her all because of a chance meeting in the hall at school.
Using his powers to read her thoughts, Daven reassured her by saying, “It will always feel like a blessing because you will never have to question his devotion to you. Likewise, he will know your heart toward him. Be at ease, Valentina.”
She remained mostly unconvinced as she continued to feel sorry for herself. She could not bear to look at Jena or Juila for fear of the rejection she was certain they would have for her friendship. More than anything, she wished she had remained at home and this day had never happened.
Daven was still connected with her thoughts, as it was his duty to arbitrate arguments within his District. He pulled Jena to the side and whispered, “Are you still blaming the two of them even after you have felt the power pulling them together?”
Jena wanted to nurse the anger longer, but she knew it would serve no purpose. She glanced over at her friend, still holding Willian’s hand, and then looked her grandfather in the eyes. The lesson he had wanted her to learn was complete; she felt peace in her heart first, and now it was also in her mind. “No.”
He nodded his approval and then suggested, “Make your thoughts known to Valentina and restore your friendship. It’s the most important thing you could do right now.”
She pursed her lips and gave a quick nod of her head in acknowledgment. She moved away from her grandfather and stepped up next to Valentina. “I understand, Val. I promise I’m not angry with either one of you.”
With a brief look of hope, Valentina glanced up from staring at the floor. “Are you serious?”
To make her point, she reached out and touched Valentina’s arm, resisting the urge to pull away as she felt the electrical current caused by Willian’s proximity. “I’ve never been more serious in my life. We should sit down and discuss everything together.” She pulled slightly for emphasis and then took a step toward the table.
Daven liked the way his granddaughter was handling the situation and approved of her idea to sit together to find out all of the details. What he had witnessed between the young couple was rare and needed investigation. If they could find out how it happened, they could possibly replicate it to make better matches for the citizens.
“I still don’t understand what is happening,” Vinia complained as everyone began sitting down around the table.
Willian looked over at the woman who would eventually be his mother-in-law and said, “Your daughter and I have discovered we are bound together by our life-lines. I wasn’t sure what to make of any of this since I went to Earth to work things out with Jena.” He looked over at her with an expression which pled with her to understand his original intention.
“I know that now, Willian. Don’t worry about what used to be right now; tell us what happened.”
He winced slightly at the finality of Jena’s tone, but also felt immense relief. Nodding acceptance to her statement, he proceeded to tell everyone present what had been happening up to the moment Jena confronted them. “I’m sorry it worked out this way, Jena. I really did want to talk to you before it went anywhere else.”
“I understand, Willian, I really do. I have to admit it hurt deeply until I found out neither of you had a choice in the matter. If either of you had been involved for any of the normal reasons, this would be a very different conversation. As it stands,” Jena turned to Daven with a formal tone, “Elder Daven, will you permit the betrothal between myself and Willian to be dissolved without fault or blemish on either part?”
Daven shifted his gaze to Willian and asked, “Is this also your wish, Willian?”
“Yes.” The relief was evident on his face as the worry lines vanished from his brow and around his eyes.
“Due to the unusual circumstances, I will grant your request. You will both relinquish your betrothal rings immediately.” He held out his hand, palm up, and waited for them to comply.
It was more difficult than Jena imagined to remove the ring and know it meant she no longer had a planned future with Willian. She was free to make her own choices, and it scared her. She glanced over to her betrothed, realizing she no longer had any claim to that title with him anymore. She twisted and tugged until the ring came free of her finger and dropped it onto Willian’s ring with a metallic clang. The noise seemed to resonate in her head like the final note to a sad song. She was free. She was alone.
You’re not alone, Jena. You’re never alone as long as you have me, Juila’s mind link comforted her.
I’m so thankful. This would have been impossible without your support.
I’m just glad it’s finally done. Of course, I never would have imagined it would have come about like this, but I’m happy nonetheless.
“What does all of this mean?” Jon asked suddenly.
Daven cleared his throat and said, “It means the betrothal which was blessed by Jehoban between Jena and Willian is as if it had never happened. They will never be able to marry one another, and they are both free to pursue other relationships.”
“I’m not ready!” Valentina cried out as all of the eyes turned to her, including Willian’s.
“There’s no rush,” he assured her. “We have the rest of our lives to discover each other.”
Valentina was not encouraged by Willian’s words and felt even more like crying. Too much had happened in the last couple of weeks and she had never been good with change. All she wanted to do was be by herself and not worry about anyone or anything. Somehow, she believed this was never going to be an option ever again.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
DIANE HUGGED HER granddaughters close to her chest as she knelt on the ground. The social worker in charge of their case had made a special dispensation for them to be able to visit with the girls for a few hours since school had let out early and their foster-mother was still at work. This was going to be a bittersweet visit since they had not managed to finalize the paperwork to get the girls turned over to them which meant they would be telling them goodbye at the end of the visit.
“How are you doing?” Diane asked Emily, her voice slightly higher than usual in her eagerness to sound normal.
“Fine, Grandma. Have you seen Mommy?” she asked with a worried expression.
“I have, and she wanted me to give you a big hug and kiss for her. She really wanted to find out if you were both happy and having a good time on your sleep-over.”
“It’s not a sleep-over, Grandma. We aren’t allowed to go home.”
The matter-of-fact tone in Emily’s voice made Diane look sharply up at the social worker. She stood swiftly and whispered for only the woman to hear, “What have you been telling these girls?”
“I haven’t said anything, but I’ll make sure their foster family knows the limits of what they can say to the children.” She wrote on her tablet and dismissed Diane while she continued to make notations on the case.
Having to be content with the only answer she was going to receive, Diane sat down on the floor of the playroom and picked up a toy. She wiggled it close to April’s face and made silly noises to get her to giggle.
Amanda and Chris were mesmerized with Diane’s single-mindedness where the children were concerned. They both had reservations about how this visit was going to end, and they had already planned on making some sort of distraction to keep her from being too depressed. The only course of action seemed to be to make another visit over to the jailhouse to tell Carrie about the children’s welfare.
After their last visit three days before, they had no idea what type of reception they should expect to receive. None of them had anticipated Carrie’s almost hostile behavior, but they put it up to the fact that she had been transferred that same morning to the new facility. Of course, it did not excuse her actions, but it could at least explain it.
Amanda decided to get down on the floor to entertain April while Diane played house with Emily. She thought the two girls were very bright and seemed to be taking the changes in their world very well. She was certain it would have been much more difficult for herself at their ages, and it made her wonder if this were something they had become accustomed to. It made her sad to think these bright little girls were going to be kept away from their family even for a moment longer.
All too soon, the social worker announced the end of their visit. Diane tried to maintain a stoic expression as she said her farewells to the children and gave them both hugs and promises to see them again very soon. She did not promise to take them home since she had no idea if it were going to work out and she did not want to give them false hope. Even the lack of the promise filled her with grief that the system could be so cruel as to keep the children from their family all in the name of their welfare.
Chris came over to Diane and hugged her as she continued to wave to the children as they skipped and giggled beside the social worker. Their only consolation was that it seemed the woman took her job seriously and loved working with the children. “We should get something to eat and then we can go tell Carrie how the children are doing. I’m sure she’s desperate to know about them.”
“Right,” Diane agreed without enthusiasm. She wished the girls were coming to dinner with them and that they could be heading back home to Florida. She had to believe Shemalla would be able to pull some strings to make the wheels of justice turn a little faster. Every moment which slipped by without the children seemed to last an eternity and felt like a failure to Diane.
Dinner turned out to be a quick and quiet affair where everyone kept their own counsel, and they ate with little appetite. They felt like they were on autopilot as they went back out to the truck and drove to the jail. Several other families were waiting in the visiting room when they came to sit down at the same table they had used before.
Carrie was led out by a different guard. She did not seem any more enthusiastic about seeing her family than she had the first time. Amanda thought she looked tired and downtrodden, which was understandable given the circumstances.
“Why did you come back?” Carrie asked rudely.
Diane looked hurt by her oldest daughter’s tone, but she refused to acknowledge it. “We saw the girls today. They looked really good.”
Carrie simply raised her eyebrows at the news.
“We got to spend several hours with them under the supervision of the caseworker. I think she approves of us, but it’s hard to tell.” Diane hoped something she was saying would help melt the mask of unconcern her daughter wore a bit too well. She knew her daughter loved her children.
“I’m sure Shemalla will be able to move things along faster so we can get the children out of foster care,” Amanda added.
“Who’s Shemalla?” Carrie asked suddenly.
“She’s…an old friend of mine.” Amanda did not know how to really explain the circumstances of their acquaintance since it was all virtual experience and none of it from reality.
“Of course,” Carrie drawled and rolled her eyes. She wished Amanda had stayed out of all of this. In fact, if it had not been for Amanda’s existence, she would have been the favorite daughter, and maybe none of this nightmare would have happened. The way she saw it, Amanda was the cause of all of her problems.
Amanda could see so many emotions flit across her sister’s face and she wondered what she could possibly be thinking. They all wanted the same thing, to get the girls back with their family and to get the charges against Carrie dropped or reduced enough to allow her release. “What’s wrong with you, Carrie? Why aren’t you happy to hear about our plans for your children?”
“What’s wrong with me? Really? You have to ask that of me while I’m sitting here in jail. Everything is wrong!” She stood up, her face reddening with unvented rage, started to speak, but then turned and began walking away.
“Carrie!” Amanda called after her sister. She was not going to let her treat them this way again. She jumped up and ran across the room, grabbed her sister’s arm to keep her from leaving and said, “You do not get to do this to Mom. Not again!”
“Oh? You mean after the stunt you pulled? After all of the years, you kept mom chained to your bedside while you were in a coma? I don’t get to matter for once? Is that what you’re saying? You know what I used to think? I thought fate had caught up to you when you were found almost dead. All those years when you should have been dead!”
“Carrie, you say the meanest things sometimes. What are you talking about?” Amanda was genuinely confused about her sister’s incoherent rambling.
Carrie threw her head back and laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the backs of her hands and then sobered immediately. She looked straight into Amanda’s eyes and said, “You should have died the same day your twin sister did on the day you were born. But you didn’t! You escaped death again when you came out of your coma. You are the blessed child of the family, and the rest of us don’t matter. Go home, Amanda. Worry about your own life and stay out of mine! I don’t need you!”
Seeing her sister’s stricken expression, Carrie smiled and walked away. Finally, she had her revenge. Now she knew the truth their parents had always kept from her. She was only half of the person she should have been. They only loved her because she was their last tie to the daughter they had buried and mourned.
Amanda had no words for her sister’s revelation. She could not give credence to anything she had said since she was clearly not thinking straight. Maybe she was still able to find a way to take drugs even behind bars. It would go a long way toward excusing her abhorrent manners and her lack of concern for her own children’s welfare. She woodenly walked back toward her parents, not wanting even to repeat the lies Carrie had just spewed to her. “Let’s get out of here,” she said as she continued to lead the way back to the vehicle.
“What did she say, Amanda?” Chris asked as he caught up to her. He had seen the strange scene but had been unable to hear anything they had spoken to one another.
“Nothing important. I’m going to call Shemalla on the way back to the hotel and see what she’s been able to do to move things along. I want to go home to my husband.” She wanted nothing more than to have Riccan’s arms around her at that moment of uncertainty and torment.
Knowing how her own daughters felt about being twins themselves, she recalled the dozens of times growing up where she had wanted her own twin to share everything with. If what Carrie had said were true, then surely she would have known about it years before. Looking over at her father, she knew it had to be a lie because he would never have kept such a secret from her.
Chapter Thirty
DAVEN HAD NOT wanted to continue the discussion about the proposal of marriage with Vinia and Ozian since tensions were so high. He had made arrangements to return another day so the fallout from the dissolution of the betrothal could dissipate. Several days had gone by, and Juila noticed other duties had kept him close to the Residence.
On more than one occasion, Juila noted him watching Jena and seeing her change before his eyes, and it was apparent he worried for her. Where she had once been so confident and certain of her future, mostly because it had been planned already, now she seemed forlorn, almost lost. Juila was constantly by her side so Jena would not do anything stupid.
“I wish you wouldn’t shut me out of your thoughts, Jena. I really want to help,” Juila pled yet again. It was hard on her not to have the close connection she had known all of her life. At this point in Jena’s life, it was even more important to Juila to feel connected, not kept away.
“There are things I want to think about by myself. I wish you’d understand that and leave me be for a bit. I’m not going to do anything rash or try to hurt myself, Juila. That’s just plain ridiculous. You have no idea what it’s like to have your life planned only to discover you have no plan at all. It’s…I can’t even describe it, and it’s happening to me!”
“Are you really okay about Willian being with Val?”
“Surprisingly, yes! I know Val was really troubled about my reaction, and I totally get it, but I couldn’t deny what I felt when the two of them were touching. It really was extraordinary.”
“I felt it even when they weren’t in physical contact. I wonder what it feels like to them.”
“Probably something we wish we could have.” Jena looked down at her clasped hands and realized that was the part which bothered her the most. She wanted Willian to feel for her and look at her the way he did Valentina. It was what she had always dreamt of for the two of them, and now his interest was completely refocused on someone else as if she had never existed. How was she supposed to keep from feeling hurt and rejected with something so absolute?
“I think Jehoban had a plan for you which didn’t include Willian.”
