Leaving Home

It was that night she shared my bed. The next morning she gave notice at work and we started making plans. I put her in touch with Doris, who stated, that if she could convince the mountain natives to come to Plato South, then my Doris would provide the transport and training at Candle Lake. She also said that jobs were plentiful for people who stayed in the province.

We spent a week in each others arms. What a rush. Then we got down to business. She invited the natives around Field to her house and explained what was up. Through them she developed a vine-garden of names, places and institutions.

So many young people in prison. We traveled first to Rocky Mountain House. A major and very new prison. Doris put us in touch with a psychologist with native background. He was helpful, but a little vague as to solutions. Day wanted them out even if we had to spring them.

Doris came through. I don't know what she did. Prisons are a major source of jobs and money for small cities like this. Two buses pulled into House and parked outside the prison front gate. The gate opened and 60 men and boys walked out. The buses went east and never were they to return. Was it something to do with our sensors? I did not ask.

From there we went west. First to Clearwater, 100 Mile House, then Williams Lake. I rented a house near the airport, which served as a place people could gather, then they flew by company jets to Candle Lake. The prison in town and in Prince George did find doors unlocking and phones malfunctioning at critical times. Once word was out in the native grapevine, Williams Lake airport was never so busy. We did have some problems but what the hell. A little threat here, a bribe there.

Day was happy to see results. But we had little time together. One day I asked her.

"You want to go with them? There will be need of a lot of social services. You could open your own restaurant. And I was thinking we could marry and settle in."

"I would like to go see what it is like. The way you describe it -- it seems that it would be difficult to live in a hole in the ground and not look up and see the sky and the mountains."

She was holding off the marriage idea. "If anyone does not like it, they can come back or go somewhere else." I said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Ali has a plan. Build large passenger ships with Moon materials and send them out in all directions." I had only heard this recently from Glenn.

She looked thoughtful. I thought my bed was going to stay warm for years to come. I was wrong.

Chapter 12 : Feeling a little weak

She, my Day, was losing weight. She said that she was not ready for the Moon trip yet, but could we continue south and gather up more of her people. I was worried about her and when we reached Kamloops, I insisted she see a doctor. The doctor, Mr. Gray it was, said there was nothing wrong with her and not to worry.

Clair's old house was for rent and we settled in and let the native leaders and seekers locate us. News got round fast in the mountains and we were again in the middle of meetings every night, the house overflowing as we organized rides and pickup towns. It was a couple of months before we could move our operation further south to Trail.

This was a very isolated spot in the Rockies. Trail not too far from the American border. We found a place and settled in again as before. Day was not improving. She was quieter and I was doing more of the talking. A fellow named Goli Johnson had an idea that quickly got traction. Could we not get word down into Washington State and Idaho then send some buses down to pick them up.

I was nervous about it. Day was for it. They explained that the border was rather porous for them and they knew all the back roads. Tobacco and weed were transported all the time, with bags of money coming back. We rounded up nine buses after two weeks of phoning and consulting. Within a few days, they were back and stopping by to thank us, as they headed for the shuttle base. 300 people mostly women, children and old men. I asked why the young men did not come.

Goli explained. "There is a standoff on some of the Washington reserves. The army is moving in to claim their mineral rites. Our people will be slaughtered, if they don't get any help."

I asked. "What have they got in the ground to make it so valuable?"

Goli answered. "Rare earths, heavy metals they say. Biggest deposit in North America."

I phoned Doris and put the ball in her court. News came a month later that the special forces sent in were getting blocked up. Their vehicles were stalling, guns not firing and helicopters crashing into trees. Glenn was getting better at making incidents look like accidents. The chips, old and new, would be turned back on after the event. No evidence.

I took Day to the hospital, the morning I could not wake her. The doctor there sent her directly to testing. They found something in her diaphragm and the lungs were affected. There was no point in operating and it was too late for chemo.

I told the others to make their way to Candle Lake or wherever they needed to be, as I wanted to spend time alone with Day. I hired nurses to give round the clock care and fixed up the brightest bedroom, bought a new bed and moved her out of the hospital. We were going to have that quiet time we had been waiting for.

Her uncle Bill came in from Ontario and he had Day's daughter in tow. I had extra rooms that I let them use.

Bill said, "She was always the bright and cheery one. Men loved her, but she always ended up with the bastard who would walk out on her."

Helen said, "Mom took good care of me and she was never mean. But I can't remember a time when she didn't have a job. I am surprised that she finally found someone decent and in that bloody town of Field."

I explained, "I literally came down from Mt. Stephen. Living like a hermit. I was not a good sight but she saw something in me right away."

It was 15 months since we first met. Three weeks later she was gone.

We buried her there in a small cemetery outside town. Spring was in the air but the mountain winds were freezing. Last call and I was left behind. This time I was sure Day was the one I wanted to spend eternity with. But I was still healthy and strong and in this messy world. Bill and Helen left me after a couple of days, helping me with the paperwork. I offered them the package trip to Luna but they politely refused.

Day had given me the house in Field. She had first offered it to Helen, but her daughter did not want anything to do with it. Bill said he was going back to Field, and he would board up both houses since there was not going to be anyone there caring for them.

I stayed in Trail. It suited my mood which was dark and bleak.

I got a library card and actually took out paper books on religion and the soul. Then I looked up on my pad, books that I could not find in the small library. It was good that the town was fully wired. No one would live here otherwise. For months I walked the streets, visited the restaurants and even the Tim Hortons. Nothing happened. I met no one and talked to no one, but the woman in the library. I was one of very few young men who did not need to work.

It took till the fall for an idea to start forming. I was learning Yoga and meditation, both the physical and the metaphysical parts. My house had drafts, but I put up with it. I thought about what had happened between my Clair and I, then Doris, then Julia, then Day. There seemed to be a progression. The forces in motion were getting stronger. Was it because I was opening up some capacities within myself?

I knew that I was growing into a powerful lover. But what was the purpose of being a lover, when the one you want has passed over? Maybe the power of loving was just one part of something larger. Did I have other abilities undiscovered simply because I was spending my time loving women. Not a bad job if you can get it.

There was an energy in me, it felt a little like electricity, but it was not so physical. It flowed, it radiated out of my fingers and my face, eyes, forehead. I had no one to talk to about it. No one alive that is. It caused mind explosions when it built up. Day was a perfect conduit. It felt as if time stopped when I was alone with her.

There was that need to become one when I was with Julia. She was still a child and was only acting out, doing anything to become a part of me. If I went back to Plato South, I would not live in the McLean flat.

I sensed that there would be other women. I was a big a.c. electrical magnet drawing receptive women to me. Plato South was full of them. This was the problem. Trail was not open to me and I was grateful for the time to rest and meditate.

It did not last long.

Chapter 13 : Meditation and Electricity

It was 9:30pm on a Friday night. I was sitting in silence on a firm straight chair. Just keeping my thoughts clear. Not holding on to any image nor allowing myself to think that my thoughts were me. I say a little prayer to centre myself. I am an hour in and the old 'swallowing the cannon ball' event starts. But I detached myself. Give it no importance. A voice screams at me. Telling me to go away.

Outside there is a screeching of brakes and crunching of metal. I get up and go to the window. A car lies partially on its side in my yard. I still am in meditation. I open the door and go out to see if anyone is hurt.

She is lying out on the lawn. Lovely small woman. Black hair thin face, high cheekbones. She opens her eyes and looks at me. "Go away!" she says.

"Are you hurt. I came over to see, as you chose my place to crash in front of." I explained.

"I think so." she tried to stand up. I hold out my hand and she grasps it. She stands up faster than I thought was possible.

"What did you do. I know you did something." she complained.

"Describe what happened. Then I can answer your question. Come over and sit on the porch. A drink? Coffee?" I had some in a thermos.

We sat across from each other on the large veranda. A long table between us. "I was thinking you could be hurt and if so you should be laying out flat on this table. Should I get some blankets?"

"No. I was driving home. I did have one drink but left early thinking I must work tomorrow." She started to shake. I held her free hand and she calmed down.

"Explain what happened just before the crash." I asked.

"Mmm, don't know. Maybe just my imagination. A voice saying a prayer, 'Oh, God guide me.' Then I was floating above the car and I was looking down as the car flipped around. I must have been thrown out the drivers door."

"Yes, it was open. And you were where it would have thrown you." I commented.

"When you arrived, I was still floating above my body. Then you spoke and I was back."

The police were now looking at the car out front and then over at us.

"Stay here. I will talk to them." Leaping off the steps, I explained to them, that she had not been drinking and she seemed to be alright.

I said to her on returning, "They will get the tow truck and I will pay any damages. It was my fault."

"What do you mean? You were home. I saw you come out the door." She asked.

"Yes, but I was saying that prayer and somehow you were reading my meditative state. I told the police that you flipped around because I stepped out in front of you suddenly."

"My name is Mary Walsh." she said.

"Come in the house, Mary Walsh. You can rest on the chesterfield." She was very passive and allowed me to lead her to the couch. She was asleep in a minute. I covered her with a blanket. There was a lot of noise, as the car was being turned about, scraping against that large rock in the garden, but she did not wake.

I knew she was out for the night. I sat down on my firm chair and tried to return to that previous state of mind.

She was in a beautiful garden, clean gravel paths, straight evergreens lined the walkway. Flowers everywhere, people sitting on benches in tight groups. I was seeing her dream. I was careful to not think or say anything. After an hour of observing, I went to my bed, not expecting to see her in the morning.

I smelt coffee and toast. Put myself in some decent clothes and walked into the kitchen. Mary was frying some eggs and had the toast buttered.

"I thought of leaving this morning, but that would not be polite. My purse was in the car and since I have no home here, I decided you deserved some breakfast."

"Thank you Mary." I sat down as she loaded up my plate and poured the coffee. I said, "My partner died a few months ago and I have been living very much alone here. This is not my town. We were just passing through, when I had to rush Day to the hospital." I did not want to load her up with my problems.

She smiled and I knew it was because my partner was a woman. "I am getting the impression that there is some bond between us." I stated.

"I have been awake a little longer than you and I know there is. Been thinking maybe we have a joined mind. You meditate, I do something similar. You don't drink? I was looking around. Simple foods. Clean kitchen."

"Never drank. Hate to have any fogginess in my brain." I am being very careful here because it would be very easy to misinterpret what was happening. "I am not making the assumption that you will be my next lover."

Mary commented, "Never heard anyone speak the way you do. You just say it straight. Life is mystery and it is not always about screwing someone else. I agree."

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"I am not really from here. Made up a story last night. Just passing. I was living in Lethbridge. An aunt of mine has taken care of me for the last ten years since my mother died. Been in college and then had a job in the Hydro office. Financial really."

"Your aunt ever tell you about your special skills?"

"She wanted me to be more aggressive. But the problem was always knowing, what people were thinking about me. It blew up last week at work. Office politics. I had to get away. That car is a rental and I just got my license."

I looked at her and judged that she was about 25.

"I will take care of it. Do you want me to get you a hotel room?"

"No, please. You know I need to stay here. We have a lot to learn from each other."

I realized she was reading my thoughts and up till then, I had not thought about her in any sexual way.

"How do you sort out what is important and what is just stray emotions." I asked her. 'I think of sexual things, when there is no one here, so is this a genuine desire or a fleating feeling?"

"That was amazing. How you pull yourself away by coming out with the subject itself."

I said, "I think we are going to be friends. I need to learn how this is done."

I showed her a bedroom very neat and quiet. "If you are staying, this is your room." It was the one Day's daughter used.

We straightened up everything with the police and the car rental. Then we went shopping, talking like newly-weds. When we got home, I insisted she call her aunt and give a reasonable story to calm her.

Within a few hour after that, she knew more about me than Day had. She started looking at my library book collection and the Yoga books.

"Why are you not afraid of me now that you know? I sense that you want to know about yourself and I might be a big help. Julia is a very special girl and you have no reason to be ashamed. You have literally sucked her in and she knows of nothing better. God you live a hot life." she was turning red. "This is really asking a lot of me."

"Because you haven't had any meaningful sleeping partner?" I ask. "I am reading your demeanor not your thoughts. It will always be difficult for you." She was still red. "You want to experience the things I have done and been. But they are all connected to the spiritual connection."

"You visited my garden last night. I could feel you, though you were very still." It was a question.

"I was with you for an hour before I went to sleep. I know where that garden is, but it is not completed yet." I stated.

This kind of conversation went on for the next month. We were becoming one consciousness and it happened that one night she crawled into bed with me and we practiced everything I had experienced, and then we found new things to explore. One universe exploring the other. Because there is always the surprise around the corner.

One day she started talking to me about Julia, trying to clear the air. "Do you think she did not know you were about to leave? Emotions and actions reached as far as she could take them. You will never know how far her attentions could have drawn you. She is stronger than you. Be pleased that you sipped her juices, savored her flavours from the bed sheets. Don't feel guilty. It went no further and now I have you." Mary smiled warmly.

I slapped her behind and made a serious face. "For the moment you have been naughty. I am thinking of savoring your flavour."

"I am getting hot under the collar. Need to ditch these here clothes and stretch out." she taunted.

It was another four months before I started thinking about returning to Plato South. Mary was coming. We worked hard to get her mind prepared. How to block out others in a small space. Concentrating our own thoughts on just one another.

No one was to be told that Mary could read thoughts. It could get her killed. She understood and I was not going to use her to find out the secrets of others. If things got too difficult, I would leave Luna and go where she wanted. This Mary has brought me up to another level all together. Forgive me Day.

It occurred to me that maybe Day had steered her in my direction.

Entangled in Mary

She is the making of me,

my solid soul, I was the man

who prodded her from a car

Now she challenges me to new forms of love

We renew each day in ways spontaneous

I know not what will spring from our bodies

that love each other so dearly, hand and eye

Nearly thought these beasts are

Each other and it is not with any intention

That they wish to be untangled.

We find it best to humble ourselves

Before the mystery of this new being

May I always remember just how good

The love of God and Mary brings joy

Sinking deep into the pillow of my falling

Dying and growing anew,

losing my self

Bursting with creamy madness at closeness

Glad to be in the to and fro of the dance.

Flux and Flow we pull in the world to

Showing what happiness is,

we trust.

Chapter 14 : Back to Black

Mary Walsh and Anthony Perera arrived back in Plato South, while the place was in a great uproar. That is the way Mary described it.

I had spent the time on the shuttle trying to help Mary to focus her powers. Don't be reading people on the Moon, when you were sitting in a shuttle with a 100 people. Then take that hundred and concentrate on only the five about you. Then pull back and only listen to the one speaking to you. Then kiss me and think only of me, as I am thinking only of you. Hold my hand and read its thought, desire what it wants to do with your chin and between your lips. See my eye and read the love it holds for your eye. Press eye-socket to eye-socket. See how the eye is a better lover than the lips.

If she had things under control, then maybe there would be some peace on the base. But fate was heading in the direction of chaos.

We were not in the hab more than an hour. Ali was introduced to Mary. It was a cool reception and I was missing something. Mary pulled me out in the hall. "Ali knows about me. There are at least three like me nearby. They must be sisters and definitely female."

I jumped back from Mary and walked into the living area. I signed to Ali, that we needed a private talk, like right now. She excused herself and jumped up the pole to the meeting room. I followed leaving Mary alone.