The only sound, the twigs breaking beneath their shoes, the wind in the trees and the quiet chatter of the forest animals.
Hazel stopped short, ‘Hey, I think we took a wrong turn. Does anyone else remember a cemetery by our house?’ The women gathered at her side, equally confused.
Martha opened the gate and invited them inside. ‘Martha! I was wondering what happened to you!’ smiled Hazel. ‘What are you doing here? And by the way, do you know where we are?’ Martha walked in silence alongside Hazel, looking at the headstones scattered among the trees.
Suddenly, Hazel stopped, mouth agape, ‘What the…? Look!’ she called incredulously. Martha stood back as Ina and Estelle came to Hazel’s side. Ina was shocked, Estelle quietly amused. ‘What is going on?!’ Ina yelled. ‘Is this some kind of joke?!’
Martha moved near Ina, took her hand and said quietly, ‘No, this isn’t a joke, Ina. That is your gravestone. It holds your body.’ Ina fell back in shock, Hazel stood motionless, Estelle gathering it all in, everything finally making sense.
‘But that would mean…’ Ina stammered, ‘something isn’t real here. What is real? We’ve been living in that house forever. We did take that walk. I was attacked…and you saved me! That’s all true, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, you did have an experience in the cave, but it was a memory of something horrible that happened in your life,’ Martha explained. Ina blanched, the memories flooding back. ‘And’ continued Martha, ‘I did bring back parts of your soul that have been hiding since you were hurt. You are whole now, complete. You can feel it, right?’
‘Yes,’ Ina said softly. ‘I feel more like myself than I have in so long. I don’t feel empty anymore. I feel like my life is finally complete. But…there’s my body. How can that be? I feel so alive.’
Hazel, turning her hand over and over, said, ‘Look Ina. Look closely at your hand. You can see through it.’ Pausing, ‘I can see through yours…and mine. And there is my gravestone, and Estelles, and Rita’s next to Loveworthy’s…’
The women turned to Martha, who stood quietly, bathed in white light. Estelle, ‘Who are you, Martha? You appear and disappear. You find soul parts. You took Rita and Loveworthy somewhere. Who are you?’
Martha smiled gently, ‘I am a shaman. I live many generations in the past. I am an ancestor to one among you and came to walk with her.’ The women exchanged glances, quickly deducing they weren’t the one Martha mentioned. Then, they all turned to me, seeing me once again. Martha stepped to my side, saying, ‘Zoë found you. She has carried you in her heart for many years. She asked me to help you to heal and find your way home. So, I came.’
‘What did you say to Rita and Loveworthy? And where did they go?’ Estelle asked, hope gleaming in her eyes.
‘You know the answer, Estelle, don’t you?’ Estelle smiled.
Martha looked at the women, ‘You are souls. You are eternal. Yes, your bodies passed. Actually, Estelle’s passed a good long while ago.’
Ina, ‘But then, why are we still here? Why did we think we were still alive?’
‘You weren’t ready yet to move on. You each had something holding you back. Ina, it was the pain of the abuse you suffered in life. Estelle, it was Loveworthy’s death and Rita’s inexorable, unspoken remorse.’
‘And, what about me?’ asked Hazel. ‘What am I still doing here?’
Stepping up, Estelle ventured, ‘I believe you needed to discover your strength, because it is needed right now on the earth.’
‘Yes,’ Martha agreed. ‘You have so much to offer to a world that is in dire need right now, Hazel.’
Hazel looked at them all quizzically, ‘But you all know me! I’m the naïve one, the hopeless optimist. I had no idea evil existed until today! How could I possibly be of any assistance?!’
‘That is exactly the point, Hazel!’ Martha laughed. ‘Love, pure love is strength! That is the only thing that will get the people through the grueling challenges they face.'
Fear caught in Hazel's throat, her entire body quaking. 'You don't understand! What happened to Ina scared me so bad, I couldn't move! I have no idea how to stand up to such horror, much less actually help!'
Tranquility pervaded Martha's countenance, 'You don't need to know what to do, Hazel. You carry the treasure of love in every cell of your being! It radiates around you, touches everyone you pass. You are light, Hazel. You are love. All you need do is walk in that love and you will be given what you need when the time comes.’
The women all nodded in agreement, holding their breath as Hazel pondered. Finally, she looked at them. ‘I love you all. I don’t understand what is happening there. I don't understand why there is so much hate and fear. I don't know what I can do, but I want to help. I trust what you say, Martha. I want to go back. Can you take me back, Martha?’
Martha smiled, ‘No, I can’t. But I can take you to one who can.’ With that, Hazel hugged the women, took Martha’s hand and stepped into her future.
Ina sighed, ‘I am tired. It was a rough life. I don’t think I want to go back, at least not yet. I could use a rest…and a hot bath.’
Estelle laughed, 'If you go, who will I have to banter with over coffee in the morning?'
Ina smiled, 'You were a worthy adversary, Estelle. But you know I would have won in the end. You are a terrible cook!'
Laughing, they hugged, dear friends always. Martha appeared by Ina's side, smiling. Ina took her by the hand, and they were gone.
Estelle looked at me. ‘So, you’ve been around the whole time?’ Estelle asked.
‘Yes, since before Loveworthy and Rita met,’ I shared.
‘And you’ve seen my life?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I have Estelle. You have been a part of my heart for many years.’
‘I’ll be going too, when Martha gets back.’
‘Yes, I know. Will you find Loveworthy and Rita?’
‘Oh yes! We have so much to celebrate! And what about you, Zoë? You are still in the material world, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, I am. I have more work to do.’
‘Well, I speak for all the women when I say, you can share our story, for whatever it’s worth. I trust you. After all, I am a part of you, am I not?’ Estelle smiled, revealing the profound wisdom of a crone. ‘Someday, you may step into my wisdom…but you have work to do to get there!’ she teased.
As we hugged, Martha arrived. And together, they disappeared into the future.
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