Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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LostNFound
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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When they reached Hattie’s store, the closed sign was still facing outward. It was only 6am so of course Hattie was still not open. Megan pulled the truck around toward the storage building and shut it off. She hopped out and walked toward the rear porch. Galia had been sitting on the passenger side of the truck and opened her door. Nathan had been unfortunate to ride in the center. He had to keep his long legs bunched up and when Megan had to shift the old stick he had to move to the side. He was glad that he would not have to ride in that position all the way to Brisbane and thought that if he did he was going to ride in the back. “We should go in; I would guess that Hattie has cooked some breakfast for us even though we have already eaten something.” Galia held the door open while he scooted over and got out. “I sure could eat again especially Hattie’s cooking. I don’t pass up a good meal and anyway we are going to be on the road for a good 20 or more hour’s I think.” Galia just smiled while her red hair blew in the breeze. Her eyes sparkled as she waited for him to get out. He climbed out and they both walked to the rear porch.

As Nathan and Galia walked into the back area, Nathan noticed Hattie and Megan sitting at the counter and talking in a low voice. He was going to get his bike and load it onto the truck when Hattie looked up and said “well here they are, Nathan I need to talk with you before you get on the road.” She moved around the counter and asked him to follow her. He looked at Galia with a shrug and saw a smile on her face. He followed Hattie toward the front of the store and as he reached the cash register area he saw her standing at the front door and it was open. She motioned for him to follow and went outside. He was going to retrieve his bike anyway so he followed her out and saw that she had sat down on a couch swing. He looked around for his bike but it seemed to be missing. “Has someone taken my bike? He asked.” Hattie smiled but managed to look guilty yet innocent. “Come sit with me and I will explain about your bike. I have so much to talk with you about but I know you and Galia have to get on the road shortly.” Nathan felt his heart leap in his soul. To hear Hattie say that had given him comfort. He had been so disoriented since the night before with both women seeming to argue and then being so quiet, his mind was not sure what he was going to do. He sat next to Hattie and waited for her to speak.

“Well first of all, I put your bike in the storage building. I did not want someone wandering off with it.” “How is it you know that Galia is taking me to Brisbane?” “Hold on now, I got to get this out and then I’ll tell you about Megan and Galia. I know we sort of talked about you possible staying up here and working around the store and even out at the girls farm. Well just so happens that I have a guest cottage out behind the storage building and if you’re willing to fix it up some you can live there. Oh and I do believe it is big enough for your mum to live there also. I know she has a place down there in Brisbane but it seems that if you’re not going to school and you did say that you would like to stay up here and work, she could come up here also and stay. The Divine knows I sure can use the help around here and the company. I think your mum and I can come up with some doozy things to do and she could even mind the store with me. So I guess I am asking if you and your mum would like to come here and live.” Nathan was at a loss for words. He really did like this woman and Megan and he had fallen head over heals for Galia. He knew he would be married to her and she would have their children. His heart and soul had been entwined with hers a very long time ago.

“I don’t know what to say Hattie, this sounds like it may be a burden to you.” “Nonsense dear boy, I am now without a companion other than Megan and Galia when they come down from the farm. Bob was living here fairly steady before he up and went to live with the fish. I surely do miss him but when I saw him that night after the horrible day with those two nasty men, he told me that I would need to give others a chance at happiness. I believe you came along just as Bob was leaving and that is a gift. You remind of someone I knew a very long time ago it seems now and that house out back really needs someone to live in it. Now don’t you go getting all worried about money or anything like that, I have plenty of that and I really don’t need it anyway, besides you will be doing things around here and up at the farm from what I hear, things that Bob used to do and that can pay the way if that is what you want. I can still pay you for what you do so you can save up for that schooling you talked about.”

“You make this sound like an offer I can’t refuse and you would be right with that thought Hattie. I have thought very strongly about staying up here. It was my mum that I was so worried about but it seems that you may have solved that problem somewhat. I am going to have to talk to her about all of this and hopefully she will see that living down in Brisbane is useless and I sure don’t want her to live in that poverty hole she stays in now. She is a good cook and she has worked in stores. In fact I think she is working part time in a grocery store and she may be working in some café.” “So then, you are saying that you will accept my offer?” “Yes Hattie, in my heart I do. I just have to convince me mum, so Galia and I will go and bring her back hopefully.”

“So, you going to tell me how it is that Galia will be taking me and not Megan?” “Okay, it seems that Galia told Megan last night that she loves you and that you and she were meant to be together. Don’t you go telling her I said that? It seems that she thoroughly convinced Megan that there was no other way but for her to take you to get your mum.” “Wait, she actually said that she had to take me to get my mum?” “Yeah, it was something like that.” “So that implies that she already knew what my intentions were going to be and she may also know that my mum will come up here.” “I guess so and I would never under estimate that girl, she has always had some special gift.” Hattie stood up and said “come on we got to get you two off, it’s a long drive down there and I made some food for you to take.”

As Hattie and Nathan walked to the back, Nathan noticed Megan and Galia holding each other and whispering. “Come now you two, day light is burning. Megan you get the basket of goodies and Nathan you get that bag over there.” Galia dear will you come with me for a moment, I must show you something.” Galia followed her into the main part of the house. As they disappeared, Megan came close to Nathan and began to speak to him. “You take care of my sister and watch her. She has a wild side to her and sometimes she runs off into places that I never understood. She has told me that she loves you and she feels that you love her. She has also told me that you and she are going to get your mum and bring her up here to live. I am happy that you have decided to stay and work. Hattie sure can use you to help her out with things that Bob did and Galia and I always seem to have things to fix on the farm. So you two must be very careful driving down there. Galia is not so familiar with the truck so you will have to drive as much as possible. Let her drive while you are up in the north areas but when it starts to get congested you take over.” Nathan listened to Megan and felt the deep love and concern in her for Galia. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her as the future he saw was clear in his mind. “I will take care of her Megan and we should not be gone more than a week and sooner if I can get mum to give up the slave chains she seems to be tethered to in Brisbane.” Megan hugged him and said “okay let’s get the truck loaded. Hattie said to pull it around front and top off the tank.”
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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47 THE RESTORATION OF JEANETTE

The sun was just peaking over the horizon when Nathan drove the truck up the short drive to his home. Galia had been asleep for the last few hours. They had stopped two times on the drive down for just long enough to eat and refuel. Galia had driven until they started to run into more traffic. The road through Paradise had been slow; they had to detour around the western sides due to the bridges that had been washed away. When they finally reached the old A6 highway and drove toward the southwest it became easier and Galia relaxed. The country was torn up and there was debris everywhere or so it seemed. The storm had not been kind to Paradise and the surrounding villages close to the coast. They had stopped at a roadblock at the beginning of Paradise and Galia had talked with a Chief of Police called Rolin. She apparently knew him and he directed them to the open roads around the destruction. Nathan suspected that the coastal roads to the south would probably not be passable so his initial thought to go inland and take those roads was proven out. He directed Galia and they made it to clearer roads and their travel became smoother and faster.

Nathan turned the truck off and sat still. He was quite tired and his thoughts were muddy. He wanted to get Galia into the house so she could rest better on a bed. He would be happy to just lie down on the floor where he could stretch out. He reached over and touched Galia, she didn’t move at first so he touched her again a little harder. “Huh, are we there yet?” “Yes we just got here and I think you may want to get out and go in to find a more comfortable place to sleep.” Galia sat up straight and looked around. She was still groggy and as she turned to look at him a big smile was on her face. “Well shall we go in and see your mum?”

The house was in a poorer section of the city. It was a two bedroom shanty as one might call it. The exterior definitely needed repairs and the roof looked like it could leak somewhere. There was one broken window in the front that had something blocking it from the inside and the small yard in the front was full of weeds. Galia had taken all of this in as she glanced around. Nathan climbed out of the driver’s side and told Galia to make sure the door was locked when she got out. He climbed up into the back and pushed his pack over the side rail and then picked up Galia’s pack and carried it to the rear. After jumping down, he took her pack and placed it with his and then shut the tail gate and paddle locked it. Galia had watched him do all of this and did not understand why he was locking everything up. Nathan picked up both packs and said “let’s go in.”

As they climbed the steps up onto the front porch, Galia noticed the broken screen door. It had been wrenched sideways and one of the hinges had completely broken. Nathan reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He unlocked the front door and pushed it open and stood aside while Galia walked in. He followed and sat the packs down and then closed and locked the door. Galia looked at him with a big question. He looked back at her and said “this neighborhood has a gang that thinks they own it and everything in it and the police don’t come in here much, so we have to protect ourselves as best we can. Galia was saddened considerably and sat down on the old couch. Nathan asked her if she would like something to drink and she asked if his mum had any tea. He shook his head and walked toward the kitchen.

Jeanette had just gotten up and taken a shower. She had to go down to the café today and work the part time shift. Yesterday she had off and had walked to the corner grocery and picked up a couple bags of food. She could not afford much and rarely ever took more than enough money to buy what would last her for the week. She did not eat much and since Nathan had left more than 3 months earlier she did not keep much stocked up. Between the café and the grocery store jobs she made just enough to supplement the rent and pay the utilities. The meager pension she received from the construction company paid for most of these two things and it allowed her just enough leftover to buy the food she needed. There was always the threat of the gang members that would rob the poor folks that lived in the neighborhood. Sometimes they would hurt the children and the older folks. The murder rate in the city was much more than the news services let on. She was fortunate most of the time and had lost her money just a few times. When Nathan was home he would walk with her or ride his bike and get the groceries. He had been beat up quite a few times but he was strong and he got licks back to the members. He became respected after awhile so when he rode his bike they would leave him alone.

Shaun had shown up a few days earlier and told her what had happened and Nathan had decided to ride his bike back. He figured that it would take him another week or two before he could get back. She became upset because the time frame was going to make him miss the beginning of school and she had saved enough for his initial tuition. Her love for the boy and worry over his being on the road by himself vanquished her anger; still she would give him a piece of her mind when he did get home. She was getting dressed when she heard the front door open and close and voices coming from the living room. Her mind reeled with the thought of those hoodlums from the gang breaking in. She kept a bat next to her bed and knew how to use it. Reager had left a shotgun for her protection but she was afraid to use it. She never wanted to kill any living soul but she sure would bean one of those hoodlums. She hurried to get dressed and picked up the bat and quietly walked to her door. She heard what sounded like a girl, ask for some tea. She was confused; she had never seen any girls with the gang of boys. Slowly opening her bedroom door, she peeked out. The hallway led straight into the living room but she could not see anyone. Someone was in the kitchen messing around with her dishes. She heard the water running and decided to brave facing down whoever was in her house. She crept out of the bedroom and slowly moved toward the living room holding the bat at the ready.

Galia had semi laid down on the couch and her eyes seemed like they could not stay open. It felt good to stretch out after the long drive in the front of the truck. She was almost asleep once again when she felt a presence in the room. She thought it was Nathan coming back with the tea and opened her eyes. The woman standing close to her had a bat held at the ready to swing. Her thoughts of Nathan’s mum raced to the forefront of her mind and she spoke. “Hello, you must be Jeanette. You don’t need the bat; you’re not going to hit me with it, are you?” Jeanette was taken by surprise and stood still for a moment. “Who are you and what are you doing in my home?” “Mum, you can put the bat down.” Jeanette turned at her son’s voice. She looked back at Galia and then dropped the bat and hurried to Nathan. They hugged each other and then Jeanette pushed herself away and said “I am so glad you are home, you gave me such a fright.” She hugged him again then broke down in tears.
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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Galia watched the mother, son reunion and had her own tears. A few minutes later Nathan led his mum over to the sitting area and sat her down on the big chair, he then came over and sat next to Galia. “Mother, I would like you to meet Galia, she is from up around Paradise and has brought me down here.” Jeanette wiped her eyes and looked at Galia. “I am so sorry, I gave you a fright, I didn’t know. You see this neighborhood is scary with those hoodlums running around, so I never know what to expect.” Galia could feel the pain and sorrow in Jeanette so she stood and walked over and knelt down beside her. “Mother Jeanette, I know how scary and lonely it can be when you lose a loved one and I am sure it has been very hard for you living here.” She looked into Jeanette eyes and sent her empathy into the woman’s soul. Jeanette felt the healing in her very core of being as this young woman took her grief. She reached out her arms and they both hugged each other. Galia whispered to her as they both cried. “Mother we must talk about you and your future and Nathan and me and our future.” Jeanette heard the words and it made her happy within her soul. She felt deep down that this girl was going to be Nathan’s wife and they would have children.

“You two children must be quite tired. I must go to work down at the café. I should be home around 5 this afternoon and we can talk about your adventures Nathan and how you two met.” “Why are you working at that café mum, I thought you had enough to live on without having to go work for someone like that shyster. You know we talked about him before and how he does not treat anyone very well. I think he is sick in his mind.” “Yes I know we talked about him and all that but when you left, I got a letter from the construction company and they said that they would have to reduce the pension amount so I had to take the extra jobs to make ends meet.” “What do you mean Jobs, are you working in other places?” “Yes Nathan, I also work at the grocery. You know you are a few days late for enrollment but I understand that they have a two week period for late comers so you can still get in.” Nathan knew it was not going to be easy to tell her that he was not going to go to school this year. “I have to tell you mum, I am not going to school this year.” Jeanette looked surprised and then the anger grew on her face. “What do you mean you are not going to school, I have saved all year just to get the tuition for you?” “Mum you know we talked about this before I left on the bike trip. I did tell you that I was not sure about going to school and needed time to give it deeper thought.” “Well yes we did talk about it but I understood that you would go on the bike trip and be ready to start school. You had more than ample time to sow your wild oats and now it is time for you to learn the higher education so you can get a decent job and not have to live in poverty for the rest of your life.”

Nathan bit down on his tongue while Jeanette stood up. “I really must be going,” She looked at her time piece and said “I am already late. It takes me 20 minutes to walk to the café and Mr. Oppresum does not like his employees to be late. He docks the pay you know and I really need the money this week just to pay the rent. We can talk about this when I get home.” Nathan could not hold himself back anymore. “Listen mum, Galia and I are not going to stay here, I am going back to Paradise and plan to work up there this next year.” His next words just slipped out. He had not planned to say anything just yet but the strained conversation with his mum caused him to lose all control. “Galia and I are going to get married.” Jeanette had started to move toward the front door but stopped suddenly and turned almost violently. “What did you just say to me?” Galia had become quite awake even though she was sorely tired. The conversation between Nathan and Jeanette had become strained and their voices had risen in pitch by several decibels. When Nathan had said that he and she were going to be married, it shocked her. She had been thinking about getting married to him but she definitely needed more time and more discussion.

Jeanette walked back to the chair and sat down. She looked straight at Galia and Nathan. Both of them could see the undaunted surprise and hurt in her face. They could also feel the total, utter confusion emanating from her. Nathan was the first to speak; he knew he had spoken to soon about marriage. His love for Galia had become overwhelming and he could not help himself. “I said that Galia and I were going to go back up to Paradise and I was going to work this next year.” “No, I meant the other thing, you said something about marriage.”

Nathan turned and looked into Galia’s eyes. He did not want to invade her thoughts but his mind was open and he could not control himself. Galia felt his thoughts and with some trepidation she opened her mind further to him. I am so sorry that I have spoken so rashly. I cannot help myself. You have taken my heart within you and it is as if we have known each other forever. I do want to marry you but it will be by the divine Creator. Galia heard his thoughts, she read his mind. She was not sure about him but had felt something when she first met him. She had been able to read minds since she was very little and only her mother knew. Megan may have suspected but was never sure and Galia never invaded her mind or anyone else’s for that matter. The pure revelation that this man could read minds gave her comfort. She spoke back to him in her telepathic mind. You mustn’t be sorry dear man, I can speak in the mind just like you and yes, I do want to marry you and we will do that when we get back to the farm. For now we must comfort your mum and we must help her to break the shackles of this place so she can come with us. We should ask her to come with us and tell her about the place that Hattie has and how she can help in the store.

“Yes mum, Galia and I are going to be married and we would like you to be there.” Jeanette did not know what to say at that moment. Her mind reeled with all sorts of thoughts. “I must pay the rent here or we will loose this place. Where do you plan on getting married and when? What about the school? Galia, what do your parents think about this? Nathan could see that she was going to make herself sick with questions. “Whoa mum” he said with a raised voice. “Slow down, I can make you some tea and we can talk about this.” “No I really must get to work or I will loose the job.” “No mum you don’t need to go to that place and work, you don’t need to work for anyone here ever again. You can come with us; we are going to be married on a farm.” “Nathan, I can not afford to go anywhere. I only have enough money saved up for your tuition and if I don’t go to work today and the rest of this week I won’t have enough to pay the rent.”

Galia could see that Nathan was trying to talk with his mum but she was locked up in the confines of this jail, this prison she had placed herself in and Nathan was conflicted. His love for Jeanette and wanting to take her away from all of this was being overshadowed with the years of living from hand to mouth and in violent situations. She saw the early years of Jeanette and Reager and how they were in love so deeply and how they had taken Nathan and raised him with so much of that love. She saw how Jeanette had been lost, how her soul had been locked up after Reager’s death and how she struggled to take care of Nathan even though her heart had been torn. Galia felt the pain ever deeper once she entered Jeanette’s mind. Her empathic heart began to ever so gently open the doors that were so locked up in Jeanette’s mind. As she opened the doors and the pain flooded out with knowledge, Jeanette began to cry. Galia took Nathan’s hand and led him over to his mother. They both kneeled and placed their hands on Jeanette’s hands. She was crying harder now and her body began to wrack with the flooding of memories and knowledge. Galia was crying now with tears that seemed to flood from her being. Nathan could feel and see his mum’s thoughts and he began to cry also. As the doors opened in Jeanette’s mind she began to see who she really was and her life of puzzles began to fit back together into the clear shape of one. Nathan and Galia also experienced new doors opening in their own minds and it was as all their lives fit to one.

Nathan picked his mother up and took her into the bedroom and laid her down. When he came back out, Galia was lying on the couch asleep so he picked her up and took her to his bedroom and placed her on the bed. He then found himself lying on the couch and fell into a deep, restful sleep. 7 hours later he woke and heard Galia and his mum talking in the kitchen. He smiled as he became more coherent and sat up. He was very hungry and wondered what time it might be. When he looked out the front window it was starting to turn dark. He stood and moved toward the kitchen. As he entered he saw Galia sitting with his mum and they were cutting up vegetables. He could smell something delicious cooking in the oven. “Well we were beginning to wonder if you were going to sleep all night. You slept all day. Come and sit down and I will pour you a cup of coffee. Galia and I have been talking about so many things. She has been gracious enough to wait for you to talk about the wedding, so get over here and have some coffee and dinner will be ready soon. I have made your favorite casserole.” He sat down and looked at Galia, she had a big smile on her face and picked up a cup and took a sip. He smelled the tea and started to ask her how she was feeling. “I am feeling wonderful and mum say’s she has not felt this refreshed in many years.” Nathan just smiled. “So I guess we should talk about Hattie and her store and how mum could live up there.” “Okay, but first let’s get the dinner ready so we can eat while we discuss the details, I am starved and mum showed me how to make that wonderful casserole.”

Jeanette told Nathan that Mr. Oppresum had called a number of times during the day and finally told her that she was fired. If she cared to come to the café, whenever she could, he would pay her what he owed her for her past service. Nathan and Galia told her all about the farm and Hattie’s place and how Hattie had said that she and Nathan could live in the cottage behind her store. Nathan also told her that she could work in the store to help Hattie out. Galia was keeping quiet while Nathan spoke of all the things Hattie would do and where they could live and how much better it would be. She knew that when she and Nathan became married that he would live on the farm. They talked into the evening and Jeanette had said that she would have to tie up the loose ends. “I must go to the café and collect what is owed to me and I can go on down to the grocery and tell Mr. Wong that I will not be working for him anymore and maybe he will pay me what is owed also. That could give us enough money to get back up to Paradise. Mr. Keller will be mad that I will not be living here anymore but he continues to raise the rent and that has gotten to be a real hardship lately.” Nathan said he would notify Keller and take care of any details. “I can pack whatever we need in the truck tomorrow and we could possibly leave the next day.” The talk went on for awhile and finally they all decided to get some rest.

Jeanette had woken up early as was her normal way and made the coffee and put the tea pot on also for Galia. She was going to ask Galia to walk with her down to the café and the grocery to collect her meager earnings. The packing was not going to be much as all the furniture in the house belonged to Mr. Keller. She only had a few dishes that she wanted to take and two suitcases of clothes and things. She knew that Nathan did not have much and in fact he had taken most of his stuff on the bike trip. Leaving this place behind was not going to be hard. She had thought about moving almost constantly for so long now it seemed like she would never get out of this dark place. She could never save enough to rent a better place. It hurt her to see Nathan live in this darker side of the city. She always worried about him, especially with the gangs that lived here. She was so relieved now that a way out was being given to her. The news that Nathan and Galia had brought to her had made her heart shine. The idea that Nathan was going to get married and have children gave her such comfort. She had dropped the idea of him going to school. She was going to take the savings she had and move it to a place in Paradise and perhaps endow it to Nathan and Galia.
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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Galia was quite aware of the surroundings as she and Jeanette walked to the café. The neighborhood looked like the ghetto’s she had seen in the pictures of bigger cities around the world. The street was cracked and had big holes where the pavement had turned to powder. The sidewalk they were walking on was broken up in many places and heaved up where the earth below had risen. The houses along the street were inhabited but not all of them. Most of them were run down. She noticed broken windows with cardboard patches and some with plywood tacked up. Most of the doors looked as if they had been broken into at one time or another. The old fences that were in front of some had been broken in various places and the yards were full of weeds and junk of all sorts. She could see garbage bags stacked up against walls or in the street. The whole area looked like a war zone. The street lights had mostly been broken and she had to wonder if any of them even worked anymore. The cars she did see looked like they would not run or if they did she was sure they had many broken parts on them. She and Jeanette came to a cross street and waited for a few cars to go by. Galia did not want to chance the crossing until she could see that there weren’t any cars coming for a long distance. Once they crossed they began walking along a store front of broken glass and some buildings that looked like they had been burnt out. There were a few stores that were still open and she saw the steel fence bars that had been pulled across the fronts. She wondered what the people that operated them did during the business hours of the day.

“These store owners board the store fronts up at night and during the day some of them, that can afford it, hire people with weapons to guard the stores while they do business. It has been this way for many years now. It was during the war with China when this entire neighborhood became the war zone and the police stopped patrolling and the military fought skirmishes here. As you see, it never really recovered after that nightmare and today it still is a nightmare but the people learned to live in the poverty and it is the only place they can afford so it is a trap. We are all trapped and slaves to the wills of those that have any kind of power down here. I think it is a disgrace how the city allows this to continue.” Galia just kept looking and said “is this the only area of the city that is like this?” “No, there are other places around the outskirts of Brisbane and people do not understand why the government does not try to clean them up. I think it all has to do with money as it always has and the greed of the city government is very deep and black.”

Two more blocks they came to the café. Galia took one look at the out side and thought to herself that she probably would never eat here. They walked into the dining area and Galia could smell a greasy odor in the air. The floor was slick and she had to tread lightly to keep from slipping. Jeanette was walking easy also so Galia figured she knew how easy it would be to slip on the floor. They both walked over and sat at the counter on old stools. A woman approached and said “Jeanette, I heard you got fired yesterday. I am so sorry to hear that. You know you could probably still get your job back. I was told you were sick or something.” “No Fran, I wasn’t sick like that. I just decided that I didn’t want to work here anymore. Is Mr. Oppresum around, he was so kind as to tell me to come down when I could and collect my earnings.” “Yeah, he’s in the office. Hang on while I finish placing this order and I’ll tell him you are here. Would either of you like something to drink or eat?” Galia was beginning to turn green from the smell and her stomach wasn’t feeling too good at the moment either. Both her and Jeanette said no at the same time so Fran turned and moved to the kitchen pickup window and stuck the ticket on a wheel. Once that was done she disappeared through a double door that probably led into the kitchen.

Fran came back out a few minutes later and told Jeanette to go on back. They both stood up and started to walk toward the double doors. Fran said “whoa, I am afraid you can’t go back there with Jeanette. You will have to wait out here.” Jeanette spoke up and said “no Fran she comes with me.” “Jeanette, you know how the boss is, he don’t like nobody back there unless he knows them.” Galia could sense a danger of some sort and reached into the woman’s mind. Sure enough, there was something not quite right and she was not about to let Jeanette go into the back alone. This place stunk of danger the moment she walked into it. She used a power of persuasion she had and pushed a thought into Fran’s mind. You will let me go and forget that I am with Jeanette. Go back to taking orders. Fran’s face went blank for a moment and then said “you know where the office is, when you are done back there come on out and I will fix you some coffee.” Jeanette pushed the doors open and she and Galia stepped through. The smell became much more powerful in the kitchen area. As they moved through the area, Galia could see a cook flipping meat patties on a grill. Smoke and steam was coming off of it and being pulled up into a fan. The cook was dressed only in one of those tank top t-shirts and she could see grease and grim all over it. He had a pair of Kaki shorts on under a greasy apron. The sink, along the back wall was full of dirty dishes. She almost vomited from the smells and the sight. Jeanette took her hand and pulled her toward a door at the rear of the kitchen. Once they reached it she knocked on it and Galia heard a man say “come in.”

Jeanette opened the door and stepped in. Galia followed and the first thing she saw was a very large fat man sitting behind a big desk. He had a big long fat cigar in his mouth and the room was full of smoke. “Ah Jeanette, I see you finally decided to show up. You know I really had to scramble yesterday to get one of the other gals to work a double shift. She wasn’t real happy about that and the damn cook threatened to quit on me also. Damnit Jeanette you could have told me you were sick the day before. Well this is all beside the point now isn’t it since I had to fire you? I suppose you are here to collect your two days of wages?” Galia could see Jeanette flinch and could feel a fear in her. The fat man looked at her and said “who the hell are you and how did you get back here?” “My name is Galia and I am with Jeanette.” Jeanette spoke up and said, “You owe me for 5 days not two.” The fat man looked at her and back at Galia. Well Galia or whatever your name is, this is a private office and my business is with this worthless fly speck that never could waitress very well. So I want you to leave while I conduct my business with her.

Galia could sense another presence in the room and she could also sense that this fat man meant to hurt Jeanette. She turned and saw the ugly man sitting in a chair against the wall where the door led into the kitchen. The man looked like he could be tall and weigh in around 250 lbs or so. He had a knife strapped to his side and a large scar across his face that contorted his mouth. One of his eyes had been in the path of the knife that had created the scar and it drooped toward the side oddly. “I think you should pay Jeanette and we will be on our way.” “And just who the hell are you to tell me what I should do?” Galia could read both of the men’s minds and their thoughts were very black and ugly. She did not want anyone to know her full capabilities. She was able to twist others minds but never would do it except in self defense. She could also use a force that would push someone away, violently if she had to use it. These two men were standing on the edge of making her use these powers. She did not want to hurt anyone but she was not going to let them hurt Jeanette. “If you will just pay me Mr. Oppresum, Galia and I will be on our way and you can go on doing what you do.”

The fat man shoved himself back from his desk and acted like he was going to stand up. “What makes you think I want to pay you anything you worthless……” Before he could get the other word out of his foul mouth, his chair flew back and tipped over. Galia saw him roll from the chair and he started to say something else while he was struggling to get up. Galia twisted his mind so he could not speak and froze his movement. The ugly one behind them came out of his chair and started to pull his knife. Galia turned quickly and held out her hand, palm facing the man. He stopped and then flew back into the wall and crumpled to the floor. Galia turned and asked Jeanette “how much does he owe you?” Jeanette was astonished and for a moment did not know what to say. “He owes me 120 dollars.” Galia moved to the desk and found a cash box. She opened it and removed the 120 dollars and handed it to Jeanette. “I think we should go now.” They both walked to the door and opened it slowly. The cook was still at the grill so they both walked to the double doors and out into the dinning area. Fran approached and asked if everything turned out okay. “Yes everything is okay, it’s been nice working with you Fran and maybe sometime in the future we will see each other again.” With that she hugged Fran and Galia and she walked out to the street. “The grocery is just a few more blocks down that way and I can get paid there also and this place will become a distant memory.”

Guy Oppresum lay on his side on the floor. His tongue felt like it was totally swollen and he thought to himself that he was going to choke. He could not move but there was a tingling feeling starting to creep up his legs. When the girl did something to him, his mind became one big confused chunk of nothing. As the chair fell backwards his head hit the floor and bright streams of light shot through his brain. He could not think clearly about anything. His body froze and he could not move after he rolled from the chair. He could see the girl standing and then saw her turn and heard a crash. He then saw the girl remove his cash box and take some money from it and hand it to that bitch of a woman that demanded her pay. When his mind started to be untwisted he swore he was going to kill both of them. He heard the moaning coming from where Garth had been sitting. He wondered what had happened to him and then he began to remember. When the girl had turned and he heard the crash, he guessed that she had done something to him also. He began to slobber as the tingling crept further up his body and then he started coughing. He was finally able to move although he still felt numbness. He rolled over until he could get to his knees and found a hold on his desk. As he pulled himself up he grabbed the chair and set it upright. He looked over at Garth and told him to get his ass up. “We can’t let those two get away. I want you to find the gang and get the idiots out there looking for them. I want all my money back and they can do whatever they want with them. No wait; I want that little witch alive so I can twist her neck myself.”

Jeanette and Galia entered the grocery store and Jeanette went straight to the cash register. Sally Wong, Kim Wong’s wife was minding the store this morning. “Is Kim in yet?” “Ah Jeanette, this is not your day to work.” “No it isn’t but I must see Kim, you see I am quitting and moving away.” “Oh Jeanette that is wonderful news but yet it is sad for Kim and I. We think you do such a good job, in fact Kim was talking about giving you a raise just yesterday.” “That is very good of him. I would have never made it if it hadn’t been for you two. Oh, this is Galia.” Jeanette could not resist telling Sally how Galia was going to marry Nathan. Sally looked at Galia and said “I am pleased to meet you. Nathan is a fine boy and he is a good handyman. We have used his talents around here quit often, but we thought he was going to school?” she had turned to Jeanette when she asked that question. “Yes, I guess we all thought that but you know how love is?” “Ha, yes I do, Kim brought me here from Perth when we were just teenagers and we started this store. That was before the war and this neighborhood was very nice then.” As they were talking Kim came in the front door. “Ah Jeanette, it is good to see you this morning, I was going to call you later.” He had walked over to them as he talked. Since you are here, perhaps I should tell you some good news.” Sally spoke then and asked Kim if she could have a word with him in private. He looked confused but followed her into the back.

Jeanette and Galia watched the two store owners walk to the back. “This looks like a much better place to work in. That café made me sick when we first walked in there and the man was very evil in my eyes. It must have been so hard to work there. I am so glad that you won’t be going there anymore.” “Yes, it was a very nasty place to work and I was getting close to quitting anyway. If you and Nathan hadn’t shown up, I would have quit and just worked here for the Wong’s. I was sure what you did to Mr. Oppresum but it is a sure bet that he will try to get revenge. For as long as I have known him he has always been a very nasty man and his only concern in life is the money he has and can steal. I am so very thankful that you came with me today. I was afraid and I am sure that if I had been alone he and that other man, that he keeps on a leash, would have hurt me.” “Listen Jeanette, when we are done here is there another way to get back to the house?” “Yes there is but it can be scarier than staying on the main street. I am worried about Nathan; Mr. Oppresum knows where I live.”
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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The Wong’s came back out and Kim came over and handed an envelope to Jeanette. He hugged her and then Sally also hugged her. “We are sorry that you are leaving but we wish you luck in the new place you are going. I have put a little extra into your paycheck, it’s not much but we wanted to give what we could.” Jeanette had tears in her eyes as she hugged both of them back. “I will call you when we get to our new destination.” “Okay, but you must be very careful going back to your house. I saw the gang walking the streets earlier and they look extremely nasty this morning. They were breaking things and I saw them attack two people. You know the back way so be very aware.” Jeanette thanked them both and they hugged again. Galia wondered why these people stayed in this neighborhood and thought to talk with Jeanette later. Her and Jeanette walked out of the grocery and looked both ways on the street. Jeanette took her hand and began to walk across the street. “We have to go over two streets here and then we can walk toward the house. Mind you, the area we are going to walk through is one of the most destroyed areas from the war. There are not many people living in there so we might be lucky to see no one until we get back over to the street that the house is on. Keep a sharp eye out.” Galia could feel the fear and trepidation in Jeanette as they walked between two buildings and down a long alley.

Nathan had packed up the things that he and his mum kept. He stacked it all in the living room close to the door so when it came time to load the truck they could do it quickly. He knew his mums clothes and personal items so he filled the two large suit cases and the one old trunk. His stuff was mostly already in the pack so he put the rest into a couple more suit cases. He was worried for Jeanette and Galia and just as soon as he got back from the landlords he planed to go and meet them. He knew the streets were dangerous but he and Jeanette had lived here for so long they had blended with the other inhabitants. They knew when to go out and when not to and it had become a habit for them. The gang had their own times of roaming and most that lived here knew their habits so avoiding them became ingrained for survival. Mr. Keller lived further out toward the west and had some sort of fortified house with a very tall wall/fence built around it. The man owned large portions of the ghetto areas and had survived the war. His compound, as everyone called it, had sustained a few hits on the walls of the fence but all in all he had hired a small mercenary army and they were able to hold the Chinese off until the regular Army engaged the Chinese and drove them out. Keller was given the large chunks of land to maintain and repair. The Army and the government did not care what or how he would accomplish it and so he was left alone with his hired mercenaries to rule the ghettos. He played king and treated anyone that moved back into the areas he owned as his slaves or peasants. Nathan was so glad that he and his mum would be moving away from this dismal existence.

After he had packed everything up and piled it in the living room, he locked up the house and walked toward the compound. It took him almost 30 minutes to reach the east gate of Keller’s kingdom. Keller had built his fortress on one of the many hills on the west side and it could be seen for miles around. He approached the gate and rang the bell. Inside the gate there was a long drive that wound its way up to the house. Just 50 feet inside the gate was a guard station. Victor Tims was on duty this morning when the bell rang. He could see the person standing at the gate through the video camera’s that were mounted every 10 feet on the wall/fence. He thought he might recognize the person as one of the renters. “What do you want Mr. Landers?” “Ah Victor, is that you?” “Yes it is Mr. Landers now tell me what you are doing up here this morning?” “I have come to see Mr. Kelly to tell him that I and my mum are moving. I believe he may owe us a deposit. We will leave the house in the same condition it was in when we first moved in.” “Okay, wait while I notify Mr. Keller.” Nathan thought to himself yeah like I am going to go anywhere you moron.

10 minutes later Nathan heard Victor tell him to come ahead and the gate began to open. It opened enough to let him in and as soon as he was walking toward the guard station it closed again. He walked up to guard station and stopped. Victor came out and said “you know the drill.” Nathan raised his arms and Victor did the pat down for any weapons. Once this was done, Victor turned and called another guard. The man came out and motioned for Nathan to follow him. Nathan started walking and the guard waited until Nathan was in front of him before he began to move. Nathan had to laugh to himself about all of this security but he did understand that Keller was not a well liked man. A short time later after a brisk climb up the driveway, they came to the front door of the Mansion fortress. Nathan knew that this building had been built from large cut stones. That’s why they called it the fortress, more like a castle in his opinion. The Guard walked to the panel on the wall and pushed a button. The video screen came on with Keller’s face. The guard said “Mr. Landers has arrived and he is clean.” “Good send him in, I will meet him in the Ante room. Nathan heard the large metal door unlock and pop open. He looked at the guard and then moved through the door way.

As soon as he moved into the hallway the door behind him closed with a clang. It made him jump as it always did. He stood waiting and then from the double doors in front of him a tall heavy set man stepped through. The man had thick heavy black eye brows. His face was wide and his eyes were spread apart. He was bald on top but he had a Fu Manchu mustache and beard. He was dressed in a oriental robe of some sort and held a glass with an amber fluid and Ice cubes in it. “Well Mr. Landers, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Nathan was always surprised by this man and new that he could have anyone killed almost immediately if he wished. “I have come to give notice of me and my mum moving out. I believe that you have a security deposit that is refundable when we vacate. So then that is what I have come to say and by your leave to collect.” “Ah Mr. Landers it will be a shame to see you and Jeanette leave.” Nathan hated it when this mad man called his mum by her given name. “Pardon my manners Mr. Landers, would you like a drink?” “No thank you Mr. Keller, if it’s all the same to you I have other things I need to take care of so I just need to collect the deposit and be on my way. I will leave the house in good condition and I have fixed the screen door that was broken by the gang members.”

“Well then Mr. Landers, this is all quite unfortunate, you see, the contract we have has not expired yet so the deposit is forfeit when you do not complete your term. You can stay the other two months and get that deposit back and of course I have to prorate the time you have spent past this present month.” “Mr. Keller, we have been good and faithful renters for many years now and I am sure you have plenty of other renters that pay your prices to live in places that only seem to afford a roof over their head. You can double the rent once we move out so I see no reason for you to keep our deposit.” “Well I’ll tell you what I will do and won’t do for you Mr. Landers. First, I won’t charge you and your mum for the damages sustained to the building. I will keep the deposit to pay for any repairs that may have occurred and I won’t have you arrested for breaching our contract. Does this sound like a fair deal to you then?” Nathan knew he was not going to get the deposit back simply because this man was one of the biggest crooks in the city of Brisbane. He had to try at least but when it came down to it he knew this man, could have him killed and no one would cry about it except his mum. “Okay Mr. Keller, I see your point. You do understand I had to try.” “Yes I understand and I respect you for at least trying. I am sorry that you and your mum, uh Jeanette will be leaving our little berg of comfort. Perhaps you could tell me where you are going and I might be able to help you through known acquaintances?” “No Mr. Keller, that is quite alright, we would just as soon as not be associated with you anymore. Thank you for allowing us to stay in your little world and with that, I will be going now.” “Yes of course Mr. Landers.” The man turned around and pushed the button to unlock the front door and said “goodbye Mr. Landers, give my regards to Jeanette. Please follow the guard to the gate. On his way back to the house he was thinking about his mum and Galia and that made him hurry. He was thinking about taking the truck and looking for them if they weren’t home yet.

Two streets to the south of the main street where the Grocery store was located, Jeanette and Galia stood at the edge of the alley between two buildings and wearily looked east and west on the street. Galia was looking at the bombed out husks of buildings and how the street had a narrow one lane path that snaked down the middle of it. Jeanette spoke softly in almost a whisper. “We must go west for about 4 blocks then go south again for 3 more streets. Once we get to that point we should be able to follow that street to the main street the house is on. The house is only a few hundred yards further to the south.” “Can we move alone this street close to the buildings?” “Yes in spots but there are areas that we will have to go out into the street to get around rubble. I think we should cross the street here and move along that side.” Galia and Jeanette both scooted across the street. They had to run around piles of ruble but finally made it to the other side and began to move cautiously toward the west against the buildings.

On the main street to the North, Garth walked along the sidewalk in a brisk manner. He had talked with a few people that semi-lived on the streets and asked if they had seen the gang. One of them told him that they had roved through earlier and were headed to the west. He checked to make sure his knife was handy and as he walked quicker he finally spotted two of the gang members standing outside one of the stores that remained in business along the main street. As he approached, one of boys had seen him coming and went inside the store. He knew that these hoodlums extorted money from the store owners all in the name of protection so he figured they were gathering their daily take at this particular store. Guy had told him to offer certain things to enlist their help to catch the two that had stolen from him. He walked up and nodded to the boy still standing outside. The kid was covered in tattoos and his hair was shaven on both sides with a high razor back strip down the middle. “Get your leader out here now. I have a job for all of you.”

Moog was telling the store owner that he really should be paying more for their protection while the other three that came in with him were stuffing their bags with foods from the shelves. Rancid, his lieutenant, as he was so known, came into the store and over to him. He waited for Moog to finish talking to the owner and then said quickly, “Garth is coming down the street.” Moog heard Rancid but was waiting for the owner to answer him. He really did not like Garth and hated the fact that his boss Mr. Oppresum kept them going. “You are getting more than I can really afford at this time as it is and besides you come in here and take things off my shelves and never pay for them so that should supplement the payments.” Moog was becoming very angry with this idiot and thought about cutting his face when Mohawk came in and said “Garth wants to see you right now, said something about a job.” Moog looked at the owner and said “We’ll be back later so think real hard about our little conversation.” He turned and told his little gang to follow him and they all walked out side. “You know Moog, if that crap decides to hire one of those mercenaries we are going to loose another source of money.” “Shut up Rancid, I know all about those Merc’s and I also know how to get around them.” He walked up to Garth and said “Well if it isn’t the asshole from the crap hole.” “Mohawk tells me that you have a job for us.”

Garth winched at the dirt bag in front of him. He really could not stand the sight of him and some day he was going to put an end to him. “You know Muggy boy, one of these day’s that ugly little mouth of yours is going to get you killed.” “Yeah, but it sure as hell ain’t gonna be you. So what’s the job and how much we getting paid?” “Okay, listen up. Mr. Oppresum needs you to find a woman and a girl that stole from him. He says you can do whatever you want with the woman but bring back the 120 dollars she stole. You’re to bring the girl to him; he has his own plans for her.”

Moog cracked a smile and then began to laugh and finally he was guffawing. The other 5 boys had begun to laugh also. Garth just stood there waiting for them to stop. He was seriously thinking about sticking this little shit but he knew that they would gang up on him and they did have clubs. Moog settled down and said “you telling me that a woman and a girl stole money from the Oppressor? How the hell did that happen? Wait let me guess; they just walked into his private office and took the cash from his sacred cash box.” Garth was not in the mood to give details about what happened. There was something very strange about the girl and he had peed himself when it all happened. “Well they did come into the office and what happened after that was something strange, so anyway you got to find them, they are walking around the town somewhere at this moment and they might have more than the 120 dollars on them.”
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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“Okay, we can find them, any idea who they might be? And we need more than just one woman, so what else do we get?” Mr. Oppresum said you can keep the additional money you find and he has told me to tell you that he knows where there is a shipment of motor bikes that you can rob. If you succeed with that you get to keep one for each of you.” “Now that is a good deal but there is just one thing. We have to do two jobs and all we get is one woman and maybe some extra money and some bikes. You tell Mr. Oppresum we will do these jobs but we want guns also.” “Okay you little shit, go do your job with the woman and girl first and when you come to the café with the girl you can talk with the boss about the weapons.” “Alright Garth, this better be on the up and up or your face is going to have two ugly scars.” Garth watched the 6 boys walk down the street. He was going to tell them who the woman was and they could have gone straight to her house but he wanted them to have to search for two females. He got a small kick out of them having to do that. One could never give anything away to these punks.

Jeanette and Galia had made it three blocks to the west and ran into a snag. They had to hide in one of the bombed out buildings while a group of people walked down the street. Jeanette was not sure who they might be and if they were dangerous so Galia and her moved into the rubble and hid. The group of people seemed to mill around in the street right in front of the burned out building but never showed any sign of coming into it. Galia noticed that they were dirty and the clothes they had on were nothing more than rags. She could not understand how people still lived like this. They looked like the pictures she had seen of the war torn refugees in the 2025 war. She meant to talk to Jeanette about this when they were in a much safer place. The group finally moved on and she and Jeanette did the same. They made it to the end of the four blocks and Jeanette turned toward the south once more. They crossed the next street and the landscape changed. The bombed out buildings were no longer around and the houses began to look like the one that Jeanette lived in. Galia could see that people lived here and she began to see a few cars parked and driving. Two streets later, Jeanette turned once more to the west and said “it is only about 5 blocks to our street from here. I think we will be alright but even so keep a lookout, one can never tell what will happen around here and the only safe place, and that is not certain, is in one’s own house.

They were walking along thinking that they would be alright when two boys came out of a side yard and stopped on the sidewalk about 50 feet in front of them. Galia could see the Mohawk hair cut on one and all the tattoos. She knew immediately that these two were real trouble and she began to read their thoughts. She could hear them thinking of the other 4 boys that were behind her and Jeanette. She read the thought of a name and it was Moog and then another that sounded like Rancid. She softly spoke to Jeanette and told her to keep walking toward the two boys and how there were four more behind them. “Do not be afraid. You saw what I can do when we were in that other monsters den. These people keep pushing me and I don’t want to hurt anyone but I won’t let them harm you.”

As they walked closer to the two boys in front of them, the other four came out of a yard and walked toward them. They were only about 50 feet behind but seemed to be gaining ground. Jeanette and Galia walked up to within 10 feet of the first two boys and stopped. “What do you want?” The boys behind walked up and stopped just short of 10 feet. One stepped forward and spoke. “Well if it ain’t Jeanette, the rat boy’s mother. How are you today Jeanette?” He walked closer and then all the boys walked up. Jeanette and Galia found themselves encircled by this gang of very nasty boys. Jeanette turned and faced Moog. “Moog, I don’t think you want to do what you are thinking of doing.” “And just what is it you think I want to do Jeanette?” Galia was surprised. She had heard Jeanette’s thoughts and knew that she could read minds also. The boy named Moog was thinking about raping Jeanette and then killing her. His sick mind had entangled itself into a very dark place. The other 5 boys were thinking of doing the same thing to Jeanette. Galia and she both read the thoughts of who set this up. The boys were to take the money and do whatever they wanted to Jeanette but they were to take Galia back to the fat man she had already had an encounter with. She spoke into Jeanette’s mind and asked her what she was going to do. Jeanette spoke back and told her to take this Moog back to the fat man and she would take care of the other 5 boys.

Galia knew in an instant that Jeanette had been given incredible gifts when she was a little girl and had to keep them secret most of her life. She also knew that Jeanette knew about Nathan’s gifts. As she spoke with Jeanette she was being made aware of other powers that she possessed or gifts as they were given. She opened a door and knew she could become invisible, she could fly or levitate. She already knew she could use a force of pressure against others if they presented danger and she could twist a mind and a body into numbness. Jeanette opened her mind and Galia could see her light shinning like a beacon on a dark night. Galia knew without a doubt that she could twist the time/continuum and move to anywhere she chose. Moog told his gang to grab her and Jeanette. Jeanette and Galia acted as one in the next instant. Galia reached out and touched Moog and she and he disappeared. The other 5 boys found themselves lying on their backs in the street. Their tongues were swollen and their bodies were completely numb. Their minds were blank and they were drooling all over themselves. Five minutes later the neighborhood came alive. People came from their boarded up, locked up houses and gathered around the hoodlums lying in the street. They watched them for a while and then began to drag their bodies to the dumpster that was in the street. They picked up the frozen bodies and dumped them in. 30 minutes later a large garbage truck rolled down the street and scooped up the dumpster and emptied it into the crusher bin. The truck driver turned on the compressor mechanism and the big blade began to squash the trash into a smaller amount. The truck then drove on down the street and repeated its motions at the next dumpster.

Jeanette twisted herself into the universe and caught Galia who had Moog captured in a beam of light and joined her as they materialized in the office of Guy Oppresum. Guy was sitting behind his desk and Garth was sitting in front. They both were smoking the big fat cigars when Jeanette and Galia appeared with Moog held in a bright light. As soon as they materialized Galia released Moog and he fell from about 5 feet in the air and hit the floor face first. Galia did not want him to get up and try to run so she twisted him into a numb state. Guy fell back from his desk and jumped up from his chair. Garth tried to stand and twist around at the same time and tripped himself over the chair and lay on the floor. Galia twisted him into numbness and he froze.

Jeanette walked to the edge of the desk and looked Guy in the eyes. “Well Mr. Oppresum, it would appear that you got somewhat what you asked for. I am not dead as you wanted though and the girl you so vehemently wanted to twist her neck is standing right her so maybe you can give that a try if you think you can. Oh and here is your money.” With that she levitated his cash box and turned it upside down. All the money in it fell to the top of his desk and spilled over to the floor. Something like a spark shot from Jeanette’s fingers and the money started to burn. Guy looked at her with wild eye’s and looked at his precious money and said “you f*&king witch I’ll see you burn in hell” as he dove for his money. “Tisk, tisk Mr. Oppresum you really should not use such foul language.” The fat man was trying to stomp out the fire that was burning his money. His pants caught fire and he was so infatuated with his money he did not pay attention. The flames jumped up his trousers and he started screaming. Jeanette took Galia’s hand and said “come dear we have to get the others out of this grease pit before it explodes.

Standing in the street, all of the people that were in the café other than the three that were in the back office watched the building burn in a roar of flames. The sirens of fire engines could be heard in the distance. Fran was standing next to Jeanette and Galia and crying. Jeanette wrapped her arms around the poor woman and comforted her. “I don’t know what I am going to do now; this was my only means of making any money.” Jeanette handed her an envelope and pulled out a large wade of cash and handed that to her also. “This was a payroll and it is from Mr. Oppresum. You can distribute it to the employees and I am sure they will be grateful. The envelope is from me and you can find a real good job down at the Wong’s Grocery. I hear they are looking for help.” Fran was very surprised and did not know what to say. “Don’t worry dear, just go and talk to Kim and Sally and have a good life. I have a feeling that this area is going to change for the better soon.” She turned and took Galia’s hand and they both walked out beyond the crowd and disappeared

It had taken Nathan longer than he thought to walk back to the house. He felt something was happening and that time seemed to stand still. When he reached the yard of the house he heard the sirens. He knew it could not be Police cars because they had not been down in the ghettos for years it seemed so he thought it was fire engines. When he looked toward the sound he could see smoke bellowing up from something. He hurried into the house and heard Jeanette and Galia talking in the kitchen. He stood in the opening and saw the most amazing thing. Both his mum and Galia were glowing with a bright light. He then heard in his mind, well it’s about time we were wondering if you got lost. Don’t worry about the deposit son that is not important. The most important thing is that you and Galia start your family soon. He walked over to the table where they both were sitting. He reached down and touched both of them. Their heart fires became one and they were in the universe and one with the Divine Creator. The solid tube of light flowed back into the kitchen and they all sat around the table. Jeanette took a sip of her tea and said “shall we load the truck and go home.” All three of them stood and moved to the living room. Nathan opened the front door and grabbed two suitcases and carried them to the truck. They had drove down into the better part of Brisbane and picked up the things for Helga and Hattie and Two hours later they were driving north of Brisbane and singing an old song from the last century that connected them. https://youtu.be/n-wotcvT4mg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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48 MEGAN AND THE DOLPHINS

Megan was lying in the field of flowers and grass with her eyes closed and sun gazing as her mother had taught her. Galia had ridden her bike down to Hattie’s to have lunch with Nathan, Jeanette and Hattie. Something had prompted her to do sun gazing today. It had been almost 7 weeks since Bob had passed and Devlin and his mum took his body into the ocean to be with the dolphins. She was pining very heavy for Devlin and had thought that he would come back after he and his mum took Bob to his burial place. She had been lying and gazing for a couple hours when the music began to play. The sounds took her to a waterfall on a river and carried her over lush forests. She felt very light and watched two men as they played a song while sitting on a bridge. The place looked like part of Paradise and it gave her calm. Something told her to be patient and wait. https://youtu.be/nkcm5cT9gGI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; https://youtu.be/nkcm5cT9gGI

The song in her dream state caused her to relax into a deeper area of her mind. There seemed to be flashes of very bright white lights which she filed away and thought about coming back to. She would continue to wait for Devlin to return. The night before, she had been reading her mothers diary as she always did before she fell asleep when she came across a reference to other pages. She had read this diary over and over and what she read in the reference gave her thought of something very exciting. The reference to other pages gave a short synopsis of being able to live under water. She fanned through the pages until she came to the ones referenced and stopped. She slowly read over the hand written pages of which there were only 7. In between the formulas and figures there were short notes and sketches depicting dolphins and humans swimming side by side. This would not be out of the ordinary except one of the sketches showed a human with lines drawn on the figures neck area. She tried to decipher the formulas but they seemed to escape her and she thought it was because she was quite tired. There could be no mistake with the sketch she thought; it clearly showed gills on the human figure. She could only surmise this because she had seen the gills on Devlin and his mother. She knew her mother and father were into all sorts of physics and aquatic life. In fact her mother was quite the physicist and experimented with things that seemed beyond the normal. Megan had read the pages that dealt with organic cloaking of the human body and had even talked with her mom about that sort of thing.

The diary was jamb packed with so much information; it made her head spin most of the time when she read it. There were pages of written notes and all the sketches and formulas. Her mother did write personal paragraphs that were easily readable and understood but there were so many pages of highly scientific notes of origin. Her mother had left a hand written small note book and attached it to the diary when she gave it to her. She had to read that notebook over and over. Her mother wrote that she, Megan would be able to understand the diary and how Galia was already beyond the things she experimented on. Megan could not quite fathom that bit of writing but she began to notice how Galia could do things that no one else could do or so it seemed. She had fallen asleep with the diary open on her chest and woke a short time later from a very deep dream of swimming in the ocean and living in an underwater home of some sort. She closed the diary and set it on the night stand and fell back to sleep. Her mother had warned her to never let anyone other than Galia see the dairy and to keep it tucked away. The strangest thing about the diary was the last page. Her mother had said that she and her father had to go away and that they would do their best to find her and Galia when the time was right. There was a sentence that had been started after that and stopped in the middle. Megan had dreams about that and always thought her parents had been kidnapped or something. That wound up making no sense after awhile because the diary was still there.

She placed her hands over her eyes and opened them slowly. The sun was very warm on her face and through her dress. She kept her hands over her eyes as she rolled to the side and sat up. As she sat there in the grass and the flowers she thought about Nathan and Galia and Jeanette. Nathan and Galia had been gone almost 5 days when they showed up around noon on that 5th day. Megan had come back home after the 4th day to tend the farm. Thomas and Helga were called by some relatives that live up above Cairns and had to leave. She and Hattie had spent two solid days just grieving. After that Hattie had opened the store and folks started showing up for things that they had to replenish after the storm. She helped out and went out to the cottage and started cleaning it up and removing the old sheets that covered the furniture and stocked the dishes up and chopped wood for the cooker and the pot belly. Galia had told her before she left that Nathan and Jeanette would be living there until she and Nathan were married and then Nathan would live on the farm. She did not question Galia about how she was so sure of all this. She already knew that Galia had special gifts and being able to see the future of others when she came in contact with them was one of those gifts.

Megan had been cleaning the mangers in the barn when she saw Galia and Nathan drive up. Galia pulled the truck up to the front of the barn and stopped. Megan could see her and Nathan laughing about something and dropped the pitchfork and hurried out. They all had sat around and talked about the adventures in Brisbane. Galia had told her how she and Jeanette had handled the hoodlums and how Jeanette moved into the cottage at Hattie’s. Hattie welcomed her right away and it seemed that both of them were meant to be the closest of friends. Nathan had spent his time between Hattie’s place and the farm. He did repairs on the cottage to start with and when he came to the farm he repaired the barn first and it seemed he was always finding little jobs to keep him busy. Galia would help him and then she would go down to the store and be with him while he did things down there. They were almost inseparable now and Megan knew that they were going to be married very soon. She understood that they were married in the spirit and something was being planned out here in the meadow. She was so happy for the both of them and Nathan had even planned to build an extra bedroom on the house. She had really delved into her thoughts of Devlin and even though she knew she must be patient it was hard for her. The love that was between them was so strong and she almost felt like she had been abandoned again like when her mother and father had disappeared and then Bob had died. She finally stood up and walked back to the house. She was supposed to go down to the store and have dinner with the family. She needed to feed the pigs and gather some wood before she left. Nathan had been given the truck so he could go into Paradise and get supplies as needed and could travel between the farm and the store quicker. She was going to ride her bike like Galia did earlier and seemed to do everyday.

Devlin swam up to the beach where he and his mother had taken Bob’s body into the ocean. After he and his mother had taken Bob into the depths, the dolphins had taken over and took him to a place that would be the bodies resting place. He and his mother then began the long journey back to the coastal waters of the America’s where Devlin would meet with Tom once more. The journey was long but it was worth the trip to see Tom and the crew once more. His mother had to meet up with the family that lived in those waters. It was not long after they had left on that journey that Devlin heard in his mind from a young man telling him that he should come back for Megan soon. He almost turned and swam back but Hanna kept him on course and told him that they both would go back when the time was right.

He walked out of the water and stood waiting for his mother. She had talked with family about being out for a few days and when she came up and walked to him she was carrying two water packs full of sea water. “We will have to refill these every day that we are out of the water so don’t get to wrapped up and forget.” “I don’t think it is too far from here to Hattie’s store so we can walk.” “Devlin, the sun is pretty bright and warm and I don’t think we could walk that distance without drying out to much.” Devlin felt the heat and could see the brightness. He resisted the urge to look up at the sun and understood what his mother was saying. He reached out his mind thought and touched Megan’s mind. Megan my love, I and mother are on the beach where you brought me and Bob, can you come and pick us up?

Megan was chopping wood and stopped just as the axe hit the small log. She let go of the handle and backed away from the chopping block. She turned toward the ocean at that moment and spoke in her mind. Devlin, I have been waiting for you, I am at the farm and do not have the truck. It will take me about an hour to ride my bike to Hattie’s where Nathan has the truck. Devlin could tell immediately that she was very happy and had been sinking into a depression of some sort. When he spoke into her mind it was as if she jumped out of that hole of despair. He felt her soul reconnect to him and he himself felt a relief. He had not understood how much into depression he had become also. Okay my love, There is another that has spoken to me and he was with you when he asked me to come back here soon. Do you know who he is? Yes, that could be Nathan, he is with Galia at Hattie’s now and he has the truck. I did not know that he could use telepathy but Galia told me that he and his mother both could. Devlin turned to his mother and told her that he was speaking to Megan in the mind and she is saying that there is a boy at Hattie’s place that can communicate through telepathy; I think he is the one that called me before. I will try to connect with him and he has the truck.

Nathan and Galia were up on the roof of the Cottage replacing some shingles when he heard in his mind, the man that Megan was in love with speak to him. Nathan? I am Devlin and if you are hearing me, Megan has told me that you can speak in the mind to others. My Mother and I are at the beach where she and Hattie brought me and Bob. We cannot walk to the store because it will dry us out to fast. Megan has told me that you have the truck and could come pick us up. Galia was slipping a good shingle into place when Nathan stopped and sat very quiet. She immediately sensed something was happening. She spoke to him and asked if anything was wrong. He did not speak back for a few moments and then said “Devlin and his mother are on the beach and they need a ride to the store.” Galia smiled and giggled. She stood up and held out her hand. “Come then, we should go and get them before they dry up.” Nathan took her hand and they both levitated to the ground. Nathan went to the truck and Galia went into the store.

Hattie was at the front dealing with a customer and Jeanette was at the kitchen in the rear area making the special casserole for dinner when Galia came in the back door. “Mother, Nathan and I are going to pick up Devlin and his mother. They are down at the beach. We should be back soon.” Jeanette smiled at that and said “you know one of you is going to have to ride in the back.” “Well yes and that will be me. I am going to take the extra 5 gallon can and fill it with sea water. I think Megan may be riding her bike down here right now. She surely knows that Devlin has come. When we get back I can help with the dinner.” “Okay but you two kids are going to have to get cleaned up. That black mess on your cloths and hands doesn’t look like it would taste very good and I am sure Hattie won’t cotton to having any of it on her furniture now go on and get the dolphin folk.”

Megan had changed from her overalls into her summer dress after washing up. She was so excited she kept forgetting little things. She was half way out the back door to get her bike and realized that she wanted to bring her mother’s diary. She thought Devlin’s mom might be able to read some of the math on those pages about living in the water. She especially wanted to show the parts about the human with the gills. A slight breeze was blowing as she mounted her bike and rolled down the driveway toward Hattie’s. Timoth was roving around the barn when he saw Megan get on her bike and ride down the driveway. He had been feeling a sadness in her for quite some time now and wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He had tried to cheer her up but no matter what he did it would not work. Galia and the new man that he had met at the store were happy and he liked the new man. He would talk with him and all the others when he was on the farm. Eliphal came running around the corner of the barn and bumped him so he turned playfully and ran away while she chased him.

When they reached the turn off Nathan stopped and looked at Galia. “Yes I think this is the road down to the beach. Least ways it looks like what Hattie had explained. You know, when I told her that Devlin and his mother were on the beach, she laughed and then told the customer she was with that she had to close the store for the rest of the day. I thought the man was going to be very mad and cause a ruckus but Hattie told him that he didn’t have to pay for what he had gathered so far and he could come back in a few days and she would be open.” “Geez, Galia she sure is an amazing woman. She and Jeanette get along like two sisters.” He smiled at her and finished his thought, “like you and Megan.” They both laughed at that and Nathan turned on the road and the truck bounced and crept down the path toward the beach.
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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The tide was at its peak so the water was washing closest to the hills. The sandy area of the beach was only around 25 yards or so wide before the waves washed across it as they rolled in and then back out. Hanna was out in the deeper area talking to the family as they swam around. Devlin had come ashore and was sitting in the sand where the water would wash against him when the waves came in. He heard the truck as it wound its way down the road. He knew that Megan was not in it because he was talking to her as she rode her bike down the road from the farm to the store. He could feel her excitement and the love she was pouring out. He was having a hard time restraining himself also when he heard his mother speak to him in the mind. Be patient dear boy, we will be there soon enough. Devlin just smiled and thought about having a real nice beach party when the sun went down. This was a very nice beach and he could see a real nice bon fire as they all sat around and talked about life. The family would sing to them as they enjoyed the evening. The truck came over the small rise and rolled out onto the beach and stopped.

Galia and Nathan both watched the man stand up from the tide wash. They climbed out of the truck and walked toward him. Galia saw the woman stand up in the water further out and walk toward them. Nathan reached Devlin first and held out his hand. “I am Nathan and you must be Devlin?” “Yes Nathan, I am the one you spoke to.” He held out his hand and took Nathan’s and shook it heartily. At that moment Hanna walked up. “Here is my mother, she is called Hanna.” Nathan looked at Hanna and smiled while holding out his hand for her. “I am very pleased to meet you and this must be Galia?” Hanna did not stand on a traditional greeting but rather moved to Galia and gave her a hug. “It is known that you have special gifts, the family tells me that you can bend into the universe.” Galia was astonished for a moment and then laughed. “I am to the understanding that you Nathan may be able to do this also?” Nathan looked a bit shy and then said “yes that is so but Galia is helping me to open more doors.” “Ah so we have two more that have jumped the canyons of forgetfulness and are aware of whom you are in your spirit and souls.” Nathan and Galia hugged each other and then hugged Hanna again and Devlin.

Megan came to the 3 mile grade that was only 4 miles from Hattie’s. This was her favorite part of the road. The slope was not harsh or too steep but enough so that she could just glide almost all the way to Hattie’s store from the top. The road had a slight curve close to the bottom and by the time she reached it she could lean the bike and swoop around it onto the straight part that took her to Hattie’s The road ran by the store on its way to the Bruce highway and most folk would take the short drive from the main road to come to Hattie’s. There were around 10 families that lived along or up at the end of the road that her and Galia’s farm was on so the traffic was never to busy. She loved the forest that grew on both sides of the road especially on the grade. Riding back was a bit of a push but her and Galia were fairly fit and they had been riding since they were wee folk.

She slipped the gear into neutral and began to coast. Her hair was caught in the wind as she picked up speed and soon was waving behind her. She loved the feel of the wind blowing through her hair and placed her feet on the bars that Bob had welded on the frame. The air was chilly at this time of year but it felt good. She passed the 2 mile marker doing around 50 mph. Her mind was floating free with Devlin and she did not see the kangaroo’s crossing the road of a sudden. Two mamas and their Joey’s hopped onto the road to get across only 50 feet in front of her. When she saw them it was too late for her to brake. She swerved to go behind them and the bike wobbled. She lost control and the bike ran off the paved surface and hit the dirt. The sudden halting as the front wheel dug into the soft soil flipped the bike and threw her forward with a violent speed. She flew through the air for around 30 feet before she came in contact with the ground. She was experienced in landing properly from a fall so she tucked herself into a ball as the ground came rushing up at her and rolled as she hit the ground. She was moving pretty fast and rolled for another 20 feet before she came up against a tree. She hit the tree and felt her left arm snap. At first contact there was no pain but as she lay there in a daze she begin to feel the pain of the break. Her arm was twisted in a very odd shape and tears were beginning to run from her eyes as she fought against the pain.

On the beach Devlin and Galia both felt a pain in their left arm. Devlin was filling the 5 gallon water can with sea water and dropped the can into the ocean. Nathan saw the motion and hurried to retrieve the can and Galia, and Devlin. “What’s wrong?” he said and watched Galia sit down on the beach. Devlin turned and almost ran up out of the water. “Something is wrong with Megan.” Nathan picked the can up and hurried to Galia. Hanna had been out in the deeper water talking with the family when they all turned toward the beach and began to swim in a circle. Hanna read Devlin’s thoughts and swam to the shore and hurried up to him. “Can you see what is wrong; can you see where she is?” “She is up against a tree and her arm hurts very badly.” Galia stood up and spoke to Nathan, “Take Hanna to Hattie’s, we’ll meet you there.” She walked to Devlin and touched him and they both disappeared. Hanna grabbed Nathan by the arm and practically dragged him to the truck. “Let’s go, Galia will bring Megan and Devlin to the store.” Nathan placed the water can in the back and they both climbed into the truck and he started up the hill toward the store.

The Roo’s had made it across the road and stopped. They were standing and looking over at the place where Megan had stopped against the tree. The two Mothers were getting ready to cross back over and perhaps help the human when two more humans appeared next to the one on the ground. They turned and moved off into the forest with their babies at that moment. Megan was in excruciating pain and was fighting to keep from passing out. She could barely see the Roo’s across the road and when she focused on her bike she saw that the front end of it was scrunched badly. She tried to stand up but the pain was too much and she passed out.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Devlin’s face. He was sitting on the edge of the bed she was lying in. With a soft voice she asked “where am I?” Devlin smiled and touched her. “You’re at Hattie’s home.” “How, did I get here, I remember laying in the forest after I rolled into a tree.” She remembered the pain in her arm and tried to move it. Her arm came up with no pain and she reached out and touched Devlin. “My arm was broke I think, it hurt real bad, how is it, I can feel no pain and move it normally?” “After we brought you here, Galia and Jeanette touched you and your arm healed.” She sat up on the bed and felt her arm and looked at Devlin with a big smile. She then wrapped her arms around him and hugged him and to his surprise she kissed him. “I love you” she said and Devlin returned the feeling to her and they both held each other.

Nathan pulled the truck to a stop and climbed out. He had pulled it off the road close to the bicycle that lay in a crumpled state where it had hit the soft dirt and stopped. The front wheel was totally bent and the front forks were twisted. The handle bars had twisted with the forks and one side was completely bent in an upward direction. Galia had climbed out the other side and was looking at the bike as Nathan picked it up loaded into the back of the truck. “Megan is going to be sorrowful to see her bike in this condition. Do you think it is repairable?” “I’m not sure yet but I sure can give it a try.” Galia wondered around the site and saw her mother’s diary lying almost where she and Devlin had first found Megan. The book was open and the pages were blowing with the breeze. She picked it up and noticed the page that it was open to. The sketch of a human with gills imprinted its image into her brain. She gave an exclamation and closed the book noting the page nr the sketch was on. She walked back to the truck and wondered if Megan had been reading the notes and looking at the sketches. She was sure that Megan had seen this part of the diary before but she wanted to talk with her about it. Nathan turned the truck around and drove back toward Hattie’s.

Hanna was sitting around a table with Hattie and Jeanette and telling the story of her and Devlin taking Bob’s body into the depths. She was speaking about the family of dolphins actually taking his body from them at a certain point and carrying him further when Megan and Devlin came down the stairs. “Ah the children are up” Hattie pronounced. Hanna and Jeanette both had to smile and snicker at that. “Come on over and have a seat, Hanna was just telling us about Bob’s last journey.” Megan could see a smile on Hattie’s face and she could see the brightness in her heart. It was a wonder for her and Hattie both to accept that Bob had only lost his corporeal body and his spirit was going to other places. The dream place they both had visited had healed their souls of the sorrow and to be with Bob and see him in such a young state of being made them understand that this plane was so temporary in the never ending cycles of life “Come here girl and let us see how your arm is.” Hattie was such a sweet soul and always making sure everyone was well and happy.

Megan and Devlin both smiled and walked to the table. Megan had never noticed this table before and thought that Hattie had recently placed it in the big room. She came over and hugged Hattie and said in a teasing way “and just what was wrong with my arm?” Hattie stepped back for a moment with a dead pan face and then proceeded to bust out laughing. The room of people all began to laugh and the atmosphere became very jolly. “Where are Nathan and Galia?” Jeanette had to wipe the tears off her face from laughing and said “They took the truck to retrieve your bike; it seems that in your haste to be with Devlin you left it on the side of the road. They should be back soon.” She had said this with a giggle in her voice. Megan placed both her hands on her hips and looked like she was going to scold a child or something. Jeanette could not contain her self again and bust out laughing. Megan looked at her with a stern face and then bust out laughing herself. Devlin had looked at the three ladies sitting around the table and restrained himself from guffawing. He looked at his mother and saw that she was laughing. He could see that she had a glass of water in front of her and knew that it was sea water. “So, are we going to have a beach party this evening?” “Yes, yes dear boy now have a seat, we got some serious talking to do which we can continue down at the beach.”
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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As Devlin and Megan were sitting down, Nathan and Galia pulled into the yard. They both hopped out of the truck and Nathan proceeded to remove the damaged bike. Galia helped him and they took the bike into the storage building. In the house Hattie had gotten up to fetch some more coffee and saw the truck pull in. “Ah her are the kids now.” Megan stood up and hurried to the back door. When she came out, Nathan and Galia were already inside the storage building so she walked toward the opening. “Is it repairable?” Galia turned around and quickly ran to Megan, “Oh Megan, I’m so sorry.” She stepped back from the hug and looked at her sister, “How are you feeling?” “I am feeling fine, thanks to you, Devlin and Jeanette. Devlin told me that you and he came and retrieved me and brought me to Hattie’s and then you and Jeanette did something to heal my broken arm. Is this true?” “Yes Megan it is true, there are things that I can do and that is one of them although Jeanette was with me and helped. I have always been able to do so many different things. I can read minds and talk with others telepathically. I can levitate and fly as some may think. I can disappear, become invisible and I can help heal.” Megan just looked at her while her mind began to absorb, try to understand all that Galia just told her in a flash. There was going to be so many questions but she looked at Nathan and back at Galia and the question on her face was so transparent that Galia said “yes and he can do some of the same things.” Megan looked at her bike and then at Nathan, “Can you fix it?” Nathan just looked at her and said “I sure am going to try.” She turned and said “well then shall we go in and pack up for the beach party?”

Nathan climbed into the truck bed and started to clean it out. Hattie came from the house and asked him to follow her into the storage building. He jumped down and hurried after her. Galia asked Megan to wait a moment while she opened the door on the truck and retrieved a book. “Here, I found this in the forest not to far from the bicycle.” Megan looked at the book and held out her hand. “Thank you sis, I don’t know what I would do without mom’s diary.” “Yes I do believe that mom gave this to you for so many different reasons and those 7 pages of notes and sketches and math symbols are definitely one of them. Both girls walked toward the house and Devlin came out. “I am going to help Nathan load the truck and everyone inside is packing up the food stuff so you two better get in there and help.” Galia and Megan both giggled as they walked to the back door. Inside, Hanna and Jeanette had placed some baskets on the table and were carrying a cooler over. “Well you two look happy, would you like to help. Hattie is showing the boys where the beach chairs and blankets are and said something about loading an old couch in the truck so we can all ride in comfort down to the beach.” Megan put the diary down on the table and asked Hanna if she would take a look at it later. Hanna stood for a moment and looked at the book. “This is a diary, are you sure you want me to look at it?” “Yes it is my mother’s diary and she was a scientist. There are things in there that I don’t quite understand although she did teach me a lot and she used to try and tell me about the stuff she was researching and working on. Most of it is written down and sketched in this book. Devlin did tell me that you were a scientist so I thought you might be able to understand this better than me.” Hanna opened the book and flipped through the pages and said “I would be thrilled to look at this but for now why don’t we go have a good time on the beach?” They made sure the store was locked and the back door as they all carried a basket and the cooler out to the truck.

The pile of beach wood had grown to a good 5 to 7 foot diameter and Devlin and Nathan where dragging some bigger logs along the beach toward the bond fire site when Devlin heard his brothers whistling at him from the deeper area of the ocean. He turned and whistled back and kept dragging the log he had. It was mid, after noon and the women had laid out the blankets and set up the chairs. Devlin and Nathan brought the logs to the fire pit and left those lying close enough that they could be placed on the fire later. Nathan had carried one of the gas cans down to start the fire. The afternoon sun was very warm and the breeze off the ocean felt quite nice. They had all worn swim suits under their regular clothes and Devlin walked over and took Megan’s hand. “Would you like to meet the family, they have asked if I would bring you out, they are very anxious to meet you.” Megan smiled and shed her summer dress. Devlin stripped down to his suit and they both walked toward the water. Megan pushed him forward and began to run. He caught up to her and they both were laughing as they danced around each other. Megan could feel a tickling in her mind and she spoke to Devlin in the mind. She had forgotten how to use telepathy although her mother had hinted about it and when she first met Devlin the door had begun to open until finally she remembered. Now that she, without a doubt new that Galia, Nathan and Jeanette, and she suspected, Hanna could speak in the mind, she no longer kept it hidden.

As they entered the water, Devlin picked her up and carried her toward the deeper water. In her mind she heard him say the family says to bring you out to deeper water where they can be around you. Will I ever be able to live with them like you and mother Hanna? Yes there will be a time my love. Megan was excited about that prospect because she had always liked the water and remembered when her mother and father would bring her and Galia down to the beach and they would spend the entire day just swimming and walking along the beaches. She also remembered when Bob would bring her down and he seemed to be able to talk with the dolphins. Devlin let her go as soon as they reached the deep water and took her hand and pulled her along. She heard the whistling then saw the fins breaking the water. Shortly after that she felt the smooth skin of the dolphin as it came up under her and buoyed her in the water. Her mind was filled with chatter from the family and then she heard Devlin speak. You all must slow down and speak one at a time. It is too much for her to grasp yet. Megan felt consumed with love and thought this was the most comfortable and safest she had ever been. She could feel the life of the water in her soul and her spirit rejoiced. Welcome little mother, we have waited for you; we know you will be coming home soon. Megan could hear the whistling and could hear the words in her mind. It was as if she had always been a part of this family. The next thing she knew she was flying across the water and it felt like riding her bike down 3 mile grade except she was on the back of a living being. She turned her head and Devlin was riding on another of the family. They were cutting through the water at what seemed like a hundred miles per hour.

On the shore everybody was sitting around talking about how their lives had changed at certain periods. Hattie talked about her early life and all the different places she had been to and mentioned her adventure into the eastern coastal areas of Brazil. Hanna had listened intently to Hattie and when she began to talk about the Brazilian coast, it was like talking with someone she knew while living there and raising Devlin. Hattie had gone there soon after she had graduated from High school. That was the way she chose her own path. She remembered her parents wanting her to go to college and how their parting in life had been such a very hard thing for her and her parents because her father seemed to disown her and mother quit talking to her. She had come back after many years of traveling around the world because her father had died and her mother was in a care home. She never got to make restitution with her father and when she visited her mother she was incoherent and was deep into Alzheimer disease so she could not even recognize Hattie. She watched her mother slip away after a year of very hard times and buried her mother on a very cold and wet Sunday morning in a cemetery located on the outskirts of Melbourne. She had met a young man that same year and he was an adventurer like she was and they both left for Africa shortly after the burial. She had turned 32 in 2011 when she came back and bought the store outside of Townsville as it was called back then before the war. The young man she left with was killed in a nasty war in Rwanda and she barely made it out of that country alive. After she had bought the store with her life savings was when she first met Bob. They fell in love with each other but never got married. They both just lived together when the times were right.

Hanna, Jeanette, Nathan and Galia listened to her story with sadness and happiness because Hattie could tell her life so wonderfully and she was a very happy woman. Bob’s passing had been very sad for her but she told about seeing him in the dream hospital and that was a very happy, wonderful healing for her and Megan. Hanna asked her more about her experience on the coast of Brazil and Hattie told her that she had lived in a very secluded village with the indigenous folk and it was one of the most wonderful learning parts of her life. Hattie finally asked Hanna, “how is it that you are able to live in the ocean?” Galia wanted to know that part of Hanna’s story more than anything because of what she had seen in the Dairy.

“Well now, I will tell you who are here on this beach only because you are family. But you must never tell anyone else about it.” She looked at everyone with a sparkle in her eyes and waited for them to acknowledge her request. They all shook their heads and said yes to not telling anyone about this woman and her son who could live in the ocean and that they had gills like the fish. Hanna took a big drink of the sea water she had next to her. “Okay then. Before I had Devlin I was an aquatic marine biologist, is the best way for me to say it. I worked for the Naval Oceanographic Research Center and my husband was a Captain in the old naval service of the United States. That was before they were disbanded and the Maritime security forces took over. The Navy had been experimenting for years with dolphins and how they could use them as weapons against the so called enemies of the United States. They along with the other Armed services began rather, secret black ops programs to create super soldiers. The Navy was tasked with creating a soldier that could live underwater and they were using the dolphins as test subjects so to speak. They killed many, many of them while doing their ghastly experiments and I must say that plenty of men died in that program also.”

“The top brass as well as the Government , those in power only saw the dolphins and the men as expendable to reach their purpose, their agenda, their goal to control, to have the best weapons and that is just what they aimed for.’ “Forrest, my husband had been home once in a blue moon and I became pregnant. This was just before I sabotaged their final experiments. You see, I was part of a very secret team to create these super soldiers. There were only 6 of us working on this project and we were watched closely. One of the team members actually came up with a formula that would transform a human into a Merman or woman so to speak. It was such a simple thing, in fact so simple that it escaped all of us simply because we always looked for the unexplainable solutions. The one that came up with the formula and created the potion only made enough for one test. I remember we argued for hours over who was going to be the one to try it out.” “So how is it there are not Special Forces that live in the ocean, or are there?” Nathan could not resist asking that question.

Galia bumped Nathan when he asked that question and smiled at him. Truth be told, she wanted to know that answer also. Her thoughts were running wild with the writings, sketches and formula’s she had seen in her mother’s diary. “That is a very good question Nathan. No there are no others that I know about able to live in the ocean other than Devlin and I. You see, I took the only potion that had been made and destroyed the research. I left the very night I did all that and the very next morning the man with all the formulas or the formula was killed in a car accident and virtually took all the research in his mind to the grave. The other 4 scientists also disappeared and they had not been told at that point how to make the potion. Mr. Reitz was a very secretive man and had told us all that evening before his death that he would write everything down that actually made the potion work the next day. I was very glad for that, not that I wanted Reitz to die but that formula he had would have changed the world and not for the better I might add.” “Are you sure that there are no others like you and Devlin?” ‘Well no I am not sure but neither I nor Devlin have ever come across any others or been told by the family about any others, at least to date.”

Hattie had listened to Hanna’s story and asked her to continue, “So when was Devlin born and how did he get his gills?” “Well I told you I was pregnant before I left the research center. I left that very evening after I took the potion, for South America. I wanted to be as far away as possible before anyone discovered what I did. The trip was long but without any drama. I knew the government would look for me and I suppose they are still looking for me today. The old freighter I caught a ride on, went through the Panama Canal and wound up docking at a coastal city of Brazil where I got off and disappeared into the jungles. By the time we reached the coast of Brazil the potion had started to change my body. I believe it restructured my DNA. The gills started showing up just before I got off the ship and by the time I met the family of indigenous people I lived with, the gills had almost become complete.
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LostNFound
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Re: Story of fiction and fantasy and science fiction

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It was a few months later that my body seemed to stop making the transition. I began to have spells of not being able to breathe properly and then the Natives took me to the water and placed me in. I took to the water immediately and became healthy. It was then that I realized that I could not be out of the ocean for long periods unless I could at least drink the sea water. Don’t ask me why that is, it is just the way I was formed by that potion. When my full term of pregnancy came, the people I lived with new that I needed to be in the ocean to have the baby. I was very much in fear that my baby would drown but then women have birthed their children in water for ever it seems. So anyway, I was rowed out to the deeper waters and lowered into the water. I must say that I never experienced any pain. When they lowered me into the water it wasn’t 5 minutes before the family of dolphins started swimming around me. One Mother took me under and that is when Devlin came out. I wanted to take him to the surface but the mother took him. You should see that, it was so beautiful to see my baby boy reach out and take hold of the mother and watch her take him through the water. I was buoyed by the others and finally she brought him back and then I could see that he had gills and could breathe under the water.”

Galia was fascinated with what Hanna just told them. “So Devlin was born like you or your body had changed to? It would seem that when your body, your DNA changed it caused your baby to change also?” “Yes dear Galia that is exactly what happened and it surprised me to no end.” “Okay, you also said that you destroyed the research and took the only created formula and that the only man who knew it and created it died?” “Yes again dear, may I enquire why you ask that question?” Galia had retrieved the diary and put it in her beach bag. She was so curious about it and Megan had only shown her certain things over the years. With the telling from Hanna about her science background and what she worked on and how she became a water dweller, she was sure that the seven pages of sketches and formulas in the dairy related to what Hanna had been working on. She reached into the bag and brought the book out and thumbed through the pages until she came to the beginning of special pages she had already seen. She handed the book to Hanna and said “yes, this is why.”

Hanna took the book from Galia and began to look at the first page. She skimmed over the notes and flipped the page. Her eyes grew wider as her eye brows became animated in a question. She flipped through the pages and looked at the sketches and finally saw the human sketch with what clearly represented gills. “Oh my, this is your mothers work?” Galia told her yes, “and there are other inventions or what I like to call them in that book that she worked on. Her and father were both scientists and I think she was into marine biology and so many other things. I was so young then.” “And you have all these wonderful gifts, you and Nathan and I know that Jeanette has the same.” Hanna looked at them and then at Hattie. “Are you hiding special gifts also?” Hattie looked at her and slowly shook her head, “not that I know of, I can’t do the things that I have seen Nathan and Jeanette do or Galia for that matter. I did suspect some things as I watched Galia grow up but never anything definite. Now Megan, I am not sure what she can do. I can tell you that Marni and Jubel could do some amazing things. Everybody around here and down in the city thought the Weatherals were magicians. Sure they were scientists but they still did things that surely seemed like magic. I suppose some of that rubbed off on the girls.”

Hanna looked at Galia and back at Hattie then at Jeanette and Nathan. “It seems this is a place of magical people. So where are your parents if I may ask?” At that question, Galia cast her eyes downward and Nathan could feel sadness in her so he put his arm around her. She turned and hugged him. The campfire became silent for a moment. Hanna could feel the sadness in Galia also and she felt the same from Megan when she first met her. Galia finally turned and softly spoke. “We don’t know.” Hattie had to speak; it seemed that the girls had never asked her all this time but she was ready to tell them what she knew if they broached the subject. She knew that Bob had talked with Megan somewhat about Jubel and Marni but he really did not know where they had gotten off to and neither did Hattie for that matter, but she did know some of the reasons why they both had to leave.

“Galia I have to tell you a story.” Galia looked at her with a question on her face and asked, “You know where mom and dad are?” “No sweetie, I do not know where they are but I do know the circumstances of why they had to leave so quickly in the night when they did.” Galia leaned closer to Hattie and waited for her to tell more. She and Megan only knew that there parents had to leave in a hurry and how they were put sort of under Hattie’s care at the time. The short letter that Megan found soon after just said that their mother and father had to leave to keep from being murdered and they did not want the girls to be in danger. Hattie had taken them before the dawn and brought them to her house and kept them for quite some time before letting them go back to the farm. Galia was very upset as well as Megan when they got back because the house had been ransacked on the inside. They did not understand and Hattie really never told them much more than she did.

“Your mom and Dad were both part of the underground resistance. Back then the Police and Military were rounding up dissenters, as they called them and executing them. Your parents were suspected but the State wasn’t sure because they could never catch them doing anything against the laws. The State knew that both of them were scientists of a higher order and both were working for the State in their chosen fields. Your mom was some kind of Marine Biologist as you stated Galia, such as your self Hanna. Well I think she was a biologist of all things and a botanist also.’ “So anyway, I think she was working for the naval services here. So it would appear that you and she may have been into the same fields of work Hanna.” “Yes by the looks of this diary she was working on some of the same research that I was. I do see some different formulas and would very much like to study this more in depth.” Galia reached out and touched her and said “you really must and I am sure Megan will want you to also.”

“I think that book is what got your mom and dad targeted by the government. Marni was feeding information to the underground and the labs where she worked did not know that she was keeping her own diary full of secrets. I figured they must have found out. She came to me the day they left and told me about being discovered and how I needed to take the children. Jubel worked in some sort of physics research center and he had been questioned quite thoroughly just the day before about some research that went missing.’ “When Marni and Jubel dropped you two girls off Marni handed that book to me and said it belonged to Megan and that I should hide it in a very safe place, where it could not be found until they were well gone. She told me that they would try to contact me when they were safe.” “Hattie, did they ever contact you?” “No dear little one, they have not to this day. I remember the government long coats coming around and sniffing everything. I hid you two also as well as that book. They flashed pictures of your mom and dad and told me they were traitors and were wanted for questioning. Ha, questioning, they meant to murder them. They finally stopped coming around after a few months and I never saw them again. There were a few times that they almost caught you two.”

Hanna stood up and handed the book back to Galia. “I would like to look at that again later but now I need to go into the water.” Galia put the book back in the bag and peeled her dress off and grabbed Nathan’s hand and said “let’s all go for a swim.” Hattie and Jeanette declined and wanted to just talk between them. “You all go ahead and enjoy yourselves.” Hanna, Nathan and Galia all walked toward the water. Drinking the salt water did help but Hanna really needed to go under and breathe the water. Her skin was drying out also and she wondered how to handle that with longer periods out of the water. There were times in the past where she had close calls if she stayed out more than a few days. Hattie and Jeanette watched all three of them enter the water and move further out. The waves were relatively small this afternoon and the water looked calm.

Almost 8 miles out, the dolphins had slowed in the water and Megan and Devlin were floating in the water next to the family of 4. Megan was talking to them in her mind and Devlin was also. They were teaching her the loud speak. She was picking up the words of the whistles and chirps. She wanted to know how she and Devlin would live together once they were married. I cannot live in the water all the time and Devlin cannot live on the land all the time. Mama Fau’tra chirped to her and in her mind she heard, you will become as Devlin and live with us. You will have a child that will be as you and Devlin and he will live with us. She understood the words but did not know how it was going to be possible for her to grow gills. Her mind thought flashed the pictures in her mother’s diary and she was bumped from behind. She turned in the water and Fau’tra’s snout was so close to her that she bumped her face on it. She moved to the side and placed her head against the mama.

Devlin was close enough to her that he wrapped his arms around her. Megan could feel the love from him and the dolphins engulf her being and it felt like a very comfortable home. The big Mama moved away and submerged. Devlin kissed her and moved away and she felt the dolphin come up under her and she instantly grasped onto her back fin. She was taken under and the pod swam along under the water for a few minutes. Megan had always been a good swimmer and could hold her breath for almost 2 minutes. She was in wonder as the dolphins moved through the water at a very fast pace. She was running short on holding her breath when the pod surfaced and skimmed across the top. She was thrilled and Devlin was on the one called Finny next to her. She looked forward and saw the beach rushing toward them. She felt the thought of diving again and held her breath. The pod submerged again and she felt the water rushing against her, when they came back up the pod stopped. She took a breath and saw Hanna with Galia and Nathan treading in the water as the sea rose up and down. Hanna floated over and said “well there you are, did Fau’tra give a good ride?” Fau’tra chirped and whistled to Hanna and she chirped and whistled back with a big smile on her face. Megan slid off the dolphins back as Devlin also did and Hanna was lifted up on Fau’tra’s back and the pod, in one smooth motion submerged and were gone. Devlin laughed and said “they will be back, shall we head for the beach?” Nathan and Galia had both been able to hear the mind speak from the dolphins and knew that they were taking Hanna for a run into the depths. They had heard the talk of Megan and her child becoming one of them. Galia and Nathan both smiled as they turned and began to swim toward the beach.
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