Shadow Of The Past Trilogy ∞ THE DISPLACED

20 ∞ old news

Day Five ∞ Tuesday

THIRTY-EIGHT. The number hung over her head like an open-ended question. But thinking about it was not getting her any where. So she put the number firmly aside and took the breakfast out with her on the porch.

She much preferred being outside. It filled a need she felt had been starved for most of her life. Sitting out here on the porch with Zorro at her feet allowed her to inhale the atmosphere with all her senses, drawing on the view, the natural sounds, the scents in the air, the occasional puff on her skin. When she walked barefoot on the grass she could feel the strong energy of the earth, and she drew on that, straight up through her feet to every inch of her body. It vibrated right out to her fingertips, and if she put her hands up in front of her, she could feel it like a solid ball of healing energy between her hands. It would keep her grounded for the entire day.

Thinking about Danny kept her grounded too, but in a different way. She smiled at the thought. Where would she be if he had not found her? That was a pointless question, but she could not help but wonder. It was highly unlikely that her situation would be any where near this.

Speculate not. She took a deep breath, finished her breakfast, then rose to go inside and wash the dishes. After that she stepped back into the hallway, wondering what she should do next. That was when the mirror caught her eye. She went up to it and studied herself for a while. What have you to tell me, mirror? Would it help her to find more answers?

She lifted the hair away from her face, exposing the number. Thirty-eight. Did it really mean thirty-eight extra chromosomes? Was she not human? What else did the tattoo say? She dipped her head to inspect the mark above her hairline, then shook her head, dropping her hands. She would need to shave away some hair to see the rest. She lifted her gaze to a point above her shoulder as she had done yesterday evening when he held her right here. When you return home, she thought, smiling at the memory.

Her gaze drifted down to her collar. It glimmered coldly with its intricate patterns and symbols, leading off from the main symbol in the center outlined with dark cut stones—a concentric circle and triangle. But there was more to it than met the eye. It had lit up last night. And the cavity at the center was waiting for something. She felt it with her fingers, then traced the stones at the front of the collar. She frowned. This means something. Her fingers itched to make a representation of it.

Paper.

She paused a moment when she entered the study, staring at the bookshelf and the row of encyclopedias. She realized now that while she was scanning through the volumes yesterday, her mind had prevented her from paying too much attention to map references. But it had not been able to protect her when she saw the globe. She shifted her gaze toward the window where it stood on its pedestal.

So this was where she was now: on Daniel's earth. It sounded odd, but she accepted it now; it could become hers. It would just take some time to adjust, to get used to the strangeness of it all; the little she had seen of this world so far was beautifully quaint—and full of life.

She turned to the desk next to the globe for a pen and the pack of paper. She found her map underneath and took that also with her out to the porch.

She put the pack on her lap and placed a blank sheet of paper on top. The first thing she drew was the circle and triangle, filling half of the sheet. She stared at it for a while, allowing her mind to go blank. Then she closed her eyes, breathing deeply, turning her focus inward, relaxing.

Think not.

A well of words.

It was filling her up and starting to overflow.