Chapter 48
"Wake up lovebirds, are you enjoying the honeymoon suite? My name is Jackson and I'll be your personal slave for the day." Jackson laughed at Sean and Sarah crashed on opposite ends of the couch, receiving a good face licking from Annok. "It's 6am on March 31 and we don't want to miss the traditional camping trip do we?"
Laura brought in coffee for everyone. "It's not the typical honeymoon but it's a story to tell your kids one day."
"It's perfect," said Sarah, looking around the small antique house. "This place is adorable. I feel like I'm living in another era."
"We like the neighborhood. Everyone here has an old restored house. The place sits empty quite a bit and the neighbors watch over it for us. It's a real community."
"We'll leave you to get ready if you like, and Laura and I will be in the room packing. Not sure what to take, since I've never broken into a lab before and demanded to see my daughter." Jackson's voice was cracking. The pressure was moving in, defying him to stay grounded. Sean got up and gave him a hug. "Hey, we're with you. It'll work out, one way or another."
"What if she isn't ours?" said Jackson quietly to Sean as he took him over to the kitchen. "Laura has never thought of that. She believes the folder at the lab she saw was ours, but she never looked inside. Tomorrow may be a huge disaster. She could lose her job and a child. And what if she doesn't want to come with us? What if she's ours but we can't have her? What if this completely screws up her life?"
"It's possible," said Sean and he leaned into Jackson's ear. "Do me a favor. Think only positive thoughts. Seriously. Should the day turn out to be anything but amazing, then cry. But don't pay interest on a building you don't own yet."
"Gotcha. I've got to be strong. Get ready. I'll see you in a minute." Jackson went into the bedroom to pack.
The day was perfect as they drove through the sweet air. Spring came early to Colorado, and their traditional campsite was reserved and waiting for them. The wild flowers had sprung early to greet park visitors along the twisted gravel entrance. Annok jumped out of the truck first and surveyed the site, making sure no other animal would wander in without an invitation. Tents were pitched, coffee was brewed and finally, as the sun was headed behind the mountains, Sean and Jackson went to the bench to watch the sun set and preview the lab grounds.
"It still amazes me that we may have a child playing or doing something right there, right now," said Jackson. "Years ago, when I was upset at the straw I pulled, I had no idea it would lead to here. It's like a movie, only I'm in it. Everything is surreal, the dog, the child, Victor, Mash, the Sheriff and the CIA. It's all one big box office hit."
"Only it's real," said Sean "and you're the leading man. Most people complain about being bored and living a boring life, but not you. Your life is almost....charmed, at least most would think so. Definitely worth writing a book about one day. If it gets any more interesting I'll write the book and make the money. But that's what life is, is it not? We are born and from that moment we have no idea or control over where it leads us. We think we do, until we get hit on the head and question it. Extraordinary things happen to extraordinary people. I think you got lucky."
Jackson looked at Sean. "You don't believe in luck. You said that a few years ago. Luck is just a term used by those that don't have faith in ordinary miracles. You said that."
"I did!" said Sean. "I remember it as if it was yesterday. Funny, how the years in between a good sentence pass so quickly. And your life! You're a world famous speaker now that makes jewelry. How did that flip so easily? Are you taking the little girl with you?"
Jackson laughed. "I was thinking about that last night, lying awake wondering how today would go. I feel like we're stealing something that's ours. I will take her everywhere. I hope she wants to go to foreign countries. I know we do. If she's anything like us, it won't be a problem," and Jackson put his head between his legs. Sean sat quietly, waiting for his friend to come up for air. "It's so hard not to make plans," said Jackson. "We both do it. Laura wanted to go buy her something the other day, and I had to hold her back. This is much harder than we realized."
"Laura seems okay. But Sarah and I just got here so she's controlling her emotions. She's a tough but kind person. I think either way it goes will be a relief. It's the not knowing part that is the toughest. Let's head back. Maybe watching two beautiful women will straighten us out."
Back at camp, the girls were getting ready to sleep. Laura wanted the day to start as early as possible. They crawled into their tent, and Laura looked at Jackson with the hope he would say the right thing. "Everything will work out tomorrow won't it?"
"What ever way it works out will be perfect," Jackson answered. "We need to be prepared for anything." Laura smiled and sighed, and rolled over. The fresh air got the best of them, and they were deep in sleep when someone knocked on their tent. It was in the middle of the night, and Annok didn't bark.
"Jackson, you in there?" said a familiar voice. "You have to get up. You have to get ready. It's Victor."
Laura and Jackson bolted out of the tent. Annok was jumping around, trying to coerce Victor to throw sticks.
"What are you doing here?" asked Jackson.
"Helping you. You're going to need me this time, so please don't throw me up against the tent," he said laughing.
"Victor!" called Sarah. She ran over and gave him a hug. "I've heard so much about you." She whispered in his ear. "Do you know how to get their daughter?"
Everyone converged quietly around Victor. He outlined the details of how to get the little girl without any side effects, as he called it. He urged them to tear down their camp quietly and get the truck ready. He, Jackson and Laura would go to the lab with Annok, while Sean and Sarah stayed in the truck, waiting at the top of the pathway to the valley. He turned to Sarah.
"You know you have to turn off your thoughts on this," he said to her. "They have a new psychic. He'll pick up on you. We have to do this fast and get out. We all have to turn our thoughts off. The child will know what to do."
"Consider it done," said Sarah, and she and Sean began to get ready.
"Daisies?" asked Laura.
"Daisies." Jackson laughed.
Victor, Jackson and Laura started down the dark pathway, lit by a soft crescent moon. Victor would not let anyone carry lights, as it could hamper their escape. Laura was getting apprehensive. She didn't want to steal the child. She was afraid it would scare her. Victor assured her the child would be fine. Laura questioned Victor as to how he knew it was theirs, but Victor kept walking briskly down the trail.
"It's way too early to be doing this," said Laura.
"Trust him," said Jackson to Laura quietly. "You'll see."
Victor stopped everyone at the bottom. "Now we wait," he said.
"For what?" asked Laura.
"For the sign. You'll know it when it comes." Victor stared out into the vast landscape like a guardian of the valley, feeling its rhythms and blessing the new growth. Laura watched his face, how the lines made him beautiful somehow, like an old painting that grew in value each year. She felt an odd tingling run through her spine, and she breathed out slowly. She finally surrendered to whatever may happen, and it felt good. "When you leave space the good stuff shows up," said Victor quietly. Then suddenly, Annok started to jump up and down and scratch at the ground. "It's starting," he said.
The wolf got highly anxious, but did not run. He was completely quiet even though he didn't stop jigging. Suddenly, they all felt it. The ground beneath their feet began to move. Victor looked back and smiled. "Ready?"
No one could make out a clear picture of the lab, as everything was shaking. The trees became extremely noisy, their branches rubbing against each other and the sleeping birds took off into the night sky.
"Now," and Victor pointed to the fence. Annok took off, hitting the fence edge and racing up and down to find a hole. He stood at the hole and waited for the three to catch up and climb through. It was quite a distance for a human to run, but to a wolf it was a romp in a valley. They made it through, both Laura and Jackson out of breath while Victor barely broke a sweat. How does he do it, she wondered. They began to run again towards the lab, and as they got closer they saw movement on the other side of the glass. It appeared to be three people looking for a way to escape.
"They're not trapped. The glass will split and they'll escape without harm," said Victor. And no sooner had the words left his lips, the giant glass wall cracked and opened up. They ran up to it and stopped. Inside stood an older lady, Amarr and a little girl in a colorful coat. She was holding onto a small pack and a big garbage bag with something heavy inside. Amarr stepped out first.
"Guess you never thought we'd be meeting like this again Laura," he laughed, breaking the anxiety. Amarr motioned to the child and she stepped out into the moonlight. Her long dark hair framed her delicately colored skin, and she looked up at Laura. It was as if Laura was staring back at herself, only the skin color was Jacksons. Laura burst into tears as she looked into those blue eyes.
"I'm Maggie. I've been waiting to meet you for seven years. I'm your daughter." And with that statement, everyone was crying. Edith walked through the glass, and joined them. She was smiling so hard you could feel it, as she realized Amarr had known about this all along. Maggie folded into Laura and Jackson's arms and the three had a small but precious moment before Victor was encouraging them to run.
"Thank you Amarr, from the bottom of my heart," said Laura.
"It feels good," he answered. "I know we're doing the right thing. I won't let anyone know of you and neither will Edith Meyer," and Edith smiled and nodded back at Laura, remembering her from the art gallery. "Take this with you Laura, and I'll be calling you soon. I will need your help," and Amarr handed her a large manila envelope. "See you soon Maggie."
"Time is running out. We must go now." Victor grabbed the heavy garbage bag and flung it over his shoulder. Jackson threw Maggie's pack on his back. He and Laura went to take an arm each of Maggie's, but she squirmed away and ran as fast as Victor. They headed back through the fence, raced along the meadow floor and finally up the steep pathway. They looked back just before their climb to see if Amarr and Edith were watching, but they were nowhere to be seen. The ground had stopped shaking, but the foundation was still standing other than a piece of missing glass. The lab was built to withstand earthquakes and natural disasters. It was Meyer's way: when in doubt, build it stout. Sirens and lights came into view, and the Sheriff's old car led the pack, with six black FBI vans in pursuit.
"We have to leave before they figure out we're here," and Victor kept the group moving forward and into the waiting truck. Sean drove quietly, without lights or noise. Just before they reached the main highway, Victor asked Sean to wait for any straggling CIA agents to pass. The black truck was parked and everyone was quiet.
"Try not to think about what just happened," said Victor to the group. "The CIA has a new grunt that is almost as good as I am at picking up vibration. I don't want to trigger his thoughts or they'll find us." Everyone sat silent, and Maggie curled up in Jackson's arms while he stroked her long black hair. Tears were running like a fountain down his face, and he struggled to stay quiet. Laura hid her head in the back of the seat, trying hard to envision daisies. It was happening so fast that no one had the time to absorb the last thirty minutes. Victor waved the truck on and Sean drove silently along the highway, completely freaked out over it all and hands gripping the wheel as he wound around the mountain corners. A sliver of moon lit the way as best it could, and everyone was thankful it wasn't full. The darkness gave them the cover they needed to leave Boulder for good.
Nothing was said until they almost reached Laura's house in Denver. Victor started to breathe and told everyone they were now safe and out of the danger zone.
Sean turned into the driveway and Jackson carried Maggie into the house. She had fallen asleep. He put her on the couch and covered her with a blanket. He picked up her little bag and looked through it to find a toy but she only had crayons, a t-shirt and some underwear. Maybe Laura's instincts were good he thought. She did want to buy clothes after all, but tomorrow might be a fun day to shop. I'm going to shop for my daughter he reminisced once more, and the tears started again. He picked up the large garbage bag and could barely lift it. How is it that Victor can run up hills with a hundred pounds of stuff. I have to learn more about him.
"And you soon will," said Victor, startling Jackson. "Ask me anything. It's time we all got to know each other a little better."
"Look at how precious she is," said Laura. She sat beside Jackson and they watched her little face twitch as she dreamed. "I want to consume her. I want to know all there is to know about her," and Laura looked over to Victor. "Can you help?"
Sarah had made tea for everyone and they sat around a small fireplace. "This is the campfire we never had," said Sean, and everyone laughed. "Bring out the marshmallows!" Laura ran to the kitchen and brought out a bag of stale marshmallows and two sticks. Victor had started a great fire, one to be proud of considering there was no kindling or paper.
"So you want to know everything," Victor started. "Where does one begin?"
"With Maggie," said Sean. "Tell us what you know about Maggie."
"First, Maggie is indeed your daughter Laura and Jackson, and the file you found in Amarr's office Laura, is yours. Amarr handed it to you. Open the envelope." As the words left Victor, Laura burst into tears, followed closely by Jackson as they broke the seal and reached inside. Everyone remained quiet for a few minutes while the two shed years of frustration.
Laura looked up, red faced. "This is all so surreal," she started. "It's not just knowing we have a daughter, but when you go back in time, how is it that all of us even met? Jackson and I missed each other three times before we finally connected. And then married? And the chances of Amarr using our material to create Maggie? And then Maggie! Look at her! She sleeps like it's just another day, but we've just pulled her from a life of hell. The thought of her spending seven years in a prison is just incomprehensible, and I just happen to work for this company," and she broke again, as it was too much for her to feel. Jackson sat next to her on the couch, his head down while years of agony melted away.
"The story speaks of how intricate our lives wind around each other," said Sarah. "From the moment we're born until the day we die, we are somehow destined to meet and build a story. There are no coincidences in life. We come to this planet with a grand design and if we're lucky, we remember it. If we're really lucky, we follow it. I believe Maggie is such a child. As you get to know her, you'll find her path is laid out before her, and she will know what to do. As her parents and supporters, your journey will be to help her complete it. I can't wait to see what the result will be. A child such as this is not brought to Earth unexpectedly. There is a larger destiny ahead of her, one that will change this planet."
Jackson looked over to Victor. "And how is it that you were my neighbor for so long and here you are, helping us find a child and guiding us through without being caught? I'm afraid to ask you if you knew. The whole process was frightening beyond belief yet went so smoothly. You use to show up only when my Mother appeared," and he choked back tears. "She will never know about Maggie. She will never get to see this little face and how perfect she is. Maggie will never know her either, how amazing a mother she was and how connected to Earth and humanity she was."
"She knows," said Victor. "There isn't a day gone by that she hasn't been with you. Do not believe that all of Earth's events happen visually. Indeed, they happen in the spaces you cannot see. How do you know that what you see..."
"....is all there is," said Jackson.
Maggie began to wake up, and everyone sat as still as a pack of wolves, except for the only real wolf in the group, Annok, who went over and put his head on her chest and stared at her with those yellow eyes. She scratched behind his ears and got up. The sun was rising and presenting the perfect day for the group to get out and adventure. Everyone wanted to know about Maggie. Jackson went to the kitchen to make her something to eat.
"Are we safe leaving the house?" asked Laura.
"Most definitely. I promise you this is going to be a day to remember," said Victor.
"That was my first ride in a truck," she said. "It put me to sleep. How does one drive for very long?" Everyone laughed and began to move around. Annok never left her side.
Jackson pulled vegetables from the fridge and began to juice them. He looked at the dog and remembered a package of raw bones hidden in the freezer. Annok took a heavy bone and began a two-hour ritual of chewing it into extinction. He stood apart from other wolf crosses. He was fiercely loyal, and although he spent only a few days with Maggie, he connected back to her as if they never parted. He never strayed, and around other dogs his temperament was kind and mellow. It was as if there was a human soul in there, another life that came to Earth knowing its path and following it to perfection.
"I think we need to do fun stuff today," Laura whispered to the others while Maggie played with Annok in the living room. "Nothing heavy. No talk of how this happened and no questions. Let's take Maggie to the town center and show her around. I don't think she's ever seen a city or heard loud noise before. If she gets frightened we can go to a park and play on the swings. Who's in?" Everyone raised hands.
"I'm in!" Maggie yelled from the couch.
"How did she hear that?" Laura looked puzzled.
"You'll learn," said Victor. "You'll learn very fast indeed."
April K. Reeves, Author. Copyright 2004 All Rights Reserved. Visit us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/April-K-Reeves/390530011143987?fref=ts or our website: https://aprilkreevesauthor.wordpress.com/