pushed the door open, and stepped into the room. “Sorry, but I’ve been listening. Are you talking to your friend?” she asked, and held her breath.
Angie’s expression went from surprise to fear, and suddenly to defiance. “Yes,” she said.
“I can’t see her,” said Nina.
“I know. You don’t have the right resonance, she says. You don’t overlap, like I don’t overlap with daddy.” Angie’s eyes suddenly glistened.
Nina’s heart thumped hard. “What’s your friend’s name?”
“Betina.”
Another shock. “Is she right there beside you?”
“Yes.”
“Hello, Betina. I’m sorry I can’t see you. And I don’t understand what’s going on.” A tear ran down Nina’s cheek, and she sniffled.
“She’s sorry too,” said Angie, near tears. She turned and shouted, “Well, can’t you at least try?”
Nina stepped forward, held out her arms and Angie rushed into her embrace.
“I’m not lying, mom.”
“I believe you, honey. Why did you say what you said about daddy?”
“He talks to you and touches you. When I see him in my dreams I’m a little girl, not even in school yet. It’s all just memories.”
“It’s all in dreams, Angie.”
“No—it’s not. You want to believe that.”
“What else—” she started to say, but then the air at the edge of Angie’s bed seemed to shimmer, and for one instant a figure was there, sitting on the edge of the bed, no more than a silhouette. Nina gasped. Angie jerked her head around to look towards the bed, but as quickly as the apparition had appeared, it was gone.
“Did you see that, mom?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe it was enough, Betina. Thanks for trying. Oh, bye.”
Angie looked up at her mother. “She’s gone now. It was hard for her to do that.”
Nina hugged her daughter tightly. “It’s so good to have you talking to me again. You’re all I have left to love.”
“What’s happening to us, mom?”
“I don’t know, but I wish it would stop.”
They hugged for a long time after that.
* * * *
The call was unexpected, and came in early afternoon before Angie had arrived home from school.
“Nina? This is Ellen, just checking in to see how things are going for you.”
“Some strange things have been happening.” Nina told her about the dream with Mark the previous week, and the apparition on Angie’s bed.
“That’s really quite good,” said Ellen. “The memory of The Field is holographic, and you have to establish a resonance with it to retrieve information. When I said you were a sensitive I was more correct than I thought. I’m so glad Angie is talking to you again.”
“I don’t understand. Mark talked to me; it wasn’t like a memory. Was I making it all up?”
“He is a living entity, Nina, but not in our world. His world is without time, and limitless. He has much to learn and explore, but you must allow him to do it. You have to break the resonance that binds him to you.”
Nina felt sudden anger. “And how am I supposed to do that?”
“By saying goodbye to him, and getting on with your life. Could you and Angie come by my office this evening? There’s someone you both need to meet, and I think it’s time for closure in your case.”
“I don’t think so,” said Nina. “I admit I’ve experienced some strange things, but the explanation still seems to be new-age nonsense to me. If it were true, everyone would be experiencing it and it would be headline news. An overactive imagination due to stress is a much simpler explanation. It’s nothing personal, you understand? I think you believe what you say, and you’re genuinely trying to help us, but it’s not the right path for me.”
“I won’t try to force you, Nina, but it’s important we meet tonight. We should all be together to solve this. Think about it, talk to Angie, and get back to me before this evening, one way or the other.”
“Fair enough,” said Nina, “but it won’t change anything.” And she broke the connection to Ellen.
Angie came home from school an hour later, and Nina told her about the phone call.
“We should go, mom.”
“No. I’ve had enough of this, and I don’t want to be talked into believing it again. It’s just confusing me.”
“Please, mom.”
“No!” Nina turned away from Angie, went to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She heard sobbing beyond the door, sat down angrily on the edge of the bed and put her face in her hands. Tears came with her anger, and she spit out her words to the empty room.
“Why can’t everyone just leave us alone, and let us do our grieving in peace? Why us? This is all so unfair.”
A cool breeze moved the curtains by the window, and fell on her face, bringing with it a sweet odor that made her heart ache. She felt something touch her shoulder, and she started to turn around, but then there was a soft voice, saying, “Don’t. You won’t see me this time. My God, wife, you are the most stubborn woman I’ve ever known. Why can’t you, for once, just do what you’re told to do?”
The bedroom door flew open, and Angie was standing there, her eyes huge and her arms reaching out.
“Daddy!” she shrieked, and took a step into the room.
“Hi sweetie. I’m supposed to see you tonight, if your mother will let it happen.”
Nina jerked around to look behind her, but nobody was there.
“Daddy,” said Angie softly. “He’s gone. He’s GONE!” She burst into tears and ran from the room. A door slammed shut.
Nina sat there for a moment, stunned, then went to the telephone and placed a call to Ellen Barstead.
* * * *
It was dusk, and the street lights were just coming on when they arrived at Ellen’s office. It had been humid that day, and the lights were hazy with mist as ground fog began to form.
Ellen was wearing her colorful blouse and skirt, and her little black satchel was sitting on the floor near the door. She sat down with them at a table lit by a single candle at its center, and folded her hands around a crystal bowl in front of her.
