in what appeared to be a very formal ceremony.”
“Pity they don’t always have such niceties today.”
“Richard asked Dad for permission to marry me.”
“After about a year of your father telling you he disapproved. You and Richard were both stubborn. Your father decided there was no stopping the two of you.”
“I wish he had refused us.”
“What would you have done if he had?”
I paused, then smiled sheepishly. “Gotten married anyway, I suppose.”
“You see? We decided to let you find out on your own. You were too starry-eyed to see past your nose, let alone understand our concerns. So in this dream of yours, did your dream-father approve or disapprove of Bael’s proposal?”
“He didn’t say. He asked me whether I would accept the betrothal. He seemed to be delighted with it though. I got the feeling he and Bael’s father were close friends.”
She gave me a crooked smile. “So what was your answer?”
“I don’t know. I woke up, exactly at that moment in the dream.”
She drank her tea slowly, then asked. “A past life, do you think?”
I shrugged. “It felt like a memory. Very detailed. Mom, is it possible to have a past life in another dimension?”
She raised her eyebrows at that. “Anything’s possible. Why do you ask?”
“It didn’t feel like Earth,” I said.
“I think there’s more to this dream than you’re telling me.”
“Yes, but I think there’s something else you ought to know, something more important. Ginnie’s afraid of all this stuff.”
“Afraid of what stuff?”
“Of things that go bump in the night.”
Mother leaned back, toying with her cup on the table. “You mean afraid of the stories in those books in her closet?” Her eyes met mine, weary but patient.
“You knew.”
“Of course, I knew. If you want to hide something, don’t put in closets where mothers hang finished ironing. Either that, or do your own laundry. The shelf came loose one day. I had to remove what was on top to fix it.”
“You never told her.”
“No, I didn’t see any reason to. I knew she didn’t believe in demonology any more than I did. I’m sure you noticed the bible was also in the box. If she wanted to discuss it, she’d tell me. If not, I respected her right to privacy and her need to work through her fears and curiosity herself.”
We sized each other up across the table. Daniel squirmed in my arms. “Wait a minute,” I said and got his baby swing from the living room and put him in it. He bounced happily inside it, playing with his rattle keys. “You’re right about the dream. There is more. And I have to tell you about my strange conversation with Ginnie this morning.”
She heard me out as I filled in all the gaps, but as I related Ginnie’s sudden personality change, complete with words she had no memory of uttering and her near attack on Daniel, Mother’s patient expression hardened in anger and alarm. I quickly informed her of the prayer I’d sent out for greater spiritual protection, the instant and intense granting of it, and the brief contact with the entity called Quatama.
Mother lifted her cup to her lips, drained the remaining tea, and put it down. “That was what I felt this morning.”
“What?”
“A feeling of immense well-being, of love. I was lying in bed, half-dozing, and thinking, well, worrying about you. Then suddenly I knew you would be all right, that everything would be all right. But everything isn’t all right. Ginnie was psychically attacked, used, to issue you a warning.”
“That was before Quatama appeared. Ginnie’s protected now. I know it.”
“I’m not so convinced.” She shook her head.
“Mom, you told me you don’t believe in demons.”
“I don’t.” She spoke in a firm voice that underscored her words. “But there are entities who, through their own negative natures, act like demons. They may create complete personas to fuel their egotism. They take the names of characters out of legends, to fool the unwary and frighten or impress the gullible. It’s all a bunch of warped fairy tales, but it doesn’t mean these entities aren’t potentially dangerous.”
“Do you think Bael could be dangerous?” I nearly whispered it.
“I don’t know. Thus far, he hasn’t been.”
“You told me he might be demonic.”
“When?”
“The night he revealed his name, and you asked him, in the name of God, to state his purpose in seeking me. He disappeared at the mention of God, and you said he might be demonic.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry, dear. A semantic slip of the tongue. I was speaking psychologically. That he might believe he was demonic, a negative entity.”
“Mother, what exactly is a negative entity?”
She deadpanned me. “A spirit on an ego-trip. Same as a living person with a bad emotional disorder, only in spirit. Leigh Ann, I want you to cut off all contact with this Bael. Even if he’s not directly to blame, he’s creating a psychic situation, possibly attracting other elementals, that might badly disrupt our mortal lives. Ginnie was right. You have unleashed something—now, don’t look at me that way. I know it’s not your fault. I know you didn’t start it—this Bael did. But you did respond to it, to him, and formed an attachment to him. You have to break it now, for all our sakes.”
“But Quatama is protecting us.”
“I don’t know this Quatama,” Mother said. “It’s possible he is protecting us, possibly also telling me to tell you to end this. You’re making a second mistake in your life, this time with a noncorporeal man who has no place in it. For once, listen to the experience of your elders, Leigh Ann, if not for your own sake, then for ours. Think of Ginnie, your brother, your father, me . . . .”
Her eyes shining, on the brink of tears, she sat stiffly, nervously, needing my unquestioning obedience.
She was also afraid. Of what?
The thought of breaking off all contact with Bael felt immeasurably painful, no, impossible. I sensed his presence, his mind touching mine, listening, assessing this new conflict.
“All right, Mother. I’ll correct the situation. There’ll be no further disruption of our lives. I won’t permit it.” A reservoir of strength poured into me, and the slightest breath of a whisper spoke silently and privately close to my ear.
—Well-said. There
