The Clearing: Origins

Chapter 25

A month had passed, and Victor sat on the floor of the professor's office with hundreds of journals stacked around him. He and Dr. Mason had gone through them all, and the results were frightening. Lovedae knelt behind him, massaging his neck and shoulders. The Duo sat beside him with worried looks on their young faces.

He hadn't told them the author left emotional imprints on the pages. The raw sensations were there for him to absorb, feel, to experience. Each night as he lay shivering in bed from the effects, Princess called to him mind-to-mind and comforted his ragged emotions. Victor trusted the witch and their conversations as lying was impossible.

Victor, separate yourself from the imprints. What you feel is in the past.

He sighed. It doesn't feel like... the past when you're in... them, Princess.

Are you shielding?

I was blocked from... emotions for years. Hiding from them doesn't sit... well with me. Victor had grimaced but felt pride that his mind speaking had improved. Things still dicey... in the Tribunal?

Thanks to our new speaker, it's easy to see the divide in the Tribunal. There's a change in the wind. Walk carefully, Victor.

You too, love.

Victor pitied his late father's fate as he steadily reviewed each journal, leaving Dr. Mason to record in a trove of notebooks. And now, it was time to share their findings with the family.

"Drink some water, dear boy."

Rosetta hopped up and retrieved a water bottle for Victor. He took the offering with a smile, sipping the liquid slowly.

"One man, one soul, forced to live repeatedly, his life force taking over those of his own children." Dr. Mason leaned forward in the desk chair. "It's a ritual for the Grant men to keep journals. They're quite methodical about it as a means of recording history and warning later generations by intertwining the messages with everyday writings."

"Creepy," said Jason. "Now I know why Dad wanted me to journal."

"Yeah, but you only record stupid stuff, like the biggest booger of the week." Rosetta sat next to Victor, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Poor Daddy!"

The doctor consulted his notes. "Let's start with Garrett Grant, who realized too late that the young beauty he married, Birgit Breen, was responsible for keeping his essence alive. His love for Birgit was all-encompassing, but as he grew older and fell ill, he begged her to finally let him go to his eternal rest. Her reply was, 'You promised me forever.'" He sighed. "His forced existence continues until she can find a way—"

"To make him immortal." Lovedae shivered. "It's a love story gone wrong."

"I agree, Mum. Anyway, after Garrett died, his son Alan, a talented carpenter, changed," said Victor, taking up the story. "The bloke gave up carpentry and went to school to become a schoolmaster, all funded by his mum, Birgit."

Lovedae frowned. "Did he still do carpentry?"

The doctor shook his head. "His talent and interest waned. As time went on, Garrett's persona took over from the remnants of Alan's. Even though Garrett was now Alan, this time, he had more clarity on what had happened, that his son died to extend his life. He drank heavily and fell into a depressive state."

Lovedae wandered over to the picture window, gazing out at the setting sun. "Craig's father, David, was killed in an accident when he was a child."

"The change happened to him quite young. As Papa aged and studied the journals, he began to question, remembering unusual events after his father died and during his sickness." Victor crossed to his mother, wrapping his arms around her. "I lived here several years before full clarity came to Papa. He discovered that Brigit appears every fifty years or so to keep her DNA in the line or because she misses Papa."