Chapter 5 : Beautiful Companions
Maggie tried to shout but no sound came. Up ahead there was a light which was bursting through a door, and behind it Maggie could make out a face, a woman's face, with honey blond hair and green eyes like her own. She was deeply familiar, like the content of an old memory long-forgotten, and Maggie desperately wanted to reach her. Her lungs were bursting with the strain of running and her legs felt on fire, but despite her efforts the light and the door were disappearing into the distance. Suddenly she remembered the stone in her pocket and grasped hold of its cool form. Her breathing calmed and she found her stride lengthening. Soon the wind was rushing past her face with the speed of her pursuit, and when she looked down she saw that her feet were no longer on the ground. Fear gripped her and she faltered. It was then she became aware she was not alone. Behind her were two figures.....
Waking suddenly from the dream, Maggie's anxiety formed a solid lump in her stomach as she realized what day it was. Tonight was the barbecue at the Terblanche’s house. Would the beast be back again with Stefan?
She put it out of her mind by trying to catch the fleeting images of her dream. The woman's face was an old dream, one she'd not had now for some years, and one she'd all but forgotten. But somehow it was different this time. She pressed her memory and a picture briefly resolved in her mind's eye. Yes, that was it. In the past she'd always seen the face above her, looking down and smiling. This time it had been ahead of her and linked to that door in the distance.
But who were the two mysterious figures? She hadn’t seen them clearly, but despite that they had felt familiar. The words of Ajay’s song kept echoing in her mind,
“…the spirit with four legs ….. will lead the child with three eyes……who travels with two companions …… and carries the one key.”
Surely the spirit must be the dog, and her stone the key. And if the old woman was right and she was the child with three eyes, then who were the companions? Had she met them already? And what was the beginning of the song? ….something about five heavens being one….. What did that mean?
The questions raced around in her head, but they only seemed to make her more confused, and the heavy feeling in her stomach was growing as she realized she would have to get up and face the day with its dreaded meeting of the neighbours.
She turned and saw the stone on the window sill, and suddenly thought of Bidge. The barbecue wasn’t till the evening, so there was the whole day to find Bidge. With this thought, she kicked off her duvet and started getting dressed. Clothes on and the bed tidied, she grabbed her hairbrush and noticed it was choked with dead hair. She made a mental note to clean it out when she got back.
Coming down the stairs, she caught the familiar, enticing smell of her mum making waffles.
“Morning, darling. There’s waffles with maple syrup and fresh strawberries and cream to go with them,” Mum smiled as she handed Maggie a plate, “and I’ve got some exciting news for you about today.”
“I know, Mum, we’ve got the barbecue at the Terblanches,” replied Maggie with an air of resignation.
“No, not that, silly. Today we’re having a special visitor. Your uncle Matt is coming.”
Maggie’s eyes lit up and a hopeful idea sprang into her mind, “Does that mean we’re not going to the barbecue?”
“No, don’t worry, love. You’re not going to miss out on seeing your new friend. I rang the Terblanches and they said to bring uncle Matt along too.”
An hour later Maggie finally found Bidge in the park, sitting cross-legged on the ground near the water fountain with an intense expression on her face.
