Paradise

Chapter 6

        Noon couldn't come fast enough. I ended up leaving around 10:30 just because I was so anxious. I sat on the bench at the park rather than going straight back into the trees, thinking that it was just be silly to get there too early. A little girl on the playground caught my eye. She seemed to be having a blast, running around and playing with all the other kids there, regardless of how much older they were. She turned to look at me and smiled, waving slightly. I waved back, and she giggled and continued playing. Before long I thought I heard someone call my name. I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young pregnant woman standing up from another bench. The little girl ran over and took the woman's hand. As they turned to leave, the mother caught my eye. I recognized her immediately, and she winked at me. I watched as Celia guided the little girl away, rubbing her stomach. After about a hundred yards, they seemed to vanish.

        When noon finally came around, I stood and walked into the trees, stepped off the path, and went directly to the waterfall. Caleb was kneeling by the water, his hand dangling in. He glanced back at me as I approached. "How did you like seeing yourself as a child?"

        "I was wondering if that was me. So you were the baby in her belly then?"

        Caleb grinned as he stood up. "Yeah, that I was. When Dad saw you in the park, he thought you might want to see that. That was what happened a few hours before the accident."

        "It seemed so nice and peaceful. Weird to think that less than a day later, I was the only one still alive." After a brief moment of silence, I cleared my throat. "So what's the plan?"

        Caleb pulled an envelope out of his back pocket. Not just a small envelope for letters. A full size envelope. And there were no creases in it at all. "Here are closer pictures of the drunk man who left the scene. We've gotten confirmation that he's still here in the city. However, because it's Southern California, who knows if you've ever even seen this man."

        As he opened the envelope, I asked, "How did you get confirmation that he's still in the city? And how did that envelope fit in your pocket without--?"

        Caleb sighed and looked at me. "Are you really still questioning this? Come on, Avery, do you believe in God at all?"

        I took a deep breath. "Sorry, it's hard to suddenly be expected to believe in something you've never been taught."

        "That's probably true. But do you believe in me? Do you believe that you met your parents, that we're really who we say we are? Do you believe in miracles?"

        I paused. "I can't figure out why I believe it. Maybe it's too extreme to be something you would lie about. But for some strange reason, with every fiber of my being, I know that you are my brother and have been sent here for a purpose. I know that the people I met in my dream last night are in fact my parents. I know that we are family and I know what we have to do."

        Caleb nodded. "Excellent. You know the important parts. You just need to understand that anything that happens here that you can't explain are probably the powers of God, assisting us along the way." Before I could interrupt again, Caleb pulled the pictures out of the envelope. "By some amazing miracle, do you know who this might be? Remember that it's fifteen years ago, so he might not look like this anymore."

        I took the picture and looked at it. I squinted, trying to think. "He looks familiar, but I'm not sure." I looked up and handed them back. "Now what?"

        "We walk back to the scene of the crime." He gestured toward the path. "Shall we?" I began walking to where he was gesturing, and he followed close behind. Once we were back on the path, he stepped forward so that he was walking alongside me. "He goes through this intersection on his way to and from work every day, and even most days during lunch break. He knows what he did and he knows this is where it happened, so he's going to feel guilty. Hopefully he shows it."