PREFACE
This book is set in an
afterlife: what sort of afterlife, the reader may decide.
Chapter One
Cassidy stood tall and watched
the wave approaching. Fifteen was a good age for confronting the ocean. That
morning she had been five years old, playing happily in her sandbox; from sand
to beach, from beach to ocean waves, seemed a natural progression.
The wave loomed above her,
glowing turquoise and green. She dove under the crest, through the surging
water, and popped up behind the swell, bobbing in the follower waves. The water
held her and rocked her; over the hiss and roar of the waves, she could hear
the distant squawk of seagulls. All around was the smell of seaweed and salt
and sunshine.
Once, her mother had held her,
carried her, rocked her, surrounded her with love and safety. She had no idea
how long it had been, but she remembered. Remembering, she let herself slip
younger as she floated on the swells. But larger waves were coming, so she grew
again, six, ten, sixteen; then caught a wave and rode it into shore.
Her grandparents and her
great-grandmother were waiting for her. Great-Grandma was young today, slim and
blonde and straight, standing like a dancer just before the music starts.
Grandma Sarah and Grandpa Jack had chosen to be older, gray-haired, with the
comfortable look of a couple who for years have weathered each other’s moods
and followed each other’s thoughts.
Cassidy ran up the beach toward
them. She slipped to eight years old as she reached them, so Grandpa Jack could
pick her up and toss her in the air. The sun flashed in her eyes as she flew
up, and again as she fell back toward his hands. He set her down again and
flopped onto the sand, patting the space next to him. She sat, folding her legs
tailor fashion; Great-Grandma flowed gracefully down to sit on her other side.
Only Grandma Sarah remained standing, younger now, her hair in a long red
braid.
Grandpa Jack and Great-Grandma
both put their arms around her. Cassidy looked at Grandpa Jack. He was blinking
as if he had something in both his eyes. She swiveled around toward
Great-Grandma; Great-Grandma nodded toward Grandma Sarah.
Cassidy threw her head back,
looking up at Grandma Sarah and squinting in the sun. Grandma Sarah squatted
down in front of her. "Cassie, love, we have some news for you. Good,
important news."
The seabirds were calling as if
they wanted to be first with the message, whatever it was. Grandma Sarah leaned
forward to kneel in the sand, reached out and took Cassidy's hands.
"It's your mother,
sweetheart. She's coming. She'll be here soon. We'll all be seeing her
again."
Cassidy felt herself getting
smaller, small. She was two years old. She scrambled to her feet.
"Mommy!" Her own shrill voice frightened her, and she called even
louder, twisting from side to side, searching the beach and the water.
"Mommy! MOMMY!" . . . .
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