Dimensions of Genesis (4 page)

Licking her palms quickly, she attempted to
smooth back any rebellious curls that may have sprung out of place
in protest.

Once at the screen door, she hesitated for a
moment. As much as she liked meeting new people, she was always a
bit nervous in the beginning.

Walking slowly out the door, Lily smiled
warmly to the unfamiliar faces in her driveway. Scanning each face,
she nodded to each as her mother did the introductions.

“This is Lily,” her mother began, waving her
hand toward Lily. “Lily, this is Mrs. Konstantinos. Her daughter…”
Her mother fumbled, embarrassed as she attempted to recall their
names.

Mrs. Konstantinos jumped in to assist
Maggie.

“Anna, Dimitris and…” Her voice trailed
off as she looked back at the van, obviously searching for someone.
“Gabriel...who is apparently a little anti-social today.” She
smiled apologetically.

The names of her children rolled off her
tongue like velvet, her Greek accent adding an exotic flair to
every syllable.

Lily inspected the visitors carefully. Mrs.
Konstantinos was a tiny wisp of a woman. Her face, though worn by
the years, harboured a startling natural beauty. With her greying
black hair tied neatly into a traditional bun, she exuded grace and
poise. A dark sadness, however, lurked behind her chestnut
eyes.

Anna looked to be about Lily’s age, but
physically, the mirror opposite. Anna’s long black hair shone like
obsidian in the summer sun and her chocolate eyes glowed with
patience. It was obvious Anna was to be a beauty with all the grace
of her mother.

Dimitris was about ten or eleven years old.
His wavy, black hair fell into his brown eyes as he shyly looked at
the ground. He appeared painfully timid.

A sound from the far side of the van caught
Lily’s attention. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to a tall, muscular
boy exiting from the minivan.

He had black, wavy hair and brown skin like
his siblings, but it was the color of his eyes that made Lily gasp.
His eyes were so icy blue; they appeared crystalline, lighter than
the most transparent wave in the ocean.

“Ahh, Gabriel, you finally grace us with your
presence.” His mother said with her rich, Greek accent.

“Please, call me Gabe.” The boy said
politely, correcting his mother, his voice deep in hormonal
transition.

Lily didn’t know what it meant, but when she
looked at Gabe; her stomach did flip flops and felt like it was
tying into knots.

She frowned as she thought,
I feel like
I've seen him before, but how could I? I just met him.

The mothers excused themselves for tea,
leaving the children to overcome their awkward silence.

The children stood around, mindlessly kicking
pebbles in the gravel and waiting for someone to make the first
move. Sheridan clung panic-stricken to Lily’s arm and Quinn
fidgeted with the hem of her dress, unaware she was lifting it too
high and flashing the guests her purple underwear.

Anna was the brave one who stepped up first,
leaning in to greet Sheridan.

“Hi there, my name is Anna.” She smiled at
the terrified Sheridan, “Which twin are you again?”

Sheridan buried her face into Lily’s waist
and made a tiny squeak in response.

“Her name is Sheridan,” Lily volunteered,
“and that’s Quinn over there.” she pointed at Quinn, who now had
her sandal off and was attempting to pick up rocks with her toes.
Upon hearing her name, she turned and grinned.

Anna nodded and smiled at the twins, her eyes
sparkled with warmth.

“So,” Lily eyed Gabe ardently, “you guys want
to come see our tree house?”

Everyone agreed and the young group followed
Lily into the woods behind the house. The tree house was a five
minute walk on a narrow, crooked path into the thick forest. Their
father had built it in an old oak tree years before.

Arriving at the big oak, an elaborate tree
house appeared, tucked away in the branches of the big tree. It had
a weathered, but reliable, old ladder that led to a trap door
entrance.

Tucking her dress between her legs, forming
balloon-type shorts, Lily climbed the ladder first.

"Come on up!" Lily called down from the trap
door.

The twins went up, with Anna doting behind
them. Dimitris climbed up, still nervous and aloof. Gabe was last,
his lean arm muscles flexing as he lifted himself through the trap
door.

The little room had two windows, adorned with
miniature flowered curtains. A tiny table and chairs, just the
right size for the twins, sat in the corner. There were small
cabinets for cups and saucers.

The main attraction of the tree house,
though, was what lay beyond a garden door; a tiny balcony complete
with wrought iron railing. Just big enough for a lawn chair, Lily
would spend hours reading out on the little deck. It was a small
piece of heaven high up in the trees.

The balcony door was padlocked for the twins'
safety. Only Lily and her older brothers knew where the key
was.

Hunched over, the older kids peeked out of
the garden door's window to reveal a beautiful sparkling pond in
the distance.

After a few minutes, the kids relaxed,
started chatting and got to know one another better. Dimitris
rarely added to the conversation, but often nodded politely and
smiled at the girls.

Anna kept the conversation flowing
beautifully; she was proficient at making everyone feel at ease.
Even Sheridan, who normally took a long time to get comfortable
with anyone new, climbed into Anna’s lap and began twirling Anna’s
long hair around her tiny pointer finger.

Quinn’s incessant chatter lightened the mood
and set the tone for the afternoon.

They played several games of Go Fish and War
with the decks of cards available in the cabinets.

Lily and Gabe continuously made eye contact
throughout the afternoon. Occasionally, they'd both look away and
blush, especially when Anna and Dimitris noticed their lack of
participation in the card game.

Probing her new friends for information about
themselves, she learned the Konstantinos family had recently moved
from Athens, Greece. Lily felt giddy as she tried to picture what
an exotic location like Greece would look like.

Their father died last year, but when Lily
attempted to ask more about the subject, she sensed the topic was
not open for discussion. All three of the dark-skinned children
would immediately divert their eyes or bow their heads whenever
anyone mentioned their father. A deep pain and sadness consumed
their eyes.

"Hey, you guys getting hungry?” Lily asked as
her stomach snarled at her.

"Yes!" Quinn yelled, startling everyone,
making them laugh.

"Let's go back to the house and eat." Lily
said, as she started to get up.

Gabriel and Lily tried to stand at the same
time. They bumped awkwardly into another, causing both to
blush.

“Sorry.” Gabe’s voice cracked as he
apologized.

Instead of letting the awkward moment go
gracefully, Lily felt inclined to show-off.

“Wanna see something cool?” She grinned
mischievously as she felt around the top of the cabinets. Producing
a key, she unlocked the balcony door and proceeded out onto the
deck.

Even though her father had taken every
precaution to protect his children from harm, Lily and her brothers
had devised a thrilling secret exit.

“What are you doing?” Anna inquired
nervously.

“Oh, you’ll see!” Lily replied as she
steadied herself and climbed onto the wrought iron railing. The
ground was nearly fifteen feet down, so the kids felt uneasy about
this strange new girl scaling the balcony.

Standing precariously on the railing, Lily
felt around the side of the tree house. After a few seconds, with
pure mischief in her green eyes, she produced a long rope that had
been hidden.

High in the canopy of trees, a large cable
could barely be seen. One end of the cable had been tethered to the
tree house and the other, to a large tree near the pond. The big
rope knotted strategically every foot or so, was attached to a
metal pulley.

“That’s not a great idea.” Gabe said with a
serious voice, his blue eyes focused on Lily.

She smirked at him while she balanced on the
railing. The metal railing groaned as Lily shifted her weight,
slight as she was. Holding onto the rope with one hand, she looked
like a miniature Jane in a Tarzan movie.

“Hmmff.” She responded haughtily, giving Gabe
a smug smile. Organizing herself on the railing, she aimed the rope
in the direction of the pond.

Quinn and Sheridan both whimpered lightly as
they clung to Anna’s sides. Neither twin had seen their sister
perform this scary maneuver.

“Please Lily! Don’t!” Anna pleaded, her eyes
eclipsed with worry.

“Lily!” Gabe warned her once more, taking a
step toward her, but was too late. She had already pushed herself
from the railing and was sailing through the air. The cable and
pulley made an odd zinging noise as it zipped through the
forest.

Lily felt exhilarated as the wind blew her
long hair back. Clinging to the rope, her feet propped on the large
knots, she closed her eyes and allowed one of her arms to flow
free. She pretended she was an angel in flight; wings spread
wide, soaring through the heavens.

Opening her eyes and looking up to the canopy
of leaves, she watched the sun shimmer through the spaces in the
leafy lattice. The rope swung Lily toward the deep, blue pond, its
knotted end inches from the ground. She could see the pond and its
waters beckoning her. Preparing herself for dismount, her petite
body braced for impact. With only a few meters left, Lily felt
butterflies in her stomach. She really hadn't done this ride
without her brothers, and even then; she'd only attempted it a few
times.

Nearing the edge of the pond, the bottom of
the rope suddenly caught on a stray branch from a fallen log. The
entire rope snapped sharply to a halt and Lily was sent hurtling to
the ground.

Landing with an incredible thud, Lily felt
excruciating pain shoot through her left arm. With the wind knocked
out of her, she struggled to take a breath of air. Her eyes swam
with tears and her head spun. Fighting to maintain consciousness,
she felt a throbbing sensation on her forehead. She moaned softly,
then slowly; her vision faded to black.

~

From the tree house, only horrified gasps
could be heard.

“Lily!!” Gabe yelled, panic overwhelming
him.

The children scrambled down the ladder as
fast as they could, Gabe was the first to the ground. He jumped off
ladder, a few feet from the ground. Anna and Dimitris helped the
twins get down safely. Both Quinn and Sheridan were near hysterics
after they'd watched their sister plummet to the ground.

Gabe bolted towards Lily’s motionless body,
“Lily!!” he yelled to her, receiving no response. As Gabe neared
her, he slid sideways in the dirt; like a pro baseball player
sliding into home base. He immediately flipped her onto her
back.

“Lily!” He yelled at her, slapping her cheeks
lightly, trying to get any response at all.

“Anna!” Gabe called back toward the tree
house. “Go get Lily’s mother!”

Anna, tears streaming down her face, ran
frantically to the house to retrieve Maggie. Dimitris followed,
leading the crying twins home, their traumatized sobs echoing
through the woods.

Gabe sat in silence as he held Lily’s hand,
praying for any sign of life within her. He watched helplessly. Her
chest didn't rise or fall. A large gash on her forehead oozed
blood, trickling into her butterscotch hair, staining it hot
red.

Studying her face, he hoped this wouldn't be
the last moment with her. That he'd see those beautiful green eyes
sparkle again. Stroking her cheek with the back of his hand, he
smiled wistfully as he imagined all the adventures they could've
gone on together.

A flutter of panic within his chest, he
traced his fingers around her lips; now tinged light blue from lack
of oxygen. Something inside told him it wasn't meant to be this
way, there was more to the story; more to their story.

Turning to his faith, Gabe whispered a
prayer; a plea to whatever heavenly creatures might be
eavesdropping.

"Please, please save her. Lord, please help
me."

Without hesitation, a sudden wind burst
through the trees, like an angel had exhaled with relief to be
asked for its divine assistance. Only a moment before, the air was
still, even the leaves barely fluttered.

Startled, Gabe felt an incredible energy
surge around him, an electrified rush of tingles rippled up his
back. The tiny hairs on his arms and neck stood on end as though
charged with static electricity.

A sense of calm washed over him, the fear for
Lily dissipated, replaced with a sense of peace. A presence stood
behind him, the energy pulsated with pure love.

The entity communicated to Gabe through his
thoughts, whispering angelic words of guidance. It told Gabe what
he needed to do to save Lily.

‘Whisper to her soul, Gabriel. Remind her;
tell her who she really is.’

Trusting the guidance of the higher power,
Gabe gently brushed Lily’s hair aside and he leaned close to her
ear. Like a hushed lullaby, he whispered to Lily's soul. He spoke
words only her soul could understand.

Within seconds of his secret whisper, Lily’s
body twitched and convulsed as air fought its way into her
lungs. She coughed as life re-entered her body. Her blue lips
pinked immediately as her pale skin flushed with life.

~

Lily opened her eyes, her head throbbed.
Above her, Gabe stared at her, a look of mixed emotions on his
face. She looked long and hard at Gabe and realized she’d known him
much longer than today. For one precious moment in time, they
weren’t children anymore, but immortal souls reunited. She'd known
him for centuries, ages…infinity.