Task from the Dead

The crunching sound of someone walking along the path broke the silence of the refuge. Silence, of course, defined as a place where no human ear is receiving sound waves. The refuge is a place where nature thrives and the half-way-there souls await their payment.

Today, after centuries of only birds singing, animals scurrying and wind gently blowing, a human arrives. She comes to seek counsel from the dead.

She starts to hum, for she is a bit anxious. Will the spirits be angry at her for entering their sanctuary? This place had been set aside for them by her ancestors. No living being was allowed without permission.

But in her dreams, an old woman had come, bidding her to visit. Was that permission? There were no guards at the gate. Nothing prevented her entering. So far no harm had come to her.

She wore a light silky dress that russled softly like petals of a flower about her in the breeze. She came upon a gazebo with a bench in it and sat down. She was a bit weary for she had been following the path in the park for many degrees of the sun’s arc.

She was just dozing off when she heard, “Precilla.” She looked up. There stood the old lady of her dreams.

“I’m glad you have come. I’ve been waiting a long time for you.”

“Why?” Precila’s young lilting voice drifts through the air.

“There is an important task which only one person can do. This person has been waiting a long time to do her task. Twenty years ago she came to me and told me that she would soon be able to do this task and wished my assistance, for there were unforeseen complications. This person was you.”

“How can this be? I am only twenty now.”

“You were one of us for many years. Twenty years ago, God allowed you to go back to the living. He foresaw the need of your task. But, alas, when he gave you your chance, he had to lock up your memories lest they inhibit your growth and your purpose.

“That is why I have summoned you. I can not leave this place, but I was in great need and desire to help you, my long-time friend.”