Chapter 16
Locking on to Esmera’s energetic signature was second nature to Elise by now. It took only a moment to concentrate on it while holding Chloe’s hand to transport them both to a beautiful hilltop. It was crowned with a magnificent windmill and was located just outside the capital of Plaka.
Elise could see the capital from where she stood. It was perched on a rocky hillside of dark brown soil, the whitewashed houses providing a contrast of unparalleled beauty. A tiny chapel sat on the very top, its blue dome glinting in the sunlight.
Elise turned her attention back to the windmill and spotted Esmera this time. She was sitting on a rock a little further away, admiring the beautiful sea view.
Elise and Chloe moved toward her and, noticing them, Esmera stood to issue a jovial greeting. ‘Hi, girls!’
Chloe ran to Esmera and the latter opened her arms to embrace her. The two were incredibly fond of each other, as if they were not a commander and a soldier but a grandmother and a grandchild.
Elise felt a tug at her heart as she approached to shake hands with Esmera. She still remembered her grandmother and how close she’d been with her when she was at Chloe’s age.
Elise and Chloe exchanged the typical pleasantries with Esmera, and then the latter moved on without further delay to the nitty gritty. She told them about a woman called Emilia, whose aunt had just died on the island. Esmera had given the woman the gift of youth, and she relayed to the girls all the details around that.
After she’d divulged several other details, she clapped her hands once, chortled and said, ‘Pleased to say that things with your new charge, Emilia, are going as planned. I witnessed the reading of the will today and laughed uncontrollably.’
‘Why is that?’ asked Elise.
‘Because of that awful cousin of hers… Aleka. I haven’t filled you in on all the details yet, I know. But we have all evening for that.’
‘How nice of Emilia’s auntie to leave her house to her. She must have loved her a lot,’ commented Chloe.
‘Yes, she did. And, actually, this day had two great surprises in store for Emilia. Today, she met someone very special…But come! Let’s sit here and talk properly,’ said Esmera as she went to sit on the cement ledge at the windmill’s entrance.
‘Tell us all, Esmera! I can’t wait to meet her!’ said Chloe, moving to sit closely beside her.
Once they all sat they fell silent for a while, just admiring the view. The sea shimmered and the hills turned deep golden, all the more, with every second that passed. The sun was sliding down lazily toward the distant horizon where the sea awaited eagerly for their one, daily kiss.
Esmera spoke first, a few moments later. ‘Before I give you more details about Emilia, I must share the big news I have for you, Chloe.’
‘For me?’ asked Chloe, her eyes wide. ‘What news?’
Esmera caressed the little girl’s hair and said with a big smile, ‘A celestial teacher is coming to Milos to train you in the angelic ways.’
Chloe knitted her brows. ‘A teacher? But I have Elise.’
Elise felt her heart melt but didn’t get the chance to make a sound as Esmera’s answer was quick.
‘Elise is a wonderful influence on you, of course. She is one of my best. But you need formal training. And since you haven’t spent time in Heaven yet to do it properly, one of our best teachers is coming here for you. It’s a privilege, sweetie.’
Chloe frowned. ‘Does that mean I’ll have to sit in a class or something? Because this island is too beautiful to be stuck indoors all day scribbling notes.’
Esmera let out a resounding belly laugh. ‘No, no! Of course not!’ she replied when she sobered. ‘Forget what you know about school. Laranon will work at your own pace, wherever you need him and whenever you need him… Think of him like an Internet search engine. He’ll be of use whenever you ask him to.’
‘Huh? What kind of teacher is like that?’
‘A Pleiadian one.’
‘A what?’
Laranon is from the constellation of the Pleiades. You’ll find his teaching methods quite extraordinary.’
Chloe’s cheeks brightened. ‘He’s not from Earth?’
‘No, he’s not. He’s a high-vibrational angel from a totally different world to ours. And he’s incredibly gifted.’
‘He’s not green with three eyes, is he?’
Chloe’s eyes were huge. She had turned a little green herself.
Both Elise and Esmera laughed out loud.
‘Don’t worry, little darling,’ said Esmera. ‘He looks just like us. Except, he is extremely tall. The Pleiadians look like Scandinavian humans, you know… They’re blond, with high cheekbones, and exquisite blue eyes. The way you’d imagine an angel to look in the typical sense, actually.’ She laughed again.
‘Ooh! I can’t wait to meet him!’
‘Thankfully, you won’t have to wait that long.’
‘When is he coming?’
‘Soon… He’ll appear to you to introduce himself.’
‘When? Tell me! Tell me!’ insisted Chloe, her upper body jerking left and right as she sat on the ledge.
‘Chloe…’ interjected Elise, about to put her hand on Chloe’s head to calm her down, but Esmera was faster. She put an arm around Chloe’s shoulders and squeezed her against her lovingly. She kissed the top of her head, then smiled cunningly and said, ‘Chloe, you’re an angel now. A human child no more. So, act like it. And don’t forget, I’m your commander.’ She shook a playful finger at her and added, ‘Do as I say or I’ll throw you in the brigg!’
Chloe started to giggle. ‘There is no brigg!’
‘You carry on like that, missy, and I’ll make one just for you!’ Esmera squeezed her tightly against her once more, and they laughed together. The whole thing was so cute Elise couldn’t help laughing along, even though watching these two interact tended to make her feel like a spare wheel.
As if she’d heard her thoughts—or maybe she did, you never knew with Esmera—their commander then turned to Elise, gave a soft sigh and said, ‘Thank goodness, I have you, Elise! One of you needs to be able to take in and follow instruction. I can’t depend on this disobedient little bundle of trouble!’
Chloe began to giggle and Esmera caressed her on the head, then said, ‘Now, listen, girls. Tomorrow is the day! In the morning, Emilia is going to visit her aunt’s house…’
Esmera went on, giving them all the details they needed to know about Emilia, the charming man she’d met called Andreas, the cute puppy they had rescued together, the nosy neighbour, Mrs Popi, the kindly notary, Mr Roidis, and, of course, the nasty cousin, Aleka, whose fiancé happened to be Takis, Emilia’s ex-boyfriend from her school days.
Chloe had been particularly excited to hear about the puppy. She kept making cooing sounds and asking Esmera to describe it in more detail.
As for Elise, she’d grown just as excited as she listened. The gift Esmera had imparted to Emilia was phenomenal. She couldn’t wait to see it at work.
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Emilia sat on her balcony with the sealed letter in her hands. She’d been really disciplined all this time as she enjoyed her souvlaki . She didn’t want to put oil stains on the letter, plus, she wanted to give it the full attention it deserved. And now, it was high time to read it.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she ripped the envelope carefully on the side. Or, maybe, it was the cool evening breeze that came from the sea that caused a shiver to spread across her body.
She opened the two sheets of paper she found inside and took a steadying breath before starting to read the handwritten letter:
My dearest Emilia,
By the time you read this letter, I will have departed from this world, so first of all, I’d like to ask you this: Do not be sad for me. I have lived a wonderful life, the best anyone can have, because I have filled it with all the things that mattered. Your uncle and I never had any children, and even though this can often be very sad for a woman, it has its blessings too. It meant that your uncle and I had the luxury to concentrate on each other all our lives. And thus, our love has been the centre of everything in my life. It has granted me joy and contentment beyond words. Which is why it’s been so hard for me since your uncle passed away.
Without him, without children, it often felt like I was lost at sea. Floundering on my own. Never to be found again. Which is why, I believe, I wound up contracting this awful disease. I guess a part of me does not want to live without your uncle any more. It is a choice, I believe, that I have made at soul level. Which is why I didn’t want to go that awful medical route of chemo and radiation that, to me, seems to be a one-way street that surely leads to a grave; and even faster, at that, than if one were to have none of this ‘therapy’ at all. At least, for people at my age.
Which is another reason why I don’t want you to be sad. It is my choice to leave it up to God, up to the choice of my own soul, if I am to live or die. If I had children, they’d probably insist on me having ‘the treatment’, and then I wouldn’t have my own choice. But, being childless, I do. And even though I never had children, I’ve always felt blessed to have you and Aleka in my life, as my proxy kids. I have no shame in admitting, though, that you have been my favourite, Emilia, because of your kind, giving heart.
I recall, back in your school years, the days when your mothers left you both to me during the summer while they worked at the factory. If I had one of those horrid migraines of mine and had to go to bed, you’d always sit at my bedside while Aleka played or watched TV out of sight. Sometimes, you’d reach out with your little hand and caress my forehead. Do you remember that?
I knew then you were an angel. I knew then that one day you would be a blessing to your parents, once they got old and poorly. And I was right. You were just that to them…
I’ve already thanked you once for taking care of your grandmother, my mother, in Athens. God made it so that she was in your hands and not mine when she got old and poorly. I never did my duty to her. You did it for me. Which is why I have no shame and no qualms in giving my house to you solely and giving the field to Aleka.
Aleka has inherited her mother’s house anyway. She doesn’t need another. But you do… Because, just as I expected one day you’d take care of your elderly parents, I also knew that when it was all over, your heart would lead you back to Milos. But your house was long gone… sold… the money spent to pay for the hospital bills. So, I wanted you to have this reprieve…
I know you… more than you think, Emilia. I can guess, for example, that, reading the letter right now, you’re feeling unworthy of my gift. And I know the reason. It’s because you feel you weren’t here to take care of me too in my last days. But you know what? You’ve done enough, Emilia. You’ve taken care of your parents and grandmother. Now, it’s time for you to take care of yourself. To seek joy and happiness for you, for your own life.
Which is the reason why I never called you to let you know I was sick. Think about that, Emilia. And don’t feel guilty. It was my choice to spare you from this extra burden.
I leave you with no guilt of my own, no shame and no regret. And I ask you to look at yourself in the same way when you open my house to claim its ownership. It is yours, like it always has been, a gift from your proxy mother, and I’ve been this to you ever since you caressed my forehead unprompted, while I was unwell, that first time. I knew then that my house was yours too. So, enjoy it…
I wish you a happy new life in the house. I know you will take care of it for me… I leave you with my blessing, just as I know you have your parents’ and your grandmother’s blessings too. These blessings are your angels, Emilia. Forget the past. I can only imagine how hellish things must have been back in Athens all those years for you. But this hell is no more. It exists only in your mind now. Your parents and grandmother are out of this hell, Emilia. They are in Heaven, suffering no more. They are bathed in God’s glory, their faces shining like the sun. I know it. So reach inside of you and find the door and exit that awful hell too. Today. It’s that simple.
You’re back on Milos now. I expect it’s where you want to be. It’s certainly where you belong. As I said, it’s that simple. So, make that choice and enjoy your new life, a happy life, back where you belong.
All my love,
Your aunt Irini
Emilia had made out the last paragraph with difficulty. Her eyes had filled with tears, and she raised her free hand to wipe them as she pressed the letter against her chest with the other.
Inside her heart, she promised herself then, to forget that hell, once and for all. Indeed. The winds of Fate were finally auspicious. She was back in her homeland, having received a wonderful blessing. She might as well let go of her past right now, as if it never happened. She might as well… begin to live.