Kat and the Spirits of Time

Chapter 1: My Senses Awakened

“There’s no one quite like me” she told herself again, “and the world really does need a Kat.” Many people liked her but there was no one she could confide in, no real friends. “Destined to walk a lone path doing good.” What did she know about the world to make assumptions, but, what else was there?

An illuminated figure floated just out of sight yet she felt their identity. It was a spirit, a powerful one. A boy stood beside her invisible despite his close proximity. A gentle hand lay itself upon hers and warmth flooded her spirit form. A smile, a kiss and then sleep.

Kat woke the next morning intrigued by the dream, eventually dismissing it as a useful story idea. As with many vacation days time passed at record speed and before anyone could believe it night had fallen. Outside a light mist coated the damp grass and through the screen door wafted a cool breeze. As it was with many such evenings Kat was tempted out into the gentle moonlight to gaze upon the beauty of nature. “Could you continue taping please Lilia?”

“Sure, don’t be too long, grammy will wonder.”

“Alright.” After only a few steps she had lost track of the direction. Soon her feet had taken her into a run. Once she had acquired the proper momentum she sailed through the thickest of the pine trees her parents had planted when she was young and rolled among the drowsing dandelions. In the distance night hawks shrieked mating calls and mice scuttled to and fro among the soon to be harvested corn. The shadow of an abandoned farmhouse deepened the shadows, catching Kat’s attention even more than it usually did. The old boards creaked and shifted in the wind as a melodic voice issued from the cracks, whispering lost stories. Kat had always loved that old house but had never investigated in part out of caution. But tonight she wanted to meet the treasured building before the inevitable happened; it fell down. Strolling across the wide field Kat fell into a trance under the mystical power of the night. The cement stairs leading into the house were still intact although grass had seeped up through cracks and very little remained of the wooden archway. Sticking her head through the doorway she studied the almost non-existent ceiling and sunken walls, a despair consuming her as nothing else could. So much had been lost by letting this house rot away. Her common sense warned her that moving any farther forward would be asking for trouble but the cries of lost memories and events led her to take the step that caused the floor to crumble beneath her and she tumbled into the brick foundation.

Conscious thought brought pain and emotional distress. It took her what seemed like hours to free herself from the debris bed and another ten to test and flex all her limbs. Miraculously enough she had suffered nothing worse than a couple dozen bruises. In the few traces of moonlight she made her way into a room leading off of the one she’d tumbled into, amazed to find a small shrine situated in its center. All around the room there were strange hieroglyphics painted across the bricks and dusty vases left behind by the last owners. Cautiously stepping up to the alter she bowed respectively and examined the basic yet unique wooden structure, a star carved into the center, each point with enough space around it to hold a sacred item. “A place for rituals.” Kat whispered to herself, her breath lifting enough dust to make her cough.

Welcome my child.

Kat stumbled backward and stared at the alter, fear and shock painting her face.

You know of me, I am not a stranger. Suddenly there was a woman standing at the alter, her gown of mist and vines. Sweet child, let me not frighten you. I once lived here and used this alter as my own. Now I come to bear a message to thee.

“Are you a ghost?”

I guess I am. There is no need for a name. The Mother has asked for me to awaken your soul early. The spirits of the Earth are restless as humans plunder and rape them, they will not wait much longer. It is often only death that can waken the spirit of a person but in order to converse and gain their trust you must have that ability now.

Kat pressed herself against the brick wall, ignoring the threatening creeks.

Young one, she sees you as fitting, I’m sorry I must be the one to thrust such a responsibility on you but, you yourself have chosen it have you not?

The woman spoke the truth. Kat had wanted to save the world, to do ultimate good. She had denied herself human pleasures in her attempts. There was no better way to do it than this. A shy smile appeared beneath eyes that glittered with unease and intrigue. She was a young but eager soul.

“Thank you kind lady, I only hope that I am the one the spirits need.”

Fresh sunlight eased her awake in her soft bed, the daze of sleep still muddling her thoughts. Sitting up slowly she was shocked to discover that her head was pounding too much to stay upright. Falling backwards caused a flash of pain almost as unbearable as the first, forcing her to remain horizontal to minimize its intensity.

My head’s never hurt like this before!

Breathing deeply Kat overcame her panic, transforming it into coherent thought coming to the conclusion that what had happened in that abandoned farmhouse had been a vision, or maybe even a dream. She certainly didn’t remember going back to the house or to bed. Bird song floated in where she lay causing her whole body to tingle and lighten, extracting some grand load from her being. Inhaling a lung-full of clean morning air Kat felt weightless and her head pain vanished without a trace.

Something tells me this is more than a dream…

Slipping her nightgown over her sleeping attire she ventured silently past her drowsy family to the backyard, scents never before recognisable assaulting her nostrils.

The world is different, yet, the same….

Walking from ash to spruce she touched a hand to each, amazed at the pulsing life throbbing just under the surface. At her feet flowers whispered and sighed, stretching toward the sun their roots extending through the soil, straining to absorb the nutrients and moisture. Crutching beside a strawberry bush she ran one hand along its leaves and heard what could only be described as a cry of startled happiness. In contrast, the garden shed out behind the trees was nothing. Lifeless, at least in the sense relating to the living plants.

“Could I be able to sense the life force of living creatures?” Falling to her knees she cupped a handful of earth up in her palms marvelling at the millions of sparks that ran through her fingers as she did so. Her eyes widened in shock. Yes.

The rich soil in her hands gradually took on the form of an elderly woman the longer Kat stared. This being spoke into her physical form. “I am Earth. You now realize the visitation was real and some secrets of this life have been opened to you. We’re not as powerless as humankind stubbornly believes.”

“Why do you take the form of a human to show yourself to me?”

“It is all you can invasion us to be. Humans have under the impression that the only creatures worthy of your attention are beings that resemble yourselves.”

A shame for humankind came over Kat then and her mood transformed into disgust as she thought about the primate family she’d been born into.

“Though you are of human origin and form you must remember you are no longer considered with them. You are part of something much greater than them and cannot let their petty wants and needs overwhelm you.”

“I’m not to help the humans?”

“Listen child, we will be here long after humans are gone. When the world is frozen solid or burnt to sand there will be a plant that crawls from the ruins, there will still be an animal, no matter how small or born of unknown matter, that climbs from the depths of extinction. Humans think themselves gods but they are not. Their ignorance regarding their actions and the consequences that will follow will result in total destruction. They will all die and there is nothing we can do. Child, is they see the truth and follow who already do then there is hope but by that time, as things are now, it will be far too late.”

Kat turned from the figure in her palms to study the distant buildings and roads. She knew the Earth was right. Everything human was cold, lifeless. She could no longer be human as they were. Her duty lay beyond that.

“Take this earth as a symbol of our pact so you may never feel truly alone.” She smiled then and Kat could have sworn this spirit knew of Kat’s deep seated loneliness. “I pledge my allegiance to you Kat,” the gentle spirit whispered, raising her shifting arms, “chosen by the spirits, aid to the beings of Earth.”

A loving smile formed on Kat’s face as the Earth spirit rippled through her fingers back to the ground. “Remember young one, not one being has more right to live than another. Let there be no hierarchy.”

Gathering the blessed soil into her palms once more Kat returned home, the Earth rippling pleasantly in response to her presence.

There is no security humans, do not hide behind your walls and boundaries. Love the gift of life that’s been given to you and spend your time here with your fellows, striving for a better future.