and said, “Give me the book. Let’s see if we can figure out what it’s trying to tell us.”
Mara opened the book and handed it to him. Leaning back into his pillow, Ping read aloud: “Forget all the fears preventing you from learning. Exchange memories.” He pondered the passage for a moment, tapping his cheek with a finger and looking into the distance.
After several minutes Mara said, “Well? Does that mean anything to you?”
“No. It’s classic haiku construction. We have to assume this is future Mara talking to you. Clearly something you fear is preventing you from learning what you need to proceed toward whatever goal she has in mind. This ‘exchange memories’ is fascinating. I’m not sure what that means at all. What do you think it means? It is you, after all, who is writing these haikus.”
“Beats me. I can’t even imagine considering a haiku as a form of communication, much less one as nonsensical as this. But I have to admit the one on the next page does sound a little more like me.” She pointed to the edge of the page, and Ping flipped it.
He read aloud: “Quit being a twit.” Laughing and looking up, he said, “Yes, that does sound more like you, and you might want to take it to heart going forward.” He continued reading. “Prepare like a pastor with this realm’s Chronicle.” His eyes narrowed, as he considered the passage.
After a short moment of silence, Mara cut in and said, “You know, there is such a thing as thinking out loud. What are you thinking?”
“This realm’s Chronicle. I wonder to what that refers?”
“I assumed it was the Chronicle of Creation, the one that Abby took. I guess that’s what I think of when I think of the Chronicle.”
“I don’t know if that’s correct,” he said, pausing again. “This. Realm’s. Chronicle. I don’t think it can be the Chronicle of Creation.”
“Why not?”
“The Chronicle that Abby took did not come from this realm. Remember? It came into this realm with Sam’s Mara when they crossed over on Flight 559. It is not this realm’s Chronicle, is it? It must be referring to this book, which presumably came from this realm, albeit from the future. That might make sense with this prepare like a pastor reference. What does a pastor prepare? A sermon? What book does a pastor use to prepare a sermon? Scriptures, perhaps?”
“That doesn’t sound like me at all. That’s just too convoluted,” Mara said. “Stop being a twit, now that’s me, obvious, literal, but this exchanging memories and pastors preparing sermons, as Hannah would say, nuh-uh.”
Ping fanned through the back pages of the little book which remained blank and closed it with a soft thud. “It could simply be a matter of time before events fall into place, so that these things make sense.”
“Yes, but won’t that be too late?”
CHAPTER 41
Footsteps, shuffling and voices pierced Mara’s subconscious and pulled her awake from a deep sleep, as she lay on the couch in the living room. Opening her eyes, she found she could not focus on anything for a few moments, because her eyes didn’t seem to want to work, and it was pitch dark. Someone flipped on the lamp sitting on the end table next to where Mara’s head lay. The light blinded her.
“Hi, Mar-ree!” Hannah said, her cheeks rosy from the cool air outside.
Mara rubbed her eyes and sat up. The little leather-bound book from the future slid from her chest to her lap. “Hey, are you trying to blind me? I thought you guys were going to visit Ping at the hospital.”
Sam swept around the end of the couch and grabbed Hannah by the waist, lifting her into the air, pirouetting across the round throw rug and landing in the chair to the left of the fireplace. “Mom dropped me off at the hospital two hours ago. She and Hannah ran some errands, while I visited with Ping. Where’s Cam?”
“Right here,” he said. His head leaned at a slight tilt next to a throw pillow in the matching chair on the opposite side of the fireplace.
Mara ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head in an effort to cast off the drowsiness. “I can’t believe I crashed like that, with you sitting there the whole time. Sorry.”
“I understand. You’re exhausted following all the excitement yesterday,” Cam said.
“Yes, but I need to get you put back together. It’s the least I can do, considering how much you helped us