Chapter 25: Facets

We did not remain long once Construct finished his presentation. Today's meeting left us all feeling as if we'd just closed the book on a certain part of our lives. As if we were children who had just found out that Santa Claus wasn't real. We had to look at our world differently from this moment on.

I moved everyone back through to Grandma and Grandpa's living room, but I remained behind for a moment. "I will come back, but it probably will not be today, and may not be tomorrow either. Will you be able to meet me here when I do?"

"Yes Davey," Construct said. "When you make use of the jump points to either of these places you have shown me in your mind I will sense it and I will come to you."

I thanked him and joined everyone else back on our Earth. While Dad, Cyrus and I took care of the guns, everyone else spent a little time dealing with some of the trash we'd brought back with us. It's funny how none of us wanted to be the first to spoil that pristine meadow with its first piece of litter. With everything done, we headed home, dropping Ginny off first.

It was still early in the afternoon, but once we got in the door and settled in, everyone sort of went their own way. I went up to my room and made a stab at reading another chapter of 'In the Beauty of the Lilies' by John Updike. To be honest, though I had read and enjoyed Updike in the past, I had picked it up at the library because I liked the cover art. I had found it a fascinating read so far, despite the fact that Updike painted faith, an important part of the story, with a little too much of the Church's brush for my taste. Still, the story itself, and its portrayal of a family though multiple generations had struck home with me. I had a fresh sense of my own family's long history, and perhaps I sought myself within the pages. I generally found most of Updike's novels at least engaging, but this one had a good grip on me. Still, I found myself unable to focus on the words, and after a few attempts to read further in it, I put it down.

I laid back on my bed, with my hands cupped behind my head. I lay like that, with my eyes closed for several minutes before I began to cry. Gently at first, but with more and more strength until I was weeping loudly. It did not last long, only 5 minutes or so, but as I began to feel my mood lighten a little I understood better the seeming rush we had all been in to leave Construct. Later I confirmed it with a few questions at the dinner table, and a phone call to Ginny.

We had all felt the need to mourn.

The remainder of our evening was spent just getting caught up and squared away. We had a weeks worth of mail to go through, as well as a few other chores to take care of. Ginny was bringing the barbecued chicken her mom had let us have for our pizza feed, but I needed to run to the store and grab the pizza crusts and the BBQ sauce and some pepper jack cheese. Mom already had some shredded mozzarella, and a nice wheel of provolone that I could use for the base cheeses. Of course we took the GTO and I drove.

Sunday morning I woke up early enough to go on a run with Cyrus and Chet. I ran a couple miles before beginning to struggle. I reached out then and pulled power from the downtown jump point and went back to smoothly eating up the road. While we ran, I told Chet about Arden bringing Alicia to the lunch and asked him what he thought about Arden and Alicia. I got a funny look from him at first, but then we both got into good natured speculation about how good it would be for Arden's confidence and shyness to have someone to share a relationship with. I took a nice long shower when we got back to the house. Even the power assist of the energy I had pulled into myself from the jump point didn't make the muscles I hadn't used in a while stop from announcing their displeasure once they began to cool down. When I got out of the shower it was still early, only 7:30. I went downstairs and discovered there was already a pot of Coffee on and a note from Grandpa saying that he, Dad and Cyrus had gone off to see a man about a real estate deal. I sipped my coffee and waited for Mom to put in an appearance. With yesterday's production in mind I decided today was going to be the anti-production, and so I was happily devouring a bowl of Cheerios when Mom finally came into the kitchen.

"Hey! Where's my big breakfast?"

"Mmmhhmm!" I delivered, tapping the side of the cereal box with my free hand. The other was holding the spoon which had just delivered its fresh spoonful of crunchy goodness. I got a playful swat on the arm and a kiss on the top of the head. When I finished my breakfast I went up and brushed my teeth and threw on my favorite t-shirt and a pair of cargo pants.

"Mom!" I yelled as I came down the stairs. "I'm going to visit with Construct for a bit."

"Okay Davey, be careful!" She said from the living room where she was busy straightening up the already meticulously clean living room.

I bounced my pistol and shotgun from the gun safe at Green Horn Creek and was locked and loaded and ready to go very quickly. I set the alarm on my watch for 10:30 and hollered again at Mom. "If Ginny calls while I'm gone, tell her I'll be back at 10:30, okay?"

Her reply barely had time to register before I was through, standing in the meadow. Construct stood exactly where he had when I last saw him.

"Good morning Construct!" I greeted him.

We chatted briefly, exchanging pleasantries. It was amazing to me how capable Construct was of simulating human emotions and sensibilities. Once I was settled in, I got serious.

"Construct, you have already shown me how to use my gift in new ways. I am hoping you will be my tutor and guide in these things, and that each day I can come and learn from you. I know you will be my guide in the other words that I travel to, but at this moment, I know only how to travel to this one."

"You ask me only to fulfill my primary purpose Davey, I am intended to be your guide in all ways asked of me. You must understand my limitations however. I am absolutely immaterial, and unable to react with anything in any way physically. Because of the intimacy of the contact and the level of 'joining' required to reach your minds and return them to your bodies, I am able now to reach within your and Dare's thoughts and memories easily, but others require more effort. My ability to travel within the sea of Light is limited. You are my focus and I may always travel to you, except for the Guardian's prohibition in place which prevents me from entering your Earth. Beyond that I am able to return home to the world of the Seekers. I have the knowledge of the Choctowineh, but not their sensitivity. When I speak of what you can do, it is based on the knowledge of what the Choctowineh could do, and how they recorded their understanding of their gift."

We spent the rest of my time discussing the Light, the underlying energy or 'potential' which Construct explained as the source of my power, and of the 'facets and reflections of existence' which manifested themselves as Earth and everywhere else. At the end of that conversation Construct said

"Remember Davey, if we were discussing light, as you know it, rather than Light, we might discuss the spectrum of energy that is light, and the frequency and property of it. We would attempt to understand its manner of propagation and many of its physical properties. We might even discuss the realities of light, beyond that which your science currently is capable of describing it. But we discuss Light, and though I use familiar words, they are only barely adequate to the purpose. You will teach yourself more truths about the Light than I will ever be able to. I can only describe for you the roads that others have followed. True understanding of the Light may be found in only one place Davey, within yourself."

Construct gave me some meditative techniques that he said would be useful in my self-seeking, and encouraged me to find quiet moments in favorite places to seek within myself. My watch beeped its alarm, and I knew it was time to go. As I was preparing to leave, Construct left me with this parting thought.

"Think on this as 'homework'," he grinned. "Your see jump points with your eyes, and you see them as lines. It is always multiple lines, is it not? Consider that perhaps your eyes and unconscious mind know more than you do Davey, and ask yourself 'what am I being told?'"

I popped in to Grandma and Grandpa Carson's garage, and knocked on the door to the house. When grandpa opened the door, he smiled and said "Morning Davey, coming or going?

"Coming Grandpa. I've got friends coming over for lunch, and need to pick up Ginny, but I spent the morning with Construct. I think he's really enjoying his role as teacher. He's even assigned me homework!"

Grandpa laughed and shook his head. We continued to chat while I cleaned the two guns I'd taken. In my mind I stopped to wonder at the wilderness setting and wildlife that made it necessary. We had been lucky so far in having only a couple minimal incidents of contact with anything beyond birds and squirrels. I made a mental note to myself to see if there was something we could do to keep from having to go armed, at least in the immediate vicinity of the meadow. I managed to have those thoughts and rattle on about today's pizza feed while quickly cleaning and storing the guns back in the gun safe. I closed the door to the safe and spun the dial.