The last stretch of any journey homewards always seems the longest. With Will driving, Molly had dozed off in the car, fleeting dreams of her recent experiences passed through her mind. As they drove through the village of Kohutu near their home she stirred from a light sleep and realising where they were, woke with excitement. She loved how the road wound along the waters edge and that welcoming feeling of the tree-lined driveway of their home. Will purposefully drove slowly as they eagerly took in the seasonal changes that had happened in the garden whilst they were away. The trees were vibrant with fresh new growth, the leaves glowed an iridescent lime green colour. Leaving the unpacking until later, with great excitement they explored the gardens seeing what was flowering, like children exploring in a secret garden. The damp grass was soft under Molly’s bare feet. The roses were budding and there were freesias, violets, daisies, daffodils. In the orchard there were cherry, plum, lemon, lime, orange and apple blossoms…the fragrant scents were intoxicating. And the herb garden that Will had been working on before they left had sprung to life with fresh new growth – lavender, rosemary, chamomile, thyme, oregano, pineapple sage, Angelica, garlic, scattered amongst the roses, adding even more delicious scents to the air.
“Wow, thanks Molly for organising someone to mow the lawns for me, what a nice surprise!” Will exclaimed, relieved by the thought of not having to do this and be able to focus on completing his illustrations.
“Hmm…what? The lawns? No, no… I thought you must have…” Molly’s voice trailed off as they looked around the garden to find everything looked immaculate, neatly trimmed and weeded too! “Someone must have been around, look at the house, it even looks like it has had a fresh coat of paint, or at least been washed down. Do you think maybe your parents did this as a surprise Will?” Molly asked. “Doubt it,” Will replied disbelievingly, “but maybe they organised someone else to…” his voice faded, a confused look crossed his face. Now they were both puzzled. The house looked great! Tiredness catching up with them, they unpacked the car and Will made a pot of coffee, whilst Molly prepared something to eat for dinner. Inside the house was tidy and clean, like someone had taken care of it for them whilst they were away. Being an old house, Molly thought it to have been a little dusty at least, and maybe some new spider webs… She was eager to go upstairs to The Attic, but it would have to wait until after dinner, if she was not too tired.
After dinner Molly realised that a visit to The Attic would have to wait a little longer. Both of them exhausted, she decided to go to bed with Will. Snuggled up together, under the duvet, satisfied with their travels and happy to be in their own bed again, Will quickly fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. Although Molly was tired, her mind was restless. Her dreams were of discussions with Grace, appearing to her in a variety of ways, a jumble of visions, snippets of words, drifting in and out of her dreams, like the scene of the Cheshire Cat in Alice In Wonderland.
“You needed reminding that nothing remains the same, even in the Spirit World. It is not like you ‘die’ or come Home or retire or stop living!”…”You can simply take on a different form, any appearance you like.”… “The Physical World is much slower, heavier in vibration. Not like in Spirit where thought becomes things instantly. How Fascinating…” Molly heardGrace’s voice drift off.
The restlessness finally gave way to a deep sleep and it was late in the morning when they eventually woke. Easing into the day, Will made a pot of tea and crumpets, and brought back to bed, planning to read over the notes for the presentation he was required to have prepared for the following day. Molly curled up next to him, taking in the contented feeling of being back in their own home.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a cat on the bed with us Will?”
“Hmm?” He replied vaguely, his attention on his work. “Hmmm…what was that Honey? Something about a cat?”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a cat curled up on the bed with us now?”
“Soon,” Will answered, slightly distracted.
Molly missed Oscar, her old black cat. Before Molly met Will she lived in a studio apartment above the cafe where she had worked. Oscar had come part of the furniture. No one really knew where he had come from, he just turned up the day Molly moved in. It seemed like he knew the place and Molly felt like she knew him. This majestic black cat became her room mate. They shared such a special relationship, very telepathic. Being a stray, he had made his home with her as an older cat. He had lived a good life and eventually his time came to return to Spirit. And on occasions since, he visited her in her dreams. Another cat would be very different, and she had learnt to trust now that these things only happened when the timing was right. After all, they were planning a road trip to the South Island in the New Year to collect more information for her next book. Animals and pets would have to wait a little longer.
The Attic 