Whilst Molly slept, a candle burned in the window of The Attic. Grace was busy writing herself. In her notes she was communicating with Callum again, asking for his assistance with helping Molly. Now that she was dwelling in The Attic, this was the best way of communicating with him. What went on in The Attic had nothing to do with him, so Callum could only visit with a particular purpose. Together they were paving the way for what lay ahead for Molly and Will. This road trip to the South Island was far more important than Molly was aware of, and it was best that it remained that way. Her innocence kept her energy clear and positive, and much easier for Grace and her helpers to work with her from within the World Between Worlds.
The next day after a peaceful, undisturbed sleep, Molly woke refreshed and energised. But she was alone in the bed, Will was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast. He was driving to Wellington for a meeting later in the morning and would be away for several of days. Over breakfast Molly shared with him what had transpired in The Attic the day before. He had been patient with her last night, not pushing her for information. He could see that Molly was overwhelmed, needing some time to assimilate what she had encountered. He was intrigued by what was unfolding for Molly with Grace, of the interrelatedness of their relationship, and his part in it. Will, by nature was gentle and accepting, with a wisdom that surpassed his age. Sometimes his understanding of Life was a little too deep for most of his friends, but his wicked sense of humour would kick in and create an irresistible attraction. He would be able to hold an interesting, in depth conversation with a touch of humour that kept his audience enthralled. Generous of heart, jealously was not in his nature and he appreciated Molly’s need to explore this connection with Grace. Fascinated by the topic of time travel and the eternal journey of the soul, he was always keen to hear Molly’s reports. After breakfast whilst Molly tidied up, Will got ready for his trip to Wellington. Upstairs in The Attic, Grace was still busy preparing, for there was much going on behind the scenes in the Spirit World. And Molly was learning that this was where everything happened first, and that through inspired thought came the creative ideas downloaded to enquiring minds. Through their actions these thoughts then became actual experiences in the Physical World. This was how many great ideas and inventions began. The Spirit World was a very busy place, with so much happening in a dimension where everything comes into being through what appears initially to most as dreams or imagination.
Now that Will was safely on his way, Molly took a walk around the garden picking fresh flowers for her office. Enjoying the warm sun on her skin and the damp grass beneath her bare feet, she was able to have a very relaxed start to her day. With a large bunch of fragrant flowers and herbs, she headed back to the kitchen to find a suitable vase for them. As she walked up the stairs to The Attic, Molly stopped mid step. Voices. She was sure she heard voices, in the distance. Approaching the door the voices became louder, although she was unable to hear the actual words. Did Grace have visitors? Opening the door, she stepped into her office, and found the room empty, no sign of Grace or the source of the other voices. Shrugging it off as her over active writers imagination, she placed the vase on the window sill next to the burnt-out candle and sat in the Captains Chair.
Staring out the small paned timber window at the beautiful gardens below, Molly understood with new insight what it must have been like for Grace sitting here over 100 years ago, writing. It was such an inspiring scene and she imagined what it will be like to see the seasons change from this one vantage point, this window providing a frame for nature’s many moods. Lost in her thoughts, Molly was startled by the sound of Grace’s voice.
“Morning!” Grace sang cheerfully. “ Beautiful view isn’t it? How are you today?” Grace leaned forward and opened the small sash window, letting the warm air loaded with the sweet scents of the garden waft into the room. Molly responded enthusiastically, pleased to be seeing Grace, “Oh yes Grace, isn’t the garden breathtaking! I had a great sleep thank you. But just now as I was coming up the stairs, I could hear voices. Do you know where they are coming from or was it just my imagination going overtime? Sometimes I do wonder if all of this is just my imagination and nothing more.”
“Just your imagination? Just your imagination?” Grace’s voice crescendoed on the last word. ‘Then what am I? Just your imagination? Oh pleeeease…” she drawled, tutted with feigned disgust and turned around to put the kettle on to boil. “So can your imagination make me put the kettle on and create a pot of tea that you are able to drink?” she smiled mischievously at Molly. Busy making tea, Grace talked to Molly over her shoulder, “The voices you heard as you were coming up the stairs were very real. They are the Spirit People whom are waiting to see you. As your ability to see into this dimension becomes stronger, you will also see them.”
“Waiting to see me? Why me and what for?” Molly is curious at what is unfolding here.
“Well, they have stories for you to write.”
Excited with the anticipation of a new project, Molly started dancing animatedly around the room. “Oh Grace, this is very, very exciting! Wow, a real Ghost Writer! When can we start?”
‘After we have had a cup of tea. The day always starts well with a cup of tea, don’t you think?” Grace replied, pouring tea from a pretty fine bone china teapot into two matching tea cups. “Now let’s get some momentum happening with this shall we?” she said as she motioned for Molly to join her at the table.
“Ding, dong,” rings the doorbell.
“Since when do we have a doorbell, Grace?”
“Since you agreed to listen to Ghost Stories!” replied Grace, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Now, I wonder who it could be…” her voice trailed off as she walked across the room to answer the door. No sooner had she touched the door handle, the door flew open with great force and all they can see was the outline of a very large man, his body filled the doorway.
“Oh shit!” Molly exclaimed under her breath, and Grace looked startled, her head poking out from behind the door which had almost flattened her against the wall, “Well! I wan’t expecting that!” trying to make light of the situation. Molly stood in the middle of the room unable to move as this impressive man strode through the doorway towards her, followed by an entourage of several other younger men, not quite so large in stature. The older man was very well built, muscular, solid and made his commanding presence very real. He was dressed in a skirt made of woven flax and was wearing a large piece of ornately carved pounamou (New Zealand Greenstone). After her last vision, Molly had been anxiously anticipating this moment, actually she had been dreading it. Not a good space to be in to be working in the Spirit World with these people! She was caught off guard and felt completely unprepared. He strutted across the room slowly and purposefully, picking up and sniffing things as he passed them, grunting and nodding his approval to the other men. His eyes light up seeing the winged armchairs, he sat down, made himself comfortable, and sensually stroked the fabric. A glimmer of a smile flickers across his face, enjoying the sensations of touch and smell. The other men stood close beside him, stern, serious faces with guarded darting eyes, scanning the room. Somehow, they seemed familiar to Molly…
Grace broke the awkward silence, “Tea? Can I get you gentlemen a cup of tea?” They all looked towards the older man, who grunted his approval and the others chatter in nervous agreement. Grace and Molly took this opportunity to talk whilst busying themselves making tea.
“ Please – do explain,” Grace insisted. To which Molly whispered a reply, “I think this is one of the chiefs the old woman Tutu was talking about last night, the one that the Gate Keepers refer to as “He Who Shall Not Be Named”. Damn it, I was hoping that I would not have to face him personally.”
“Now is the time to get clear on our intention before we discuss anything with him. What is it that you want here Molly?” asked Grace.
“I want him to go Home now, peacefully,” Molly replied. “So be it!” whispered Grace, before she took the tea set on a tray over to the sea chest between the two arm chairs. Sitting on the floor by the table Grace poured tea and placed each delicate china cup and saucer into the massive hands of these men. Watching them sipping tea politely and nodding approval of the flavour of the beverage, Grace and Molly respectfully contained their giggles into controlled smiles. They had no idea what they were in for.
Finishing his cup of tea, the chief took a deep breath and relaxed back into the armchair, sighing contentedly. Delicately balancing his teacup in his hands and crossing one leg over the other, he raised an eyebrow to one of the other men and then they all burst out laughing in an infectious giggle. They began to laugh so hard that one of them fell to the floor doubled over and Molly recognised that these younger men were The Maori Boys who she had met on their recent road trip! But who was the older man? Molly knew in her heart who it was and she was fearful of him. He had a very dark history. The laughing subsided to giggles and finally they sat back smiling, catching their breath. The older man handed his cup to Grace, stood up proudly and cleared his throat, preparing to address them.
He looked down at Molly and said, “The Boys here tell me that you are able to see us as Spirit People. Not many are able to. So! Now we know this, are you ready to listen?” From her position on the floor, Molly nodded in agreement (considering the company, what else could she do?) The older man appeared weary, supporting his body, he leaned against the back of the armchair, as if he was too tired to remain standing, and beckoned for Molly to come closer. Molly stood up and bravely stepped closer to him. “For too long now we have been unsettled here In Spirit, too many wrongs to be righted. For too long now we have wanted peace, but the struggle continues as those in the Physical World keep retelling the horrid stories of the past. I am not proud of what I instigated, but it is the Past and I am ready to move on now. The energy of retelling these stories has held us in this World Between Worlds. There must be forgiveness. People will never forget. However what can be changed is the intention in which the storytelling is to be done. Great stories are worthy of sharing on, there is great wisdom in them all. We want the wisdom to be shared in these stories of days now passed. Less focus on the terrible injustices which were performed by so many from both sides. Tell the stories of bravery, and amazing outcomes, for there were many of those. A brief smile of contentment flickered across his serious face. They do not know what they are keeping active here, in the Spirit World, merely by the passion in their conversations and the retelling o unnecessary information. They are unaware of how the Spirit World functions, or that it even exists… and that there are the Universal Laws to be obeyed” he hesitated, looked longingly at the comfortable armchair and then to Molly questioningly, almost if he was asking for her permission to enjoy the comfortable chair again. She motioned for him to be seated and nodded towards the armchair, indicating for him to take a seat again. Relieved he sat down and relaxed back into the soft armchair and sighed heavily, resonating in a deep surrender. He then continued, “and now I can say at last, without weakness or resignation…I am tired. I am tired of all of the fighting, the struggle, the resistance, the hardship,” he stared off into the empty fireplace, lost in his own thoughts. They all waited patiently, until some time had passed, and his consciousness returned to them. He looked straight at Molly, demanding her undivided attention with his penetrating gaze and said, “I am tired, I want peace and I am ready to go Home.”
Well, you could have knocked Molly over with a feather! There she was dreading confrontation with this powerful Spirit Person, fearful of how she was to convince him that it was time for him to go Home, and he had already come to that conclusion himself! With a look of deep understanding on his face, he continued. “I can see the repetition of this energy stuck here in this World Between Worlds. It is like a loop playing out over and over again. Now, having seen the outcomes of the actions of others from here and realising that time has passed and there are many, many more people living on this land than ever before. I can see the disharmony, discontentment, disagreements, anger, rage, resentment, grief, sorrow, sadness, depression, unrest and distrust, of how it is affecting my people. For they still are my people and I feel responsible for them. They are the future of this land, and the children are their future. How it was then for us no longer fits for them now. Things must change, and I know I need to go Home, it will release the effects of my actions of the past, and enable them to move forward into a very different future. Who I am now, is not who I was then, but they cannot see what I have become! They only remember me by what they have been told. And like all stories retold time and time again, there are bits left out and bits added in, it changes and it becomes other than what it was originally. I want them to embrace the good I have done, for this is rarely spoken about. And there are others like me, the conflict between us must end. We need your help, can you take us Home?”
Speechless, Molly looked to Grace for a little guidance here, unsure of what to say or do. Grace nodded her head eagerly at the Chief, a huge smile on her face. Grace loved moments like this, when Spirit People were ready to move on. The Boys too were relieved to hear his decision. The older man sat slumped in the chair. Molly moved over and sat by his feet, looking up at him. There was a softness to his face now, of a warrior who had won his battle and was ready to go Home. Without opening his eyes, he said, “My feet hurt, got any Kawakawa balm?” Smiling sheepishly, Grace brought a small pottle of Kawakawa balm from the kitchen cupboard and handed it to Molly, who rubbed it into his leathery feet. The old warrior sighed, his body relaxed as he nestled back into the soft armchair. Before long, his breathing deepened and a gentle snore escaped his open mouth. They all breathed a sigh of relief. But now what? How was Molly to help these Spirit People?
There was a gentle knock on the door. Grace opened it to find the Manaia of The Four Winds standing outside. “Aunties!” The Boys exclaimed in unison and one got up from the floor to greet them with a hug. Lots of laughter filled the room with these Spirit People who seemed much bigger than the tiny room could comfortably contain. However, it is in The Attic, where, Molly was learning very quickly that anything can, and does, happen. Grace busy’s herself being the host and made more pots of tea for the growing number of visitors filling the room. As Molly helped her, she whispered in Grace’s ear, “This is not what I expected at all!” With a smug smile like the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland, Grace was very pleased with herself. “Nor me!” she replied laughing. And Molly realised that Grace knew more than she was willing to let on about and that she had been up to a little magic herself. Molly was yet to understand the significance of this important meeting, and the ripple effect created by the shift in the energy of these Spirit People, which would move throughout the universe endlessly.
The Attic 