Chapter 8: Beginnings Part 1

It was a one hour and twenty minute drive from where she lived to arrive at the shopping mall at Gulfirst Town. A nondescript town positioned in a classic middle of nowhere out in the wop wops. The vandalized sign on the roadside stated: “Population 14,854.”

Quite a number for an outback country town.

Kate’s driving skills were excellent and long distant driving was always a form of relaxation for her. It was a nice opportunity for Kate to revel in another occasional passion—racing her restored two-door ‘69 Chevelle. It was classic metallic silver with black vinyl roof and leather upholstery, powered by a naturally aspirated 396-cubic-inch, big-block V8. “Gas guzzler but buckets of grunt with earth-rotating torque,” she would yell to the young hoons who would challenge her in a street race. She referred to herself as an “older hoon with attitude,” and she had proven that to the local constabulary. Kate disliked being told what to do and admitted to having a slight problem with authority.

Maybe that’s why I am divorced, she mused. I don’t know how to compromise. I like to be in control.

The old car rumbled into the mall’s parking lot. Kate locked it up and went inside, not really sure which specific shop she had to go into. The particular vision that hit her so violently was not very clear or detailed and had given her a headache. She started to feel a bit foolish, but at least she was doing nothing out of the ordinary, and no one was taking any notice of her. The mall was air conditioned and according to the “Welcome” sign consisted of two large supermarkets and forty-five shops. The usual stuff like hairstylists, a baker, butcher, and maybe a candlestick maker, she considered. She made a mental note that she had to get a haircut before summer hit.

There were quite a few people out, typical for a Saturday morning. She was lucky to be up this early, normally she would be sleeping in after her Friday night work out at the club. Luckily, the band was not playing that week.

She passed a newsagent and decided to buy a lottery ticket. Hey, you never know. Buying from a kiosk out of town could be lucky, if you believe in luck.

Half an hour later having covered all the shops, she was about to give up and grab some lunch when she felt as if someone had yanked her Adidas t-shirt by the sleeve and whirled her around. No one was there. However, she was facing a shop she could have sworn was not there before. She felt an enormous pulling power, like the polarity of magnetism drawing her to this shop.

Her stomach grumbled, but this time she was far from hungry.

The sign above the door said The Divine Universe. It looked like your normal run of the mill knick-knack shop that stocked incense, crystal balls, candles, all sorts of spiritual enlightenment equipment—the stuff that Kate would not give the time of day. Okay feet, she thought, no harm looking.

She opened the door and the aroma was quite overwhelming, though pleasant. The sweet, spicy incense was warm and quite sensual. There were posters of unicorns and big-breasted goddesses and dark hooded figures with grotesque limbs bending over crystal balls. All over the ceiling were glitter stars, suns and planets swaying in the air. The usual cannabis pipes and bongs of various sizes housed in a glass cabinet. There were a few people looking around who left when she entered. She was all alone. Where was the owner? Probably smoking pot, Kate smiled.

There were shelves of the usual ornamental elves, fairies, dragons, dungeon figurines, medieval castles, and war figures carrying strange weaponry. At the top were ugly, amusing gargoyles with psycho leers all over their painted faces. Their eyes seemed to be watching her as she moved along.

Some incredible chess sets consisting of weird space creatures all painted vivid colors versus, by the look of them, humans, well, apart from the mutant parts sticking out of their heads and bodies, bit tacky. Another set all in gold and black that had Egyptian pharaohs, pyramids, sphinxes, mummies, and a host of classic pieces you would find in a museum. The almost naked slaves were the pawns—the first to be sacrificed. The challengers were human-like figures that had animal beast heads. It was hard to decipher what they were representing. She thought the Egyptian side was very elegant.

Further along at the back of another shelf was an assortment of Buddha figures. They looked your typical badly painted, cheaply designed type you buy in the junk shops. Good for paperweights and not much else, Kate thought. Some of them had trays in their laps, some had their hands hidden in their robes, and a few had their fingers pointing in the air as if they were just about to make a point. She did hold a slight fondness for Buddha and the peace and tranquility that he represented. Kate did not consider herself an atheist, more an agnostic. Given tangible proof and she would consider it.

One small gold Buddha stood away from the others, and looked as if he was the last of his kind for sale. While the other Buddhas were crammed together and looked junky, this one stuck out from the others because the handiwork looked detailed and expensive looking. It looked so vibrant, she was sure it was going to stand up and say “hello” to her. “Hello, buy me,” she laughed. On further inspection, it was a damn fine work of art as someone had cleverly handcrafted it. It did not look as if it had come out of a mold.

Positioned on the Buddha’s tray was a small stone, nothing to write home about and Kate only gave it a passing glance. The next second, she felt a surge of energy flow through her, and the feeling was almost sexual. She felt her cheeks go red, and looked around to see if anyone had noticed her change. No one had, she was still alone.

She saw her hand reach over and pick the stone up.

“Are you okay, lady?” She heard the words, her eyes were open, but all she could ‘see’ was blackness. The pungent stabbing scent of smelling salts stuck under her nose brought her round. She found herself lying half-prone on the ground.

“Wha—what happened?” Kate stammered.

“You fainted, love,” said the old woman who had given her the salts.

“Damn heat,” mumbled a middle-aged man standing above them. “The one shop here they don’t have any air conditioning.” The couple helped Kate to her feet.

“Thank you. I think I’m okay now.”

“You look after yourself.” The woman patted her on the shoulder.

“Maybe she hasn’t had breakfast yet,” the man commented.

“I’m fine. Thanks for that,” Kate mumbled and grinned at the couple.

“Look, you’ve dropped something, darling.” The woman bent down and picked up the stone. “Now that’s a pretty thing, Harold, isn’t it? Here sweetie, don’t you go and lose this now. It looks like a good luck charm. If it is, don’t you lose it, could be very handy.”

She gave it back to Kate, who cupped it in her hand.

“Thanks again,” Kate stammered, embarrashed.

She stood still for a minute letting her heart slow down. She studied the stone. It had tiny black symbols or marks on it she had not noticed before. Apart from feeling a little warm, it felt like—a stone. She stared at it. Was it glowing?

She had to get out of this shop. It was so damn hot.

Kate walked back to her car and sat down. She sipped some water from her cooler bottle. What had happened? Heat did not normally affect her, and it was not that hot when she first walked into the shop. Did the stone contain some form of energy that caused her to faint?

She remembered she had picked the stone up, and that was it. She had no recollection between the time she had it in her hand and lying on the ground.

Then it dawned on her that she had not paid for it.

She hurried back to the shop. Behind the counter was a woman who was wiping the glass display counter.

“I’m sorry. I picked this up from one of your Buddhas without paying for it.”

The woman looked at the stone. “Haven’t seen that before, that’s not mine, and the Buddhas don’t have stones.”

Kate walked over to the shelf that held the Buddhas. They were there all right—trays, hands in robes, and fingers in the air. However, her little gold Buddha that had stuck out was not there.

The woman had followed her. “Hey, you were the lady that fainted. Sorry I couldn’t get over to you in time. I was up a ladder, hands full of stock. I saw you leave, and I hoped you were all right. Just keep the stone. Are you okay now?”

“Yes, thanks to that kind, elderly couple who gave me some smelling salts.”

“Oh that’s nice. I didn’t actually see them, but I saw you fall and then get back up again.”

“You didn’t see them? But they helped me up.”

“Keep the rock, sweetie, and it might pay to go see a doc in case you got a concussion.” The woman gave her a wry look, turned away, and carried on with her cleaning.

Dazed, Kate walked back to her car.

She drove home with the stone in her pocket, wondering what the hell to do now. She made a call to see her doctor for a full check-up.