~ CATHERINE ~
Tuesday the 20th of June, 1989
I quietly slipped through the rumpus room’s sliding door, like I’d done over the past couple of weeks. Every day before dawn, I would go to Whitford’s remote beach and practice the skills described in the books that Sister Cecile had given me the day she’d died. From water spheres to spouts, to controlling fishes and dolphins, I would learn something new, as well as fine-tuning other skills I’d already mastered. And every morning, I’d return home without anyone knowing what I’d been up to…
Until Christopher had appeared out of nowhere.
Then had disappeared just as suddenly, like he’d never been there. I’d stared at the spot for ages, unable to figure out how he’d disappeared like that. Because it hadn’t been my imagination. I’d definitely seen him get yanked back into a black hole that had vanished a split second later. Was that how passi happened? We went through some kind of black hole? Either way, why did Christopher end up on my beach? Had he been spying on me? I was leaning on the side that he hadn’t, because he’d appeared just as confused as I was. And the way he’d been yanked back... He’d looked scared, which was why I’d shouted at him, panicked something was attacking him.
I quickly tiptoed up the L-shaped staircase, keeping to the side to avoid the squeaky plastic runner covering most of the blue carpet. At the top, I glanced through the kitchen doorway at the phone on the breakfast bar. I really wanted to ring Christopher to check if he was all right, but knew it was a bad idea. Not only was it way too early in the morning, who would answer the phone? His grandfather or father? I could just imagine what they would say to me—none of it good. Which meant I had to wait a few hours until I could see him at school, hoping that what I’d witnessed was a passe and not something more sinister.
I rushed into the hallway that led to the bedrooms, quietly slipping into my room before my parents could catch me, not keen on explaining why I was up so early—or wet. I still hadn’t mastered how to dry off magically. One of Sister Cecile’s books had described how it was done, but it was always hit and miss with me. It worked sometimes, while other times I was left drenched—like now. I should’ve brought a change of clothes, but I wasn’t one for planning ahead, my Kiwi she’ll be right attitude going to get me into trouble one of these days.
I removed my wet clothes and towelled off, quickly dressing in my nightie. I stuffed my wet clothes into a plastic bag and hid it under my bed, then grabbed one of Sister Cecile’s manuscripts. Snatching up my torch, I climbed into bed with the book and flicked to the chapter on passi, hoping to find something that could explain what the black hole was.
I read through the pages, growing increasingly frustrated when I couldn’t find anything about it. Just before I was about to give up, I finally stumbled on something that looked of interest:
Often people confuse astral projections with passi. A passe is when a Merge’s soul travels through time, while astral projection is current. A passe also involves the possession of another person’s body for a short period of time, whereas astral projection is spiritual, the soul not bound by corporeal elements. When a projection is complete, the soul* is sucked back into the Merge’s body, thus extinguishing the projection. Also, while all Merges can have passi, not all can astral project. Only Seraphim, Halos, and Stellas* can achieve this state through a Halo rosary. Halo Merges start projecting from a young age, while Seraphim generally experience their first projection around their eighteenth year. Unlike Halos, Seraphim have less control over their projections, which is largely attributed to the fact that they cannot project without experiencing emotional turmoil, the fire within them igniting the out of body experience.
*A Merge’s soul is made up of a pure energy akin to light.
*The inclusion of Stellas is a contentious subject, due to their existence not being proven.
I stopped reading, the part about ‘emotional turmoil’ worrying me. Again, I wondered whether Christopher was all right. Up until he’d been dragged away by the black hole, he seemed fine, albeit a touch stunned. But why did he project to where I was? And how did he even know I’d be there? Was it unintentional or did he do it on purpose? Either way, I needed to find out.
***
Barking startled me awake. The book I’d been reading fell off my lap, landing on my deep blue carpet. Annoyed I’d fallen asleep, I leaned over the side of my bed and pushed the book underneath, wishing my neighbour’s dog would shut up. I’d read more about astral projection, finding out that the black hole I saw was a type of corridor, rather than something sinister. It also said that humans couldn’t see them, the phenomena only visible to supernatural beings. That last part had captured my full attention. It hadn’t just said ‘to Merges’ it had specifically said ‘to supernatural beings’, making me wonder just how many types of beings were out there.
“Catherine!” Mum hollered from another room. “Get up!”
Pushing out of bed, I slipped off my nightie and pulled on my bra, grabbing the first top I saw. Not paying attention to which one it was, I yanked it over my head, then shimmied into my jean skirt, stuffing my feet into my black Doc Martens. I stopped in front of my vanity mirror, all ready to prep and preen, but froze, dumbstruck by what I saw. My irises were now edged in blue, my normal hazel blending into it. I stared at the foreign colour for a while, unable to fathom what I was seeing.
“Catherine, you’re going to be late!” Mum hollered even louder.
Snapping out of my daze, I removed the rosary from around my neck, wondering whether it was to blame, but the blue circling my irises remained. I glanced down at the rosary, noticing the star bead had changed. Where there had been blue, there was now a fine line of hazel, the star stealing my eye colour and replacing it with its own. I examined the other stones, scrutinising each and every one of them to make sure they hadn’t changed too. Not finding anything odd with them, I slipped the rosary back over my head and settled it under my top, which I just realised was Christopher’s Black Sabbath shirt, the length much longer than mine.
“Catherine!”
Jolting at Mum’s voice, I snatched my school bag up as well as my sunglasses, slipping them on before heading for the kitchen. Mum was drying dishes, while Dad was nowhere in sight, probably having already left for work.
Mum glanced over her shoulder at me with an annoyed look. “About time!” she said, sounding exasperated. She was dressed in a smart blue-grey suit, with big lapels and even bigger shoulder pads, making her waist look tiny. She was even wearing her best pearls, the Joan Collins outfit at odds with what she was doing.
“Don’t you have servants to do that?” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
She gave me a puzzled look. “What are you on about?”
“You look like Alexis Carrington from Dynasty.”
A small smile pulled at her lips. “You think so?” she asked, running a hand down her skirt.
I nodded. “Just prettier.”
She flapped the tea towel at me, looking a lot happier than when I’d walked in, Mum a massive soap opera fan. “I made some breakfast for you, it’s on the table.” She indicated to my face. “And no sunglasses in the house, Miss Popstar.”
“Miss Rockstar, you mean.” I dropped my bag and started pretending to play a guitar, sticking my tongue out like Gene Simmons from Kiss.
She laughed. “Stick your tongue back in your mouth and go eat. I have an important meeting to go to.”
I stopped playing my air guitar and swiped up my bag, heading for the table. I picked up the piece of toast without the scrambled eggs and went to leave.
“No, Catherine, sit down and eat. I’m not in that much of a hurry.”
“I’m not really that hungry,” I said, with my mouth full.
“You’re not going to school without a proper breakfast, you’re already skinny as it is.”
“But—”
“No buts, sit and eat. I don’t make food just to throw it in the rubbish.”
Grumbling, I slumped down in my seat and dropped the toast. I picked up the fork and knife, ready to cut into my breakfast.
Mum appeared by my side with a tumbler of juice. “What did I tell you?”
I looked up at her. “To eat?”
“And to take your sunglasses off.”
She grabbed them before I could stop her, revealing my eyes. She let out a gasp and dropped the tumbler, the glass shattering against the floor.