The Virtue Star: First Point Hope / Chapters 4 & 5 (Please read Chapters 1,2 & 3 first)

Chapter 4

"What time did he die?" Sis asked.

"At 2:02 this afternoon," Constance said. "I stopped the clock and covered his face with the blankets."

Sis placed her purse on the hallway table. Relieved at her arrival, Constance and Gabriel hugged her. Sis was average in height but had a heart to top the tallest things on earth. She was beautiful and stylish, calm and discerning.

"Uncle Billy came over," Gabriel informed her.

"That couldn't have been a pretty scene," she snickered. "How did he take the news, by popping open the bubbly?"

"We didn't tell him Dad died, but he didn't ask." Constance stated dismissing the statement with a glance out the window.

"Stance," Sis eyed her to which Constance reluctantly returned the gaze. "You should have told him. Once the coroner has determined and documented the time of death, your uncle will know Bruce was already dead when he was here. He'll be quite angry and demand an explanation."

"Who cares," Constance said grumpily. "He's a monster."

"Billy will have a conniption knowing you tried to conceal your father's death."

"He's a beast,"Constance snarled. "I don't care how mad he gets and I rather enjoy making him fume."

"We'll just tell the truth. We didn't want him around and we still don't. We don't like Billy, Sis. We don't trust him," Gabriel added.

"Who knows what Billy would have done,"Constance pointed out.  "It was our option to wait for you and we waited."

"You're right about that, you are," Sis agreed. "He'd likely have taken Bruce  immediately away without notifying me. He is sure to always be taking advantage of the two of you. Yes, I suppose you did the right thing."

Chapter 5

Many months had passed since the death of Bruce Cairn. Constance and Gabriel moved in with Sis and would remain there until they were old enough to move back into their home. They slowly adapted to life without their father but the pain was daily evident in their eyes. His confusing words just before his death confused them like a puzzling homework question they knew must be answered before going on tot he next question.

Billy attempted time and again to get the land and house. He'd wait for them after school and attempt tricking them into signing documents giving him the house free of cost. they were onto his foolery and Sis had warned them of Billy's shenanigans, lecturing them to beware of not only Billy, but anybody requesting anything of them regarding the land and house. she didn't put it past Billy to use any means to obtain the property. Sis guarded the land like a 

German Shepherd dog. She knew Billy's intentions had nothing to do with love or concern for the children.

"Billy is trouble and what's worst is he enjoys it." she warned them.

"Why is he so obsessed with getting the house?" Constance asked as they strolled the grounds watering the plants and securing the upkeep.

"The house is lovely, but it's the land he's after," Sis confirmed as she gazed out to the sea. "Your home is only a tiny cottage, beautiful to be sure, but it's the position on these ten rolling acres overlooking the sea that has Billy so greedy."

"Will he ever take it from us?" Gabriel asked  concerned.

"No, dear," She stroked his hair. "Not as long as I'm breathing. This land and house belong to the two of you now. Billy is wasting his energy, but he'll not stop. Just stay on your toes about him."

Darkness slowly settled in. Enjoying the fresh sea air on the warm summer night, Sis poured herself a glass of wine and gave lemonade to the kids. A billion star lit the night.

"What happens if you die, Sis?" Gabriel asked. "Will Billy get our land then?"

Laughing a nervous laugh Sis responded, "I hope I don't go too son yet, but no, Billy will not get your land. Ti's certain he'll try, but it's fixed that his hands will never so much as plant a flower on these grounds, even after I'm long dead in my grave."

"I miss my father," Constance sadly said staring into the deep, dark night sky.

"I know you do, sweetheart," Sis commiserated.

"It's a beautiful night, though," Constance barely whispered.

"It is," Sis softly agreed. "The sea air is a gift from God, it is."

"Look Gabriel!" Constance said excitedly. "A shooting star! Make a wish!"

Upon her words, they quickly looked at one another remembering their father's story about shooting stars.

"There's another one," Gabriel laughed pointing skyward. "It's blue!"

"Midnight or electric?" Constance broadly smiled.

"Electric," he clarified. "The reflection off a spinning sun. It stands for prayer and connection with the Geoum. I wonder what a Geoum is?" he contemplated.

"I wonder where the Virtue Star is?" Constance added.

The calm look of empathy upon Sis' face turned to shock.

"You know about the Virtue Star and Geoum? she questioned. "Who told you?"

"You know, too?" Gabriel watched her face. "Did Dad tell you?"

"I was there!" Sis exclaimed. "I was there when your mother made that awful, fateful decision."

"What awful decision?" Constance asked.

"It was all to do with emotions and little to do with reality on Nann's part. Your mother followed her out of fear for Nann's well-being," Sis stated throwing her arms across her chest.

"What are you talking about?"

Sis shook her head with a breathy sigh and plopped tiredly down in a chair that faced the climbing moon. A forlorn smile curled at the edges of her lips as her eyes filled with tears that billowed but did not fall.

"I wondered if the day would come. You've no idea how long your father and I wanted to tell you that we believe Kate and Nann are still alive."

"Mom is alive?" Constance was shocked, and Gabriel's face showed he was, too.

Sis shook her head. "We can't be sure, but we believe."

"Where is she? Why didn't you ever tell us?"

"We thought you were too young, that you wouldn't understand, that you wouldn't know how to take it." She gave a short, pathetic laugh. "All of the things your father and I, ourselves, felt."

"Go on telling," Constance commanded.

"Oh, how do I go on without sounding like I think my youngest sister Nann was nothing but a frivolous, flirty young girl, which she absolutely was," Sis scooted her chair closer to the table.

Clouds hovered halfway hiding the moon causing eerie shadows of shallow darkness that spilled comical but scary silhouettes of their bodies hunched over the garden table as they eagerly hungered for the story of Kate Cairn.

"Your aunt Nann lived for the want of a man. She simply had to have the feeling of being in love. there was never a time that I can recall that she didn't have a man in he life. There was many a discussion between Kate and myself wondering if Nann even cared what kind of man she took in just so long as she had a man!"

"Well, Nann was beautiful," Constance reminded her.

"By the hand of God she was, "Sis agreed vehemently. "She is."

"What does Nann being a flirt have to do with my Mom," Gabriel questioned.

Sis rubbed her hands together and cleared her voice as if preparing to give a speech. "You'll think us nuts, your father and me, but your aunt Nann chose a very bad apple, indeed, with whom to fall in love. He was an astronomer named Gilden Downes. Very handsome, indeed, he was and intelligent to the embarrassment of us all. He was also egotistically proud, greedy, and exorbitantly self-serving. His soul was not shining; in fact, your mother and I both saw it right off,the gray shadow around hem. Every time we saw him then on, the shadow got darker and darker until one day, we noticed it had turned near black. It gave us the shivers. A black aura is equal to death. Kate worried so much about Nann, we both did, and with good reason. Nann was unique, to be sure, and very brilliant. She was endowed in many ways and held the greatest and most unusual gifts bestowed a human being, but common sense wasn't one of those gifts."

"What gifts?" Constance asked absorbed in the story.

"Well, physical beauty, obvious to every eye for she was hard to look away from and easy to look on. But," Sis bit her lower lip and whispered, "Nann could see the Virtue Star."

Constance and Gabriel quickly looked at one another.

"Then, there is a virtue star?" Gabriel jumped up to his feet.

"Oh, glory be, yes child," Sis nodded her head vigorously, clapped her hands and beamed a smile. "Nann could travel to and from the star, too. Those with that blessing are few and not likely to be noticeable just by looking at them."

Gabriel looked up into the sky, eyes squinted as he scanned the firmament for the golden star. "It's deep in the Stars of Wisdom," he spoke softly. "I have to be able to see into the womb."

"The womb?" Sis questioned.

"Dad said the bulge consists of the Stars of Wisdom and that its like a thick womb that protects the Virtue STar. How could Nann see into the star, Sis?

She laughed at Bruce's analogy. "That's a mystery, then. I can't give you the answer because I'm not sure I know."

"Go on telling," Constance urged impatiently.

Sis resumed her serious composure. "Gilden was well aware of Nann's ability to focus on the star. How Nann received the gift or why has been a life long puzzle to us all. Gilden, being an astronomer, ached to be recognized by his colleagues, but as intelligent as he was scholastically, he, too, lacked common sense, and also lacked a common courtesy for his peers. He would routinely claim that he discovered new constellations that simply were not there, and then berate his associates for being unable to detect the constellations he faked discovering. It was awkwardly bizarre. Sometimes, he would go deep into the centuries and dig up and planet or comet that hadn't been spoken of in ages. He would rename it a name to his liking, typically something that held his own name to it, and claim he had discovered it. Every time, his mistake was brought to the attention of the scholars and scientists, but do you think Gilden admitted his trickery? Goodness, no! It was they that were the fools, he insisted,  and had no depth of the universes as he determined them. He accused them of trying to finagle a find out from under him. To think about it now, I would define his character as paranoid and perhaps even schizophrenic.

"He was an extremely pouty man, like a two-year-old ranting and raving to get his own way. Over everything else in life, he wanted to claim and name a constellation for himself and go down in history as an astronomer well above his peers. His ego was the only real thing astronomical about him. But, to go on, there was this myth about a star that held the virtues that are crucial to humanity's existence and continuance. It was said no one had ever been able to see or find the star."

"I thought you said there were a few who had the blessing to see it," Constance  reminded her.

"So I did, and we found it to be true. There were, and are, and these dispelled the myth that none had. It's sad that some with the blessing have been murdered and others have mysteriously vanished. Some say they're in hiding. Others say they've been kidnapped by evil forces hiding in the black holes and were made to suffer until they told all they knew about the Virtue Star. Some say they finished their human work and quietly ascended to another life in another dimension. Some say, and your father believed, that certain of the earth governments have conveniently contained them in order to hasten their own selfish motives to harness the powers of the star. He believed there are constructed colonies within the black holes of space wherein evil forces are enlisted to unravel the mysteries of the star and procure that information to the government."

"Dad talked about a black hole," Constance softly remembered.

"Nobody and nothing can escape from a black hole," Gabriel smugly pointed out. "It isn't possible. Everybody knows that."

"So we all think it to be," Sis raised an eyebrow.

"Will the trapped ones tell by giving up the secret?" Gabriel asked stimulated by the mysteriousness of  it all.

"How can we know?" Sis replied.

"Do you think Mom and Nann are in the black hole?" Constance asked wide-eyed.

"Oh, Stance, I don't know."

"In the black hole?" Gabriel was astounded. "How would they even make it to the Milky Way? They'd have to go beyond the Troposphere and humans can't survive out there. there's no oxygen."

"Actually, from what I'd gathered from Nann, they would have to have access to the Milky Way through the Virtue Star and there begins the journey," Sis propped herself back in her chair. There are only a few, as I'd mentioned, withe the ability to penetrate all outer thoughts and focus uninterruptedly on the Virtue Star. It can't be an easy thing to do, but apparently, the real thing that becomes an obstacle is the lack of focus and determination."

"And believing," Constance added.

"Yes, that, too," agreed Sis. "From what Nann said, it isn't a lengthy process once your mind is attuned, but it is a process of total faith and truth. That's the hard part. Once the focus in uninterrupted and the virtue is obvious, the individual is transported directly to the Virtue Star where he or she is shown a personal design for progression, progression being a key word in its positive light. Upon that, the person is catapulted back to the outer limits of the Milky Way, in our case, Earth, within the Troposphere. Then comes the time to overcome obstacles and face and conquer the challenges on the journey back to the Virtue Star. When the person reaches the star the second time, that is where success is a bit more secure, yet the challenges could become harder from then on, too. Only one virtue at a time can be accomplished and Nann said it's crucial to go right onto the next virtue."

"I don't understand what this has to do with Mom?" Constance said frustrated.

"As I told you, Nann was in love with Gilden Downes. She followed him."

"Followed him where?"

"To the Virtue Star."

"I thought you said Gilden was an evil man."

"It's true," Sis nodded.

"How could he go to the Virtue Star, then?" Gabriel asked.

"Virtues are like two-sided coins," Sis began. "Gilden's concentration was intense in everything he did. He was an enormously penetrating man though not always in a pleasant manner. Apparently, the star will not turn away concentrated energy. Once within the realm of the star, an individual is given access to the virtue most needed for growth and progress and then are revealed the two sides of the sought after virtue. One side promotes growth while the other side fosters destruction. Once shown the two sides, it is up to the individual to determine the path it chooses to travel. We always opt for the better but somehow many end up on the down side.

"For instance, the virtue temperance in its better light calls for a soul to take on the attributes of the valuable qualities modesty, abstinence, and chastity, to name a few. The darker side of temperance, the flip side, succumbs to gluttony, drunkenness, and a lack of respect for life, no matter the life form.

"Once an individual has seen the dual sides of the virtue, it is cast back out to carryon with the second travel back to the star. Mind  you, the Geoum is an intrinsic energy constant at all time and delineates a plan best structured for healthy body, soul, and mind development. This plan is discussed between the Geoum and the soul; however, once the person is bac at the beginning to work the way onward again, free will and decision are the tools, or weapons, to that individual's use. That's where the growth or downfall comes into play. Human beings  forget there is a higher force for guidance. The greed and selfishness, most unfortunately, quite often take over.

"To go on, once a soul has its plan and returns for the go-again, it is impossible for that person's evil to ever enter the star. The hope is that when the person enters at the onset and is then cast out to make its choices for the return, the soul will decide for positive growth and not return to its former evil ways. Mind you, this isn't done overnight. It takes several lifetimes to accomplish."

"What if a mean person kills the Virtue Star when  he first sees it?" Gabriel asked with concern.

"Sweetheart, did you ever get a novocain shot for a toothache when at the dentist?"

"I hate the dentist!" Gabriel scowled.

Laughing, Sis carried on. "Yes, I can only imagine, however, your mouth is immovable and it's impossible to form a hearty sentence or eat or drink or even feel. That's kind of what happens when one meets the Virtue Star for the first time. We're disarmed. We're shot full of spiritual novocain and are able only to understand the value of love and its importance to set goals for the travels through life."

"Sis?"

"Yes."

"What if the second time back the person decides to be evil again?"

"Then," Sis shook her head, "it has no recollection but a distant voice that seems sometimes familiar. When the person decides to listen to the voice, which only leads with the way of love, then he or she must begin again. As I said, it takes many lifetimes."

"You said temperance is a virtue, but I don't know what a virtue is," Gabriel stated.

"Me neither," Constance added.

"Oh," Sis responded thoughtfully. "Well, we really do need to start at the beginning, don't we. Let's get some sleep and tomorrow over tea and raisin bread, I'll explain."

The Virtue Star: First Point Hope / Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

The rain ceased and the late evening sun streamed pink and amber rays through the thick, quick moving early autumn clouds. The clouds seemed in a rush to bring on winter, and Bruce Cairn lie dead in his bed like a cold, lifeless winter day. Constance took peace in the cool colors.

Upon his death, Constance stopped the clock and covered her father with a warm quilt to ward off chilling, undesirable spirits seeking to inhabit his soul. It was an old Irish custom she didn't necessarily believe in but didn't want to take any chance with her father's send-off to heaven.

"What now?" asked Gabriel as he approached his sister sitting curled up in a ball in a chair on the patio. "It's cold out here," he said. "I'm going to grab a sweater. You want one?"

"Mmmm, okay, sure," she thought about it. "Grab me a throw, brother, not a sweater, okay?"

Tossing the throw her way, he asked again. "What now, Stance?"

"I don't know. I'm trying to get a clear head. I can't believe Dad's gone, even though I was expecting it."

"We can't just leave Dad lying there. Will we get in trouble not calling the hospital?"

"He's dead, Gabriel. A hospital can't do him any good. We need to sit tight until Sis gets here. It's not against the law to wait for our aunt to come. The only other thing is to call Uncle Billy, and I'm not doing that."

"I wish Sis would get here," Gabriel looked toward the drive. "What do you think Dad was talking about?"

Constance shrugged. "I have no idea."

"He said Mom was singing to him," he tucked his hands deep into his sweater pockets and lifted his shoulders high against his neck to ward off the chill. He looked out toward the sea. "She loved to sing, remember?"

Constance smiled and nodded. Gabriel was getting so tall. "He was probably hallucinating."

"Probably," he agreed in a whisper. "The spiral arms are a true thing."

Constance looked at him with a puzzled look. "What?"

"The Milky Way does have spiral arms and the spiral arms do consist of gas clouds, billions of stars, and it does spawn out new suns. The rest though: the colors, the gas clouds spewing killing vapors, the spinning suns, the stars and suns detecting out-of-the-ordinary-phenomena; well, I'm not sure about that. I didn't learn that in science class or astronomy class. I've never read it in any magazines, either."

"You know about this stuff?" Constance was astounded.

"You do too, you just don't remember."

She laughed. "It all sounded like a far-out story to me.

She looked up into the night sky, darkening at an increasing rate.

"Anybody home here?" a booming voice shook the calm.

Fear came over the children's faces.

"Oh my God," Constance prayed more than stated.

"It's Billy," Gabriel whispered anxiously. "What'll we do?"

"Let me think!" Constance waved her hands in the air as if the action would provide her with the solution.

"Hurry, Stance!" Gabriel urged.

"Go into Dad's room through the seaside door and don't come out until I give you the sign. Lower the blinds, lock the doors, do whatever to keep Billy from going into Dad's room, Constance hurried him. "Go, quick, and lock the door behind you!"

"Anybody home here?" Billy yelled louder.

Constance could hear his obese, stomping gait.

"On the patio," she yelled while composing herself.

Gabriel tore around the curve of the patio, slid into his father's room, quietly shut the blinds, closed the drapes, and locked the door, all in the nick of time.

"Hey there, Con girl," Billy snarled puffing on a cigarette. "How's things?"

She hated being called Con girl and that's precisely why he used that name. Even more, she hated cigarettes and associated the foul odor with him.

"No different. You're just as smelly as always blowing that smoke out of your big mouth," she insulted him, a bit ashamed that it gave her such pleasure.

"Now, honey," he started as he stepped toward her.

"Don't call me honey, and don't come any closer," she growled.

"Why you such a smartass all the time, Con girl?"

"Why you such a pain-in-the-ass all the time, big Billy?" she countered.

Laughing, his belly rocked like an inner tube on a wavy lake. "When is that old man of yours gonna teach you some manners? Too bad your mama run off 'n got herself killed, course, she wasn't exactly no lady, so you wouldn't a learned nothin' from her."

"My mom didn't run off," Constance snarled.

"Your daddy oughta let you live with me for a while, honey. I'll teach you a thing or two about respectin' your elders. Where is the sick devil?"

"Go look in a mirror. It'd be staring back at you."

"Oh, you're a clever one, you are. Where is he?"

"Well, Billy, where do you think someone dying of cancer would be? Out ballroom dancing, maybe? Or swimming in the sea getting a little exercise? Maybe he took himself out to a fine restaurant for a juicy steak dinner."

Billy laughed a mean bellyful. "Yep, our daddy musta pissed God off real good to get his hands full with you."

"He's in bed. Where else?" she said snidely.

"I'll give the old fart a jiggle," he snickered walking toward the house.

"You don't want to go in there," Constance warned him.

"And why not?" Billy did a stupid jig to his question.

"Dad just did a woozy," Constance lied. "On second thought, go on in. Gabriel's cleaning him up and could use your help. You can hold Dad to one side while Gabriel washes him clean."

"I thought I smelt somethin' foul 'round here," Billy backed away.

"You're what stinks around here," Constance angered as she got to her feet and raced toward Billy. "My father would rather we leave him lying in his shit if it'd keep you away from him."

"You being so young, Con, it wouldn't be proper, me tellin' you where to hang your hat," he gave a look of disdain. "Your attitude won't be so sharp and sassy once your daddy is dead, and that can't be too long off. You'll be beggin' me for my kindness. I'll be back tomorrow," he snipped pounding the ground so hard Constance felt the earth shake.

The Virtue Star: The First Point Hope by Margaux Sky

Chapter 1

Bruce Cairn rambled on aimlessly about the stars, a milky white veil, and his wife who had died seven years earlier. Fevered and sweating, he thrashed wildly about in bed. As tumultuous as Bruce, the night outside was angry with piercing winds, bulleting rain, and a thunder that shook the house with its monstrous bellow.

His daughter, Constance, an aggressive fourteen-year-old full of fire and fearless curiosity, sat biting her nails and nervously kicking a crossed right leg in syncopation to a loud clock, her strapless sandal striking against her heel in timely beats. 

His son, Gabriel, a thirteen-year-old creator of comic characters and a bloodhound for anything scientific and mathematical, sat rigid and motionless against an equally stiff and wooden high back chair. Both children were rife with nerves from the erratic behavior of their father and the tempestuous weather. Bruce was a flurry of incoherent drivel while the weather was flux with uncontrollable agitation. The combination rattled the children's calm.

Constance watched her thirty-nine-year-old father, handsome still but frail, painfully thin, and wasting away. His bright blue eyes had become sunken, hollow, and pale while his head of full black hair had become thin and lacking any sheen. When he had his health, his looks outweighed any other man. She had inherited her father's striking silver blue eyes and thick, curly black hair and wore her hair loose, long, and wild, just like she was. Bruce had been athletically active in his youth and these are traits Constance inherited. She was competitive, strong, determined, and fearless. A natural athlete, she mastered many a sport but adored anything to do with water. A daily ritual saw her swimming two miles in the sea just across the country road and down the gully from the Cairn front porch. Her physique  proved her discipline and steadfastness for she was lean and muscular. Her physical strength matched her mental and emotional fervor but she lived life by instinct and intuition.

Gabriel inherited his mother's beautiful almond-shaped eyes, her slightly wavy, white blonde hair, and a skin tone that took well to the sun. He had taken on an appetite for constant reading and that was also one of Kate's passions. Though gifted in aggressive sports, he had a fondness for quieter hobbies like creating and drawing his comic characters and making up stories created around their caricatures. He, too, adored swimming and it wasn't unusual to find him stroking alongside Constance in the sea. Competitive, she would egg him into a race under the guise of fun, but he'd grown to match his sister's five-foot-five-frame so beating him in the free swim was a harder quest for Constance, which she loved. She hated losing and was known for throwing her temper if she did.

"He's saying something about the stars," Constance whispered.

Gabriel nodded.

"About mom, too," she added.

Gabriel nodded.

"It scares me seeing him like this," she admitted.

Softly petting him like he was a kitten, she laid her hand on Bruce's damp, hot forehead in hopes of pacifying his edgy behavior. It worked. His inconsistent gestures quieted and his belligerence mellowed into dim, uncomfortable moans. Concern obvious on their tired faces, the children each held one of their father's hands. Eventually, Bruce succumbed to sleep while they nodded off in chairs slid near to his bed.

The night passed quietly and come morning thunderstorms still grumbled like a hungry stomach while the lightening shocked the sky deep in the horizon. Constance thought it looked stunning, peering through the window. She turned on the kitchen light, prepared some coffee, and a breakfast of juice, toast, and fruit. Setting the breakfast tray on the end table nearest her father's bed, she noticed Gabriel still clinging to Bruce's hand. He must have held it the night long.

It was cancer that ravaged Bruce. By the time he went to the doctor to check on his increasing weight loss and growing ailments, the prognosis was distressing. The cancer had spread to several areas of his body and was too enraged to treat. That was only four months ago.

Kate Cairn had died seven years earlier at the age of thirty. Her sister Nann died alongside Kate. She was twenty-seven-years-old. Now, death hovered overhead once again threatening to take their father. 

Only seven years old when Kate Cairn died, the little Constance remembered about her was her voice and laughter. The two popped into her head at unprompted moments. She scoured photographs to remember her mother's calming smile and in rare moments for him, she would listen to her father reminisce about Kate. 

Sometimes, she would see Bruce staring at a particular picture of Kate that especially revealed her beauty and peaceful demeanor. She'd had blond, wavy hair that billowed down her back like a cloak of white gold. Her eyes were large, almond-shaped, and sparkled like a sunlit, calm green pond. Kate had been slender, graceful, and smelled like the fresh sea mist that blessed the peaceful mornings. Sometimes, Kate's love seemed so near Constance that she felt her mother must be alive. When she walked into the bright, airy kitchen, she was sure Kate would be there preparing a biscuit or tea. In reality, her mother seemed a beautiful fairy tale that once lived long, long ago.

She heard Gabriel stir and watched him for signs of awakening.

"I made some toast," she whispered.

He didn't respond but with the opening of one exhausted eye that inadvertently shut again.

"There's juice and coffee, too. It's eight-thirty," she told him.

Gabriel shifted in his chair and pulled the blue and green lambs wool throw around his shoulders for warmth. "It's cold," he mumbled.

"The storm is letting up," Constance informed him as she peeked around the curtain looking out the window.

Gabriel opened his eyes. "Is it still raining?"

"Yeah, but not like last night."

"Dad's still sleeping," he observed.

Bruce looked dead.

"I wish he'd move, but I don't want to wake him, either, y'know?"

Gabriel nodded as Constance watched his eyes slowly close again. She looked at her father.

"I can see him breathing, though," she whispered more to herself than to Gabriel as she watched the near non-existent rising and lowering of her father's chest.

Chapter 2

"What will we do?" Gabriel asked as he rolled an orange back and forth from hand to hand on the kitchen table.

"I don't know where we'll go," Constance answered. "I hope we can stay here."

"Are you sure Dad is going to die, Stance?" Gabriel asked knowing the answer full well.

"Yes," she responded sadly.

"Can you tell when?"

Gabriel stood and turned toward the kitchen window that looked out on the beautiful landscape of the endless sea. Two seals did playful turns through the low waves. His sadness had no place among them. They were happy with their lot in the sea tolling, turning, and playing. They didn't know about his aching pain and that his father lie dying only moments from death. He watched their spirited play and ached to run away to the sea and join them. Wouldn't it be lovely to swim away feeling free and playful like the seals? He did not feel free, nor did he feel joyous. He felt sad and hopeless. Scared, too. His sister's voice retrieved him from his gray thoughts.

"I can't tell when," she said. "He's been sleeping for days straight now. Except for last night's ranting, he hasn't spoken a word all week. He's lost so much weight, a stunning thing since he has no weight to lose. He doesn't eat; he doesn't drink but sips every now and then, mostly because we force him to. He can't even let us know when he needs to use the toilet. He's hallucinating or delirious or something. I can't say when, but it can't be too much further away."

"We can stay here, can't we, since it's our home?" Gabriel asked fearful of being put out of home.

"I think we can't live here by ourselves. They'll say we're too young. How will we pay bills? How will we get food?"

"I can get a job," Gabriel quickly stated knowing it was a false hope.

"Worst is I think Uncle Billy will be big trouble once he finds out Dad's been sleeping all these days straight. He's already been waiting for Dad to die. He's such a vulture."

"What about Aunt Sis?" Gabriel suggested. "Maybe we can live with her."

"Maybe," Constance shrugged. "She's got her hands full with her own family, especially Rocco. He's a troublemaker."

Gabriel walked to the window to watch the seals. They swam further and further out to sea until he could no longer see them. Constance stood from her chair and walked over to Gabriel and put her arm around him. They both stared dreamily at the gently rolling sea. Gulls squawked. Herons dove for fish. A light breeze entered through the screened window. Constance sighed heavily.

"It's so beautiful here," she said wearily as she sat down at the table sinking her chin into the palms of her hands.

"Kate?"

Startled, the kids looked at one another.

"Kate? Are you there?"

"It's Dad!" Constance thrilled as she dashed into the bedroom with Gabriel on her heels.

"Dad! You're awake!" Gabriel said as he sat on the bed next to his father.

"Where is your mother?" Bruce asked confused. "She was just here singing to me."

The kids looked at one another.

"Mom's been gone a long time, Dad," Constance told him.

"Nonsense," he replied perturbed. "She was just here singing to me. Where did she go? Where am I?"

"You're at home," Constance assured him putting her hand on top of his. He looked at it.

Bruce propped his head up as if to get a better look but dropped it back onto the pillow for lack of strength. He sighed deeply and painfully. "I feel very tired. I'm so thirsty."

Gabriel helped him to the glass of water on the end table.

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"Days on end," Gabriel said.

"Days on end," Bruce repeated. "That isn't possible." He looked around the room as if it were a strange place. "Where's Kate's picture?"

Constance grabbed it from atop the dresser and handed the bark framed photo to her father. He stared at the picture for the longest time. The kids watched and waited for his response.

"I was just with her," he said confused. "She was singing to me."

Bruce tried to reposition himself with little luck. Constance quickly arranged some pillows behind his back as Gabriel leaned him forward.

"Thank you," he responded with a tired but loving smile. "Come closer to me and sit down on the bed," he instructed Constance. "I have to tell you something very important. Come on then." He patted the bed with his weak hand.

"Are you hungry, Dad?" Constance hoped.

He shook his head and grimaced at the thought of food.

"I don't know how to tell you this," he spoke slowly and so faintly the kids had to strain to hear. "Your mother and Nann are not dead. I don't think they are, anyhow. I'm not sure."

Gabriel and Constance were astonished.

"What?" Constance asked in disbelief.

"They weren't in a plane crash. They didn't die in a plane crash like I told you. I told you they died in a plane crash because I didn't know how to explain what happened to them. It was a deliberate lie," he stated rubbing his head. "I still don't know how to explain."

"Is Mom alive?" Gabriel asked looking to Constance with hope.

Watching her father, Constance remained controlled and curious. She felt hope but also a resentment rising.

"I don't know. In my heart, I think she is. I've always felt Kate is still alive. The chances are remote after seven years, but I hope."

"If Mom wasn't killed in a plane crash like you said, and you think she's still alive, then where is she?" Constance questioned with a bitter tone.

"You see, there's this star," Bruce began as he pointed to the window. "Gabriel, please open that window a crack. Let some air in. It's hard to breathe."

Gabriel obliged as he and Constance eyed one another recalling the previous night and Bruce's hallucinations and banter about stars and a milky white veil.

"Remember in the summertime gazing up into the sky as we've done all these years, seeing all the beauty of space? Can you recall how much your mother loved the sky, how she loved the stars?"

"Yes," Gabriel said as Constance nodded.

Bruce took a tiny sip of water. "Well, long, long ago, when human beings were just beginning to emerge as a sure effective strength on the planet, it was clear among the higher forces that without a secure plan of virtues humans would quickly run amok. It's been said that the basic nature of humankind is love."

He shook his head to quell the dizziness that weakened him. Constance watched him with a piercing stare.

"It can be a true thing, see, but for every emotion of love and kindness lies the deterring alter egos of selfishness and greed. Earth is a planet of dualities and extremities. Humans are rife with the two. We can't seem to get it in our heads that choice is the blessing. Acceptance, too. We opt to decide we have little choice in matters. No doubt there are factors that bring us to our problems and the factors are oftentimes ugly creatures that initially look charming."

The children eyed one another. Constance shrugged her shoulders at Gabriel indicating confusion. Gabriel responded with a buckled brow.

"In an attempt to stifle the lesser emotions of humans the higher forces created a star called the Virtue Star. From every point on earth and every point from any point in any universe, the Virtue Star shines like no other but only to those with truth and sincerity in their hearts. Its light cradles all of life. Earth is in the galaxy Milky Way. This is important. Pay attention. Hear me?"

"Yes," Gabriel responded for them both.

"The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy. Now, what that means is that its shape resembles that of a spiral disk when looked at through a proper telescope. It spans over a hundred thousand light years and is approximately three thousand light years thick. To give you an image it's longer than it is wide. You know this. Do you remember what light years are, Constance?"

"Why are you telling us this? Where's Mom? What does the Milky Way  have to do with Mom?" she responded abruptly and curtly.

"Tell me, Constance, do you remember what a light year is?"

"It's a unit used in measuring stellar miles," Gabriel answered. "It's a bridge or vacuum of light whose travel spans 5.88 trillion miles."

"Thank you, Gabriel. I know you know, but Constance, you must get alert," Bruce said mustering up a bit of impatience toward his daughter. "You understand it's a great distance to travel, if one could travel that vacuum of light. Hand me a pencil and paper, please."

He drew a picture of the disk of the Milky Way and the spiral arms that float and curve outwardly from its body.

"The disk of the Milky Way consists of spiral arms that extend out from the central bar of the galaxy's center. We can compare the disk to the human body and the central bar as the human heart with the spiral arms being our arms and legs, okay?"

"Okay," Gabriel smiled as if playing a game.

"Understand, Constance?" Bruce asked well aware of the anger seething in her. "I don't blame you for being upset with me."

"Where is Mom, Dad? What happened to her?" Constance bit her lip to hide her fury.

"I'm getting to it, honey, do you understand the comparison of our bodies to the body of the Milky Way?"

"Yes," she snapped.

"Within these spiral arms that float outwardly curving from the central bar of the Milky Way are millions of very young stars, let's compare them to the ages of human infancy to three years of age, so you have an idea. Their color is blindingly white with a pulsating blue tint that outlines their five-point-bodies. This blue outline is extremely important. It indicates they're going to be fighters, these young stars are. They're fearless and experimental. Daring and ambitious. They're determined and aggressive. They're also very protective of life and determined toward good. They're called Defters.

"These spiral arms that float out from the central bar of the galaxy consist of something else, too. They consist of giant gas clouds that produce and release various forms of vapors, depending on the deed or dilemma with which they are confronted. These gas clouds also continually spawn out new suns. Countless new suns. Suns just like the sun that warms earth, but the Milky Way's suns are detectors. Each sun spins and rotates displaying a thousand eyes of radar that vary in color. Red for aggressiveness or danger, purple for passivity, brown for positioning of construction or destruction, green for hands-on construction or destruction, yellow for retreat, orange for calm, midnight blue for peace, pink for creativity, creation, and sensuality, and electric blue for spiritual connection with the GEOUM.

"When you look up to the sky at night and see stars that twinkle with these colors that

reflect off the spinning suns, you'll now know what these colors represent. These spiral arms are

monitoring and detecting anything out-of-the-ordinary that attempts to enter the Milky Way and

anything out-of-the-ordinary has little chance to get beyond them and into the bulge. But, it's been done.

"One life force, unfortunately an evil one, has partially succeeded in its quest to penetrate the spiral arms, maneuver between the spinning suns, and get beyond the paralyzing and killing gas clouds. This evil force has yet to be located and annihilated. It has not yet penetrated the bulge. We must see that it doesn't get that far. God help us, if it does."

Constance and Gabriel stared at their father with puzzled looks. Bruce could tell they weren't sure what to make of his painstaking attempt to enlighten them to their mother's whereabouts.

"The center of the Milky Way disk is called the Bulge," he continued. "You have the central bar, see, then you have the spiral arms that float outwardly from the central bar, see? Now, we have the Bulge that I will liken to a womb. The Bulge is like a womb that thickly consists of older stars that are a brilliant, deep, deep yellow, like an egg yolk. The spiral arms of stars, the spinning suns, and the spawning clouds honor these older stars and are in constant parade to protect them.

"The Bulge harbors the Stars of Wisdom. The Stars of Wisdom hold incredible power and are of enormous importance. They, too, are five-point-stars but produce a stunning lavender glow about their bodies. They have a tremendous responsibility for deep within the womb of the Stars of Wisdom lives the Virtue Star.

"The Virtue Star has seven peaks. It is a brilliant and effervescent pale pink whereupon each tip burns the fire of justice. It isn't an actual fire, but an energy said to be so powerful it looks like a halo of fire spilling out of the top of each point. Of all things for which humans strive, this, the Virtue Star, should be the first. But, greed blinds us. It is the greatest gift to humankind, but incredibly, most people know nothing about its existence. All other stars live and die to protect the Virtue Star. It must be this way. A thing people don't know is that without the Virtue Star survival for humanity is not a possibility."

Bruce looked at his children for verbal reaction, but they stared at him in awe as though he were a fantastic storyteller and waited for him to carry on. He desperately needed them to grasp what he was trying to get across. Breathing in quick pants and clearly exhausted, he continued.

"When humans see a shooting star, we oooh and aaah the burning star and even make a wish on it. It does look romantic, but in truth, a shooting star is a star that has given its life to protect the Virtue Star, thereby protecting the human race. Everything, all that I've told you of: the central bar, the spiral stars, the spinning suns, the spawning clouds, the Stars of Wisdom, the Bulge, and the Virtue Star are all sheathed within the Supreme Halo.

"The Supreme Halo consists of the oldest stars and globular clusters. You can imagine the star clusters to be family packs, then, see? Fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, brothers, see? The clusters ramble about the skies like silver balls in a pinball machine. They are fearless warriors and will deliberately hurl themselves into the enemy to obliterate the terrorist without notice, like a kamikaze fighter. They ceaselessly move wildly within space.

"Like a family, they stick together through thick and thin, just like we have. The Supreme Halo spans three-hundred-thousand-light-years from the center. What's a light year, Constance?"

"It's a unit to measure the span of light," she responded dryly.

Gabriel shook his head. "It's a unit used to measure stellar miles."

"It travels real fast," she continued giving Gabriel a dirty look.

Correcting her, he stated, "It travels very far."

The children's competitive bicker caused Bruce to laugh. Happy to see him smiling, the kids responded likewise.

"I'm so tired," Bruce complained. "You can imagine the power and the necessity to keep that power in its proper place and free of evil. Help me lie back down. I'm exhausted and cold."

They assisted him and Constance pulled the covers up to his chin, tucking the blanket around his neck to keep out the cold, though she knew the room was quite warm.

"Understand that though the Virtue Star's power is massive and directed toward all things good, like all things good and grand its power is desired by the greedy who seek to harness it for reasons that clearly are not good or beneficial to humankind. My head is pounding. I'm freezing. My chest feels like an elephant is sitting on me. It's hard to breathe."

"Don't go to sleep, Dad," Gabriel said forcefully. "Try to stay awake."

Bruce's eyes were already shut and his breathing reduced to short, quick pants.

"You need to reach the Virtue Star," he said weakly. "Each peak of the star represents a virtue. Enter and learn. One virtue cannot stand alone without the others. To learn is to progress yourselves and humanity and you all must prepare for a very rude awakening."

"Stance, I'm scared," Gabriel fretted. "Make Dad stay awake."

"Dad, where's Mom? Tell me," Constance pleaded.

"The brain, the emotions, and the soul are connected in all thought and action and determine the consequences of all we do individually and universally. If one falters, we all falter."

"What does he mean, Stance,?" Gabriel asked annoyed.

Frustrated, she could only shrug her shoulders to answer.

"I thought I was being clear," Bruce whispered. "I have to sleep. I want to see Kate, be with Kate."

"Where?" Constance was torn.

She could see her father needed rest, but she was afraid if he fell to sleep he wouldn't wake up again. His face had a deathly gray about it and his breathing was in short spurts.

"Dad, please tell me where Mom is? What does Mom have to do with the Virtue Star?"

"Now you understand," he smiled faintly.

"No I don't!" she practically yelled, angry with his not being clear to them.

"Kate," he whispered.

"Dad, don't sleep," Gabriel begged him as he gently shook Bruce. "Stay awake."

"He's in the black hole."

"Who? Who's in the black hole? What are you talking about?" Constance became suddenly calm and soft-spoken.

"I love you, Constance. Strong and intuitive. Aggressive. Determined. Curious. Too foolhardy to be frightened. A strong leader. You will serve well."

"Serve?" she questioned. "Serve who?"

Constance looked at Gabriel. He was crying uncontrollably. She couldn't cry. She wanted to understand her father but he made no sense.

"Gabriel, I love you, son."

Gabriel held his father's hand.

"Your talents will serve you well. Steadfastness. Solid thinking. Calculating. These will map your way. Your ability for memory will save you time and again. Your calm will be needed to steady your sister's difficult tasks. Your imagination is keen. Use it. Rely on it."

"I don't understand, Dad," Gabriel wept.

"What about Mom?" Constance calmly repeated. "Where is she?"

"They'll try to separate the two of you. Don't let them. That would be dangerous for you."

"Dad, don't sleep," Gabriel cried. "No more sleeping. You can't be sleeping."

He repeated it over and over again for several minutes until Constance took him into her arms to comfort him. Tearing away from her and sobbing, he fell to the bed laying his head upon his father's chest. Constance stood emotionless and tearless.

"How do we find the Virtue Star?" she whispered to her father now breathless and dead.

(Stay tuned for Chapter 3)