Infinite 01 - Infinite Sacrifice

immediately. “I can promise that.”
    Hadrian is back now and hands me the clean rags.
    Within hours I’m struggling to breathe. Malkyn gives me my last rites as Hadrian sits next to me. Emeline and Daniel stand in the far background.
    “Tell the children that I love them,” I cough out. “Make sure they know their father was searching for them.”
    Malkyn promises.
    “He wanted them to know he was sorry.”
    I hear the cries of Rowan and Oliver coming from the chapel as they run to me, throwing their arms around me and wetting me with their tears. I feel warmth spread all throughout my body from their embrace. I let out one life-long breath and close my eyes.





* = Not present in that life

Epilogue
    “Come back,” Zachariah says out of the foggy distance, bringing me back to the chair on the beach. I look over to see Zachariah still holding my arm, the waves endlessly rolling in.
    “Are you okay?” he asks.
    I don’t say anything for some time.
    After some silence, Zachariah tries again. “I’m here to help you make sense of everything.”
    I finally release the breath I’ve held inside me since the viewing. “I don’t know what to say. This isn’t what I expected at all. I don’t even know where to start.”
    I suck in a heavy breath of ocean air, charged with salty ions created from so much forceful motion of water and wind.
    “First, we need a little change of scenery,” he says with a smile.
    Instantly, we’re sitting in the front seat of an old blue Chevy truck. The smell of damp beach blankets, salty fishing rods, and warm vinyl engulfs me.
    “Isn’t this better?” He pushes back on the benchseat next to me, the old leather crackling in protest.
    He leans over to check. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
    “Yes, but it’s getting harder to watch with each life.” The tears roll down my cheeks and I wipe my nose on my sleeve, only to see him offering a tissue.
    “Because you’re starting to care about people.”
    I nod. “Who are they in my life now?”
    “I can’t tell you that. You will have to see them progress as time goes on. It’s important to see each of their journeys as well.”
    “I think I can guess, though,” I say, remembering Ellie’s scar and Finn’s familiar slight gap in his teeth. I knew they’d been with me since the beginning.
    “Maybe this will make you feel better.”
    I open my eyes to torrential rain hitting the Chevy; a thunderstorm rumbles a safe distance away.
    “I love storms, especially when I’m crying.”
    “I’ve only known you a few thousand years.”
    His tight smile warms me. Simply being near him makes me feel better. We are both quiet for a moment while we watch the rain obscure the view out the windshield. I take in the leathery, musty smell of the rusty car and notice the windows begin to fog up around us.
    I dab my eyes and clear my throat. “So am I finished? Can I see my family now?”
    “Oh, there’s more to see yet before you’re ready to move on.”
    “Move on to another life?” I’m afraid of his answer.
    “You will—” He put one slender finger in the air to stop himself, and with a wink, he adds, “Almost got me there.” He shifts his weight. “Let’s just say move on and leave it at that.”
    “How many more lives do I have?”
    “The quicker we work through all of this, the sooner you’ll be reunited.” He stops the rain; the clouds begin to part as the sun shines through in thick rays.
    “At this point am I supposed to review my lives and talk about what I did wrong?”
    Finn.
    “No need for that. There is no ‘wrong.’ Everything happens for a reason. Life’s not about staying on a path but about surviving the detours. It’s the wrongs that sometimes teach you the most.”
    Zachariah continues, “You’re the only one to judge, but if you mistreated someone in a previous life, your soul’s evolution will require reconciling it in the next.”
    Finn.
    I see Erna’s bright little face and then see the image of her lying in Thora’s arms.
    “Why did Erna die so young?”
    “Because that is what Erna planned.”
    “Well, not why did she die so young, but why do babies and little children die before they even really get to live?”
    “It teaches the soul a lesson about dying young, but more importantly, it teaches those around them critical lessons about loss and the miracle of life.”
    “Does a small child or baby feel the pain?”
    “We’re careful to take the child gently.”
    I