CHAPTER 14 – BACK AT HOME
16:12 (New York Time)
Friday, February 2, 1996 ‘C’
Students’ cafeteria, Juilliard School
West 65th Street, Manhattan
New York City, U.S.A.
Carrying her electric guitar in its case and a haversack containing her school books needed by her to study during the weekend, Nancy came down to the students’ cafeteria with Lucy and Sarah. As per the band’s routine, she saw Erika and Carmen sitting at a table, waiting for them to return together to their two apartments in the Hells’ Kitchen District in Erika’s minivan. However, Nancy also saw that Erika and Carmen were talking with another girl sitting at their table. Nancy’s jaw dropped on recognizing that girl.
‘’MOM!’’
She ran for the rest of the distance, slowing down only in order to put down her guitar case before warmly hugging Ingrid, who was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a beige turtleneck sweater. On her part, Ingrid returned her hug with passion, kissing Nancy on the cheeks multiple time.
‘’It is so nice to see you after so many weeks, Nancy. How are you doing?’’
‘’Just fine, Mom! My studies are going well and I love this school. And you? I thought that you were on a warship sailing in the Black Sea.’’
‘’Well, I returned to Washington as soon as the situation had improved enough there to permit me to leave the U.S.S. NEPTUNE. With my position at the top of the Pentagon hierarchy, I cannot afford to concentrate solely on one thing for too long: there are so many things that need my attention in Washington. However, I took the liberty of clearing this weekend and take a few days off, to relax from those weeks of fighting. Since I was dying to see you and since I actually have rarely visited New York in the past, I decided to come and spend my weekend off here with you. I hope that you will be able to accommodate me for the weekend at your apartment?’’
‘’Are you kidding, Mom? How could I not accommodate you for a few days? As for visiting New York, me and the girls will be more than happy to play guides for you: we have explored the city quite a lot since our arrival last Summer. This city has so much to offer and show. Well, we are now all together, so let’s pile up in Erika’s minivan and drive to our home in Hell’s Kitchen.’’
All five girls grabbed their things and walked out of the cafeteria with Ingrid, who put back on her winter coat before going down to the underground garage of the building. With Erika driving, they soon were rolling south down Eleventh Avenue, heading towards the Hell’s Kitchen District. As they were rolling rather slowly due to the dense city traffic and the thin coating of snow on the roads, Ingrid asked a question to nobody in particular while looking around.
‘’So, is the Hell’s Kitchen District as bad as its name implies, girls?’’
‘’Not really!’’ replied Sarah Weissman, an extremely intelligent girl who knew well New York City and its history. ‘’It earned its nickname mostly around the start of this century, when waves of poor European immigrants came to New York, in search of jobs and better living conditions. However, the city has done a lot of efforts to improve things during the last couple of decades. While there is still quite a lot of poverty, homelessness and criminality around the district, things are nowhere as bad as one would think just from its nickname.’’
‘’I see! And is it safe for girls to walk around at night?’’
‘’Uh, there are places where I would hesitate to go at night, but not only in Hell’s Kitchen: the South Bronx and Harlem are two other places in New York where things can get rough. Drugs is one of the main problems the city has, along with gang violence and homelessness. There was also a severe epidemic of AIDS among the city’s gay community but the miraculous mass healing done by an angel in September of last year basically eradicated AIDS in New York. You must have heard about that, General?’’
‘’Please, just call me ‘Ingrid’, girls. Yes, I did hear about it. Being a Chosen of The One, I can tell you that it was an angel sent by The One who performed that healing energy burst.’’
‘’Could we talk more about this ‘One’ once at our place, Ingrid?’’ asked Carmen Estrada, attracting a surprised look on Ingrid’s face.
‘’Nancy didn’t tell you anything about The One? You do know that Nancy is half part of The One, right?’’
Nancy then interjected herself at that point of the conversation, her tone sober.
‘’I have not really discussed much about The One with my band members or anybody else, Mom: I try to stay discreet as much as I can about that subject. After all, you know as well as me that The One doesn’t seek public recognition or worship: there are already too many gods being worshipped around the World, with mostly negative consequences like intolerance, bigotry, misogyny and ignorance.’’
‘’You are too right about that, Nancy.’’ agreed Ingrid. ‘’This war in the Caucasus was partly caused by religious hatred, with Armenia being a Christian Orthodox country and with most of its neighbors being Muslim countries. The leaders of the Caucasus Islamic Republic in particular were peddling a lot of religious hatred and intolerance…until our missiles and aircraft flattened most of them inside their palaces and government buildings.’’
‘’And who is leading that country now, Ingrid?’’ asked Sarah Weissman, who as a Jewish girl was very conscious about the religious tensions in the Caucasus and Middle East.
‘’Basically, we don’t know yet. There is presently a dispute for power in their capital of Krasnodar and the situation there is quite confused. The one good thing about that is that our strikes have convinced both Azerbaijan and the C.I.R. to pull their troops out of Armenia, at least the ones who survived our airstrikes. In their present weak state and with most of their military infrastructures and major equipment holdings destroyed, those bastards are not about to attack Armenia again. Unfortunately, they had time to cause tremendous damage and kill many Armenians before they had to withdraw from Armenia.’’
‘’And Russia in this?’’ asked Erika while driving. ‘’They did try to intervene indirectly in that war, no?’’
Ingrid guffawed at that question before answering it.
‘’Oh, they did, Erika! However, it didn’t do them any good. As a result of their treacherous attempt at attracting the U.S.S. NEPTUNE into a submarine ambush, the Russians are now trapped inside the Black Sea and cannot sail into the Mediterranean, except by coming from the Baltic Sea or from their Arctic ports. That’s on top of their citizens being barred from entering Turkey and the U.S.A. As a result, the present leaders in the Kremlin are having to face a lot of recriminations and hard questions from their own political and economic elite, which is suffering the most from those embargos. I predict that the time in power of those leaders is counted.’’
‘’Yay!’’ exclaimed Nancy. ‘’I despise tyrants and dictators. Let them eat humble pie!’’
‘’I can’t agree more about that, Nancy.’’ replied Ingrid, smiling. However, Erika was not as enthusiastic as Nancy on the subject of Russia and the Caucasus.
‘’Excuse me if I play the killjoy here but it seems to me that you cut off the head of the monster only to possibly see a new head as ugly as the previous one grow up in its place. Am I too pessimistic?’’
‘’Actually, you are quite right about this, Erika.’’ said soberly Ingrid. ‘’We still don’t know what kind of new leadership will emerge from this conflict in the C.I.R. and Russia. That’s unfortunately the nature of the beast in that region of the World.’’
The rest of the trip to their apartment building was then spent mostly in silence, as they mentally reflected on the troubling reality of the Caucasus.
Some fifteen minutes later, Erika was parking her minivan inside the private garage her group had rented along with their two studio apartments. Locking from the inside the garage door, she then followed the rest of the group up to the apartment on the top floor she shared with Nancy and Lucy. Once inside the apartment, Nancy smiled to Erika as Ingrid waited with the single suitcase she had brought with her from Washington.
‘’Erika, would you mind if my mother would share your bedroom with you? Me and Lucy already pretty much fill the other bedroom in this apartment.’’
Erika, not believing her luck, broke at once into a wide grin.
‘’Of course I won’t mind, Nancy!’’
‘’Excellent! Mother, you can now settle in in Erika’s bedroom: it is the second one down that short corridor.’’
‘’Alright! Show me your place, Erika.’’ replied Ingrid. Erika led her at once to her bedroom, where a large queen-size ben throned, surrounded by a large chest of drawers, a work desk supporting a computer, a vanity and a large closet. One window provided a fair level of illumination to the room, which had been painted a light beige-salmon pink.
‘’Give me a minute and I will clear one of the drawers, so that you could put your things in, Gen…uh, Ingrid.’’
‘’That’s better! In the meantime, I will suspend my outfits in your closet.’’
Watching discretely while emptying one drawer, Erika saw that Ingrid had brought only three sets of spare clothes with her, including a going out uniform in the style of the U.S. Space Corps, a style that Erika found both futuristic-looking and most appealing. Ingrid was soon able to put her personal hygiene items and underwear inside the drawer emptied by Erika.
‘’By the way, I normally sleep in the nude, Erika. Do you mind that?’’
With a rush of blood to her brain and suddenly feeling quite hot, Erika took a second to respond, trying to hide her jubilation at those words.
‘’Uh, of course not, Ingrid.’’
Once finished putting her things away, Ingrid surprised Erika by walking to her and gluing herself to her while gently smiling.
‘’Erika, I have to warn you that, like Nancy, I am a telepath. I thus know that you like girls. I also wanted to tell you that, because I remember dozens of past incarnations, including as a man, I am bisexual, like Nancy. So, don’t be shy tonight about getting close to me.’’
‘’Oh my god! Ingrid, to be frank, I have dreamed of getting in bed with you since the first day I met you: you are a fantastic-looking girl and you have an even more fantastic mind and personality.’’
That declaration brought a big smile on Ingrid’s lips before she kissed Erika on the lips while holding her tightly. That kiss quickly turned into a full-blown mutual French kiss, with Erika hungrily fondling with both hands Ingrid’s firm breasts. Erika finally parted from Ingrid, breathing heavily and with sparkles in her eyes.
‘’My god! I can’t wait for tonight’s bed time, Ingrid.’’
‘’And I will do my best to satisfy you, Erika. The one thing I will ask from you is to keep my revelation about me being bisexual strictly to yourself. The American military is still quite intolerant about LGBTQ people, not to speak about the intolerance shown by most American citizens, and I could be forced to leave the service if this becomes widely known. The only one you can talk about this with is Nancy, which I understand you have flirted with many times already.’’
‘’I understand and promise to keep mum about you, Ingrid. Uh, would you like to go out with us on foot for supper? There are a lot of very good ethnic restaurants nearby, on Ninth Avenue.’’
‘’That sounds like a very interesting idea, Erika. Let’s go see the other girls and discuss our choice of restaurant for supper. Personally, I like pretty much everything, thanks to the souvenirs from my past incarnations. However, I have a weakness for German and Asian cuisines.’’
‘’I also love German cuisine! My family descends from German immigrants. I do also like Chinese, Thai and Japanese cuisines.’’
‘’Then, we should have a nice supper together as a group.’’ declared Ingrid.
20:13 (New York Time)
Corner of West 51st Street and Eleventh Avenue
Hell’s Kitchen District, Manhattan
Having eaten together at a Thai restaurant on Ninth Avenue, Ingrid, Nancy and her band members were about to cross Eleventh Avenue to return to their apartment building when Nancy paused and touched Ingrid’s arm while speaking to the other girls.
Dewitt Clinton Park, corner of West 52th and 11th Ave.
‘’Go back to your apartments without me, girls. I’m going to show a bit of our neighborhood to my mother.’’
‘’Uh, don’t you think that it is a bit late for that, Nancy?’’ asked Sarah, clearly worried. ‘’This is not the safest time for walking around.’’
‘’Do not worry, Sarah. You know that I can defend myself, while my mother is no slouch in that department either. We will be fine.’’
‘’As you wish, but be careful!’’
On this the group parted, with Nancy walking north along Eleventh Avenue with Ingrid, to stop briefly at the corner with West 52nd Street, where she pointed at the Dewitt Clinton Park across the avenue. ‘’This is the Dewitt Clinton Park, the sole public park in this district. It was once a den for drug dealers and a violent street gang, but the city cleaned up the park during the last year and frequent police patrols forced the drug dealers away. Also, the park was home to many homeless people, except in Winter, when the cold forced them to find places in the various shelters around here. The girls and me took on us to help them after we first met those homeless people, often bringing them hot meals from nearby restaurants. As Winter approached, I tried to find a better way to help them, as the shelters available often don’t have enough places for all of them in Winter. Then, I found out about an old apartment building nearby that was built in the 1880s but had been neglected by its owner, who also abused his tenants and even used vandalism and violence to try to evict them. That owner is now doing jail time and the city took over the administration of the building, which is considered as a historical landmark, until it could find an honest developer who would renovate and restore the building. Since that building was by then nearly empty of tenants, I talked to the city managers and convinced them to let the homeless people from the Dewitt Clinton Park occupy some of the empty apartments, with the promise from me to pay for the most urgent repairs and renovation work, on top of paying the rent for those homeless people. While they still are very poor and destitute people, at least now they don’t need to freeze anymore while trying to sleep on park benches or in beaten up improvised tents.’’
Ingrid couldn’t help look at her daughter with renewed respect and appreciation.
‘’But that must have cost you a fortune! Property is so expensive in Manhattan! Where did Windermere Apartments Complex you find the money for that?’’
That question brought a malicious grin on Nancy’s face.
‘’Officially, the money came from my share of the treasure we found in Panama four and a half years ago. Unofficially, while I sank much of my share of that treasure in renting and renovating those apartments for the homeless people from the park, I also got some financial help…from The One.’’
Nancy nearly laughed on seeing the face Ingrid made on hearing that.
‘’You heard me right, Mom: The One really helped me financially for that project, as it promoted charity and care for others. Basically, The One materialized gold coins similar to those Spanish gold pieces we found in Panama and also gave them the old, eroded appearance of 16th Century Doubloons. I actually paid the city administration and the renovation company with those gold doubloons, so my story is quite a solid one in their mind. In return, they promised to keep me in mind as a prospective new owner of the Windermere Apartments Complex, with what I already spent on renovations considered as a part down payment for the building.’’
‘’And the raw gold itself? Where did it come from, or did The One simply materialized it out of thin air?’’
‘’The raw gold was taken by an angel of The One from the private vault of an African dictator who I will leave unnamed. So, this was for both making a charitable gesture and for rendering justice against a bastard who richly deserved it.’’
Ingrid nodded her head slowly, truly impressed.
‘’And how much more would you actually need to have to finish buying that building and renovate it, Nancy?’’
‘’A bit over six million dollars, but don’t worry about that: The One is ready to send me more gold once the city will have taken a decision about the building. My feeling is that I am going to become the new owner soon, in the next few weeks.’’
‘’Nancy, you make me proud of you, truly.’’ replied Ingrid before kissing her daughter on both cheeks. ‘’You are my angel!’’
‘’But I am an angel, Mom! At least half of me IS an angel.’’
21:34 (New York Time)
Nancy’s and Erika’s apartment
607 West 51st Street, Hell’s Kitchen District
‘’You wanted to speak to all of us, Ingrid?’’
‘’Yes! Please have a seat, girls.’’
Lucy, Sarah, Carmen and Erika then took place on the two sofas of the apartment’s lounge, while Ingrid stayed on her feet, facing them and with Nancy at her side. Both of the latter showed serious, nearly solemn expressions on their faces as they looked down at the four teenagers. Ingrid then started speaking, addressing the group in a soft voice.
‘’Girls, I have had years now to get to know you as you studied and played music with my daughter Nancy. All four of you are good, decent and caring girls and I am sure that you will do much good during your lives. However, something that Nancy told me while we were going around the neighborhood convinced me that this world needs all the good people it can get. You already know that both me and Nancy can remember our past incarnations. In fact, that talent helped Nancy find Sir Francis Drake’s hidden treasure, of which you got a share, except for Erika, whom we didn’t know at the time. I am personally convinced that all four of you would be worthy of acquiring that particular talent, and Nancy fully agrees with me. If you accept to gain the ability to remember your past incarnations, then me and Nancy will start individual sessions with each of you in order to open up your minds to your past lives. That process, in order to reawaken all of your past memories since your first incarnation on Earth, normally takes many weeks but, with Nancy’s help, this could be shortened to a few days. I will be here only for the weekend but, once started by me, Nancy will then help you complete the process. Now, I must warn you: not all of your lives may have been as good, decent people. Don’t be shocked if you find out that you were, say, a bloodthirsty pirate or a mercenary soldier in some past life. You will also certainly remember a few lives as men, so don’t be surprised afterward if you feel new tendencies towards bisexualism. With this said, I will let you a few minutes to decide if you want to open your minds to your past incarnations. Don’t forget: once started, that process will be irreversible.’’
‘’Ingrid, those past personalities of ours, will they change our present personalities and conduct?’’ asked Erika, her mind already boiling about this fantastic opportunity.
‘’No! You will gain memories and remember past skills that may or may not turn out to be useful to you in your present lives. You will also remember the languages you could speak in the past, something that can only be beneficial in terms of improving your selves. Those memories will not control you: they will only enrich your personalities with new abilities, knowledge and skills.’’
‘’Then, I want to learn about my past lives, Ingrid.’’ said firmly Erika, making Ingrid nod her head in acknowledgement. All three other girls also accepted quickly to have her minds opened, making Ingrid looking at them with a gentle smile.
‘’That was what I expected from all of you. I will now start with Lucy, while Nancy will start with Sarah. I will then take care of Erika, while Nancy will continue with Carmen. Lucy, if you may come with me, we will use Erika’s bedroom.’’
Ingrid then left the lounge with Lucy, while Nancy went to her bedroom with Sarah, leaving Erika and Carmen by themselves in the lounge. Carmen gave an awed look to Erika, who was also quite moved by what was going to happen to her.
‘’I am a bit afraid about what kind of lives I had in the past. What if I discover that I was some kind of murderous criminal, or a tyrant?’’
‘’Then, I say this: take the good parts in them and forget their bad parts.’’ replied Erika. ‘’They are only memories, remember? Let’s watch television in the meantime: my favorite science-fiction show is going to start soon.’’
A bit over one hour later, Sarah, looking a bit overwhelmed, came back to the lounge with Nancy, with Erika and Carmen trying to ask her questions at once. However, Nancy stopped them with an imperative gesture of one hand.
‘’Please, girls, let Sarah time to digest her new souvenirs. Don’t ask her about her souvenirs before at least one hour. Carmen, it’s your turn.’’
Carmen didn’t have to be told twice and quickly went with Nancy in her bedroom. Then, Lucy came back with Ingrid after another twenty minutes, with Erika eagerly taking her place. Once inside her own bedroom with Ingrid, the latter surprised her by starting to gently undress her.
‘’Hey, why undress me, Ingrid?’’
‘’Because, the more relaxed you are during this assimilation process, the easier it will go.’’
‘’Oh! It’s like learning at school then.’’
‘’Exactly! Go lay on the bed while I also undress.’’
Feeling hot for a couple of very different reasons, Erika did as she was told and watched with glee as Ingrid peeled off her clothes, revealing a perfect female body with firm, generous breasts, long, well-shaped legs and a general athletic look. With her beautiful, youthful face and sparkling blue eyes, she was for Erika a true delight to look at. Her groin was also closely shaved and as smooth as that of a baby. Once fully naked, Ingrid joined Erika in bed and lay on her side, next to her, before taking hold of her hands and directing them to her breasts. Then, Ingrid took hold of Erika’s head with both hands and put her forehead directly against Erika’s forehead.
‘’Now, relax, close your eyes and let your mind wander, Erika.’’
Expecting about anything now to happen, Erika felt at first a sort of faint light in front of her closed eyes. Then images and noises started filing past in her brain, like when watching a movie in accelerated motion. The speed of that motion increased even further during the next few minutes, to become an uninterrupted flow passing by at incredible speed. Despite of that, Erika didn’t feel confused by that flash kaleidoscope of images and thoughts, eventually ending up in a quasi-hypnosis state.
When Erika finally woke up from the mind opening process, she still had her hands cupped over Ingrid’s breasts, who then spoke to her while smiling.
‘’So, how do you feel, Erika?’’
‘’Fine! It is as if I simply slept and had dreams.’’ Replied Erika before she realized that Ingrid had spoken a language other than English or German and that she herself had answered back in that same language. She was also able to name that language, even though she never learned it before: it was Chinese!
‘’I…I can speak Chinese now, Ingrid?’’
‘’More exactly, you can now speak Cantonese. Eighty years ago, you died in Hong Kong as an old, 72-year-old Chinese merchant.’’
‘’And my name was then Ling Piao. My god! I really can remember a past life! I can see mental pictures of my family then, where I lived and what I did during my life. This is simply fantastic, Ingrid!’’
‘’Then, would you like to continue right now and learn about earlier lives?’’
‘’Of course I want to, Ingrid! Uh, can I keep my hands on your tits?’’
‘’Please, enjoy!’’ replied Ingrid, breaking into a grin. ‘’Now, close your eyes again and relax.’’
This time, her second recall session made Erika remember two separate lives, lived in succession with a break of 66 years between them. As she made sense of the souvenirs now filling her mind, Ingrid spoke softly to her.
‘’In this process, each recall becomes easier and quicker than the more recent incarnation that chronologically followed it. Eventually, you won’t need my help anymore and all your remaining souvenirs will come to you by themselves, going back to the point of your first ever life on Earth.’’
‘’And you, Ingrid? What was your first ever life on Earth?’’
Ingrid then looked straight into Erika’s eyes as she answered her question.
‘’That life was some 7,000 years ago and I was a nomad woman living in the Mesopotamian basin. My primordial name was ‘Amdira’.’’
