Mother and son embraced as Josh stepped into the clearing with Nadia’s shirt, his eyes still heavy with sleep. Nadia edged away, hugging the child all the tighter, as if Josh was a mugger who intended to throttle the boy. Josh scratched his forehead.
“Why are you hugging the air?”
“Go away, I found my son now. I’m going to stay with him because he needs me.”
He threw the shirt her way, causing her to flinch awkwardly. “Get your shirt on, and stop talking like a loon.”
She stood defiantly, screaming, “How dare you! You ignorant insolent beast. This child is my son, and I demand that you apologize to him.”
“Now have you totally lost it?”
Sanguin floated to pat her on the cheek.
“Not to worry mommy, I’ll make the bad man go away.”
She accepted a kiss on the cheek before Sanguin faced Josh with a hostile stare. Suddenly Josh saw him too. They watched each other cautiously for a moment. Josh maintained a tense stance as he rubbed the sleep out of eyes.
“Come off it, kid. She isn’t your mom. What did you do to her?”
“You’re wrong mister, this is my mommy, and we don’t want you here.”
“I’m not going anywhere without her, got that kid?”
“You’re a mean man, and you hurt our oranges.”
“Give her back!”
Josh reached for the boy’s shoulders, but the force of a swirling wind lifted him above the trees and pushed him to the path outside. It dropped him right next to Nadia’s bike. The pot, the sleeping bags, and a few other camping implements then came raining down.
A blue wisp descended over the grove to form a dome illuminated in fluorescent purple. Josh walked to it but couldn’t pass. He tried a running start, but it threw him backwards. Again. And again. Then again. He ran into the barrier full force and flew back into the grass hill across the path. While brushing himself he attacked it with the full physical force of his kicks and punches, only to have the force crackle back through his limbs. His last punch curled around and slammed into his own forehead, which put him on his knees. After shaking off his own blow, he pressed the barrier with his finger and watched as it pushed him away.
The scar on the back of his arm widened slowly. He felt the hatred burning inside, devouring his flesh once again. Whatever this force field was, it blocked the sealing effects of Nadia’s powers. His fists slammed the grass as he knelt before the purple glow. He hurtled against the barrier only to be thrown back again. Getting the idea that strength alone wouldn’t work, he doubled back to the bike and removed everything that was tied to it before riding away. He hadn’t ridden for five minutes when he noticed other land under cultivation.
Goats, cows, and oxen roamed in fenced pasture land. Next, he saw well organized and square rice beds at each side of the road. The pedals received the full force of his body weight as he stood. A village of small wooden dwellings approached, each with their own gardens. He left the bike fall sideways after hopping of. The inhabitants obviously slept, since it was very early morning, but he yelled desperately into windows until a lantern lit. A young woman in white robes came forth as he hyperventilated.
“Please you have to help me. My friend is trapped.”
“Oh me, may I inquire where?”
“An orange grove with a big purple blockade around it. I need someone who knows somethin’ about that kind of magic.”
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The girl looked back inside the house, then to the side, “I’m sorry. I'll bring my father.”
She whispered deftly for her father, and told him much more than needed if her only intention was to bring him forth. A tall muscular man came forward and greeted Josh cautiously.
“Can I help ye sir?”
“There’s an orange grove not far from here. My friend is trapped inside by some child with a magic blockade, and I can’t get inside to help her. If no one can help me, then at least let me borrow a shovel. I’ll dig my way inside if I have to. I’ll give you anything I have for it.”
The man blew out the lantern, “Ye best be on your way.”
Josh grabbed the man’s shoulder, pointing westward, “That’s bull and you know it. What are you trying to hide? You mean to tell me you can’t see that purple light over there?”
“There’s nothing to be done for your friend, sir” he said as the girl came from the house and handed her father a shovel, “The grove is accursed, and if ye go back, ye might disappear as well.”
“I’m not giving up like that.”
The man pushed the shovel into his chest.
“Bring it back if ye survive.”
“So that’s how it is. I’ll be sure to leave it by your door with a thank you card.”
Josh hopped back on the bike for the ride back. Instead of an entire village with torches and pitchforks, he bought back himself and a shovel. Some help they were. Halfway back to the orange grove, a sullen shadow of a figure robed in brown came from the fields and hailed Josh’s bike. Josh ignored the figure, but the cloaked persona crouched down, reached out, and grasped the front tire, instantly stopping the bike’s forward progress.
The sudden stop flipped Josh over the handle bars; he rolled on his side after hitting the dirt road. A purple glow extended from the robed man’s hand, surrounding the bike with an aura while holding it motionless and upright. Josh gave the figure a bewildered stare as he held his right arm. The cloak pulled back to reveal a withered face, a bald dome with random tufts of dirty white hair, a large crooked nose bristling with course hairs, and a left eye that squinted dementedly.
“I hear much from afar this wicked night. I heard your cry, and wish to save your friend from within her plight. The boy who dwells within summons a host; actually, you see it is two ghosts. A disenfranchised soul it truly is, a double forlorn spirit known as Kadiz. You see, this ghost will toss a soul, to make the mother's spirit whole. A body without the original soul won’t last. So, his victims soon die. Their souls disperse into the past. Thus, he haunts cursed orange grove, seeking victim to make soul rove.”
“What?”
“At daybreak her soul will belong to him. If you don’t break the spell before sunrise she will be cast aside from her body, and the ghosts will dim. Then there will be nothing left to save, only a body empty like cave. I advise haste, I must, I must or your friend will be but bitter dust.”
“Thanks, I guess... Need a lift?”
“Go now, go now, I am most spry, I’ll meet you there to help your try.”
Josh didn’t need any more prompting than that. He pushed forward at full speed while the old man followed on foot.
-----
The oranges glowed brightly, like miniature suns, as they hung heavily on the branches above. They were the lanterns of the grove, which outshone even the barrier above. The grass stood tall, tickled Nadia’s bare feet and popped up in-between her toes. Enchanting wisps filled the air, floating around her as she watched Sanguin dash from tree to tree with unmitigated delight. After finding a suitably noble specimen, he shuffled up its trunk and climbed its branches until he sat at the highest spot possible. He looked down. She looked up worriedly.
“Sanguin, please come down before you fall.”
“Don’t worry mommy. I can’t get hurt anymore, and you don’t ever have to worry about being poor. I’m going to take care of us from now on. We’ll even have nice things too. Then we’ll be happy.”
The straps of Nadia’s bra expanded into long loose sleeves as the fabric of the cups loosened into the form of a silk shirt. Fabric extended downward to cover her exposed waist before connecting with her jeans. The blue jeans lost their color, their fabric became silk, and the pant legs blossomed into a dress. At first a silk robe formed, but the fabric separated and folded up the middle to take the form of an elegant kimono style gown that hung delicately from her shoulders to her ankles.
A pink ribbon formed to tie it together, matching the delicate pink flowers of the light silk thread. The sleeves, the folds, the bottom, and the neck became lined in pink. The child lifted a finger to direct a stalk of grass upwards. That same stalk glowed brilliantly before her and became a light emerald jewel resembling a cat o’ nine tail. Nadia lifted her arms to grasp the jewel, and then turned her head to look over her back. When she stepped forward, she heard wooden sandals on her feet.
Nadia stepped forward and knelt to bow low, almost in tears “This is so beautiful that I couldn’t have ever hoped for anything like it. I don’t deserve a son like you.”
“We’re going to be together forever. No one’s going to hurt us this time. We won’t be cast aside like before. Because we own land now.”
Nadia nodded in agreement.