Voyages in Mind and Space. James C. Glass

here.”

      “You’re going to say goodbye,” said Nina, and a strange feeling of calmness washed over her.

      “Yes. For a while, at least. In the end we’re all together, but for now you might say I’m being reassigned. I’m moving on to another place, a world unimaginably far from yours. I won’t remember you clearly for a while, but you won’t be alone, Nina. Something and someone wonderful is coming for you. It’s all here in The Field, and I’ve seen it. It makes it easier for me to leave.”

      Tears came. “I don’t see it, Mark,” said Nina, and Angie started to cry.

      “Angie, my baby, I am so proud of who you are and what you will become. The day will arrive when we recognize each other again, and then we can share memories. I wish you could see what I see. It’s all so beautiful.”

      Angie sobbed, and Nina put an arm around her. Mark leaned over to look closely at them. There was no scent that Nina could detect, only an image.

      “I’ll always love both of you. Remember me when you can. Angie, you have a friend here who wants to meet you. I met her father, and now he and I are friends. But now I have to go. Please thank Ellen for this; she has arranged everything. Love you.”

      “Goodbye,” said Nina. Mark’s image faded and was gone, and all that remained were shimmering curtains of color and a sobbing child in her arms. She closed her eyes.

      And opened them again at a table in a darkened room illuminated by a single candle. Ellen was not there. In her place was a blond girl around Angie’s age, dressed in jeans and a denim jacket. She seemed startled, looked first at Nina and then Angie.

      “Betina!” screamed Angie. The two girls leaped from their chairs and clung to each other, crying and talking so fast Nina couldn’t understand anything.

      Ellen came out of the darkness, took Nina by the elbow and led her away from the girls. “Betina lost her daddy too,” she said softly. “She just said goodbye to him. The girl lives in Salem, and it’s not so far from here. Her mother brought her in, and they’re staying at the motel. Mom’s name is Anne. Get to know her, let the girls be friends in the flesh. It’ll be good for all of you.”

      “I thought she was imaginary. I saw—” said Nina.

      “—Oh Nina, you can’t intellectualize everything. There are just too many levels of reality that can’t be seen by the human eye. Walk with me.” Ellen picked up her satchel by the door, and Nina suddenly noticed the woman had put on her colorful coat.

      “You girls stay here. We’re going for a walk,” said Ellen, but Angie and Betina barely glanced at her. Still talking excitedly and clutching to each other, they were nose to nose.

      There was a damp cold in the street, and fog had moved in, creating fuzzy halos around the street lights.

      “Where are we going?” asked Nina.

      “I’m going away,” said Ellen. “Make sure the door is locked after the girls finish their reunion, and take Betina back to the motel. You’ll like Anne. The two of you have a lot in common.”

      “Why are you leaving? You just got here.”

      “The job is done, three cases in one, this time. I feel good about it.”

      “How do we get in touch with you?”

      “You don’t. You’re on your own now. You have everything you need, both of you.”

      “But where are you going? The bus quit running an hour ago.”

      “I’m being picked up. It’s just a short walk from here.”

      Ellen stopped, put down her satchel and grasped Nina by both arms, smiling. “This is goodbye, Nina, but I’ll think of you. It’s the strength of your emotions that makes your talent so strong. You have more to look forward to than you can imagine. Say goodbye to Angie and Betina for me. They’re going to be life-long friends, you know.”

      Ellen picked up her satchel again. “Wait here. I have to go alone.”

      Why? thought Nina. “Thank you, Ellen, for everything. I wish you could stay longer.”

      “Me too,” said Ellen. She gave Nina a wry smile, turned, and walked up the street towards the brow of a hill where swirling fog glowed between two street lights. And when she reached the top of the hill, her figure blurred by the fog, there was a sudden, colorful flash, and Ellen was gone.

      Perhaps, thought Nina later, it was only the fog that had obscured her departure so suddenly from view.

      NIGHT DEMON

      (Vincent’s Song)

      I am the Moon-Man, imprisoned yet free.

      Do not expect any mercy from me.

      Blood I will take, until there is none,

      so you and your victims will be buried as one.

      Moon-Man, Moon-Man, violent and strong,

      sustained in new life to make right the wrong.

      Your victim cries out as your knife plunges down,

      but Moon-Man is on you without even a sound.

      Your throat disappears in a mouthful of gore,

      and your murderous heart will not beat anymore.

      Moon-Man, Moon-Man, prowling the night,

      killing the wrong and defending the right.

      She screams when you grab her, she struggles and moans,

      but I am there quickly to make you atone.

      She shrieks in her fright, not of you, but of me,

      as I splatter your organs to help set her free.

      Moon-Man, Moon-Man, protecting the dear,

      but aching inside for the beauty so near.

      She calls to me sweetly and then once again,

      but still I must flee her because of the pain.

      Her voice it reminds me of a departed one dear,

      who once came to love me in spite of her fear.

      The one who is with me, in the face of our son,

      the sound of his laughter, the good things he’s done.

      So I wander the streets, a dark creature of night,

      destroying the wrong and defending the right.

      Moon-Man, Moon-Man, passionate and free,

      locked in the bonds of an old memory.