Prologue (The First Side of Life)
It had to only be an idea to comfort him on the death of Susan, but the though had been creeping back into G'Kem's mind more and more every time he saw David and Stephanie's daughter Caroline. Was Caroline the next person in line to carry Susan Ivanova's soul, possibly her memories? Again, at first it had been a casual thought, just to ease the pain of Susan's death, but now, G'Kem began to seriously wonder.
G'Kem hadn't seen David, Stephanie, and Caroline for three years. That was why he was overly excited when he rang the doorbell at their house.
Stephanie opened the door. David was close behind her. Both of them hugged G'Kem and they stepped into the house.
"I'm so glad you were able to come," Stephanie said.
"Where's Caroline?" he asked.
"In her room," David replied. He called to her. "Keeks, our friend's here. Remember we said he was coming?"
The five year old appeared in the doorway. G'Kem had a momentary feeling that it was Susan, but he didn't think about that. But upon seeing G'Kem, the girl sauntered across the room, stumbled over nothing, and jumped in front of him.
"G'Kem!" she shouted excitedly.
"Hi Caroline."
"Come see my room!" She grabbed his hand to follow her. For an instant he saw Susan in her eyes. She ran down the hallway, tripped twice, then disappeared into one of the rooms. G'Kem entered shortly after that.
"Wow," he said, "You have a nice room. You're a good girl keeping it so clean."
"I can't stand anything on the floor!" she said. Almost as if to demonstrate, her foot caught on a wrinkle in the rug and she lost her balance. She immediately picked herself up and jumped onto her bed.
She showed him her stuffed animals, her clothes, and her little junky things that five year olds consider precious. Then she showed him her drawings.
"These are really good!" he exclaimed, truly meaning it. It also surprised him what they were drawings of.
"This Earthforce starship here, it doesn't rotate because it has Minbari gravity. But this station here," she pulled another drawing out of her drawer, "was built before the Minbari let the Humans use the gravity." She paused and looked embarrassed. "I kind of went out of the lines here."
"It's good though. You have good detail."
Caroline nodded. She took a white marker and drew over where the blue slipped outside the line.
"Carrie, we'd like to talk to G'Kem too," her mother shouted from the other room.
"Okay!" She turned to G'Kem. "Lets go into the living room."
G'Kem followed Caroline, who tripped on the rug again. He sat down on the couch next to David. Caroline ran over to a shelf and pulled out a coloring book. She plunked down on the floor and opened to an uncolored page. She opened up her marker box.
"Why does she keep tripping like that?" G'Kem asked.
"We don't know," David said. "We've taken her to several doctors and orthopedic surgeons. No one has found anything wrong with her."
Nothing could have prepared G'Kem for what happened next, but somehow he wasn't as surprised as Caroline's parents.
The girl looked up from her coloring. "I'm okay," she asserted, "It's just that I forgot how to walk for so long." She said nothing else, and went back to her coloring.
"What Keeks?" David asked.
"I think I know what she means," G'Kem said, though he wasn't sure what it meant.
"You think what!"
"It really seems like that's the case," G'Kem explained.
"But Susan died only a week before Caroline was born. How could they have the same soul?" David asked.
"Susan was near death before Marcus Cole gave up his life for her back then. It's possible that a small piece of her soul left her there and Caroline got it when she was conceived, and the rest of it joined her when Susan died."
"You know," David said, "As crazy as that sounds, I think I'll have to believe you. I mean Carrie draws Earthforce ships that she's never seen, talks about things that happened before her birth. I mean all of this could also be a very vivid imagination but after what she just said a few minutes ago- it just makes sense."
"The family return phenomenon."
"What?" David asked blankly.
"Studies have shown that souls tend to return to the people that they're close to."
"Oh... How do you know so much about this?"
"David," he said slowly and clearly, "I study these things. That's my job. I'm a telepath hypnotist."
"Yeah, yeah. Could you tell me any more? Is there anything else that supports this... theory?"
"Well I don't know. I don't know much about Caroline. I only saw her once before today. Sometimes with reincarnation there's a physical aspect that gets transferred over- in theory, possibly, Caroline's walking balance problem and Susan's paralysis. Lets see... often someone shot to death in a past lifetime will have a birthmark that looks like a PPG wound. What? I'm just suggesting things here."
"Birthmark..." David said. "Caroline has several birthmarks."
"What kind?"
"Stripes here, here and here." He drew a line on either side of his stomach, and one across his chest. "The exact same markings on her back. And then a spot on the inside of her right arm."
G'Kem opened his eyes from a period of thought. "That's gotta be proof, David."
"How?" he asked. "Are you sure you're not jumping to conclusions?"
"I really don't think so. Susan had scars in those exact places. The ones on her stomach and back are from the nerve surgery she had. I think the one on her arm was from where a clip on the alien healing machine burned her."
David was looking at G'Kem strangely. "Steph, could you come here a moment?" he called.
It had to only be an idea to comfort him on the death of Susan, but the though had been creeping back into G'Kem's mind more and more every time he saw David and Stephanie's daughter Caroline. Was Caroline the next person in line to carry Susan Ivanova's soul, possibly her memories? Again, at first it had been a casual thought, just to ease the pain of Susan's death, but now, G'Kem began to seriously wonder.
G'Kem hadn't seen David, Stephanie, and Caroline for three years. That was why he was overly excited when he rang the doorbell at their house.
Stephanie opened the door. David was close behind her. Both of them hugged G'Kem and they stepped into the house.
"I'm so glad you were able to come," Stephanie said.
"Where's Caroline?" he asked.
"In her room," David replied. He called to her. "Keeks, our friend's here. Remember we said he was coming?"
The five year old appeared in the doorway. G'Kem had a momentary feeling that it was Susan, but he didn't think about that. But upon seeing G'Kem, the girl sauntered across the room, stumbled over nothing, and jumped in front of him.
"G'Kem!" she shouted excitedly.
"Hi Caroline."
"Come see my room!" She grabbed his hand to follow her. For an instant he saw Susan in her eyes. She ran down the hallway, tripped twice, then disappeared into one of the rooms. G'Kem entered shortly after that.
"Wow," he said, "You have a nice room. You're a good girl keeping it so clean."
"I can't stand anything on the floor!" she said. Almost as if to demonstrate, her foot caught on a wrinkle in the rug and she lost her balance. She immediately picked herself up and jumped onto her bed.
She showed him her stuffed animals, her clothes, and her little junky things that five year olds consider precious. Then she showed him her drawings.
"These are really good!" he exclaimed, truly meaning it. It also surprised him what they were drawings of.
"This Earthforce starship here, it doesn't rotate because it has Minbari gravity. But this station here," she pulled another drawing out of her drawer, "was built before the Minbari let the Humans use the gravity." She paused and looked embarrassed. "I kind of went out of the lines here."
"It's good though. You have good detail."
Caroline nodded. She took a white marker and drew over where the blue slipped outside the line.
"Carrie, we'd like to talk to G'Kem too," her mother shouted from the other room.
"Okay!" She turned to G'Kem. "Lets go into the living room."
G'Kem followed Caroline, who tripped on the rug again. He sat down on the couch next to David. Caroline ran over to a shelf and pulled out a coloring book. She plunked down on the floor and opened to an uncolored page. She opened up her marker box.
"Why does she keep tripping like that?" G'Kem asked.
"We don't know," David said. "We've taken her to several doctors and orthopedic surgeons. No one has found anything wrong with her."
Nothing could have prepared G'Kem for what happened next, but somehow he wasn't as surprised as Caroline's parents.
The girl looked up from her coloring. "I'm okay," she asserted, "It's just that I forgot how to walk for so long." She said nothing else, and went back to her coloring.
"What Keeks?" David asked.
"I think I know what she means," G'Kem said, though he wasn't sure what it meant.
"You think what!"
"It really seems like that's the case," G'Kem explained.
"But Susan died only a week before Caroline was born. How could they have the same soul?" David asked.
"Susan was near death before Marcus Cole gave up his life for her back then. It's possible that a small piece of her soul left her there and Caroline got it when she was conceived, and the rest of it joined her when Susan died."
"You know," David said, "As crazy as that sounds, I think I'll have to believe you. I mean Carrie draws Earthforce ships that she's never seen, talks about things that happened before her birth. I mean all of this could also be a very vivid imagination but after what she just said a few minutes ago- it just makes sense."
"The family return phenomenon."
"What?" David asked blankly.
"Studies have shown that souls tend to return to the people that they're close to."
"Oh... How do you know so much about this?"
"David," he said slowly and clearly, "I study these things. That's my job. I'm a telepath hypnotist."
"Yeah, yeah. Could you tell me any more? Is there anything else that supports this... theory?"
"Well I don't know. I don't know much about Caroline. I only saw her once before today. Sometimes with reincarnation there's a physical aspect that gets transferred over- in theory, possibly, Caroline's walking balance problem and Susan's paralysis. Lets see... often someone shot to death in a past lifetime will have a birthmark that looks like a PPG wound. What? I'm just suggesting things here."
"Birthmark..." David said. "Caroline has several birthmarks."
"What kind?"
"Stripes here, here and here." He drew a line on either side of his stomach, and one across his chest. "The exact same markings on her back. And then a spot on the inside of her right arm."
G'Kem opened his eyes from a period of thought. "That's gotta be proof, David."
"How?" he asked. "Are you sure you're not jumping to conclusions?"
"I really don't think so. Susan had scars in those exact places. The ones on her stomach and back are from the nerve surgery she had. I think the one on her arm was from where a clip on the alien healing machine burned her."
David was looking at G'Kem strangely. "Steph, could you come here a moment?" he called.