Promptly at ten o' clock later that evening.
Both Candy and Jonathan were tucked into their respective beds, each child recieving a kiss on the forehead from their loving mother, before slumber came over them swiftly.
Soon Martha would be turning in for the evening as well.
But for the moment, the lady of the house, would evade the duty of an early night's rest to steal away into night; to the Captain who awaited her presence down at the beach.
For Captain Gregg, who was waiting for her near the shore, the night was still too young.
...
The wind was coming in thirty degrees from the south-east. The moon was full, as it hung lowly against the blackened sky like a giant orb.
Nothing but the moist sand beneath her shoes, and miles upon miles of the endless sea.
For now, Carolyn Muir and Captain Daniel Gregg were completely alone.
They had been walking in companionable silence for about fifteen minutes, the Captain and her enjoying the moonlight haze that was reflected from the ocean.
It was so quiet, so peaceful. Not even the call of seagulls could be heard.
She looked at him as he walked beside her, clearly something was on his mind tonight. There was that faraway glance that she knew all too well, and was afraid to ask.
But as of now, she was enjoying the sight of him walking beside her. His strong handsome face however, was for the moment, riddled with thoughts that seemed to cast a shadow over his usually mobile, yet well defined features. Her eyes then dropped to where their hands were, dangling idly side by side at their stride.
Unconciously, she had the urge for her hand to be held by his. Till her concious mind reminded her, rather harshly, of their current predicament. He could hold her hand if he wished, but his touch would still fade away after a while. She sighed in secret.
"Believe me Madame. If I could hold your hand, I would." He said quietly beside her.
Her mouth dropped opened, a little in shock of exactly how he knew what she was thinking. But then she reminded herself of his telekenesis ability; limited it may be, but still strong enoug to probe into her thoughts. She cast a look over to him, lightly scolding him with her gaze.
"I need not supernatural powers to know what we both are thinking." Said Captain Gregg in reply to her stare, teasing her with his voice.
Carolyn Muir rolled her eyes, in half annoyance, and in half fondness. "Your ego is astounding." She mused.
"Ego has nothing to do with it. I merely stated the contents of certain facts, that of which are true." He added, raising a taunting brow at her.
Their eyes interlocked for a moment, then he spoke once agan, "And Madame, if I may suggest, contemplating on throwing your shoes at me will not make a difference. It can neither hurt me, nor affect me in any way."
Her eyes widened, both anger and amusement shining in her eyes. "Will you please stay out of my thoughts? Just because you have this great supernatural ability to read minds, does not mean it gives you the liberty to just do so! Does the word 'Privacy' mean absolutely nothing to you?" Exclaimed Carolyn Muir, making sure her sarcasm could be heard on the word 'great'.
"Of course my privacy is very precious to me," He continued, knowing fully what she meant, but still persisted in teasing her, "And I'm quite pleased you regard my abilities as such. Yes, the word great is highly felicitous for a man with my powers," Said the Captain cheerfully.
"You are impossible." Murmured Carolyn more to herself than him, as she shook her head.
"But with all, as you say 'great' abilities, it is indeed limited, as much as it infuriates me to admit. And I can only use this power to some degree, but it is not without great benefit to my purposes, however." He continued, as he then moved behind her. The Captain then lowered himself so that his lips could meet her ear.
"For example Madame," He whispered, "A moment ago, you were debating on which nightgown you preferred to wear in bed. And now, abruptly, your thoughts have gone silent. Or are you intentionally keeping it hidden from being perused by certain external forces?"
He watched her face, enjoying the flare of ire that slithered its way into her angelic features.
"Captain..." She said lowly, gritting her teeth.
He backed away playfully. "Now, mind your temper my dear. You are a lady." Said Captain Gregg, in what he hoped was a placating voice.
"Stop reading my thoughts." She warned.
"Its not entirely my fault. Your thoughts are so eloquent and, if I may say so, quite as attractive as you my dear, if not more. I never knew pink lace could be found in such variety."
He saw the fire in her eyes and quickly dematerialized before she could explode.
"Captain that's not fair!" She reprimanded him loudly just as he disappeared.
Carolyn could hear him laughing, his voice echoing in the wind.
Placing one hand on her hip, a woman's international sign for 'You do that one more time', she announced loudly, "Captain, I will not be a toy for your own pleasure."
At this, the Captain rematerializede before her. Feigning righteous indignation, he answered her, "I, madame?"
"Yes, you." Carolyn said angrily.
"I would not dream of such an unspeakable thing. It is utterly beneath me, Madame."
"You keep this act up, or I'm going back to the house."
"Very well." He conceeded, feeling momentarily chastised.
"Well, aren't you going to apologize?" Asked Carolyn, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Certainly not!"
In spite of herself, Mrs. Muir found the inception of a chuckle escaping her mouth. How this man could both aggrivate her deeply, and yet still could make her laugh at the same time, she will never understand.
"You are incorrigible." She stated. Her eyes meeting his.
His eyes glistened as he walked towards her. "You should always remember, that I never apologize." As he stood before her, his height towering, he smiled gently. That ridiculously disarming smile, that only a heartless woman could resist, "Truce?"
She knew she couldn't deny him for too long. "Truce."
They continued their walk after a short time later.
About ten minutes into their perambulations, they passed a large boulder situated near the shore.
Carolyn, seeing that it was a lovely spot to do a bit of stargazing, ceased her footfalls and situated herself atop the enormous rock.
Captain Gregg, was a little further behind her, quietly watching her from a short distance. There weren't many stars, strangely, that evening; only a few ones scattered across the dark firmament like twinkling diamonds. Still, Carolyn, sat there resigned with deep content at the tranquility of the night sky.
It wasn't long till she felt his presence behind her, the sensation of his eyes gaze, almost as tangible as touch itself.
"Beautiful isn't it?" She said admiringly at the fullness of the moon.
The Captain took another step forward, till he was in the peripheral of her vision, "Indeed, very much so." He replied, his voice retaining faint traces of a masked emotion.
Carolyn then turned to him, and their eyes met. For a long while, their eyes lingered with each other, as though reading some cryptic language that only the soul could pronounce.
After a moment, Mrs. Muir broke the contact. It was begining to be a little too intense for her - for either of them.
"By the way Captain," Said Carolyn, as a way of diverting their attention from their current unspoken desires, "You said earlier you had something to discuss with me?"
The Captain's brows furrowed in thought as he tugged on his earlobe lightly.
"Ahh, yes." He said after a brief pause. He saw the look of anticipation in her eyes.
"Is it something important?"
"Very... Out of this world, so to speak." The Captain remarked wryly.
Carolyn looked at him strangely, studying him carefully. "What is this about, Captain Gregg?"
"Well..." He started, placing his hands on the lapels of his coat to signify the utmost importance of this particular subject matter, "What if I told you, there was a way...a way for us to meet... dare I say, even touch, without the necessity of having to resort to the dreaming state?"
There was a slight stunned silence. By now, the Captain had Mrs. Muir's full and undivided attention.
She pondered on his words tediously, then concluded with justification that what he said was impossible. There couldn't be another way. Logic, for all reasons, had already determined the irreversible state of their circumstances. There simply was no meeting in the middle, she could not touch him, neither could he touch her. He was a spirit, and she was mortal. There was no way over that impenetrable barricade that seperated them both.
"Captain, I don't wish to burst your spectral bubble, but there can't possibly be any other way."
"Of course. I was, am, perfectly aware of it. That is, until I re-discovered something that seems to prove our theory of, humans and spirits being divided by a spectral wall and unable to breach it - otherwise. An alternative, so to speak." He aptly answered, tugging on his sleeve unconciously.
"But the dreams are, truly, the only, way for us to meet...right? I still don't-"
Captain Gregg raised a hand to appease her , "Before you say anything further, I shall explain. Have you ever heard of Astral Travel?"
"You've gotta be kidding." Reacted Carolyn, but she saw the intense conviction in his eyes, and mumbled to herself in realization at his seriousness, "No, no you're not. And no, I have not heard of Astral Travel." She added, a little apprehensive at where this was going.
She had good reason to be. It wasn't apprehension, though on the surface that's what it seemed to be. But on the inside, it was fear. No, not fear of him. She knew she could trust him, sometimes more than herself. That kind of feeling, however, sometimes made her feel vulnerable, open and ungaurded against him. But yet his protectiveness over her, the subtle hidden possesiveness in his manner towards her; made her feel secure towards him, in a way - safe.
Assured.
This fear she felt at the moment though, had nothing to do with him. It was her fear of hope.
Of hoping, and expecting too much of what might, what may, what can never be.
But then there was that other voice in her head that told her, urged her, to secretly believe that what if what he says actually will work?
She felt like she was being torn into two different directions. One was of crippling doubt, the other was sheer faith. But as she looked at this ghost, no, this man, before her; she knew that this chance needed to be taken. Though there was a very large part of her that had already decided against it, another part wanted to do it. For some reason beyond her comprehension, she had the eerie notion he would do the same for her, had the situation been in reverse.
"Astral Travel," Captain Gregg continued, noting the strange expression on her face, "Or perhaps I should phrase it as, an out of body experience; has been around for many centuries. It is practiced not only in Buddhist religions, but in Hindu beliefs as well. But of course similar concepts of 'soul-travel' differs greatly in various cultures, traditions and religion itself; and has been considered by some as a form of nirvana, so to speak..."
She sat there and listened to the Captain patiently, and the endless flow of information seemed to pour out of him very easily. In truth she felt a little overwhelmed at his words. Once he finished explaining the first part of their discussion, she took his brief pause as an intitiative to speak her thoughts. "You really did your homework on this haven't you?" She said with a raised brow.
"Certainly I did. Did you expect any less of me?"
"No...but I still don't understand what it has to do with me."
The Captain cleared his throat, "I was getting to that point, shall I continue?"
"Of course."
"Now," He said as he began pacing, "It is believed that the Astral body is an intermediate body of light, linking the rational soul to the physical body; whilst the Astral plane is a world that exists in the sphere between Heaven and Earth, composed of different dimensions, planets and stars. The spirit world, if you will. Even in the Bible, there has been some mention, or a subtle implication of Astral Travel. I belive it was a certain Mr. Williams who wrote in a particular book, that the spiritual body is attached to the physical body; by means of a psychic silver cord. But of course he meant it as some form of metaphor. But the ancient Egyptians had an entirely different opinion on that matter."
"Egyptians? When did you read about Egyptians?" Carolyn asked, a little shocked at how in the world he knew about all this.
"My dear, must I remind you that I've been dead for over a century. And in that span of time, as you may well know, I've had the wonderful luxury of extensive, uninterrupted, reading."
"My dear Captain," Said Carolyn, taunting him lightly by trying to imitate his inimitable accent, "Are you insinuating that you don't get that same 'luxury' of reading, now that you have certain people occupying the house?"
"Oh I do, but I find a certain female-writer, to be a most tantalizing distraction from my studious readings." He replied, a most wicked grin on his face.
She shook her head fondly at him.
"Blast, woman," He scolded her gently, "I was trying to come to a point in our discussion; before you interrupted me in your typically female way."
"I apologize...Professor." Said Mrs. Muir, trying to keep a laugh to herself at the word 'Professor.'
He raised a brow at her.
"Go on, you may continue."
"Thank you"
He continued his pacing, in deep thought, then spoke, "I believe it was in the Asian culture, the Buddhists, and many of those who pratice Taoism; to be precise, that were most succsessful in the art of Astral Travel. They are able to acheive a perfect zen-like state through various stages of meditation." He then looked at her decidedly, "That's what I plan for you to do - tomorrow."
"What!?" Her eyes widened in shock at his words. "You want me to WHAT?"
The Captain then glanced at her resolutely, calm and collected. As though what he suggested was the most natural thing in the world. Almost as natural as baking cookies. If cookies had souls.
"Astral Travel, Madame." He announced. "That's what you are doing tomorrow." His tone left no room for protests.
"Captain, I'm not even sure what that is! I don't know if I can even come close to what you are asking. I wouldn't even know where to begin! Let alone will my soul to do what you just said. Its impossible." She answered in her matter-of-fact tone. As much as she would like to to say yes, her fears and doubts were too thick of a fog for her to see through them clearly enough to make a solid decision, as of the moment. There were just too many things to consider, and analyze, it was just too much.
"Gracious lady, one cannot will the soul to do anything it does not wish. This is only a simple matter of coaxing it to a higher state of awareness, then to that final stage where your concious mind and the mind of your soul merge into one. Then can you leave your terrestrial body on your own will, to travel into different dimensions, then return as you were.
"You mean I can leave and come back? Captain this is too much and too sudden. I can barely get a round-trip ticket to Europe, and now you want me to...to...
"To enter into a wild and wonderful dimension never once beheld by living eyes? And to enter it escorted by a devastatingly handsome sea Captain? Mrs. Muir, where is your sense of adventure?"
She sighed, looking him straight in the eyes. Knowing the secret behind his gaze, and knowing perfectly well that he was using her writer's curiosity to get the better of her. "You make it sound so easy..."
"It is. And you shan't be alone, I shall be there to guide you after all in the four stages of meditation."
"FOUR? And this is assuming I say yes to your proposition right?"
He regarded her thoughtfully and replied, "Very well, I can see that you will need some time to think about this."
He averted his eyes from her, then focused it to the ocean, "The children shall be in school, Martha will be going into town tomorrow, I shall await your decision at exactly 8 am."
"Fine." She replied. That's barely enough time. But fine. Carolyn could not help but feel a little drained at the sudden concept of...what did he call it? Astral Travel?
It all seemed so... insanely out of proportion. And yet, the idea, the very theory of it posed some plausibility, at least how he put it out to be. Still, no matter how extravagant the theory of it could be, and all the more once its proven true, she could not help shake that twinge of doubt that still hung within her.
Carolyn looked at the Captain, moonlight against his skin and hair; she could not help but feel as though she were falling upwards, from the ground up. It was a bizzare feeling, and oddly enough she felt comforted by it.
"Caroyln," He whispered. She watched him turn to face her, his eyes suddenly dark with a haunting form of longing. "I urge you highly to consider your decision, please." Then added, almost solemnly, "And whatever it may be, I shall respect it." Said the Captain, though somewhat reluctant, his voice was very earnest.
Carolyn tried very hard to ignore the inception of tears welling up within her, as she caught the sight of the Captain, gazing almost mournfully at her hand.