For a long time, both women quietly cried, until finally they stopped long enough to take one last look inside the box. There was one more item. Someone had written a letter on a piece of vellum and wrapped it carefully in leather. Jessie"s hands trembled as she carefully untied the leather strap and opened the leather piece to reveal the vellum.
"She wrote a letter." Jessie stared down at the parchment. "But the language is unfamiliar to me."
Ceara adjusted her gla.s.ses as she stared at the letter. "Not to me."
She smiled softly. "It"s written in my native tongue." Looking over Jessie"s shoulder, Ceara inhaled deeply and read the letter aloud.
Jessie and Ceara- We all made it off Mona, thanks to Boudicca"s precious sacrifice. We are traveling to Eire where it will be somewhat safer to live out our lives as who we are. There are not words enough to thank you for all you have done *
262 LINDA KAY SILVA.
for our people and us. Yes, Lachlan knows, and has included his own note.
Know that you are always in our thoughts, and Jessie, I am a better person for having known you. You will not hear from me again, so please do not seek me out. You must live in your time and I must live in mine, but no matter where we are or what we do, we shall forever be one. Blessed be.
Cate My dearest mother- Ceara had to stop reading. The address was simply more than she could bear. "My son," she said to Jessie as she wiped her eyes. "He- called me mother. You have no idea how I longed to hear from him just one more time." Wiping her eyes, Ceara read on.
Remember this? You gave it to me with these words: "Grow up with the intention of changing the world. Everyone has within them the power to make a difference. Go, and make a difference in the world." I shall, mother, as you will see from where you now live. I can be happy now, knowing you still live, and always will inside my heart. I will do you proud.
Your loving son, Lachlan Jessie put her arm around Ceara and hugged her. "What a wonderful gift."
"Indeed. It fills my heart more than I ever thought this old heart could take. But there"s one more note, my dear. To you."
Jessie- Remember . . . I am still out there, looking for you, as I have since the dawn of humankind. Close no doors, for you shall never know which one I may be behind. Ours is a love time cannot conquer . . . You will know the moment you see me. Trust that. Trust yourself.
I am now, and shall always be yours.
Maeve Ceara stepped away from Jessie, who was smiling through tear-filled eyes. "Oh, my dear, there could be nothing more precious than the gifts in this box."
Taking Ceara"s hand, Jessie held it long into the dark of night as they sat together recalling a love so strong it had traveled across time to touch their hearts and change their lives forever.
262 LINDA KAY SILVA.
Afterward Although the historical events in this book actually did take place, I have taken some creative liberties along the way for the sake of the story. Any potential mistakes whether intentional or accidental, in regard to timelines or place are solely my own.
According to Tacitus, the Druids were attacked on the Isle of Mona and their groves burnt down. Did any of them escape? I like to think so. Did Boudicca really turn her chariot around for no apparent reason?
I believe great leaders always have a reason. Are past lives possible?
You tell me.
Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it (Santayana). When a certain group of people have their rights violated, for whatever reason, it is up to the rest of us to stop it and demand justice. There are oak groves burning all over the world...groups like the Druids targeted every day. People who are "different" from the majority.
264 LINDA KAY SILVA.
Let"s not be doomed.
Let"s remember.
264 LINDA KAY SILVA.
Publications from Spinsters Ink P.O. Box 242 Midway, Florida 32343 Phone: 800-301-6860 www.spinstersink.com MERMAID by Michelene Esposito. When May unearths a box in her missing sister"s closet she is taken on a journey through her mother"s past that leads her not only to Kate but to the choices and compromises, emptiness and fullness, the beauty and jagged pain of love that all women must face.
ISBN 978-1-883523-85-5.
$14.95.
a.s.sISTED LIVING by Sheila Ortiz-Taylor. Violet March, an eighty- two-year-old resident of Casa de los Suenos, finally has the opportunity to put years of mystery reading to practical use. One by one her comrades, the Bingos, are dying. Is this natural attrition, or is there a sinister plot afoot?
ISBN 978-1-883523-84-2.
$14.95.
NIGHT DIVING by Michelene Esposito. Night Diving is both a young woman"s coming-out story and a 30-something coming-of-age journey that proves you can go home again.
ISBN 978-1-883523-52-7.
$14.95.
FURTHEST FROM THE GATE by Ann Roberts. Furthest from the Gate is a humorous chronicle of a woman"s coming of age, her complicated relationship with her mother and the responsibilities to family that last a lifetime.
ISBN 978-1-883523-81-7.
$14.95.
EYES OF GRAY by Dani O"Connor. Grayson Thomas was the typical college senior with typical friends, a typical job and typical insecurities about her future. One Sunday morning, Gray"s life became a little less typical, she saw a man clad in black, and started doubting her own sanity.
ISBN 978-1-883523-82-4.
$14.95.
ORDINARY FURIES by Linda Morgenstein. Tired of hiding, exhausted by her grief after her husband"s death, Alexis Pope plunges into the refreshingly frantic world of restaurant resort cooking and dining in the funky chic town of Guerneville, California.
ISBN 978-1-883523-83-1.
$14.95.
A POEM FOR WHAT"S HER NAME by Dani O"Connor. Professor Dani O"Connor had pretty much resigned herself to the fact that there was no such thing as a complete woman. Then out of nowhere, along comes a woman who blows Dani"s theory right out of the water.
ISBN 1-883523-78-8.
$14.95.
WOMEN"S STUDIES by Julia Watts. With humor and heart, Women"s Studies follows one school year in the lives of three young women and shows that in college, one"s extracurricular activities are often much more educational than what goes on in the cla.s.sroom.
ISBN 1-883523-75-3.
$14.95.
THE SECRET KEEPING by Francine Saint Marie. The Secret Keeping is a high-stakes, girl-gets-girl romance, where the moral of the story is that money can buy you love if it"s invested wisely.
ISBN 1-883523-77-X.
$14.95.
DISORDERLY.
ATTACHMENTS.
by Jennifer L.
Jordan.
The fifth Kristin Ashe Mystery. Kris investigates whether a mansion someone wants to convert into condos is haunted.
ISBN 1-883523-74-5.
$14.95.
VERA"S STILL POINT by Ruth Perkinson. Vera is reminded of exactly what it is that she has been missing in life.
ISBN 1-883523-73-7.
$14.95.
OUTRAGEOUS by Sheila Ortiz-Taylor. Arden Benbow, a motorcycle riding, lesbian Latina poet from LA is hired to teach poetry in a small liberal arts college in Northwest Florida.
ISBN 1-883523-72-9.
$14.95.
UNBREAKABLE by Blayne Cooper. The bonds of love and friendship can be as strong as steel. But are they unbreakable?
ISBN 1-883523-76-1.
$14.95.
ALL BETS OFF by Jaime Clevenger. Bette Lawrence is about to find out how hard life can be for someone of low society standing in the 1900s.
ISBN 1-883523-71-0.
$14.95.
UNBEARABLE LOSSES by Jennifer L. Jordan. The fourth Kristin Ashe Mystery. Two elderly sisters have hired Kris to discover who is pilfering from their award-winning holiday display.
ISBN 1-883523-68-0.
$14.95.
FRENCH POSTCARDS by Jane Merchant. When Elinor moves to France with her husband and two children, she never expects that her life is about to be changed forever. ISBN 1-883523-67-2 $14.95.
EXISTING SOLUTIONS by Jennifer L. Jordan. The second Kristin Ashe Mystery. When Kris is hired to find an activist"s biological father, things get complicated when she finds herself falling for her client.
ISBN 1-883523-69-9.
$14.95.
A SAFE PLACE TO SLEEP by Jennifer L. Jordan. The first Kristin Ashe Mystery. Kris is approached by well-known lesbian Destiny Greaves with an unusual request. One that will lead Kris to hunt for her own missing childhood pieces.
ISBN 1-883523-70-2.
end.