Page 155 of The Moon Sister
Angelina indicated we should stand up, and I did so, my senses feeling that they had indeed been washed clean and renewed. As Angelina took my hand in hers and weaved confidently through the trees until we saw the dim lights of the village ahead of us, I experienced a sense of euphoria that I’d somehow managed to feel at one with – and part of – the amazing universe we inhabited. I remembered Pa’s words:
‘Keep your feet on the fresh carpet of the earth, but raise your mind to the windows of the universe. . .’
Back in front of the blue door, Angelina took my pulse again. ‘Better and better. I will give youpociónnow and you will be well soon.’
Having drunk the disgusting tonic, with Angelina watching me as I did so, she put a hand to my cheek. ‘You are blood of my blood. I am happy.Buenas noches.’
*
Lying in bed in my cave-room at the hotel, my heart felt calmer, as if the steady pulse of the earth’s heartbeat had slowed and tamed my own. My mind flew back to the moment I’d seen Chilly’s soul leave the earth, and I sent up a silent message to him. The fact that Angelina had felt it too meant that all the times before when I’d had a similar sensation of a soul moving on hadn’t been just a figment of my over-active imagination. Which meant that the ‘other part’ of me was just as real as the sturdy walls of the cave that surrounded me.
And for this alone, I was so very glad I’d decided to take this journey into my past.
28
A week on, I felt as though I’d lived another lifetime since I’d arrived in Sacromonte. Angelina hadn’t been joking about teaching me all she knew in the time we had. Before we began, she made me swear never to record anything she told me onto a computer: ‘Our secret ways must remain secret, so that the wrong people cannot get hold of our magic on that web machine . . .’
So, I had walked down the hill to a little shop on the other side of the city wall that seemed to sell everything from cat food to electronics, and bought a thick notepad and some biros. Already, the notepad was over two-thirds full. How Angelina could remember the endless variations of herbs that went into the different remedies, never mind the exact amount of each, I really didn’t know. Then again, I was on a crash-course, whereas she’d been taught from the cradle by Micaela, herbrujaguide. She also began to teach me how to use my hands for healing.
‘Chilly told me I had power in my hands. But animals are my passion. Can it work on them too?’ I asked her.
‘Of course. All creatures on earth are flesh and blood. It is same.’
Although I became frustrated at times, under her tuition I began to learn how to ‘feel’ the energy that coursed through every living being and how to let my tingling hands be drawn like a magnet to the source of a problem, then to release any bad energy and disperse it. Angelina encouraged me to practise on Pepe’s ancient arthritic cat, but I also found myself stopping in the alleyways of Sacromonte to tend to strays that crossed my path. As I crouched over each animal I only hoped that any passers-by wouldn’t think I was trying to sell them on as chicken to a restaurant.
As time went by, I also noticed that my ear was attuning to the Spanish that Pepe and Angelina spoke between them, and I began to recognise more and more words.
‘If I spend another week here I’ll be fluent – at least in Spanish herbs,’ I chuckled to myself as I walked towards the blue door. It was another lovely sunny day, so I knew I’d find Angelina sitting outside, drinking coffee. The usual disgusting-tasting tonic would be waiting for me, because coffee was bad for me, apparently.
‘How are you today?’ she asked me as I arrived.
‘Very well,gracias.’
I picked up my potion – it had the strangest aroma of aniseed mixed with sheep dung – and sipped it reluctantly. I knew she would force me to drink it all.
After a couple of hours of tuition and our usual simple lunch, Angelina and Pepe retired for their siestas, and I went back to the hotel to sit on the terrace for a while, working my way through my scribbles whilst everything was still fresh in my mind. Once I’d done that, I too went to take a nap, knowing that Angelina’s brain was at its most agile at night, so my own had to be on full alert later to compute and write down the stream of knowledge she shared with me.
But that afternoon I couldn’t sleep, and I knew it was because it was time to make contact with the outside world. A week had passed in a flash and people would be worried about me. However much I wanted to remain in my parallel universe, it just wasn’t fair, and I needed to tell them I was safe and well.
‘Marcella, do you have a telephone I could use to call home?’ I asked her.
‘Up here?! You are joking! Mobiles have very small signal. There is telephone at the shop just inside city walls. For a fee, the owner let us use it. My fax machine there too, for my bookings. I go every day to get them. In fact, I go now. You come with me?’
‘Thanks, Marcella.’
In the little shop, Marcella explained what I needed and I was led to a storeroom at the back and shown an antiquated telephone.
As I was left in private, I pondered which number to call first and decided on Cal’s mobile. He rarely answered it, due to the lack of signal, which meant I could leave a message without getting grilled.
I dialled the number and sure enough, it went straight to voicemail.
‘Hi, Cal, it’s Tiggy. Just to say I’m absolutely fine. Sorry to run out on you but I . . . needed to get away for a bit. I’ll be in touch soon, but don’t worry about me. I’m really happy where I am. Lots of love to everyone. Bye.’
I put the heavy receiver down, feeling better that I’d made contact. I then picked it up again, thinking I should speak to Ma – there was no harm in her knowing where I was. I dialled the number and got the Atlantis answering machine. A lump came to my throat as I heard Pa Salt’s voice message. And reminded myself to tell Ma she needed to change it.
‘Hi, Ma, it’s Tiggy. I’m really well and in Spain actually. I needed some warmth after all that cold and it’s really helping. I left my mobile behind at Kinnaird but I’ll try and call again soon. Really, don’t worry about me. Lots of love, bye.’
I put down the receiver, then my hand hovered over it as I felt a compulsion to leave a message on Charlie’s mobile too.
