The Soul Garden: Volume 3 - Passages

By Veronica Farmer

Heaven offers Gardener and Guide the opportunity at earthly lives.
Is leaving the garden and living earthly lives once again, the next adventure for the Heavenly garden caretakers? But there are no promises of a happy life. Free will and Fate decide the destinies of all humans. There is no guarantee that they would even find each other. And for as many reasons as there are to go; there seem to be more for staying.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483523248

Book preview

Onassis

CHAPTER ONE

Exit Stage Left

I watched the deer graze in the meadow. They were small and delicate. Tawny and white in colour. They had large ears and even larger eyes, which should have rendered them comical, but it didn’t. They knew that I was watching them but that knowledge didn’t disturb them in the least. They trusted me and had no reason to fear me.

Chance, my lazy dog, was asleep and gently snored at my feet. He was always at my feet. I had just learned to step over and around him. The deer had no fear of Chance either. He didn’t chase them. He had been informed that they were to be left alone. They were to be loved and admired, like friends.

Everything was peaceful and quiet in the garden. I heard the birds singing their songs. The bees were busy floating from flower to flower. Hummingbirds dashed around the garden; always so frantic to get done whatever it was they were doing. I could hear the water from the fountain splashing. Everything was heavenly.

As it should be; this was after all Heaven. My slice of Heaven. My version of Heaven. Peace and serenity surrounded by beautiful gardens. Towering willows, pines and other trees that I didn’t know the names of but admired just the same. Meadows with wildflowers. A lake large enough for canoeing. Yes, it’s perfect.

When I first arrived I wished a small cottage. It’s not really needed but it provided an earthly sort of comfort that is necessary at times. Anything that is needed we could just wish into existence. Very handy.

Yes, we. My husband, Daniel is here with me. We share a love that dates back...well...I’m not really sure. Heaven has no method of time keeping, so I don’t know how long we have been here.

Daniel and I are entwined souls. In Heavenly terms it means that we can never be parted from each other. Our love bond is so strong that without each other, we would perish.

We were a married couple when we lived our earthly lives. That didn’t work out so well. As much as we loved and needed each other we were unable to survive some devastating news. I was unable to have children and my obsession with my infertility drove me to near madness. It drove a wedge between Daniel and me. A rift so wide and deep that there was no hope for repair.

I died first. Killed by a teen-age driver who wasn’t paying attention to the road. Daniel followed after having died of old age. We were able, here in Heaven, to mend the rift.

We have been given the job of helping new souls tend to issues that they didn’t tend to in their earthly existence. I am the Gardener and Daniel is the Guide. Our visitors only know us by these names and only ever here these names no matter what Daniel and I called each other.

They arrive here in the garden and Daniel and I help them to move onto their version of Heaven. I have been given the ability to commune with the nature around us. A new visitor takes a toll on the gardens and the surrounding area. But the garden also gives back. It helps to renew and replenish, not only our visitors, but Daniel and I as well. Daniel has the gift of empathy, compassion and understanding. He helps to ensure that our visitors are ready to move on to their Heaven. It takes a physical toll on Daniel. The healing process for both Daniel and the garden is the physical union of our bodies.

Yep, sex. As I said; my version of Heaven.

We were surprised by the discovery but when you have been given a gift, well, it just seemed rude to question it too closely...even in Heaven. And whether we have just had a visitor or not, we take every opportunity to enjoy our gift.

Daniel and I have being offered another gift from Heaven. We are being given the opportunity to have earthly lives once more; to go back and live human lives.

It’s Heaven’s way of thanking us.

One of our visitors was a lovely little boy by the name of Charlie. Charlie was abused and murdered by his own mother. It was the first time a small child had ever been sent to our garden.

Daniel and I helped Charlie move onto his version of Heaven. It was heart wrenching to let him go. Charlie was easy to fall in love with and both Daniel and I fell hard for the little guy. Heaven decreed that Charlie had to move and as heartbroken as Daniel and I both were, we did what needed to be done.

Emotional spent as we were the Heavenly surprises weren’t over. We were thrown another curve when Heaven sent Charlie’s mother, Linda, to our garden. She showed no remorse for her actions and worse, took no responsibility for killing her own child. Charlie’s father, Rick, arrived to lend us a hand in dealing with Linda. He made it pretty clear to her, she wasn’t going to like where she was headed.

But neither Daniel or I are even sure we wanted to return. Were we tempting Fate by not accepting Heaven’s gift? I had asked myself that question many times. I held no particular love for Fate and accepted her existence, grudgingly. In my estimation, she had proven on several occasions to be wild and unpredictable.

I had been given a random view of what our lives could potential be like. I say could because as humans we are allowed the freedom to make decisions that affect the outcome of our lives. Free will. We are free to set our own destiny but must live with the consequences of our choices. Nothing is guaranteed, of course. What I was shown may or may not happen. Random. Chance. Hit and miss. And of course, Fate also gets to throw her weight around. We can make the choice but she can and does throw obstacles in our way. Wild and unpredictable.

So there was our quandary.

Daniel and I went back and forth on the subject. There was no hurry. There was no, if you will excuse the phrase, deadline.

And that’s what I was pondering while I was watching the deer grazing. Weighing each pro and con. Shuffling the merits and benefits of here and there. Torn between what was here and what could be there.

I was so deep in thought that I didn’t even hear Daniel come and stand beside me.

‘Gorgeous, I can hear the gears in your head