Free Seven Point Eight by Marie A. Harbon Page B

with wings and no clothing, sat on the end of her bed.
    “I think it is essential you believe that,” he said.
    The angelic entity in her room must have drawn a memory from her subconscious, one long suppressed, one that held a yearning for something no longer in her life.
    “If you’re not Michael, then who are you?”
    The figure posing as Michael fell silent, as if in deep thought, then answered, “I don’t think you’re ready for that knowledge yet.”
    She surveyed his face and found that the usual imperfections were absent, such as the slight kink in his nose where it had been previously broken and re-set, but the likeness was very convincing.        
    “You must be wondering why your perception of the world around you seems distorted at times.”
    Ava felt reluctant to discuss the matter, how could she admit to anyone the psychological condition of her sister, and her own leanings in that direction?     
    The Michael figure continued. “It is an essential process in your development and crucial to discover who you are, and why you are here.”
    “Do you mean where I came from and who my parents are?”
    “It runs deeper than mere material relations, although your parentage will help you understand a great deal. You need to discover yourself too, and in these things you will ascertain your purpose. There is a natural process that must run its course, one that has been postponed for a number of years.”
    Despite this all being so illogical, his words intrigued her.
    “Why has it been postponed?” she asked.
    The Michael figure pondered, apparently reluctant to give away the solution, much like a good teacher would encourage discovery in his students.
    “The environment was unfortunate.”
    “My childhood?” she assumed, pensive. “Why can’t I remember my parents?”
    “Some things are simply too painful, especially for such a young child. The truth will become known, but you must look deep within. You are like a bookshop that has been closed for a long period of time, the knowledge has been abandoned and left disorganised. Events will soon set in motion which will enable you to begin reading these books again, and add new ones to the collection. There is a new job on the horizon, which you should be humble enough to accept. It is not charity, it is the beginning of the true path and yet, only the beginning. It is not, however, your final destination.”
    “And what is my final destination?”
    The Michael figure responded emphatically. “Something you cannot yet comprehend.”
    “You’re suggesting that everything is…preordained. I believe in free will.”           
    “What is free will? You have already chosen your path, you just don’t know it yet.”
    The figure started to fade subtly. Ava had one last question that had been sidelined, despite being a burning issue.
    “Why did Michael disappear from my life?”
    The fading continued but, as if he had a sudden change of heart, the figure leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. She felt a strange burning sensation, then nothing. The moon shone through the window and the clock still ticked. Glancing over at the clock, she saw it was 4am, such a lonely time of night, and the appearance of a figure that looked just like Michael exacerbated the emotional famine.
    On their last day together, he’d held her face in his hands, kissed her softly and told her with sincerity that their new life in the States was going to be wonderful. After that, she got no answer on his phone and found no one at his flat. In fact, she discovered a ‘to let’ board attached to the brickwork. It had been so abrupt.
    The old hurt almost drowned out the lucidity of the vision. In an absent minded manner, she touched her cheek and found it felt rough to the touch. Startled, she jumped up and examined her face in the bathroom mirror. A red mark stood out, as if it had been previously exposed to the sun. The Michael figure had left physical