Beneath the Elder Tree Read Online Free PDF

only to make me sad. I’ve come to the conclusion that it was my destiny to die young, so that I could properly guide another young person. It was just my time.’
       ‘Perhaps it was just my time, too.’
       ‘There was a higher calling for you, Lucy. I’m sure of it.’
       ‘I didn’t say goodbye to my parents when I left their house the other day...’
       ‘I know.’ She threw her skinny arms around my waist and gave me a hug. ‘I know.’
       ‘I should have.’
       ‘It’s impossible to get through life without having some regrets, Lucy.’ She took a step away and looked up into my eyes. ‘Everyone leaves the living world with regrets of some sort.’
       ‘I wish I could speak to them one more time.’
       ‘Rule one: Never make contact with the people from your past life.’
       ‘That doesn’t seem fair.’
       ‘Believe me, it’s very fair. The living are much better off not knowing what exists beyond their lives.’
       ‘Why? Surely it’d be easier if they knew there was more to come.’
       ‘No. If they knew what was to come they would simply waste what little time they have on earth. Their world would cease to function and they would lose all ambition and perseverance. The living world would then become a limbo of sorts.’
       ‘Are we in limbo, Emily?’
       ‘Limbo is a term invented by the living so they could comprehend what is beyond them. There are five types of reality. Five parallel universes. We - you and I - exist in two: The mirror world and the night world. But we can also see into the living world. The fourth world is where we go when our time in spirit world is at an end.’
       ‘You said there are five worlds, yet you only named four.’
       ‘You don’t need to know about the fifth world right now.’
       ‘I’m getting fed up with your secrets, Emily.’
       ‘You won’t have to put up with my secrecy for too long.’
       ‘Your time here is almost at end, isn’t it?’
       ‘Almost,’ she nodded. ‘My duty was to guide and protect you while you were living.’
       ‘Why are you still here?’
       ‘I have to show you the ropes. My guess is that I’ll have three days at most. I’ll probably start to fade out tomorrow.’
       ‘Fade out?’
       ‘It takes time to pass from this world into the world beyond. It took almost three days for my spirit guide to pass over and I’m thinking it’ll be the same for me.’
       ‘It’s going to be pretty lonely here without you.’
       ‘It won’t be. You’ll be too busy to feel loneliness.’
       ‘How will I know who I’m supposed to guide?’
       ‘We’ll talk about that later. First, I want to bring you somewhere really beautiful. And,’ she grabbed my hand started leading me along the pavement again, ‘we need to get there before we enter night world.’
       ‘We’re about to enter into another world?’
       ‘Mirror world and night world are the same. Think of them like two sides to a coin. One side - night world - is clean and shiny and magnificent to behold. The other side - mirror world - is dull and scratched and is rather unpleasant on the eye.’
       ‘And we pass through both worlds each day?’
       ‘Yes,’ she said giddily. ‘But you’re going to wish you could live in night world forever. You’re about to have your big blue eyes opened!’

    *   *   *

    We hardly spoke as she led me towards the old abattoir that stood derelict on the outskirts of Hampton. The sun was slowly dying behind us and I was seeing colours for the first time that day. The fuzziness that blighted the mirror world was sharpening, like a lens being twisted into focus. I also noticed that the anxiety and sorrow that had pestered me all day was receding and I was feeling somewhat refreshed and upbeat. The entire world around me was evolving right before my eyes, and I was evolving with it.
       ‘Is this night world?’ I called out to