Tomorrows Child Read Online Free PDF

matter?
    When I walked
back into the kitchen, both Phoenix and Libby smiled as if the
previous conversation never happened and I couldn’t very well ask
what they were talking about.
    “Wow, you look
different without the outer coating of mud,” Phoenix commented,
making me blush. I hated blushing, but it happened to me often, too
often. I always considered it the ultimate betrayal when your own
body revealed your secrets.
    “Shall we eat?”
Libby served dinner and Phoenix stayed.
    The
conversation over dinner was effortless and the relaxed atmosphere
surprised me. I ate slowly because I knew Phoenix would leave as
soon as we finished, yet he too seemed in no hurry. I saw him
looking at me with the same intent stare, but there was now a hint
of sadness in his eyes, I think.
    I was tired by
the time Phoenix left. I didn’t cry myself to sleep for the first
time in months. Yesterday I was lost, floundering in the darkness
and seeking death. Today felt like the first day of my new life. I
had a new friend and discovered that somewhere deep inside me,
magick really did exist. Perhaps I had found a home after all.
    ~~~~
    Thoughts of the
day scattered and dissolved into the surreal world of my dreams.
Rainbows danced across the sky and butterflies fluttered from
flowers made of glass. A girl stood in the sunlight, dressed in
white. Sometimes I was the girl, but today I watched her from a
distance. She turned and peered into the shadows. I thought it was
“the man” but the shadow moved and became a bird without eyes.
Black feathers fell to the ground, bleeding into the rainbow sky. I
became the girl in white.
    Fear consumed
me as I ran across a sparsely covered land. Trees were scattered
and the open wasteland provided nowhere to hide. The bird grew
larger as it approached and landed in the tall grass. Beating wings
soon became thunder from the earth and a howling beast emerged from
the shadows.
    I ran through
tall golden grass, which provided protection for the hunter, but
not for me, the hunted. Large boulders jutted up and a stream ran
beside me. In the distance, a light shone but I couldn’t reach it.
I ran. The beast closed in… I could hear my heart thumping, my
breaths turning raspy and a scream that cut the air. I would not
survive today…
    And then from
the light, a figure emerged… I’d seen him before… he’s always here,
waiting to rescue me. I had run from the beast, hoping to find him…
my heart slowed, I knew I was safe… I would not die today.
     

Chapter 4 ~ THE
SMELL OF DEATH AND DEVASTATION
    We were living
as if the world had already ended and in many ways, it had; but
today we were driving to town in a four-wheel-drive wagon. It was
strange to hear the motor hum and watch the trees flash past as we
drove there. I could almost imagine that life was normal, but the
narrow winding road was deserted, littered with debris and led to a
ghost town.
    The town of
Mount Misty was only ever a small country town with less than a
thousand residents and no industry other than a few dairy farms and
some logging in the early days. As a ghost town, it was destined to
become a boomtown because it was the perfect location for survivors
seeking refuge from a broken world.
    Situated on the
top of the Great Dividing Range, Mount Misty sat safely at more
than a thousand metres above sea level. In a time of cataclysmic
natural disasters, it was probably one of the safest places on
earth. If sea levels continued to rise, we would be sitting high
and dry, but this was no secret and any survivor looking for a
haven would probably head this way.
    Altitude was an
important fact, but the region was also safe from other disasters.
Earthquakes had not affected the area, though small aftershocks
were still a daily occurrence. Volcanic eruptions were a
possibility, but the local volcanos had been extinct for millions
of years, so the only real threats to the region were from cyclones
and violent storms.
    Yes, Mount
Misty was