peculiar physical sensations, so I was confused by mom’s hysteria. And my dad looked nervous. Something else in his eyes—maybe fear?
“Anyway, I gave Marty’s location to my mother, who called Irene. Marty was grounded for the remainder of the school year and gave me the silent treatment, like it was my fault he screwed up.”
Caught up in this daydream, Mariah realized something that had escaped her all these years: no one ever asked how she knew where Marty was. No one in her family, or the Zablonski family, or the Mulroney family. By summer she and Marty were friends again and the incident was forgotten.
“Several days after it happened, my mother forbid me from ever doing any more “parlor tricks.” She informed me that people would see me as a freak, intimating that she thought the same thing. Then, typical of my mother, she refused to speak about it again.”
Mariah stopped to take a drink of tea before she continued. “Getting back to this religious stuff, at least you had God if you wanted to talk. He wasn’t an option in the Carpenter household. When I grew up, I was amazed that people believed in an Omnipotent Being who scribbled their name in his big book of Who’s Who on Earth and controlled their destiny. How couldanyone, no matter how divine, know what everyone was thinking all the time and, get this, simultaneously? Only on the big screen, and to the accompaniment of ear-splitting horns and pounding bass drums. I also figured that death wouldn’t be a consolation, that there was no heavenly reward for people who put up with the injustices of their here and now.”
Inspired by Frannie’s look of amazement, Mariah continued. “I was a pretty self-assured kid at that point, at least for a while, but stuff happened. It started with my mother who just wanted me to conform: ‘Be like everyone else, don’t stick out in a crowd, I know what’s best for you . ’ I would hear her in my head and retreat into a shell every time I tried to be an individual.”
Mariah stopped and Frannie realized that her friend wasn’t going to continue. Her mind wandered back to the moment of the Finding and the bond that had been established with the woman before her.
“Something happened during the Finding of Kevin O’Reilly,” Frannie said, glad to see the sadness in Mariah’s eyes change to interest. “It wasn’t just the initial sensations of being squashed, shoved into a funnel, and having my marrow sucked out of my bones. My, uh, spirit, if you will, slipped into the Joining willingly. I was proud that I was a necessary part of the process, and had given you what you needed to complete the Finding .”
Frannie Manzetti had never felt this close to any woman. The unification of their spirits during the Finding of Kevin O’Reilly provided her with an unparalleled experience. She doubted a pregnant woman felt this strong a bond with her unborn infant. No nourishment passing through an umbilical cord could provide sustenance capable of feeding the soul; no maternal joy could compare with the exhilaration Frannie felt when their spirits had entwined. She believed she would never share this deep a rapport with another human being.
The encounter also brought with it a familiarity between them. Frannie had always laughed at psychic phenomena, mind-reading, ESP, all of that crap. But here she was, accepting without reservation. She couldn’t argue with the results of these Findings , and it scared her silly.
Chapter 19
Mariah accepted and welcomed the powerful connection between her and Frannie, the same bond she felt with Michael and now Peter. As she contemplated the ice melting in her glass, she tried to recapture that elation; however, the direction of their conversation prior to this filled her with dread.
“Getting back to what we were talking about before: I don’t like it. You know what’ll happen if we film the next Finding . Somehow, a rag like the Investigator will get their hands on it,
“Anyway, I gave Marty’s location to my mother, who called Irene. Marty was grounded for the remainder of the school year and gave me the silent treatment, like it was my fault he screwed up.”
Caught up in this daydream, Mariah realized something that had escaped her all these years: no one ever asked how she knew where Marty was. No one in her family, or the Zablonski family, or the Mulroney family. By summer she and Marty were friends again and the incident was forgotten.
“Several days after it happened, my mother forbid me from ever doing any more “parlor tricks.” She informed me that people would see me as a freak, intimating that she thought the same thing. Then, typical of my mother, she refused to speak about it again.”
Mariah stopped to take a drink of tea before she continued. “Getting back to this religious stuff, at least you had God if you wanted to talk. He wasn’t an option in the Carpenter household. When I grew up, I was amazed that people believed in an Omnipotent Being who scribbled their name in his big book of Who’s Who on Earth and controlled their destiny. How couldanyone, no matter how divine, know what everyone was thinking all the time and, get this, simultaneously? Only on the big screen, and to the accompaniment of ear-splitting horns and pounding bass drums. I also figured that death wouldn’t be a consolation, that there was no heavenly reward for people who put up with the injustices of their here and now.”
Inspired by Frannie’s look of amazement, Mariah continued. “I was a pretty self-assured kid at that point, at least for a while, but stuff happened. It started with my mother who just wanted me to conform: ‘Be like everyone else, don’t stick out in a crowd, I know what’s best for you . ’ I would hear her in my head and retreat into a shell every time I tried to be an individual.”
Mariah stopped and Frannie realized that her friend wasn’t going to continue. Her mind wandered back to the moment of the Finding and the bond that had been established with the woman before her.
“Something happened during the Finding of Kevin O’Reilly,” Frannie said, glad to see the sadness in Mariah’s eyes change to interest. “It wasn’t just the initial sensations of being squashed, shoved into a funnel, and having my marrow sucked out of my bones. My, uh, spirit, if you will, slipped into the Joining willingly. I was proud that I was a necessary part of the process, and had given you what you needed to complete the Finding .”
Frannie Manzetti had never felt this close to any woman. The unification of their spirits during the Finding of Kevin O’Reilly provided her with an unparalleled experience. She doubted a pregnant woman felt this strong a bond with her unborn infant. No nourishment passing through an umbilical cord could provide sustenance capable of feeding the soul; no maternal joy could compare with the exhilaration Frannie felt when their spirits had entwined. She believed she would never share this deep a rapport with another human being.
The encounter also brought with it a familiarity between them. Frannie had always laughed at psychic phenomena, mind-reading, ESP, all of that crap. But here she was, accepting without reservation. She couldn’t argue with the results of these Findings , and it scared her silly.
Chapter 19
Mariah accepted and welcomed the powerful connection between her and Frannie, the same bond she felt with Michael and now Peter. As she contemplated the ice melting in her glass, she tried to recapture that elation; however, the direction of their conversation prior to this filled her with dread.
“Getting back to what we were talking about before: I don’t like it. You know what’ll happen if we film the next Finding . Somehow, a rag like the Investigator will get their hands on it,
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