Ionah Atwood stood in the horse barn she worked in as a girl. She pulled a piece of straw from a bale of hay and stuck it behind her ear like one would do a flower. She was absorbed in silence. Then the memory of her sister, Ava, took her back in time.
“Ava! Don’t be playin’ the fool! Father will be furious,” Ionah said.
“Father will always be furious,” Ava laughed. She climbed on top of Celtic Whispers and let him lead the way. Ionah, doing only what an older sister could, grabbed the closest horse and followed her.
“Ava!” Ionah rode alongside her. “Where are you going?”
“Our tree, of course,” Ava said.
They tied their horses to the branches of a massive Ash tree and sat beneath it.
“Do you remember the first time we sat under this tree?” Ionah said.
“Aye, we were so young. It’s always been the place to share our dreams and our secrets.”
“Do you have a secret, Ava?”
“I have the best secret in the world.”
“Tell me.”
“Ionah, I’m pregnant.”
There was silence between them.
“You’ve cried for weeks over Coleman Kavanagh. You’re not thinking of getting back together with him, are you?
Ava laughed. “I think Coleman has made that decision for both of us. A child will hardly change that and I wouldn’t want it to.”
Ionah let out a deep sigh. “I gather you don’t want a relationship with him just because you are pregnant.”
“Of course not, Ionah, I’m going to have a baby,” Ava smiled. “I’m happy I’m going to be a mother. Everything makes sense to me now,” Ava rubbed her stomach lovingly.
“I gather you didn’t tell him you’re pregnant.”
“What would be the point? He couldn’t stay even if he wanted to. He’s back in Afghanistan running more rescue missions.” Ava stared up at the grey sky as if a shooting star was about to cross it. “Something happened to him over there. This last mission did him in. I could see it on his face. I think that’s why he ended it. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was pregnant. It would have added to his burden.”
“His burden? You’re going to have a baby!”
“Ionah, I don’t think Coleman really wanted to break up with me. I think he was trying to protect me.”
“Protect you from what?”
“From him.”
Ionah grabbed another piece of straw from a bale of hay and stuck it behind her other ear. She didn’t want to remember the next bit, but she had to. Her sister, Ava, was dying in this memory.
Her voice was a delicate whisper.
“The sister of my soul will come…” Ava said, then, slowly drew her last breath. “She will come for Celtic Whispers.”
Ionah never forgot Ava’s last words and had always wondered what she meant by them. Until this moment, that is. Lili Wentworth walked into the barn and patted Celtic Whispers on the back.
“I see you’ve got the old girl ready for me,” Lili said, making a final adjustment to the harness.
Ionah knew her sister’s soul was tethered to Lili in ways the Earth realm does not understand. Ionah didn’t share her story with Lili. Only the Otherworld could have use of such mysteries and one day Lili would discover them all.
They walked Celtic Whispers out of the barn and into a horse trailer.
“My father doesn’t have much use for Celtic Whispers anymore but he doesn’t mind takin’ a nice big check from ya.”
“The value of this horse is far greater than what I have given Mr. Atwood.” Lili handed the check to Ionah.
Before Lili got into the passenger side of the truck that Ian Gallagher drove, she reached her arm around Ionah. The embrace was the most wonderful, tangible moment Ionah had ever experienced. It was all the hugs Ionah had missed out on all her life. She was her mother, her sisters, her best friend, and her lover all wrapped up into one hug. She would be endeared to Lili forever.
Ionah watched Celtic Whispers leave the only home the horse had ever known. Ava’s most beloved horse was soundly in the hands of her soul mate.