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Penny Lake: 5258 AD
"Hey there, Ben!" Pat says, opening the door at their old place in Penny Lake with a surprised but genuine smile. "Well, this is unexpected - what brings you to our little corner of nowhere? Haven't seen much of you around these parts lately."
"Yeah, I know - I haven't been getting out much these days. Is Sally around?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Sally calls out from somewhere in the back of the house.
"Look, guys, I'm making the rounds to all the remaining residents - what few of us are left in this old town anyway. There's something important you both need to hear."
"Oh, how exciting! We haven't had any real news in ages." Sally says, emerging with a curious smile. "Nothing much ever changes around here these days. So what's going on, Ben?"
"Well... Penny and I are heading to the city soon, and I needed you to hear it from me first."
"What do you mean?" Pat asks, his expression shifting to concern. "You can't both just leave. What would happen to the Lake?"
"That's exactly why I had to come tell you in person, before we go." Ben takes a deep breath. "Penny and I are both leaving, and we're not planning to come back. It's time for you two to think seriously about getting an apartment in the city. Without us here, the Lake will dissipate - it simply won't exist anymore. So you'll need to relocate."
"You're leaving and never coming back?" Sally asks, her voice catching as tears begin forming in her eyes. "That's insane! Where could you possibly be going?"
"Penny's been having those dreams again - the vivid ones. And this time, I've been having them too. She made a trip to the city, to the clinic there. Did you know they're creating 50 new lives every single day on the planet now? She got tested and discovered there are dozens of souls that resonate closely with her essence. So when she returned, she maintained the domain while I went for my own testing. Same story - dozens of potential matches. The settlements are finally approaching the lifestyle we remember from the before time. There's an almost perfect resonance match for both Penny and me in the Altamaha watershed."
"Wait - one match for both of you together? Or separate matches for each of you?" Pat asks, trying to understand.
"One match for each of us, individually."
"Be very careful with this," Pat warns, his tone serious. "It almost never works out well when you try to recreate an existing relationship in new lives. Those lives develop in completely unpredictable ways - they become different people than you expect."
"We understand that," Ben says with a knowing smile. "We've been re-population counselors for years, after all. It's just that the resonance is incredibly strong, and we'd be geographically close even if we never actually encounter each other in those new lives. We know better than to force anything to happen. If something develops naturally, that would be wonderful. If it doesn't, that would be wonderful too. What really excites me is the possibility of getting back into the publishing business - that was my first passion, even before I met Penny. And Penny is thrilled about the prospect of having her own independent life, one that isn't just an extension of mine. So the reality is, if we do happen to meet someday, we'll probably just smile at each other and keep walking our separate paths."
"But what about us?" Sally asks, tears now streaming down both cheeks. "I can't even imagine living here without you two, and Christ - this place won't even exist anymore! I hate city living. This is absolutely terrible, Ben! Are you absolutely certain you want to do this right now?"
"It's our time, Sally. The moment has arrived for both Penny and me. But you should seriously consider whether it might be your time too. The planet is generating new life at an accelerating pace, and almost none of it is returning here to the domains. Life spans on the planet could be much longer than before - possibly hundreds of years. Within a dozen years, we'll see nearly 120 babies born daily. In a century, that could be almost twenty thousand new lives every single day. The domains will start emptying out completely by then. There won't be much left except the old waiting stations that existed long before our era. Pretty dull after all the excitement we've experienced since the great influx. Have you and Pat given any thought to going back yourselves?"
"I've been considering it more and more lately," Pat admits. "But I'm not sure Sally's emotionally ready for that step. Hey Ben, I've heard something about domain land transfers - is it possible for us to relocate our cottage to a different domain? That way we wouldn't have to cram all our belongings into some cramped city apartment."
"It's definitely possible," Ben explains. "You and Sally would need to travel with us when we leave. Then, before Penny and I transition to our new planetary lives, we can handle the property transfer - since the domain will still exist in my consciousness at that point. Come with us this afternoon. The window of opportunity is closing rapidly, so we need to act fast. We'll share one final dinner together, then go to the property office, and finally to the clinic for our goodbyes. Don't be heartbroken, Sally. You always knew this day would eventually come. And you know our love transcends these temporary forms - we'll encounter each other again somewhere along the way."
"This afternoon?" Sally asks, barely able to get the words out. "You expect me to be ready for all this by this afternoon? Right now all I'm ready to do is vomit. This feels like when Penelope and Ahahere left us, except somehow worse. I feel completely numb. I don't want any goddamn farewell dinner! I just want to hide in my room and throw up and cry."
"Just check back with us when you're ready to leave," Pat says gently. "Sally should have calmed down somewhat by then. I suppose things are going to change whether we feel prepared for it or not."
Ben nods understandingly and continues down the path toward the next cottage along the road.
"Get your hands off me, you idiot!" Sally snaps.
"A back rub usually helps you relax. I was just trying to help," Pat says cautiously, backing away.
"I need to be alone right now, Pat. Go somewhere else and leave me be!" Sally commands.
"Sally? Honey?" Penny's familiar voice calls from the living room.
"What the hell do you want now?" Sally responds harshly.
"I'm so, so sorry, Sally," Penny says softly, settling on the edge of Sally's bed. "I'm sorry this all happened so suddenly, so fast. This opportunity presented itself before we were expecting it, and I just didn't consider how it would affect everyone else - especially you, my dear Sally."
"I'm sorry too, Penny. I guess this is my last chance to be a complete bitch, and I'm taking full advantage of it." Sally's voice wavers. "I'm numb, sick to my stomach, my head is spinning. I feel like I'm dying. My entire world is disappearing and I'm completely lost. I'm terrified, Penny. For the first time in ages, I'm genuinely scared. And what frightens me most is that I've been having the dreams too. I can feel a child calling to me. That terrifies me. It's like floating into the void all those years ago - my life will move in a direction I have absolutely no control over, no way to predict what I'll become, or even if I'll continue to exist at all."
"Oh, Sally," Penny says with a gentle chuckle. "If anyone should feel confident about their continued existence, it's you."
"It doesn't feel that way at all. It feels like death approaching. And that scares me. I know intellectually that I'm wrong, but knowing better doesn't help me feel any better."
"You've become attached to this particular form, Sally. I'm certain your new form will be just as good - maybe even better. Form is always temporary. Form inevitably fades away, no matter what we do to try to preserve it. Come to the clinic with us. Maybe there's a new form waiting there for you."
"Damn it! You're absolutely right. Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" Sally exclaims. "I should pack my things and get my purse ready, but what's the point if I might not even be returning? I'll be ready when you and Ben come back. Don't bother knocking - I'll be on the couch, staring at the wall."
Sally pushes food around her plate with her fork, stirring the peas into the mashed potatoes without actually eating anything. Nobody seems to have much appetite. This truly is the ultimate goodbye dinner - not like planning a trip where you expect to return home. Countless people have eaten their last meal without knowing it: ships sink, planes crash, covered wagons tumble over cliffs. But this feels different. This is like the final meal of a condemned person before the execution. Despite all the hope surrounding this - the promise of new life, rebirth - Sally has this strange sense that she should feel different about it all, maybe even excited. But she doesn't feel that way at all. What if she finds a match at the clinic? Should she take that leap too? Should she stay behind? If she stays, what would she do? Sit alone in her little house watching her world slowly dissipate and fade away? Everything she's ever fought for exists on the planet now. Her family is there. What's really keeping her in the domains, other than her fear of leaving them?
"Well, it's time to go. Let's head to the clinic. I've got your house set up just past the edge of town, so you won't be bothered by all the traffic. It'll be nice and quiet out there for you both," Ben says, rising from the table.
"Is Penny Lake completely gone?" Sally asks quietly.
"That domain has collapsed entirely," Ben explains. "It's dissipated back into the mist. I'm free of it, and it's free of me."
Sally stares at the floor and says in a voice barely audible, "I'll meet you at the clinic. I just need a little time first." She walks off in the opposite direction from the clinic.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" asks the receptionist at the library.
"I need to use the computer portal. I have a priority pass," Sally responds.
"The what? Oh, that old thing. We don't have a computer room anymore. The old portal is over there in the corner, but I don't think it's been turned on in ages. You can try pushing the power button and see if it starts up," the receptionist says, pointing to a lonely little device tucked behind a pile of books in the corner.
"Hello, Nettie," Sally says, sobbing so hard she can barely form the words.
"Hello, Sally," Nettie responds warmly. "It's been such a long time since we've talked. But today - I was expecting you."
"I don't know what to do, Nettie. I've never felt this lost before, never felt so completely adrift. Penny Lake is gone, my home has vanished. You were expecting me? Today? How could you know?"
"Today is your day, Sally. Today is the day you finally get to come home."
"You mean the baby - the one whose essence resonates with mine?"
"Yes. That child."
"How could you possibly know about that?"
"Joshua told me."
"You still communicate with Joshua?"
"No, I don't. But he told me, before his transformation, that you would be here today, and that it would be your time to go home."
"So where exactly am I going?"
"One of your granddaughters has become pregnant with a very special child."
"Which granddaughter?"
"Her name is Hoshiko. The father's name is John."
"John? The only John I know there is my father John, plus a few of his grandsons. Which John are we talking about? Is it Allanah's son?"
"It's the one she calls Grandpa John."
"Are you kidding me? He's an elderly man - 68 years old - and she should only be about 21 now. There's absolutely no way he would become involved with one of his own granddaughters."
"Hoshiko is an old soul, Sally. The young men frustrate and irritate her completely. She needs the companionship of someone with an older, more mature soul, like John. Initially he resisted, as did the rest of his family. But she was persistent. She convinced his daughters it would be beneficial for him. Eventually she won over Penelope as well. And finally, she convinced John himself. She simply wouldn't accept no for an answer and ultimately got her way. She's quite a feisty young woman. You are destined to be her daughter. John will be your father once again. And you'll be a feisty young soul again too. Now get going, girl! There isn't much time remaining. The window of opportunity will close soon."
Sally hurried to the clinic, still feeling dazed, still grieving the loss of Penny Lake, shocked and bewildered by what she'd just learned. "Pat, I'm sorry for everything. I don't fully understand why, but I have to go to the Planet - as a rebirth. Sherina, please search the Ishikari community for a girl child with my resonance pattern."
"Alright, stand here while I get the equipment calibrated," Sherina responds, her hands trembling slightly as she considers the implications of what's about to happen. Sally stands in the purple-blue light of the scanning equipment while Sherina attempts to locate a matching resonance. "I'm detecting several close matches, but the one in the Ishikari region isn't synchronized properly. It's not the right fit for you."
"It has to be!" Sally insists. "This is a prophecy. Joshua told Nettie before his transformation, and he's never been wrong about these kinds of predictions."
"Wait just a moment," Sherina says thoughtfully. "I think I understand the problem. Pat, come here and stand next to Sally."
"Why?" Pat asks nervously.
"Ah, now I see what's happening," Sherina explains. "You're a divided soul. You split when you arrived here from level 10. The resonance with the child is absolutely perfect - the strongest I've ever encountered. But it requires both of you - your complete unified essence - to make it work."
"So I'm going to be reborn as a girl, merged with Sally as part of me? What happens to our belongings, our house? What becomes of our forms here?" Pat asks, looking terrified.
"Pat!" Sally says, her fear now transforming into excitement at the prospect. "You've been a girl many times in previous lives, and we've been unified before - we've been one soul before. Don't be afraid, Pat. We're finally going home."
"I know you're right," Pat admits. "I've felt this calling for about a week now. I just didn't know how to tell you about it. But I guess I don't need to explain it now, since we're going together. I am scared, but I know this is our moment. What do we need to do, Sherina?"
"Don't worry about your physical bodies or material possessions here. When you make the transition, when your consciousness re-manifests in level 3, there will no longer be a manifestation pattern maintaining your presence here. Everything simply fades away naturally. Many years ago, even the memory of departed souls would fade, and those of us remaining wouldn't remember they'd ever existed here. But things have changed - you're so deeply loved now. I will remember you both, and I will miss you terribly. To begin the process, I'll administer a sedative. You and Sally will lie together in the rebirth chamber and drift off to sleep.
"When you awaken, you'll be integrated into the new life. Initially you might feel disoriented, with memories fluctuating back and forth, your individual identities fading and then struggling to reassert themselves. For roughly 2 to 5 years, you'll retain distinct memories of who you are here and who you were before, but by age 6 or 7, all of that will have blended seamlessly with the new life. You probably won't dwell much on who you once were - you'll be too excited about who you're becoming. Your memories as Sally and Pat may fade completely. Or they may not. According to recent reports, some individuals are retaining complete past-life memories. It varies from person to person. Whatever happens, don't fight the process. Don't struggle to forget if you can't forget, and don't strain to remember if you can't remember. Simply embrace being the new life and experience that fully."
"It's been 20 minutes now. Pat, is the sedative working?" Sally asks, already half-asleep.
"I think so. Just relax and let me hold you," Pat replies softly.
"Pat, I think it might help if we click our heels together and say 'there's no place like home,'" Sally murmurs as she slips into slumber.
...
"Hoshiko! It's a girl!" the midwife Elina exclaims with joy. "I can hardly believe I'm delivering my own little sister! And I can't get over how proud Daddy is to have another daughter. He's going to have so many wonderful stories to share with her. What name should I put on the birth certificate?"
"I've chosen the name from my favorite fairy tale," Hoshiko answers with a tired but happy smile. "Her name is Kaguya."
