The Crystal Circle: A Paranormal Romance Novel (4 page)

“David from the market? He was selling small wooden sculptures, but I think he wasn’t doing so well, and he said he won’t be back. He went to work in the market stalls in Eilat. Who knows? You do mean David the wood carver, right?”

Saul thought for a moment and replied, “Yeah, I guess. What does he look like?” “Uh... I think brown hair, maybe a little reddish. Has a bouncy way of walking, like a panther.”

“Yes, that’s him,” Saul enthused, “for sure! Are you sure he left?”

“Yes, he left for Eilat,” she said, returning her attention to arranging some rings on a black velvet pad. “It’s been a week since I saw him, and they’ve already hired out his stall to someone else.”

“Tell me,” Saul said and smiled when he saw the sun shining in Anna’s eyes, appreciating her beautiful smile. She was about forty or forty-five. “Are you free?”

“How d’you mean?” she hesitated.

“You married, got a boyfriend or something?”

“No, of course not,” she replied quickly and then corrected herself. “I’m an artist. Artists don’t have the patience for strong-minded husbands.” She laughed loudly and added, “I’m divorced. No children.”

“Can I hit on you?”

“I don’t know, Saul. We just met. Sit, talk, and we’ll see.”

“That’s good enough for me,” he smiled. “I’m hungry. It’s almost lunch. Can I get you a sandwich? A salad? What do you like?”

“I could go for a salad with whole wheat bread. Thank you.”

17/06/2013 - Second day of disappearance

Saul organized the living room. It was a tiny bohemian apartment, as small as 430 square feet, facing a courtyard between buildings in the Old North of Tel Aviv. The courtyard had a sense of abandonment about it: large garbage cans, some of them lopsided; cats howling; weeds; and a small vegetable garden someone once fenced and planted only to abandon it later on. Wildflowers and cacti were now growing there.

Long fabrics from India hung from every wall in Anna’s artsy apartment. “Beautiful backdrops,” she called them. Other than that, the apartment contained tables, boxes, and crates filled with various accessories for making jewelry. Pictures of various Indian saints were also visible along with a jumble of colorful packets of coffee, sugar, and rice cakes in every corner of the small kitchen. After browsing the Internet on the small computer in the living room, Saul sat down in the kitchenette near the small pullout shelf on the wall and had a morning cup of coffee.

He looked around with interest. The tumult and disorder didn’t suit him, probably because he wasn’t that kind of person in his previous world. But who was he in this world? He had no answer. Very large portions of his life were gone from his memory. It bothered him a lot to be a man of his age without a past, but with a lot of knowledge in different fields. For example, he realized that he had knowledge of finance. He deduced this from the passion with which he read the financial pages once the newspaper arrived in the morning. Stock market analysis and variations in securities delighted him. He memorized them and was sure of what should be the proper investment that day. That is... if he had any money.
I’m an economist or an investment company owner. I mean... I was, before I lost my memory,
he thought.

The day before, he and Anna sat at her stall in Nahalat Binyamin market and talked until very late. He also helped her sell, speaking kindly with a smile, and using the words of an expert with reference to the jewelry, about which he had not the faintest idea. He helped her prepare a table of income and expenses and to fill out tax invoices. He also explained that it was wiser to put the cash people paid her directly in her purse as long as they didn’t ask for a receipt.

“The government takes too much money from the citizen without compunction. Ordinary citizens should be allowed to make a few pennies for themselves. A person must live!”

Anna was horrified by the idea and immediately wrote the receipts herself. He backed off quickly, careful not to pressure her. He gallantly offered to pack all the goods and carry the boxes home, which was ten blocks away. Anna happily accepted. It was a lucky day: Not only did she earn over 2000 NIS, but also found a charming and intelligent gentleman, a suitor who helped her out. Over at her apartment, he carried the crates up, and she naturally offered to cook dinner for them. The spaghetti and meat sauce pleased his palate.

“Wait until you taste my Ensalada de Pollo,” she said.

“Cold chicken salad! I love it,” he enthused.

“Do you speak Spanish? I’m Argentinean,” Anna wondered. Saul was surprised about the origin of this knowledge, and said he didn’t think so. Who knew what other things lay in his mind without his awareness? He decided that there was no reason to rush to find David. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, unless he was that redheaded guy traveling to Eilat. In the meantime, he had a little piece of paradise he was very pleased about. That night, after two glasses of red wine, they lay naked on the bed lined with silk scarves, and made love to the music of a famous Indian sitar player. Saul swore he’d never had a woman as beautiful and vibrant as her, and the fact that he couldn’t remember any other women meant it wasn’t even a lie. He told her that he was on a quest to find his past on account of his memory loss.

“But some fortunate fate delivered you to me, Anushka!” And how lucky he was to have Anna to finance his next move! Saul was now without cash as he couldn’t remember what hotel he’d woken up in earlier.

They laughed and cuddled for a long while. He listened with interest to her life story and the story of her divorce, and when she turned to him with a direct question - why wasn’t he going to the police to go through the missing person lists? - he explained that he preferred it that way. If, God forbid, he was wanted by the police for parking tickets or a DUI, he might be arrested for some nonsense.

“Maybe I’m divorced and owe alimony for the past week? Better I solve the matter myself. My memory will come back. I’m sure.”

The truth was that Saul was horrified by the idea of turning to the police because of his incident with David, the store owner. Who knew if the man, who was very old, had survived it? The adventure in which he found himself stirred his senses, and he had no doubt that he’d soon solve the mystery without help from the police. He knew that the key was David

Anna was quick to agree. She didn’t want to arouse anger or resistance in him. Saul was so gentle and considerate and great in bed. He fussed around her and pampered her just like an ardent Latin suitor. She went to the little kitchenette, fragrant and made-up, emerging from the bedroom floating in a multitude of Indian silk dresses.

“Listen,” said Saul, “I was thinking... You’re a really talented artist. Your designs are very popular with women. I’ve seen it for myself. Generally speaking, yesterday I went seeking donkeys and found kingship...”

“Meaning?” Anna asked in amazement.

“Something from the Bible. Come on, you know. The story of King Saul, searching for missing donkeys when he was still just a regular guy. He ended up crossing paths with the prophet and becoming the king. Remember?” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It means that I found you, my amazing, beautiful princess. So… how about we both go to Eilat?”

“Eilat? Why?” Anna asked in wonder, brushing her thick, fair hair.

“I believe the future’s in the hotels over there. Have you seen how many hotels they have there? I just saw it on the Internet. Take a few good samples, show them to the hotel managers there and, you’ll see, they’ll be happy to display your jewelry in their gift shops and at special events. It’d provide a major upgrade to the fun and service they provide for their customers. A person must choose his own path, to challenge himself in order to be successful,” he added quickly.

Anna looked at him with her clear eyes and blinked. She’d never thought about it, and it seemed like a wonderful idea! Travelling to Eilat suddenly, just like that, for a couple of days, to enjoy the sea and some freedom, in the arms of a wonderful man. What’s not to like? She found a giant backpack and began throwing clothes and boxes in it.

“What are you doing?” Saul asked in wonder.

She gave a hearty laugh. “We’re going to Eilat, aren’t we? Come on, lazy, get packing!”

He faked a puzzled look, searched around and said, “Oh, now where did I put my luggage?”

She laughed and slapped her forehead. “Wait a moment.” Within a minute she returned with a big black backpack and put some towels and men’s clothes inside it.

“Where did this come from?” Saul wondered.

“It belonged to the idiot I dumped six months ago.” She brought him a pair of shoes and even a bag of men’s toiletries and shaving equipment. Anna very carefully packed small boxes containing a selection of necklaces, bracelets, and rings, extra sandals, and everything was ready. “Come, my love,” she said.

“I’m with you... my love,” Saul imitated her tone and wording. He carried all the bags on his shoulders and they left the apartment.

The Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv was teeming like a hive of bees on a rainy day. There were foreign workers - mainly African- soldiers, students, housewives with their shopping, and working men in sweaty shirts. It was a hot summer’s day, and deodorant had become an essential commodity missing from the inventory of most of the passengers.

They threw their heavy backpacks into the bus’ baggage compartment and sat side by side on a bench near the rear of the bus, happy and excited. She rested her head, adorned with honey-braids, on his shoulder, and he looked out. From the corner of his eye, he could feel someone looking at him, but when he looked around the bus, he saw only people settling in and filling the seats. He didn’t see anybody suspicious and thought that this was a strange feeling. There was no reason he should be followed, for nobody saw the assault. Nonetheless, he was worried. He not only looked for something or someone familiar, but someone who might recognize him. Even if it meant trouble, at least he’d know where he was and who he was.

Five hours later, after a break and 210 miles, they arrived in Eilat. It was already late in the afternoon, but once the doors of the bus opened, they were attacked by the insane heat.

“Is it always so hot in Eilat?” He didn’t remember Eilat at all, but Anna assured him that Eilat was always like this in June.

“It’s as if you’ve come to the doors of hell and demons plan to roast you on a spit.” Anna added.

Saul laughed. He began to enjoy the images and the creative thinking of his protégée. Or, perhaps he was her protégé? He tried to dwell on it more than a moment, and then said, “My dear Anna, may we go to the shore to see the sun set into the water?” Anna rolled with laughter until she began to cough, and Saul had to pat her back so she could regain her breath.

“Saul, you really are a little fuzzy! The sun never sets over the sea in Eilat. The sun sets in the west, which means it sinks into the sea in Tel Aviv, but we’re in the east here. Across the bay is Jordan. East, my love, not west... but there are very beautiful sunsets here. Everything’s painted red. Let’s go down to the beach.” He carried the two heavy bags over his shoulder as she skipped merrily along like a little girl on vacation from school.

“How lovely, how wonderful!” They settled down as the sun disappeared behind the hotel, somewhere in the mountains, and as promised, the Edom Mountains were painted pink, red, violet, light gray, and finally dark gray. It grew dark.

“It’s time to find a hotel,” he said, looking at her expectantly. “Tomorrow, we’ll go looking for a place where you can proudly display the most amazing jewelry in the country.”

“Yes,” she stood up, brushing the tiny stones from her skirt, “let’s go.”

They found an inexpensive hotel near the airport, and registered as a married couple in love - Anna and Saul. It was the Sea View Hotel, not true to its name. Only from the highest floor, the third floor, and only if they stood at the end of the hallway, could they see a small piece of blue water in the distance. But the price was fair, and the meals were wonderful. Anna paid with her credit card and Saul held her hand.

Throughout dinner, he complimented her blue eyes and his good fortune at meeting her in Nahalat Binyamin. Anna didn’t lift her gaze from him all that evening. She was in love. It had been so long since she’d fallen for a man so smart and gentle and charismatic, and he’d come into her life so quickly.

That night, before he closed his eyes, as Argentine mountain views and houses passed through his mind, he imagined himself floating above them and wondered for a moment if these memories were his own or Anna’s memories mingled with his. His former life was behind a thick screen, but this life, which had begun just two days ago, was exciting and fun.

06/19/2013 – Fourth day of disappearance

The front desk clerk spotted Lynn as she tried to slip away into the street, still wearing the suit with the leopard print lapels.

“Ma’am, you need to pay us for the past two nights.” She stood in front of him, pulled out the small wallet from her purse and placed two hundred-shekel bills on the sticky counter. She looked deep into his eyes and said nothing. “You owe forty shekels more, ma’am. And what about tonight?”

“I’ll pay you when I get back from the city. I’ll go and withdraw some cash.”

He sighed and turned to answer the ringing phone. She walked out, casual and upright, but as soon as she sat down for a coffee at the bus station, from a plastic- flavored cardboard cup, she scratched her head. She still had $200, which she wanted to save, and just another hundred NIS.

To her irritation, she had yet to find a job, and even when she went back to the hotels and asked for a job as a waitress or as an ice-cream lady on the promenade, she was answered with no more than a grin, raised eyebrows, or an indecent proposal. At least on one subject she was clear: she had no debts back in Tel Aviv. The apartment was paid up to the end of the rental period, the utilities were prepaid in advance at the beginning of the year... and her last meager salary must have balanced out any other bills. If someone over there was missing Lynn, they should deal with it. She wouldn’t ask for a loan because she had no intention of returning.

It was already late, and Lynn was getting hungry. She saw the amount of food being thrown out the back of the hotels and thought about collecting it and selling it cheap. What was the most luxurious hotel she’d visited? She walked to the back of the Herods Hotel. Comparing to the quiet and pleasant lobby, which was decorated and beautiful, the back entrance was the complete opposite. At that moment, it was full of chaos and noise, dozens of people coming and going through the giant kitchen doorway. It was, in fact, a warehouse. Chefs and assistant chefs wearing starched white uniforms; busboys and porters inserted and removed boxes of food, vegetables, and meats; trucks unloaded merchandise; and a few others, whose job was unclear, also moved amongst them.

Lynn paused, stared at the commotion, and tried to guess which of these people she should speak to. Within a few minutes, the picture became clear to her: the top chefs never left the kitchen. They were busy supervising and giving instructions to their subordinates in the kitchen. The men in white coats were ranked somewhere in the middle, below the kitchen staff, and their job was to get the goods from the suppliers and make sure that everything was done according to the orders in terms of quantity and standards. The delivery men and transport workers urged them on. The cleaning staff of the hotel were in different uniforms of blue and gray and cleaned the area. Next to them were people standing and waiting.

After the unloading of the food was done, the people who waited went toward the people in gray robes and smiled expectantly. Each of them came equipped with a basket or a box, and the service workers selected vegetables and other food packages and put some in the baskets. Lynn now realized what she had to do. It wasn’t pleasant, but they all did it. She should ask for some of the food surplus that was still edible, but not good enough for the distinguished hotel guests.

She stood before one of the swarthy, mustached service men. He had an Arabic accent. “Are you new here?” he asked, curiously scanning her fancy suit.

“Yes,” Lynn bowed her head.

“Today I have cutlets and some cabbage for you.” He saw that she didn’t have a basket and courteously bent over and arranged the groceries in a cardboard box for her. She thanked him, but when she saw what she’d received, she was dumbfounded. What would she do with a frozen chicken breast and fresh cabbage? She needed cooked food.

She turned to the young man and asked, “What’s your name, please?”

The young man was surprised and replied, “Hassan.”

“Hassan, have you, maybe, some cooked food... spare cooked food?” She was embarrassed, but she had no choice. The hunger bothered her.

He was surprised and smiled. “The lady does not know how to cook?”

“Yes, but... I live in a place where you can’t cook...”

“Wait another hour, hour and a half, and I’ll get some for you.”

Lynn sat down and waited. After an hour and a half, Hassan stepped out of the kitchen as promised, holding some steaming plastic cartons. Inside was a piece of chicken in gravy, slightly broken up so that it hadn’t passed the chef’s rigorous audit. There was another carton of potatoes in sauce and another containing a variety of grilled vegetables.

“How can I thank you?” Lynn asked excitedly, swallowing her saliva.

“It’s enough that the lady tells me her name...” he laughed.

“I’m Michal, and I live here in one of the hotels.”

“At the hotel... mmm…” He was surprised. “And with no money for food... interesting!” He smiled a little.

“No, it just ran out. One day I’ll explain it to you. Thanks, Hassan. Goodbye.”

Lynn sat down to eat in her small room and a stray tear rolled down her cheek. How had it come to this? That tear paved the way for more tears, and, pretty soon, Lynn was sobbing on the bed. She asked herself the questions that had echoed inside her again and again over the past few days: What would become of her? How would she survive? What was the impulse that made her come to Eilat, and what lay in her future? Would defeat make her go back to Tel Aviv, battered and bruised, with her tail between her legs? She stood in front of the small mirror, wiped her eyes, and something strong rose within her. She had to get out. The room was a dead end.
Outside, there’s water. I need a water reservoir. A water reservoir. “He who calls a meeting must express in his heart a clear intention to receive help,”
the strange sentence echoed in her mind.

Lynn went to the pedestrian bridge leading to the marina and settled down near the water. She looked into it. Water always relaxed her senses, especially natural water. As she looked at her reflection, a cyclist passed by, and, for a second, his flashlight lit her face. She saw her eyes reflecting in the water, and that was enough...

The Crystal Circle meeting

“Welcome, beloved Michal!” She heard the deep, loved voice, whose great influence on her she had come to forget. She found herself at the portal of that beautiful white marble hall in which she had walked so many times before. She moved closer to the center of the hall, and there, on a round bench carved in marble, eight others sat or lay on the silk and velvet pillows, all dressed in velvet robes of soft colors of purple, blue, and pink.

Everyone stood up for her and gave her big hugs and warm embraces of love and happiness. Mark, her father, gave her a broad smile. He was young, his wrinkles gone. Miriam, her mother, skip-walked to her, stroked her back and giggled. She looked no more than thirty-five. Dave was also there and two women she couldn’t remember as well as Raul from the bank and a curly-haired boy who smiled at her and looked very familiar, but she couldn’t remember who he was. Joe was there too. Her Joe. He looked exactly as he did when she left him the day before - sturdy, healthy, and dark. He hugged her warmly and bravely, though in a manner that suggested no sexual intimacy.

“Sit, beloved souls!” the guide said, and they all settled comfortably, softly babbling in the pillowed circle. He was about fifty, but had looked the same forever. His hair was gray at the temples, his eyes a glowing, fiery gray, and his smile magnetic. He

was dressed in white and wore a golden cloak around his shoulders. Raz’el was his name, or at least that’s what the others called him.

“Welcome to the Crystal Circle,” said Raz’el. “Michal, we are very excited you have once again called a meeting of the Crystal Circle. Since this group was founded, nearly three thousand years ago, we see each other on the basis of your summonings, and today Michal has summoned us. The last time it was Dave, and that was...” he looked at his watch, which resembled an enormous diamond and looked back at Dave, “exactly six years ago.” Michal looked at Dave, and he gave her a nod accompanied by a wink, as if to say: Not much to say, everything is known to us. “Why did you want to meet, Michal?” The guide turned his face to her with a serious look on his face.

“I’ve lost my memory. Now the memory of a woman named Lynn is planted in me. I’m in Eilat without food or money and unable to return to my family.” She looked at Joe and began to smile at the sight of his face. “What am I doing in Eilat? Why am I here?”

Raz’el paused for a moment. He looked around the group, stared at Raul, then Dave, and back to Michal. “You have a mission. Perhaps your life’s mission. Joe and the girls are unrelated. We had to hide you for a while.”

“What?” Michal whispered, staring at him in tears.

“Again. Like years ago...” He bit his lip and went silent for a moment, then said in a firm voice, “Let it go. You’ll be fine. You’ll have food. You’ll get a job. You’ll find shelter. You’ll find within yourself the challenge for which you were sent. I have appointed you some supervisors. They’ll keep you from harm and make sure you’re focused on the mission. And don’t forget, Michal... you signed off on all of these challenges. This is the step up you have requested. You have my guarantee. It will be fine. Dave and Raul have their own missions. Let them be.”

She looked at him and said nothing. As always, his smile and his words reassured her. But this time, a little spark of doubt awoke in her. The spark was immediately extinguished. Raz’el was always right. She recalled the last time she had been in the Crystal Circle, about thirteen years earlier. She then stood before an important decision in her life – whether or not to get married - and was perplexed. “This is a crucial decision in life,” she’d said back then. “In this life,” the guide corrected, “and even out there, you can always pick another husband.” She remembered how Joe stood up then, before they decided to marry, and came to sit beside her.

“You forget, my beauty,” said Joe, and the smile on his face broadened so that his two dimples deepened further, “that we decided I would challenge you by hardening your path in this world. It will be challenging for you to make independent decisions, you know. You have the ability to overcome it. You wanted to prove to us and especially to yourself -”

“And then I’ll challenge you to fight your need to constantly control your environment... so that you will have to let go of controlling us in order to discover others... the real person inside us,” Michal recalled.

“So, you see? But for that to happen, we must cooperate and so -”

“We decided we would marry,” they both said at the same time and smiled. They embraced. Raz’el then explained that facing the difficulties of her life in the shadow of her strict and depressed parents, who also admirably withstood the challenge of loss, was a success. Therefore, it was time to step up for the next challenge: Joe. Michal shook off the memory as the guide began speaking again
.

He addressed all of the members of the Circle with a ceremonious tone, reserved for goodbyes: “Now remember, look carefully into the eyes of the group. We don’t know when the next meeting will occur. Not that time holds any meaning, but now, carve in your heart’s memory, each of you, deep within your soul the love and sacrifice that each member of the Crystal Circle is willing to give for the sake of anyone else in the group. Remember that love is the glue. And now let us repeat the rules of the Crystal Circle...”

Michal said, “Yes, yes, remember now, forget later. And... no real time has even passed. Can we run along now?” The guide rolled with laughter. He threw his head back so that his slightly silvery hair glistened in the light of the hall, or was it the moonlight? It was hard to tell. He rolled up his golden cloak off his shoulder and put both hands on her shoulders. She felt a tingling along her back until she was wrapped in warm, colorless light.

“Michal, always exuberant and restless and in such a hurry to rush to her duties. You’re a young soul, lusting for life. Give love and you’ll receive multiplied love.” Michal felt a blast of feelings of love stunning her and landing her on the pillows behind her. Everyone sat and listened to the words of farewell, as always, accompanied by gentle music coming simultaneously from all sides and from within them.

“Now, a year and a half has passed. But in Earthly time, only two tenths of a second has passed since the moment you arrived. You will not remember anything of what was said and done here. But... you may keep the feelings of love and appreciation that we all feel for you in your hearts. You need to return and implement the challenges with which you present each other. I believe in you and know you will win. You have everything a mortal can contain - and more. I love you, and everyone from the Crystal Circle will always love you. Forever.”

Raz’el turned around, and his golden robe floated until he evaporated into thin air. Michal walked down the hall on her way out of the crystal hall. The entire group followed her steps.
Lynn closed her eyes and opened them again. The cyclist passed by. She looked into the black water and shook her curls as she got to her feet. Water was, indeed, relaxing. Her situation in Eilat was like an initiation test for boys in remote tribes. She breathed the warm evening air deep into her lungs with the certainty that the solution would soon be found.

06/20/2013 - Fifth day of disappearance