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  Chapter Eighteen

  “Here it is,” Duncan said as he parked in front of a modest house.

  Cain felt the same kind of fear as when he’d waited for Duncan, adrenaline and this time, anticipation. How would his parents react? “Will my father be home?”

  “It’s Saturday. Yes. I’m not sure how Father will react. He gave up on you a long time ago. He was sure you’d died. Mother never gave up until recently, when she started to tell me she should lay it to rest.”

  “I know. I heard.”

  “Well, bro, here we go.”

  Duncan briefly hugged him before he got out of the car. His heart going a mile a minute, he followed his brother to the front door. Duncan had a key and let himself in.

  “They’re probably in the kitchen. Follow me.”

  Walking to the far end of the entrance, he opened a door. “Hi, Mom, hi, Dad.”

  “Duncan, you’re back! Did you get the job? What—”

  The very black woman, tall, but not as tall as Duncan, looked over her son’s shoulder into Cain’s eyes. Cain felt her shock, her disbelief. He watched her step away from Duncan and look beyond him.

  “Harry? My Harry? My baby? Oh, my God! Oh, my God!”

  Her hands flew to her mouth and her eyes widened. Cain just stood silently, not knowing what to do. Should he embrace her?

  “Garrett, it’s Harry! Our Harry is here. Duncan found him. Oh, my God!”

  In seconds, her arms were around him and her body molded against his as she embraced him. She sobbed, deep, heart-wrenching sobs that came from her soul.

  “My baby! Oh, my God, my baby! Garrett, look! Our boy is home!”

  Cain felt awkward, but put his arms around his mother. He saw a man stand up and come slowly toward them, a tall man, as tall as Duncan and himself, an older version of them both. So he looked like his father, he couldn’t help but think when the man approached them. His father stood a foot away from them, watching them. Then slowly, a big tear trickled down his cheek and he held out his arms. His voice was hoarse as he spoke. “Harry? Our Harry? Lord in Heaven, our prayers are answered,” he said softly while enveloping them both in his arms.

  Cain, for the first time in his life, felt loved and wanted for simply being. He was part of a family. They stood silently for quite a while until his mother’s sobs finally calmed and she stepped back.

  “Let me look at you. Lord, son, you’re the spitting image of your brother. How can I tell you apart?” His father stepped back and returned to the table and sat. “Come and sit down, you need to tell us a few things. Duncan, how did you manage to find your brother?”

  “I didn’t. He found me.”

  “Get us a beer, son,” his father said. “Carly, come and sit down. We need to hear everything. Would you like a glass of wine, dear?”

  “Yes. Something. Anything to calm me down. Lord God Almighty, I’ll never sleep tonight.”

  “It’ll take all night to tell you everything,” Cain said, still uncomfortable with calling this woman Mother. But she was his mother, and looking at her, he could be very proud of her. She was beautiful, sleek, graceful, and he could imagine her as a beautiful big black cat.

  They talked until the wee hours of the morning. When Cain invited Garrett and Carly to come and live with them on the island, they happily accepted. Cain could have almost bitten off his tongue, because he’d not consulted with the elders on that. But he was sure they’d agree.

  After he’d crawled into his bed, his mother came into the room and sat on the bed beside him. She started to sing a song in the Alishur language, and for some strange reason, a memory clicked in. He knew that song. He’d heard it before, many, many years ago. “Mama?”

  “Oh, baby. You remember?”

  “Yes. The song triggered a memory.”

  “We’ve missed so many years with you. It’s so hard to believe you were right here in this city and we couldn’t find you.”

  “It’s all behind us now. I’m just happy I came into my telepathic abilities and caught your conversations with Duncan.”

  “It’s the blood bond. Blood never forgets, especially between twins.”

  “When will you be ready to join us on the island?”

  “A few months. Your father has to give notice at work and we have to pack. Our furniture—”

  “You won’t need furniture. The cottages on the island all come furnished. So you can sell it.”

  “In that case, a few weeks.”

  “I can’t wait for you to meet my wife. She’s a white cat.”

  “So you told us. Duncan seems to like her very much.”

  “What about my other siblings?”

  “They’re spread all over, but we can communicate with them. Most of the time we use a phone. You have many brothers and sisters and nephews and nieces. We’ve lost touch with my sister and brother-in-law. I still hope to find them.”

  “Miracles. I believe in them now, so I’m sure we’ll find them.”

  “When we left Alishur, our ship was struck and we were hurled into a different solar system, as your father explained. We crashed on Earth in the ocean. Our ship sank but we managed to escape and we made it to shore. That was our first miracle. You’re the second miracle in my life.”

  Cain looked at the tears soaking her cheeks and felt her pain. She was such a beautiful woman, his mother, majestic, graceful, and filled with soul-searing feelings—kindness and love oozed from her. How could the two tribes, white cats and black cats, ever have come to such odds? To him, the two tribes seemed very much alike. “And there’ll be a third miracle. You wait and see. We’ll find your sister. My aunt, I guess.”

  “I believe you. You’re my angel sent from Heaven. If you say we’ll see another miracle, it will happen.”

  “Mother,” the word sounded strange. He’d never called anyone mother or mom before. “I’ve truly come to believe in miracles. I don’t know about God. Though nuns mainly raised me and taught me the Bible, God never meant anything to me. But now, I believe in a higher entity. A Creator of all.”

  “Baby, I hear you. I’m so thankful to have you here. I don’t want to leave you.”

  “I’ll still be here when I wake up, when you wake up,” Cain said, really hoping she’d go to bed. But she didn’t. She sat in a rocking chair in the corner of the room humming a song. It was soothing, melodious and it put him to sleep.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Cain, you should have consulted with the elders first,” Opek scolded.

  “I’m sorry. It’s been an emotional few days and I hoped you’d approve.”

  “I agree we should band together and become one community, but we still need to consult with the council. I’ve called a meeting. They’ll be here soon.”

  Cain regretted his impulsive invitation for his parents and brother to join him on the island. What if the council voted against the black cats joining them? Surely, ancient history couldn’t stand in the way. How could he explain it to his parents and Duncan?

  The elders filed in. “Our first official council meeting on Alishur Island,” Zinpa commented. “What is the urgency of this meeting?”

  Opek waited until they’d all relaxed in a chair, then motioned Cain to stand up. “Cain will tell you about his recent experiences. You can draw your own conclusions.”

  When Cain finished speaking, his heart beat a staccato rhythm as he sat on the edge of a chair. He looked at their faces but couldn’t read their expressions or hear their mindspeak. By the movement of their eyes, he could tell they were arguing.

  Zinpa stood. “Cain, this does not only involve your parents and your brother. You told us your parents have had many children. What if they all want to come and live on the island? Our tribe has always been pure. There was a certain amount of negativity about your mating with Tirzah. You will produce impure offspring, but we knew if we did not allow the mating, Tirzah would leave with you and we would never see her again. What if other black cats desire our young wo
men or our young men? Our tribe will be tainted. On Alishur it was forbidden.”

  “That was Alishur. We are on Earth now and you’re quoting a very ancient law. On Earth, there has been much racism in the past, and there still is. White people were very much against black people. Black people were slaves once upon a time in America. You can read much about it on your computers. We are the same, black or white. We are shifters, and therefore unique on Earth. We should band together. Skin color should not be an issue. I abhor racism and can’t understand the hatred some white people have for black people. The same goes for white and black cat shifters.”

  Opek stood. “Cain is right. I agree completely. From what Cain has told me, his parents are kind, gentle people and his brother is just like him. The Creator created us all equal. I believe we can learn from the black cats because they have lived among Earthlings since they crashed here. It was much easier for them to blend with Earth’s population because it happened so many years ago, when passports, driver’s licenses, birth certificates and social insurance numbers were not an issue. If we’d been smarter and explored beyond the jungle, it would have been simpler for us as well. But we were stupid. I vote that we allow the black tribe to join us. If any of their children want to come and live here, we should welcome them, but they have spread their wings and live among humans. They may merely visit. My vote is yes.”

  One by one the five elders spoke. Zinpa was the only one who voted no. She was very set in her ways and the eldest of them all. In her mind, she was still much aware of the old Alishur laws.

  “It seems I am outvoted. I will abide by your decision,” Zinpa said.

  “Good. But you must take the oath that you will not influence your descendants. Your misgivings will stay among us and never be spoken of again.”

  “I will take the oath.”

  “You will also treat the black cats as you would treat any one of us. If we find otherwise, you will be banned from the council and your privileges taken away.” Zinpa’s face seemed hewn out of ice, but she nodded.

  “This meeting is concluded. Cain, you may bring your family to the island.”

  Cain heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you. You will inform the others that my family is joining us?”

  “Yes, we will call a general meeting in the next few days of all tribe members. I look forward to meeting your brother and parents. We can use their expertise, your brother’s medical knowledge. And you said your father is a butcher?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I presume the black cats, living among Earthlings for so many years, eat meat, so we will need a butcher. We cannot deny them this privilege. We will need to build some stores. It’s all part of the big plan, but it’ll take time, though we also have to take into account that some of our younger people may want to live in America, and eventually, some may want to get an education there. And not all the black cats will want to leave their homes, their jobs, to settle here, so our population should never expand to the degree where the island becomes too small. Eventually, they may return to the island, when it becomes too difficult to hide their longevity. In the end, it will all equal out.”

  “You’re probably right. Children grow up and like to do their own thing, go out into the world. We could build a general store maybe? Big enough that it can sell everything? Wow, when I think about it, there’s a lot more to setting up our own little nation than I thought. I suppose we’ll need currency. I propose we use American currency. I can take groups to the USA to set up bank accounts. We should use cash only.”

  “We can talk about all that, later. One step at the time,” Opek said.

  “Right. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It’s a saying. Rome is a big city in Italy, another country on Earth.”

  The elders left and Cain was alone with Opek. “I was afraid the vote would go the wrong way,” he said.

  “You took a big risk in inviting your family before speaking with us. But all is well. Go now to tell Tirzah how the meeting went. I’m sure she’s anxious.”

  Cain hurried to their cabin and found Tirzah busy in the kitchen. “Mm, that smells good. What is it?”

  “It’s called a cake. I found the recipe on your computer. How did it go?”

  “Come here, little vixen. I want to kiss you first,” he said and pulled her into his arms.

  “From that I gather it went well or you wouldn’t look so happy, and—”

  He cut her off by claiming her lips in a searing kiss, then cupped her face on both sides and gazed deep into her eyes. “Baby, if it weren’t for you, I’d still be wondering how I came to have my strange abilities. I’d never have found my family. You’re not just my soul mate, you’re my best friend, my guardian angel, the missing piece of my heart.”

  She reached up to touch his lips. “And you’re the missing piece of my soul. I feel the same, my big black cat. And right now, my cat needs you.”

  The big white cat rolled playfully on the floor, her tail swishing. Soft purring sounds came from her throat. Cain felt his cat call to him. The mating urge was great. As she bounded through the open door, he shifted into his cat and ran after her. She was so fast, his white cat, but he caught her and wrestled her to the pristine sand. Holding her down by her neck, he entered her and listened to her howl. It turned him on even more.

  After he withdrew from her, they ran along the beach at the edge of the water until Cain changed back and Tirzah soon followed. The beach was deserted so they made love in the water and on the sand, until both were exhausted.

  Chapter Twenty

  Getting his parents and brother to the island went smoothly. Their paperwork and ID papers were all in order, of course, so they received their visas quickly.

  Cain sat with Tirzah at the general meeting held at the main house, to introduce his family. All the white cats had been studying English on the computers and the translators were constantly being passed around, so communication was becoming much easier. With their extremely high IQ, it wouldn’t be long before no one would even imagine they weren’t from Earth.

  All the adults and older children were present at the meeting. The only ones not there were the very young. Zinpa had gracefully donated her babysitting services. Cain knew the elder was still not happy with the situation, but she had at least accepted it.

  Opek stood and indicated for Duncan, Carly and Garrett to rise. The soft buzz of conversation stopped and everyone waited.

  “As you all know from our meeting some weeks ago, the white and black tribes have joined forces. I’d like to introduce you to Duncan Carlisle, Carly Carlisle and Garrett Carlisle. They have chosen cottage number ten. Duncan, Carly, Garrett, I welcome you to our tribe and to this island. Garrett, please tell our people how you came to be on Earth and how you have managed all these years?”

  Garrett stepped forward. “I’m not good at speaking in public but I’ll do my best. On behalf of my wife and son, thank you for accepting us into your fold. It probably wasn’t an easy decision to make, due to ancient history. But these are modern times. As you’ve seen on your televisions, black and white and people of all color, have learned to live beside each other. Well…mostly. This is how we landed on Earth…”

  Cain watched his father close his eyes and relive the escape from Alishur and their crash on Earth. He’d never felt so proud of any individual in his life as he did at that moment.

  “And of course, everything was a lot simpler for us because social insurance numbers didn’t come into effect until nineteen-thirty-six. We have moved a number of times since then, although always within Portland, our children attending different schools, to hide our longevity. But as time goes on, it becomes a lot more difficult. We are still searching for my sister and brother-in-law and their children. I hope, once they realize that they can no longer hide their long lifespan, they will contact us. Most of us stopped using our telepathic abilities many years ago. But that doesn’t mean it has gone away, as
Duncan, my wife, and Cain have proven. We will always be able to mindspeak. We feel we’ve been given another chance in life in this safe haven and we thank God, Whom we used to call the Creator on Alishur, for this opportunity. Thank you all for the warm welcome.”

  Cain clapped loudly, a strange custom to the white cats, but watching him, they soon copied and clapped with him. Some shouted their welcome.

  Opek stepped forward. “And to celebrate this union of black and white, all adults will call out their cat and we will run as one. Tonight, there will be feasting. This is a huge event for us all.”

  They all left the main house and once outside, called out their cat. Cain waited a moment to shift. Tirzah was already among the horde of white cats bounding across the lawns. He watched the three black cats among them the same size as the white cats. It was a sight to behold. Quickly, he called out his cat and joined them.

  Brother, this is wondrous.

  Cain ran next to Duncan feeling the connection and camaraderie. He could hardly wait to spend more time with his twin. So many years lost, so much to talk about and catch up on. A big white cat joined them and wiggled between. Tirzah nibbled playfully at both of them. It was odd. Cain couldn’t feel any jealousy in that moment. It was natural that she loved them both, gave them both the same attention.

  It wasn’t until they shifted back to human form that he questioned the interaction. Could it be Tirzah felt for his brother the same feelings as she had for him? How did Duncan feel about her? So far, he hadn’t heard any thoughts from Duncan or Tirzah regarding their feelings for each other. The women were allowed more than one mate. Did Tirzah desire Duncan as much as she desired him? Could he share her with his brother?