Previously:

Through me it was happening. Mummy started to tremble and I knew then that she had seen Jean her twin daughter in her mind. There was no talking and it only lasted for thirty seconds and Mummy started to cry with emotion so Rita came and hugged Mummy from the other side. This was a very emotional experience for all three of us Mummy had seen Jean in her pretty blue and white gown and was overwhelmed by the whole experience and went to sleep with me in my bed. Rita went out to Daddy and told him what had happened so he wouldn't be worried.

(Friday 29/5 /59) Mummy was still in my bed and Ginger didn't know whose hand she was suppose to lick seeing I was already awake. I pulled my hand back under the blanket so she could lick Mummy's hand instead of mine, just to see what Mummy would do. I know! I have a "wicked sense of humour." Ginger hesitated for a minute but I nodded my head and to my surprise she knew she was allowed to lick Mummy's hand. By this time Rita was sitting up in bed with a grin on her face and her hand over her mouth, so as not to start to giggle before our little joke was over. Ginger licked Mummy's hand very gently and sat back. Mummy had a smile on her face and opened her eyes but didn't even realise that Ginger had licked her hand. Ginger is a very gentle dog unless she or her master is threatened.

Mummy said, “Wow Carla, I slept like a log after I saw Jean. I must have fallen asleep because I could feel myself tremble and then Jean seemed to be sitting on this bed. It was a dream but so vivid and so real. She was speaking with me and said she loved me and then she just faded. Carla, thank you darling. Now I know what you experienced with your twin.”

I said, “Mummy, it is not a dream. She is as real as you and me only in the spirit world.”

Daddy knocked on the half open door and said “Well ladies, was it a success?”

Mummy got up and gave Daddy a big hug and a very passionate kiss and said, “Bill darling, my life will never be the same after what Carla did for me last night. Do you realise that I actually saw Carla's twin sister, and she looks exactly like this little one. If I didn't believe before then I certainly do now.” She kissed Daddy again, and both Rita and I said, “Do you two want to get a room or what?”

Mummy and Daddy walked hand in hand to have a shower together. Rita and I looked at each other, rolled our eyes and had a giggle fit.

It was a work day so everything was all systems go, and here I was doing damn school work again. I thought to myself, 'How many bloody years do I have to do this anyway? I just want to work with animals. How many sums do you have to know to study wild animals?' I don't like maths but I do like social studies, so I will know all about the world.

It was eleven o'clock and I was getting hungry so I decided to go out to the vegie garden and picked the last of this year's strawberries, so I could have some of Mummy's home-made ice cream and strawberries. I know that is a dessert but no one is looking and it's like Ricky said, 'What they don’t see wont hurt 'em'.

I was sitting out in the warm sun eating my morning "tea dessert" when I saw a plane fly in a circle around the town and thought 'That must be the plane that Uncle Tony chartered to come for a visit.'

I gave Daddy a ring and said “I think that plane that just flew over us must be Uncle Tony, Daddy! Are you going to pick them up from the landing strip?”

“Yeah I’m on it boss,” replied Daddy.

I thought, 'I wonder how long before my aunt and uncle would be living just down the road from me?' I went and made sure that the two spare bedrooms were clean and tidy with clean sheets and pillow cases on the beds. 'Well I am a girl and girls do these things.' It was getting close to lunch-time, so I went to the freezer and pulled out some Irish stew and put the containers in the oven so that when people arrived they could have a nice hot meal because it was blowing a cold westerly at that moment and the chill factor was really low.

I heard a car pull into the driveway and knew it would be Daddy because Ginger seems to have a special bark when she greets Daddy. He didn't come inside because he had to go back to the garage to sort out some stuff he said. So Uncle Tony came in first, and picked me up like a little kid and hugged and kissed me on both cheeks like they do in the movies. Very embarrassing I must say. Then it was Aunty Bella's turn but she didn't pick me up, thank God.

Uncle Tony said, “That smells mighty good Carla, is that for us?” and added, “Awe you shouldn't have.”

Aunty said, “Tony stop teasing the girl will you?”

I replied “ Its ok Aunty Bella, he's a man and and they are allowed to be funny.”

Just then a tall man with little wings attached to his shirt pocket knocked on the kitchen door and said, “May I come in and join the party?”

I said, “Yeah you're just in time to have some of my Mummy's Irish stew.”

He said, “Thanks. My name is Steve and you must be the famous Carla?”

I felt my face get hot and thought steam would come out of my ears any time now. Steve is a nice man and he asked me all about where we came from and what I was doing at home and not in school. I told him why I was home schooled and he seemed to be amazed when I showed him all the radio equipment in my special room set up for me. I even let him say hello on the two way to my teacher, he was truly impressed with how it all worked. Then we all got into Mummy's old Land Rover and drove into town and dropped Steve off to have a look around Quilpie and probable go and have a couple of beers at the pub.

We then went back to the house that Uncle and Aunty bought. All the papers have been signed and they can move in any time they want. It is a nice big home and has a large shed which is why uncle bought it, Aunty Bella said their house in Brisbane was already sold and, so was the taxi business, so there was nothing stopping them from packing up and moving to Quilpie in the next couple of weeks. Uncle was waiting for someone outside to turn up, and I asked Aunty Bella what he was up to and she rolled her eyes and said there was a man coming to build a tower for a television antenna.

Uncle Tony was not going to miss his football for anyone. Aunty Bella and I walked through the house and made a note of what had to be done once she was living there. Of course I made lots of suggestions about colours for new curtains “and lots of pink is needed” I said, and Aunty Bella said, “Yes of course dear,” but I think she was just saying that to make me happy.

Anyway the man turned up to give Uncle Tony a quote to build his tower. He gave the go ahead to do it and only then did he come in to look around inside and went straight to the lounge room to see where he would set up his television set. Aunty Bella said, “Carla dear, you Rita, and your Mum will be able to come down and watch movies when we can get Tony away from the football.”

I said, “I will just look at him with my magic eyes and he will watch the movies with us Aunty Bella.”

She replied, “I believe you could too. Tony is putty in you hands.”

Tony said, “Well as long as she comes and visits us often I wont mind.”

It was getting late so we went looking for Steve the pilot and found him talking to Mummy at the restaurant, We all stayed there to have tea with the rest of the customers and people from the caravan park who all ate at Donna's Carvery.

We all got home at nine pm and were tired, Steve, Aunt and Uncle all needed a shower so we left them to it and went to bed. Rita and I talked for a while about her birthday in a weeks time and I asked her if she was going to have a big party just like I did and she replied “Nah don’t want nothin' like that, just family and the few people I have met while working with Mum, and Peter of course.”

“Of course” I said, rolling my eyes.

(Saturday) Rita and Mummy didn't have to be at work till mid afternoon and had quite a bit of housework to do, but I had Jenny coming to stay for the weekend and had to move a bed into my room because Rita wanted to get to know Jenny as well to make sure if she found out about my little problem she wouldn't cause me any trouble. Jenny's Mum drove into the driveway at nine o’clock and carried Jenny's bag up onto the verandah and said, “Hello Carla, I've seen you at church talking with Jenny and her friends. It's nice to meet you.”

Just then Mummy turned up and said, “Hello Mrs Carson, thanks for letting Jenny stay for the weekend with Carla. They have been friends for a while ever since they met at the park down the road,”

“That's ok, but call me Jan. We have known Bill for a long time and I was friends with Ann,”

Mummy said “In that case I'm Donna and that's Rita my other daughter.”

Jenny and I hugged and went straight to my bedroom and were talking twenty to the dozen when Rita followed us and said “Jennifer I know you are a good friend of Carla's but have to be told something straight away so we don't have any trouble later.” I started to panic and looked at Rita with a worried look on my face.

Rita said, “Carla, she has to know because she is sleeping next to you.”

Jenny interrupted Rita and said, “If it is about Carla's medical problem, it's ok Daddy knows Mr Croft, and that was discussed before I was allowed to come and stay here. I love Carla and I would never do anything to hurt her in any way.”

I was in tears by now and Jenny sat down with me on my bed and hugged me till I stopped crying.

Rita said “I’m sorry Carla, but I had to make sure that you do not ever have any problems.”

Jenny said, “Carla, Mummy has told me about what your problem is and I don’t care about that and I will not let anyone hurt you. I was only six when Paul committed suicide and I was so sad and cried for days, because he used to baby sit me and I always called him my brother. I knew he was different and that he liked boys instead of girls but he was so gentle with me, so Carla I will always be your friend.”

While this was going on Mummy and Jenny's Mum were having the same conversation outside. Jenny and I walked out to where Mummy was, holding hands and I said “Mummy, Jenny is cool with my problem so don't worry,”

“Yes I know darling. Jenny dear, come and say 'bye to your Mum so she can go home.”

After Jenny's Mum left, Aunt Bella, Uncle Tony and Steve the pilot asked Daddy to take them to the air strip to where the plane was parked, which Daddy had to help refuel because he had the contract to supply the special petrol they use for aeroplanes.

Daddy took the Land Rover because he had some pumping equipment on the back of it, so Mummy had to take his automatic car which she really didn't like driving. She and Rita made some lunch for me and Jenny before they went off to the restaurant to get things ready for the Saturday night rush. It was always the busiest night of the week. So we were left to do what ever we liked as long as we didn't get ourselves into trouble. Jenny wanted to see all the clothes that were bought for me In Brisbane. And I still hadn’t had a chance to have my little fashion show, so I got stripped down to my undies and started pulling things out of the wardrobe, Jenny was the same size as me so she stripped off to her undies too.

When we stood there looking at each other in panties and nothing else she said “Carla you don't look any different to me down there are you sure you have a problem?”

I replied, “Yeah I don't have a vagina like you do but they will fix that when I get older.” She said, “Can I have a look, and you can see mine if you want?”

I said, “You can have a look but you can't tell any one about it ok?” So we both pulled down our panties at the same time.

I said, “I know what a girl is supposed to look like because I always shower together with Rita.”

Jenny said, “Carla you don’t look a lot different to me. I thought you would have a bag down there but you only have a bit more of a button than I have.”

“Does it get bigger when you play with it?”

“No, it stays the same all the time but feels nice when I rub it, but don't tell Rita or Mummy will you.”

“Carla you are a girl like me, but have to have an operation to fix you up when you get older, and I will be you best friend forever and ever, cross my heart and hope to die.”

After the inspection of each other's bodies, we got in to our fashion show and tried all my new things on, and Jenny said, “When you come to stay at my place you could try all my things on too and we could do some swapping, because Brenda and June always swap clothes but they are not my size, so until now I have been missing out.”

I said, “Isn’t it great that we are the same size? I like pink - what’s your favourite colour Jenny?”

Jenny replied, “Yellow definitely yellow.”

I said “My twin sister Jean wears a blue and white gown and she looks just like me.”

I thought to myself 'I might as well tell her about my ability to talk with my twin sister on the other side.'

Jenny said, “I was told that you had a twin sister that died a few hours after she was born but you can't see dead people.”

I thought 'Here goes - I am going to have to tell her everything now.' Jenny just sat there with big eyes as I told her all about me being an identical twin and we shared one soul. She didn't say anything till I was finished explaining all about how the spirit world is as real as our own and when we die we will live on the other side.

Jenny said “Wow, can I see her too?” I said, “I don’t think it works with anyone that is not related to them. Mummy and Rita can, but it has to be through me.”

Changing the subject, I said, “How about we take Ginger for a run down to the park? You can use Rita's bike and we can ride to the restaurant to have lunch there.

Jenny replied, “I should have brought my bike, I will next time, but Carla I haven't got any money to buy any thing at the restaurant.”

I said, “Mummy won't charge you anything, silly.” So off we went and got our bikes out and took Ginger with us to the park. She had learned to run after the bike without needing a lead. She listened to me and did anything I ask her to do.

We got to the restaurant and I got Ginger her bowl of water and told her to sit and stay. She didn't need to be tied up any more, she didn't move till I come back to fetch her. I went into the kitchen with Jenny and said 'Hello' to Mummy and the others and asked for a bone for Ginger.

Rita said, “Do you two want to have lunch? I take it that is why you're both here, am I right?”

We both nodded and said at the same time “What's for lunch?”

Alice said, “The same as what the other paying customers are having.”

Jenny said “But we don’t have any money.”

Alice replied, “Just kidding! go and sit down at a table and I will get it for you.”

After we finished eating our lasagne, we collected Ginger who wanted to take her bone, so I put it in a carry bag and hung it from the handle bars of my bike. We rode to Daddy's garage to say 'G'day.' He was in his office when we got there, so we walked right in and I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Jenny did the same and said, “Oops sorry! So used to doing that to my Daddy.”

Daddy said, “That’s alright Jenny, it is not as if I don't know you is it?”

Jenny said “Can I call you Uncle Bill now that Carla and me are joined at the hips?”

Daddy said,”Sure no worries Jenny, but you better tell your Mummy or I could get into trouble.”

Jenny said,“Ok Uncle Bill.” with a big smile on her face and winking at me. We went home and I gave Ginger her bone and told her to stay outside till she finished the bone. I think she must have buried it because she came inside the house five minutes later minus the bone. We didn't really need the bed for Jenny because we cuddled up and went to sleep giggling, much to Rita's annoyance.

Sunday was spent much the same and Jenny's Mum came to pick her up late in the afternoon, Jenny was all excited and said, “Mummy, I scored an uncle over the weekend, and I had the best time, and can Carla come to our place next weekend?” all in one breath.

Jenny's Mum replied,“Darling, I don't know about next weekend. We will have to talk to Carla's Mum first, and yes Bill called me and said you called him Uncle and yes it is ok to do that if you want. He might want to adopted you like he has Carla.

Jenny said “Mummy that's silly - what would Daddy say?”

“He might say that'd be cheaper for us.”

I waved Jenny and her Mum goodbye and rang Mummy to pick me up to take me to the restaurant to have my tea there because the freezer at home was near on empty.

To be continued.

Next time: Rita's birthday, Aunty Bella and Uncle Tony come to town, and a visit from a Brisbane Doctor with some news.

Please leave some comments. Roo :)