Chapter 11.
Deep into hiding (The best solution)

Having decided to return to Darwin, Iona and Pangarie trekked through the Jungle then the drier bush until they reached the small village where Iona had parked up her four-by-four. Naturally three canine companions had attached themselves to the pair as they had decided that their best life choice lay with Pangarie and the strange human who could somehow affect their brains.
As Iona thanked and paid the garage owners for storing and parking her vehicle, the dingoes sniffed it cautiously because large four-by-fours invariably meant trouble in the form of guns poking through its windows. They hesitated when Iona and Pangarie invited them to climb in the back but eventually Iona managed to entice them in and within an hour’s driving the three dingoes were lying contentedly in the back. By now the ‘dogs’ (because now Pangarie was thinking of them as ‘dogs’) were reasonably obedient and proved no problem when they stopped for services.

After several days slow driving they arrived in Darwin where Pangarie’s lifestyle was to change considerably.

Firstly, they stayed in a hotel that accepted dogs while Iona sought out a suitable, more permanent home. They soon found a small outback holding that bordered Pangarie’s tribal lands and gave Pangarie and her ‘dogs’ the freedom and privacy that suited her nature. Next, the steps to learning to drive and obtaining her passport were completed and finally, Iona arranged the trust fund. Within a few months Pangarie was set for life while she settled down to gestating the fruits of her womb. Iona stayed by her side throughout her pregnancy and as the day approached, Pangarie’s mother and aunt were invited to join her. They arrived blissfully unaware that their ‘runaway daughter’ had even got herself with child.

At first Iona stepped back from their reunion for she had mistakenly thought it would be a happy, family event to celebrate Pangarie’s fulfilment of her tribal duty. However, when she heard harsh words coming from the house, she was forced to intervene. Her unexpected appearance compelled Pangarie’s mother and aunt to back off.

“And who are you?” Demanded the overbearing aunt who Iona had immediately determined was the main problem.

“I’m the baby’s father.”

Both older women gaped at the slightly built woman with almost white hair and turquoise eyes. Then the gapes turned to disbelieving glares before the aunt went into a tirade of transphobic abuse, mainly directed at Iona before she turned to her niece Pangarie.

“Are you telling us that you’ve married some sort of transgendered freak?”

For the first time in her life, Pangarie found herself able to stand up to her aunt. Iona’s presence had emboldened her and enlightened her as she reacted angrily.

“Wrong again aunty! We are not married but Iona is the father of my children! If you don’t like it, you can leave now.”

Pangarie’s mother stared at Iona as her mind ticked concernedly.

“Will you look after Pangarie’s child, or is this to be another disaster for our family? Another abandoned aboriginal girl?”

“Children! Ma, children! Don’t you ever listen. I said Iona is the father of my children! I’m having twins; and as for care well look around you! This small-holding is mine, that green ute is mine and I’ve got an income for life!”

The mother turned suspiciously to Iona again.

“What’s your motive?” Why pluck a native born aboriginal girl out of the bush and set her up in luxury? I can see that her half-blood looks are very attractive in your eyes; Is there some sort of sex thing going on here?”

Iona’s eyes flashed with anger.

“Not at all and how dare you suggest that I’m some sort of pimp or madame! This farm-holding is entirely Pangarie’s and I’ll be supporting our children fully as every father should. If you can’t accept our arrangements and life-style then that’s your loss! And as to the matter of good looks, yes your daughter is very attractive but that is NOT the reason I have helped her. It so happens your daughter is a very kind and intelligent girl. She helped me cross-over into the dream times so this is my way of saying thank you to her.”

The mention of ‘crossing-over’ silenced the two older women momentarily before the aunt asked slightly nervously.

“Is this true Pangarie? Did you cross over?”

“Yes! And it’s not as dangerous for young virgin girls as the old men say it is!”

“How did you do it? Who showed you?”

Pangarie huffed with frustration as she enlightened them.

“She did! It was Iona! She has a rare skill and she’s going to meet with our tribal elders after our children are born. She’s staying here until our babies are born then she introduces them to the elders to get them accepted as full members of our tribe, our clan and our family.”

“I would be ashamed to even show them to the elders!” The aunt interjected.

“I don’t give a damn how you feel aunty. This is how it’s got to be!”

“Do you think the elders will accept a child even less than half blood aborigine!?” Demanded the aunt.

“They will after they have crossed over with me.” Iona advised her softly.

“You can’t force them to take you with them into the dream time.”

“I don’t need to. If and when they cross over, the spirits will want to know why they did not bring me with them. Then they will be forced to meet me with spirits because I will be waiting for them. As the spirits told Pangarie, half blood is full blood and you can be assured that any tribal elders who refuse to accept Pangarie’s children as full blood, will return from the dream time with their tails between their legs. Do you understand me now, any tribal elders who refuse her children full tribal recognition will anger the spirits.”

The aunt fell silent as she contemplated what Iona was telling her between the lines.

“Who are you to command the spirits?” Pressed the aunt.

“I don’t command the spirits; I just hold them to account if the laws are broken. Pangarie has already been told her children will be accepted by the spirits as full aboriginal and that’s the end of any argument.”

The aunt finally fell silent. There were obviously things going on to which she had no insight Pangarie’s mother now realised this and concluded correctly that the font of the clan’s law and regulation along with the guardian/provider of the bloodline, had passed from her older sister to her daughter. She turned again to Iona because she was intelligent enough to realise that whatever new skills her daughter had learned or acquired, they seemed to come via the white woman.

“Thank you for providing for Pangarie – and her children. Will they be going to the white schools and what of their tribal educations?”

“They will have to be educated in both spheres of life. I hope that by inviting you here for the children’s births, you will see fit to stay here and teach the children your ancient ways. The farm-holding enables them to visit the tribal lands easily for it borders your tribal land. They will be able to easily connect spiritually and physically to the land. Their white schooling will be at the local school, so they won’t be boarders and they can visit their lands each day if necessary.”

Pangarie’s mother relaxed and smiled.

“I’ll be delighted to stay for it means I also can remain connected to our tribe-lands while yet being close my grandchildren.”

She then turned to her older sister.

“This is a good deal Sis. You could even camp on the tribe-land for the border is the creek that borders the fence. You can literally step across whenever the fancy takes you.”

“I thought you’d prefer to live here in the house.” Pangarie ventured to both her aunt and her mum.

“That’s fine by me darling,” her mother replied, “what about you Sis?”

“I’ll accept the arrangement willingly, but I’d prefer to have my own personal camp just over there across the creek.”

“Calling distance, no less.” Iona confirmed. “That’ll work. Your clansmen will be more at ease when they come calling if you’re actually standing on tribe-land.”

For the first time since their arrival, Pangarie’s aunt smiled at Iona while a tear escaped her eye.

“You really do understand our ways, don’t you?”

“Enough to do things correctly. Every day when your niece and nephew come home from school they will have the opportunity to call on you if you aren’t already chatting with their mother in the farmhouse. Their connection to the land, will be your connection, their blood, your blood. I recognise your matriarchal position in the clan and I hold that important for my children to keep hold of all their roots.”

The aunt flung her arms around Iona as she asked.

“Why do you do this, there are very few of you that respect our ways.”

“Because I know what’s important for these children. When the time is right you will learn why but not yet. For now you will have the children on loan until they are ready.”

“When will that be?” Pangarie asked.

“When they are college age. Though as you know Pangarie, I will be coming by more frequently with each year as they grow. Now shall we go and choose a site for Aunties’ camp?”

This positive, constructive suggestion pleased everybody and the four of them crossed the creek to decide the location. Both Iona and Pangarie smiled and squeezed each other’s hands as the noticed the older women actually flexing their bare toes surreptitiously in the rich fertile earth. Finally a site was decided and they lit a fire to mark the very heart of the aunt’s new home. Iona grinned as she sensed the ecstatic gratitude in all three aboriginal hearts.

‘Things were working out,’ she concluded.

A few days later, Pangarie delivered her babies at the aunt’s campsite in the true aboriginal tradition. A few weeks later, Iona went ‘walkabout’, telepath style. It was fully a year before she returned.

During that year Iona learned that both British and American security agencies were still looking for her though they thought she was still in China. Armed with this information, Iona concluded she had one last chance to physically travel the world, visiting her many children before she would have to determine a flawless way of ‘disappearing’.

To this end, she stayed in Australia for a few months keeping low while maintaining global telepathic contact with her older children, those being the children that had experienced the threats that Iona had faced on the day she rescued her American daughters.. These were mainly her older British children by Sandra and Doctor Mary, and the American daughters by Emma and Jackie from the Oregon. She now contacted them daily in her endeavours to give her children reassurance and confidence as they gradually learned to spread their own telepathic wings.

It was during her return to Pangarie’s homestead that the first inklings of a permanent solution came to her.

She was lying by the campfire one night idly chatting to one of Pangarie’s tribal elders who’s Australian name was Billy. They planning a ‘cross-over’ to the dream time. Another tribal elder had recently died and he had been a popular counsellor for the tribe. Iona and ‘Billy’ were planning the cross-over in the hope of garnering some knowledge of the tribal spirits. The subject of reincarnation came up as Pangarie’s aunt and ‘Billy’ joked about who would be the likely recipient of the dead elder’s spirit.

“Surely it’s not a joking matter,” offered Iona.

The male elder shrugged unconcernedly as he explained.

“There are about four girls with child in the tribe at the moment, it could any one of those babies or somebody else. There’s no knowing where his spirit might choose to lodge. I’ll bet every girl is hoping for his spirit to lodge in their child because he was truly a well loved and respected member.”

Iona smiled a little patronisingly but the elder sensed her dismissal.

“Don’t be so dismissive of it Iona, tell me, where would you want your spirit to reside when you go?”

“Oh bloody hell Billy! Now there’s a thought. What do most of your tribe wish for?”

“Mostly they want to come back to one of their own family’s new-born babies, especially if they had a happy childhood in their previous life. If they had a bad time, they look elsewhere. But, you didn’t answer my question, where would you like your spirit to reside?”

“Dammit Billy, I’m an atheist, the idea of spirits and the like leaves me cold. Sorry old fella, I can’t answer your question.”

“That’s so sad Iona. You obviously didn’t have a happy childhood or you’d want to return as a family member. D’ you feel like discussing it with our tribal spirits when we cross over?”

“I suppose we could though the less said about my childhood and family, the better!”

“Well there’s no better time than the present. We’re crossing over together tonight so let’s see what the spirits reveal; if anything at all.”

“You don’t seem very certain.” Iona mused.

“Who can tell. There’s no knowing what the spirits will say though Pangarie tells me that you have some remarkable abilities. Her Aunt Lucy believes you can even control the spirits.”

“No. That’s not exactly right, it’s just that I’ve crossed over with other peoples who are not of your race, so I’ve picked up a few pointers and truths concerning the spirit worlds.”

“Are you prepared to reveal those truths to us?”

“I’ve never thought they mattered but on reflection, it might be a good thing if you can reach a better understanding of the spirit world. Let’s see what the spirits tell us tonight.”

“Amen to that,” Billy chuckled. “I can’t wait. From what Pangarie tells me, you’re a useful fellow traveller to have when crossing over.”

“Wait and see,” Iona replied. “I’m going to get some sleep before we travel.”

Billy grinned and hugged himself inwardly. Iona read his thoughts and sensed a similar fricassee of pleasure twitch through her guts. In the house, Iona stretched out on her own bed and Pangarie slid onto it beside her.

“So you’re crossing over with old Billy tonight. Can I come?”

“I’ve no objections, go and ask Billy if he isn’t already asleep.”

Pangarie returned with her face wreathed in a smile.

“He’s agreed.”

“Well go and get some sleep, you know more than any of your kinsmen, how tiring it can sometimes be.”

“I’ll sleep right here, with you.”

“Ohhh, alright then.” Sighed Iona as she lifted her arm to invite Pangarie under the blanket’

“It was midnight before they awoke to join Billy by the campfire.”

“Will that not impoverish your spirit for the crossing?” Asked Billy.

“Quite the contrary,” Iona replied. “Being in a contented happy mode pleases the spirits.”

Billy wagged his head as he smiled. “Well, you learn something every day. Come on let’s get down to it.”

To his surprise, Billy had Hardly closed his eyes when he found himself at the ‘crossing’ with Iona and Pangarie.

“Bloody hell Pangarie! Your aunty Lucy is right! She does have special powers!”

Iona ignored Billy’s sense of wonderment as she simply said. “Let’s cross.”

Without any preamble or preparation, Billy suddenly found himself with Pangarie and Iona on what was obviously ‘the other side’ where numerous spirits were seemingly anticipating Iona’s return. For Billy the event should have been a deeply significant, almost religious occasion but once again, Iona’s prosaic remark served to defuse any sense of religiosity.

“Right you guys, question time.”

Billy felt himself struggling to find speech as he wagged his head uncertainly.

“This Iona woman was just so at home with the spirits!” He told himself.

Before he had concluded this observation, Iona was already questioning the spirits while Pangarie listened intently. There were about a dozen questions that Iona asked before the spirits posted their own and poor Billy was left floundering for long moments after the questions finished before he found his own questions to ask. He felt almost embarrassed, as Iona, Pangarie and the spirits attended upon him.

His inherent cultural nature led him to address his clan spirits because he was obviously most at home there, but his questions were inevitably about Iona. He addressed his ancestral mentors.

“This white woman, this Iona, why is she able to cross so easily?”

“The woman has some rare skills and she can pass them to her children only. Pangarie’s children now possess them so treat them as you would any other child of your tribe.”

Billy frowned uncertainly.

“What are these skills.” He asked.

“To know, would put you in danger just as the white woman is in danger – constantly. Safety lies for those who are ignorant and knowledge is a burden for those that know. Ask no more.”

This reply convinced Billy he was going no further with questions about the white woman. He changed tack.

“What of our tribe? Will these things endanger our tribe?”

“No, in the long term it will benefit them, just as it benefits others of other tribes, nations and races.”

“So this thing is universal.” Billy concluded.

“It will be – eventually; yes. Now return to your body and live at peace. We wish to speak with the white woman alone. The girl will go with you; respect her and cherish her so that she may nurture her children.”

Pangarie was a bit dismayed to find that Iona was staying behind but she was philosophical about it. She and Billy awoke to find themselves out of the dream time and back at the campfire-side. As they recovered their composure, they both exchanged glances as they studied Iona’s still comatose body.

“Is she coming back?” Billy asked.

“I think so. She told me she would always be here for the children.”

“Do you know of the dangers that the spirit mentioned?”

“Some of them, but not all. We’ll just have to wait until Iona returns. Let’s go to my house and prepare some food. She’s always hungry when she returns.”

Billy needed no further invitation and they found Pangarie’s mother with Aunty Lucy with food ready but not yet prepared. They quickly set about making a meal.

Back on ‘the other side’ Iona was discussing solutions with the spirits concerning her dangerous situation. What they told her convinced her more and more that she would have to find some sort of ethereal, spiritual solution that would protect her and her offspring.

“So,” Iona surmised, “you believe that a dead person’s spirit can pass into a new-born’s body.”

“Yes Iona, it is the option of the newly released spirit, once it has left the old host’s body, once that host has died.”

“Does the new-born have a choice?”

“The new to be born is not a conscious entity until it receives a spirit. We believe it to be just flesh, blood and bone.”

“So when do you believe the spirit enters the new-born body. Is it during pregnancy, during conception, at birth or after birth, - when?”

“Who knows, who cares?” The spirit replied.

“Who chooses?” Iona finished, - significantly.

The spirit replied with total self-assurance.

“It is always the spirit, unequivocally, the unborn is not a being in our eyes until it gains the spirit. To our tribes the spirit is the being not the flesh and bones.”

Iona could readily follow their logic. The aboriginal tribes believed the spirit could easily be advocated to be the whole element of the essential sentience in a normal human being. Indeed, in monotheist faiths this parallel belief was the driving force that produced zealots in Judaism, crusaders in Christianity and jihadists in Islam. Believers who considered death of their own bodies to be an irrelevance when fighting for their beliefs. But that, for Iona, was the rub.

They were beliefs, nothing more, just beliefs.

‘Oh yes’ Iona concluded, ‘spirits existed’ she had little doubt about that; but the nature of spirits, the essence of their being, their behaviour, the circumstances surrounding their coming and going, their doing and being were factors that forced her to differ from others; and it was her telepathy that led her differ. She felt forced part company with shamans, spiritualists and assorted religious leaders of every hue because she was convinced that her telepathy, the very essence of her ability to cross over, had a definite pathology stemming from the strange ‘flatfish’ organ that Ahmed Patel had found nestled between her cerebellum and her corpus callosum so many years ago.

To Iona, her telepathy was probably the hardest pathological evidence of any physiological connections between her physical body and any spiritual elements that could plausibly be connected the human condition. And yet, paradoxically that very telepathy and it’s physiological connection to the ‘fish organ’ in Iona’s brain clearly implied that body definitely had a higher status than ‘spirituality’ alone could allow.

‘Dust – to – dust’ could not be the body’s raison’d’etre alone. Life was not entirely the spiritual aspect. There was a definite connection between the body and spirit that lent itself to a connection that was either the forces of telepathy or some sort of pathology lying as yet undetected within the brain.

Though Iona was hard-put to conclude that these forces had an entirely electro-magnetic nature; there was definitely something with a physical being because she never forget how her telepathic punch had sent the MRI haywire back in the Liverpool hospital.

Having concluded this, Iona the atheist, felt marginally liberated from the ancient conviction that the spirit was all. If her telepathic being had a physical element that could somehow transcend the spiritual barrier; and most certainly had: then could not her sentience travel with it across to the other side, there to find lodgings, conscious lodgings, in an as yet, unconscious, unborn foetus?

From this deep philosophical brooding, Iona was beginning to see a tiny glimmer of hope. The spirits seemed to be getting restless so Iona decided to conclude the discussion. It seemed her long thoughtful silences disturbed the spirits.

“Have you any more questions?” The aboriginal spirits asked.

“No. Not here, not now. I might have to return but I shall not know until I have asked others on this side. For now I am returning to the living side.”

“Farewell for now then. Take care, your enemies are all around you there. As always, they seek what you have.”

With this warning ringing in her ears, Iona crossed back. Nobody knew better than her what dangers lay in her path.

When Iona recovered from her dream time trance she was surprised to discover that her body was not where she had left it. For several moments her eyes swivelled uncertainly around as she tried to make sense of her location. Nothing was familiar so she cautiously and unsteadily got to her feet. And realised she was in a large barn. As she recovered her senses she immediately telepathed to Pangarie.

“Hell girl. What happened while I was crossed over?”

A distressed Pangarie answered immediately.

“Oh! Thank the spirits you’re back. There were people in the town looking for you and they came to our homestead. Somebody from that incident at the shrine must have talked. We had to hide your sleeping body because they came asking about you. Fortunately Billy helped me to move you far away from the farm. We’ve left a ute in the smaller shed adjoining the barn and there’s plenty of food, water and petrol. You’re about a hundred miles from us so don’t come back until you’re sure it’s safe; and it’s not safe just now. They’re still sniffing around here and in the township.”

Iona cursed softly, she had hoped at least to say goodbye before leaving Pangarie and her children but it wasn’t to be. Pangarie added one last message.

“By the way darling, I’m pregnant again. Don’t know it it’s twins yet or what but it gives the tribe one more weapon if their fight for survival.”

“That’s fantastic darling. Look after yourself and the children. There’s funds aplenty in your trust-fund. I might not see you again in the physical sense but I’ll always be there telepathically for you and the kids.”

Pangarie understood what this meant and a tear forced it’s way to her eye. Even though she would always be able to ‘talk’ she would sorely miss the cuddles and physical companionship.

Having tied up as many ‘loose ends’ as she could, Iona drove off in the Ute. Several days later she arrived in Darwin by a circuitous route and after checking telepathically, she determined that her pursuers were still searching Arnhem land and the Queensland area. They still had not learned of Iona’s possession of her Bahamian registered, twin-engined Piper aircraft. Iona was thankful for the secrecy surrounding ‘off-shore banking’ and ‘off-shore shell companies’ where identities, ownerships and financial funds could be easily hidden.

Four days later she was in New Guinea and a week later she arrived in Manila. There, in the hot bustling metropolis, she was glad to learn that her trail had gone cold again. She debated staying a while and perhaps finding another suitable recipient but the opportunities were few and far between.

There were plenty of opportunities to find a girl but it sickened Iona to learn that most of them where under-aged victims of Manila’s notorious paedophile sex trade. She concluded that the only suitable place would be in or around the university where she could search telepathically for a girl who looked like becoming a victim of a sex-trade gang. Iona was beginning to really understand the benefits of her telepathy. It was simply a matter of waiting and in the crime-ridden culture of Manila, Iona did not have to wait long.