There Really Isn't That Tight A Correlation Between Egg Size And Adult Size. I Mean We're Not Expecting

There really isn't that tight a correlation between egg size and adult size. I mean we're not expecting something big, but some of the biggest of these came out of mid to small eggs. It's so cool!

Bugs & Bunnies

Talks with my dog

When the aliens came they spoke with everything; insects, marine animals, birds, wild animals, our farmstock and our pets! Some of us were worried about what the animals would say about us, some were excited about the possibility of animal to human translation. Some said they even spoke to the micro-organisms in the soil.

We thought they'd talk with us next. These beings who could communicate with every thing else on our planet. We sent them invitations to summits. We tried to have conversations with them when we saw them.

They didn't even look at us.

Some idiot with a gun got angry at being ignored and shot one. The response was violent and definitive, the whole town died within seconds. The state retaliated, as did the country. As far as we know there are no humans left alive over there now.

We might have all gone to war, except that our pets, the insects and the very birds attacked anyone who approached weaponry and missile storage locations. Anyone who got past them was violently ill. Those who persisted died of ruptured bowels, blood toxicity.

They left, never talking with us.

I'm making progress in talks with my dog.

A Bond That Transcends

My skin prickled, the hair on my arms standing as straight as a pin. Putting the kettle on the counter, I looked over my shoulder towards the door of my parlor. I was used to this feeling, it had happened so many times throughout my life, but it always filled my veins with adrenaline. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him, a young man, maybe twenty, with brown tight curls and piercing green eyes. His skin was dark and his clothes were torn up. Blood was splattered across his body. My breath caught in my throat as I turned around to face him.

“She’s coming. Rounding the block now.”

“Who is she? What happened to you?”

“She’ll explain when she gets here. She’s been researching you for weeks.”

“How long have you been with her?”

“All my life. My baby sister, brought to a place like this,” He looked around the room and sucked at his teeth, “All because of me.”

“I take it you didn’t like mediums while you were alive?” I took a seat at the large round table I placed in the front of the shop. It used to be my dining room table, but I hadn’t eaten off it in years. “How does it feel? Being here now, knowing that I can see you.”

“Almost as hard to process as dying.” He sat down in the seat furthest from me.

“Is there anything that I shouldn’t bring up? Something that will hurt more than it will help?”

“There’s someone else who’s been watching her. Don’t tell her he’s here, ignore him if you can.”

“Who is he?”

“Someone from her past that she tried desperately to escape.”

“Okay. I’ll do my best.” As I finished speaking, the bell attached to the door chimed.

A woman no older than eighteen stepped inside. She was the spitting image of the man sitting across from me. She was elegantly dressed with small pearl earrings poking out from her long curls. I smiled at her, her nervous energy filled the room from wall to wall. My skin prickled again as I looked at the large man who towered over her. His face was cut and his arms seemed to be disjointed. He was angry and volatile and his blue eyes burned with hatred. My smile faltered and I snuck a look at my mysterious friend. He nodded at me and looked back to his sister.

Small teardrops were running down her face. My heart ached for her, but there wasn’t much an old crone like myself could do for the pain of a lost loved one. I could bring only so much peace.

“Hello, my dear. I’ve been waiting for you.” Her brother scoffed at me, but I only smiled in return. I stood, heading back towards the kettle. “Would you like some tea?”

“Yes, please.” Her voice was quiet as she looked around the room. I could admit the room was a bit jarring. I had shelves full of herbs and tarot cards, crystals, and bottles that assuredly looked like potions. They were only lotion. I found that the gift of communing with the supernatural came much simpler to me than magic tricks. Tarot cards were helpful in the case of mute spirits or divination of the future, but when you have the source at your fingertips you don’t ignore it.

“Take a seat.” I heard the chair squeak out of place and silence filled the room. My hands shook slightly as I carried the tray of tea and sugar to the table and sat across from the young woman. “Now, what can I do for you tonight?”

“My brother, he passed-” She stopped herself, more tears surfacing. “My brother died a few weeks ago and I’m having a hard time dealing. I’d like to see if there’s a way to talk to him or check on him. I’m not sure if I even believe in an afterlife, but he was too special to be nowhere.”

I smiled at her, trying my hardest to ignore the energy coming from behind her. My eyes stayed glued to her and her brother. “Okay, that’s simple enough. As far as I understand it, there are two planes. There is “Heaven” and “Purgatory”. That’s not really what they are called, but that is what we would understand them as. Those in purgatory walk amongst us until they have completed their journey. When they have completed their journey, they go to heaven. After that, I’m not privy to much of the inner workings. My specialty is this world.”

The young girl seemed to relax, her shoulders drooping slightly and she exhaled slowly. I looked at her brother and he understood me.

“You can tell her I’m here.” He said, placing a large hand on her shoulder. She stiffened slightly and looked to the floor.

My eyes widened slightly, not many could feel the touch of those beyond. I hesitated before asking, “What is it?”

“Well, lately, I’ve been getting this weird sensation. Right here,” She pointed to his hand, “And I can’t shake it. It like tingles.”

“That’s your brother, my dear. He has been with you since the day he passed.”

Her eyes widened and she looked into the empty air in front of her. “No, it can’t be.”

“He is here. Ask me some questions, I will prove it to you.”

“Okay,” She nodded and began to think quietly to herself. “What’s my mother’s name?”

His laugh was deep and hearty, “Jasmine.” He said and I repeated.

“Where is my potted plant right now?”

I raised my eyebrow and looked at her brother. “On the windowsill in your living room, but he said that as soon as you shut the door, your little kitten knocked it down. His name is Oliver.”

“How can you know that?” She whispered, more to herself than to me. It was typical in this line of work. People come to have their questions answered, but they all expect it to be a scam, and yet they willingly waste their money on it.

“It’s okay, my dear. It is normal to feel the way you do. I’ve seen the dead since I was a child, this is nothing new for me, but for you, an entire world has just opened up.”

“So, he has unfinished business?”

“He seems very worried about you.”

“He’s stuck here because of me?”

I laughed to myself, they were just so similar. Bonds like theirs could not be broken by anything, not even death. “Not because of you, but he is your older brother. He wants to protect you in death, just as he did in life.” She began to cry again and her sobs tugged at my heart. “I don’t mean to upset you, dear.”

“He was the best brother.”

“Do you mind if I try something?”

She shook her head and watched me move around the room. I grabbed herbs, a candle, a book of matches, and a small sand-filled zen garden that I repurposed as an altar of sorts. I placed them in the center of the table and began working on a banishment. I looked at the siblings but focused my mind on the man surrounded by hot anger. The brother looked confused and he grabbed his sister’s hand.

“I need total silence. This will take about five minutes. You are going to feel the energy in the room shift at around three minutes in, but you cannot interrupt me. Is that okay?” They both nodded, looking slightly more scared than before. I piled the sand around the candle, holding it in place. I sprinkled drops of herbs throughout the garden. In a single flick, I lit the match, holding it to the candle’s wick.

I chanted in my mind for five minutes straight. I kept my eyes closed, but I was listening closely to the man who had attached himself to this poor young girl. He began to scream in agony, getting as close to me as possible, trying to frighten me into stopping, but I would not. He was not the first angry man that I had banished from my home and he would not be the last. I could hear small whimpers coming from the girl, but she did not move from her seat.

I finished in five minutes, as promised, and looked around the room. The angry man had disappeared and the candle had burned down to the sand. “There, that’s much better. How do you feel?”

She breathed in deeply, releasing the air in her lungs and relaxing into the chair. “I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. What was that? Is my brother still here?” The young man looked at his sister in awe.

“Yes, he is. That was a purification, of sorts. The removal of negative energy so that the two of you may feel a more positive bond until your brother feels that he has finished his duties in protecting you. That is at his discretion.”

“How will I know that he’s still with me?”

I looked at her brother and he smiled. “Ladybugs. Every time she sees a ladybug, she will know that I’m still with her.”

I laughed, telling her what sign to watch for.

“Ew, he’s going to send me bugs?”

The young man howled with laughter. “She hates bugs. I used to leave crickets in her room when we were children.”

“It could be crickets,” I said, winking at her.

Her lower jaw dropped and she looked to the empty air beside her. “No way, he told you about the crickets?”

“You can talk to him whenever you’d like. You may not be able to hear his response, but you will know that he is always there.”

The young girl began to stand. “Oh, thank you. This has been amazing. What do I owe you?”

“Not a penny. My payment is knowing that you will go home happier than when you came in. And don’t forget to clean up that plant.”

She laughed and walked to the door. “I’ll be back someday soon, maybe I’ll take you to lunch as payment.”

“That would be quite nice, I hope your brother can join us.”