The next night, I focused solely on Donna during her slumber. Edward’s neglect may have been the cause, but her resentment had taken on a life of its own.

This creature was cunning. In fact, it would have gone entirely undetected had I not noticed that the clues (reminding Donna of her love for Edward) I would drop in front of daytime Donna seemed to vanish from her memory the next day. Dropping in from the ethereal astral, I’d discretely place mementos from Donna and Edward’s quarters in plain view—a picture from their first date at the Italian restaurant, a heartfelt letter Edward had written for her that she had kept after all these years. I’d see endorphins spike in her brain witnessing these tokens, but they’d never reach the required ignition to rekindle these two soulmates. I’d scan her memory the next day after dropping the photo or love note in front of her. No recollection. It was as if something else was wiping her mind of the breadcrumbs toward her and Edward’s happiness.

Sometimes, you can’t find something unless you’re looking for it. Once I had deduced that a foreign entity must be at play removing Donna’s memories, I took to her dreams once again. I placed the bait of Donna and Edward’s song—cuing it to play during the day—and then hung about all of her memories attached to that song. I waited in silence like a camouflaged hunter on his prey, in her dreaming mind, until the character extinguishing my efforts revealed itself.

Sure enough, the demon bit.

***

We’re approaching the point in this log where I’m obliged to record our current state of the local Akashic. You’ve heard me mention the Akashic, briefly, several times thus far, but now I’m compelled to elaborate. You see, the local Akashic, like greater and lesser infinities can exist at multiple levels of complexity. There is the Grand Akashic that captures every known world within a galaxy or universe. The Universal Union (UU) who employed civil servant Danny V., for instance, were mainly concerned with this surface-level Akashic—on the grand scale—in an effort to tag all worlds under a singular lens within the multiverse, but never drilling down to that nuanced, granular level. They were aware of the astounding complexity of the multiverse, but chose to largely ignore it. A grand, flat circle conceived to encapuslate only one perspective of the multiverse. That was the UU’s goal. This shallow, but broad-sweeping landscape was the Akashic that Donna accessed on nightly escapes.

Then, there are Great Akashics that chronicle the many verses of a star system. When I refer to “the Akashic,” however, I’m alluding to the local Akashic of this Earth version. The specific Moon face tags this version of Earth—all versions of Earth that naturally flow from this Moon face (think cosmic QR code) comprise this local cosmic register. This hyperlocal, incredibly deep dimension of the Akashic into which my Thunderbird helmet taps.

This Earth Akashic hangs as a higher reality hovering in superposition above the physical Earth(s) below. Imagine a large, undetectable Dyson Sphere that envelopes a given Earth and Moon. The Cheshire and Her crew lie in a Lagrange point that’s connected to this local Akashic, my helmet would indicate to me. Seemingly infinite entities of an enlightened nature (from the physical perspective) live and thrive here. Yet, they are all relegated to this Earth version. These are the community of, the divine civilization housing and the audience to the Cheshire’s ultimate tests. And if you’re an earthling down below held in mortal attempt to comprehend this secular heaven, picture some beautiful juggernaut of a city in the sky, bound only by your little imaginations.

DISCLAIMER: Any of the events, characters or places resembling an entirely different Akashic that’s local to another planet or star system are purely coincidental. Furthermore, the UU would never concern themselves with such nuance. Skimming the surface of the multiverse at breakneck speeds was all that mattered to the UU. Luckily, the much older, more wise Thunderbird Order knows to stop and smell the roses on this Earth’s Akashic—an ancient portal of divine origins.

***

NEXT UP: Bill gets that demon and expels it from the Cheshire and her crew.

***

The song played in the background of Donna’s unconscious, as I sat quietly in her mind, waiting for the demon to appear.

She dreamt about the normal things for a while—a childhood memory of her mother, her training as a shaman when she met Edward. Then, as I hung in the recesses of her mind, I noticed she caught wind of her and Edward’s song. An avatar of him appeared in her reconstructed memory of the shaman training days. But almost immediately following, the scene shrouded in the shadow of an impending tsunami. The wave washed away all traces of Edward in Donna’s mind. She washed ashore to some other memory, entirely unrelated to her shaman days. She was a child again with her mother. No trace of Edward.

I followed the dissipating wave, since I saw the speck of a small big wave surfer riding the water. He had been the one controlling this cleansing wall as he rode. As he dismounted his board, I approached him from the shadows. He jumped, having been used to gliding through Donna’s mind undetected.

“Who are you?” I said.

He was a chiseled rock of a man, with a shiny bald head. His eyes were deep and bright. Their obtrusive nature (his high beam eyes) felt as though they’d crack the surface of my indestructible helmet. But I leaned into the cacophony and insisted:

“Who are you??”

He opened is mouth, and his voice vibrated the air around us like a 10,000-decibel amplifier.

“I am the traveler. That is all you need to know.”

“Why are you corrupting Donna’s mind?”

At that, he rose his hand and another surge of salty water struck me head on. Yet, I could surf too, and stood above the torrent, returning to my foe’s general vicinity.

I think this surprised him. He didn’t want to wait and see what else I could do. In a flash, another wave washed him from existence (within Donna’s mind). I attempted a submarining pursuit, careening through Donna’s vast subconscious ocean, but this entity was nowhere to be found. He was too quick.

Plus, my knee flared up, on the hot pursuit. I think I had wrenched it, surfing his summoned wave power. I’d need to find him again the next night. I’d also need some help, I thought.

My helmet told me I’d need to locate the god of the ocean—Poseidon. He’d could divine my aid in defeating this formidable demon.

***

NEXT UP: Poseidon.

***