Free Book Excerpts

A book about personal growth. A love story. A fantasy. A provocation.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

He could hear the rhythmic sound of his running shoes whispering across the forest floor. The sun shining through the gum trees sent shadows of light down to play their weird games on the narrow path he was jogging through. He could feel his heart beating faster in his chest and his breath started to slow down as he felt himself slipping into the running flow rhythm to which he was accustomed. Somewhere behind him he could hear the noise caused by his two bodyguards; he could hear them grunting and cursing trying to keep up with him. As he jogged through the trees enjoying this brief feeling of freedom his thoughts wandered back to the events of the day.
The alarm clock started its hysterical screaming at seven o’clock and wouldn’t stop until I managed to roll over and press down the button. I had a headache, most probably because of the booze that I drank at the barbecue organised by the Lion’s Club last night. I also felt a dark cloud wrapping around my thoughts,  a feeling that I’ve had a lot frequently lately, since Mary died two years ago, actually. I immediately felt the tears coming into my eyes so I quickly swallowed them down with a glass of water and three Aspirin. At the breakfast table I started reading the “Canberra Times” there was a new article about me, discussing about how weak I was, hanging onto the shirt tails of my friends in America, and basically informing the public that I was failing the country, and if something didn’t happen soon Australia would become the next third world country. Unemployment was rising and my rate of popularity was sinking. Even my housekeeper kept looking at me through hooded eyes, clouded with disappointment as she was clearing up the breakfast table.
I heard the horn of the car outside in the driveway, it was time to go to work and I only wanted to go back to bed.
On the way to Parliament House I fell asleep in the back seat, but when we stopped at the separate entrance I had my eyes open, ready to seize the day. I walked  into my office and started going through my agenda for the day, all the appointments and meetings, pages of information that I had to read through. But all of a sudden I felt dizzy and disoriented. Falling into my chair I took some deep breaths and put my feet up on the desk, and I soon began to feel better; I started my days business.
Somehow everyone I talked to seemed to be boring or I just had the feeling that they were not quite telling the truth I found myself nodding my head saying the proper “yes’s,” “no’s,”  and “that’s interesting,” at the proper moments. Everything my eyes saw appeared colourless–almost grey–and there was a feeling of emptiness within my body that I couldn’t shake. Maybe I should make an appointment to see Doc Weber before my annual check-up comes up. Anyway, I stumbled through the day without making any grave mistakes and now here I am on the banks of the Murrumbidgee getting some exercise and fresh air–trying to find my way back into a life where I can once again feel good about what I am doing.
I kept on running, listening to the sounds of the river and my breathing, when all of a sudden I lost my balance. Falling to the ground, I felt the earth give way beneath my legs and I started sliding down an embankment towards the river, hitting my head on a rock. Everything went black and I heard nothing but silence.
“John, John wake up! It’s time for a change, open your eyes!”
This is exactly what I did and I found myself looking into the deepest, blackest eyes I had ever seen in my entire life. The eyes belonged to the face of a very old, black man, wrinkled and scarred, standing naked in the sun, carrying a spear in his right hand; a woomera was hanging from his shoulder. He offered me his arm, and standing shakily with the help of this strange man I asked,  “Who the hell are you and what are you doing here? What happened to me? I have a terrible headache and my men are probably searching for me and getting very worried–so if you want to kidnap me do it right now!” The stranger looked deeper into my eyes and passed his right hand slowly in front of my eyes and whispered in a soft, enticing voice
“Let your pain become smoke and your worry a river mist rising in the dawn.”
“Hey what was that? My headache’s gone and for the first time in months I feel lighter than a sixteen wheeler truck!” The strange man remained silent and turning into the tea tree scrub he beckoned me to follow him. There was a winding path going down to the river and the air started to get cooler. I could feel a light breeze that was scented with wattle. I had no idea where I was going but at the same time I had a feeling of Déjà vu – as  if I’d already known what was going to happen. Soon we came to the edge of the river and there, sitting on a large rock, was a small Aborigine girl singing softly, trailing her hand in the slowly flowing water. The old man looked into my eyes and said.
“This is the girl with nine toes, she will change your life.” Then he simply disappeared. I was shocked and, as if I had been hypnotised, I went to the rock and sat down in front of the girl with nine toes.
“Welcome to my home Turawwa–do you want to live or die?”
I looked at her, seeing a face that was full of wisdom and purity and, at the same time, as innocent as a small child’s; there was the beginning of a smile on her lips. I stuttered.
“Live of c …c …course.”
“Okay Turawwa, if you really want to live, you must change many things in your life, especially your thoughts and the things in which you believe. Your very thoughts create your reality whether good or bad.” Her voice sounded like singing and I could not see her lips moving; her head was bobbing from side to side and her yellow eyes were shining. Even though I had no idea what was happening, I could remember the stories that the Aborigines told about a girl with nine toes. Stories I had never really believed. I was listening, watching and feeling in awe at what this little girl with nine toes was telling me.
“You are Turawwa, this means leader of the heart. You were chosen long ago to lead this country into a future where all people prosper, regardless of their colour or their beliefs. This is your challenge. The way will not be easy and it will take a long time. But first you must decide if you are willing to give everything you have, even your heart, to walk this path.  Close your eyes. Go inside and ask your inner self if all parts of you–the inside  and outside; the conscious and unconscious of the past, present, and future–are  willing to fight together at your side through this life-changing process, to always stand at your side and to support you with all that they have. Yes or no?” I closed my eyes and even though the instructions were strange, I found myself asking all parts of my body if they were willing to support me in what was happening to me–even though I had no idea what it was.  I got a load of yes’s in reply and a tingling sensation in my belly. I shouted “YES!” and opened my eyes. Then she said;
“There is only one truth and that is the truth in which you yourself believe. Your first challenge is to learn to trust your inner self, your intuition, your teacher inside. This may be difficult–there are people out there who do not agree with what you say or what you decide. They will attempt to manipulate you and force you to compromise. They may even try to pressure you with threats or promises. But whatever they say, you must stand up for your own beliefs and decisions, no matter what the consequences are. If you stand like the tall gum tree with your roots firmly planted in the soil of trust within yourself, the winds of change will do the rest!” She then asked me to put my hand on my belly,  where I felt the tingling sensation. “This is your center, your place of power and certainty; whenever you feel out of balance or unsure about a decision, place your hand here and feel the warmth. Now imagine forming a connection between your mind and this place,  allow yourself to take advice and listen to the voices coming from this part of you, all answers should come from your center. With practise, this will become second nature to you.”
I stood up, feeling surprisingly awake and looking down at her feet I could see for the first time that she really did have only nine toes! I heard somebody calling my name. I looked up to the embankment and saw Rick, one of my bodyguards, waving his arms frantically shouting at me to climb out of the gully. I started to say “Wait, I want you to meet the girl with nine toes …!” but when I looked back at the water the rock was empty.
I climbed up to the place where Rick and Joe were waiting for me and told them how I had fallen down the embankment and hit my head. They looked at me in a funny way and Rick said “But there are no scratches or anything, boss and you were only gone for about two minutes anyway-are you feeling alright?”
“I feel better than I’ve felt in a long time boys, let’s go home!”

Read more about The Girl With Nine Toes and Ray Wilkins HERE.

Copyright 2008 Ray Wilkins. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.