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Chapter Five
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2021-09-09 01:21:18Another dream.
Anna was in a field of summer flowers and tall grass. She could hear children laughing and singing somewhere in the distance. She turned her head toward the sound. It was all so vivid she could actually smell the fragrance of the petals, and feel the cool grass between her naked toes. Although she wasn’t in the habit of lucid dreaming, Anna was quite aware she was doing just that, as she heard her voice say out loud.
“This is definitely a dream.”
Looking down at her body, she was shocked to see that she was shorter than the last time she was in dreamland. Judging by the sound of her voice, a great deal younger as well. She’d read a great deal about lucid dreams and in none of the books did she even remember anyone dreaming they were a younger version of themselves. “I guess this i
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“What the hell?” Anna shouted at her hand, that was now holding the annoying and persistent manuscript. “I thought Janet told me security threw this away. All right Dr. Braverman, whoever you are, you win. I’ll read your book, but not until after I finish eating this weird dinner.” Anna was very surprised how much she enjoyed the meal and added the restaurant’s app to her favorite’s list. After putting the dishes in the washer and the leftovers into the refrigerator, Anna changed into her lounging clothes and made herself comfortable on the couch with a refilled glass of wine in one hand and the manuscript in the other. She was still annoyed at the audacity of the author, but she also had to admire him for his persistence. Perhaps her curiosity was overcoming her stubbornness, Anna thought. She r
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“So, you’re going to actually read the manuscript?” Elaine asked Anna while they were waiting for their waiter to bring their drink order.“It showed up on my desk again today, if you can believe that. It’s in my car. I’m going to make a genuine effort when I get home tonight, if I can stay awake that is.”When the waiter arrived with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order, the women told him to come back in a few minutes. They were in no hurry to return to the office.“Are you still having those dreams? Elaine asked.“Every night since your party. I’ve search on all kinds of dream interpretation websites, but there’s not a single mention about what I’ve been going through.” “You could be the first. I can’t wait to hear wha
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Somewhere in the distance, Anna heard a woman’s voice calling her, or at least she thought she heard her name. Once she was awake enough to recognize the name, and the voice of the women who was saying it, she decided it might be best not to open her eyes at all. “Adara, you must wake up now,” the woman calling herself Vashti was pulling on Anna’s arm. “I have so much to tell you, and we have precious little time to prepare before the coronation tomorrow.” Considering she could actually feel the woman’s hand, Anna wasn’t going to take any chances that other injuries she may incur the dream may transfer to her waking life, so she went along with the woman’s request. “What coronation?” she asked. &ldqu
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Anna opened her eyes, and immediately put her hand over her eyes to shield the light of the sun which was blaring through the window. Her head was throbbing and the screaming ringing of her telephone wasn’t helping. Once she felt more awake, she moved from the couch and picked up the receiver seconds before it went to voice mail. “Anna, where are you? The staff meeting starting twenty minutes ago. I’ve been covering for you, but the editors are becoming antsy. What do you want me to tell them?” “Tell them it’s a boss’s prerogative? Seriously, I’m sorry Janet, I just woke up. Just order some of those fancy pastries from the café downstairs. Sweets solve everything.” “I’ll take care of it,
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“Sure, Steve. I’d love to see the game. See you on Saturday.” After hanging up the phone, Nathaniel Braverman, Ph.D., put his feet up on the desk and his hands behind his head, his mouth stretched into a huge grin. His associate Aaron Berger didn’t waste a second calling him out on his posturing pose. “Well, aren’t you proud of yourself? What did you do this time, get the Presidential Medal of Honor or something? Hate to point it out to you Nate, but I don’t think there’s any space to hang it.”Aaron pointed to the plaques, certificates of appreciation and other awards of merit that were displayed on the wall behind Nate’s desk. “Don’t be ridiculous, Aaron. That’s only for mi
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Dr. Bachrach’s office looked like any other therapist’s office, not that Anna had ever been to a therapist, she certainly had read enough author’s descriptions in way too many murder mysteries that she could have furnished this one herself. The moment she opened the door, she felt silly. Having to admit to a complete stranger that she was worried weird dreams, saying it out loud sounded as crazy as sitting in a plush chair in a therapist’s office made her feel.Anna hoped that Dr. Bachrach’s techniques were more successful that other hypnotists had been, which weren’t successful at all. She had gone to parties, and seen entertainment hypnotist shows in Atlantic City, and while everyone else had succumbed easily to the main event, nothing had ever worked with her. Some people just couldn’t be hypnotized, she was told, if a subject didn’t want to be, or was too strong minded, but she was hoping if the subject was willing and she w
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“Well, at least this time I have some idea of where I am.” Anna found herself sitting on the edge of a bed, not that different from the last time she’d fallen asleep. Although she knew where she was in her dream state, she had no idea when. She glanced at her attire, which appeared to be, at the very least, of the feminine style, which meant she was no longer masquerading as Adar. Just then, the two women she’s met in her first dream entered the room. “C’mon Adara, you’ll be late for the procession. The horses are all saddled and ready. Here’s your riding outfit. Hurry and get changed, everyone’s waiting.” “One second, please.
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After she washed her face to rid herself of the last remnants of the dream, Anna phoned Elaine and gave her a rundown of the details of her dream, including how she knew how to ride a horse. “I know how much you hate horses, even though I’ve invited you to our ranch in Thousand Oaks many times,” Elaine said. “This is really incredible. You’re sure you’ve never seen the man who was looking for directions in your real life before?” “Absolutely. He’s not someone I’d forget. I’ll say that for sure. Of course there are tons of photographs that cross my desk of authors’ head shots with their bio and the back jacket of their book covers, but no artist drawing or publicity shot came even close to this Darius g
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Vashti's Daughter Acknowledgements and References
Jessica Price -Why Can’t Vashti And Esther Both Be Purim Heroines? Alma.com, March 2019Walter Semkiw, MD, - Author - Born Again: Reincarnation Cases Involving Evidence of Past Lives, Cases Researched by Ian Stevenson, MD – President Board of Directors of the Reincarnation ResearchProfessor Jim B. Tucker, M.D. is Bonner-Lowry Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia. He is Director of the UVA Division of Perceptual Studies - Author - Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children's Memories of Previous Lives Michelle W. Malkin, MPA, MAJNM - What does it mean to me to be Jewish?Michael Shapiro – Author - Jewish Pride: 101 Reasons to Be Proud You're Jewis
Vashti's Daughter Epilogue
Epilogue It was a perfect Sunday afternoon for the annual Ojai wine festival at Lake Casitas. Anna and Nate had attended the event every June since they were married. Three years ago, they were joined by their baby daughter Melody, making the event a special Braverman family outing. From the time Melody was six months old, she was completely mesmerized by the live performances. Melody’s little feet began dancing to the music even before she could walk. When she was older, she would kick and squirm in time to the music, creating quite a show for any passerby to admire. This year, instead of being confined in a stroller, Nate held Melody in his lap. Anna sat on the blanket next to them, sipping wine while they waited for the next show to beg
Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Six
Nate and Anna followed Bibi out of the cabin as the others stayed behind busy carefully removing the paintings and crating the other artifacts in the cave. Anna held the precious book under her shirt to protect it from the elements. She hadn’t noticed that Nate had pocketed the rings that were in the box along with the hair samples Bibi had taken to the portable lab for DNA analysis. As they walked across the desert to the other side where once had been a flowing river, Anna’s mind was rerunning all the scenes she had experienced as Adara. Despite all the evidence that had just uncovered, the further she walked away from the uncovered cabin, the less she felt the connection to Adara. The one thing she did not lose was the overwhelming compulsion to keep the promise to Queen Esther that the truth about Vashti would be revealed to the world. Now that she had Vashti’s journal in hand, she needed to find a way to
Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Five
For the next hour, Anna and Nate escaped the devastation of the past week, deeply involved with the passionate joys of the present. It wasn’t until they were basking in the afterglow that they allowed conversation to intercede. Lying with her head on his chest, his fingers gently caressing her back, Anna listened to Nate’s calm voice recite every detail that had kept him away from answering his messages over the past few weeks. Her emotions flew the gambit of shock, anger and disbelief. That Monday morning following their stroll on the pier, Nate was just about to leave for his tenure interview when he’d received a call from the NCAA head office. The head of the Syracuse investigation committee had seen the C-Span program where Henry had accused Nate of being involved with the events when he was on the basketball team and demanded he fly to Indianapolis to attend an emergency meeting.
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If Anna had any idea what was waiting for her on Monday morning, she would have stayed in bed. The early morning June gloom enveloped the view on her drive to her office, filling her with a foreboding sense of impending disaster. Even though she knew the fog would soon burn off, revealing the clear blue sky and golden sun later that day, Anna just wanted to escape the depressing scene as quickly as she could.To put herself in a more positive mood, Anna turned up the volume on the radio and sang along with her favorite hit from the 80s; The Eye of the Tiger. She always thought it ironic that a song about fighting to overcome overwhelming defeat was written by a band called Survivor. Feeling re-energized, Anna walked out of the elevator ready, expecting to see her staff busy at their desks with compiling the data from the weekend’s book festival. What greeted her instead on her arrival was an uncha
Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-Three
Sunday afternoon on a warm spring day was the perfect way to experience the magic of the Santa Monica Pier. From the moment Anna walked under the welcome sign, the dark foreboding shadow of Henry’s broadcast was left on the other side. Walking with Nate by her side, she could feel the tension he had felt earlier fade as well. They bought a gigantic ball of cotton candy and rode the carousel like a couple of teenagers on their first date. Anna couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed an afternoon of simple pleasures and she was grateful for the opportunity to share it with Nate, who seemed to be enjoying the mini-vacation as much as she was. “Would you believe I’ve lived in California for over ten years and have never been to Santa Monica?”&
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Out on the balcony, Anna and Nate quietly took in the view of the clear star-studded sky over the pacific ocean with lights of Los Angeles shining to the left. It was nights like these when Anna would sit for hours, clear her mind and simply take in the beauty of her world that reminded her of the reason she stayed in Los Angeles after her cantankerous divorce. Three years ago, she didn’t let Henry’s threats of retribution for her winning control of their company drive her from her home, and she wasn’t about to allow that to happen now. Back then, she had been alone on the balcony. Tonight she was sharing the view with a man she wanted to share much more with in the future. “It’s beauty like this that almost makes me believe in God.” Nate remarked. “I’m surprised to hear you say that, with
Vashti's Daughter Chapter Thirty-One
The dust from Darius’ horse galloping away from the carriage crash stung Anna’s eyes. She walked toward the river’s edge in hopes she would find the book he’d thrown into the water, but there was no sign of it anywhere. She could still hear Darius’ condemnation of her and Vashti. It was hard to distinguish it from Henry’s threats she had heard only moments before.Men’s egos were the same in any era, Anna thought. Judging by the fact that all mention of Adara or Vashti after she was banished in biblical text was omitted, it was clear that Darius had made good on his threat. She wondered if his curse on her ever finding love would also become reality. When Nate first told Anna about his hearing a mysterious voice at the shrine and how he came to write Vashti’s Daughter, she had thought he had a very active imagination, but she couldn’t explai
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After spending the morning supervising the various authors who were signing their books at each of Steine and Steine’s exhibit booths and going over her notes for the panel discussion that afternoon, Anna was grateful for a lunch break. She tried to stay as anonymous as possible to avoid the onslaught of authors who were looking to side-step the submission process by giving their query letter, or, what was worse, their entire manuscript directly to the publisher. For whatever reason, the words “no unsolicited submissions” didn’t seem to apply to them.Anna emphasized with her authors who had agreed to attend the event under the Steine and Steine banner, as well as all the independent authors at the show who had to pay the exorbitant registration fee themselves to promote their books and instead were constantly being accosted by writers who only wanted to know the magic formula they used to get their book published.&nb
