Thomas Wadlington's farming tools

Thomas Wadlington's farming tools

He is old, perhaps in his seventies, somewhat taller than me and round-faced, with blue eyes; stubbled. His hat is a discolored dirty grey. Her grandmother speaks to him, and April later tells me it is clear they know each other from before. I want you to meet my special grandchild. He shakes her hand and says hi, giving his name as Thomas Wadlington, and tells her she is the first woman from another country to have visited him here. The house belongs to his sister, though, and that he'll be leaving this world soon, if you know what I mean. April is certain he knows he has passed away, and that he is referring to some other place beyond this. She feels the construction all around is more like a collective habit of mind, which all visitors are free to partake of, maybe chosen to remind them of their most satisfying moments on earth. Thomas seems to take pleasure in working the land and staying in this house. She reminds me again that her body is different from that of her grandmother and Thomas because her hands are warm, whereas their touch is cold, like brushing against cold cotton buds. She says his form is somewhat transparent, although the appearance of solidity can vary. Her grandmother is very beautiful today, wearing her usual long-sleeved, full-length white dress, and the familiar garland; more beautiful than Miss Universe, and all the competitors in the beauty pageants she loves to watch on YouTube. She still doesn't go inside the house, but thinks someone else is staying here with him. Thomas tells her the house was rebuilt a couple of times in the physical world, after his lifetime, before fire finally destroyed it. Then, the sensation of her stomach growling causes her to rouse to the waking physical world.

Keitt plantation house, South Carolina

Keitt plantation house, 1882

01:03 She says she came to awareness in her second body, its orientation 180 degrees opposite from her physical form, and a couple of feet elevated. She can see herself lying supine, head to the wall, and notices me sleeping soundly on my right hand side next to her. She has already placed the intention to visit the house she was briefly shown a few nights ago, before the trip was interrupted. An identical image starts to form, increasing in clarity and detail as she moves towards it. Her grandmother is now with her, and tells her that the place in front of her is known as the Keitt House, and that they are in South Carolina, in the United States. The year is 1882. Her sense of presence is now strongly located within the scene. Together, they walk around the structure for a while and take in some of the details. The surroundings are quite rural and there are fields beyond. The building itself has two storeys, constructed from planks of wood, and there is a small outhouse to the right which she thinks might be to store tools, or perhaps keep harvest. She notices a farmer standing nearby, a single tool hauled over his right shoulder. From her description, it sounds like a sickle and he carries it in a sheath, a strap attached. Her grandmother says she will introduce him to her. They approach and the man looks up...