The Encounter: Spiritual Awakening

by Lisa Hyde

Overview

Eight-year-old Sarah King lives in a small country town and feels like an outsider everywhere she goes. A tomboy with a sensitive nature, she isn't accepted by the girls at school or the adults around her, and the boys are the only ones who tolerate her. Even so, Sarah finds comfort in her connection to nature and to God.

When she tags along with her older brother and his friends on a misguided hunting adventure, she has no idea her life will soon change forever. As she is separated from the boys, Sarah's journey becomes one of understanding, spiritual fulfilment, and enlightenment. She encounters many strange and enigmatic beings who teach her about the power of love in all things; the relationship between humans and the earth; and the role of the Creator in all that is, was, and will be-the Source that is in all things. As she learns, she becomes aware of her role as the creator of her own reality and how her energy and choices affect the world as a whole.

In this tale set in the wilderness of Australia, a young girl encounters mythical creatures who guide her toward the path to spiritual enlightenment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452529820
Publisher:	Balboa Press Australia
Publication date:	07/13/2015
Pages:	54
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.13(d)

Read an Excerpt

The Encounter

Spiritual Awakening

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By Lisa Hyde

Balboa Press

Copyright © 2015 Lisa Hyde
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4525-2982-0

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CHAPTER 1

It was another typical sunny day in the small country town of Rosewood. The temperature was about thirty-two degrees Celsius, and the humidity, as always, was high. As small country towns go, Rosewood was average and undeveloped, with occasional dirt roads and farms surrounding the main town. There would be no prize for the best home, as most houses were in need of a good paint job and some leaned to one side. Fences were dilapidated with unpainted palings — some leaning to the left, some standing vertically, some leaning to the right, and some just plain missing. Rusty wire kept the palings together. As kids, we looked upon these homes and their fencing as normal. We didn't see anything wrong with them or any need for improvement. We accepted things as they were. There were no judgements of right or wrong.

We lived in a very small three-bedroom house. There were nine of us if you included Mum and Dad. Our parents had their own room, so the seven kids were squeezed into two bedrooms. I never had a room allocated to me, nor a bed for that matter. I slept in any room that had space for me at the time, which was usually the boys' bedroom.

I think that is why I related more to my brothers than my sisters. Because I spent so much time in their room, I would listen to my brothers' talk about my sisters as if they were stupid because they were girls, and I could see and understand their point of view as they pointed out my sisters' faults. I had to grow up before I realized that women were very smart but completely misunderstood by men. Growing up with the three boys influenced the way I thought, and I had more in common with my brothers. I learned to think and behave like a boy. I didn't learn anything from my brothers that could contribute to having a healthy adult life.

We lived on the edge of town, which wasn't even one kilometre from the main street. Our home was beside a farm with cows, horses, and an occasional crop. It was nice living beside the farm. I would often climb onto the farm's gatepost. I felt so high up on the post that I thought I was in the sky. I would sing to God and bless all the cows and horses. I sang songs of appreciation for the beautiful blue sky, the green grass, and all of his creation.

The farmer who owned the property, Mr. Lenihan, used to ask me not to climb up on his fence, as the older I got the heavier I was and I was causing damage to his gate. I felt I had to be high up to reach God, so I continued to climb his fence. One day Mr. Lenihan caught me up on his fence again. He confronted me and asked me why it was so important for me to be up on his fence. When I told him, the beautiful man told me that it was okay to be on his fence.

I remember how blue the sky appeared to me and how green the grass was. I know it isn't any different now, but I cannot see the vibrancy of the earth as I did when I was looking through a child's eyes.

On the other side of our house was a lovely old gentleman named Jack. He was always busy in his vegetable garden. He was partially deaf, so he fortunately never really knew how noisy we were. He thought we were lovely, well-behaved kids. This was true to a degree, but we would have our scuffles and arguments on a regular basis.

One time my brother David and I had just finished watching television, and we were outside re-enacting one of the TV programs we had just seen. We always did that. We would watch a movie or television series and then go outside and become the characters. It was dangerous — think the Three Stooges. I remember wanting to test out Mary Poppins's theory, and I used an umbrella and jumped off the roof. I did inform my mum of my intentions first, and she told me not to do it as it was just a program and not real. But I, Sarah King, was sure I could accomplish it, and I had to find out for myself. Yep, Mum was right — one ruined umbrella. I'm lucky I didn't get punished for it. By the way, nothing hurt except my ego.

One of David's friends, Steve, turned up on his bike and said that a good friend of his from out of town was coming to his place on the weekend. They were going to go shooting if David wanted to join them. He said yes and I, being the annoying little sister, begged to come with them. (Not that I would ever shoot anything; I just wanted to go on an adventure as they were so excited about it, so I knew I had to go too.) This was going to be the adventure of a lifetime, but David was sick of dragging his little sister with him everywhere. He was quite adamant that I couldn't go.

Steve, his mate, said, "No, let her come." I thought, Yes! I am in.

David warned that I'd better be able to keep up. He was only one year older than me, and he was kind of my best friend, so I don't know what the sudden attitude problem was all about. He was generally tolerant of me hanging around him all the time, but this time was different. I could almost feel his hatred towards me.

The boys talked about nothing else for the next few days. I saw them at school busy making plans, and every time I got close they would make an excuse that they had to do something, and off they would run. This happened all week; I had a feeling they were up to something, but I didn't know what it was. At home was a different story as they couldn't exclude me as David would get into trouble with Mum and Dad. I was always around David, and Steve came over every afternoon to talk about their hunting plans. They were so excited. They spoke to each other as if I wasn't there, and if I added anything, they would pause, look at me, and continue talking, totally ignoring me. I figured it was because this was a "man thing" and that's what they were to become.

CHAPTER 2

Finally the day arrived. I'd never seen the boys so excited about anything before. This really was going to be a fantastic experience. Steve turned up with his mate on their bikes, and he introduced Allan to us. That took less than five seconds. Before I was aware of what was going on, the boys, in their usual fashion, were halfway up the road.

I jumped on my bike and pedalled as fast as I could to catch up to them. We were headed out of town, and I had never been so far from home before; I was scared to be left behind, but I was suffering. Still, I didn't want David to hear me complain. He would straight away jump on me for being a girl. I could feel that I was not really welcome, and I would have liked to back out, but I guess it was an ego issue that kept me continuing. I didn't want them to push me out like I had experienced so many times before with the girls at school.

The boys made it seem so bad to be a girl that I tried very hard to fit in with the boys. I tried to fit in with the girls, too, but I wasn't like them. They talked about clothes and sat around brushing their dolls' hair or each other's hair, and I just got bored doing stuff like that. Don't get me wrong: I loved dolls. I liked baby dolls and pretending to be a mother. You might say I would practice being a mother for when I was a grown-up. I just didn't care about girls' dresses and all that stuff. I rarely, if ever, wore a dress. I can't really remember spending much time looking at myself in the mirror. In saying that, we only had a bathroom cabinet mirror, and I couldn't reach it to see myself; so maybe if one had been handy I would have paid more attention to my appearance. I was oblivious to how I presented myself to others, and I really didn't care how others perceived me. It was a freedom in a way.

I was always climbing trees, running through fields, playing war, or tag-team wrestling with the boys. It was a great life. Most times they accepted me, but sometimes they didn't want me around. That was kind of hard when there was nowhere else where I fitted in.

This appeared to be one of those times when I just wasn't wanted. This created an uneasy feeling in my stomach, and it was something I had felt many times before but never got used to.

We finally arrived. The boys each had a .22 calibre rifle. There wasn't one for me, and they said nastily it was because I was a girl. I had to keep out of their way and be quiet and follow. I did as they asked, but I was hurt and could feel it in the pit of my stomach. I felt left out. I realized they had been trying to leave me behind on the ride out, and I wished that I had given up trying to keep up with them. I think they must have discussed how to ditch me during the week, but I must have surprised them by being able to keep up with their pace. I wanted to go home, but I looked around and wondered whether I would find my way back home or get lost. It was typical Australian bush with plenty of gum trees and lantana filled with snakes, spiders, and who knows what other deadly creatures. In the 1970s, kangaroos and wallabies were plentiful, and it wasn't unusual to see koalas in trees.

I decided against going home by myself, and I didn't want the boys to know that they were upsetting me, as this would be a sign of weakness — and something else for them, especially David, to complain about. I wasn't giving them the satisfaction of knowing how much they were hurting my feelings. If I had, they might have been nicer, but I preferred to hurt and not let them know that they were winning. Again, my ego was at play.

I was following the boys when they aimed at a hare. They fired and missed. I screamed and was horrified at what they were doing. Of course, I knew they had come out to hunt, but it wasn't until they aimed and fired that it really hit home. Somehow, I thought they would shoot at cans or bottles and things that didn't move.

As you can imagine, my outburst didn't go down so well. David slammed his palms hard into my chest, and the three boys hurled verbal abuse at me. I won't say the actual words, but I am sure you can imagine. Foolishly, I tried to make them understand how wrong it was to shoot at anything living. I told them we could shoot at cans or bottles and see how good we were. I explained that "I would like to have a go at that!"

I just couldn't fathom taking a living creature's life for fun. The look on the hare's face haunted me. I felt its fear. I think, when you don't fit in, you learn to understand the meaning of facial expressions quickly as a coping mechanism. It's important to know if you are irking someone. You need to know when they are about to ridicule you. This skill has helped me a lot through life, and I am grateful for my childhood experiences. I have an advantage when it comes to communication. I have the non-verbal signs down pat.

David spewed anger towards me and said, "I knew you'd get in the way, Sarah! I knew we shouldn't have brought her!"

Steve said, "Oh, I didn't want her to come either! I just thought you really wanted her to come 'cause she's always with you!"

"No!" exclaimed David, "that's exactly why I didn't want her to come. I can't stand her around me all the time!"

Through it all, my heart was breaking. Don't worry that I'm here, guys. Go on, just talk about me as if I don't exist I thought to myself.

They turned to me, and David said, "We are here to hunt. If you don't like it, piss off!"

I was shocked. David didn't swear, and why was he so hostile towards me? I wondered, Is he really sick of being around me? I loved hanging out with him. He was my best friend, and we played together every day. Didn't I fit in anywhere?

I pretended I didn't care and didn't want to be with them anyway. I told them so, and as I turned to walk away, I felt myself being pushed hard in the back. I only half turned to see who had pushed me, but I tripped forward so I didn't see who it was. I pretended that it didn't hurt, but it hurt a lot, and I really wanted to cry. I would never let that happen in front of them, though. There would be time alone for crying.

After I got my footing back I continued walking. I heard them laughing behind me, and they seemed happy I was gone.

CHAPTER 3

I was walking really fast through the scrub, deeply hurt and in deep conversation with God on how bad I was feeling. This was my usual thing to do, as my mum had told me God is always with me and he will listen to me. Being someone who didn't quite fit in meant God and I were quite good mates. All of a sudden, I realized I'd probably get lost if I kept walking through this deep scrub at such a fast pace. It was at that precise moment that I became aware of a clearing to my left. I headed towards it. In hindsight, how dangerous was this? I was walking through bush where these inexperienced boys were shooting. They hadn't fired again at this point, but if they'd seen a rabbit in my direction, I am sure they would have opened fire. I could hear them running busily through the scrub trying to find anything that moved. They were calling out directions to one another. I was glad, as I knew with all the noise they were making it would be near impossible for them to find anything. Stupid boys!

In the 1970s, kids would do their chores and the rest of the day was theirs to do their own thing. This was standard for kids in the country. We all would rush through our chores and get the hell out of the house. Kids loved playing outside and finding adventures. Parents were relaxed, as in those days murders were maybe one per year and usually in the big cities. They nearly always took place in another state, and during that time we would lock our doors and windows until the culprit was captured.

I walked towards the clearing, and as I stepped into the open space, I was awestruck by the natural beauty of our earth. I believe when you have that special moment when you are connected with nature, you give off powerful loving energy. After all, we are energy light beings, and love is our true essence. This in turn opens us up to all there is. For me, the feeling was ultimate love and respect for all living creatures and the magnificence of the beauty of the earth. I was in awe of God's creation. Mum had always made me aware of the beauty of creation and never missed an opportunity to mention the magnificence of God. She would often say, "You only have to look at the beauty of a flower or the green of the grass to know there exists an awesome creator." I knew God would appreciate my feelings towards his creation.

I gazed to the other side of the clearing, and I saw a creature that I knew was named a Yowie looking straight at me. One thousand thoughts of survival flashed through my mind. My father had made us watch every documentary ever made, and he would always discuss what to do if we were ever in that situation. He never prepared us for a Yowie encounter, but I had watched documentaries on Bigfoot. In approximately half a second, I thought out all my escape routes and the speed at which I would need to move in order to get back to the boys. It was too late. As the last thought raced through my mind, the Yowie was upon me. It had charged and was screaming in horrifyingly angry tones. The sound was nothing like any animal on earth, a high-pitched roar. I knew my life was finished.

The Yowie covered approximately six hundred metres in half a second. It stopped millimetres from my face and roared even louder. My hair actually blew back from the propulsion of its voice, and I could feel its hot steamy breath on my face. It slammed me about two metres backward, open palms against my chest. The pain was crushing.

I flew through the air and landed on the top part of my back, smashing my head on an old tree branch that was on the ground. I felt the back of my head, and there was blood. I saw the creature looking at me, seemingly surprised at what it had just done. Then I passed out.

When I awoke, I was laying on the ground in front of a log. I became aware of the Yowie that had hurt me. It was huge! There was another smaller Yowie with a baby. I believed it must have been a mother and child. The largest one was standing about four and a half metres to my right and seemed extremely aggressive. The mother and child were about three metres diagonally opposite me, sitting on a tree branch. I am unsure whether this was the same branch where I hit my head. We seemed to be in an invisible dome in that clearing. I could see the outline of a dome in the openness.

My father had told us that if a grizzly bear ever came towards us, to drop and go into a foetal position. I remembered him telling us not to look it in the eye, as this was a sign of aggression or provocation, for want of a better explanation. I slowly curled into the foetal position and kept my eyes lowered, as the biggest Yowie was still very aggressive towards me.

In trying to describe him, I would say he reminded me of an aggressive ape. The stench from these creatures was phenomenal. There are no words to describe it. It was unbearable, and it was very hard not to express dislike of their odour. I didn't want my facial expression to give any clues as to what I was thinking or feeling. My very existence depended on it.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Encounter by Lisa Hyde. Copyright © 2015 Lisa Hyde. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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