A Past Life

Detective Peta Prior studied her nephew from behind the two-way glass. He was only five-years-old with a bright smile and curly blond hair. He was an exceptional talker and even she couldn't deny the life experience behind those soulful blue eyes.

His mother had brought him in. Peta's youngest sister of only twenty-three years, she pleaded with Peta to help them, and thanks to Peta's big heart and willingness to believe the unbelievable, she agreed. She didn't expect to hear what Lachlan had to say though.

“When I was a man, someone killed me,” he said in a small voice. “I remember it all.”

She glanced at Hayley, whose eyes were wide with fear and worry for her son.

“What do you remember?” Peta asked.

“I was killed with a knife and I was buried along a trail in the national park. I can show you.” There was no hesitation and the look on his face was one of serious conviction.

Peta sighed. “How about you draw us some pictures? I'm just going to talk to your mum for a minute, okay?”

He nodded while colour coordinating the crayons and lining up A4 paper. “Okay,” he shrugged.

That's how they ended up watching him from behind the glass. From here, Lachlan seemed like a normal kid. He was busy drawing, changing from one colour to the next while humming a tune.

“How long has this been going on?” Peta asked Hayley.

“For a couple of weeks.” Hayley turned to Peta. “We need to let him show us.”

Peta's brows furrowed. “Should we be encouraging him Hayley? It's clear he needs some help.”

“Yeah he does, he needs your help. He's not mental, Peta.”

Peta's mouth pinched around the sides. “I'm not saying he is.” ... But other people will, she thought to herself.

Peta couldn't take this to her Captain. There was no way he was going to let her use man-hours to look for a body on the whim of a child's over-active imagination. She wasn't even sure if she could justify wasting her own time let alone anyone else. But, this was her nephew and it was obvious he believed in what he was saying.

“If I do this, it's only to show him that nothing is there.” Peta watched her sister as she absently nodded. “You think this is more than his imagination, don't you?”

Hayley's long sigh was answer enough. “I think he's having memories of his past life. You know, like, reincarnation?”

“Oh, Hayley,” Peta couldn't believe what she was hearing. “You are encouraging him!”

“No, I'm not! But I'm not telling him I don't believe him either.”

Peta pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can't take this to my Captain. As it is I have four open homicides on my desk.”

“I just need you to look." She was pleading now.

An hour later, Peta found herself behind the wheel driving toward the Mansfield National Park. She glanced in the review mirror where her nephew was playing with toy airplanes, making lift-off noises and acting exactly how she'd expect a five-year-old to act.

As they parked, Peta jumped out and headed for the boot, she grabbed a backpack and handed a shovel to Hayley. “When we show him that there's nothing there, promise me you'll take him to see someone,” Peta said just as Lachlan hopped out of the car.

“I promise," Hayley nodded.

Feeling better, Peta decided to see this as an adventure. It was better to think they were spending some time with each other than what they were really doing. As they walked past the ranger station and started along the trail, she admired the scents of cedarwood, green moss, and the floral notes of spring. Birds were squawking above them and the sun beaming through the trees. It was hard to believe they were actually on the hunt for a dead man.

About two kilometers in, Peta wiped at sweat behind her neck before it ran between her shoulder blades while Hayley had Lachlan on her back, stopping every so often to bounce his weight back up.

Finally, Lachlan pointed. “There.” He slipped off his mum and ran toward a large fallen tree; beside it was an undisturbed patch of dirt.

Taking in turns, Hayley and Peta dug at the earth finding it increasingly difficult to break through the dryness. Grunting with effort, the exhaustion was getting to them both.

“This is ridiculous,” Peta swiped her hand over her forehead. “There's nothing here.”

“I'm here Aunt Peta, I am,” Lachlan said, with unwavering conviction.

“Sweetie--” Peta kneeled so she could be eye-level. “-- I think this is just all a figment of your imagination, or maybe a dream you think is real?”

Just as he was about to answer her Hayley yelped. “Oh. My. God!”

Peta glanced over at the sizeable hole they managed to dig, her mouth gaped, and her eyes widened as shock froze her in place. Unearthed, was a complete skull...a human skull.

“Shit,” Peta breathed.

Recovering from her shock, Peta realized that somewhere, Lachlan had overheard someone talking about this. There was no way he was reincarnated. “Lachlan, you need to tell the truth now.” Her tone hardened. “Who told you about this?”

“It's all up here, Aunt Peta.” He pointed to his head. “I can even tell you who done it. I know his name and everything.”

Hayley continued to dig up more bones as Peta got out her phone but there was no signal. Luckily, someone was coming. She could hear the crunch of their boots as they stood on sticks and dry leaves. He came into view, an older man of about forty-five, grey streaked hair, hard eyes and sun-damaged skin. He had on dark brown slacks and a light brown, long sleeved shirt with the symbol of the park on the right-hand side – the park ranger.

Peta was about to wave her hand at him when she felt Lachlan tug on her flannel shirt. “That's him. He's the one that murdered me,” he whispered.

Peta didn't know why but she immediately reacted. Releasing her gun, she slid it from her holster in one swift move. “Stop right there,” she said in a loud, even voice. He stopped in his tracks and put his hands up, his brows climbing high. But despite his initial non-threatening approach, there was something about him Peta didn't like. There was darkness in his expression, something sinister that caused her intuition to scream inside of her. She might have trouble believing in reincarnation and past lives but she always believed in herself...her gut was never wrong.