Further than Before- Pathway to the Stars

by Matthew Opdyke

  Joanne’s parents all of a sudden sensed a connection inside their minds with each of the three young ladies before them and then each other, and together, every person in the room grew to understand each other more deeply than possible via any other means. Together, they were healed in so many ways, and Joanne’s parents experienced their renewed transition to youth, as well as the astuteness gained through training in the Virtual Universe.

  Together, they immediately experienced everything every other member of Pathway had experienced, which gave them many vigintillions of years’ worth of knowledge and experience gained through a complete understanding of countless lives of others, all converted into wisdom. Erin, Joanne, and Mr. and Mrs. Gallant would later continue with the profound training of their new abilities each night as they laid their heads to rest on their pillows. For now, shared experiences and journeys through memories past were immense and indescribable.

  They each saw Sky, as she lowered herself down, curled her wings, and then she sat down on the couch beside their daughter and Erin Carter, as the human she felt she was. Gone was the regal and iridescent angel, and back was her professional and youthful attire. Their new reality brought humility to their hearts, and they realized that at that moment, they were sitting before the promise of the ages, the promise of the Universe. Each of their hearts melted in every possible and emotional way, before Sky Taylor, The Iridescent Angel. She was someone who loved humanity despite all of its weaknesses and would do more for every man, woman, or child, than many within human civilization ever would, save for the many among the ranks of Pathway.

  “I’ve never felt better in my life,” said Mr. Gallant, realizing how exhausted he was.

  “I’ve never felt better in my life as well. Oh wow, suddenly I feel rather sleepy, too,” whispered Mrs. Gallant. Both Gallants were experiencing the effects of the nanos in their bodies as they were engaged in non-stop fixing, mending, and updating each cell, neuron, and gene within them, to keep their minds and bodies as healthy as someone who could live forever, yet with continued and increased perfection and with the ability to live for an indeterminate quantity of time. This could be very exhausting on anyone’s physiology and neurology.

  “Well, we need to visit Martha’s parents and then Martha as soon as she comes home. Thank you for helping Martha and the town’s folk with that shrine, Mom, and Dad. That was truly beautiful. I was nervous as I approached the site and seeing that put me at ease.”

  “You’re welcome, of course,” said Mrs. and Mr. Gallant, yawning, and both in unison. Their love for each other was so much so, that their shared understanding of each other almost resulted in a collective mindset. Nevertheless, they were still every bit the amazing and beautiful, and unique people they had always been. They just seemed to rejoice within at the new type of connection they shared with each other. It was a sweet flavor. If shared thought could be described in any way, it was unlike anything they had ever experienced before.

  Joanne was excited to see her parents, young like she was, and filled with the wisdom of the ages. They had opened up their minds completely to each other, and they loved each other even more so because of the two they kept no secrets. Of course, they kept certain special moments and private memories partitioned within their minds, separate from everyone else, but they shared those moments only with each other. Nevertheless, the flavor of their love could be felt and sensed by everyone in the room.

  “It’s been wonderful seeing you again, Joanne. Quick, make your way over to Martha’s house. I get the sense that as wonderful as Martha’s parents are, there are some oddities about their daughter you might want to learn about before she returns home. She is sweet, but I get the sense right now, that there is something she is hiding,” said Mrs. Gallant, in a tired, yet wise, peaceful, and happy tone.

  Erin, Joanne, and Sky said their goodbyes and told Mr. and Mrs. Gallant that they would be by the next day if that was okay. Joanne’s parents agreed as they made their way to the door.

  Making their way across the street to Martha’s parent’s home, the three young ladies smiled in harmony with how things went. Meeting Joanne’s parents after 15 years would from then on out never feel awkward, and Joanne would never feel nervous again about visiting her hometown or her parents. Joanne knew that she would stopover often, using the jump gate Sky had left in their newly carved-out and beautifully-built basement. This was a place, touched by none other than the mind of Sky Taylor, herself. And, because of their virtues, as Sky had taught them previously that day, this home and its occupants would be around forever.

  The Sun was just a few moments away from setting when they knocked on Mr. and Mrs. Serena’s door. Sky had made no changes whatsoever to the Serena family’s home or their property. The changes she intended to make would happen after talking to Martha. Each change would unfold in a manner dependent upon the hearts of Mr. and Mrs. Serena, and as necessary to heal both them and their daughter, in accordance with the unraveling of each part of their visit.

  The Serena’s seemed pleasant and didn’t seem to make a fuss about the three young ladies visiting just before sunset. They even offered some enjoyably fresh-brewed coffee.

  “Yes, please,” said Joanne, followed by approvals from Erin and Sky.

  “So, Mr. and Mrs. Serena, how has Martha been all of these years?” Joanne asked in a kind and pleasant tone.

  “Oh, she has been quite busy. As a local pastor, she teaches the local congregation, and sometimes goes out of town for training, charity events, and study with Georgetown’s pastor,” Mrs. Serena responded. She was proud of her daughter, but something in her tone also showed some concern.

  “I know the years were difficult, so long ago. How has the loss of the young man she had crushed on throughout high school affected her through the years?” Joanne cut to the chase and rather quickly. It seemed as though meeting her own parents again, after such a long time, and the uniquely amazing experience that it was, had given her a resurgence of confidence.

  Mrs. Serena was very perceptive, caught on, and answered right away, “When she came home that day, she was completely shaken up, in tears, stumbling over her words, and then she locked herself up in her room until the Sheriff arrived to question her about what she had witnessed. It had taken a while for her to overcome what had happened. After you left town, Joanne, she began taking divinity courses. We go to the church on the corner of 13th and Maple, and she has taken up preaching there. Some of her sermons are a little stark in nature, but all in all, she does quite wonderfully. The congregation tries to share her pain. They know she had a young lady’s crush on Thomas and it was most likely a huge loss for her. It was she who had brought up the idea of building Thomas a shrine. It seemed odd at first, but once it was built it was beautiful, and everyone else seemed to feel a certain sense of closure. The town has bonded ever since and each of us was able to move forward.”

  “Martha should be home in a few moments, young ladies, if you’d like to stay for a little while longer and ask her, yourselves” suggested Mr. Serena.

  Sky scanned both of their minds, and neither of them was guilty of any crime, other than being rather harsh to their daughter when she was much younger. The Serenas were very firm believers of their faith and were of the persuasion that certain identities were unfit for the kingdom of heaven. While that was their belief, and while Sky had always respected a person’s individual beliefs as they related to their own personal choices, she certainly did not agree with their position of judgment toward Thomas. They had loved him for years, but that had changed drastically when they had found out about his letter to the high school quarterback, Jordon. Sky knew something about this long ago; she had the sense that both Erin and Joanne felt that too.

  Not one of the three young ladies felt remotely comfortable, not due to their nanos or their physiological or neurological health, but because they were picking up on something very stark with regard to the history of the household. Despite the Serena fam
ily’s overt attempts to be hospitable, there was something that even they were hiding. It wasn’t Mr. and Mrs. Serena’s fault, per say, but there was something or someone approaching the home that left a bitter taste in the minds of those that could now read minds. Sky wasn’t uncomfortable for any reason other than she knew there was much more about Thomas’ story than the Serenas knew about.

  Mr. and Mrs. Serena had suspicions about their daughter, but they would constantly let those suspicions go because they loved her very much and on the account of the fact that Martha was an academically brilliant student and had been trusted by so many throughout the town. To add to their perception of their daughter, Martha had studied Divinity in College. From there, she had become the minister at the First Baptist Church, in town. Too many people had grown to respect her, despite the clouds of grey and the kicks to the gut they felt each week.

  No matter how anyone felt about Martha, they were about to find out why they were each feeling a sense of discomfort. There was something stark shrouded within her quiet demeanor.

  “Hello, Mom. Hello Dad.” Everyone turned around to hear the voice of Martha.

  As if a dark cloud blew in, Martha had returned from her business in Georgetown, had greeted her parents, and had then found herself all of a sudden floored when she saw Joanne. In their younger years, Martha had always been the friend across the street. Many times, she had been the quiet one. Thomas had always sat by her at lunchtime and would console her fears of society, social media, and the way humanity seemed to be in increasingly shorter supply. Now, here she was, she had forgotten about the good moments with Thomas and Joanne, his younger sister, but she also knew that the negative thoughts she was feeling toward her were unjustified.

  Martha was wearing a black uniform that she had chosen to go with her status as Pastor; this was her own heir of artistry, and definitely a unique flavor of its own. With what Sky knew about her, Martha was standing there as a wolf in sheep’s clothing and the sad truth was that she had duped the congregation for years. All would be made right soon, and her congregation would forgive her. As it was today, apparently, she had been out of town seeing people at the church in Georgetown and working with the Pastor there. Sky also picked up on a vibe that suggested that Martha and the Georgetown Pastor might actually have had a bit more going on than simply visiting the locals there and handing out bread and tea. She didn’t mind it so much; it was the lie that mattered. This lie told Sky so much about Martha’s character, and she was akin to reveal it.

  “Hello. My name is Sky Taylor.” Sky had gotten up off the couch, and offered her hand for a handshake, but Martha did not reciprocate. “Of course, you know Joanne Gallant, and this beautiful young lady here is Erin Carter. Erin is the President of Pathway Industries. Thirteen years ago, she was a young girl, from Kearney, Nebraska, suffering from progeria. Because of Yesha, Eliza, Amber and her team, and James, she is now healed. She stands here before you, completely healed and healthy, and with a mind as sharp as several vigintillion minds.

  “Again, I am Sky; I am pleased to finally meet your acquaintance, ‘Pastor’ Serena.” She offered her hand again, but this time, Martha shook it. Sky smiled her winning smile, “I hope you don’t mind us dropping in? It has been a while since Joanna was here, and she wanted to catch up with long-time acquaintances. How was your day?” As Sky finished what she was saying, you could hear the ionic charges crackle in the air, like lightning.

  As the years had passed, Martha had sensed more than a simple question was asked many times within herself, and now, Sky had asked that very same question. “How was your day?” She thought about that day, endlessly, and the days that had led up to it every night as she fell into her nightmare-infested slumber. These nightmares were in part due to Martha’s own creation and in many cases, they were a result of the environment that surrounded her when she was much younger. Thomas had helped her greatly during her time of loneliness, but since his death, she had caged herself for years. At some point, she took to the cloth and never turned back.

  Martha’s parents had since matured, and the punishments and teachings they had tried to impart to their daughter as she grew older had been a softer and more kind. However, certain teachings on a young and impressionable mind can leave scars that are deep, and miracles are needed to heal those types of wounds. Martha had tried to bury everything from her past but had instead buried anything that she could learn from and all that was good within her. She had hidden every sense of anything that resulted in the pain she had felt two days before Thomas died.

  With her own uncompromising sense of fear of the past, she had tried to hide under the shroud of Pastor. Martha knew somehow that this ruse would result as futile with Sky around, and both she and Sky knew it. Sky had combed every detail of Martha’s brain and she knew the truth about Pastor Martha Serena.

  Despite the fact that Sky had said very little, but what was correct, she listened as Martha answered with a forced and an exerted sense of authority, “I’ve been about my day, attending to the needs of the flock in Georgetown, and working with their Pastor. I can say with complete confidence that my day was a blessing from God. How was your day?” Martha knew Sky was talking about something else, but she was trying to deflect it in every way she knew.

  Picking up on her tone, Sky responded, “Our day was most exquisite as well. I’m glad your day was a blessing too. We’ve all had moments of anguish in our lives, we’ve all been torn asunder from time to time, no matter our efforts to do what we believed to be right, and we’ve all found joy within, as the fruits of our labors resulted in the rejoicing of someone else. I am proud that you were attending to the ‘needs of your flock.’ I am proud also that you were tending to certain needs that every woman and man has within. There is no need to cover up things that when uncovered can release tension, stress, and undue burdens. Vindication is a blessing to every victim suffering from the hands of other victims, including to the perpetrator, who is also a victim, yet, who may have caused undue consequence to the rights of others.

  “Vindication allows learning on both sides, it allows compassion to exist, and it allows a release of burdens that are too great to bear through the entirety of life. Once we have released our shame, we can strive to serve those around us, to give of ourselves to make right what we have done wrong in the past. When we demonstrate humility, those who we have wronged can rejoice to know that their love for others, just as themselves, was worth every patient moment.

  “All who are impacted will be even more light of step and happy, knowing that healing can take place, that scars can be replaced with a newly found revitalization existent in clarity of mind, clarity of purpose, and clarity of meaning when it comes to what we do to increase the well-being of others, including ourselves, throughout life’s journey.

  “Martha, I know it has been years, and we don’t mean to resurface age-old wounds, however, what do you know about the circumstances of Thomas’ murder?” Sky caused Martha’s rage to broil and seethe, despite the fact that every word had been one of compassion and love.

  “What are you trying to say? Why must I suffer the disrespect of a Heathen? Who are you, and where did you come from? I’ve never met you before, so who are you to judge me? What do you know of Thomas? Who are you? Why is do you ask this of me?” Martha had, in a fit of rage, lashed out with a sense of indignation that suggested neither kindness nor innocence.

  “I can see it now. I can see what happened, Joanne, as clear as day. Do you mind if I share with Martha’s parents about what happened on the day of Thomas’ murder?” asked Sky.

  With compassion for Martha, despite the dark aura, she promulgated she responded to Sky, “Please. Please do,” Joanne felt a certain sense of fear and even of terror as she picked up on many of the neural signals passing from Martha’s un-optimized mind to her own.

  Joanne’s recently multiplied neural capacity for scanning the minds of others had become swift with a quickening and she knew more now tha
n she could have ever conceived of before. Sky had worked one of many miracles, and it was as if in just a few moments within the minds of all in the room, she had solved the mystery. She had gifted everyone in the room with a direct link to the biggest secret hiding within the mind of another. If the secret had been private, meaning that no one else had been involved in such a way that caused undue consequence to their own rights and life, the secret would have remained private.

  This had not been the case. Someone had been murdered seventeen years ago, and the secret of the individual responsible was not worthy of privacy. It was now very clear within the minds of everyone within the room what had happened. Sky had optimized the minds of everyone in the room, to her level when it came to reading minds. Even her parents had gained an increase in knowledge in a flicker of the light, and now, given that Martha was home, and within the scope that Sky was willing to stretch to scan minds, they could see Martha’s very stark truths.

  Sky spoke up, to help them understand what they were now seeing within their minds, “Mr. and Mrs. Serena, your daughter loved Thomas very much, and for a very long time. He loved her too, but as a friend. Her heart was distraught when certain news came her way. Due to some of her teachings when she was growing up, she found out about Thomas ‘tendencies’ and had acted in a manner based on her own religious piety, where she felt he was a sinner.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Serena, it was your daughter who carefully planned and executed the crime that resulted in the death of Thomas.” Sky was quick; she played all that happened with clarity, before their eyes. It was as if the roof of the house had been taken away, and they could see each scene playing out in the clouds above them. Sky then rose to a sense of anger and vindication toward the pious and ill-taught version of Christianity that their daughter had been taught when she was too young to understand. These teachings were courtesy of her parents and not by any other Pastor of any other church. She wasn’t taught these teaching at their church or anywhere else, except within areas where the vilest of ideas could be shared. Other members of their joint congregation had been taught to love others as themselves, but for some reason, Martha had learned to hate the sinner, that as such, certain sins made them worthy of death, and she had carried out that murder.