by Lucia Ashta
The twins paused before starting. They sat on the blanket and floated off into a space of stillness where they could connect to their spirit guides. Ashta and Anak asked for guidance and received an immediate response; explicit messages directed them to turn south. Very soon, their guides told them, they would encounter the battle they had journeyed to engage in. They would need two full days to complete the journey, and they were to begin walking right away. They were to go south across the hills to avoid any more civilizations that might delay them.
After receiving the requisite guidance, the twins allowed their awareness to return to their surroundings. As soon as they were rooted in their physical bodies, they began to ready themselves to set off into the unknown that stretched out before them. Quickly, they folded their blankets, repacked their bags, and fastened their swords onto their belts. They grabbed the basket of berries and ate as they trekked.
Each of the twins walked deliberately, with prayer in each breath, in anticipation of what was to come over the next several days. Their incantations resounded and echoed throughout the cosmos as they increased the light on the planet. And so, with prayer in each step, like many of the monks from the temples of Arnaka, the twins’ movement became a walking meditation. It became a process of peace with and for the world. It was a practice of hope for everyone.
They were happy to circumvent any settlements, and they walked all day, with very few breaks. They did not know exactly how far they needed to go, but they knew they needed a full two days to get there, so they walked at a good pace. When they finally grew too tired to continue, they made a quick bed and fell asleep almost instantly.
37 Space and Time
At least a month and a half had gone by and Elena and Marco lost track of the days of the week. Each day was its own marked by the rising and setting of the sun, and it was difficult for Elena and Marco to be patient with their physical healing.
They had both received serious injuries. Thanks to the angels’ intervention, Marco’s leg was healing nicely and he was walking with a slight limp. His cuts and bruises had mostly healed and his face was regaining its normal color. Elena’s injuries had also almost completely healed. Though responders had interrupted the angels from completely healing her collapsed lungs, the angels had done enough to free Elena from the worst of complications. Like Marco, Elena’s face was losing traces of the accident.
Elena and Marco were doing daily yoga and strengthening exercises to nourish their bodies after so many days of bed rest. They were going on walks through the forested area behind Marian’s house. Their bodies were beginning to feel limber and agile again. Victor announced that in a week they would begin physical training.
The plans excited Elena. She couldn’t help herself. There was something exhilarating about the thought of it; physical training seemed adventurous. Then she realized that, if they were ready for weapons training, they must be physically able to make love again. Elena turned to Marco who was holding her hand in quiet companionship as they walked. When she saw the expression on his face and the spark in his eyes, she knew he was thinking the same thing.
They galloped back to the room like excited children. It felt so good to feel life streaming animatedly through them again. And when Marco merged with Elena again after so many weeks, Elena felt that there could not possibly be anything better in the world than the connection they shared. The breath left Elena’s body as if all she needed was to draw breath from him. She felt God within Marco.
Elena was amazed at how she could feel so complete and happy within herself and yet, when she felt Marco connected to her in this way, she could not imagine herself without him. Elena had found her divine counterpart. She knew it; that was the only explanation.
Elena gave herself over to the sensations completely. As Marco moved within her, his breath hot on her neck, she felt joined to heaven and earth. He stared into her eyes as he reached deeper within her as if that was the way he could touch her soul.
Elena could not think about or know anything but him and the ultimate oneness that they shared. She could not identify where the one began and the other ended. They were a swirl of ethereal love, of human passion and desire, and of the masculine and feminine aspects of the Divine. Maybe they had ceased to exist as separate individuals. If that had been the case, Elena wouldn’t have cared. There was nothing left but bliss.
In that culmination of shared oneness and release, when the soul has given and received all that it can, they trembled together in an almost painful experience of physical pleasure. They clutched each other, gasping for air, and kissing, needing to feel their union. There would be no undoing of what they had done this night.
Elena felt the vision begin to come over her. Marco felt it too, and he held onto her. He would support her no matter where she went and no matter what she needed. He was her champion. He was her twin. As Elena began to lose her hold on this world, she stared into Marco’s eyes. She watched his countenance around the eyes shift and transform.
His eyes were the same, but his face turned from Marco into Anak. The same yellow hair changed its cut, the face morphed and became more elongated, and the lips altered their shape under Elena’s kiss. His body’s figure changed some, but as Marco shifted into Anak and Elena began to travel in space and time, he stayed within her. Marco and Anak became as one man in one body.
* * *
The twins woke early the next morning. This time, they rose before the sun and again walked all day. They hardly paused to rest at all. They could feel that they were getting closer to their destination and did not want to stop until they reached that place.
Right before their legs were about to give out, they reached a clearing. It was an oasis within a tumultuous world. The clearing was in the middle of a forest that tingled with magic and beauty. Even though there was no one else there, the twins knew it was the appointed place. They would wait there until their guidance revealed the next step.
The twins allowed themselves time for rest and leisure—time to be at peace with everything. They had no idea what the next days would bring, but they knew with certainty that much would be required of them so they enjoyed the tranquility of the present moment. Ashta walked prayerfully. Her body’s rhythmic movements dispelled the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her mind and things became silent and still. She was able just to be present.
Ashta walked slowly and with intention. She walked the perimeter of the clearing, smiling at the trees and at the lively fairies that played in the flowers among the trees’ roots. Ashta whispered her prayers like a chant to the passing plants that drew her eye. She breathed in the air that was so different from the air of Arnaka. She circled the edge of the plot several times, until she felt her heart was completely at peace with whatever might come.
Then Ashta returned to the center of the clearing where her twin was moving in a controlled body exercise. He moved his body from pose to pose, unhurriedly and precisely. She knew the exercise appeared deceptively easy when actually the deliberate movements required great strength and agility of body and mind. Anak elongated, stretching his legs and arms out as far as they would go, and then even farther. Then he crouched like an animal ready to strike. His stillness was illusory as his muscles were tensed and ready to spring into action.
They were prepared. Their bodies and minds were attuned and ready for action. For the first time, Ashta felt a sense of excitement about their expanding duties and anticipation pulsed through her veins. Their angel guides supported them as they shifted into beings with more advanced capabilities than those of light emissaries. They were stepping into their new role as light warriors. These were exciting times, fraught with uncertainty and challenges, but exciting nonetheless.
* * *
Elena and Marco went down to the creek to meet Victor at sunrise. They had hardly slept, waking in the middle of the night to make love again, but despite their lack of sleep, Elena and Marco felt refreshed and energized.
A qu
estion popped into Elena’s mind. She hadn’t thought to ask it in the whirlwind that marked their lives since she and Marco had met. Elena broke the still space of the awakening morning to whisper, “When is your birthday?”
Marco looked at her, surprised.
“August fifth,” he replied.
“No way!” she said. “That can’t be.”
Just then, Victor walked up. He stepped as quietly and stealthily as a forest animal. Neither Elena nor Marco heard him until he was just behind them.
“What is it?” Victor asked them, looking from one shocked face to the other.
“We have the same birthday,” Elena whispered as if she were sharing some deep secret.
Victor laughed aloud. It was a joyful cackle. Victor threw his head back while he laughed, and Elena was able to discern how Victor tricked his body into denying its biological age. When Victor was able to rein his laughter in, he said, “But of course you share the same birthday! You are twins!”
Victor and Marian seemed to know so much about them; it made Elena wonder how long her teachers had known about their pupils. Then the thought struck her: if she and Marco were the twins of the light prophecy in this parallel lifetime she kept seeing in her visions, then perhaps they had incarnated to perform a similar role in this present lifetime. Were she and Marco to emit light, vanquish darkness, and change the world for humanity? Could that be possible? Were they the twins of the light prophecy in this incarnation too?
Of course you are, dear one. What did you think?
Elena heard Victor’s voice in her head, and she swiveled his way so fast she almost sprained her neck. She was sure it was his voice! It was him, answering her in her mind. He had heard her thoughts, just as Marian had. Who were Victor and Marian? Who were these people?
You will soon see. In the meantime, follow me.
Victor walked toward the creek and Elena followed. This man could talk to her telepathically; she wanted to see what he could teach her. Elena and Marco followed Victor as he led them to choose the right piece of wood for a staff.
* * *
Ashta was sprawled among the grasses and flowers, watching lazily as her twin continued his exercises. She enjoyed watching him. In so many ways, he was her mirror, and the reflection she found there intrigued and at times enthralled her.
She watched him indolently until her eyes closed to the brightness of the sun. Before Ashta even realized she was asleep, she found herself in the familiar comfort of the dream world. She saw herself as a small child, running amongst fields of wildflowers. Anak ran at her side. He was also a child. Laughter rang out behind them. As usual, it appeared to be just Ashta and Anak, playing in their own world, playing in their own way, speaking to each other without words.
Ashta had dreamt this dream many times before. This time, though, something felt different. Ashta was in the same yellow dress and trailing behind her was the same princess veil in see-through yellow. Anak chased her, pretending to race. They were younger than they had been when they had actually met. They had met at the Temple of Laresu’u Kal when they were thirteen. In her dream, Ashta and Anak were only seven or perhaps younger.
This time, Ashta did something she had not done before. She took Anak’s hand and twirled him around until they faced the direction they had just come from. Anak thought Ashta turned him as part of their play, and he tried to continue spinning, but Ashta stood still. Slowly, she raised her arm and pointed. At the bottom of the hill were the faint silhouettes of eight other children heading toward them.
Something began pulling Ashta out of her dream, beckoning her, but she did not want to go. She wanted to meet these children; she sensed they were important. But, despite her resistance, she was waking. She was leaving the dream world in regret without knowing that the eight souls from her dream were approaching.
38 Allies
Elena and Marco wondered how they would experience Victor as a weapons teacher, and they soon saw why there was no one better to teach them. Victor had a lifetime, probably many lifetimes, of experience in battle. He had wisdom and a youthful vitality that belied his seventy-seven years. His body lost any sign of aging when a weapon was in hand; he moved gracefully and expertly.
Victor walked with them through the forest that edged the creek. It was an oasis within the desert. Victor skirted through the trees, touching each one that called to him, feeling for the right one. The twins imitated him. Elena and Marco walked, each in their own world, present for the spirit of the tree and the call of the one that was best for them. Elena wrapped her hands around the trees as she playfully swung from one to the other, engaging the mischievous spirit of the forest.
She walked past one and was ready to release it and swing onto the next when she gasped softly and stopped. She had found the tree that wanted to work with her. Elena pressed her forehead against the tree’s trunk and wrapped her arms around the tree. There was no hurry and no need to do anything else. Elena let herself feel deep appreciation for the tree, an ancient and beautiful spirit that understood more about life than most people ever would.
Now that Elena knew that Victor could hear her thoughts, she did not speak with her voice. She did not want to disturb the moment. Instead, she let it ring out in her mind: I found her. I found the one for me. Even with her eyes closed, Elena knew that Victor continued to walk without pause. It was as if he hadn’t heard her, but she knew he had. Elena stayed with her tree while the other two walked on until Marco found the tree meant for him. Once that happened, Victor backtracked to Elena.
Victor walked up behind Elena and placed his hand on the tree’s trunk. He said, “You’re right. She is the one for you. She is beautiful.” The tree sighed at his words.
Victor taught them how to connect with the tree and ask for permission to cut a branch for a staff that they would use in a sacred way. Both trees gave their permission, and Elena and Marco tenderly cut off the limbs they would need. They used the hacksaws that Victor brought carefully to minimize damage to the trees.
Then, Victor took a leather pouch from his waist, decorated with beautiful Native American beadwork. He took out the sacred tobacco plant and offered it to the earth around the trees on behalf of Elena and Marco. The twins bowed their heads in thanks.
Victor told Elena and Marco that he and Marian would teach them how to use a staff, a bow, a knife, and a sword and that they would be prepared to carry all of these weapons into battle. But he also told them that they would ultimately need none of them. They would have all the weaponry they needed within their hearts.
* * *
Ashta opened her eyes to see Anak standing near her protectively, blocking the sun. Ashta pushed herself up onto her elbows and saw several people approaching, still scattered specks on the horizon. Several people traveled alone, and there were also a couple and a small group, all heading toward the clearing. Ashta stood at attention, anticipating the crowd that was drawing near.
One by one, the travelers began to arrive. They presented themselves as allies, greeting Ashta and Anak with an embrace. They did not exchange words; instead, there was a silent agreement between them all to wait until the last of them arrived before speaking. The first person to reach the clearing was a big, burly figure of a man named Baldub.
He was warmhearted and bear-like, wearing a fur skin draped loosely across his body, leaving his arms and legs exposed. He carried a club and wore a scrubby beard and brown hair that was neither long nor short, just unkempt. He bordered on being handsome, but Ashta could not decide whether he was or not.
His embrace was surprisingly gentle for such a large man, and the twins instantly liked him. They knew they could trust him with their lives, even though they had just met. As if Baldub sensed the trust the twins had placed in him, he stationed himself next to them protectively as people continued to approach.
A pair came up to Ashta and Anak next. It was obvious that they were twins, a brother and sister named Area and Arien. They looked androgynous, wi
th few details giving hint as to which was the male and which the female; they were nearly identical to each other. They wore long white robes that draped their bodies loosely. Somehow, their robes were pristine, as if they had walked through a dream instead of a forest. Not a speck of dirt tarnished their bright white robes.
They had long, fine blonde hair of the lightest color and pale skin, as if they did not come from this part of the world where the sun was so strong that tanned skin was nearly inevitable. In effect, they did not seem to come from this world at all.
Area and Arien had eyes the color of the blue light that Ashta and Anak emitted in the pyramids of Arnaka. They were long and lean, as if they were barely in their bodies at all because of the light that flowed through them. Area and Arien greeted Ashta and Anak with an embrace that felt distant, as if they were not holding onto Ashta and Anak at all in reality, as if it were just an illusion. It felt like the embrace of another realm.
In stark contrast to Area and Arien, Carn, a woman traveling alone, approached Ashta and Anak next. She wore a deep crimson cloak and carried a staff in one hand. A battle-ready bag on her back held a bow and arrows. She was lively, full of internal power, and her embrace was strong.
She was relatively petite, but that did nothing to diminish her power. She had long, straight auburn hair that glistened with copper highlights on its way down her back. Her eyes were a startling green that held surprising intensity. Carn was a warrior with light in her heart.
Carn knew they were all in this quest together, and so she ran up to Ashta and Anak and hugged them as if they were childhood friends who had not seen each other in some time. Carn’s openness melted away all barriers that typically existed between strangers. Just as with Baldub, the twins felt immediately drawn to her.