It was the last thing Juila expected to hear and was at a loss for words. Finally she answered, “I’ve never lied to Behn. What are you talking about?”
“Tuala.”
“Tuala is real and it also happens to be where you all come from as well as my own family. My parents are trying to locate your mom and when they do, she’ll tell you the same thing.”
Juila had been so convincing in her speech, Valentina could easily see how Behn had been taken in by her story. She simply stared at Juila and could think of nothing to say to refute her.
“What’s in this for you, Juila?”
“Nothing! That’s why it wouldn’t make sense for me to lie about it. Think about it, Val, why would I risk exposing my whole family’s existence here on Earth just to impress my boyfriend?”
Val paused to consider Juila’s argument and then reached into her shirt collar to pull her pendant out for Juila to see. “What did you tell Behn this was called?”
“A birth crystal.”
“Why would they call it that when it obviously has many crystals?” She looked down on the pendant to see the twisted metal making up the tree trunk and branches. The branches contained many crystals. Hers were mostly clear with some gold and black flecks in them. Sometimes she thought they changed color depending on the light.
Juila lifted her shoulders as she also stared at Valentina’s necklace and said, “I don't know, it’s just what they’re called. The crystals are your birthright and your connection with the energy in the earth. If you want, I can give you a demonstration.”
Valentina immediately shook her head and replied, “Behn already showed me the tricks you taught him. I can’t see how they can be of any benefit, but I can see how they could get us into a lot of trouble.”
“I’d have to agree with you on your last point. Behn has only learned the very basics. Jena and I can do just about anything we set our minds to using the power from our crystals. I really wish you’d let me show you.”
Against Val’s better judgement, she found herself curious. “Fine! Show me something which will amaze me!”
Juila took only one moment to consider when she grabbed Valentina’s arm in her hand and translated them both down to the library. She had used a considerable amount of power to make the transfer as fast as possible.
No sooner had they appeared out of nowhere in the library, Jena came rushing in and asked, “What just happened, Juila? I felt you use a lot of power!”
Juila waited to answer her sister since she was staring pointedly at Valentina.
“Where are we?” Valentina asked with a quiver of fear evident in her voice.
“We are in my father’s library downstairs from my room.”
Val nodded silently. She had to admit to herself she had asked for a dramatic demonstration and Juila did not disappoint. Still, she could not see how this power would have any use to them on Earth other than to get them in trouble.
“Do you believe me now?” Juila asked into the silence.
“I believe you know something about power. I still don’t know what to make of your tale about Tuala. I guess we’ll have to find our mom just to get this whole thing straightened out.” Valentina saw there was a chair behind her and she sank down into it. Her legs felt rubbery and she was quite shaken by what had just transpired.
Jena looked from Valentina to Juila and asked again, “What’s going on, Juila? What have you done?”
Juila turned to her sister and silently spoke into her mind. Val asked for a demonstration of what we can do with our birth crystals. She wanted something dramatic to make her believe it was more than a parlor trick. I translated us both down here from my room.
Jena sat down next to Valentina as she heard her sister’s explanation. She simply nodded to let her sister know she had heard her. Against their parents’ wishes, Jena rapidly scanned Valentina’s mind to see where she was at in her understanding of what had just happened. Much to her amazement, Val was already trying to figure out a way for it to be yet another trick. Jena spoke gently, “We haven’t shown you any tricks, Val. We are showing you your heritage.”
“How did you know what I was thinking? Can you read my mind, too?” Val’s eyes got big as she glanced swiftly from Jena up to Juila who was still standing where they had first translated into the room.
“Yes,” both girls replied at the same time.
“Seriously? You can read minds?” She grabbed the arms of the chair in panic.
“We don’t do it very often here on Earth. Our parents asked us not to. I just peeked into your mind to see if you were going to be okay with everything Juila has told you. I’m sorry for invading your privacy.” Jena realized now what her parents had been trying to shield her from.
Val was trying to decide if she should leave or stay and hear more of what they knew.
Jena spoke softly, “I wish you’d stay so we could answer any questions you might have.”
“Are you still in my head? Get out!” Valentina was starting to get angry even through her fear.
“No, Val. I was watching your face. It was easy to tell you were trying to decide what you should do. I promise I won’t read your mind again unless you ask.” Jena felt terrible for having invaded her privacy in the first place. Val was one of their best friends and she did not want to jeopardize their relationship.
Val searched Jena’s face to try to tell if she were telling the truth. Finally she realized she was being a bit dramatic with this whole situation. She had come over to their house for answers and now she was thinking of bolting because it was not going as she had planned. With a deep breath to relax herself, she finally said, “Okay, I believe you, Jena.”
Juila hurriedly sat down in the chair next to Valentina and asked, “What questions do you have for us? We want you to know everything, but we also recognize it has to be at your own pace.”
Val considered both of the girls’ statements. She did have a lot of questions, but she was not sure if she were ready for the answers. One idea did come to mind readily and she asked, “How come your mother looks so much like our own?”
“She does?” Juila asked with surprise. She looked over at her sister and raised an eyebrow in question.
“That’s interesting,” Jena spoke quietly, mostly to herself. She filed the information away for analyzing later. There had to be some significance to it since not much seemed to be coincidental anymore.
“If your family is from Tuala, why are you here in Florida?” Valentina asked Juila.
“Well, our mom is from Florida. She’s what you would call an adopted Tualan. She has been accepted by Jehoban as one of His own since He gave her a birth crystal. I, Jena, and our dad were actually born in Tuala.”
Now it was Valentina’s turn to be surprised. She had thought their whole family had been from Tuala, now she had learned their mom was not. “Who is Jehoban?”
“He is God. He lives in Tuala.”
Val chuckled at their matter-of-fact statement about where God lived. “Really?”
“Yes. We lived with Him on Acaim. He asked for us to study with Him.”
“So, you’re saying you both lived with God and He taught you how to use your birth crystals?” Val thought this story was getting a bit far-fetched.
“Yes. I know it sounds incredible, but I promise it’s all true.”
“So the things you learned are the same things you’re teaching Behn? What good is it all? I mean, what can you do with it?”
“The only limit we’ve found is our imagination. If we can think it, we can do it.”
“That sounds dangerous if it were to get into the wrong hands. What good will it do you?”
“Here on Earth, we’ve been able to keep Sofia from being in several accidents,” Jena put in hastily.
Val laughed. “I’ve been in the car with Sofia, and I bet you were very busy keeping her safe.”
“We thought it was our duty until she learned how to drive better,” Juila agreed
.
“How else can it help you?”
“We learned memorization techniques which are very useful with school.” Jena looked over at Juila and they both nodded in agreement.
“When we’re at home, we can use our skills to make daily life much easier. We can create an entire meal just by thought. We are able to clean up the whole mess with just a thought as well.” Juila picked up the explanation.
“Wow that could be useful. But really what is the point of it?” Valentina really could not understand why they would want to be so different.
“It is a gift from Jehoban. We use it in our everyday lives in Tuala. It can be used to heal people almost instantaneously. We are also able to communicate across vast distances with just a thought. Mostly it makes our lives more convenient and safer. The crystals help to keep us from harm.”
“Okay, I can see where the healing would be helpful and also the ability to keep you from harm, but the rest just seems superfluous.” Valentina did not know why she was still humoring these girls with this subject.
“I guess we’re not explaining it correctly if you can’t see the value in it. Behn remembered your mother teaching all of you to learn how to use your birth crystals. Do you have any memory of that?” Jena asked.
Valentina wanted to be able to deny it, but she did recall something about it with her mother. Slowly she nodded, but she still could not see why she would want to learn the things her brother had shown her. She did just fine without any parlor tricks. “So if everyone can do anything they put their mind to, why do you need each other?”
“While that may be true, not everyone is as skilled with their crystal use. Just as with any other talent, people have different levels of ability and desire to learn. Some only learn the first ten basic lessons, which we were teaching to Behn. Some people never even achieve those levels because they just don’t have the aptitude for it. Other individuals have certain areas of interest, such as healing, where they learn everything associated with that art. Then there are Jehoban’s students, such as we two, where we are encouraged to learn as far as our imaginations will take us.”
“What will you do with all of your abilities?” Valentina was beginning to see what the girls were referring to with the birth crystals. Just as fingerprints, people were unique in their talents.
“We still haven’t decided, but I think I’d like to become an Elder,” Jena declared.
Juila could not help but smile at her sister’s ambition. She knew only men became Elders, but who was she to say Jena could not be the first woman Elder.
Valentina turned to Juila and asked, “What about you? What will you do when you go back home?”
“I really don’t know. I’m sure we’ll have many anons, years as you call them, to pick an occupation.”
“Only if we continue with post-study,” Jena reminded her.
“What’s post-study?” Val looked from one girl to the other with a confused expression.
“The equivalent of your idea of college,” Jena declared.
“Does that mean you’ll be going back to Tuala once you’ve graduated from high school?”
“Possibly. We’ve technically already completed high school in Tuala. We just wanted to meet kids our own age so school seemed like the best avenue.”
“That’s terrible!” Val could not imagine going back to high school once she had completed it. These girls must really want to make friends, she thought to herself. “So you’re saying you’ve already done all the classes you’re taking right now?”
“No, that’s what’s been so wonderful. We don’t have anything like your science classes or any other languages. Those classes have been very enlightening,” Jena enthused.
Juila also added, “We’ve enjoyed the history, health, and American government classes. They’ve given us great insight to what the people here consider important to know.”
“So you’re saying everyone speaks the same language? That would be convenient.” Valentina was really starting to become interested in the Tuala the girls were describing to her. Maybe someday she would go there with them. Suddenly she asked, “How do you travel between here and Tuala? I can’t imagine there’s public transportation between the two places.”
Juila chuckled as she replied, “No, definitely not. However, there are places called Ascension Gates which allow travel between the two places. Those gates are monitored and guarded by the Elders. We use a telepod to travel between, however.”
“What’s a telepod?”
“You’d probably call it a spaceship. For us, it’s just a normal mode of transportation similar to your airplanes. The telepod is much more efficient and quieter…” Jena explained.
“Not to mention a telepod is much faster,” Juila interrupted. “If either of our parents were home, we’d show you their telepods.”
“Wait! Are you’re saying you guys keep spaceships here at the house? Where? In the garage?” She laughed as though she were making a joke.
“Where else would you keep your vehicle?” Jena asked seriously.
Valentina stopped laughing as she realized the telepods were kept in the garage. “Seriously? You two are pulling my leg!”
“If, by pulling your leg, you mean we are joking, then we are not. Stick around for about another hour and you can see for yourself,” Jena replied.
“What do they do in Tuala?”
“Our dad works there at the Telepod Engineering Company. Our mom is doing some research over there and meeting with various people,” Jena replied. She did not want to go into too much detail about their mom’s journeys into Tuala since she was working on fulfilling the prophecy.
Valentina remained silent while she took in everything that had been told to her since arriving at the Stel house. She had come over to tell them to quit telling her brother lies and here she was asking them questions about the very place which seemed make-believe. She realized in that moment she actually did believe the girls were telling the truth.
Because she had made her decision to believe them she wanted to know everything. The first step would be to wait for either of their parents to come home so she could see their telepod. “I would like to stay until your mom gets home. I’d like to see her telepod.”
Juila nodded approval, stood up from her chair, and said, “Let’s get something to eat in the kitchen while we wait.”
Both girls nodded agreement and Valentina smiled at the twins as they left the library. They walked through the living room and sat down in the high chairs at the island.
“Would you like to try some food from Tuala?” Juila asked.
Valentina nodded. She wondered if it would be something she would remember from her childhood. If it were, then she would have another proof of the girls’ story.
Juila did not even have to think about what she would prepare. Instantly, three plates of scrambled eggs and fried foxl appeared in front of them, complete with silverware and glasses of pika juice.
Valentina sat back in surprise at the suddenness of the arrival of the food. While the girls had told her it was possible, the actuality of the food appearing before her was another matter. She leaned forward to smell the food as well as to look at it better. “What is it?”
Juila told her even as she pulled her own plate forward.
Valentina watched in amazement as the two girls bowed their heads and closed their eyes. She could only imagine they were praying. For some reason, she had not thought them to be very religious since they had come from Tuala.
Juila opened her eyes, picked up her fork, and plunged it into the scrambled eggs.
Valentina took a more cautious approach. She picked up the glass of juice and looked down into it. She smelled it and thought it was almost like orange juice. As soon as she took a sip, she realized it was nothing like orange juice. It was both sweeter and tangier than she expected.
She pulled the plate closer and picked up the fork. Using the utensil to point at the meat, she asked, “What is th
is?”
“Fried foxl,” Jena replied as she speared a bite of the meat and shoved it into her mouth.
“What exactly is it?”
“It looks like a combination of a cow and a sheep with long hair. We use foxl in just about everything we eat. Try it, you’ll like it,” said Jena with an encouraging look.
Valentina picked up some and brought it close to her nose to smell it. Something about the scent seemed to remind her of something. Maybe it was a childhood memory. She put it into her mouth and suddenly the memory came back, full force.
She and her brothers were sitting at a wooden table with their mother. They were laughing at some joke one of the boys had made. Their mother put breakfast on the table and she served them each their meager portion of food. They were having scrambled eggs and fried foxl just the same as she was eating right now.
Valentina closed her eyes and savored both the flavor of the food as well as the memories which had returned. More and more scenes from her past began to flood her mind. She could feel tears of joy and sadness forming in her eyes. Now was not the time to cry. She picked up the glass of juice and took a large swallow to help clear her pallet and control her thoughts.
A noise came from behind them and they all turned to see what it was. Amanda walked across the living room with a smile on her face. “Did you guys make food and not invite me?”
Juila laughed and replied, “We didn’t even know you were home. Where have you been?”
“I was upstairs taking a bath and then I was in your father’s study. What are you guys up to?”
“Valentina has asked to see your telepod. We were waiting for you to get home. I thought you’d be another hour or so.” Juila was glad her mother had decided to come home early on this day in particular. She wanted to make sure Valentina was thoroughly convinced of her heritage before she went home.
“I take it Behn finally talked to you?” Amanda raised her eyebrows as she asked Valentina.
“Yes, but it’s taken me a lot longer to accept it. Would you mind letting me see your telepod?”
“Seeing is believing,” Amanda said jauntily. “Once you’re finished eating, we can go out together.” Amanda reached over and picked up a hunk of foxl from Juila’s plate and winked at her as she put it into her mouth.
Levels of Ascension BoxSet Page 45