Ascension Discovery

by Amy Proebstel

  “I’ve never mastered aura detection, and deception is something I’ve never even ventured to try since it goes against my beliefs.” Alena looked down at the list and considered what other items she either felt weak at or just disinclined to try and said, “I’m not very good at pushing, which entails making someone agree with what you’re talking about as it feels like deception to me. Let’s see, hmm, I can’t read minds, but I’m very good at reading body language, so it almost seems as though I’m reading someone when I’m not.”

  Amanda studied the list again and finally asked, “Can you teach me all of these things?”

  “I’ll do my best. I think we should spend as much time as we can getting you caught up. If Rasa will help you, then you need to know a lot more than just the basics! I’ll push you as far as you can go if you want.”

  “I have a lot to learn. The good thing is I’m a very willing student.”

  Justan piped in and asked, “Why don’t you know how to do these things already? Didn’t your mom teach you before you went to school?”

  Amanda swiftly looked over at Alena with an alarmed expression. They had been talking freely in front of the children without noticing their mistake until Justan had asked his innocent question. Not sure how she should answer, Alena luckily was one step ahead of her.

  “I’m sure her mother taught her a lot of things, Justan. Do you remember when Amanda first came to live with us?”

  Justan nodded solemnly.

  “Right before she came here she had been in a really bad accident and hit her head. Because of the injury, she lost her memory. She’s a lot better now and has asked me to teach her how to access the elemy again. Since she has her birth crystal, it will make it a lot easier.”

  Wanting to avoid any more questions the children were sure to dream up she turned and grinned at Amanda and then said, “Okay, we’ve established the first three basics for both of you, now we need to concentrate on creating a breeze.” She addressed her oldest two children and said, “I’d like you to face each other and work on the second and third skills we just went over while I move ahead with Amanda and Juila.”

  The trio worked at the next several talents on the list until it was apparent Juila needed to go down for her nap. Amanda was glad for the opportunity to rest her brain from the constant strain of trying to make the elemy bend to her particular wishes. Her attempts were getting better as she started to get a feel for how the elemy functioned. It almost seemed as though the less she concentrated on molding it, the easier it bent to her will. Somehow she needed her intuition to take over the task instead of her conscious mind. She felt as though she were right on the cusp of a breakthrough.

  As she carried Juila to her crib, she cuddled her in her arms. She was so proud of how talented her little girl was with using her birth crystal. The only thing she seemed to have any trouble with was freezing water. Amanda almost found herself helping Juila a few times and had to consciously restrain her energy and look away until Juila was finished with her attempt.

  Amanda settled the covers over the now-sleeping little girl and smiled at her cute expression of contentment. She wished her life were as simple as her daughter’s. With a sigh of resignation, Amanda left her daughter’s room and returned to the kitchen to continue her lessons.

  “Can you get us each a glass of pika juice?”

  Amanda started to walk toward the cabinets with Alena corrected her by saying, “Use your power.”

  Amanda had seen her daughter perform this task effortlessly. She felt as if she should also be able to accomplish as much, so she relaxed and formed the thought with the intent to complete the request. A moment passed, and nothing happened then suddenly two glasses of pika juice appeared on the table. The glasses wobbled a little, and some of the juice spilled onto the table, but Amanda smiled at her success as she grabbed the glass nearest her seat. She took a drink and sighed with satisfaction.

  Alena snatched the other glass mid-tilt and smiled at her student’s success as she said, “Well done, Amanda! Let’s go into the living room to continue our lessons.”

  “That sounds good, but where are the other children?”

  “While you were putting Juila down Tana came over and asked for the kids’ help planting flowers in her back yard. I thought they looked ready to do something else and poor Kyelon was just miserable with not being able to participate. I felt bad telling him he couldn’t work on the skills, but he really is about an anon too young. They’re only little for so short a time, and I want to keep him my baby as long as I can.”

  They walked together into the adjacent room and settled onto the couch. “How does your progress feel so far? Are you too tired to continue?”

  “No, I’m good. I was starting to think there was something more to these skills than just using the elemy. It feels as though the harder I try to make something happen, the worse the results are. When I relax and just let impulse take over, then it seems to work easier. Does that make sense?”

  “Perfect sense and you’re right; the elemy does work better with the subconscious mind than with the conscious one. Let’s take a look at the next skill of extinguishing a flame. You have two options with this one, either create a breeze which blows it out or remove the oxygen from around it making it go out on its own.” Alena leaned forward and thought a flame into existence on the candle resting on the coffee table. “Go ahead and put out the flame.”

  Amanda tried to decide if she wanted to use the wind or snuffing method. Since she had already demonstrated her ability to create a breeze she thought it might be a better practice to snuff it instead. This time she attempted to use her subconscious by just imagining the flame was snuffed out instead of concentrating on the elemy doing a specific task. As the flame went out, she squealed in delight at her success. She beamed a smile at Alena who also smiled at her student’s accomplishment.

  “Wonderful! I believe that was the fastest you have been in learning something new. Now reverse the process and create a flame in the same spot.”

  This task seemed more dangerous to Amanda than the others. What if I light a flame on something other than the candle? Shouldn’t we try this outside first? Alena wouldn’t ask it of me unless she felt as though it could be done properly. Once again she visualized a flame on the candle and even faster than before the flame surged to life.

  “Very good, now go ahead and put it out and we’ll try moving an object. Which reminds me, remember when Juila prepared the glass of juice?”

  Amanda nodded.

  “Just before she did that amazing feat, she was playing in the living room. She suddenly jumped up and said she ‘wanted to try it too.’ She made several of her toys fly through the air while she danced underneath them. So I know she already knows how to make an object move under her direction. The question I have is how she learned it in the first place. Do you have any ideas?”

  “None whatsoever. That’s amazing! What are your thoughts about it?”

  “I asked her, and she said she had seen herself doing it in the white room. The only thing which makes any sense is she is somehow still connected to Jena and that her sister is learning how to access the elemy through her own birth crystal. I could be wrong, but it made sense at the time.”

  “No, you could be on to something. Man, I wish Juila could help us find Jena. If she does still have a twin connection with her, she might be the key to locating her sister.”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I could be totally wrong. Just watch Juila and see if you ever notice anything strange. Let me know right away, and we’ll compare notes.”

  “Okay, now you were saying the next thing I need to accomplish is moving an object. What does it entail? Please explain it.”

  “Let’s see, moving an object is kind of like getting a glass of juice, but without making it appear from a separate location. I move objects pretty often when I see where one of the kids will trip over something and get hurt. In such instances, I just move whateve
r it is out of the way. Try moving this candle across the table.”

  Amanda liked her explanation about keeping her kids safe. She felt this skill would be beneficial to master so she could help protect Juila from unnecessary harm. Looking at the candle she concentrated on shifting it across the table without making it disappear and reappear; she wanted to get this right. She recognized she was trying too hard with her will, so she relaxed and just imagined it moving across the table slowly. To her relief, the candle did begin to shift in the direction she saw it going in her mind.

  Alena nodded her satisfaction when Amanda was capable of performing this task as well. She was pleased with Amanda’s ability to easily pick up each of these skills without much guidance. It made her wonder if all people from Earth could learn these things so rapidly or if Amanda were an anomaly. Her daughter seemed to have the same capability, but then again she was probably half-Tualan. Alena wished she would have a lot more time to try to figure out Amanda’s mysteries, but unfortunately, she would most likely only have that day and the next to work with and question her if Barla were able to arrange for Amanda to meet with Rasa.

  Ever since she was a little girl, she had heard stories about old souls and how dangerous they could be in their society. She had always felt the Elders were a bit judgmental since Jehoban was the Creator of all, including the old souls.

  Recollection of her husband commenting about how he had once been to Earth as a teenage prank made her re-evaluate her initial opinion. She decided it was time they heard the details of his unauthorized adventure when he got home from work. She was also glad they would be having a quiet evening since their three children and Juila were all going to be having a sleep-over at Tana’s house. They would not have any interruptions nor would they have to worry about being overheard.

  Chapter Ten

  PREPARING ALL OF Bryon’s favorite dishes Alena set the table for the three adults. Amanda had decided to take a nap after their arduous training session which had ended about an hour before Bryon was due to be home. She did not mind preparing meals alone, in fact, it was preferable to having four little children under foot while she was trying to concentrate. As she was setting the last dish on the table, she smiled as she heard the front door open.

  True to his usual manner Bryon set his telepod key on the table by the front door before striding down the hallway and into the kitchen to greet his wife. He smiled as he caught her setting the last dish on the table and said, “Perfect timing again, I’d say!”

  “Yep,” Alena agreed as she leaned into his chest while turning her mouth up to receive his welcoming kiss. With all of the kids absent she felt lighthearted and willing to let dinner get cold to continue their amorous mood in their bedroom. The kiss was cut short as they both heard Amanda’s bedroom door open.

  “Did my nap hold up dinner?”

  “Nope. Your timing is getting to be as good as Bryon’s!”

  “Hi, Bryon. How was work today?”

  “Hi, yourself. It was a typical day. I did work up an appetite. Let me get changed and washed up and I’ll be ready to sit down and talk about anything you want!”

  Alena slapped him playfully on the rear as he turned to leave and said, “Hurry up, dinner’s going to get cold!” She was glad he had said he would talk about anything as it was just the opening she needed to finally hear his adventures on Earth. “Are you hungry, Amanda?”

  “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!”

  Alena looked at her funny and then laughed out loud, “If you had said that a few days ago, I would have wondered about your sanity. Today, however, I can only assume it’s a phrase used on Earth.”

  “I guess it is. I never really thought about it. We don’t actually eat horses on Earth; it just means we are really hungry because horses are big animals.”

  “It’s still a strange saying,” Alena commented and then gestured for Amanda to be seated while she walked around the table to take her own place.

  A cleaned and changed Bryon came back to the dining room and took his place at the table. He looked over the food selection and nodded his head in pleasure. “This spread looks good enough to entertain an Elder!”

  Alena was pleased to receive the compliment. While it did not take a lot of energy to create the dishes she still liked to be praised for her thoughtfulness. She took up each person’s plate and served helpings of each item.

  After Bryon had spoken the prayer, everyone was silent as they enjoyed their food. Once their initial appetites were satiated Alena spoke up, “Amanda and Juila have both demonstrated admirable skill in using elemy.”

  “Really? How far did you get in the assessment?” Bryon looked meaningfully from Alena to Amanda. He had not really entertained any hope of Amanda learning much beyond the basics of accessing her children’s crystals. To hear she had actually progressed beyond that level made him wonder what else she might be capable of achieving.

  Amanda blushed at the compliment as Alena continued, “Juila is proficient through the first five elements and is having trouble freezing water.”

  “Wow, that’s amazing for a child so young!”

  “Tell me about it. She’s a very exciting little student, very eager to try everything. I decided to start training Justan and Andera as well. They only have about six mesans before they begin school and they’re going to need to know the core skills before they start.”

  Bryon nodded agreement and said, “How far did our little ones get? I can hardly believe they’re almost old enough to begin their education. It seems like yesterday I was holding Justan for the first time.”

  “I know, I feel the same way,” Alena agreed with a sigh of regret for how fast they were growing. “They both completed the first skill with relative ease. I had them working on the second and third elements on their own. They are going to take a little while to master them. I am afraid our children might be held to a higher standard of education since I’ve been formally trained as a wise-woman. I hope they will be intrigued with Juila and Amanda learning and want to learn quicker than other children usually do.”

  Bryon nodded agreement with his wife’s assessment of other people’s expectations for their children. Knowing how well Juila did with her lessons made him curious as to Amanda’s progress, so he asked, “How far did you get, Amanda?”

  Alena could see she was not really sure how to answer Bryon’s question, so she answered for her. “Amanda made it through the first nine levels. We were working on memorization for several hours until it was clear we had done enough for the day. Her hour-long nap proved I was correct in ending the session early so I could get dinner ready.”

  Bryon was glad he had swallowed his last bite before Alena had told him how far Amanda had gotten in her lessons. To achieve so many levels in one day was unheard of and he was utterly flabbergasted. He had to purposely close his mouth which had dropped open as Alena finished her summary of the day’s progress. He stammered, “All in one day?”

  Alena beamed her pride in her student. She wished she could take all of the credit for being an excellent teacher, but she knew Amanda’s skill was enhanced by her desire to learn everything she could to bring Jena home. Desperation could be very useful in times like these. She turned to Amanda and said, “As you had said earlier, you’re a very eager and capable student. I wish everyone had as much desire to learn as you do.”

  “I’m just glad you’re willing to teach me even though you know who I really am.”

  “Speaking of that…Bryon, weren’t you going to tell us about your adventures on Earth? I can’t think of any better time to tell us than tonight while all of the kids are gone for the evening.” She batted her eyelashes playfully at her husband and smiled at him.

  “Sure, although the actual adventure will probably not be as good as what you’re imagining it to be. We should retire to the living room for story time.”

  “Sounds like fun!” With a final thought, Alena had the table cleared and the dishes stacked in t
he sink to be taken care of at a later time.

  Amanda was surprised at how efficiently Alena had handled the whole clean-up and hoped to be able to effortlessly use the elemy as she had just witnessed. She was also keen to hear about Bryon’s journey to Earth when he was a teenager. She had heard about the juvenile pranks but had never had occasion to hear what they might entail.

  The three left the empty table and walked as a group to the living room. Bryon took his usual seat on the loveseat. Likewise, Alena took up her customary position tucked under Bryon’s arm which was draped across the back of the couch with her body touching Bryon’s side. Amanda seated herself in the chair across from them and smiled at how happy and comfortable they looked together.

  Alena poked her finger into Bryon’s ribcage and said, “Start talking! We’ve waited for more than two anons to hear this story. You better add a few details if it’s not interesting enough!”

  “Ouch! How can I think of anything with you bruising me so?” He laughed down at his petite wife’s upturned face and rubbed his ribs for dramatic effect. He pursed his lips as he began to gather his thoughts.

  “Let’s see; I think I was about fifteen, and school had just let out for the summer. There were about six of us guys ranging in age from fourteen to sixteen, and we were sitting around a campfire telling stories of other boys and their pranks which they supposedly performed on Earth. Each tale seemed to get bigger and more unrealistic until we started scoffing and saying Earth was just a myth which didn’t really exist.

  “One of the sixteen-anon-olds, Lindon, insisted his story was true because it was his older brother who had actually gone to Earth. So we asked him to tell the story again to see if we could find any discrepancies with the telling. Once again, he recounted what had been told to him and said he could go and do the same thing if he wanted to.

  “That sounded enough like a challenge for each of us to egg him on until he agreed to ask his brother how it was done so we could watch him do it as well. He agreed that night to find out the secret details, and we would meet again the next night to set up a plan.”