Answering Ascension

by Amy Proebstel

  Shut up. This is my revelation, Jena defended. After a few more minutes of futile thoughts, Jena relented and asked, What would you suggest I do?

  Act more like a teenager and less like an old married woman! Juila did not hesitate to reply.

  I don’t have much choice in the matter, now, do I? I’m going to marry Willian as soon as my schooling is done, Jena declared.

  So decide to go to post-study. You can delay the marriage until Willian grows up more and becomes less jealous of you, or maybe he’ll find someone else he’d rather marry!

  Juila! How can you even suggest such a thing? I’d never break the betrothal; it was sanctioned by Jehoban Himself. I’d bring disgrace to both of our families if I acted as you are suggesting. Jena turned her head to stare at her sister to see if she were serious or just trying to get a reaction out of her. Jena’s eyes got wider as she realized her sister was deadly serious. No, Juila, I won’t do it, she said again, this time with less conviction.

  The class bell rang and startled Jena out of her thoughts. She was thankful Juila had been paying attention in class so she would not have missed the lecture. Never before had she even considered being with anyone other than Willian. From the moment she had met him, she had been smitten by the brooding dark look of the serious youngster.

  When she had smiled at him when they first met, he seemed to light up inside. He had eagerly partnered with her at school. Normally she would have simply picked Juila as her partner, but the teacher had said they needed to partner with someone they were not related to in the class. Willian had a brilliant mind, and he had shown off quite a bit during their crystal skills lessons. Well, Jena had to admit to herself, he had at first. Over time he had more and more often deferred to her own knowledge rather than his own. Now Jena wondered if Juila could be right about his jealousy. It seemed silly for him to be envious of her skills when he possessed nearly as much talent on his own. Maybe she would never truly understand boys. This was more complicated than she had originally believed.

  After their last class let out, they walked with Sofia out to the parking lot. Jena looked behind them at the rows of busses and hoped they were doing the right thing. After all, Sofia had only received her driver’s license that day. What if she did not really know how to get them home safely?

  Juila turned and frowned at Jena and said, Point proven! You are a fuddy-duddy.

  Shut up, she replied and started walking faster so she would not have to see Juila’s smug reaction even if she could clearly hear it in her head.

  Sofia was oblivious to the mental conversation passing between the two girls. Her sole focus was on getting to drive. She was eager to show her car off to Jena and Juila. “Ta-da,” she said as she reached the side of an ugly green car and held out her hands to show off the vehicle.

  “This is so cool, Sofia,” Juila enthused even though she agreed with Sofia’s original statement that the car was not great to look at.

  Sofia unlocked her door with the key and opened it up. She reached in and hit the power lock button even as she said, “Get in on the other side. We should hurry if we’re going to beat the busses out of here. I’d hate to have to stop at every other block all the way home.”

  The girls skipped around to the other door, and Jena automatically took the back seat. Juila sat up front and fastened the seat belt. At least the car smells fine inside, she thought to herself. Jena chuckled softly in the back seat. Juila looked around the interior and noticed it was different than the truck her mother usually drove them around in.

  Sofia turned on the ignition and pushed her foot down on the clutch as she shifted the manual gear to put it into reverse. She slowly added gas as she released the clutch and promptly killed the engine. “Oops,” she said nervously as she returned her feet to the brake and clutch before restarting the ignition.

  Juila started to think Jena may have been right about Sofia’s ability being slightly lower than what would be considered safe. She did not even have to turn around to see Jena’s smug expression.

  The car moved out of the parking space, and Sofia shifted the car into first gear. They lurched forward a couple of times before she added enough gas and then they were moving into the line of traffic trying to leave the school. After several minutes of not-so-great driving, they turned onto the main road where Sofia was able to shift into both second and then third gears which handled much more smoothly than first.

  At the first traffic light, Sofia flipped on the radio and began singing to one of her favorite songs. Juila wondered if Sofia should have any type of distractions since she did not seem to know how to handle the car very well yet. The light turned green, and they lurched and stumbled forward until they shifted into second gear and the traveling smoothed out again.

  Eventually, they reached the gate outside of the Stel residence. Juila got out of the car and entered the manual code to open the security gate and returned to the passenger seat. There had been several moments where she had wished they had taken the bus, but one look at how happy Sofia appeared behind the wheel, she decided they would have to trust Sofia would better with more practice. Besides, if the twins were in the car with her, their crystals would help to keep them all safe from harm.

  Sofia pulled to a stop in the circular driveway at the front door. She left the engine running and asked, “Do you want me to pick you up for school tomorrow?”

  “Sure,” Juila answered brightly.

  Jena remained silent until after she got out of the back seat. “Drive careful,” she said as she leaned down to speak to their friend across the car. She closed the door and sighed in relief now that the terrible ride was over. There had been at least two occasions she was sure their crystals had intervened in an impending accident. She hoped Sofia would be so lucky when she was by herself.

  They watched Sofia lurch her way around the circular driveway before she found another gear and sped around the corner and out of sight. “That was terrifying,” the girls said in unison and then burst out laughing. They turned and walked to go inside the house.

  They found their parents sitting in the living room.

  “How was your day?” Riccan asked with an eager expression.

  “Fine, until the ride home,” Jena said solemnly.

  “Did you have trouble on the bus?” Amanda asked.

  “We didn’t take the bus. Sofia got her driver’s license today, so she drove us home,” Jena continued.

  Juila nodded agreement and added, “She’s the worst driver ever! I swear the only thing which kept us from getting into at least two accidents were our crystals.”

  Amanda frowned at this news. She did not like thinking her daughters were in any danger.

  “And the worst thing is, Sofia is picking us up tomorrow to take us to school,” Jena finished with a sigh as she dropped herself down onto the couch.

  “Oh, my,” Amanda said as she looked at Riccan to see if he had any suggestions.

  Riccan shrugged his shoulders indicating he could not help.

  “Should we call Sofia and tell her we’d like her to practice more on her own before she drives our girls anywhere?” Amanda asked.

  “Mom, it would hurt her feelings. We can’t do that. Besides, I think we are the only people who can keep her safe,” Jena declared.

  Riccan finally spoke, “Jena’s right. The girls won’t be in any danger. Sofia will be better off with them in her car. What made her driving so bad?”

  “I think it might be her car. It kept lurching forward and dying,” Juila declared.

  Riccan started to laugh at his daughter’s description and then asked, “Did she have a lever between the seats she kept moving around?”

  “Yes! What was it?” Juila asked.

  “It’s called a stick-shift which manually changes the gears in the transmission so the car can travel at different speeds. It sounds as though Sofia needs to get a better feel between the clutch, which is the far left pedal on the floor, and the gas, which is the ped
al furthest to the right. You have to have a perfect balance between the two or else the car won’t run smoothly.”

  “That’s an understatement,” Jena murmured.

  Everyone burst into laughter at Jena’s comment.

  Riccan continued, “I promise she’ll get better. A manual transmission takes a bit of time to get used to, but she’ll learn.”

  Juila brightened and asked, “Can we get our own driver’s licenses?”

  Amanda groaned. She should have seen this coming. The girls were the right age to be thinking about such a thing. Somehow, she had imagined them staying dependent on their parents for their mobility. Amanda liked her time alone with the girls in the car.

  “Sure,” Riccan answered for both of them. He could understand Amanda’s hesitance, but the girls were here to experience everything Earth had to offer. Driving was definitely a skill to know. “I can start giving you lessons in the driveway after dinner. All of our vehicles are automatic transmissions which means you only have to learn two pedals on the floor; one pedal to go faster and the other to stop or slow down.”

  “That sounds safer. Why wouldn’t Sofia’s parents get her that other kind of a car?” Jena asked.

  “A lot of people think young people should learn in Sofia’s kind of car so they’re able to drive anything in any situation. It’s a good practice, but we don’t need you girls learning that just now. I hope you don’t mind,” Riccan said as he looked closely at his daughters to judge their opinion on the matter.

  “I think we have plenty of other things to learn that we don’t need to be burdened with a manual transmission,” Juila declared.

  “Great, then we agree.” Riccan slapped his hand on his knee. Riccan changed the subject and asked, “Would either of you like to test out a theory of mine with the samaras?”

  All three girls looked at Riccan with a questioning expression.

  “What theory?” Amanda asked cautiously.

  “Remember the aura’s I saw on them?”

  “Yes,” Amanda answered slowly.

  “I think they might mean something. I want the girls to have a look and tell me what they think about it,” he answered simply. He did not want to say too much because he wanted their own opinions.

  Juila was the first to stand up. She had been thinking about the crystals as well, but she had not wanted to go into the room alone. She led the way into the library and stood to the side as her father unlatched the secret door.

  Riccan walked into the room behind the bookcase and stopped only two steps into the room. He held out his arm to keep the others from entering any further. “Stay right here and let me know what you feel?”

  The girls did as asked and concentrated on the energy they could easily sense emanating from the two samaras. Jena took an involuntary step further into the room. She gasped and said, “It seems like one of them is calling to me. Do any of you notice anything?”

  Amanda could feel her heart start to race. She could sense the energy of the two skulls, but it did not appear any different to her. She shook her head and found herself saying, “Follow your heart.” Even as it came out of her mouth, she wished she could take it back. What if the samaras were evil and only wanted to harm her girls. She stayed silent and watched as her two girls slowly advanced on the bookcase containing the two niches where the stones resided.

  Riccan reached over and took Amanda’s damp hand in his own. He felt the same nervous energy as his wife. There had been a nagging feeling Riccan had been ignoring. He was about to find out if his theory were true.

  Chapter Eighteen

  JENA SLOWLY REACHED up and pulled the newest samara from its resting place. She looked as though she were radiating with the pulsing energy of the stone. She turned and said, “It’s beautiful.”

  Juila had seen her sister draw out the stone and saw the same visions which the skull had shown to Jena. Finally, unable to stop herself, she reached up and touched Riccan’s original samara. Just as Jena had felt a completion of her soul, Juila felt the same thing. It was almost as if the stone were an extension of her own thoughts and abilities. Except the stone seemed to draw more out of her, making her want to expand her knowledge even faster.

  Riccan watched with avid excitement as the girls had each picked up the samara which had the aura matching perfectly with the birth crystal of each daughter. He wondered if the stones were actually keyed to an individual person based on the aura’s color and the birth crystal of the owner.

  “What’s going on, Riccan? What was your theory? Is this what you had in mind?” Amanda had so many questions; she could hardly pause long enough for Riccan to answer.

  “Did you notice who picked which samara?” Riccan asked cryptically.

  “What are you talking about?” Amanda demanded.

  “I’m talking about auras. Remember how I saw the black aura on the stone we found in New Orleans?”

  “Yes.”

  “Jena felt drawn to that stone. Her birth crystal is black,” Riccan answered rapidly.

  Amanda finally started to understand what he was saying and continued with, “And Juila picked up the samara with the ruby red aura…just like her own birth crystal. Do you think it’s significant?”

  “I don’t know yet, but it could be.” He continued to watch as his children seemed to be in communion with the individual samaras. Neither girl appeared to be in any distress, quite the opposite really. Both girls looked positively blissful as they stared into their own samara.

  “Should we try to put a stop to this?” Amanda asked as the girls continued to silently hold the crystals for another ten minutes.

  “Let’s give it a few more minutes,” Riccan suggested. Another thought came to him, and he asked, “How did your studies come with my mother in the aura skill?”

  Amanda was surprised at the turn of conversation and answered, “I was able to see it if that’s what you mean.”

  “Good, look at your daughters’ auras and tell me what you see.”

  Amanda frowned at Riccan and then turned her attention to the children. After a few moments of concentration she gasped and said, “Riccan! Do you see what I see?”

  “Yep!” Riccan was transfixed by the bright auras surrounding their children. “Okay,” he said, “I think we should try to get the girls to put down the crystals now. I don’t want them to tire themselves out the first time they experience the raw power of the crystals.”

  Amanda frowned as she asked, “And how do you propose to do that, Riccan?”

  “I’m not exactly sure, but I wouldn’t recommend touching either the girls or the crystals.” He smiled at the memory of the last time they had come into physical contact with the crystals.

  “How about a distraction? A bright light or a loud noise, maybe?” Amanda suggested.

  Riccan leaned closer to Amanda and whispered in her ear, “How about we look in on their birth crystals to see what’s actually going on with them?”

  Amanda was not so sure it was a good idea, but she was curious to know what they were learning from the samaras. “I’ll take Juila,” Amanda whispered back to Riccan. He did not reply, he simply nodded. Amanda concentrated on Juila’s red birth crystal. She visualized the unique band of colors which surrounded it and soon became lost in the additional bands of color encompassing it. She became mesmerized by the swirling colors and almost forgot to concentrate on individual details to make the images become clearer.

  Images raced across her awareness too fast for her to recognize any details. She was starting to get dizzy with the confusion of it all until she decided to step her focus back slightly so she could see the bigger picture. It was as if Juila were receiving instructions from the crystal. Instinct took over, and she focused her power to cloak her daughter’s birth crystal from the power of the samara.

  As if on cue, Juila took a deep breath and removed her hand from the stone on the shelf. She took a step back and gazed in wonder at the leering skull looking back at her. There was so
much she still needed to learn, but she had seen enough in the few minutes that she was willing to wait quite a while before trying to touch it again.

  Juila looked over at her sister and saw she was still enthralled by the magic of her own samara. That was how Juila now viewed the stones. They each owned the stone they had touched. The idea felt so right. Without even thinking, Juila thoughts entered Jena’s mind and asked, Can you put the samara down? I think we’ve learned enough for now.

  Jena seemed to shudder, but her arms moved jerkily upward until the stone was, once again, resting back in the niche in which it had been found. Her hand immediately rose and grasped the birth crystal around her neck. She knew her heart was racing with the exciting images she had seen. She needed to feel the calming power of her own crystal for a few moments. Jena took a deep breath and took her hand away from her necklace.

  Juila smiled at Jena’s reaction. She had felt the same way. Suddenly her happy smile turned to a look of astonishment. She pointed and said, “Jena! Look at your crystal!”

  Jena immediately pulled her crystal forward on its chain until she could easily see it in front of her. Her gasp alarmed both of her parents and they came rushing forward. She held it out for them to see how it had changed. All of her life she had been plagued with a black stone denoting a hard life full of danger. Now her fingers were cradling a deep amethyst stone instead.

  “What does that mean?” Amanda asked with alarm. From one of her deepest memories, she recalled a conversation she had had with Barla. The stones could change color with the circumstances of a person’s life. It was more typical for a stone to get darker with a person’s life choices. Jena’s stone had already been as dark as it could possibly get and the fact that it was now lighter could only mean her daughter had taken the first step in making her life better, safer even.

  “It means Jena has made the correct choice in claiming that particular samara,” Riccan declared.

  Juila rushed forward to hug her sister. She was so happy to see her sister one step away from the dangerous life promised to her. This had to be the start of a great adventure. Juila tightened her grip as she felt her sister start to slump toward the floor. “Help me, Dad! I think Jena is fainting!”