by Meltem Y. K
CHAPTER 7
The Astral beings continued their work by putting many protective symbols around Jayna’s home and family, thereby making sure that no harm would come to them from the dark forces.
Thanks to Jayna’s connection to the Astral plane, her father had survived a fatal spell, Ayshen had survived a direct demon attack, but Mehmet wasn’t so lucky. The night was coming to end as the sun was coming up the horizon, a huge orange ball bringing light and life to Earth.
The humans still in their Astral form were watching the sun rise and admiring its beauty when two angels appeared.
Jayna and Ethan immediately bowed to them deeply. Ayshen was first delighted at their appearance then puzzled when they approached Mehmet, and her husband began glowing.
“What’s happening?” Ayshen asked.
Here comes the moment of truth, Jayna said to Ethan telepathically. I don’t know what to say.
You don’t have to say anything. Stay grounded and visualize Ayshen as calm and accepting; the angels will do the rest.
Mehmet took his wife in his arms and spoke to her in their native Turkish. “I must go now. Promise me that you will take good care of yourself, and you will not cry too much.”
Jayna didn’t understand any Turkish, but the smooth tone of Mehmet’s voice was indicative of what he must be saying to Ayshen. Tears ran down Jayna’s face as she sent loving and peaceful energy to her old friend. She hoped and prayed that Ayshen would not lose it. Jayna remembered how Ayshen fell apart and cried for days when their dog had died. How would she handle the loss of her husband?
“What do you mean you have to go? What are you talking about?”
“It was too late; the demon killed me before the kids arrived. There was nothing they could do. It’s a miracle that your life was spared.”
“What?”
“I am dead, Ayshen, and cannot be brought back.”
“No, no, no…you can’t be dead.”
“You have to be brave, my love. I will always watch over you and our family. I won’t leave you alone, I promise. I don’t want you to mourn me for the rest of your life. You always told me life didn’t end with death, remember?”
Understanding dawned on Ayshen. This was it. There was no turning back the clock. Her beloved Mehmet had passed on to the Great Beyond.
“What do we do now?” Jayna asked Ethan.
“We’ll escort Ayshen back home, and then we’ll go to the Council and report the night’s work. The Mirror of Justice will be activated. It will deflect the spell back to its originator. Karma will be paid in due time. You will see.”
Ethan looked Jayna squarely in the eyes and made no secret that he was reading her mind.
“I know how you feel about justice, Jayna. I promise you, it will be done, but you are not the one who will deal it. Olivia will get what’s coming to her. You have to learn to trust Karma. No crime goes unpunished.”
Jayna resigned to the fact that this was how things were done when one followed the Code of Ahimsa; but, what she really wanted to do was get into her physical body, find the bitch and beat her to a pulp.
Ethan heard her thoughts and shook his head.
“I am not going to do that,” Jayna said. “I just imagined it for a second and it felt great.”
“You are tired, and emotionally exhausted. This wasn’t an easy night for anyone.”
Jayna shrugged. She went over to Ayshen and gave her a big hug. She fought hard to hold her tears; she had to be strong for Ayshen’s sake.
“Ladies, I can teach you a simple technique to revive yourselves; how about it?”
Ayshen slowly nodded. “Yes.”
Jayna hooked her arm through Ayshen’s and held her hand out for Ethan; they were instantly relocated to Niagara Falls.
“What are we doing here?” Jayna asked. “Site seeing?”
“There is great energy in water, especially one as mighty as the Falls.”
Ethan pointed to a spot near the bottom of the Falls. “Have a seat here, ladies, and soak up the energy of this great water.”
They followed Ethan’s instructions and let it happen. Soon they were rejuvenated and in a much more positive frame of mind.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Much better,” said Jayna, and Ayshen nodded her agreement.
“Great.” Ethan checked his watch.
“We should take Ayshen home.” Jayna said.
They held hands and relocated to Ayshen’s bedroom. The sight of Mehmet’s lifeless body in bed next to hers brought fresh tears to Ayshen’s eyes.
“It’s almost dawn, Ayshen. You will have to call 911 to report that you are unable to wake Mehmet up. It has to look like he passed away in his sleep. Only you and I will know the truth. This our secret.”
Ayshen wiped the tears away from her eyes. “I know. You not worry about me, Jayna. Go.”
Jayna gave Ayshen another hug. “I will see you later.”
Telepathically, she asked Ethan, Could we quickly check up on Pavlina? I am worried about her.
Sure, Ethan said and held Jayna’s hand. Take us there.
Jayna visualized Pavlina’s room and they were there. Pavlina was sleeping peacefully. Jayna was trying to focus on her friend’s aura, but wasn’t sure what to look for. Ethan understood the purpose of this trip. Jayna wanted to see the baby. Ethan drew a symbol over Pavlina’s sleeping form making her aura more vibrant, and then he pointed out the tiny pulsing light within Pavlina.
“There it is,” Ethan said, “that’s the baby’s heartbeat.”
Jayna kept looking at her friend and shaking her head. She couldn’t believe Pav had gotten herself knocked up. What about starting university in September? What about becoming a doctor? What would happen to those career plans? How would her parents react to the news of her being pregnant?
Jayna shuddered. She knew how disappointed her parents would be if that was her. Ethan patiently waited for her till Jayna looked up to indicate that she was ready to leave.
Ethan took her hand and in the next instant they were in an ocean amongst a school of dolphins. Jayna’s face lit up in delight. There were also several children in the water playing with them. They all screamed with joy, “Hi Ethan!”
They were thrilled to see their uncle who often joined them to play with the dolphins.
“Who is this,” they chorused.
“This is Jayna. She is a friend of mine. Say hi to Jayna, guys?”
“Hi Jayna,” they shouted.
Jayna looked at the beautiful children and all her worries and frustrations drained away into the greatness of the ocean. To her surprise, the dolphins greeted her too, but unlike the children they were using telepathy to communicate with her.
Hi Jayna, we are happy to meet you. Won’t you play with us?
Jayna was smiling from ear to ear. Of course, she told them, I would love to play with you.
Oh, to be a child again, as carefree as these children and play with the dolphins.
Why the hell not?
Jayna was a strong swimmer, but being in an Astral ocean was a different experience. She was practically a mermaid. She dipped under the water and to her surprise she could see clearly, as if she was wearing goggles. She could also breathe under water. The water wasn’t burning her lungs as it would on Earth.
The kids were playing tag with the dolphins. Of course, the dolphins couldn’t be tagged if they didn’t want to, but they loved seeing the kids tag them and chuckle with glee. The dolphins’ joy was contagious. Jayna and Ethan joined the game. It was great fun, the best experience she had in the Astral world. She was relieved to see that not all her experiences had to be sad. She knew of people who had gone swimming with dolphins on their vacation, and she had hoped to do the same one day, but to be able to communicate with them and play in an Astral ocean, this was an experience that was simply not possible on Earth.
For every heartache and fear she had endured in the last twenty-four hours there was an
equal joy here to make up for it. She vaguely remembered something she had read about the scales of Karma, things had a way of balancing each other out.
Jayna, you are it, one of the dolphins had come up from under the water and tagged her by picking her up onto her back so that she was straddled on top of the dolphin. The dolphin had picked up on her thoughts about heartache and despair and wanted to pull her back in the game.
Jayna was grateful. What loving, compassionate and playful creatures! She was having fun again.
She swam and tagged one of the children who shrieked with delight and swam after a dolphin and caught one by the tail and hung on while the dolphin swam around all the players in a huge circle then flipped the little boy into the air with a flick of his tail. The little boy did some impressive acrobatic moves before diving into the sea. Everyone here was as talented as a Cirque de Soleil acrobat.
Earth’s laws of nature did not apply here. People could breathe in water and fly in air. Everyone was having oodles of fun.
The game continued with more inventive ways of tagging. Jayna felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her, she was spinning like a top, then they were out of the water making a huge arc in the air before diving back into the ocean.
Suddenly, all the dolphins lined up and stood on their tails, standing upright in the water and chirping in dolphin voice.
It’s time to go home now, come back and play with us again.
“Okay, kids, let’s go.” a semiserious Uncle Ethan announced.
Wow, the dolphins were great babysitters. They know when to send the kids home.
Yes, they do, Ethan confirmed. They’ve never let me be late; not even once.
Ethan, you are so good with the kids. I am impressed.
Ethan took a bow. Thank you, Ma’am.
Is it time for me to go home, too? Jayna asked. Now, I really feel like a kid.
Ethan took her hand; they flew up and floated above the dolphins so that they were now looking down on them.
Good bye, Jayna, come again, the dolphins chorused.
You bet, Jayna said. Thank you for cheering me up. I had a rough twenty-four hours.
We know, the dolphins said; then they swam away, to entertain other children.
“I can’t believe I had so much fun,” Jayna said.
“I am glad you did. I didn’t want you thinking that being an Astral Warrior is all about fighting. It just so happened that you had a crash course in a lot of Astral matters as soon as you joined the Force.”
“My luck,” Jayna said.
“If there was a test, I’d say you passed with flying colors.”
Jayna remembered her first part-time job at the local Tim Horton’s coffee shop. Jayna had nothing but irate customers demanding quick service and it was only her first day on the job. She was almost in tears. Later, her manager had praised her that she had done well. She did not lose her cool; she was polite and eager to learn.
However, when she joined the Light Force, the irate customers were replaced by irate demons and a very evil woman.
“Stop thinking about her,” Ethan told her. “There is nothing that woman can do to hurt your father or anyone else. Her spell is completely broken and she will get what she deserves. You just trust Karma, and let it be.”
They were back at Jayna’s place, floating above her house. Ethan was still holding her hand. Her heart did a little hop. She was used to Ethan holding her hand when they were travelling since that was the best way to make sure they didn’t lose each other in the Astral highways.
Her hand in his felt completely right, then she was sad thinking about all the other girls he held hands with while training them in the Astral plane. Still, she didn’t want to break the connection, and she remembered a little too late that Ethan could hear her thoughts. Her face went beat red.
He gave her hand a squeeze. Ethan spoke out loud this time, “I didn’t train anyone else before you, nor had a girlfriend in this plane.”
Jayna tried hard to suppress a smile, but she couldn’t hide her thoughts from him. She was glad he didn’t have a girlfriend, at least in the Astral plane.
“I never had a boyfriend,” she confessed. “I’ve never had time for one.”
“Why? What kept you so busy?”
Jayna shrugged, “Training and schoolwork.”
“What do you train in?”
“Kung Fu.”
Ethan chuckled, “So, you can kick ass.”
Jayna blushed. “I don’t make a habit of it.”
“Things have a way of progressing really fast in this plane. I know we met only twenty-four hours ago, but this feels right and in this plane we put a lot of stock in how things feel. You and I will be spending a great deal of time together. It’s a huge plus if we like each other, don’t you think?” Ethan asked.
“I guess.”
Jayna was speechless. What could she say? She couldn’t look him in the eyes. All of this was happening too fast. If her heart beat any faster, she would have a cardiac arrest.
“I would like to take you out, Jayna. Would you go out with me?”
“You mean on a date?” Jayna asked awkwardly.
“Yes, on a date.”
Jayna thought she would swoon like a medieval maiden. She was feeling light headed, she swayed.
“Please, don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Pass out.”
“I am trying not to.” Jayna floated down to the backyard and sat on a patio chair. “Sorry.”
Ethan was heartbroken. “Is that a NO?”
“NO.” Jayna said rather sharply.
“I am sorry, I upset you.” Ethan apologized.
“No, no, no.”
“Hey, I get it; you don’t want to go out with me.”
“No, you don’t get it. I DO.”
“Then why did you say you were sorry?”
“I meant I was sorry I almost passed out, not that I don’t want to go out with you.”
“So your answer is YES, you will go out with me?”
“YES, I will go out with you.”
“Okay, that’s much better.”
Jayna looked at him from her chair, shook her head then started laughing. “I am sorry. I think I am having a crazy moment. My nerves are shot. I’ve had more excitement in one night than I had in a lifetime.”
Ethan nodded. “I know; things are always happening at lightning speed in this realm.”
He knelt beside Jayna, took her hand and kissed it. “Are you feeling better now?”
Jayna nodded. “I am sorry I confused you.”
“Okay, just stop being sorry.”
Jayna smiled. “Okay, no more being sorry.” She rose from her chair. “So, what do people do in the Astral plane when they go on a date?” Jayna asked.
“You’ll see.”
“You said that you are not allowed to tell me where you live in the physical world. Is that still the case,” Jayna asked.
“Yes, but we’ll be seeing each other every night. I don’t know why I was told to keep my physical location from you, but I’ve learned to trust the Masters’ completely,” Ethan explained.
“I suppose we don’t need to worry about something that is out of our control,” Jayna reasoned.
“That’s the right attitude. When they make a request, there is a good reason for it. They don’t do anything haphazardly.”
“Do I have any more time tonight or will I turn into a pumpkin if I don’t shift back?” Jayna asked.
Ethan laughed at Jayna’s question making his eyes sparkle. Jayna caught herself admiring those bedroom eyes, then gave her thoughts a mental shake before she would be embarrassed again. Instead, she cleared her head of any thoughts about “bedroom eyes” and smiled coyly.
Ethan caught the train of her thoughts and how she was able to stop them in mid track.
She learns quickly, he thought before answering her question.
“Of course, you are not going to turn into a pumpki
n. Five a.m. is a general guideline so that you aren’t caught in the Astral plane while your family is up and they are wondering why you are dead to the world. I have one more place to show you tonight. I think you will like it.”
“What can possibly top the dolphins?”
Ethan took her hand and in the next moment they were in a surreal forest. The colors were beautiful pastels, there was a waterfall running into a crystal clear lake, surrounded by mountains in the distance. Jayna could not believe her eyes, there were unicorns; some drinking from the crystal waters of the lake, others running and playing with each other.
Jayna was speechless and absolutely mesmerized by the beauty of the scene in front of her.
The grin on Ethan’s face said it all. This scene topped the dolphins playing in the water. These were mythical creatures that no one believed ever existed, yet here they were in all their glory.
“Oh. My. God.” Jayna said, “This is so fantastic. Thank you for bringing me here.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I guess it would be too much to hope that we could ride one?” Jayna asked.
“Not at all; we just ask nicely and see if there are any volunteers.”
Ethan directed his thoughts to the unicorns in the valley.
Would one of you fine unicorns give my girl a ride?
Jayna smiled when Ethan referred to her as “my girl”.
She directed her thoughts to the unicorns and said, Please!
Two unicorns came forward. One was a stallion, he was onyx black with a silver horn; the other was smaller in stature and pure white sporting a golden horn. They stopped in front of Jayna and Ethan.
We would oblige you, they said telepathically.
Ethan grabbed Jayna from her waist and lifted her up on the back of the white unicorn then he hopped on the stallion’s back.
The unicorns spoke again. Hold on to our manes.
They took off in a gallop. They were running neck to neck at a great speed, the wind was blowing through Jana’s hair. The unicorns knew the valley well, this was their home and they were more than happy to show their visitors their beautiful habitat.
Jayna’s copper hair gleamed under the sun and that is when Ethan realized that the sun was already up. The night had come an end. They should get going.
The unicorns heard his thoughts and came to a gentle stop. Ethan jumped off the back of the stallion and helped Jayna come down.
We thank you for an unforgettable ride, unicorns, Ethan said.
We will cherish this memory forever, Jayna said realizing a little too late that she was speaking on his behalf too. She knew she would cherish the memory forever, but would he?
Yes, I will, Ethan answered her putting her doubts to rest.
It was a pleasure showing you our world, said the unicorns, and trotted away.
Ethan took Jayna’s hand and they relocated to her room. It was almost six a.m.
“This had to be the most exciting first date ever,” Jayna exclaimed and jumped on Ethan wrapping her arms around his neck. She could afford to be bold as she was going back into her body and not see him again until tonight.
When Ethan hugged her back, their bodies were perfectly aligned; they fit like the two parts of a whole. No sooner they were enjoying the warmth of their hug when a jolt of energy hit them.
Something magical was still happening. Ethan kissed her and their auras ignited; shooting thousands of brilliant sparks into the ether. They came down like fireworks exploding in the sky and floating down as tiny, shooting stars.
When they broke the kiss Jayna looked at Ethan and said, “This can’t be real. I think I am dreaming.”
Ethan kissed her one more time, and the fireworks exploded yet again. This time he didn’t break the kiss and they lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Wow,” Jayna said breathless.
“I never had an experience like that before,” Ethan said. “On a scale of one to ten, that kiss was a twenty.”
They were still wrapped around each other. Neither of them wanted to let go and end this night. There weren’t enough superlatives in any language to describe this night’s experiences. It was a rollercoaster ride of unimaginable ups and downs: freefalling at a thousand feet per second, fighting three headed demons, breaking spells, saying good-bye to Mehmet, swimming with the dolphins and riding unicorns. Ending the night with electrifying kisses was simply the icing on the cake.
“It’s going to be a tough day. I am not looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to seeing you again tonight,” Jayna said.
“Keep safe and be brave. Remember, whatever you feel will be amplified; so stay calm. Ayshen needs you to keep her grounded. Don’t give in to despair.”
Jayna shook heard. “I won’t.”
Ethan watched Jayna slip into her physical form, and kissed her lightly on her lips.
Jayna woke up and braced herself for a long and arduous day. She wondered when her parents would get the call that there would be a funeral to attend.
