“As much as I would love to be yours and have you as mine, I just can’t, Michael,” Uriel spoke the truth they both had felt during their intense moment of passion. “My heart belongs to another, and I can only hope he will feel the same.”
Uriel stood up as her archangel flames slowly died out.
“I’m very sorry, Michael!” Uriel said and teleported back to her domain, leaving a very disappointed Michael alone in his domain.
CHAPTER TWENTY
I MUST BE DREAMING
DONALD AWOKE TO an unfamiliar feeling of the sun’s heat burning his skin and a breeze cooling him off at the same time. He lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. He then propped himself on his elbows after his eyes had adjusted to the brightness of the afternoon sun. The ground beneath him felt soft, and he scooped a handful of it. Sand! He looked around. This was not this bedroom! To his left was a forest. In front and behind him was an endless beach with white sands and smooth pebbles. To his right was a large body of shiny, greenish-blue water that stretched as far as the eyes could see. He was on a beach! A freaking beach! Was he on an island? He was not sure. He had no idea how he got here. But this was not how he had envisioned his first trip to the beach; that is, as far as he could remember.
Donald stood up and wiped off the sand that clung to his body. He was shirtless, barefoot, and wore a pair of flowery shorts. He took a few careful steps on the sand, expecting the heat from the hot sands to singe through the soles of his feet. Nothing happened. Donald rubbed his chin as his mind pored over the irrationality of the situation. Finally, he shrugged and let it go. He was alone in an unfamiliar but friendly-feeling territory. He scanned the area for signs of any form of life other than the trees in the forest. But there was nothing. And all was quiet except for the rhythm of the waves caressing the shoreline and the winds whistling through the trees. Donald had to admit, as eerie as the situation appeared to be, the scenery was breathtaking. It was beautiful, peaceful and perfect. He closed his eyes and relished the moment. He filled his lungs with as much clean and fresh air as possible, held it in his lungs and then slowly exhaled. Felt great!
Donald walked towards the body of water. As he moved from dry to wet sands, he felt the change in temperature. He stopped and waited. A round of waves washed up the shore but not up to where he stood. Donald smiled and watched as the waves retreated and a second round surged forward. This time, the waves got to his feet and washed over his toes and ankles. He smiled as he noticed that the waves had left him a small present. It was a broken shell of a crustacean, no larger than his big toenail.
Donald bent down and picked up the broken crustacean shell. He wiped the sand from it and realized that he could not get all the sand away from it. So, he took a knee and waited for another round of waves to make it to his position. When the waves washed over his toes and ankles, he quickly rinsed the broken shell in it. As the waves retreated, he noticed that the broken shell harbored a small hermit crab. Donald grinned and marveled at how this was possible. One moment he held an empty shell. The next moment, the shell contained a little creature in it.
“You should keep it,” a voice called from behind.
Donald whipped around to face his unexpected companion. Standing at about twenty feet from him was a boy with dreadlocks, who could have been no more than nine years old. The young boy cradled a soccer ball in his right arm and was also shirtless and barefoot. His shorts were a little too big for him, and they played in the wind.
“You should keep it,” the little boy repeated.
“Why should I?” Donald asked.
“Because you found it, silly,” the little boy replied and grinned. “You found it, so it’s yours! Keep it!”
“Well, young fella, just ‘cause you find something don’t mean you gotta keep it, ya know?” Donald explained. “Besides, it belongs in the sea. It’s a sea creature. So, I’ll put it back there.”
“If it was me, I’d keep it,” said the little boy as he shrugged.
“And what would you have done with it?” Donald asked, still cradling the hermit crab.
“I don’t know; maybe raise it, feed it and take care of it?” the little boy replied, shrugged and transferred his ball to his left arm.
“That is very thoughtful of you,” Donald replied as he turned around and walked further into the water. “I’d do the same, but I prefer to let the water take care of its own.”
He waited for the little boy to respond. But the little boy said nothing.
“Sometimes, no matter how good our intentions, we just gotta learn to let go, my little friend!” Donald added.
The water was now up to Donald’s knees. He gently lowered the hermit crab in the water, and it disappeared therein.
“Have a great life,” Donald said softly.
Donald turned around and headed towards dry land. The boy watched emotionlessly. When Donald was ten feet away from him, the little boy started tossing his ball in the air and catching it repeatedly with both hands.
“Would you like to play?” he asked Donald.
“I’d love to, but I don’t know how to play,” Donald replied.
“I can teach you,” the little boy replied with a broad grin on his face. “It’s really easy.”
He let the ball drop on the sand in front of him and placed his right foot on the ball.
“Thank you, my friend,” Donald replied and stretched. “Would you like to tell me your name, before you teach me how to play?”
“I go by many names, Donald,” the little boy replied.
Donald was shocked by the little boy’s response.
“How do you know my name?” Donald asked.
“How I know your name is not important right now,” the little boy replied and juggled the ball with his right foot. “But to answer your initial question, you can call me AK.”
AK then kicked the ball a short distance away and chased it. When he caught up with it, he raised it in the air with his right foot, juggled it three times in the air with his head, and brought it to his chest before letting it rest on the sand. He was adept in his moves and Donald was impressed.
“Okay, AK,” he said with resignation. “I definitely can’t do what you just did. Perhaps we could start off with something less complicated?”
“Sure!” AK replied. “Would you like to start with remembering your name, maybe?” AK asked and continued to juggle the ball expertly.
“My name is Donald, AK.,” Donald reminded him kindly.
“Just as mine is AK,” AK replied.
AK kicked the ball towards Donald. Donald caught the soccer ball with his hands. It burned his hands and he dropped it on the sands.
“No hands!” AK admonished. “Any other part of your body would work; just no hands. Okay?” AK raised a thumb in the air.
“Okay,” Donald replied, shaking his hands. “Got it. No hands.”
“Good, now kick the ball towards me!” AK commanded.
Donald took a step backward and moved to kick the ball. But just as he was about to kick, he had a different idea. He raised the ball in the air with his right foot and let it bounce on his chest. But instead of letting it hit the sand, he juggled it with his right knee and then his left knee. He repeated the sequence three more times, and on the fourth try, he kneed the ball with a little more force so that it went higher into the air.
Then Donald juggled the ball three times with his head and let it fall towards the ground. But just when it was about to hit the ground, he used his inner right foot and tapped the ball back into the air. He did this twice and switched to the outer part of his left foot. He juggled the ball three times and, on the fourth time, he kicked the ball towards AK. AK absorbed the momentum and speed of the ball on his chest, juggled it once with each knee before catching it in his right foot in midair. He brought down the ball gently to the ground, looked up at Donald and smiled. Donald was surprised at what he had just done.<
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“And who says you cannot do what I just did?” AK asked.
“How did I do that?” Donald asked.
“Again, you ask the wrong question,” AK replied flatly.
“Where are we?” Donald asked, looking around.
“We are wherever you want us to be,” AK replied.
“I don’t understand!” Donald replied as his frustration mounted.
“Because you’re trying too hard,” AK replied. “And you’re asking the wrong question.”
“So, what is the right question, AK, if that is even your name?” Donald rubbed his temples.
The skies suddenly darkened as if it were about to unleash a storm.
“Ah! We’re making progress,” AK said ignoring Donald’s questions.
Now Donald was borderline angry.
“Just tell me your name!” Donald ordered, and the skies grew even darker, and the winds howled even more ferociously.
“Wrong question,” AK replied with all the calm in the world.
Donald gripped his temples. His head felt like it was about to implode and all around him, there were several flashes of lightning and claps of thunder. The waves rose to more than thirty feet in the air, and with each passing second, Donald felt like he was about to lose his mind. He collapsed to the ground and screamed into the raging storm. AK slowly walked towards Donald and dropped to one knee next to him. He bent over and whispered softly in Donald’s ear.
“What do you want, Donald?” he asked.
“I don’t know!” Donald replied.
“I’ll ask you again. What do you want?” AK asked.
Donald paused for a moment and felt the pain in his head subside. At the same time, the storm seemed to ease up a little as well, with fewer flashes of lightning, less frequent claps of thunder and smaller waves. He sat up on the sand and looked around. He calmed himself even more and the first rays of light sliced through the blanket of darkness in the sky. Donald then understood that this scene, this experience, was linked to him. He let go completely, and a sunny beach with calm waters and a cool breeze returned.
“I think I’m startin’ to understand what’s goin’ on here,” Donald said.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” AK reminded him.
“I know, my little friend,” Donald replied.
Donald stared blankly into the horizon for a brief moment. He said nothing, thought of nothing, and focused on nothing. Suddenly, there was absolute silence and stillness. There was absolutely no movement on the water, and the wind stopped blowing. It was like someone hit the “PAUSE” button on the remote control to this scenery. Donald turned around and faced the trees. They, too, remained motionless. Everything was perfectly still except for AK who was playing with the soccer ball. Donald looked up into the sky and even though it was a bright as midday, he noticed there was no sun for the first time. The light was coming from everywhere and nowhere. He nodded as he gained more understanding of the situation.
“I know I didn’t answer your question, my little friend,” Donald spoke calmly. “I’ll answer your question when you answer mine.”
“Why do you keep calling me your ‘little friend’ and not AK?” AK asked.
“Why call you a name that ain’t yours?” Donald retorted.
“Because that’s the name I gave you!” AK spat. “And I want you to use that name! It’s MY name, and I like it!”
AK dropped his ball and folded his arms.
“Aren’t you a pouty little fella!” Donald said and walked towards AK.
“Stay away from me!” AK ordered and picked up his ball. “And I won’t share my ball with you anymore! You’re mean!”
AK raised his nose in the air and looked away.
“’Cause I’m now in control?” Donald asked calmly.
“Ha! You wish you were in control,” AK snickered.
“I am, my little friend. And that’s why you’re so pouty,” Donald replied. “But you don’t have to be like that. I can be your friend,” he added with a smile.
“No!” AK replied and raised his nose further in the air.
Donald thought AK’s gesture was cute and chuckled.
“Oh you betcha,” Donald insisted. “You see, you can be my little friend, and I can be your big friend, no?”
“Well,” AK hesitated. “How come you get to be the big one, and I get to be the little one? Why can’t I be the big one?”
“You can be the big one if you wanna,” Donald offered. “But you will have to stop being pouty before you can be the big one.”
Donald dropped to a knee behind AK. AK ruminated on Donald’s words for a few seconds.
“And I think it’s more fun when more people play soccer together instead of you playing alone,” Donald added. “Won’t you agree?”
“I guess,” AK conceded.
“So, what d’ya say, pal? Let’s kick some ball together. Cool with that?” Donald offered with a grin.
“Yeah, I suppose we could,” AK agreed.
AK turned around to face Donald.
Donald picked up the ball, juggled it a few times in the air with his feet and passed it over to AK, who passed it back to Donald with a head move. They played for a while until AK returned to the subject matter.
“You still didn’t answer my question,” AK said, passing the ball to Donald.
“And I said I’ll answer your question when you answer mine,” Donald reminded AK.
He kicked the ball back to AK.
“And what question would that be?” AK asked, passing the ball to Donald once again.
“Well,” Donald started as he placed his foot on top of the ball, “I know this place is tied to me somehow. And that all of this-” he waved his hand in the air “- isn’t real. The forest is uncharted territory, and I’m guessing I gotta go there at some point.”
“And what does that have to do with your question?” AK asked with a look of exasperation on his face.
“I’m getting to that shortly,” Donald replied. “And when I stilled my mind, everything became still as well. That is, everything except for you, my friend. Now why’s that, I wonder?”
“Is that your question?” AK asked.
“No, it ain’t. But at the same time, I can’t help but notice the significance of this,” Donald replied.
Donald raised the ball in the air with his foot. When the ball was half way through its downward path, Donald kicked it towards AK. AK slowed the ball to a stop on his chest and let it roll to the ground. AK placed his foot on the ball and placed his arms akimbo.
“I’m losing my patience, my friend,” AK said in Donald’s voice.
AK immediately realized what he had just done and cupped his mouth with both his hands.
“Do I gotta explain myself any further?” Donald asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” AK lied.
“No more beating around the bush!” Donald’s tone of voice was sterner. “You didn’t freeze with the rest of this scene for the simple fact that you and I are connected. You’re me, and I am you! That’s why I can play soccer so well even though I never played that game in my life. That’s why I stopped calling you AK because that is not your name. Yes, AK is not my name. In here, whatever ‘here’ is, I can do whatever you can do. You are the part of me that eludes me, the part of me that I have to remember. And now, I will ask you the question I was supposed to ask you from the very beginning. Are you ready?”
“Go on,” AK replied with a hint of pride in his voice.
“Who am I?” Donald asked.
AK stared at Donald for a few moments. He nodded slowly. The ball disappeared from underneath his foot, and he took a step towards Donald.
“That is the question I’ve been hoping to hear from you for the longest time now,” AK said to Donald in Donald’s voice. “I am the part of your subconscious you can access. I can only point you in the direction of what you’re looking for, but you will have to do the di
gging for yourself. I am like the hand that points to the moon, but I am not the moon. Do you understand what I’m saying?” AK asked.
“I do,” Donald replied.
“Good. Do you see that?” AK asked pointing at the forest.
“Yes, I do,” Donald replied.
“Therein lies the answer to your question,” AK replied, and to Donald’s surprise, AK looked like an eighteen-year-old version of Donald, only this time, his hair was braided in corn rows.
“Thank you, my friend,” Donald said.
He turned around and started walking towards the forest.
“Be careful out there, friend,” eighteen-year-old Donald said in Donald’s voice. “Let’s just say, it’s a jungle out there.”
“You’ll be my guardian angel, won’t you?” Donald joked.
But suddenly, there was a blinding flash, and Donald leaped from his bed in his room. He hit the night stand, and the mug and plate crashed on the ground, breaking into multiple pieces. He was panting heavily and massaged his temples. His head was pounding to the beat of an African ceremonial drum. Donald glanced at the broken pieces of the mug and plate on the floor and cursed audibly. What a dream! Or was it a dream? Either way, he was either losing his mind or living in denial of something that was too insane to be real, and even more insane to be true. He felt claustrophobic and needed some air, desperately. Quickly, he picked up as many of the broken pieces from the floor as he could, grabbed his wallet and keys and headed downstairs. He dumped the broken pieces in the trash can, grabbed a jacket from the chair and dashed out of the house. He definitely could use a drink and maybe someone to talk to. As he shifted the gears to the truck in reverse, he prayed that Sara could spare a few moments of her time away from the bar.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
STAGE SETUP
JAMAEL WAS JUST another archangel. Scratch that! Jamael was not just another archangel. He was the guardian of the Spawn Sanctuary. The Great Rebellion had left a large scar on Celestia and cycles later, that scar was far from disappearing. But Jamael was grateful he sided with Michael during the rebellion. Celestia knows he certainly did not envy his fallen brethren. Hell Realm was a cesspool of a realm! He had never personally visited the realm, nor did he even intend to. The mere thought of the realm made him feel like his essence had just been badly tainted. He flapped his wings twice and returned to focusing on his task.
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