“I apologize, miss,” Donald said, as he turned around to face her. “I didn’t know I had company.”
“It is I who must apologize for startling you, Donald,” she replied with a bright smile.
“And who do I have the pleasure of talking to?” Donald asked.
“You can call me whatever you like, Donald,” she replied in the most seductive voice Donald had ever heard.
Her smile never left her face. Donald’s gaze zoomed in on her chest area and the more he focused, the more her already transparent outfit became even more transparent.
“You seemed to be so focused on something when I first spoke to you, Donald,” she spoke casually, as if she was unaware of what was happening. “May I ask what it was, please?”
“I just got here, miss,” Donald replied, using considerable effort to peel his face from her semi-exposed bosom to her face. “So, I was just appreciating my immediate surroundings.”
“And whatever you focus on eventually manifests,” she said. “Come! Smell the rose!”
The lady held the rose away from her chest and towards Donald.
Donald walked towards her and smelled the rose. It did smell sweet and beautiful, and he savored its scent. The lovely lady brought the rose to her nose and did the same. She kept the flower to her nose and looked at Donald. Her eyes invited Donald to join her, and he accepted the invitation. He inched closer towards her, and, as they both enjoyed the beautiful scent from the flower, tiny sparkles of light flowed from the rose and into the air, enveloping both Donald and the lady.
Donald was no longer focusing on the flower. His hand had instinctively slid around the lady’s waist and both her arms had slipped around his neck. She dropped the flower and as it hit the ground, in disintegrated into many sparkles of light and dispersed itself all over. There were no barriers between them as their lips locked in a sensual and passionate kiss; not even clothes. She offered herself wholly and unreservedly to him, and Donald accepted her.
But as the two bodies were about to merge to one, a tiny voice reminded Donald why he was here. Donald also remembered the lady’s own words:
“And whatever you focus on eventually manifests,” she had said.
Donald pulled his lips from hers and kissed her neck, working his way up to her left ear as she moaned and squirmed, wrapping her legs around his waist, inviting him to take her right there and then.
“I must go now, miss,” Donald whispered in her ear. “I have something very important I must attend to.”
When Donald opened his eyes, he was standing alone, and he had on his pair of shorts once again. He nodded and murmured a silent gratitude to the mystery lady with no name before continuing to walk deeper into the forest. He was certain she was some kind of test or indicator for him to become more aware of himself. As such, she was not an enemy, and neither was she a friend. She was who she was, as simple as that. He was grateful for her and to her. Who knows! Maybe she was just another part of him anyway!
“Help me! Help me!” a child called out from somewhere.
Donald wasted no time and immediately willed himself towards the sound of the child’s call for help. When he arrived at the scene, he found a young boy, no more than eight years old, whose right leg was stuck in solid ground. He was trying hard to wrench his leg free and it hurt terribly. But that was not why the boy cried for help. He was terrified because a gigantic eagle, with a wingspan of over twenty feet, kept swooping down towards him. Donald placed himself between the boy and the avian monster and readied himself for an attack.
Donald watched as the creature dove for him apparently ignoring the smaller meal that was the boy and swooped for the bigger meal that was Donald. Donald rolled away just in time as the eagle’s claws closed over the space where he once stood. The creature soared upwards again and gathered more momentum for another attack. It let out a terrifying shriek and dove for Donald again. Donald waited patiently until the creature was close and ran for a tree. He took three steps up the tree and propelled himself sideways with all the leg strength he could muster. His shoulder crashed in between the monster’s wings, and Donald caught the base of the bird’s left wing to prevent himself from rolling off the bird.
The gigantic monster shrieked with rage and soared upwards. Donald clung onto its back regardless of how much the bird turned and twisted around in midair. Donald was unsure of what to do next except hang onto this avian monstrosity for dear life. But he held no fear in his heart! He would protect the boy at all cost! As the eagle swooped towards the ground, Donald saw his moment. He would have to revise his strategy. When the eagle was close enough to the ground, Donald leaped from its back and rolled forward a few times to absorb the impact of his fall. He wished he had a weapon like a spear to attack and kill the creature with.
“Look! Over there!” the boy cried and pointed at something.
Donald followed the boy’s finger and saw a strong, metallic spear lying on the ground, ten feet from him. He wondered how he could have missed the weapon. Maybe he had been too focused on saving the little boy. He did a forward roll as the creature swooped towards him and picked up the spear. He fended off the creature. The monster rose in the air and swooped down once again for a final attack. It tore through the air like a majestic, aerodynamic work of Mother Nature as Donald aimed. He waited as he stilled his breath. He zoomed in on the creature and tightened his grip on the spear. But in the final moment, he brought his hand down and pinned the spear into the ground. He stared at the bird as it continued its downward kill-path towards them. But this time, he stared at the creature with compassion and loving kindness.
Gone was his aggression, fear, and instinct to survive. The creature, however dangerous and imposing it seemed to be, was no longer an enemy. It was in the forest, the forest which was part of him and therefore, this creature was there for a purpose. It was not an enemy, it was not a friend. The bird was representative of his pride, his aggressive spirit, the part of him that always sought to justify what was right and what was wrong. The young boy was his innocence and purity, trapped in his basal and carnal instincts.
Neither was good nor bad. Neither was friend nor foe. Both simply just were, and both complimented each other. And as this realization struck him even more, Donald felt more at peace and freer. He closed his eyes and waited for what was to happen next. When nothing happened, Donald opened his eyes. The beast and the boy were both gone as if they were never there before. He murmured his gratitude.
Donald felt a presence that was dangerously close to him, but he was not afraid. It was standing right behind him, and he could feel its hot breath on the back of his neck. Still, he made no move to turn.
“Why are you here, human?” asked the presence in the deepest voice Donald had ever heard.
“I don’t know,” Donald replied and turned around.
What he saw both shocked and startled him. He was staring straight into the eyes of the biggest lion he had ever seen. On its four legs, it stood at Donald’s height. Its face was so close to Donald’s that Donald could not see its entire body. Donald took a few steps back to appreciate the magnificence of the creature. He walked around the lion, and it let Donald touch its velvety skin. Donald could feel the lion’s strength, power, and majesty, both physically and beyond.
“Why are you here, human?” it asked again as it walked a few feet away from Donald.
“I honestly do not know, sir,” Donald replied.
“Obviously, you are seeking something, human,” the lion said. “You just have to be truthful about it and be true to yourself!”
“I am seeking something, indeed, sir,” Donald agreed. “I say I don’t know because, in fact, I am seeking myself. But I do not know what to expect or what to look for. I don’t remember anything at all.”
As Donald spoke, he saw an elderly gentleman walking a few feet away, carrying a bag that seemed to be a little too heavy for him. The gentleman was probably in his late seventies and was struggling with his heavy load. Wit
hout the slightest hesitation, Donald set off to help him.
“I find it very rude when someone walks out on me like that!” the lion beamed angrily.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I’ll be right back,” Donald said breaking into a jog. “I must help this gentleman!”
Donald jogged until he was close enough to the gentleman.
“Sir!” Donald called out.
But the gentleman did not respond. The gentleman kept walking on with his heavy load.
“Sir!” Donald called out again. “Please wait!”
The gentleman stopped and turned around to see Donald decelerating towards him.
“Would you like some help with your baggage?” Donald asked.
The gentleman looked closely at Donald.
“Thank you very much, young man,” the gentleman replied. “But how do you propose to lend me a hand with my baggage when you have baggage of your own?”
Before Donald could even begin to process the gentleman’s words, he felt a heavy burden press upon his shoulders and his arms reached up to support whatever was weighing him down. It felt like he was trying to steady a house on his shoulders and his legs were wobbling. Donald struggled with all his might, and before long he could tell he was losing the fight. He was about to be crushed by this weight-burden.
“This is too heavy for me to bear!” Donald exclaimed.
“Then why bear it?” asked the elderly gentleman.
The elderly gentleman dropped his own baggage.
Donald’s moment of realization struck him like a bolt of lightning, and he dropped his own burden. He felt a complete sense of letting go and the more he let go, the more peaceful and complete he felt. He closed his eyes and savored the feeling. When Donald opened his eyes, the scene had changed. He was still in the forest, but this time around, the elderly gentleman was perched on a marble, throne-like seat, and in his right hand, he held a marble sphere with intersecting circular markings all over it. He no longer looked frail and weak. He reeked of strength, power and majesty. As Donald realized what this elderly gentleman symbolized, the elderly gentleman morphed into the gigantic lion Donald had just met, and the marble sphere was beneath its front right paw. The throne-like seat morphed into what looked like an altar.
“What do you want, human?” the lion asked.
“To remember!” Donald replied.
“What do you want to remember?” the lion asked.
“I want to remember who I am!” Donald replied.
“The one who speaks the truth will also see the truth!” the lion said. “Do you understand me, human?”
“I mean no disrespect, sir,” Donald said. “But I am not human!”
The lion stared at Donald for a few seconds and nodded.
“Come hither!” it ordered.
Donald approached the altar.
“This platform is symbolic of your impending death and rebirth into a new life. You have a strong yearning, a strong desire, and a strong ache deep inside of you. It is one that surpasses that of an angel. It is an archangel’s ache. On this platform, you will die a fallen angel, and on this same platform, you will rise as an archangel, the first of its kind.”
As the lion spoke, a pair of green, glassy, serpentine eyes of light formed above Donald’s head. Then, the rest of the serpent coalesced as a body of light and wrapped itself three-and-a-half times around Donald. The lion raised its right paw from the marble sphere and placed it on Donald’s forehead, in between Donald’s eyes, as Donald knelt down.
“And now, behold the truth of which you speak!” the lion said. “The truth which you seek!”
With these words, the lion gave the loudest roar Donald had ever heard. The entire forest resonated to the roar. The very earth beneath Donald’s feet trembled and affirmed. Donald heard the roar and heard his answer. He heard the roar and remembered. He heard the roar and heard the truth he sought. He heard the roar as it tore through the night of his nightmares and ushered him into the brightness of a new day.
Donald opened his eyes and saw a hand retreat and hang freely. The hand had a golden bracelet on it. He instinctively looked at the other hand and saw it also had a golden bracelet. His gaze traced the rest of the body upwards. He saw the wings spread from the archangel’s shoulder blades. He saw the flaming eyes and the flaming eyes stared straight back at him. Donald stared into the face of himself. He rose slowly to his feet until he was face to face with himself. His new self reached around and took hold of the marble sphere in his right hand. He held it in front of Donald and Donald placed his right hand on it as well.
“Who are you?” his new self asked.
“I am Eliel!” Eliel replied. “I am The One!”
The brightest light Eliel had ever seen beamed from the sphere and enveloped both of them. As it spread to cover the entire forest in a flash, the two Eliels merged into one. Once upon a moment, Eliel was a lowly angel. Once upon a moment, this lowly angel fell to a lower dimension, out of his own volition. Once upon a time, he lived amongst humans and was a part of them, until he felt the archangel’s ache. Once upon a time, he died. But in his death to the old self, he was born into a new self as the first of his kind; the first creature from the Realm of Celestia to experience an archangel’s ache.
***
Newman was still awake when he heard the truck pull up the driveway. He was too lost in his thoughts to realize the hours had melted away so quickly. As such, when he heard the engine still running after several minutes, he was concerned that something was amiss. It was very unlike Donald to leave the engine running like that.
“No, no, no!” Newman exclaimed and bolted upright from the bed. “No, no, no! Please, God! No!”
His fear for the worst he could never imagine for Donald took a life of its own. Newman’s adrenaline kicked in, and he sprang from his bed and ran down the stairs faster than he ever had in the past three decades of owning the house, fearing the worst for Donald. Maybe, at last, those strange creatures in the videos Patrick had showed him had finally gotten to Donald and killed him. He yanked the front door open and saw Donald lying motionless on the ground near the truck, with the driver side door open. Newman dropped to his knees, in the glare of the truck’s headlights, with his heart rent in twain from instant grief at the thought of his worst nightmare finally coming to pass.
Silent tears of pain and sorrow graced Newman’s cheeks. He just knelt there, motionless and not knowing how to proceed. A thousand and one thoughts raced through his mind; thoughts of regret at not telling Donald much sooner who Donald really was, thoughts of guilt about being too selfish and getting to attached to Donald, because he had been too ashamed to admit that he was a very lonely man. Newman buried his face in his hands and let out a whimper of pain. But suddenly, the engine died, and the headlights of the truck went out. Peering through the open spaces between his fingers, he could not believe what he was witnessing. His lower jaw dropped as if it had a separate mind of its own and his sobbing stopped immediately. His sudden pain and grief were replaced by both unrivaled elation and awe.
“DEAR GOD!” Newman exclaimed.
***
Patrick and Sara lay on the bed, basking in the moment of shared ecstasies and catching their breaths in preparation for another bout of erotic escapades. Suddenly, Sara sat up ramrod stiff on the bed and was extremely agitated, restless and excited at the same time. She reached for her clothes and rushed to get dressed. Patrick stared at her in confusion, wondering what was going on. She ignored putting on her shoes as she dashed for the door.
“Something big is about to happen!” Sara exclaimed as she reached for her keys and dropped them back on the table by the door, realizing she certainly would not need them. “I can feel it in my being!”
“Maybe it’s Donald!” Patrick replied, realizing what this could mean.
He zipped around the room and had his clothes on before Sara could take a step away from the door.
“Can you teleport us-” he started saying.
But Sara had already teleported them close to Newman’s house.
“-to… Never mind!” Patrick finished his sentence
Patrick sparked the ethers and cloaked both Sara and himself in invisibility. The pair arrived just in time to witness a most amazing and beautiful unfolding of a once-in-a-fantasy phenomenon. Donald’s body was on the ground, unmoving and seemingly lifeless. The headlights and tail lights of the truck were on, and the engine was still running. Suddenly, the truck’s engine died, and the lights went out. Donald’s body was engulfed in a bright, golden glow before the light around his body exploded in a brightness that made the brightness of the midday sun look like pitch-blackness.
When the brightness diminished, there was no longer a lifeless body on the ground. Instead, a magnificent creature of bright, golden light stood in its place. It had two golden and glowing bracelets, and its wings were ablaze with a golden, heatless flame. Archangel Eliel flapped his wings thrice and walked up to the porch, where Newman was still on his knees, mouth still open wide and more awestruck than on the night he had seen Eliel for the first time in his backyard.
“It’s okay,” Eliel said telepathically to Sara and Patrick. “You two can stop gawking and join us now!”
Patrick and Sara immediately teleported themselves and joined Eliel and Newman. Eliel helped Newman to his feet. Newman was still too awestruck to do or say anything. To make matters worse, he had just seen Patrick and Sara suddenly appear in front of him out of nowhere. His rational mind gave up and accepted the craziness he was witnessing. Patrick and Newman knew Eliel was an angel, but they never imagined him like this. Paintings and pictures of angels did so much injustice to what stood in front of them. Sara also savored the moment. She knew Donald, now Eliel was special and unique. But to discover that he was an ARCHANGEL… Wow! Eliel smiled at them and flames spewed from his eyes and mouth.
“Hello, my friends!” Eliel said. “I know you have some questions and I assure you that I will answer them in due time. Unfortunately, I must return to my home immediately, Celestia, before all Hell breaks loose; and I mean that in a very literal sense. I’ll explain later. But just to give you a brief introduction, my name is Eliel, and I am, or was, a fallen angel. Now I have awoken as the highest-ranking archangel, the first of my kind!
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