by Lucia Ashta
Once the doctor disconnected Lena from all machinery, he checked her vital signs again to ensure she was stable. Then he examined Paolo, who felt enormous relief when the doctor removed the IV drip from his arm. Paolo bent his arm back and forth appreciating the regained freedom of movement.
The doctor held Paolo’s gaze. “I think it’s almost certain that there was divine intervention of some sort in the accident. Your survival and recovery are miraculous, both yours and Lena’s. Anyone else would be dead.”
Paolo knew the doctor was right. He flashed back to just before the accident when he’d called out to Archangel Michael to help them. He knew now that Archangel Michael had heard his prayer and given them immediate aid. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Archangel Michael. Thank you for saving my life and that of my beloved.
Chapter 9
Asara and Anak refreshed themselves in the stream, grateful for the water’s cleansing power. It was a wonderful way to start that day’s journey, first connected so powerfully to each other and then to the waters of the land. They filled their depleted canteens with fresh water, gathered their blankets, and repacked their bags. They’d decided to eat while they walked to get a start on the second day of their trek, and they ate little to conserve their food stores.
Bags packed with everything ready to go, the twins sat to connect with Spirit. They didn’t hurry this part of their day. If they ignored this time to receive guidance, they might waste an entire day on a path that wasn’t for them. Again, Asara and Anak received their guidance and opened their eyes at the same time. They rose from the ground, stretched, and breathed in deeply. They greeted the sun and thanked the great fireball for providing continued life for all creatures on earth. Then they picked up their bags, strapped them and their swords to their bodies, and took off walking toward the east.
The twins had only been walking for a short while when they encountered people. They were the first they’d seen since they left the temple. Although they were still far away, Asara and Anak could make out a mother walking with her three daughters. The mother carried a large water drum balanced on her head. It was empty, and the woman walked comfortably without the burden she would carry on the way back from the stream. The girls carried small water jugs in their hands, hugged to their chests. They were cheerful and eager on this warm and breezy day.
The girls ran ahead of their mother laughing as they played. The smallest of the girls saw Asara and Anak but didn’t shy away from them. She ran to them and looked up at the twins with a broad smile. Despite her height, it was clear she was a big person in a little body. She had bouncy, light brown, curly hair and cheeks that were rosy from running. Anak spoke to the girl in greeting, but she didn’t understand his language, nor did she seem to care. Communication with words was unnecessary when children of Creator frolicked.
The girl’s two older sisters ran up to her. The children were all very close in age and each was a reflection of the other, with her bouncy curls, pink cheeks, and easy smile. Finally, the mother caught up with her children. She was a mature version of her daughters, with long, full curls curving around a rosy face. The woman spoke in greeting to Asara and Anak in an unfamiliar tongue. The twins replied in their own language, and no one was concerned by the lack of verbal understanding. The woman smiled the same brilliant smile as her daughters.
There was a sense of familiarity about this woman and her children that stemmed from recognition of souls from a same source; they were all children of Creator. The woman bowed her head to the twins, and Asara and Anak returned the gesture of respect and acknowledgement. Then the twins continued walking while the mother led her children to the stream. The youngest girl broke free of the gaggle to run back and give Asara and Anak leg hugs. Then she skipped back to her family.
The twins walked east with an extra bounce in their step. Children were incredible medicine.
Chapter 10
Asara and Anak reached the neighboring village, but couldn’t believe what they found there. They stopped in their tracks. It was a disconcerting sight given the joy they’d felt from the woman with her daughters. Could the mother and children have come from this village? The family’s demeanor seemed incongruous given the scene that spread out before the twins.
They encountered devastation every place they looked. Everywhere, there were signs of bloodshed. There were bloodstains that appeared to be only days old on the dirt streets. Silence pervaded the scene. The few people that were outside of their houses wore expressions of shock, disbelief, and sadness.
Asara and Anak walked through the town slowly, showing respect for the people’s suffering. The villagers seemed unconcerned with the twins, despite the fact that outsiders had recently attacked them. Anak even received a smile from a man whose wounds were being tended. The man was of a grandfather’s age, but he still sat up straight in his chair while a woman hovered over him, applying a healing ointment before bandaging a wound. His smile was modest but genuine. Even in his grief, joy reached the old man’s eyes.
The twins saw the work of darkness at every turn in the ravaged village. They continued to traverse the town, ignoring their instincts to help the inhabitants by keeping in mind the ultimate goal of their journey. But when they reached the outskirts of town, they could no longer bypass the villagers’ needs.
They encountered two young men kneeling at the edge of a pit. The men held shovels and had tear-streaked faces smudged with dirt. Anak walked up behind one man and put a hand on his shoulder. Asara did the same with the other. The men didn’t turn around, instead they sank back into the twins.
The cause of the men’s torment was obvious. They knelt at the edge of a pit filled with the bodies of their people. The corpses had been wrapped in unbleached linen cloths in preparation for burial and then laid next to each other, one after another in rows. Flower petals and fresh herbs had been thrown over the bodies. Ceremony had already been performed, and the two men were there to finish the job of burying them for their final rest. Asara’s heart ached for these peaceful people, and she wanted to help them in some way before moving on.
Asara bent down and gave the man that leaned against her a kiss on the crown of his head, holding with all of her heart the intention that this man find peace. The man sobbed as he felt her kiss. Asara intended that the man’s sorrow leave him as swiftly and as gracefully as the sudden liftoff of a bird soaring into the sky. She pictured this happening in her mind. The imagination was a powerful tool of manifestation. What Asara visualized, she could often create.
Asara couldn’t see the man’s face, but his shoulders stopped shaking from his cries. Slowly, a sense of calm, though a tenuous one, replaced the bottomless agony that he had felt. In its stead, there was a new sense of sad acceptance.
Anak was energetically supporting the man that leaned against him in a similar manner. This man’s sobbing also ceased. The tools for working the dirt lay on the ground where the men had dropped them as they found solace in the strangers. Anak picked up one of the shovels, and Asara followed his lead. The twins began to fill the pit with the loose earth piled on either side of the hole.
They continued to heap dirt on the bodies as Anak led them in prayer. It was a prayer Kaanra had taught the twins that honored Creator and the gift of life on earth. The prayer also respected the cycle of life and gave gratitude for the perfect workings of creation. The twins chanted this prayer repeatedly while they worked to fill the hole in the earth. The earth received the dead.
The two men eventually backed away from the edge of the pit. They moved back just enough to spare themselves the image of the dead that were undoubtedly familiar to them. The men had likely been charged with burying friends and family. Away from the rim of the pit and spared the gruesome view, the men placed their foreheads against the ground. They spread their hands out beyond their heads, against the earth, and began to chant their own prayer that honored the dead and Mother Earth for receiving them.
Finally the job was fin
ished as Anak threw in the last shovelfuls of dirt. Asara made an offering of water from the stream to the earth for giving respite to the lifeless bodies. Then the twins helped the men rise from the ground. The men had been looking down in fervent prayer and hadn’t noticed that the dreaded task was finished. The twins doubled back and returned to the heart of the village accompanying the men. Neither Asara nor Anak could abandon them yet.
As the twins walked back through the streets, they gestured to those people they passed to join them. With great comprehension, every person gathered in the communal assembly place of their town. They sat on the ground in a circle with their hands on their laps or folded in front of their hearts. The villagers sensed that Asara and Anak were special, and they prepared to receive the help the twins would offer them.
The golden children sat next to each other and reached out to hold hands. They both offered their other hand to the person beside them. The people formed a continuous circle of energy, by following the twins’ lead and extending their hands out to their neighbors.
Since Asara and Anak didn’t speak the villagers’ language, they didn’t use words. Instead, they began chanting sounds that held powerful vibrations of healing and connection to Creator. The chanting gradually got louder as everyone imitated the sounds. The voices became stronger and more courageous as the villagers relaxed into the comfort of community. As they continued to chant these powerful sounds, the horrors that had been inflicted on them were released out to the universe with the prayer that they ultimately be transformed into the energy of light.
The people began to remember what they already knew somewhere within themselves: that the only thing that mattered in the earthly world was their connection to Creator, the supreme source. They remembered that magic lived within that connection. They found strength in knowing that even death couldn’t crush or oppress the human soul because death returned the soul to Creator. The human soul reverted to its perfect form so the cycle could begin anew. As the villagers focused on that knowing, they experienced less suffering.
The chanting continued. It was powerful and transformative with so many voices joined in united prayer. Another shift took place. The burden of heavy emotions began lifting, and the people became ready to move on with their lives without attachment to the dark episode that was now in the past. They wouldn’t allow these treacherous memories to fester within their hearts, causing continual damage.
Asara and Anak both felt the shift and simultaneously began to send light out from their beings. He sent the light out circling from his left; she sent the light out toward the right. The twins circulated the light, willing it to continue circling while it built in intensity.
The light spun in both directions, traveling around the circle of chanting villagers. It filled them with love and surrender. As it continued to spin through the chain of joined hands, a communal exhale released the remnants of sorrow. On that out breath, the twins opened their eyes to see the light energy moving around the circle. It was a golden light.
Asara looked down at her hand, intertwined with Anak’s. That bond reminded her that they were the golden twins of prophecy. It was time for them to move on to where they were needed. The battle ahead of them was pressing.
Chapter 11
One by one, the villagers opened their eyes. It was evident they could see the golden light flowing around the circle. Their eyes lit up as soon as they opened them.
The twins’ work was complete. Anak pressed Asara’s hand signaling that he, too, felt it was time to go. The twins squeezed the hand of the person next to them, and the action was repeated around the circle. It was an assurance of comfort and human connection. Everyone knew that a great healing had taken place.
Asara and Anak got to their feet. They took care to be silent and respectful of the space that the others remained in. Many in the circle noticed the twins rising to leave, but closed their eyes again, choosing to remain in that peaceful state within themselves. It was powerful to sit in that circle and hold these beliefs with everyone else.
The twins looked at the villagers one last time. It made them happy to see how much more peaceful everyone looked, and they felt at ease leaving the village now that they’d been able to help. Anak clasped Asara’s hand, and they commenced the long walk ahead of them.
The twins had reached the burial mound again when an adolescent boy caught up with them. He handed them a basket of exquisite artisanship. The design work of the basket was more beautiful than any Asara had ever seen before. Brightly colored reeds were woven in intricate patterns. An assortment of breads, fruits, nuts, and honey adorned the basket. These items were very valuable to the villagers, and the twins expressed their deep gratitude with a bow. The boy bowed in turn with a timid grin and returned to the assembly space to join the others.
While instinctively the twins didn’t want to take anything that might serve these people, they knew that it was important to accept gifts. Under universal law, there must be a balance of energy. The twins had offered the villagers a service, and the people repaid them with this generous and practical gift of food and artistry.
The need for a balance of energy was equally relevant to all the workings of nature. Asara and Anak had learned early on in the temple that, if they took something from Mother Earth, they must offer something in return. This offering could be almost anything because what was most important was that it convey gratitude and appreciation. Gratitude carried a powerful vibration. Asara had many times given a strand of her hair when she had nothing else. She gave a piece of herself in exchange for a piece of the earth.
Asara and Anak understood the importance of equilibrium in all areas of life. Just as there must be a balance of light and dark in the world for harmony to reign, there too must be a balance and exchange in all spheres of being. The villagers didn’t need to offer them anything material; gratitude would have been a sufficient energetic exchange. Still, the twins accepted the basket because it was also important to receive what was willfully given. By accepting the basket of food, the twins honored the way in which the villagers chose to show their appreciation.
The twins trusted Creator to provide for their physical needs on this spiritual journey they embarked on. They were grateful to Creator for replenishing them through the chain of divine provision. Asara and Anak left the torn but mended village behind. They began eating the food the villagers gifted them, realizing at once they were ravenous.
Chapter 12
The twins had only walked for a couple of hours when severe pain struck Asara. An intense burning sensation crawled over her. It felt as if something were trying to burrow inside her through her skin. She couldn’t move. She could barely breathe. She clutched at her skin and gasped for air.
Anak was frantic with concern but didn’t know what he could do to help her.
Suddenly, Anak fell over in the same agony. Just as with Asara, the pain came without warning. Anak clutched at his skin in a vain attempt to alleviate the burning sensation that possessed him. The pain overwhelmed the twins so that they couldn’t help each other. They couldn’t even help themselves. Asara’s skin felt like it was beginning to peel away from the bone, as if something were pulling on every piece of her flesh, desperately trying to crawl within her.
Asara struggled desperately for a moment’s reprieve. Even the slightest break from the pain would give her the chance to gather her thoughts enough to combat the unknown force that had overtaken them. Though she didn’t get the desired respite, she was able to tumble out a silent cry to the angels for help. Please come to my aid! she yelled out in her head for all the angels to hear.
Their response was immediate. But the angels didn’t intervene in such a way that they would take away the opportunity for Asara to recognize her power. Instead, the angels gave Asara the needed abatement so that she could focus within and remember who she was. That momentary relief from the pain was enough for Asara to recall that she was a perfect child of Creator. She carried the C
reator’s energy within her. Even more, she was an angel! A warrior angel at that!
Asara decided that this attack wouldn’t be a part of her reality any longer. She wouldn’t allow it. She gathered courage from the fire that burned within her to combat the invisible fire that tried to claim her, and she sent an intense wave of light out of her body. The light erupted from her skin in the flash of an instant and swept all the pain away just as quickly. As swiftly as the pain started, it ended.
Though Asara was still trying to catch her breath, she stumbled over to where Anak stood hunched over in excruciating pain. She intervened. She put her hand on Anak’s back over his heart center and sent out another shock wave of light from her being. The relief was immediate. Instantly, Anak’s body unclenched and Asara knew the pain was gone. He fell to the ground where he stood, panting, and curled up into a ball.
Asara collapsed in exhaustion next to him. She lay flat on her back, breathing heavily. They remained there for several minutes, until they recovered enough to function. The twins extended their arms and legs until they touched. Able to feel each other and the firm ground beneath them, they rested.
Their eyes were glazed; they stared up at the sky without focus. Nothing like that had ever happened to them before. Finally, they were able to sit up, but had to lean against a tree for support. Their limbs were shaky from the intense exertion of fighting for their lives. Asara and Anak stared at each other. They realized darkness had attacked them. That sensation of something trying to burrow within them had been the dark attempting to take hold of them by entering their physical beings. Neither Anak nor Asara had ever experienced something of that magnitude before. It had been so real. They were stunned.
