“Welcome back, Caeles. I trust you enjoyed a restful evening. Are you now ready to offer redemption to your chosen soul?"
I took in a deep breath and was asked to sit in a wooden chair below a window.
"Before we begin, you must be certain you have the authentic bloodlines and have the true desire to succeed. If you are missing either of those elements, your soul will be lost forever. Are you willing to take on this risk?”
Another deep breath.
“Yes. However, I am still unclear how I can proceed beyond the gatekeeper?”
“That my friend is an answer I cannot offer you. Are you still confused? Possibly we should review the process before we begin?”
“I think that would be wise, Bastian. I know I only have one chance at restoring this soul. I refuse to accept failure because I was unprepared.”
“Ok, then let us review. First, I will ask you to relax your mind. Soon after, the spirits will begin to enter your thoughts. Allow them to roam your mind with ease. Once they do, they will then lift your soul from your body and take it to its destination. I cannot explain what you will experience in your mind, since I have never done this myself. After the spirits have lifted your soul, you will meet the gatekeeper. I don't know who the gatekeeper will be. It is told there is but one gatekeeper, who takes on the image of the person the lost soul finds as a symbol of peace and harmony in his or her mind. You must be ready for anyone, Caeles. The gatekeeper has never been known to be the image of the same person twice, yet is the same being. You will be given the task of proving to the gatekeeper you are worthy of returning with the soul you seek.”
Second thoughts about my mission creeped into my head, but I began believing in possibly I had found my destiny.
“What do I say, Bastian? What do I do when meeting the gatekeeper? I was very confused when reading the book yesterday. Does my soul speak to the gatekeeper?”
“The story has been handed down for centuries from others who have succeeded beyond the gatekeeper that you can communicate with them. The spirits will translate your thoughts from your mind to the gatekeeper. Allow the spirits to do their job. You must convince the gatekeeper, not only to send you to the soul you seek, but also convince the gatekeeper your intended soul seeks redemption. Not all souls want to return to their earthly bodies. If you fail at either task, there will never be a second chance. Do not fail, Caeles.”
“I am aware of that part, Bastian. I intend to try with the musician I spoke about yesterday, and not my wife. I cannot risk her soul lost to me forever because of my inexperience, despite wanting her back in my arms."
Bastian nodded. “I am only here to guide you, my friend. One last time, are you certain you want to journey beyond this earth and risk losing your own soul?”
“I am.”
“Let us begin. Close your eyes and open your mind.”
The wind outside the windows quickened. The birds went silent. Time had come to release my soul from my earthly body and seek out the gatekeeper guarding my intended subject. Bastian would guard my body so that no one would interfere with me, while my soul was detached from my body. Should anyone attempt to waken me while my soul was away, my mission would end. There were no assurances that my soul would return to my body if awaked during the process. A second chance to succeed was not possible.
“Relax your body, Caeles. Let your mind allow the spirits to enter. Feel the universe around you. Take a deep breath, now another. I call on the spirits to remove your soul and engulf your mind.”
A new chapter in my life was now set in motion. My mind was consumed with spirits, who took me to a place outside the only world I had ever known. My mind witnessed my soul being removed from my body. Shadows of dull grey resided everywhere my mind could glimpse. There was no longer the sensation of gravity pulling me in any direction, only shadows dancing from distant beams of light. Not a strong light, but dim, like just before dawn. The shadows arranged themselves into a form I was more familiar with, the form of a human body. My mind was able to make out some elements, but not all. It was working harder than it ever had before. The beams of light became stronger as I could now plainly see someone come into view.
“What is your purpose in coming to the Shadows of Souls, Caeles Novo?”
“Who are you? You seem familiar to me.”
“I am the gatekeeper. No one goes beyond here without my permission.”
“Please you must grant me access to the soul I seek. Show me where to find it, time is short.”
The light began to fade along with an eerie silence.
“Do you deem your words to have meaning to me? I answer to no one, but the one who assigned me here. These souls are under my care, a command from you has no meaning for me.”
“But I am here to offer redemption and a path back home for a vanished soul. You must not interfere with what is inevitable.”
The light grew a stark white. I could now see the gatekeeper was the image of a tall thin black man with a tie dyed shirt, bellbottom blue jeans and a large afro hairstyle holding a white guitar. He peered at me with a perplexed stare.
“Inevitable you say? What makes you think your vanquished soul deserves redemption? The soul you seek is content to play music alone. His soul is waiting for death to consume his earthly body. It is then his soul will move to the next stage of existence.”
“Leaving the earthly stage without seeing the beauty he left behind will not allow his soul to proceed forward," I said. "The soul must be returned to his earthly body to know beauty once more. You must let me succeed. And no disrespect to you gatekeeper, but why do you look like Jimi Hendrix?”
“I represent a symbol of life to the soul I shelter." A C chord rang from his guitar. "You have not convinced me to offer you what you seek. Why does the soul you seek deserve redemption?”
The silhouetted image of a stoic Hendrix stood against the backdrop of what had become a hue of soft purple beams. I had to try again to convince him to allow me to pass before my time would expire, or I would fail. What could I offer as a reason? What could I say to make the gatekeeper understand that the soul of Dylan James deserved to be back on earth, rather than playing solo until his earthly body ceased to exist?
“How could a man, who lost his way, not deserve a second chance at life? He did not do damage to others, only himself. He loves his family, and they are waiting for him. Please gatekeeper, show me the way to his soul.”
“You tell me he only did damage to himself, yet what about the family he loves so dearly, or the band that stopped making music? What about all his followers who used his musical talents to bring joy to their lives? Your logic is flawed, Caeles Novo. Now move on.”
A loud G chord rang out, but I wasn't going to be denied. I had come too far to fail. I took one last chance with the gatekeeper.
“What about the family, and the fans, Gatekeeper? Do you believe the soul you defend would rather play music alone, or with his daughters back on earth? As lost as he was on earth, I know that deep inside his soul he misses his daughters. If you allow his soul a chance at redemption, he can make amends with his family and again produce music for the entire world to hear. If his soul remains locked up, none of that is possible. That is Dylan’s true path to peace and redemption. Allow that to happen, grant me contact to his soul.”
Rays of light, with a hue of purple, produced a perfect rectangle made of shadows from the beams. Inside the rectangle was a pathway with no end in sight. My soul was now hovering inside the shadowy corridor, my mind again on overdrive. The pathway started to move beneath my soul, gently gliding it deeper into the rectangular hallway of purple light. Along the shadows disguised as walls were hanging crystals. At closer inspection, under each crystal read a number. Some of the crystals were white and fully formed. Others were dark and deteriorating. Some had a single faint color, while others had a mixture of all the colors in the rainbow. My mind attempted to slow down the pace of the journey to get a closer look at the shapes and names of the
crystals. It was not to be.
As the hallway of purple shadows began to narrow, one soul was glowing with a radiant fire of orange, every crystal in perfect condition. It read KIN 128965. I knew that was the soul of my beautiful wife. My mind desperately attempted to stop my soul from moving beyond hers, but it failed. As my soul slid past hers, the radiant glow from hers seemed to dissipate. It was if her soul knew mine was there, but not to reclaim hers. Collecting her soul was not my mission, at least on that day.
My floating soul funneled to the end of the hallway of purple light. It was there my soul was within reach of my goal, the soul of Dylan James. My soul came to a complete standstill. It became apparent there was a casing surrounding my subject’s soul. My mind became void of a single thought. It was then the casing, caring for his soul, shattered into a million tiny shards of glass. The snowflake looking crystal attached itself to my soul, as all but one of the purple shadows of light disappeared. That single beaming ray of purple light was all my mind could distinguish. My mind raced with flashbacks of the life of Dylan James. Within moments, his entire life history became branded into my brain. My soul and Dylan’s pierced my body, the single ray of purple light exploded into a haze as my mind heard the sounds of a man screaming.
“Wake up, Caeles. Hurry you must leave.”
As I started to become aware of my surroundings the face of Bastian Duvalier was no longer smiling. I tried to focus my mind, but it felt as though I had been given anesthesia. I attempted to stand but my legs had other ideas.
“Get out now. The tales are correct, the ones who want to stop you, I can see them getting out of the car. Hurry before they enter the house.”
Still groggy, I attempted again to stand, this time being pulled from the chair by Bastian. He directed me to the back door. He shoved me down the steps and disappeared back inside his home. I could hear the sound of shouting men as I stumbled into a patch of trees behind the house.
“Take my hand. I am a friend of Bastian. Hurry, we have little time.”
I was now in the back of a car with someone shoving my head down to the seat and the sound of squealing tires. I have no idea how long we drove, since I felt only semi-conscience during the car ride. All the emotions of being on stage as a rock and roll singer rushed through my thoughts, as did a pain in my hand and back. Sadness washed over me. A feeling of being lost in the world and not knowing why did too. I could now understand why Dylan felt he was a lost soul. It was my responsibility to return what was Dylan’s to his physical presence on earth.
“Those men chasing you, they know why you were here. You need to restore the soul before they find you, or they will try to steal it from you. Bastian has told the story about this day for years. We did not want to believe in him. We believe him now. They are preparing a plane for you. It will deliver you to the Bahamas. From there, you are on your own.”
Within a few hours of capturing another’s soul, I was sitting in an airport in Nassau, Bahamas waiting for a flight to Miami. I had no idea where Dylan James could be. I only knew I had to find him before whoever was searching for me, could locate me first.
Once in Miami, I made a call to Dylan’s agent Carl Peterson, who informed me he believed Dylan was wandering Europe, possibly Italy. He quizzed me why I needed to find him, and who I was, so I informed him that I was a doctor, who had seen Dylan back in North Carolina. I am not sure he believed me, but I also got the sense he wanted Dylan found, and any help would be appreciated. With my senses now fully restored, it was off to Italy.
Since Dylan’s soul was carefully tucked inside my being, I attempted to channel his thoughts. I felt the presence of a woman from his past in Italy, and could see her face and town she came from, in my mind. It took two days of searching, but I could uncover her. She had seen Dylan the day before my visit, but she informed me she pushed him away. She explained how he was not himself and very depressed. She ordered him to return home to the States, but he did mention that he would stop in London on the way home. I was on the next flight to London, England.
Once in London, I contacted all the hotels. One finally admitted to having him registered as a guest. I waited patiently in the hotel lobby hoping to find him. The next morning, a man who appeared to be Dylan staggered through the hotel lobby. He seemed frail and fractured. I followed him as he paced slowly through the streets of London. We came upon The Royal Albert Hall. I watched as Dylan stood in the ticket line. I didn’t want to attempt anything with so many people in the vicinity. I needed him to sit, or at least not be near others. It was obvious that he was a broken man. I needed to finish what I had started.
It was an overcast day with a light drizzle of rain. I watched as Dylan struggled, but couldn't even find the means to purchase tickets from the counter. He ambled over to the cold stone steps and sat down. With tears in his eyes, we had a brief conversation until I asked him if he wanted his soul returned to him.
“Why did you destroy my life? Why did you take so much from me? I did all I was asked to do in life. I gave to others. I gave to my family, my friends, my band and you still destroyed me.”
“We don’t have time for all this, Dylan. Know that it was you, who destroyed yourself, but you can have a second chance. I am here to give, not take this time. I need you to focus, please.”
“Wait a minute. I do know you. You are that guy learning to be a doctor back in North Carolina. What are you doing here?”
I began to second guess myself in choosing him as my first soul to be restored. The real reason I chose him was because, he was the first soul I ever stole that I believed was wrong. I also wasn't sure any of this would work. I didn’t want to practice on Kalani knowing I would have one chance and one chance only. However, if he didn’t stop his incessant whining, I was going to walk away.
“Dylan James, I will ask you one time, do you want your chance at redemption, yes or no?
After a moment of silence, he looked at me with a tear in his eye, and uttered, “I want to be the man who sings a beautiful song. If I can have an encore, then my answer is yes.”
The camera clicked. My body shook, as did his. I could again feel his soul pierce my body, only this time leaving me for good. I felt lifeless. Seconds later a woman, who appeared to know Dylan sat next to him. I was doing all I could not to show any outward sign of the convulsions that ran through my body.
“Dylan, it’s me Feona. Do you remember me? I want to help you.”
I knew Dylan would be given a second chance, but I knew if I stayed there much longer people would start to notice me. I stood up, feeling as if I had just sucked down twenty shots of whiskey. It was a feeling I didn't care to experience on a regular basis. I stumbled down the steps until a tall man, who I thought could be Mikael , told me to lean on his shoulder. The odd feeling of inebriation was instantly gone. The man spoke.
“That was the first step in restoring your kind and others, Caeles. I know it wasn't easy for you. Dylan will be fine. It is now time to get your body regulated, so it can cope with the physical swings it will take every time you do this.”
My body crumbled onto a park bench desperately needing some repair. At that moment, I didn't think I could put mind and body through the process again. I became selfish, not wanting to care about others. I only wanted to keep my mind and body healthy.
“Caeles, the first time is always the hardest. Your body is not accustomed to the jolts of gaining then restoring souls. It will learn to adjust over time. You must trust me.”
“Mikael , why should I believe anything you tell me? I mean seriously, you come in and out of my life every few years. Sometimes in a dream and other times, you sit next to me as if you were very much a living and breathing person. I don’t know who you are, or why you come to me in my dreams, or on airplanes or park benches. You keep insisting that I have some sort of destiny in rising up against the Council. Yet all it ever accomplishes is to have me punished for breaking our laws and disobeying my leaders. You have to do bett
er than telling me all this gets easier, because right now, there is not going to be a next time.”
I stared at the people strolling past us. Something was different. All I could think about was the sensation of being a super hero and having x-ray vision. I blinked. I blinked again this time shaking my head attempting to clear the cobwebs. I assumed because my body was still adjusting.
“Embrace it, Caeles. Your powers are now complete. I realize it seems odd to you. You can now see into another’s soul. That is what you are seeing. In time, you will learn to control the intensity of what you see, but for now, don't look upon it as a curse. You are the first in many generations, other than the six on the Council, with the power to see, take and restore a soul.
“Why me, Mikael ? Why not someone else? I didn't ask for this.”
“Careful or you will sound like the ones you steal from, who can no longer see the beauty or appreciate all that has been given.”
Perplexed would have been an understatement for my emotions. As thrilling as it seemed to have power to see into another’s soul, it was still a huge responsibility. One I didn't seek.
“Mikael , I know my mother claims you are the protector of our family, but protecting from what? I don’t know if you are even real or not.”
“Think of me as your personal body guard no one sees. However, I am much more to you. I am the guardian of truth. My assignment is to revive the power of redemption on earth. You are the catalyst. I am as real as you make me. I am also your conscience. I do not appear on any schedule or even in human form, even if you believe I do. Kalani never physically saw me in Hawaii. I worked through her subconscious to find you. I was not on the airplane next to you. It was your mind working overtime while dreaming, like it is now. You see an image of me, but others don’t. The old man in Chicago, he was real, but not me. He was an old man, who was taken ill when your mind knew you were innocent. You have strong powers, Caeles. Use them wisely. One more thing, you don’t need a camera, you never did. Did they take a photo to remove Kalani’s soul?”
Next thing I knew, someone with a wooden nightstick was tapping my leg.
“Sorry, sir but we do not allow sleeping on the benches. You need to move along now.”
CHAPTER Twenty Two
Soul Intentions Page 22
