by JB Penrose
They sat together for a while, neither of them talking. The drips into the pool from overhead stalactites punctuated the silence. It was comforting to hear something that had not changed - something natural.
“I’m not prepared for any of this,” Rachel finally admitted. “I’ve got millions of questions and you haven’t provided any of the answers.”
“I don’t seem to have been much help to anyone. Nothing I’ve done has changed anything; it’s all still happening just as it was always going to. It would have been so much easier,” Uri admitted, “if the roleau had been completed. Then everyone would remember what they were supposed to do. But you,” she reached for Rachel’s arm, “you were supposed to remember already, at the Aurora’s launch at least when Reider gave you the Words of Thunder.”
“But you know I never had a chance to read them before Iscar kidnapped me to come here.”
“Zeus! I didn’t count on any of this!” Uri stood up and began to pace. “The crew was to awaken to their mission as soon as the roleau was returned to its whole.”
“Obviously, it won’t be whole until Peter arrives in Delphi. And he’ll have the Words of Thunder with him,” Rachel added hopefully. Nothing Uri said made any sense but Rachel couldn’t help but want to hear more. “And then what will happen?”
Uri whistled. “I honestly don’t know. Everything’s been skewed just a bit but the outcome stays the same.” Uri brushed the sand from her hands. “So much seems to have remained out of my control.”
“I’m still confused about what you’ve done at all?”
“I’m responsible for all of this.” She threw her arms up in the air. Uri began pacing around the pool’s edge. “He warned me, but I did it anyway.”
“Did what?” Rachel was confused. “Who’s he?”
She stopped, and with her hands on her hips, she stared at Rachel intently. “I’m here because Jesus represented what it was we wanted the Earth to be when we asked God for it.”
“You asked God for the Earth?” Rachel repeated.
“You asked too, actually.” Uri admitted. “But you don’t remember it.”
Rachel caught the stern look. “I’m trying!” she defended herself. “Keep talking!”
Uri shrugged. “Some of us were restless; it’s only natural – even for angels. We thought the Earth was ready to receive the Truth.”
“You’re an angel?” Rachel couldn’t believe it even she thought it might be true; angels in Delphi weren’t so far-fetched.
“God had a beautiful vision. He created the earth, and other planets - for us to work through our Mastery.”
“That’s why you’re here?”
“No, that’s why you’re here; to awaken this world to the nature of their true self,” she proclaimed proudly. In the next moment, she knelt beside Rachel, deflated. “Like I said, God created the worlds for humans to master their creative desires. What we didn’t realize was that in being born here you have completely forgotten your life in God’s Land, and you have actually forgotten just what you were born here to do! Well, not forgotten. It’s in there,” she tapped Rachel’s forehead with her fingertips, “in that 90% of the brain that most people don’t use.”
“But you know things. You haven’t forgotten.”
“I’m not human, Roko. I’ve never been born.” She stood in front of Rachel, not talking, expecting something to happen.
It took Rachel a second to realize Uri’s crystalline robe shimmered into a garment of Light. Her form was not solid; it had a shape, simple and beautiful; angelic. In the next moment, she was Uri again.
“What happened to us? I mean,” Rachel swallowed hard. “What should I be doing?”
She sighed deeply. “Jesus wanted to convince God that Earth could be a successful experiment, and to prove it he was born here, in human form. But even after Jesus was born, the world was horribly out of balance.”
“That was your plan?” Rachel’s mind was numb. Even the answers didn’t make sense. “All he came to do was teach us who we are and why we’re here?”
Uri nodded. “I know; it sounds simple.”
Rachel had to wonder.
“God was ready to recall all the angels and Ascended Ones into service with him,” Uri continued. “As angels, we wanted to keep our worlds, but we also wanted to keep our memories.
“Jesus came to Teach. He thought if humans could remember their connection to God, they could balance the hate, anger, and war that had engulfed all the peoples on this planet. Jesus was determined to retain his angelic memory after birth and remind humans how to act like angels. But, on Earth, angels acted more like humans.
“He did his best,” Uri sighed, “but it was like talking to children. They never believed they were once like Jesus himself.”
“You’re describing this as though humans were a group of angels trying to save Earth as vacation spot from heaven?”
“More like a summer camp! You’re here to master those powers.” Uri said. “And everyone needs to realize that. In heaven, the Ascended Ones have the gift of all-sight. It’s not the same gift on Earth, if you can call it a gift to see such a destructive future. Our visions had already shown us that Jesus was going to run out of time trying to teach humans to be like him, regardless of how much love he held in his heart. He knew it himself but that didn’t stop him from trying.”
“So, what did you do? I still don’t know why you’re here.”
“We knew Jesus would need more time so we created a situation that would extend time - the Orygin’s crew living immortally on earth. But in the end, it was your mother that changed everything.”
“And how did Mother do that? Is she an angel, too?”
“Of course,” Uri said. “I told you, we’re all angels. It doesn’t matter what country or even what world you’re from. Human is God’s term for being born, on any world. Your mother, Kerroon, Reider, Iscar, you, me, others – we’re all angels, working for the Awakening. As I said, being born has one major drawback; you lose your memory of your real home - heaven.
“We believed, or hoped anyway, that one of us born on another planet might not bend to the pressure of time on Earth, and possibly remember what it was they’re born to do,” Uri shook her head. “The Orygin’s crew volunteered to do just that. It meant they would be immortally earthbound.”
“So, the Orygin’s crew is not only alien but they’re angels?” Rachel tried to comprehend. “Why can’t they remember?”
“Would you listen to yourself? Everyone is an angel – we are all Children of God. Aliens don’t really exist!” Uri wrung her hands together. “Jesus tried many times to prompt their memories. Kerroon almost had it when he walked on the water, but,” she tossed aside the diamond that developed in her fist, “I don’t know, after 2000 years it’s like they don’t even want to hear the truth. Iscar never believed it when I told him. It hasn’t helped you to know it either.”
“You told him he was an angel?” Rachel was surprised.
“Yes, but only in his dreams. We’re not allowed to interfere, remember.” She sighed.
“But you’re telling me now,” Rachel said.
“What have I got to lose at this point?” Uri wondered. “I’ve tried everything else. As you know, angels are--”
“Not supposed to interfere,” they said in unison. Rachel laughed at the irony.
“Not that it’s done any good,” Uri continued. “The balance was already unfolding; floods, drought, plagues, famine; Nature’s War was devastating.
“God was impressed with our plan, but once Jesus was crucified on Earth the world was perilously close to the Apocalypse. There was not enough love among humans to counteract the hatred and fear, and when a world destroy itself anyone remaining on it will require thousands of reincarnations before they are able to return to Heaven.”
“You said Mother changed everything,” Rachel remembered. “What did she do?”
“Your mother did something that was very - human. Jesus
was a man when he was here on Earth, and as a man, he felt the pain and sorrow along with the pride and joy that comes with being human, and the desires. You feel them as well.
“He took her in his arms and she brought love into his heart. Everything changed the night Jesus and Mag’Dalyn spent in the grove; it changed on Earth as well as in Heaven.” Uri’s fingertip outlined a heart on the stone seat that left an etched impression. “Love was the strength Jesus needed to endure what was to come, but love didn’t change what would happen. You, Roko, had to do that yourself.” Uri knelt beside her.
“Me? What did I do?” Rachel felt herself backing away.
“Your birth. That was was your gift to them for their love. Eternally.”
“I don’t understand. How could I give them a gift?”
“You understand, you just don’t remember. Try not to think in human terms; you are very powerful in Heaven. It was a great sacrifice for you to become earthbound on their behalf. Jesus thought he could awaken the world by teaching; you believed you could bring the world together in love.”
“I don’t feel that noble.” Rachel shook her head. The human part of her felt the hurt from a thousand years ago as though it were yesterday. “I really missed not having a family.”
“When God discovered your involvement, He kidnapped you from our influence. You, me; we all knew the price to be paid for our interference. It took centuries but we never stopped looking. None of us stopped looking,” Uri insisted. “And finally, you’re back in the family. I know you’ve had a tough time, Roko, but I’ve tried to look out for you as much as possible. Angels are not, well, you know – involved! Nevertheless, we accepted the consequences, gladly. Truca liberated you from Tseng palace, and Relaca was there in France when that crowd screamed, “witch”. But we were severely limited to only helping the situation around you and not helping you directly.”
“Then there are others?” Rachel couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “You’re not the only angel working here? On Earth?”
“More angels working on Earth? Oh, yes! There are many friends to Jesus, or those who are sympathetic to your Cause. The two of you are trying to save the world for all of us.”
“Us, as angels,” Rachel tried to establish.
“Yes, everyone here, everyone, is an angel from Heaven who let the lushness and abundance of earth lure them to test the powers of our own creations, just as God created us to do. I’ve been able to awaken some of that memory in a few people, and that’s who I brought to Delphi. It’s all part of the Plan.”
Rachel shook her head. “I don’t remember any of this.”
“If you don’t remember then you must trust me, Roko. Remember how easy it was to create the light?”
Rachel nodded.
“I want to find a way for you to remember everything, but until you do you’ll just have to trust me. We are running out of time. The Earth is perilously close to destruction once again.”
“Alright, let’s say I believe you, but I don’t know what it is I’m supposed to do! I feel totally human.”
“You are human; you were born here.”
“Then what about Peter? I truly love him.”
“Of course you do. You loved each other before you were human, too,” she told her. “We are all very closely connected in Heaven; we are all family. That’s why I’m here now.”
Rachel laughed sourly. “You’ve told me all of this, but I have to admit I’m almost as confused as I was before you came in. I still don’t know what I should be doing!”
“I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you that’s it’s not what you’re supposed to do – it’s what you’re supposed to say that will be the crux of the issue. You’ll never convince God unless you really mean it.”
“I have to talk to HIM?”
“Of course not! You can’t talk to God like that!” Uri’s smiles was cryptic. “You have to talk to the World. YOU - must Awaken everyone, remind them who they are and why they’re here.”
“And I thought I could do that?”
“Everyone here thinks you can do that. I know that you have all the skills necessary. What you need to remember is the Plan.”
“And the Plan is in the Words of Thunder?” Rachel realized. “It should be with Peter, and he,” she paused, “should be on his way. Can you tell how he’s doing?”
“Kerroon is close, but I hope he hurries; he could never guess the true value of what he carries. Even I don’t know what the papers from Patmos contained, but John’s conversation with God was to have laid out two options, and we only like one of them.”
“Where can I find Peter?” Rachel asked.
“I’m sorry. I have interfered enough already, and there are other things going on that I must attend to. Trust me, Roko, and use the information I’ve given you as best you can. We’ll meet again.”
“You’re leaving? Why can’t you stay?”
“I’m sorry – I really can’t interfere with your decisions, and now I’m needed elsewhere.”
“But,” Rachel complained as Uri disappeared in front of her. “What good is a Guardian Angel you if you’re never around?”
Still, Rachel found herself oddly comforted by the knowledge she had received. Angels; that made sense to her. Being an angel explained why she always felt a part of a larger family, even a family in Heaven that she didn’t know. It explained some of the special talents she had displayed when needed at certain times of her life, speaking every language as though it were her native tongue, or knowing someone’s name before an introduction.
Moreover, those were the smaller gifts she had used, the Lesser Mysteries. In Delphi, her tears had turned to gardenias, and she had floated effortlessly to the roof in the Pathway’s chamber, and the balls of light now hovering over the center of the pool were another reminder how the impossible was possible.
Rachel recalled Uri’s taunt about Iscar that pushed her into action. She had been very impressed by the star he created at the banquet, and she felt all of Delphi’s love encapsulated within that shining star.
Now, as she gazed at the candelabra she realized their flame would extinguish when she dropped her attention from the fireballs or left the cave. The star Iscar had created for her would be lit forever; she felt the difference in their Source. The little balls of light were sourced from knowledge and power; the Star from Iscar was filled with Love.
For all her life, Rachel tried to love every person, place, condition, or thing she contacted. She searched for the Love of God that was part of each creation. This was the first time Rachel truly felt the love of others for her. The citizens of Delphi loved her before she arrived, and would love her if she was gone. And for that – she loved Delphi more.
Rachel focused her thought on the love that she felt, the love that kept her buoyed up amid chaos in the world. It was as though she were suspended in the solar system; the stillness was all around her. Silence was golden.
Although she couldn’t feel her hands she could feel the Light growing within them and she fed it with her love. Every spark was connected to her heart; every color she could imagine blended into the white-fire core of that intelligent energy.
Rachel concentrated all of her thought, her heart, and her gratitude until she felt the freezing hot sparkle between her palms announced to her that it was complete. Suddenly her heart raced with joy and in her mind, without opening her eyes, she examined her creation.
The Light was a small sun but there was no need to shield the brilliance from her eyes – she was a part of the Light. It flickered with a heartbeat that matched her own and Rachel knew this Light was a reflection of her Heart. She loved it as it loved her. Oddly, she felt that love emanating from the Light.
A still, small voice spoke to her from the Heart of the star she had brought forth. “Remember,” it tried to direct her.
Rachel let the light envelop her in its comforting flame. Part of her felt as though she knew everything in the world; part of her re
alized she couldn’t even remember what seemed to be so important to everyone. The Light, her star, was so connected to her it was as if she’d taken out her heart to examine it, and the star was talking back! There was no thought as to un-creating it; it was a part of her, and it was a reminder to understand what she could accomplish.
Uri told her Earth was conceived for angels to practice creation, and with creation comes much responsibility; that was the first lesson she learned.
Rachel closed her eyes and tried to imagine what she would do with her personal star; sending it into the earth’s sky felt like feeding a guppy to a shark. She couldn’t contain it in any way that would enable her to carry it around wherever she went, and how would she explain that?
Ishleen.
The star named itself! Rachel looked closer – half expecting it might communicate as the Oracle had called to her.
“Ishleen, you are my dream star.”
“Source,” was the thought that radiated back to her.
Rachel gently raised her hands and sent the light deeper into the cave. It circled around once, then twice before resting behind a series of the natural soda straws, making them into a heavenly harp. For the first time, Rachel realized being an angel was truly a gift.
It would be nice to remember for herself, not just rely on someone as beautiful as Urica to tell her these things. Uri. How glorious to think they were friends – in heaven? Rachel laughed to herself. Why should that sound any more absurd than the life she had already lived?
At the large flat rock where she and Uri had sat, her fingers traced the heart etched during their conversation. Her mother, and Jesus? Rachel wasn’t ready to think about that story yet. The thought of Jesus brought the thought of Iscar, and she wondered what Delphi was doing in her absence, just as part of her wondered what Iscar had been doing. Not even a thought of Iscar could diminish the joy in her heart and she began to sing.
Like a breeze felt but never seen
