Veiled

by Silvina Niccum

  The ocean floor was quite a ways down, and on my way there I encountered several interesting creatures. Some didn’t look welcoming at all and tried to entangle themselves with me, but I was not in the mood for fraternizing, so they too left me alone after some time.

  Once at the bottom, I wandered along the ocean floor, first exploring it, then trying hard not to think, and finally relenting and allowing the seaweeds and the fish to tangle themselves in me and my long hair.

  The Third Day of creation was well spent, I thought, in complete oblivion. My motto for that day was forget, forget, forget. I simply existed in my new watery surroundings and buried all my thoughts in the sand—after all, life would happen as it would happen, and no amount of my stressing over it would change it.

  By the Fourth Day of creation, I was bored, so as I listened to the creation of all the plant life through the link, I thought about all the beautiful flowers and plants that I would smell someday—and that’s when I took a turn for the worse. I grew desperate and hardly knew why. Here I was, lonely, miserable, and bitter, hiding from life, my future, and my friends.

  I mustered some courage and looked within. My aura was unrecognizable. I no longer remembered what had brought me here and why I was hiding. It all seemed so stupid.

  I hit an ultimate low sometime between the Fourth and Fifth Day of creation. That was when I realized that I really hated myself. I didn’t even know who I was anymore and why I was such a coward. During the course of the Sixth Day, I knew that if I didn’t face my fears and get out of this place I would forever remain loathsome to myself. And if I didn’t pick myself up and move forward I would become—as Alex had so well put it—my own worst enemy, if I already wasn’t so.

  In one swift movement I rose up from my dark abyss and made my way up to the surface.

  “Wow! Where did you just come from?” A surprised voice greeted me from the surface once my head was out of the water.

  Confused I looked around, only to see three spirits who had taken off their robes and were wearing some sort of makeshift undergarment, and currently were resting on the surface of the water on elongated, oval shaped boards.

  “The bottom,” I responded.

  “Is it cool down there?” one of them asked with marked interest, while the other two seemed more concerned with something they saw on the horizon.

  “I guess so,” I told him.

  “I’ll have to check that out.”

  “It’s coming, it’s coming!” one of the other spirits warned, and they crouched down on the boards and looked ready for something.

  “Later!” the first spirit said as, he too, crouched on his board. I turned and saw a huge wave coming. I got out of their way, just in time to avoid getting ran over by their boards that were propelled forward by the force of the wave.

  Once out of their way I turned toward the beach. On the shore I could see a distant figure standing perfectly still, facing me. The figure looked tall and lean but most importantly it glowed with the most beautiful golden light.

  It was Alex.

  The wave pushed me forward and gently deposited my feet onto the sandy shore, before it receded again. I stood there looking at him, with a complete lack for words. He looked like a shining beacon guiding me home. The light he emitted reminded me of the rays that filtered through the water, piercing the darkness of the deep. His light was doing the same to me, each strand of his light stabbed at the darkness in my soul. He looked beautiful, body and soul. Why hadn’t I seen that before? It seemed to me now as if I had seen it all along, but only now did I recognize it for what it was—my home.

  An unseen force pulled me toward him, his warmth and his light seemed indispensable to me now. His light encircled me and filled me with unspeakable joy and love, smoldering the memories of those screams from the miserable banished souls, and the paralyzing fear that the Second One had implanted in me.

  I stopped right in front of him and stared, trying to understand the changes that my heart was undergoing. When his light had swelled to fill my whole frame, the words “I love you” spilled out unknowingly…yet I meant them. I knew then that I really meant them.

  Something passed through his face. Relief, doubt…

  “Like a brother?” he asked with a wry look.

  I shook my head, still astonished at what my heart was telling me.

  “…a cousin then.”

  I smiled and still shook my head.

  “…a grandfather perhaps?”

  I punched him in the stomach and he grabbed my fist, then gently untangled my fingers and laced his own through them. He raised my hand to his lips and kissed it. I came closer to him, and he lifted my hair away from my neck. He then moved in closer and softly kissed my neck.

  Now I knew I wanted life. More than ever I wanted to know what a kiss like that would feel like. I wanted real skin. I wanted the sense of touch and a heartbeat. He moved in even closer, and rested the corner of his mouth against the side of my mouth. An unspeakable happiness ran through my frame, almost physical in nature. All I cared about now was him, and the only thought I could hold onto was the maddening desire to feel the lips that were next to mine—and I would endure anything for it.

  “I knew you’d come around,” he whispered, still not moving from the spot.

  “How long have you been here?”

  “I came looking for you as soon as I realized you didn’t come to the Third Day of creation,” he said, as his lips brushed against mine.

  “You knew this whole time I was down there?” I asked with awe.

  He didn’t answer, but I knew he had known and had waited for me on that beach, hoping that I would resolve my own issues and come to him.

  “I’m sorry for…everything,” I said lamely, knowing that my behavior had been inexcusable.

  He pulled away and looked intently into my eyes. “It brought you where you are now, so it was worth it. We’ll always be together, Tess, and whatever happens, will happen to us.” He said it with certainty and I knew that he meant it. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but a new clarity came over me. His thoughts seemed to float to me and I understood him perfectly—all his anxiety over me, the love he felt for me, and the determination he had in sticking by my side. He really was willing to endure any kind of torment or difficulty that the Second One would care to inflict upon us.

  All along he had known exactly what my greatest fears were and how much pain I was in. But he also knew that I had to face these issues on my own. He hoped all along that in the end I would come to him; though he wasn’t sure it would happen, and for a while there he almost lost hope.

  But amid the immense joy I felt right now, I couldn’t help feeling a tinge of sadness for the grim plight in which I had placed us both. Unfortunately, in aligning himself to me, he had placed himself in the direct line of fire. His life would be affected by our love and he knew it—and didn’t care.

  “I love you,” I told him again, this time, meaning so much more. I threw myself in his arms, he pulled me in tight and I was home.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 12

  “Now that there is human life on Earth, everyone is celebrating,” Alex said casually as he tangled his fingertips with my own.

  We had been lying on the sand looking up at the sky and the occasional bird that flew by. We were silent for long periods of time but the silence was not uncomfortable, it was filled with the bliss and dreams of the future.

  Now and then he would slide his fingers up my arm and I felt an inexplicable mixture of joy and frustration, Physical feeling seemed so necessary to me right now. This happiness mingled with this dissatisfaction was to be our new way of existence, but we found comfort in the thought that someday…we would feel…someday we would be able to bridge that gap.

  “Huh?” I said absentmindedly.

  “I said that everyone is probably having a party.”

  “Still?”

  “Probably.”

  I turned to face him. “A
re we soul mates?”

  He smiled and stroked my face with the back of his hand. “I’m sure of it.”

  “So…do you think the Eternals would keep that in mind when they send us down?”

  His face remained smiling, but I could tell that he was weighing his words carefully. “I hope they do. I have a feeling that the Eternals would never allow us to be anything but mates.”

  “What makes you so sure?”

  “Feelings this strong don’t just disappear because we lose our memories. They go deeper than that, they become part of who we are. A soul mate’s bond entrenches itself in the very makeup of the being. It becomes part of who we are.”

  “And we are soul mates,” I reiterated to make the fact final and definite to the Eternals.

  “We sure are.” He kissed me again.

  “Tell me about Katie.”

  He laughed and I noticed for the first time why I liked his smile so much. He had dimples on both sides of his mouth when he laughed.

  “What about Katie?”

  I frowned. “You know…why do you like her so much?”

  “She’s nice.” He shrugged, clearly enjoying my jealousy.

  I gave him a warning look.

  “You would like her too, if you gave her a chance,” he continued.

  “But I want to know what made you so fond of her all of a sudden?”

  “Tess…” he said, shaking his head. “She’s like a sister to me.”

  I had to admit I felt a huge relief come over me. “And she thinks of you as a brother?”

  He nodded.

  “Then I hope she turns out to be my sister instead, because watching her talk to animals is very entertaining. A lifetime of that has got to be interesting.”

  “My thoughts exactly!” he said, laughing heartily. “You know, Tess, she’s been feeling sad about you not liking her. You really do need to give her a chance. You would love her, too.”

  As we talked our fingers interlaced and I could see my inner aura changing right before my eyes. Our outer auras were the same color, a vibrant, passionate red.

  We talked and talked like we never had before. Our conversation covered all topics, from Katie’s abilities, to our own, and the rest of the clan. Then we talked about my fears about the Veiling, and Agatha’s relentless desire to make my life miserable. Then we talked about our training and the classes we wanted to take.

  By now the guys with the boards had their fill of balancing themselves on them, and were now changing back into their robes and I was starting to feel like we were wasting time.

  “How long in Earth’s time do you think we’ve been here?” I asked.

  “Henry explained it to me after the First Day. But I’m not sure I quite got it,” Alex admitted.

  To us time was a new concept. We didn’t measure time, we just existed. So learning about linear time was hard to grasp. It was essential to our preparation and only now that I had a reason for living did I care to learn.

  “He said that time is measured by the rotation of Earth around the sun, and that takes 365 days. Then there are 24 hours in each day and 60 minutes in each hour…” He shook his head. “All I know for sure is that what the Eternals consider one day is about one thousand of Earth’s years.”

  “Wow!” I said alarmed by this new piece of information, and sat up. “Are you telling me that you’ve waited for me about three thousand years?”

  “Longer if you count all the other years I’ve been waiting for you to sort out your own feelings,” he said smugly.

  I threw my arms around his neck, and then it dawned on me that at this rate, the first man and the first woman who had been placed on Earth were now dead, and that we needed to get moving if we wanted to be ready for our own lives.

  *****

  Thanks to Celeste, news of our reconciliation spread fast among my clan. It was nice to only have to explain the story once. She took care of the rest and I was spared the re-telling, but not the conspiratorial looks and half smiles.

  Katie approached us first. She was completely void of any ill feelings toward me, and talked as if we had been the best of friends from the beginning. It was hard to believe that I had felt jealous of her or ever found her annoying.

  “So…we have Gifts and Talents, Warding off Evil Spirits, Family Units, Cultures, and Customs. Wait! I didn’t sign up for that one,” Alex said as if he had been tricked into something. “I wanted to go to Freedom Fighters.” He looked pleadingly at me, while holding the new device that Henry had procured, containing our agenda. Our part of the Spirit World was filled with all the devices and technological advancements that Earthlings would ever invent, and thanks to Henry we were equipped with all of them.

  “Well, I thought that maybe you and Russell…” I was cut short by an enthusiastic—“Great idea! You and Celeste can go to your…Cultures class and Russ and I will go to Freedom Fighters.”

  Before leaving, Alex tucked the pad somewhere in the folds of his robe and came closer to me. He cupped my face with his hands, looked steadily into my eyes, and smiled.

  “Oh, come on you two!” Russell said with exasperation. “I liked you both better when you were fighting.”

  Alex released me with a wink and turned toward Russell. “And I liked it better when you weren’t such an old tart,” Alex responded, and then they left bickering, as they often did, about inconsequential things.

  Freedom Fighters actually sounded interesting. Its purpose was to train spirits to think in ways that promoted freedom. They also discussed what was happening on Earth at the time and thought of different ways in which to handle the situations. Also, with the approval of the Eternals and with a band of Cherubs, they would go down to Earth and help fight in certain wars.

  Personally, it was hard to imagine Russell sitting there having a philosophical discussion on the issues. The real reason why I thought he took the class was because he wanted to help fight a war. They couldn’t fight with weapons, but the Cherubs could, and the warrior spirits could help warn those who needed their help. The goal was usually to minimize the loss of life, and to put an end to tyranny.

  Alex told me that he watched as a number of spirits from the Second Seal of time went down in a cloud that the Cherubs had formed. He said it was very cool to watch them go down and he intended to be with the next group that went.

  There were females that attended Freedom Fighters, and I oscillated between attending that class or not, but I had to trim my list of classes somewhere and spirit or not, I could not be in two places at once. Perfecting my Gift was really my main focus right now, so I headed there happily with my new aura color. Finally I was going to clash with Agatha’s own murky aura.

  There was a note posted at the entrance of the Gift of Discernment building that read:

  Milah’s class will meet in the gardens directly behind the building.

  Underneath several different trees heavy with luscious red fruit, Milah had set up some chairs in smaller groups of five. I looked at the fruits and wondered what it would be like to eat them, and what tasting would be like. If I had to judge by the look of them, I would have to say that those particular fruits would taste great.

  Milah was standing under a blooming pergola and had her usual little podium that held her papers and large burgundy-leather bound book. She stood erect, looking at her students as we filed in. She wasn’t smiling but wasn’t serious either. Her aura looked calm like water.

  “Choose a seat, any seat, it doesn’t matter. Hurry now, I want to get started,” Milah said as she rubbed her hands together.

  I waved to Leo and Irene as soon as they appeared. They sat on either side of me, complimented me on my aura’s appearance and demanded an explanation for my absence.

  “It’s been so boring without you, Tess,” Irene said sweetly. “We haven’t done anything new though, just practice and more practice.”

  “Yeah…a bit tedious if you ask me,” Leo said as he slouched in his seat.

  “Att
ention spirits. I would like to start class now, so take a seat,” Milah called.

  The last few spirits filed in and picked a seat.

  “I wanted to start class by telling you about Sonora, my daughter.” Several spirits made some side comments about this new piece of information, but Milah’s stern look put a quick stop to that.

  “She was my daughter in mortality and still is, even though we look the same age now and the thirty five year difference between us in mortality means nothing to us now. Anyway, as I was saying, Sonora is a very gifted spirit. Both her parents being Discerners and she herself being one, I suppose she had a very good chance of being good at her gift.

  “The highest purpose of a Discerner is to be able to understand people, in ways that others cannot. Spirits like Sonora can look at a person and know so much about them that they themselves don’t even know. This gift is strictly given for the purpose of helping others, and spreading compassion. You can see this gift as that, ultimate compassion and understanding.

  “The Eternals themselves have this gift—of course they have all the gifts—but the reason why they know what each of us thinks and feels so perfectly is because of the Gift of Discernment. This gift is what gives them that ability, and because we are their spiritual offspring we all have part of their gifts. We in particular have this most wonderful gift, and it is up to us to develop it and put it to good use.

  “Sonora always surprises me with her gift. While in mortality, she was able to help those who couldn’t help themselves for various reasons. In her time she became a very sought after counselor. As you work and progress you will have the opportunity to work with her, and that will be a privilege to you. I tell you this because many of you are at the very edge of reading thoughts.”

  “Excuse me?” the plump male spirit named Thomas, who was sitting in my group, inquired.