“Yes, Thomas.”
“How can we prepare for her class? I mean, how do we go from seeing auras and knowing what they mean, to hearing the thoughts of others.”
“Thanks for asking, Thomas. I was just about to cover that. In actuality not all of you will be able to attain this part of the gift. I myself can’t do it yet. But some of you might still, and you should stretch yourself in that direction.
“I can’t hear thoughts like Sonora can, but I do sense their feelings and I am such a proficient aura reader that I don’t need to look for too long to see what the outer aura is telling me about a person.”
“So you are saying that even though we may not be able to hear thoughts we can still have perfect empathy and understanding, like the Eternals?” Thomas asked.
“It’s a goal, yes, but I do have to tell you that I and my husband, even Sonora herself, are still working on “perfecting” our gift. Perfection will not be achieved until after we become immortal, and even then we will still have the rest of the gifts to work on.”
A um of interested murmurs rose up through the air.
“So even after we are immortals we will still be learning and progressing?” I asked, almost mesmerized by the idea.
“Yes, Tess. As mortals we only use about 10% of our brains, which means that there is lots and lots of room for improvement and evolution. In time, we will work on attaining all the gifts. Evolution is eternal.”
The next thing Milah had us do was to take turns reading the aura’s of those in our group, and discerning what they say. Several spirits let out a groan to express their exasperation over the tediousness of this job, but I had never done it before, so I was excited to try.
My absence from class really showed, out of my group I struggled the most. I could read the colors just fine, but the interpretations were hard to remember. I was getting frustrated and my outer aura was starting to show. Milah saw that, and made her way to my side.
“It takes time,” Milah said encouragingly. “Don’t rush yourself, think intuitively. What does that color make you feel?”
Her advice was actually a good one. Once I started to see auras with that in mind I had an easier time of getting it right.
After several more rounds around the groups, Milah walked back to her stand and opened the leather book and slid a ribbon in between its pages. She picked it up and brought it over to the group where I was.
“I found it very interesting that you all chose to sit in the same group. I guess it just proves that your auras are attracted to each other,” she said as she knelt down next to Leo.
We eyed each other suspiciously and Milah placed the large book on Leo’s lap.
* * * * *
Chapter 13
“Leonardo, please read from this page,” she ordered.
I turned to Leo with a sneer. “Leonardo?” I mouthed. He grimaced back, then turned to the book and began to read:
“Additional abilities attached to auras.” He looked up to Milah for further instructions.
“Read on…read on, Leonardo. The whole chapter,” Milah said and walked away.
“Wow!” One of the spirits got close to the book and stroked the page. “It’s kind of weird looking at a book that doesn’t exist yet, but looks old.”
“Yeah…look at the letters, they are so fancy.” Thomas added.
“The book has been written actually,” Milah said, suddenly close to us again. “It was written in my planet, but the content will apply to you just the same.” Then she turned and walked away again.
“Some aura colors indicate additional abilities that are unique traits to the personality of the bearer. The following are additional senses, sometimes referred to as a Sixth sense and are commonly known as: Clairvoyance, Clairsentience, and Clairaudience.
“Clairvoyance is another way of seeing that which is unseen by natural eyes. Those with this ability may see into other realms of existence.
“Clairsentience is another way of feeling, or sensing beings from another realm. The person who has this gift may sense the feelings or presence of unseen spirits, both of the dead and the undead.
“Clairaudience is the ability to hear in thought-form, beyond the physical sense of hearing. The person who has this gift might be able to hear voices from other realms of existence.”
“Nice…” Leo looked up and smiled at our group.
We had all huddled closer to Leo as he read on and our auras melted together forming a colorful dome of interest.
“How do we find out which one we have?” one of the spirits asked.
Leo looked back at the book, and scanned his finger down the page. “OK, here it says…” He studied the book and scanned each of our auras, making sure they matched.
“Tess, you and Liam look like you are Clairaudient. Thomas and I, are Clairvoyant, and…” He turned the page hastily. “Samantha and Irene are Clairsentient.” Leo looked up and smiled at the huddled group.
“This is so cool,” Thomas said with satisfaction.
“No—not cool, you idiot,” Liam said with sudden irritation. “They are going to think we are crazy! Ooh, I sense someone from another realm. I think they feel a little mad because you broke that precious family heirloom.” His voice was full of sarcasm.
“What’s an heirloom?” Irene asked.
Liam rolled his eyes, and threw his arms up in the air. “Don’t you understand that most mortals are very unbelieving? They will think we are crazy. I just got back from a Current Events class where some people were accused of witchcraft and were stoned to death.”
“But that’s now. Things will change by the time we are born,” I said dismissively.
“Mortals think that anyone with special abilities like those are either witches or lunatics. Either way, we would be ostracized for these so called gifts of ours.” Liam shook his head.
“It may be that not all mortals will believe in our abilities, but there will be those who will, and they will appreciate the service we will render them,” Thomas said with determination.
“I agree,” I replied.
“So do I,” Samantha said, determined.
Leo remained silent and pensive.
“Tess is right. We will probably be born at a time when people are going to be more open to these kinds of things,” Irene added with renewed hope.
“Don’t count on it,” Liam spat.
“You don’t have to accept a gift, Liam,” Thomas said flatly. “You could ignore this part of yourself, but repressing it might make things worse.”
“You are right Thomas!” Liam said haughtily. “I will stop taking this silly class and do something more productive with my time, that’s what I’ll do. And repressing this part of me will be no trouble at all.” He turned and stormed out of class without any further comments.
Milah was in the other corner of the garden when this happened. She simply looked up and saw him go, then continued instructing another spirit completely unperturbed.
After another comment or two she called our attention and told us that class was now dismissed.
*****
Dorian and I had agreed to fly to our next set of classes together. They were located at the Square. This place was definitely the official hang-out for all spirits from the Sixth Seal of time, and was located in the center of several tall buildings that were in close proximity to each other. There was something for everyone there—impromptu performances, board and electronic games, gadgets that could be used for entertainment; discussions, joke telling, gossiping, you name it, it happened there.
Dorian was unusually chatty on our way there, so I mostly listened. Apparently he had just taken an Earth’s Cultures class and had found out that there were going to be different races within the human family and that he was most likely be from a race of people who came from the African continent. Then he told me that I might also be from another race group, because of my features.
He was very excited about this, but this new piece of
information made me very apprehensive. I didn’t care what race I was, I knew that Alex would love me regardless, but the thought of being born in a different country or continent, far away from him scared me. I mentioned this to him, but he shrugged, “I’ve seen us—and Luz and I meet.”
“I wish I could see into the future and feel as calm as you do all the time,” I told him.
He stopped abruptly and looked at me with the most serious look I had ever seen him have. “That’s not what gives me peace. I trust the Eternals. That gives me peace.”
I nodded in response. Of course he was right. Still…being a seer was pretty helpful.
As we made our descent on the middle of the Square we were greeted by the dissonant sound of different instruments being played at once and each playing a different tune. Then there was the um of voices and the ring of laughter, coming from all directions.
I was impressed by how many spirits had so many varied interests besides their gifts. I glided aimlessly for a while and wondered why I didn’t have an added interest besides my gift. I could tell that these spirits felt very passionate about this aspect of themselves. What was I passionate about, other than Alex? I felt so silly about this. My whole existence could not just revolve around him. Besides, Alex had other interests. He had the “Freedom Fighters” and that endless quest for human rights that the group vowed to uphold.
After I wandered around for a while, I found Celeste playing a card game of sorts. It looked like a lot of fun, and I wanted to play, but Discerners were not allowed to play. In fact most Discerners were not allowed to play most games for fear that we might use our gift to cheat, so I just watched.
Henry was there too, proudly displaying and explaining a game that was played through a device called the Neuro-interface. The device fitted over your eyes and attached to the temples, the part that went over the eyes had a visor. Through the visor you could watch images and interact with them. He had smartly reprogrammed the game to fit our interests. The game I tried was a simulation of a Flaming Sword fight with a Cherub. This game I could play, so I gave it a go. It was the oddest thing, I thought I was moving, but I wasn’t. My form stood inert while my mind gave me the impression that I was in an actual sword fight with an enormous Cherub female. In the first round she cut my form in half and the game ended and in spite of this unfortunate end, I asked Henry for another round. In the second round I was a little better but this time lost my head. Then I had to hand the game over to an impatient spirit, who complained to Henry that he was playing favorites by letting me have two turns.
Once Celeste was done with her card game, she took my arm and steered me to a corner of the Square where she said all the spirits who could sing practiced before class.
On a small pedestal, we found Estelle. She looked as I had never seen her before, confident and glorious. Her voice was like the tinkling of a bell, clear and hypnotizing.
“She is very good,” I told Celeste.
“Yeah, I know. I make a point to come and listen to her when is her turn to sing.” Celeste waved at Estelle and got a wink in reply.
“It’s like…she’s another person on stage,” I said with awe.
“She sure is.” Celeste looked around, looking for something. “Where is Henry, he is missing the whole thing!” she said, irritated.
“He was playing with his gadgets,” I informed her.
Celeste shook her head disapprovingly.
“Did you like it, Tess?” Estelle came to us as soon as her performance was done, and looked like her old self again. The transformation was incredible. Estelle on stage and Estelle off stage were two different spirits.
“You sing like an Angel!” I told her.
She smiled and giggled. “I wish! Problem is, once we sign up to be Angels, we have no way of knowing what we will be called to do. I do hope I get the Choir…” She looked around and lowered her voice. “That’s the only thing I dare do.”
“I don’t know…I would love to be a Ministering Angel, or a Herald,” Celeste said with her usual confidence.
“How about you, Tess? What kind of Angel do you want to be?” Estelle asked with a twinkle in her eye.
“I haven’t thought about it yet. What are the choices?”
Celeste rolled her eyes. “Where have you been, Tess? Oh yes. Hiding from life,” she said sarcastically.
I responded with a cynical look.
“There are lots of types of Angelic Missions. Sentinels and Heralds get trained by the Cherubs—as we well know,” Celeste said with a smirk, no doubt referring to the many attempts we had made in the past, at finding their secret training grounds. “Then there’s the Choir, the Scribes, the Ministering Angels, and the Guardian Angels. There are lots of different things you could do. Once you sign up it’s up to the Eternals to assign you, but you could certainly have a preference.”
I thought about it for a moment and though all those things sounded like fun, nothing really stood out as my call or destiny. I wanted to feel like I had a purpose other than just pass the time until I was born. I wanted to feel passionately about something like Estelle did about her singing, or even Celeste did about being a Herald. But nothing came to mind.
“I like working on my Gift,” I said while I shrugged, and they both cheered at the idea.
“See! That will definitely give you purpose,” Estelle said.
“Your singing has nothing to do with your gift though,” I suggested.
“Neither does my interest in plant propagation, but it doesn’t mean that your purpose in life will not stem through your Gift,” Celeste said.
“You are interested in plants?” I asked incredulously. When did everyone go out and get these pastimes?
Celeste and Estelle exchanged meaningful looks.
“Come on, Tess, we are going to Talents Class. You’ll find something there, I’m sure of it.” Celeste grabbed my hand and pulled me.
Talents Class was being held in a theater, and the teacher was an entertaining little female who wore funny glasses with dangling beads at the ends. First she explained the difference between a gift and a talent, then she listed some of the many artistic talents that we would be observing next.
“We will be watching a performance from a window. This is a festival celebrated in Asia every year. Pay attention to all the details, not just the dancers and the singers and the other performers. Look at everything that they have made and created for this event.” Then she turned around and unveiled a huge window that looked out into space and in the distance was—Earth. To the side of the window was a large pad with buttons. She entered some information on the pad and Earth started to get closer and closer, then the image zoomed in to one particular spot on the planet until we could see clearly what was happening on the surface.
We watched, mesmerized by all the different activities that were going on. The colors were so vibrant, the singing so unique. But what caught my attention the most were the dresses. I couldn’t look away. Only now did I realize that we always wore white, and we all wore the same thing. I never minded my attire, it was simple but it had flair. These dresses however…they were something else. I could barely process all the colors and intricate stitching involved in them.
“I would like to wear beautiful garments like that when I’m a mortal,” Celeste said with determination.
“But this is a performance. I don’t think mortals usually wear these things.”
“I don’t care. I want beautiful dresses,” she said stubbornly. “I want to be born in a place where people wear bright and beautiful clothes like these every day.”
I had to admit that it would be fun to wear those dresses. But they didn’t look very practical.
“I want to know how to make them. I could make them beautiful and practical,” I said, and then I turned to face her. “I know! I’ll make you those dresses and you’ll wear them!”
Celeste turned her bright eyes toward me with excitement. “Deal!” Then her face turned into a smirk. “
Mmm…what do you think Alex or Max would say about this particular class?”
An image of Alex and Max dying a slow and painful spiritual death entered my mind. We laughed and then were once more captivated by all the singing and dancing.
Before I knew it I was enjoying the performance a lot. The music had me in some sort of trance. After a while I could tell that the music was conveying a story. My own thoughts blended with the music and I felt as if they were singing the story of my own existence, troubled at times, happy and carefree at others. Now it sounded like a longing and a pleading.
I closed my eyes and the image of Alex standing on the beach, waiting for me to emerge from my self-imposed grave, came to mind. He looked so…worried, hopeful. Then strange voices filled my head.
“I still think that there could be a peaceful resolution. This battle is definitely the beginning of peace for them, mark my words. Fighting back is not always the answer, and warring all the time hardens the soul and turns humans into animals. Personally, I agree with what they’ve done. Laying down their weapons was, for these people, the absolute best decision.”
“But Mohandas, they died!”
“They are with the Eternals.”
“Dead.”
“Saved, and evolving!”
“Tess?” Alex’s voice was so clear, my eyes flew open and I looked all around me shocked to hear his voice here of all places.
“Alex?” I asked troubled. Whose voices were those? What were they talking about? I felt confused and disoriented, I shook my head as if that would somehow make the strange stupor that I felt, go away. Celeste looked at me funny.
“Do you think she is in trouble…again?” That was Russell’s voice. Why would I be hearing his voice in my head? Why would I be hearing any voices for that matter?
“I don’t know, it’s…it’s the weirdest thing. It’s as if she’s in my head,” Alex responded.
“I am,” I thought to myself.
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