Ascension Vision- The Levels of Ascension Box Set

by Amy Proebstel

  “I don’t like this,” Diane complained, “It’s kind of creepy going to the home of a virtual stranger. What do we even know about this woman?”

  “More than you could possibly know, Mom,” Amanda said with the utmost confidence. She felt certain this whole trip was for the next few hours they would be spending with Shemalla. Her only wish was that her sister had not had to get into trouble to bring it about. Maybe Shemalla would be instrumental in helping Carrie out of her current predicament.

  Suddenly Amanda pointed between her parents out the front window and exclaimed, “There’s her car! Follow her Dad!”

  “I’m on it!” Chris affirmed. He thought this whole thing was quite exhilarating and reveled in the adventure. He followed closely even though Amanda assured him she could find Shemalla’s house should they become separated. Chris did allow a little more space between their vehicles as he realized he was following too close.

  Amanda called out which street they would be turning and in which direction even before Shemalla used her blinker. She told them which house and then sat back in satisfaction as they pulled their truck into the driveway behind her car. Shemalla waited for them at the garden gate to walk up to the covered porch with them.

  “I never thought this day would happen,” Shemalla said to the family as they gathered at the entrance to her yard. She opened the white picket gate and swiftly walked through while holding it open for them to enter. “Of course, I’d always hoped I’d get the chance to meet you, and then you were suddenly there. I’m excited to find out what has brought you all the way here from Florida.” She kept up her dialog as she led them through the front door. She gestured to the living room on the left and said, “Make yourselves at home while I go get us some refreshments. I’m sure with all of the talking we’re bound to be doing, we’ll need it!” She chuckled to herself as she continued down the hall.

  Diane watched her retreating figure and scowled at Chris, “Are you sure she’s sane?”

  “Did she say anything which wasn’t true yet?” Chris replied reasonably. “Let’s do as she asked and make ourselves comfortable until we can find out her story. We’ve already read Amanda’s account of how this would go, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.”

  “Yeah, but in her account, Amanda was trying to find a way back to Tuala to get her children. She already has her girls and her own telepod. There’s something wrong about all of this, and I don’t like it.”

  “Come on, Mom. We’ve traveled this far, let’s just find out why shall we?” She plucked at her mom’s sleeve and tipped her head toward the seating area.

  With poor grace, she moved into the room and plunked herself down on the couch. She hated feeling insecure, almost as if the situation could turn perilous at any moment. Maybe it was the feeling of vulnerability which caused her so much anxiety. When Chris joined her on the couch, she took some measure of security from his proximity. Surely, he would not put them in a dangerous situation, and he could certainly rescue them if anything went wrong.

  Amanda could not even consider sitting at a moment like this. Instead, she prowled the room and noted all of the plants, decorations, and lack of photos. Everything was exactly as she had seen in her dream, including the giant jade plant in the hallway as they entered. She turned as Shemalla entered the room bearing a tray of glasses and a pitcher of liquid and ice.

  “Please take a seat, Amanda, so I can tell you everything,” Shemalla instructed as she set the tray down on the coffee table in front of Chris and Diane. She looked up at them and held her hand on the first glass as she asked, “Can I pour you some steena tea?”

  “Sure, that would be wonderful. Thank you,” Chris said for both of them as Diane remained rudely silent.

  Shemalla smiled and poured out four glasses of tea. She handed them out and then settled herself in the chair directly opposite of her guests. “I’m sorry I didn’t properly introduce myself back at the museum. My name is Shemalla Paramasivam, and I was born in Pantano, Tuala. I’ve been working in Roswell for twenty-two years. My current contract still has fifteen years to go until I can go back home.”

  “That’s different,” Amanda remarked as she recalled from her dream that she had only been working for fifteen years in her dream. It stood to reason that time would have continued to march on even while Amanda had been in her coma.

  “I’m sure you’ll discover there are many variances from your prior experience, but nothing of great importance, I assure you.”

  “You said my prior experience. How could that be since this is my first time to Roswell?” Amanda asked curiously.

  Shemalla smiled and nodded her agreement. “You can see now what I’m talking about. We both know one another without ever having met.”

  “True, do you have an explanation for it?” Chris asked as he leaned forward, eager for the details.

  “Yes, but it’s a long story,” she replied as she took a sip of her tea and sat back to compose her ideas on how to make the accounting as accurate as possible while still making sense. “I guess it all started eight years ago. I received a call from a friend of mine back East who needed help with a few children who had been found. She was someone sympathetic to the people of Tuala and knew I would be interested when she told me about the necklaces they wore.”

  Amanda’s skin began to prickle with goosebumps as she had an inkling of where this story was going to go. She kept her mouth shut so she would not interfere with the telling of the events.

  “I flew over to North Carolina and met with the children under the guise of being a social worker who would be taking over their case. You see, I had false documents which would give me proper clearance to get the kids out of the system and into homes where they would have a chance at a normal life.

  “When I arrived, I found one of the boys to be very ill, so I used my healing powers to restore his health so we would not have to worry during travel. Through my contacts, I found a family who would take all three children, as unusual as that was. Once the children were all settled in, I planned on going straight home.

  “It was when I was making my way back that I ran into some difficulty. I’m still uncertain of all of the details, but the short story was that I was kidnapped and kept drugged at a facility known as Cannon Memorial Asylum.”

  Amanda gasped involuntarily at her revelation. She began to shake her head as the pieces were all falling together in her mind. This was what she had been missing.

  “I see you are putting it together,” Shemalla nodded affirmation toward Amanda.

  “I am totally lost! What are you saying?” Diane asked in confusion. She turned to her daughter and asked in a frustrated tone, “Do you know what she’s talking about?”

  Amanda nodded at the same time Chris spoke to Diane, “Let Shemalla finish her story. When she’s all done, I’m sure we’ll all know what Amanda has already figured out.”

  “There were two doctors there, each with their own agenda. One of them was truly evil whose name was Dr. …”

  “Gascon,” Amanda finished for her.

  “That’s right. Am I to assume you know the name of the good doctor then?”

  “Dr. Medin. How is this possible?”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “I’M GETTING TO that. Okay, where was I? Oh, yes. Dr. Gascon was working on his latest pet project on multi-dimensional disorders, and he had heard me say the word Tuala at some point. Apparently, he has abducted several other people, both from Earth and Tuala who have either been to Tuala or have knowledge of it. He has been drugging them and coercing them to talk about what they know. I’m still uncertain what’s in it for him, but he’s definitely fishing for something.

  “Dr. Medin is a hypnotist who was my advocate. She really is trying to help her patients despite Dr. Gascon’s orders against it. It was during my sessions with Dr. Medin that I discovered you, Amanda, and your family. While I was under hypnosis, it felt as though I had been transported to another life…your lif
e, it seems. Everything you experienced, I did as well and shared it with Dr. Medin.”

  Amanda shifted her gaze to her mother and said, “That’s why Dr. Medin asked me if there were more to my story. She had been working with Shemalla and hearing the same things I spoke of when I woke up from my coma.” She turned back to Shemalla with a look of utter amazement on her face. “I can’t believe how twisted this story is becoming. Why do you think your mind was linked to mine while I was in a coma?”

  “You were in a coma? How interesting,” Shemalla mused as she thought over the implications of this new disclosure. “I was kept continually drugged to the point where I almost couldn’t even remember my own name. When I was being hypnotized, it was as if clarity suddenly returned to my brain except my face and memories were yours instead of mine in the asylum. What happened with your daughters?”

  “They’ve been returned to me. They are now sixteen years old and just beautiful. I couldn’t be happier. What I want to know is how you got away from the asylum?” Amanda leaned forward, eager to hear the story.

  Shemalla smiled at the memory and chuckled quietly. “I’m not positive, but I’m quite willing to believe Dr. Medin played a hand in it. The asylum was in the middle of moving the facility to New York City, and the staff was all recruited to help with the boxing up of records and equipment. The patients were kept on lockdown with only the medication rounds interrupting their solitude.

  “For almost a day and a half, the medication was never delivered to my room. My brain became lucid enough to allow me to call up enough elemy to translate myself out of the hospital. I know it was risky and foolish, but at that point, I probably would have risked even more to get away from Dr. Gascon. I’m sure he never intended on letting me leave. I can only imagine what happened after it was discovered that I was missing with the door still locked.” Shemalla gave a good laugh at Dr. Gascon’s anger over the disappearance.

  Another thought came to mind, and Amanda suddenly asked, “Were you, perhaps, staying in Room 426?”

  “Yes! How did you know?” Now it was Shemalla’s turn to be surprised by Amanda’s question.

  “This is going to sound strange, well maybe it won’t come to think of it, but I dreamt I was in that room being hypnotized and questioned by both of the doctors. I must have imagined myself living your life as well.”

  “Amazing! I wonder what it all means,” Shemalla exclaimed.

  “I have a pretty good idea, but it depends on your answer to my next question.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Did you have anything of value in your possession when you were abducted by Dr. Gascon?”

  Shemalla was instantly uncomfortable by the question. She had no idea whether or not she should tell the truth. The earnest and eager faces of the group in front of her decided her to say, “Yes.”

  “So it was you who hid the samara in the wall?” Diane asked suddenly. It had taken her longer than Amanda, but she finally understood what had happened to make Shemalla know them.

  Both relief and renewed worry rushed through Shemalla as she asked, “Am I to assume, then, that you found it?”

  Amanda nodded thoughtfully and said, “I had an overwhelming urge to go visit the facility and go into the room from my dreams. When my mom and I got there, I was drawn to the comic strip taped to the wall. When I got close enough, I felt the power from the crystal. I was able to hide it in my purse until I got home.”

  “Oh, thank goodness the treasure is safe. I’d love to get it back to resume my caretaking of it, although I obviously didn’t do a very good job the first time!” Shemalla admonished herself.

  “There’s no need for a caretaker now since its rightful owner has claimed it for himself,” Amanda replied.

  “Really? Are you serious? The samaras are now being claimed? I had no idea the time was getting so close! It’s no wonder you came here to me then.”

  “What are you saying?” Chris asked in the sudden silence after Shemalla’s outburst.

  “I’m sorry, I think I’ve probably said too much as it is about the sacred samaras.”

  “I’m the one who should be sorry, Shemalla,” Amanda replied. “I should tell you that Jehoban has assembled a team of people to seek them all out to fulfill the prophecy which he revealed to me over a year ago now.”

  “Wow! I wonder if I should schedule a trip back home to get caught up on the news. I feel so out of touch right now. What else am I missing?”

  “I’m sorry, Shemalla, I’m not certain how much of the story I’m at liberty to share with you without first consulting Jehoban. I hope you understand.”

  “Without consulting Jehoban?” Shemalla asked in confusion. “You make it sound as though you’ve met with him before.”

  “I have met with him on several occasions,” Amanda said with a bit of pride.

  “Okay, now I’m definitely going to take a trip home!”

  To change the subject to something which was still bothering Amanda, she asked, “Do you remember the names of the children you found homes for before you were abducted?”

  “Certainly, they were Behn, Valentina, and Jon. Why? Does that mean something to you?”

  Amanda turned and grinned at her parents before she nodded to Shemalla and replied, “They are my daughters’ best friends. Juila is actually dating Behn. Small world, huh?”

  “This just keeps getting stranger and stranger!” Shemalla exclaimed. She gulped her tea to try to settle the butterflies in her stomach. With everything happening all at once, it was no wonder she had experienced a sense of unrest the day before. Her life was shifting, and it seemed as though the world itself was going to change very soon if what she knew to be true were really coming to pass.

  “I’d say it’s too much of a coincidence,” Diane added as she looked at her husband in alarm. She did not like how intertwined everyone’s lives were becoming and how their daughter seemed to be the center of it all. She wished she could have her simple life back, the one where all three of her daughters were little kids, dependent upon her for everything, safe, and healthy.

  “It’s getting late, and I think we should probably get going,” Chris said as he rubbed his palms over his thighs in anticipation of standing.

  Shemalla was surprised to see it was actually getting dark outside. She had not realized so much time had passed. “I’m sorry, I should have offered you something to eat. Are you sure you can’t stay longer?”

  “That’s kind of you, Shemalla,” Amanda said as she stood. “We do have to go, but if I can get your phone number, I can keep in touch with you.”

  “Yes, certainly, I’d like that very much. Wait just a sec, and I’ll get something to write it down on.” She rushed out of the room, eager to get back before they tried to leave without it.

  “Does anyone else think this is bizarre?” Diane asked her husband and daughter.

  “Absolutely, but it’s also rather amazing,” Chris said with a grin ensured to annoy Diane because of his optimism.

  “Of course, you’d say that!” Diane swatted his knee and chuckled softly.

  As he had intended, he was able to break her out of the melancholy mood she had been fostering for the last couple of hours.

  Shemalla rushed back into the room with her hand outstretched with a piece of paper. Amanda reached forward and took it from her.

  “Just for grins, can I ask you something personal?” Amanda inquired.

  “Sure, what is it?”

  “Is your birth crystal filled with white diamonds?”

  With raised eyebrows, Shemalla reached up and pulled the pendant out from under her blouse to show the clear crystals on the silver tree of life. “It sure is!”

  Amanda leaned forward and nodded. She knew it would be a surprise, so she also pulled her own pendant out from under the collar of her shirt and said, “So is mine, except mine is set in gold. Do you think that means something?”

  Shemalla stopped hearing anything Amanda said as soon as
she realized the girl from Earth was showing her an unmistakably Tualan birth crystal. “So Alena really did perform the ceremony for you? That’s amazing!”

  “No, Rasa performed it for me after Jehoban gave this to her to gift to me. Just like you said, there are some things of the story we once knew which would differ slightly with reality.”

  “Too true! Which reminds me, if you didn’t come to Roswell to locate your children, why did you come here?”

  “Two reasons, really. First, my sister has gotten caught up with drugs and is now incarcerated in the jail here in Roswell. We need to find out if there’s anything we can do for her, but mostly for her children. They’ve been taken away and put into foster care.” Amanda stopped talking as her mother began to sob with the telling of the story.

  “You said there were two reasons. What was the second?”

  Amanda looked her straight in the eyes and said, “To find you, Shemalla. In fact, given your history with lost children, you might be able to help with getting my nieces released to my parents. What do you think?”

  “Definitely! Can we plan to meet for dinner tomorrow night? I can do some asking around and let you know what I’ve discovered. What are your sister’s name and her children’s names?”

  Chris stepped forward and said, “Carrie Covington is our daughter. Her girls’ names are Emily and April. Do you really think you’ll be able to get them back for us?”

  “I’ll do my best,” she promised.

  Diane rushed forward and hugged Shemalla. She clung to her with the desperation she had been harboring for the hopeless situation. Never had she imagined that this woman might be their savior in this mess.

  Amanda ripped the bottom off of the piece of paper Shemalla had handed her. She dug in her purse until she found the pen at the bottom. Rapidly she scribbled down the names as well as her own cell phone number. She held it out to Shemalla and said, “If you need any information, please call me right away. Thank you for everything!”

  “I haven’t done anything yet,” she protested.