Today, you carry her heart. If you were to
stand inside the rings and harness their power, the
universe would be as you wanted it to
be.”
“He has my heart today, and for all of
eternity,” I corrected, finding fault in Palhan’s words. Pelhan
smiled and bowed his head in my direction.
Landen stared at the rings. I could feel his
fear; he had no desire to be the one to see the universe. “I am
nothing more than a man,” he said, still staring at the looking
glass.
“Your words are true,” Pelhan said in a
proud tone. “If your intent were good, the universe would have
harmony, but people could still choose to have hardship. If your
intent were bad, the universe would be in turmoil, but people could
choose to have a peace inside themselves. This power only controls
the circumstances around us; as beings, we control how we react to
them,” Pelhan said, staring at Landen.
“So, if Drake somehow finds a way to control
that looking glass – people could still have the will to fight
against what his intent is?” I asked.
Pelhan’s eyes moved to me. “The only way he
could gain control over this looking glass is with your heart, and
yes, souls can always fight.”
“
I will never love him, Landen – I
promise,”
I thought.
Landen looked at me and smiled.
“I
know,”
he thought softly.
“The love you share is frightening to those
who seek to support Drake. They know that it’s true, that it has
given you power that cannot be countered with any spell.”
“What would happen if I just destroyed those
rings? Would that hurt the universe?” Landen asked Pelhan.
“Everything that is created can be
destroyed, just as everything that is destroyed can come alive
again. It will be created again,” Pelhan warned.
Landen looked at me, then down at my
necklace, and then back to Pelhan.
“What about the star he holds? The one that
belongs to Willow?” Landen asked.
“The star is what gives the power to the
looking glass. The only way to take the power from the star is to
place it behind the sun and moon.”
“Do you know what we’ll face when Mercury
orbits?” Landen asked.
Pelhan shook his head no. “No one does - not
even Drake,” he said in a sorrowful tone.
“He knew when we faced the moon. He took
Willow’s friends...lives were lost,” Landen said in a defensive
tone.
“Drake only knew which moon would trigger
the trials. The events that occurred beyond that were the result of
thoughts and actions taken by several others. Drake is just as much
at the mercy of these trials as the two of you,” Pelhan said.
“Mercy? He didn’t lose anyone he didn’t care
to lose,” I argued.
“Did he not?” Pelhan said, looking at
me.
“Why are you defending him?” I almost
yelled.
Landen squeezed my hand and sent a peaceful
emotion through me.
Pelhan smiled. “Forgive me. I have forgotten
the scorn of the Scorpio in you. I did not mean to seem as if I
were defending him. I only want you to see the circumstances from
an outside point of view.”
“Did Livingston tell you Drake’s side of
what happened?” Landen asked.
Pelhan nodded. “Livingston’s soul will
remain in this dimension until he sees that each of his sons -
including Drake - find their peace,” Pelhan said, smiling.
“And what peace does he want Drake to have?”
I asked with a sting in my voice.
Pelhan’s eyes smiled as he heard my sharp
words. Landen squeezed my hand again, doing everything in his power
to calm me.
“There is a soul waiting for Drake...the
time will come,” Pelhan said. He then unfolded his legs and stood;
I was afraid that I’d offended him and that he was casually asking
us to leave.
“Do you wish to see Livingston?” Pelhan said
in an excited tone.
Landen looked at me, and fear soared through
the both of us. We had laid Livingston in the ground; we knew his
body was gone.
“There is no reason for fear; his soul is
only watching,” Pelhan said, looking to the doorway that led to the
courtyard. He walked to the door, and Landen and I followed him
slowly.
When we stepped through to the courtyard,
the energy of the beautiful flowers rushed around us. It was so
amazing...absolutely breathtaking. We could feel Libby, Preston,
our fathers, and August. It was unmistakable: Livingston was with
them. I felt my body tremble. Landen wrapped his arm tightly around
me. We walked slowly through the beautiful pathway, and at the end
it opened into a stunning, lush green field. Preston’s body was
sitting in mediation, and his soul danced around a breathtaking
white glow. Within the glow, I could see Livingston’s eyes laughing
as he played with Preston. Libby was sitting in my father’s lap,
watching. August and Ashten looked on in wonder, and their eyes
found us as Pelhan led us to them.
“Are you seeing this?” I asked my
father.
He nodded. “Livingston showed us how. We can
see the Auras as you can, and they’re incredible,” my father
answered.
“Livingston,” Landen said, stepping in front
of Pelhan to look closer.
Livingston looked up from Preston. The light
around him seemed to shine a little bit brighter.
“I’m sorry; I couldn’t see that you were
protecting us...I didn’t mean to be so harsh to you,” Landen said
in a cracked voice.
“Words are for the body; he cannot speak to
you - but he wants you to know that you were more calm through his
last days than he could have asked you to be,” Pelhan said in a low
tone.
“Does he have to stay here like this? He has
other sons - Marc and Chrispin - they need to see him like
this...to see him at peace,” Landen said, reaching back to find
me.
“He has never left them. If they listen,
they will hear him. They must pass the anger that stirs inside
them,” Pelhan said. Upon hearing Pelhan’s words, August and our
fathers nodded. Preston then called Livingston’s attention back,
and we all stood in awe - realizing that no one ever really
dies.
Chapter Eight
An older woman joined us in the courtyard.
Her hair was long, thick, and as white as the Aura around her.
“This is Aora, my soulmate,” Pelhan said,
introducing her to us.
Aora bowed her head to August and our
fathers, then to me and Landen. “Landen, would you walk with me
please?” Pelhan asked.
Landen looked at me with dread; he didn’t
want to leave my side.
“Willow is safer here than you can imagine.
Aora has longed to speak with Willow...give them their time,”
Pelhan said in a tender tone.
I looked slowly to Aora; she was smiling
peacefully at me. Landen kissed my forehead and looked inside my
eyes.
“I love you, Willow,”
he thought.
“
I love you,”
I thought, smiling up
at him.
His smile widened, bringing his perfect
dimples to life.
“Can you control that temper of yours?”
he
thought in a teasing manner.
I heard Aora and Pelhan laugh a little, and
I looked to them, sure they could hear my thoughts. I nodded up at
Landen; he nodded back, then passed by me to take Pelhan’s side.
Aora came cautiously to my side and reached for my arm. I turned to
see Landen and Pelhan walk into the distance. My father and the
others were still smiling in amazement at Livingston’s presence.
Aora gently pulled my arm, and I walked slowly in the direction in
which she was leading me, back into the beautiful home.
“One day, you will make peace with all that
you have seen and all that you will see,” Aora said to me in calm
tone.
I looked to my side at her, unsure that I
wanted to know what I would have to make peace with in the future -
or the past, for that matter. Once inside the house, Aora led me
slowly across the room. On the other side of the room was a wide
hallway; it was clear she was leading me there. “The first time I
saw you, I was barley seven,” she said, looking over to me.
“Tomorrow, I will turn two hundred and ninety.”
I slowly turned my head in admiration; Aora
was breathtaking, and I could only hope age would be so kind to
me.
At the threshold of the hallway, we stopped.
Aora then turned to face me. “There are certain traits that we
carry with us through each life. The one you have sustained is a
love of color, of art,” she said proudly. She looked down the
hallway, and my eyes followed hers.
Along the walls were large paintings
surrounded by gold frames, and I slowly began to walk into the
hallway. I stopped at the first painting. It was of me. Landen was
at my side, and behind us was a beautiful home - much like the one
we lived in now, brick with wide porches on both levels. I walked
slowly to the next painting, only to find that time had shifted
back further. Landen was still at my side. “Has anything else
remained the same?” I asked, swallowing hard and trying to
comprehend how there could have been so many lives.
“Your sun has always remained the same,
Scorpio, just as Landen has always remained a Pisces,” Aora said,
walking to my side to gaze at the paintings with me.
“Is that bad? To be a Scorpio over and over
again?” I said, ashamed of the temper it gave me at times.
“There are no bad signs; we choose our sign
over and over again to master it. You must love who you are within
your sun,” Aora said.
“Did the other planets stay the same?” I
asked, knowing now that each planet and house helped guide my
traits.
“They have only been repeated exactly at the
time of your last birth. The other planets that passed through your
sun at your earlier births gave you insight to the life you chose
to live then,” Aroa said quietly.
I sighed and walked through the middle of
the hallway, searching all the paintings, assuring myself that
Landen was at my side each time. As I looked at the last painting
at the end of hallway – which also featured Landen at my side – I
let out a small breath of relief.
Aora silently walked to my side. “Now...you
were not looking for a life without Landen - were you?” Her tone
was amused.
I looked at her with guilt all over my face.
“Were there any?” I asked hoarsely.
Aora smiled and tilted her head. Her eyes
told me there had been. “More than one?” I asked. She nodded yes,
and I felt my insides fall. The photo of Drake at my side and the
words he said to me – that he had seen me love him – came spinning
through my mind. Suddenly, I felt dizzy, and I let my hands catch
myself on my knees as I tried to breathe. As Aora reached for my
shoulder, I felt her overwhelming calm and breath slowly came back
to me. I sat down where I stood, looking past the room. “Where are
the paintings of those lives?” I asked, still dazed.
“You only painted the lives you longed to
live again,” Aora said softly, trying to catch my gaze.
I let my eyes find hers. “Were they...were
they lives with Drake?..did I...did I love him?” I asked - not only
Aora, but also myself.
Aora smiled and pulled my hand gently. I
stood slowly, looking at her intently and waiting for her
answer.
“It is possible to love another...you can
only be in love with one,” she answered.
“Where was Landen? How did we not find one
another?” I asked as tears of grief came to the corners of my
eyes.
“You never spoke of the choices that you
made that led you away from Landen and into Drake’s arms,” Aora
answered.
I felt sick to my stomach.
“You have loved another, and so has Landen,”
Aora said in a calm voice.
The sickness I felt was replaced by intense
jealousy and rage. I could see Landen holding a faceless woman the
way he held me. I felt betrayed.
“Now, there is that angry, jealous Scorpio,”
Aora said, smiling at me. I didn’t find it funny at all. I also
thought her making light of the betrayal between me and Landen was
an insult on every level. “There is no need to be angry; we have
laughed over this matter together in the past,” she said.
“I don’t see how being away from my soulmate
is funny in any way,” I said shortly.
“I agree, but you must understand that even
though you were separated by physical form, you were never really
apart. You lips may have told another that you loved them, your
touch may have confirmed your love to them, but your soul beckoned
another, restless, waiting for time to pass so you could be as one
again,” Aora said.
My mind took me to last night, where - for
the first time that I was aware of - Landen and I combined our
energy and were truly one. I felt the anger and jealousy melt away.
Aora’s eyes looked to the white band of light that connected me and
Landen. “I can see that you and Landen have taught yourself to
harness the raw power of your energy,” she said, smiling
widely.
I felt heat rise in my cheeks as I blushed
at the blissful memory. “That act will strengthen the bond between
you and give you a power that has never been unleashed in any
life.”
“Will it be strong enough to protect us
through Mercury?” I asked.
“You are both are strong enough for every
trial - you just have to believe that you are,” Aora said, still
smiling at me. She walked to the last painting and moved her finger
across its base. A small opening appeared. Aora then reached in and
retrieved a small folded piece of paper, yellow from the time that
had passed.
“These are your words. You left this here
for you to find today,” Aora said, reaching to give me the paper. I
took it and unfolded it slowly, swallowing hard, afraid of what
could be written. In beautiful penmanship, I read:
I would address you by name, but there is no
way for me to know the name that was chosen for you in this life. I
know that if you are reading this you have found your soulmate and
have passed the trail of the moon. I only hope that it did not
prove to be a painful awakening for us. If you have spoken with
Aora, I’m sure you realize now that we have walked this earth many
times. I want to tell you that each life was full of bliss, but I
cannot lie to myself. There were regrets in every life. Know this:
with each last breath, we were grateful for having breathed at all.
Living is painful. Without pain, reality would escape us and the
lessons the world has for us will go untaught. You can walk away
from all of this and simply love the one who completes you. We have
tried to do so more than once, and each time we learned that regret
is worse than anxiety, and we heeded the call to help others. Take
this advice from your soul: love yourself, love your soulmate, and
the universe will be at your beck and call.