The Rosaries (Crossroads Series) (16 page)

Natalie was a bit puzzled. “What’s an
Orisha
?”

“An
Orisha
is one of God’s aides. Catholics call them Saints.”

“So
Obatala
is a Saint?”

“
Obatala
is more than just a saint, Miss Natalie. The other
Orishas
lived earthly lives and were raised to sainthood after their death.
Obatala
is the closest
Orisha
to God – He embodies the energy of the Christ.”

Natalie was totally mesmerized. “Wow! Really? That’s awesome.”

“There is a dual energy around you, Miss Natalie. If I could humbly assess my impression, I would say that you are guided through this life by the
Ibeji
, the cosmic twins.”

“What do you mean when you say I’m surrounded by energy,
Lakeisha
?”

“Each of us is crowned by an
Orisha
; He or She is like our guardian angel. You have two over you, but they are of the same essence.”

“How cool!”

“The Twins represent the duality of the Universe. They are good and evil, constructive and destructive, protective and vengeful, all at the same time. If you ever wish to ask for their protection, or their assistance, you must bring two small offerings near a playground, or anywhere where children normally abound. But, don’t forget to always bring exactly two of the same, as they can get a little jealous of each other and competitive at times. The last thing you want to do is to get them fighting with one another.”
Lakeisha
smiled, and she suddenly appeared older, wiser.

And then something happened. The snake began to furiously tap on the glass case. When
Lakeisha
took him out to see why it was so unsettled, it stretched toward Natalie. Rather than being afraid, Natalie moved toward it and extended her hand to touch it. The snake immediately wrapped around her arm and inched in midair toward her face. Natalie held her breath – although
she loved snakes, she was completely surprised when it slithered against her cheek, touching her skin ever so gently. An explosion of images shot through her mind. She saw herself holding the rosary, walking down the street from her dream, before entering a building. Suddenly she was no longer holding one rosary, but two, and they were twisted together. She felt she was floating somewhere that wasn’t Earth, but had no idea where she was. And then, as fast as it started, the vision was over. She woke up on the white cloth
Lakeisha
had laid in front of her altar; the snake had detached from her and was now drinking out of the shallow dish.
Lakeisha
picked it up reverently and placed it back in its case.

Natalie looked at
Lakeisha
and hoped to get some sort of explanation, but
Lakeisha
was instead asking her questions. “What did you see, Natalie?”

“I’m not sure…I saw myself, holding a rosary I found in Aunt Catherine’s room, and then I saw another rosary. In the vision, the rosaries became infused with light. I can’t remember anything else.”

“You were sent a message, Natalie. Maybe it is time we sit down and talk.”

He woke up in a sweat. The nightmare had been so vivid he struggled to come back to the reality of his room. In the dream, Belinda was back to take him with her. She looked different than she had when she was alive - her blond hair was now black, and she was wearing a tight-fitting black dress; she was walking slowly toward him, coming from the shadows, and when she got closer she stood in front of him and grew in size, until she could almost touch the ceiling. Her head spun around in a full circle, and her voice was strange, deep yet melodious. “You can’t get away from me now. Your game has lasted long enough, and it is about to end. I can see you wherever you go, and I will always be nearby.”

Something on her chest glowed – a strange red circle that emanated a bright red light and slowly opened to let something out. Suddenly spiders were crawling out of the opening and rushed toward him. He ran and ran, but the spiders were faster than he was. They caught up with him and crawled up his legs, and into his eyes and mouth. He tried to scream but words stuck to the back of his throat, trapped into the silky thread of sticky webs. He collapsed to the ground and felt the spiders’ venom shoot through him. As his consciousness began to slip away, he
heard the woman laugh and when he turned his head to look at her, her mouth was so close that he could smell her fetid breath.

When he woke up and realized he was only dreaming, he took a deep breath to steady himself; he got out of bed, walked quickly into the bathroom and turned on the light. When he looked at himself in the mirror he saw strange red bumps on his face, and the haunting sound of Belinda’s voice, spreading quickly through his feverish mind, turned his blood to pure ice.

Chapter Ten

“The rosary your aunt left in your possession is one of the four key elements necessary to trigger the unfolding of an ancient prophecy, Natalie.”

Natalie was now sitting on the bed sipping water from a glass
Lakeisha
handed to her, still a bit shaken by what happened but intrigued beyond belief.

“I don’t doubt it,
Lakeisha
. When I took the rosary home, something strange happened; I just pulled it out of the pouch to look at it, since I didn’t really have the time while I was here, and held it in my hand for a moment…well, I can’t really explain what took place next; suddenly I saw myself holding the rosary, and I also saw a street I have seen before in a dream, but I don’t think I’ve ever been there in real life.”

“What happened after the vision?”

“Nothing, really. I freaked out and put the rosary back into its pouch. I can’t exactly put any of this into words, but in those few moments I felt as if I knew everything – past, present and future. What does the prophecy predict,
Lakeisha
?”

“Nobody really knows for sure. All we have are transcripts of the oral knowledge that was passed down from one generation to another. When the Nuns came to America, many didn’t trust sharing their knowledge with new people, and some of the information was lost. However, we do know that it revolves around the meeting point of a sacred cross which extends to the four cardinal points from the center of the
Atlantic Ocean
. The elders mapped those points as New Orleans, London UK, Carolina in Brazil and Benin in Africa. According to them, each of those cities is meant to provide solid ground for the unfolding of one of the four quadrants of the
prophecy. There has been speculation among different traditions that the meeting point of the cross marks the exact location of Atlantis, although nobody really knows for sure or has any factual evidence of it. Also, there are supposed to be four signs that precede the shift of consciousness predicted by the prophecy. The first two have already taken place – Hurricane Katrina and the catastrophic financial meltdown we are experiencing on a global level. No one really knows what the next sign will be, or if the next location to be a catalyst will be one of those the elders predicted. All we know is that the prophecy is due to manifest on Earth in, or a few years after, the year 2012.”

“I’ve heard a lot of predictions about 2012.” Natalie said, entirely captured by
Lakeisha’s
words.

“So have I, Natalie, but few of them reflect the truth. People think that 2012 is the year when we will all die, and very few, if any, have understood that it is the year we will finally begin to live. With each of the prophesied signs, a wound in societal history is revealed and brought to the surface to be healed. In the case of Katrina, racial divides were brought out in the light, and although mankind still has some ways to go, things are getting better under the surface – people are talking and raising issues, thus looking for ways to fix problems and heal old hurts. With the economic crash, many people had no choice but to go within and brush off the dust from their priority lists. They were forced to make hard choices, and through those choices they have learned to identify with important feelings such as hope, humility and compassion, and they have felt compelled to reach out to others. As the blanket of security woven with threads of material possession unravels, many are connecting to the self and to the collective.”

Natalie was suddenly pensive. “
Lakeisha
…you mentioned London as one of the key cities – I’m scheduled to go to London next month.”

Lakeisha’s
heart skipped a beat. “Why are you going to London, Natalie?” Surprise mixed with a sensation of euphoria – was this the epiphany of the second sign? Could it be that this was the reason
Elegba
directed her to go to London?

“Aunt Catherine didn’t give me the rosary to keep. She told me to find her daughter and give it to her. According to the letter Aunt Catherine wrote the day before she died, she felt compelled to buy it last year, when she visited a local antique store to buy a little token for the daughter she hoped to meet. Another reason why I am going is because one of Aunt Catherine’s friends, Tom Hadley, is willing to allow some of my work into his gallery.”

“Catherine
Bouvier
had a daughter? I knew nothing of it.”

“She allegedly gave birth secretly, over thirty-odd years ago, in London, and the baby was left at a convent of nuns. Supposedly, the father of the child was a married man who wanted nothing to do with her or her offspring, so her family sent her away to get rid of the baby, worried about their reputation in the eyes of society.”

Lakeisha
listened intently. “Hmmm…worry is one of the ills that affect the world. We worry too much about the perception of others – not the truth, mind you; only their perception, their illusion.”

Natalie nodded emphatically. “Boy, don’t I know that? My family – or I should say the family that adopted me – lives for appearances, and their perception is often faulty.”

“That’s one of the main levels of consciousness that will shift. Those who are too anchored to the old material ways have one of two soul choices – they can adjust their perception or they can go back to the Source before the shift occurs.”

“By going back to the Source, do you mean they will die?”

“It is believed that those choices were made prior to our birth; some people agreed to adapt to the new consciousness, and others didn’t. Those who didn’t are going back – have you noticed how many more people seem to be dying unexpectedly, lately?”

“Now that you mention it,
Lakeisha
, I think you are right. I have wondered often what is happening. Too bad Aunt Catherine didn’t sign up to be here when the shift occurs.”

“Maybe her role was different, Natalie, maybe her task was to oversee you doing your part. Or, on the flip side, perhaps she really didn’t agree to adjust – her attachment to societal rules and etiquette was paramount.”

“It really was.” Natalie smiled, thinking about the last day she had seen the old lady. “Aunt Catherine could have written the ultimate Book of Manners; I’m quite sure nobody knew the rules of our societal game better than she did.”

“Natalie…maybe Catherine’s daughter is the final keeper of the rosary. If so, we need to find her. Nobody knows who the final keepers of all four objects are.”

“We…?”

“I was told I must go to
London
to protect the chain of events leading to the unfolding.”

“Who told you that?”

“Natalie, if I tell you how I found out you wouldn’t believe me, so let’s leave it at that…you are going to
London
; I’m led to go there myself; why don’t we travel together and see what happens?”

Natalie pondered over
Lakeisha’s
suggestion for a moment; then she smiled. “I think that’s a terrific idea,
Lakeisha
. I would feel so much better going with someone I know already.”

“Then it is set. Call me as soon as you have some of the details of the trip in place, so I can buy a ticket on the same flight you will be on.”

“I will,
Lakeisha
. Thank you for your loyalty to Aunt Catherine – I know that despite her vinegary exterior, Catherine really respected your opinion. It was after talking to you that she finally warmed up to me. Not a second too soon, either.”

“Everything happens in its own time, Natalie, and that timing is not always aligned with what we perceive as being the right moment.”

“But if we have free will,
Lakeisha
, how does everything really work? Do we only have the illusion of choosing, if everything is pre-destined, or is fate changed by what we choose?”

Lakeisha
laughed. “You just asked a million dollar question, Natalie. Some believe that the reason we feel we have a choice in what we do is because we don’t understand time. Time in itself doesn’t really exist - it is one of the many human fabrications to make life on Earth easier. What happens now and what will happen in the future already happened – we just don’t know it yet, because our minds aren’t ready to accept that our ability to control our circumstances is nothing more than illusion we keep alive to feed our ego. Although our goal in the ascension process is that of overcoming the ego, we can’t do so completely without causing the destruction of our earthly selves. That’s why there are only a few truly enlightened people that pop up in history from time to time. Most of us continue to create the drama necessary for the collective soul to learn of itself. The prophecy predicts that everyone will reach the same level of consciousness by the time the shift has come to pass; those who struggle to adjust to concepts of unity, equality, oneness, or true meaning of worth will be experiencing great hardship between now and the time of the unfolding.”