23: The portal to peace

Isabella felt she was living on the margins, neither fully in life, nor fully in Arcania. Not a twin and not an only child. Not a girlfriend, nor fully free. In some ways she resented the fact that she had found the big house and that it had become important to her, a source of secret solace that kept her going through the hard parts of her life.

Her college work was not really going anywhere and anyway she found it hard to be ambitious like her friends. She loved going to the gardens of the big house and working with Icarayus and the Spectas and the thought of leaving them was very hard indeed. But on the other hand she knew the big house was at best temporary and that her real life existed elsewhere.

She was contemplating joining Danny on his travels and went to speak to Icarayus about it. When she arrived at the Iron Gates she found him waiting for her. He was rearranging the figures on the gates but there was an air of anxiety about him and he gave her a huge smile when he saw her.

He started immediately walking towards the blue mist talking over his shoulder as she jogged to keep up. He explained that he needed her help, a large number of Spectas had just returned, many more than he expected and that they all needed a great deal of care. They had been through a very shocking situation and were lucky to have found their way home in one piece.

She assumed they were going round to the aviary, but he turned into the blue mist and held open a portal for her. When she knew they were caring for Spectas this side of the blue mist she knew it was serious and her stomach knotted as she passed through the veil.

She followed him to a vast circular building that she had never noticed before. The thick walls were translucent, just like the doors in the big house, so she could see lights and shapes moving within it, but there was no roof so the Spectas would have been free to come and go. There were doors lining the walls and lights and colours were coming and going through them all the time. She paused to take it all in but Icarayus was at one of the doors by now and was beckoning for her to enter.

As she entered she saw a mass of activity. There were circular beds of all different colours suspended throughout the space. Rose quartz, green calcite, gold calcite and clear quartz seemed to be the favourite choice. On these circular beds were Spectas in all the stages of exhaustion, bedraggled, breathless, wet, broken limbed and working to save them was everyone she had ever met at the house, plus everyone who had been present in the cathedral that day.

Icarayus seemed to be the one in charge, his crystal wand was in his hand now as he directed operations and watched over his charges to make sure none were overlooked.

Simmi, Jonathan, Rachel, Raven and Japeth were all busy tending to the Spectas. Simmi was sitting on one of the crystal benches that circled the room stroking two Spectas at once, with a third lying on his lap. He seem to be squeezed between two angels, both of whom were rocking in unison and singing to their charges which were folded in their wings.

Rachel was walking up and down chanting to two Spectas nestled into her shoulders. Raven barely looked up because he was hand feeding one bird with what appeared to Isabella to be drops of light. Jonathan seemed to be bathing Spectas in rays of light and the old woman from the night before was holding one bird in her arm like a baby and appeared to be singing to it.
The tw
o sprites from her earth healing were also there doing what they had done for her, for them. They were busy pounding away at their mortar and pestle, creating moss nests that were scented and healing and handing them out to the magical creatures who were caring for these poor exhausted Spectas. Isabella’s heart filled to bursting with compassion but she did not know where to start.

She felt her elbow being taken and looked to see the beautiful Being in blue and gold directing her to a section where a number of Spectas were laying on a clear quartz table. She directed Isabella to stand opposite her and threw bands of colour, like ribbon, towards her and silently guided her to create between them a floating six sided pyramid that had all the colours of the rainbow woven within it. Once this delicate and beautiful structure had been completed to her satisfaction she asked Isabella to stand back as she started to spin it very gently at first and then more quickly. The rainbow of colours quickly became a spinning disc of white light.

The Being stood right back and watched from a distance and motioned for Isabella to do the same. Isabella could not take her eyes off her, she was as delicate as a dragonfly and yet so confident and precise in her approach. Her knowledge of colour and structure seemed evident to Isabella although far greater than her own understanding. The light that was created was very pure, almost electric and the Spectas responded almost immediately, drawing life and energy into themselves and slowly coming to life. It was magical to see the transformation and when one table was completed she and Isabella moved to the next. Different colours each time, different patterns, but all spiralling into while light and all having the same effect.
For Isabella time stood still, she and this Being worked until the room was cleared and Icarayus came round to thank everybody for their help. The exhausted Spectas were now resting elsewhere in the big house and many of the residents sat quietly themselves contemplating the batch of new arrivals.

Finally the Being rose from her seat, held out her hand to Isabella and asked her to join her for a nightcap. Isabella followed her up the spiral staircase, where the universe was lit up with a myriad of lights tonight and where the ink on the manuscript in the hall was still wet. Isabella had never been so high in the big house, in fact she had not realised that the big house went up to such a height, but finally the Being stopped in a blue dome that was cool and refreshing.

“Blue lace agate,” thought Isabella as she ran her hand over the surface.
The Being handed her a bowl of elderflower and honey that smelt delicious, which she, of course, sniffed while Isabella drank deeply.

“I am Astille,” she said pouring Isabella out another bowl, “we have met before, at your healing.”

'So it was you that Aunt May saw.' Thought Isabella smiling at her. “Nice to meet you.” She said.

“I imagine you are wondering why we all know you so well and what we are all doing living in this big house?”

“Well, yes I suppose I do wonder about it sometimes. It all seems so strange and yet so familiar at the same time.”

“We are your soul family and all the lives that we have lived are part of your history. Most people do not get to meet their soul family until they are dead, unless they are born with a special kind of awareness.”

“Is that what happened to me?”

“Raven’s death happened to you, that opened your mind to the possibility of life after death and that opened the doorway to the big house.”

“I thought that was Icarayus?”

“He may have been the one that held back the blue mist, but you are the one that followed your soul. Raven’s death created a portal through which you could either have chosen to pass, or close with grief and anger. You chose the former and we all rejoiced. It is not an easy choice to make and one that can bring much ridicule and self doubt in its wake and, I am pleased to say, here you are. I know that you have met some of your past lives and have had a chance to benefit a little from what they have to offer.

"I also know that you have a particular skill with our young, or sick Spectas and that you have been of great use to Icarayus who at times has felt that he could not manage without you. You have a natural talent for healing.”
“But they are only birds.”

“Not so Isabella. The Spectas who are waiting in the gardens are the souls of human beings waiting for their chance to be born. They have chosen their parents and are now preparing to enter life just like the mother preparing for the arrival of her baby. They exit through the blue mist at the moment of conception so that they can keep a watchful eye on how their body is developing. During the nine months of the pregnancy Icarayus and some of the others who you have met, Jonathan in particular, counsels them on their mission in life so to speak.”

“They come into life with a mission?”

“Well, more an understanding of purpose. Do you remember the spiral spinning in Japeth’s room?”

“Yes.”

“That represented the purpose of one person who Japeth is watching over. As long as the spiral spins they are living in harmony with their purpose. If it starts to falter Japeth knows to try to reach them with some help. We all have spirals spinning in our rooms and Jonathan has many spiralling within the cathedral. We are very dedicated to our charges you know.”

“But not enough to stop Raven dying.” Isabella heard herself say and then instantly regretted it, it seemed such a mean hearted and petulant response to what Astille had just described.

“We do not interfere with when, or how, people pass over, that is between them and their soul. We are guardians of their spiritual well being, but we are all subject to the higher powers and the laws that govern progress and karma.

“When someone comes to earth we as part of their soul know when they are due to return, but that is hidden from the person themselves so they can live life to the full. There are accidents of course there are, you have seen some today. Some of those Spectas that we were finding it hard to resuscitate had not been due to return yet, but they were caught up in someone else’s actions and so we all had to respond to make their return as smooth as possible. Of course our influence is limited to how they feel when they have accepted their death, but the reactions of their loved ones figure greatly in this acceptance, so sometimes we have to wait a long time for grief to subside before the soul can move on.”

“Was this true for Raven?”

“He did find it hard to watch his mother suffer so much. It is not so much the suffering, but not being able to help. You suffered too and Danny, but Raven found a way of helping you and in helping you he helped himself move on.”

“Move on to what?”

“Close your eyes and I’ll show you.”
Isabella closed her eyes and immediately wonderful colours billowed in front of her. There was a bright blue, a lime green, a shock of gold and a deep pink all like clouds stretching out in front of her. Then the purples started to flow and a gentle gold and she felt that this energy was like perfume. A soft, thin, pure note was in the centre and when she concentrated on that she felt her palms tingle and a peace descend on her that was like a cool waterfall on a hot afternoon.

As the stream of energy filled her and washed her clean she felt an energy descend that held her very, very steady and in that peace nothing mattered. Raven was present, her future was assured and her past seemed to be lined up behind her giving the strength to carry on, she felt overawed and invincible at the same time. A very humbling experience.

“Did you feel the peace?” asked Astille.

Rachel nodded and sat in the peace a while longer. Astille watched her with a gentle patience that Isabella knew was fathomless. Astille had no need to push, or prove anything, she just waited.

“This experience you can take anywhere,” she said after a while, “anywhere, India for example. However, if you are going to travel then give me some of your time and we will make sure that you can take with you the means to open this portal to peace wherever life may take you.”

Isabella said very little, she nodded not wanting to break the spell. Danny, India and a portal to peace, what more could she ask for?