JASMINE
Chapter Fourteen

Jack and Jasmine Learn How to Put Up Pretenses

Needless to say, after Jack delivered his monumental speech to me I felt much better. So, I wasn’t the only one who could have a spiritual impact on others! But my happiness was short-lived. I heard a knock on the door, and I surmised it was Rose! Who else would think highly enough of us to knock?

"Come in," I said. "The door is open." The door slowly creaked open, as though Rose was trying to pay us a modicum of obeisance by making the gesture, as though Jack and I were gods who deserved such pious actions! I looked at Rose, and I noticed that, today, instead of being decked out in all of her finery, she was wearing a simple white muslin shirt, tucked into a long, plain white skirt. Why, she looked like a washerwoman! Confused, I asked, "Rose, why are you wearing plain clothes? You looked like such a queen in your finery!"

Rose looked at me, her deep and innocent blue eyes bearing right into my soul, but not in an ominous way; rather, in a very curious and childish way. She reminded me of a young and harmless child when she looked at me. She said, "Don’t I always look like a queen?" in a tone of voice that implied that she had been somewhat hurt by my words. Her voice was so soft and benign and innocent, it reminded me of the gentle look of a young doe!

I take one step back, and I look at her again. I concentrate very hard, as I am tired, and I concentrate on her entire profile, with her bright red hair, whose hues remind me of sun-ripened honey that has permanently captured the warming and golden rays of the sun, and sure enough, I see a divine radiance somehow projecting out of her image. But this time it’s different. Instead of seeing a high society girl, who projects this appearance because she is dressed up in so much finery, I see a young girl who looks beautiful and grand! On the one hand, her garments make her look so plain, but on the other hand, her beauty and radiance shines through, and her clothes just serve to give her a more natural and sublime look. Suddenly, I lapse into a trance, where I see her on a open prairie on a sunny day. There she is, standing right in the middle of the fields of straight, golden weeds of wild wheat and hay. I take deep breaths, and a sense of calmness washes over my body as I look at her, and I can see the image in all of its vividness and clarity, as though it was real! Her hair catches my eye, as it captures the essence of the sun, and projects it in so many bright, yet reddish honey hues, and all of a sudden, I see a surreal aura sweeping over her body and transforming her in the process. I can see her, with her eyes shut and her arms outstretched, raising her head so that her face can drink in the warmth and rays of the sun. I can see a sense of calmness and tranquility wash across her face, and suddenly, I realize that this is home for her! This is where she belongs, and a sense of knowing and tranquility washes over me as I realize that she has found her rightful place in the world! I look at her face, and I see that it has a natural tanned complexion, as though the sun has baked her skin in all of the appropriate ways to give her skin a natural glow!

I pull out of my trance, and I say, "You’re right, but you don’t look like a queen. Rather, you look like a gift from God!"

It is at this point in time that Rose’s eyes widen, and a look of shock and amazement washes over her face. She says, in a very startled voice, "My darling Jasmine, what do you say?"

I place a comforting hand on her right shoulder, and I say, "Don’t worry, Rose. Someday, you will understand what I say."

For now, the confused look on Rose’s face indicates to me that she doesn’t understand what I say. Jack comes out and looks at Rose, and a look of relief and happiness washes over his face. He says, "Why, Rose…you…look natural, like somehow, the real you is showing through over all of that bogus finery that you used to wear because you wanted to cover up your real self!"

It is at this point in time that I am catapulted into a rude state of understanding, for all of my ability to venture deep into the spiritual realm, it never occurred to me that the finery she had been wearing was bogus and had served to cover up the real essence of her…then bang, like a rock that was rudely thrown at the side of my head, a hard idea flies up from the spiritual realm and hits me! It dawns on me that Jack has hit on the concept I had been seeing that had lain inherent and hidden all along in all of my meditations. Rose had been putting on pretenses by going along with all of the hoopla of the upper class. The upper class had tried to justify their false and perceived higher status in society via various mechanisms, one of which was donning very fine clothes as a way of assuring to themselves and to others that their status was real, when in actuality, it was all perceived. It was based on the perceptions that people convince themselves are true. In reality, Cal is as much a gentleman as I am a toad! It is only by looking beyond the artificial barriers that society teaches all of us is important that we can begin to discover our true selves, as well as the truth in society! Rose had made an important step towards liberation when she wore simple clothes, because, by doing so, she realized that it is substance and not perceived image--those who wear expensive looking and nice clothes are perceived by others to be rich and important--that is important! My God! How wise Jack was! I was also hit by another insight, because I remember one time when Prita walked into Waile’s room wearing a nice, knee-length summer dress, and Waile remarked, "It looks like you, with a little less dirt on your image!" In a way, that statement was a mirror image of what Jack had just told Rose!

Anyway, Jack and Rose were now looking at me with a funny look on their faces. They said, in unison, "Jasmine, what’s wrong?"

I replied, "Nothing!"

Rose said, "Very well. Now, I know that this is going to sound very strange, but I have arranged for both of you to meet Mrs. Jones so that you can learn how to act and dress for the dinner party. You see, you both are ladies and gentleman, but no one at the dinner social will accede you to be that way, unless you learn how to act the part!"

It is at this point in time that I try to fight the bubbles of sarcastic laughter that are just itching to escape from my throat, as I say, "Yes. We must learn to act the way they want us to act to be accepted by them! It won’t do to just act like ourselves, because these people don’t understand that chivalry comes in all types, shapes, and forms!"

Since we both had the day off from work--my God, what a rare day that was--we weren’t worried that the superintendent would go looking for us to have us do tasks. Rose and the two of us walked up to the upper deck, where the privileged upper class men and women got to stay. As I was walking up the stairs, I felt as though I was a lady in waiting, and in disguise, who by some divine miracle was being invited to have a glimpse into my true standing in life. I thought this was all the more telling, because I was wearing washerwoman clothes as I was walking into a lady’s room.

Finally, we got to our destined place, and Rose picked up the huge brass knocker that hung on the door and she knocked on the knocker. I could hear the thuds on the door that the knocker made. The door opened, and a very chubby and pleasant-faced middle aged woman opened the door. I noticed that she was wearing a dark, rose-colored, long, flowing gown, and she had her hair done up in a bun, and held up in a black net. Her hair was a warm color of light brown, whose hues served to warm my soul. She was very friendly.

"Well, hello all! My name is Fran Jones!" She was smiling at all of us, and her arms were outstretched in warm welcome, as though she wished to hug all of us. Then, suddenly, her gaze fell on me, and her smile disappeared a bit, and was replaced by a stunned look on her face. She took a few steps backwards into her room. Somehow, she looked as though she was meeting, I guess for the second, or third, or infinite time, someone that she had known long ago.

I could pick up this thought by studying her facial expressions, and I thought, But that’s impossible, because I have never met this woman before! Then, my mind raced so many years to the future, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, when, somehow, Prita was spiritually attracted to a man she had never known, and fell in love with him at first sight. Though she had never known him, somehow intuition had told her that she had indeed known him! Funny, this was the same way I felt now!

Fran said, "My dear…are you Jasmine?"

I reply, "How did you know my name? I don’t know you!"

Fran said, "My dear, I have been to India, and somehow, I swear that your face looks familiar!"

I give her an expression of confusion on my face, and my facial expressions say to her, Well, I don’t know what to tell you…

Then, Fran regains her composure, and she sighs in relief. The smile reappears on her face, and she says, "Well, come one, come all. Come right in. I hear that you’re trying to dress up for a party!"

There is a slight lilt in her voice as she says the words dress up for a party, and she is smiling as she says those words. I think to myself, Oh, God. Does she have to rub that in?

Fran looked at Jack, and she said, "Why, you’re the size of my son. I think I can shape you up with a nice suit." It is at this point in time that she leans forward, and pinches his cheek. I note that Jack scowls, and tries to move his face away from her hands, as if to indicate that he does not wish for his cheek to be pinched!

I study her actions and her personality and demeanor, and I realize that while she may be rich, she certainly does not act like high society. She must be a noveau riche person! I look at her squarely in the eye, and I say, in a very innocent, yet directing voice, "Fran, are you part of old or new money?"

Fran smiles and sighs to herself simultaneously, and she says, "Oh, Jasmine, I should have known that you’d ask that question. I’m part of new money. My husband hit it rich in the Klondike gold rush. Before that, we were settlers on what was left of the frontier…" Then I note her saying, with a smile in her voice and a glint in her eye, "But I’m quite enjoying my newfound status!" Somehow, I figured! Then Fran looks at me, and she says, "Now, you’d look good…in…well…in something that was…that was…divine!"

I look at her squarely, and I say, "And what would that be?"

Fran turns her head up into the air, as though to signify that she was in deep thought, and she says, "Well, now, I don’t know. Perhaps you have some ideas!"

I rack my mind for ideas. Well, I could just come as myself, wearing something like what I’m wearing now. Then I think to myself, Nah. I’d have hell to hear for it for the rest of my life if I did that! Then, eureka! It hits me! I look at her squarely in the eye, and say, with a tone of directed innocence in my voice, "How about if I wore a nice, deep red sari, with lots of white starry sequins on it?"

Fran jumps up, and she says, "You know, I think you’d look divine and dashing in that!" Then Fran looks at me with a twinkle in her eye, and she says, "And you know something? I have that sari. I was waiting for the right moment to give it to you!"

My face suddenly is clouded with shock. Whoa, what did she say? I was waiting for the right moment to give it to you! Huh, now, this was not something I was prepared for. Somehow, had she known me before. Well, to the best of my knowledge, I had never known her before!

Fran sensed the look of confusion on my face, and she said, with an I-knew-it-all-along tone in her voice, "Now, dear, it will make sense to you one day, but we were once both good friends in the spiritual realm!"

The only thing I can think to myself is huh? I may have a supernatural gift to see into the spiritual realm in my meditations, but I had never seen that in any of my meditations! I look at her warm, medium blue eyes, and now they are sparkling with tiny electric sparks, as though somehow a supernatural force was working through her body. I shook my face in sheer confusion, and a look of confusion came over my face, like a cloud cover will suddenly and abruptly appear over a calm and sunny sky. For once, I was the one who was confused!

Jack said to Fran, in a polite tone, "Fran, I’ve never been fitted before for a suit. I would think it would be such fun!"

Fran chuckled, and I noticed that a smile came over her warm, welcoming. and round face, and she said, "Oh, you’re really going to have so much fun!" I noted that when Fran smiled, her whole face lit up with a healthy glow. Fran walked into her closet, and she said, her voice trailing behind her as she spoke, "I’ll be back in a minute!"

Meanwhile, I seized the moment to look around the room. It was nicely done. I mean, there was fine china and ceramic and pearl all over the room. Boy, some people get to live like royalty! I looked at Jack and Rose, and both had somewhat bored looks on their face, as though they were only slightly amused by what was going on. Somehow, I sensed that Fran was the only one out of all of us who was having fun!

"Jack," I said. "So, how do you like this?"

Jack looked down at the floor, as though he was trying to indicate to Rose and I that he was bored out of his mind, and he said, in a very quiet and contemplative voice, "I don’t like this. I’d rather be dancing the night away than wearing some stuffy and scratchy suit!"

I was half tempted to suggest that Jack don a black salwaar kameez, but I did not. Even Rose looked uncomfortable, and the look on her face indicated to me that she was, finally, beginning to realize what she was subjecting us to.

"Look…" she said weakly. "I’m sorry. I never intended it to be this way. I mean, I thought this was fun, a game…!"

"Rose," I said, with a dead serious tone in my voice. "You think everything is a game!"

Then, Rose replied with a somber tone in her voice. Her voice was so small in volume and decibel as she said, "But now I’m realizing that that’s not true!" Then she looked at us, and with a look of desperation in her eyes, she said, "But you’ll be the guests of honor at the banquet, won’t you?"

Both of us said, in unison, "What choice do we have?"

Then, Fran walked back into the room, and all of us feigned looks and attitudes of happiness and enthusiasm. She was carrying a full length suit into the room. Jack’s eyes widened in amazement, and he said, in shock, "You mean I have to wear that?"

Fran sang out in glee. "Of course, and you’re going to love it!"

Well, somehow I doubted that one! Fran proceeded to pull off Jack’s outer clothes, and Jack grunted in the process, as though to indicate that he did not like being dressed by someone else. I was beginning to sense that Jack was an independent-minded person who did not like the concept of having someone else do the work for him! When Fran was done, she smiled at Jack, and she said, "There, now, time for the dressing up and the trimmings!"

The trimmings! My God, that suit was so dark gray in color, and so heavy in appearance, that it could kill a whale. That suit was a straitjacket, which probably would smother all but the strongest of souls! Jack grunted as Fran began to button up his shirt, and pull the pants up his leg. I looked out of the corner of my eye and I noticed that Rose was giggling in glee. I could see the apples of her cheeks light up with a pinkish honey glow, and her eyes lit up with a childish delight. So, she thinks that this is funny! Well, in a way it was…but I don’t think Jack would think that the scene was funny. I gathered that he wasn’t enjoying it at all. When Fran was done, Jack looked as though he had just been manhandled. He had clearly not enjoyed the process.

Then Fran looked at me. "Now, it’s your turn."

I thought to myself, Oh, no, it’s not. You are not going to embarrass me!

A look of concern suddenly came over Fran’s face, and she asked, "Is anything wrong?"

I burst out, with tones of anger in my voice, "There sure is. Okay, so it’s one thing to go ahead and dress up Jack as though he was a baby, but you’re not going to follow suit with me!" Then my soul broke, and I bent my body forwards, from the waist in a sense of resignation, and I gasped. All the while, I had my hand on the dresser, as a means to support myself.

Fran looked so hurt and disappointed. She said, "I thought you would enjoy this."

I angrily retorted, "Enjoy this! Do you think that Jack and I enjoy being treated like babies? I mean, come on. It’s bad enough to be ridiculed by everyone else because we occupy the scummiest class in society, but it’s another to be treated as though we were helpless creatures because of our perceived social class. I mean, come on. I’m not a helpless creature. Rather, I am a strong woman, and I expect to be treated that way!" Fran took a step backwards in shock, and she looked as though she was hurt. Then, I said, "I’m sorry. I guess I was a bit brash there…"

Fran said, "No, you’re right. You should be dressing yourself."

She disappeared back into her closet, and then reappeared with the sari. The colors and aura of the sari blinded me. Fran had been right. The sari was a gift from heaven! The color of red was so bright that it caught my eye, and all of a sudden, I was taken to another astral plane. I saw myself on a parallel plane, in another dimension, where all I could see was the color red by my waist, and the color green above it, and the color of light beige below. I felt as though I was in heaven. Then, though I’d been trying to keep my promise to Jack of being less self-absorbed, I automatically lapsed into a vision. I could see the black cosmic fabric of time beginning to curdle, in the same way that milk will curdle when lemon juice is put in it. I see white curds of a whey-like substance appearing, and suddenly, an opening in the fabric appears. There she is! Fran steps out of the fabric, and she looks radiant! Her skin glows with a white translucent glow, and her light brown hair shines with a very real aura. In fact, it’s so real that when she shakes her rich hair in front of my eyes, I can see every detail, and I can see the fine fibers in the strands of her hair.

She talks, and her voice resonates with a divine sound. "Jasmine, you probably don’t know me, but in this realm, I am a goddess. I have come to help you, and I have come to help deliver you from your present state. Please don’t take offense to me, my dear."

When she walked out of the vortex, I could see a very bright white light, which reminded me of the light of God, or the light of bright stars behind her, and it served to illuminate her entire presence and aura. The light was so bright that it blinded me, and I found myself squinting.

I said, "So, how come I don’t know you?"

The image of Fran said, "Because I’m from another dimension."

I retort, "What? You and I are in the same room on Earth. What are you talking about?"

The image replies, "Like you, I am a spirit in human form."

The words spirit in human form resonate throughout my soul, my mind, and my body. Suddenly, somehow, all aspects and dimensions of me begin to have many flashbacks, and I am taken back to the initial transformation, when I was told that I was to undergo a long and tenuous transformation process that would render me to my true state, which was a spirit in human form. All throughout my journey in the spiritual realm, the spirits, from Frederick to Youseuf, throughout the many lives that I have lived as Jasmine on Earth, and in the many spiritual realms above, have told me that I was Jasmine, and that I was a spirit in human form, and that I must labor to find out who Jasmine is. Then it hits me that this is just one piece in the great cosmic puzzle in my quest to find out who Jasmine is.

The aura continues, "In this realm, I am not Fran. I am a very strong and powerful spiritual force, and a goddess in my own right, and I was sent by God to help you in your long and laborious struggle to free yourself from the many cages that have held you for so long, and that continue to bind you, and cause you much pain, suffering, and misery."

Then, I have flashbacks again, because the defining feature of Jasmine’s life had been cages that had held and bound her for so long, and for so many centuries, and for so many life spans. I shudder when I think about what is happening, and I can feel some long-held, instinctual, and feral spiritual force uncoil and unfurl itself from the depths of my spine, and, somehow, force its way up to the center of my mind, body, and soul, and ultimately to myself. While this force does so, it serves to change me transmutably in ways that no one except for God could describe. The image continues, and as she is talking to me, I am held in a state of sheer transformation in the back of my mind. Somehow, I have been magically transported to the back of my mind, and now, my entire existence is in another realm, far away, where I am being permanently transformed into something else, and in the process, I am becoming my true self, which was the self that I was before I was caged and trapped by the man of darkness!

The image says, "I know what you’re going through. You don’t know how to respond to this, because this is beyond the interpretation of even your vast and growing spiritual powers."

I respond, "Do you know who the man of darkness is?"

Suddenly, the image has a startled look on her face, and she steps back in fear. I can hear the tone of fear in her voice as she says, "Do you mean Dracula?"

Then my mind volleys, and in both the spiritual realm, and on Earth, I can feel a very sudden and familiar jolt rock my mind, as somehow the pieces of enlightenment swirl around in my mind and assemble themselves to paint the beginnings of a long and tenuous story, and a very familiar picture.

I respond, "Yes, I mean Dracula…he’s been my sore point for a long time."

A look of compassion comes over the image’s face, as she says, with a tone of understanding in her voice, "Yes, I know. Dracula is related to Cal. Both are in the same realm. In fact, in the spiritual realm, they plot on projects together. Though she does not know it, Rose is in as much danger from Dracula as she is from Cal. You must help deliver her from her present situation."

I open my mouth, as I want to tell her, But I don’t even know how to liberate myself.

It is as though the image can read my mind, as she responds, "That is why I was sent here to help you…"

Then, she extends her arm out, and I can see that it is a wholesome white color, with the undertones of a very rich yellowish hue to indicate that the image is very healthy. I can see the intense white light illuminating her hand. I reach forth, and I grab her hand with mine, and I can feel the strong, warm, and comforting grip of her hand on mine, and then something happens, as I can feel a jolt taking place in all of the realms and dimensions, and I can sense that something monumental that changes destinies is beginning to take place.

I am jolted out of my stupor, and I tell Fran, "Yes. Let me try the sari on." I give her a very all-knowing and confused look as I talk to her.

I try the sari on, and all of a sudden, I can feel a warmth enveloping my body. Then, I am reminded of the warm and comforting hand massages Siddharth used to give me. I would swear that these massages felt like the touch of God, and this is how the warmth felt on my body.

Then Rose says, "I can see it. You’re lighting up with a very bright light!"

Jack shouted out, "Yeah, she’s right! You are!"

I had a very confused look on my face. "What are you talking about?" I ask.

Then Fran answers my question. "You made a wise choice by choosing to wear the sari. It looks heavenly on you!" Then she said, "You’re right, Jasmine. You’re an independent and strong lady, and you can take care of yourself. But I think that the sari is starting to bring out your supernatural powers!"

When she said the words supernatural powers, her eyes lit up with a divine glow, and she looked at me with a twinkle in her eye. Also, she leaned into me as she said the words. For now, I was totally confused, but somehow, I could feel that the pieces of something greater and deeper were coming together in my body, and somehow, the ultimate answer, what in the twenty-first century scientists would call the ultimate model that would explain everything in the universe in its entirety was coming to me, somehow from another realm.

Well, I felt as though, somehow, Jack, Rose, and I had crossed some sort of spiritual milestone. When I looked at Rose, I noticed that she was smiling at me, as was Jack, and both of them had looks of contentment on their faces, as though, somehow, through my profound spiritual experience with Fran, they had become enlightened. But then I was very confused, because they hadn’t experienced my spiritual experience with Fran, but then it hit me! Somehow, the aura from the my spiritual experience, which originated from and emanated from the spiritual realm, had reached them, and had enlightened them. Sure enough, if I looked closely on their faces, I noticed that a sort of deeper understanding and ultimate enlightenment was creeping into their souls, and manifesting itself on their faces. Even Fran was smiling at me in a healthy way, and I realized that the spiritual experience had not been for them. It had been for me! It allowed me to begin to uncage myself, for in the process, that was the way that they would be uncaged! And I realized, that far from being a noveau socialite who liked to entertain others, Fran was a very serious and helpful soul with special spiritual insights who had been put in my path to help all of us! It was through me that she was reaching to Jack and Rose, and helping them in the process!

I thought to myself, My God. Every day on the Titanic is a new experience that teaches me something new! Soon, I will get to learn how to act like an upper class lady. Then I smile to myself, as I think, Oh, well. That shouldn’t be so bad!

Chapter Fifteen
Stories