JASMINE
Chapter Four
I can see it clearly now. It was towards the
evening hours of a spring day. I remember how I used to love to clean the deck
on those days, when the sun was half-mast in the sky, and it bathed the land
with its light, giving it an ethereal glow. As usual, I put my mop into my
bucket of soap suds, and proceeded to clean. I stopped, to give my poor back a
break, and suddenly, my eye caught the golden gleam that reflected off a white
wall from a room with the door fully open. Curiosity got the better of me, so I
decided to enter into the room. I walked into the room, and suddenly, was stopped
straight in my tracks. It was as though a strange spirit had suddenly stopped
me. I was paralyzed by a rush of strange feelings. I could feel the chemical
rush of many chemicals that signal confusion and consternation to the
neurotransmitters in the brain in my brain and body. I was not scared, just
very shocked and amazed. I could feel the juice of amazement rush all
throughout my body. It pulsated through every artery and vein in my body, and
felt as though an electrical charge, that emanated from a divine power, was
running through my body. The effect of this was to give my body and brain a new
ability to see and sense the world. I have traversed the centuries, and in the
twentieth and, especially in the twenty-first century, many doctors and scientists
would call such ability an altered state of mind. However, these experts
attribute such a changed state entirely to meditation. I was feeling this
without meditation. I was situated in the center of the room, and my gaze aimed
straight ahead, straight into Rose’s eyes. I was stunned, because they burned
with a yellowish flame, as though some sort of ancient, eternal fire was
burning in her eyes. In my own experience, I have seen such a look in the in
the eyes of evil beings. However, I know that Rose cannot be evil. I feel
somewhat frightened to see such a powerful force in a mortal being. However, my
feet lie firmly planted on the ground, and I am incapable of moving.
Rose looks at me with such intensity in her
eyes, that if fire truly did burn in her eyes, it would have burned me to a
crisp. She tells me, in a very bold voice, "Do sit down, Jasmine."
That voice is so forceful, and I have only heard it come from powerful female
spiritual forces, not from a mortal. However, her voice invokes the familiar
response to authority, and I sit down. She continues, "I left the door
open on purpose. I have noted your course of work, and I knew you would be at
your daily tasks near my quarters right now. I wanted you to come in. From the
moment I met you on the deck, I realized that you are a spiritual force that
emanates from God. So, too, am I. Like you, I am trapped in my life."
Shock floods my body, and a sense of panic
floods my heart. Suddenly, I feel the world spin around me, and I feel quite
nauseous. I say, in a very weak voice, "Rose, how did you know about me? I
never told you…"
She responds, "You did not need to. I
knew. You see, I am a very powerful spiritual force that lives in Rose, just as
Jasmine lives in you. We must unite, and we must come together to liberate
ourselves from our present cages." She looks into my eyes, and sees the
helplessness and the meekness that is suddenly flooding them. She realizes that
my soul is being flooded by uncertainty and weakness. She continues, "There
is no need to panic or be afraid. You see, I, too, am a soul who sees. I get
premonitions, as you do, and I, too, am capable of intense meditations, as you
are. I can see things beyond the horizon, things that mortal humans are not
capable of. I must get to know you. Perhaps there are ways that you could help
me. Cal doesn’t know about me. I remain hidden all of the time. He thinks Rose
is a very modest, amicable, and docile girl." She raises her head and
laughs a very powerful laugh, so powerful it could wake spirits, both good and
evil. "If only he knew. By now, you probably know that Cal is an evil
force. He is not capable of feeling any good." I open my mouth to protest,
but she interjects, "Yes, you probably had the vision in which you saw him
as a very confused and hurt boy, but make no mistake. That was an illusion and
nothing but. It is meant to hoodwink good souls, and to convince them that
there is some good in him, when in fact, there is none! He is a handmaiden of
evil if I ever saw one. There is no saving him. Attempts to save him would just
destroy the essence of a good soul. What I and you must do is try to escape
from him. His powers are immense, and they are growing by the day. If nothing
is done, Rose will be trapped forever in her life. If Cal knew about me…"
She laughs a very sarcastic laugh that is full of bitterness. "He would
surely kill me. For him, life is a game of amassing things, be they money,
power…” Then, she leans in towards me, and her eyes grow big as she says, with
the word souls emphasized, "…souls. Nothing will escape from his clutches.
The world revolves around him and no one else. He is the eternal god, the
Eternal Sun, so to speak, that the world must bow to. In his realm, the world
was meant to serve him and him alone! He does not realize that God and other
spiritual forces may have another agenda on the table that conflicts with his,
because he is only capable of seeing the world through his eyes. Luckily, it is
that narrow vision that prevents him from seeing the spiritual force that
resides in Rose, and from seeing who Rose really is. But, you can see the real
Rose, because you are not him. Thank God!" I notice that she says the
words thank God with a sigh of relief. She finishes her thought process.
"You see, living with Cal has been a real torture process on my part.
Sometimes, I get so miserable and lost that I don’t know how I’ll get through
the day." I notice that she sighs, and points her head towards the window,
and looks at the window with a far-off look in her eyes, as she continues, in a
very soft tone, "Sometimes, I feel so miserable, I want to kill myself. I
think to myself, anything would be better than this, because this feels like
hell. The pain that Rose feels is so strong that I feel it. Her pain has become
my pain." I immediately nod my head in understanding, because I know
exactly what she means. In that way, Prita’s pain, and her trials and
tribulations, have become my pain and trials and tribulations, and her joy has
become mine. In some spiritual way, though I am a very strong spiritual force
whose knowledge, life, and abilities transcend the centuries, I have become
bonded with her. Well, Rose continues, "You’d best go now. Cal would throw
a fit if he saw you here." I walk out of the room, and I see the blazing
glow disappear from Rose’s eyes and be replaced with a very docile and gentle
human look. Her demeanor and composure changes from a very electrified state to
a quite sedated and normal state. I shake my head as I marvel as to how fast
the spiritual changes can take place. You wink your eye, and a person has
changed from a spirit into a mortal being. I guess only God could explain such
a sudden change.
I walk out of the room, and I notice that my
pail is low on water, so I cart it away from the lower deck, and take it
towards the soaping room, where I can fill it up with more soap and water. I
notice that no water is spilled as I drag my pail away. Strange, I think
to myself, this defies some laws of science and common sense. If I did not
know any better, I would swear that this was being caused by some higher power
in the attempt to protect me from impending evil.
I make my way up to the soaping room.
However, curiosity besets me, so I meditate on the room that Rose is in, so
that I can see what is going on at this moment. I see that Cal has walked into
the room. And he moves towards Rose. I can sense the spiritual aura that his
soul projects, and it is one of a very jealous, controlling, and evil soul. He
views Rose as mere property. Actually, he views Rose as a pawn to be used in
his game towards greatness. He thinks only of himself, and he would not
hesitate to kill Rose for his personal gain. I begin to see that the spirit
that was talking through Rose was correct when it said that Cal is a truly evil
soul that is not capable of being turned around, now or ever. There is a soul
in him that is quite intelligent, and is capable of great deception, that is
for sure. I suppose that spirit is beginning to suspect that something is going
on, that somehow, Rose may be waking up on a spiritual level, and may be
discovering who she really is, because he says, "Did that washer woman
come in here again?"
Rose replies, in a very gentle voice,
"No, Cal. I was alone by myself this afternoon."
Cal said, "I don’t trust you." Then
he looks outside for the water marks. He says, "If she was here, I would
be able to see water marks here." He looks outside and he sees none. Then,
it appears as though a shroud of ignorance descends over him, and he
forgets--at least momentarily--about Jasmine. He says, "Well, I’m glad to
see that you were behaving yourself today. Carry on."
I smile to myself in relief that Cal has not
caught on yet. But, I am beginning to realize that Cal is not fit to be Rose’s
soulmate. Perhaps there is someone else on the horizon. I close my eyes and
meditate, and all of a sudden, strong vibrations of knowledge and premonition
begin to shake my body. All of a sudden, I see the outline of a very homely and
handsome man, who comes from the lower echelon of society, the place where
everyone, including Rose, is destined to be by God’s wishes. This man is a very
humble and modest youngster, who shows Rose that the true path to happiness is
to let your soul go free, go towards the way of God, and let God determine your
true path and destiny in life. He also shows Rose true love, and helps to
empower the spirit in herself. I smile when I see myself doing that as well,
and I smile when I see that I and he will meet. I hear the wind whisper Jack,
and I realize that his name is Jack. I chuckle, because Jack was the name of a
strong Celtic spiritual force which brought happiness to people. I would
love to meet Jack, I think to myself. He must be a very strong and loving
force, if he is to really show Rose the true path to happiness. He must also be
a very spiritual and strong man, who, deep down inside knows that, sometimes,
the way to finding true love and happiness for yourself, and the way to God, is
to sacrifice your soul on behalf of someone else, to give up your soul to the
heavens so that someone else can enjoy happiness. Cal would never do this, but
I know that angels would gladly do this. Perhaps Jack is a guardian angel!