'N'aarat, have you awoken?'

It was dark. The voice echoed around me like an impatient bird circling the room, touching the walls with its feathers.

'N'aarat, your time has come.'

I tried to realise whether it was still too dark to see or my eyelids had been glued together and had thus remained closed. Then I saw a light as bright as a star upon my forehead.

A knock on the door.

'N'aarat, have you awoken?'

It was the woman who had held my hand.

'It is time now, N'aarat. Come with me into the day.'

Khálana was the woman's name, I instantly remembered. I rose and joined her through the darkness. The houses were white enough to guide us through the night. We climbed the hill and got to the Temple. She stopped in front of it and I stopped by her side, observing. She saluted the Tree by pressing the back of her hand onto her forehead, so that the part between her thumb and index, on one side, and her wrist, on the other, was positioned right at the centre of her forehead, above her eyebrows. Her fingers, except the thumb, which was loosely curved towards the centre of her palm, all pointed towards the sky in a natural arch.

'I greet You, Mother Goddess, and bless the eyes that look upon You.'

There was something deep in her reverence, something that felt right, incredibly majestic and humble at the same time. When she looked at me, I knew it was time to imitate her, which I did, hurriedly.

She smiled, saying, 'Take your time to feel the connection, N'aarat. You are not in a race against anyone.'

I repeated the salute and the words came out differently this time, as if in the voice of my soul. I bowed, and with me, the sky moved and kissed the earth.

We closed our eyes and, as we were sitting there in front of the Tree, a light, so bright that even my shut eyelids could not conceal, appeared before us. Inside of it was revealed a woman in an electric blue dress, its colour barely noticeable because of the light around Her, which had dashed from behind and which was propelling her forward.

'You are blessed and blessed are all those you shall bless in My name.'

She touched our foreheads and rose into the sky. It was day. And it felt good.

'Walk with me, N'aarat,' said Khálana. 'I want to show you something.'

We entered the forest. The soil was so soft that our feet sank slightly into it. I felt earth rolling over my toes. As we were advancing, I saw dew sparkling on the leaves and I couldn't resist touching them, which cast a glittering shower into the air. Khálana observed and smiled to herself, but she didn't stop. We arrived at a glade through which a small river was running mildly, barely three feet wide, barely a vein in the forest, making its way freely around the moss and the grey stones.

'When we bless a river in Kythlion, all the waters of Neen Th'al receive the blessing.'

She saluted the river the same way we had saluted the tree—eyes closed, thumb and the index side of the back of her right hand pressed gently onto her forehead. She leaned forward and, without opening her eyes, lowered her hand until it touched the water, where she remained silently, her open palm on the surface. Perhaps it was just my imagination, yet it seemed to me that her entire being was moving, from the earth under her feet to her fingertips, dipping into all the waters of the worlds.

As my body is strongly connected to water, I immediately felt her blessing, as you would feel a warm current after having swum in a cold one. The morning sun was pleasant, strong and warm through the branches.

'It is your turn now.'

'Have you not blessed it already?'

'The more the blessings, the deeper the blessing goes.'

'How do I do this?'

'It is in your heart—find it. Wish it as intensely as you'd wish a child to be well and happy, or an ill beloved to be healthy once more. Let your heart flow into the water. Let the soil flow into you. Let the river flow into the unknown spaces of Neen Th'al. And bless them with all your heart.'

'Which words should I use?'

'The exact words will come to you from your heart. Breathe in and breathe out, gently. There is no rush. Breathe until your heartbeat softens. Be less aware of your body and more aware of the world at your fingertips.'

'What if I cannot send my blessing far enough?'

'Focus on sending it to the water. That is all. Water itself shall then carry it farther.'

I took a step forward, reaching the surface. I pressed the back of my palm onto my forehead, replicating her salute perfectly, and bowed. When my hand reached my water, I shuddered, and sudden tears rolled down into it, as I felt so deeply connected to my mother. I sensed that the two of us were swimming together through all the waters of the universe, as she had come to guide me. Undulating through the water, she taught me how to connect with its particles. Thus we blessed ton upon ton of water. I began swimming above her, blessing the molecules with all my heart and my soul covered all the seas of Neen Th'al and beyond.

We swam into the darkness, into worlds unknown, into lands and galaxies beyond my knowledge, emerging from the same source as the streams and carrying on, turning to face the sky from beneath the surface, blessing the clouds, the flying vessels, and the birds which were resting on the branches above us, and the animals quenching their thirst with our sacred water. Eventually, we dashed as waterfalls, with such force that my heart became a stampede, sending shivers into the hand which had by now immersed into the river's purity.

My eyes had opened. Khálana was sitting on the grass, observing me with love in her eyes, those dark, sea-green eyes from beyond any veil. The wind was playing with her long, brown, wavy hair. She nodded.

'Your blessing has soothed my heart as well, for we are all part water and the blessing of a molecule of one kind is transferred unto all others, past, present and future alike.'

I sat next to her, marvelling at the importance of our activity in Kythlion.

'You've sent it into the worlds as you have it in your heart,' she continued. 'You have done very well.'

'Thank you, Khálana, for everything, from showing me this, to being by my side in my dreams.'

She lifted her left eyebrow, still smiling, yet serious at the same time.

'Dreams,' she said, 'are sacred. They represent a portal into Neen Th'al and beyond. You can travel anywhere you want if you set your intention to. Or places could come to you, without you having expected them. Sometimes people come to you—people like your mother; some come to assist you, some come to be assisted by you. Some come for your forgiveness because their souls cannot move beyond Neen Th'al in its absence. Some come to remind you that somewhere, someone is waiting for you to apologise. Dreams are sacred.'

'What is to be done in each situation?'

'Breathe in your dreams, breathe out your dreams.'

A twig cracked. Another followed. The river splashed onto a rock and the wind hissed through the branches. A howl was heard and the wind grew stronger, revealing a black wolf coming from beyond the trees.

'Do not be startled,' she warned me. 'Stand still and mind your heartbeat. Close your eyes if you feel it is necessary.'

I heard another crack of a branch being broken, as the wolf must have stepped onto it. My heart tumbled inside my chest. Khálana touched my hand and I saw the blue sky in my mind and a dove flying across it. This helped greatly and I stopped gasping, trusting I was safe enough. I felt the warmth of the wolf's breath upon my face and I resisted the temptation of opening my eyes. Khálana had removed her hand from mine, which troubled me, since it would have been a great reassurance that all was fine.

Some battles you can only win if you fight them alone, a thought emerged in my mind, so I prayed to the Goddess to protect me in Her white mantle and I opened my eyes. The wolf was not there anymore.

'Where has the wolf gone?'

***

Thanks for reading this far. This is also how far the sample goes on Smashwords. If you would like to purchase the ebook, please go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1034434. 

Enjoy the rest of your day! 

Love,

Maria @BoundlessSky