In Our Dreams

Alex's Unexpected Guest

Alex stretched his body across the sand, enjoying the warm sensations. He had done it. He had reached his inner most sanctum, his core, his center. He had achieved Samadhi in what was estimated to be his eleventh year of life. He was elated with how real everything looked and felt. He mused at the pure art that was his surroundings, knowing that they were a direct reflection of his internal essence. It was a creation to be marveled.

At the age of approximately three years old, Alex had been discovered by yogis. He was found in a make shift shelter, hand cuffed with three other children. He was meant to be sold into human trafficking. The children were nearly freezing and very hungry. He himself had been there for hours before they were discovered.The other children had been there longer. He remembered he had been with his parents before that. They had taken a special trip on a plane very far away. They were scared, he thought. He remembered other bits and pieces; his father being shot in the face, the splash of the bathtub water as he fell limply into it.... His mother's pleading for their lives as she too was shot in cold blood. He even remembered being grabbed and taken only to wind up handcuffed with other little boys and girls who all talked differently and looked differently than he did.

None of that mattered now. He had spent years forgiving and accepting life, and now he was here in this place. He would discover all the secrets of himself here, his past, his present, and his future. Here, he could plan and manifest the life he was destined to lead. Here, he would become a man. This place would teach him all that was yet to be known....this place was...falling! What was that, that burning fire slowly arching across the sky and headed right for him?!?!

Alex watched in amazement as the fire landed on the beach several yards away from him. As the fire shrank and died, he noticed standing in its center was a beautiful small child. She was barely school-aged, if at all. She had bright, natural golden blonde curls, and large green eyes opened wide in wonderment and awe. She looked like a doll come to life and was the most adorable thing Alex has ever seen. He scrambled to his feet, unable to take his gaze from her.

It was bizarre, as no one but the individual could enter their own heart center. However, instead of the annoyance he would normally feel, he was intrigued. This was indeed a mystery. She wasn't meant to be here surely, thought he felt happier with her here than he had previously without her. Something about her being there felt right. It felt like home. It felt complete. He began to wonder about her as his legs instinctually started to move towards her. She was walking towards him, too, after all.

They continued to walk slowly towards the other as if none of the amazing scenery around them existed, as if there weren't two moons in the sky and rainbow waves in the heavens. Each one drank the look and feel of the other in as if neither had seen another person until now. He knew things about this girl. He knew her soul, how that was he didn't quite understand. Perhaps that was the magic of this place, the place that holds the universe. The place that told all secrets. He knew he wanted to protect her and keep her safe in all ways from all things. He was surprised by this revelation but understood it to be absolute fact. She looked so small and so helpless there alone. How did she get here, he wondered. "I fell here." she replied, as if she heard him. Did she hear me? he wondered. "I did hear you, I can hear everything here." She shut her eyes for a moment. "I can even hear Ella at home... and other things..." She stated proudly at first, then her voice trailed off after something unpleasant had occurred to her. What was she referring to, he wondered. But then he knew. Ella was her sister, she was "Aris". . he breathed her name out loud and into life as the sounds came across his lips.

Of course, that was her name. Her name could be nothing else. It was then as he yearned to know more about her and what the "other things" might be, that he began to see more physical details about Aris that he hadn't noticed before. She wore a silk pink nightgown with little ruffled sleeves. Bruises began to fill themselves in across her body, as did small cuts and what looked like burns. He noticed her hair was stained with what looked like blood, and he began to weep. Alex had not cried since his parents had been murdered, but he found himself snotty crying with anger, pain, and frustration as the images of what was really happening to this girl flashed internally in his mind. She didn't come here, she was forced here. She was being spared horrific things.

He pulled her closely into him, protectively hugging her tightly against a reality he was helpless to stop . "Is this heaven?... are you an angel?" She asked him. "I'll be your angel he thought, " as he squeezed her, trying to protect them both. She accepted this, and he could feel her become more relaxed. "I prayed to be home and I came here... I think I'm dead now.". She said, a few small tears trickled down her small dirty face. Slowly, she became less dense in his arms, like she was leaving. He held her closer, but perhaps she needed to go. Wait!!! was she dead?!?!. He immediently thought of her heartbeat until he sensed and felt it like it was his own. It was weak, becoming slower and fainter as the moments passed. Her breathing was ragged and sporadic until it was nothing at all.

He knew in that moment she was dying, a realization she too must have also just had. Panic spread across them both like wild fire, as fear gripped its hold on each of them. She began to desperately claw and grab at her throat and mouth without relief. Alex could feel his own heart beating steadily and his own chest rising and falling in a long, methodic rhythm. But it was very quickly starting to race and beat wildly and his breath was becoming unpredictable.

Dark clouds rolled in without warning, blocking out most of the silvery moonlight that had once set the beach aglow. Lightening flashed, and thunder boomed across the once clear sky. "Aris!" he shouted to her as the wind was now blowing hard and carrying his voice away. "You have to breathe!" He grabbed her hands to calm her...placing the palm of her hand over his heart. She could feel his steady movements. She gasped in for air, but nothing happened. She tried to wave her hands, he gripped them tighter, if nothing else so she wasn't alone. Alex has never been so scared in his life. He knew he never wanted to lose this little child. Who was she to him?

The waves began to rise higher than either of the children, threatening to sweep them away as they came up closer and closer with each crash. Alex felt desperate. Without knowing what to do, he took her face between his hands, bowed his face to hers, and planted his mouth over hers. He was operating on pure instinct. If she needed air, she could have his. He blew out his entire being into her. He willed her heart to be strong as he placed his hand over her heart. "Live Aris! Breath Aris!" This was not a suggestion or a wish, but rather a command that came deep from within Alex, from magic he wouldn't understand for years to come.

Aris gasped as the life force that filled Alex filled her. Relief washed over her and satisfied the millions of screaming cells in her body. She relaxed into him for but a moment. Without warning just as suddenly as she had landing, she was gone, shooting off like a bottle rocket on ignition, a trail of fire ablaze behind her until Alex could no longer see her.

He collapsed onto his knees as he watched the trail of Aris fade away. Slowly, the waves calmed. The rain eased, and what had felt like a hurricane before now resembled a typical rainy day. He would find her, he decided. "I will find you out there, Aris, and I will save you. I promise you." Alex took a deep breath, sighed, then twinkled until he slowly disappeared.