Pru, pointed to the sky as they all got up and walked towards the side lawn to await the landing of two aeropaths.
CHAPTER FOUR
It had been a long day and Winston was tired. He opened the window in his bedroom; the cool night air helped him to sleep. The rays of the full moon flooded his room. As he crept into bed pulling the covers up over him, all he could think about as he drifted off was having a good night’s sleep so he would be energized for practice tomorrow.
At three a.m. the hall clock began to chime, bong, bong and stopped. The shadows of the swaying tree branches outside Winston’s bedroom window were suddenly still. Tiny dust partials, which had swirled in the moonlight now hung motionless in midair. Nothing moved in Winston’s room, in his house; nothing moved on all of Luminatia. Crickets chirping a second ago were silent as was the owl hooting in the distance. All the sounds of the night had stopped. Time had stopped.
As the young boy lay still in his bed, tiny twinkling lights began to whirl about in the now stationary sky. It appeared at first as if the stars were moving in slow circles, but they were not stars. The stars above had materialized as frozen dots of stagnant light in the darkness. More and more of the twinkling lights filled the vast night sky and covered all of Luminatia. A myriad of twinkling lights entered through Winston’s bedroom window and floated to his bed. Gently lifting him up out of the bed, the lights whisked Winston, still sleeping, off to a mountaintop where the boy was carefully set down upon a large rock.
“Winston, wake up, it’s Father,” Simon said in a very soothing voice as he tapped his son’s arm.
“Huh! What?” the boy said startled as he opened his eyes and saw his father sitting next to him. “Father it’s you, you’re really here,” he exclaimed as he touched Simon’s shoulder, “this isn’t a dream visit is it? Where are we and, and how did I get here? Father, what’s happening and what’s this all about?” feeling apprehensive and confused, he rattled off his questions.
“Everything’s fine son,” Simon reassured him. “It’s just a little different and you’re right, it’s not a dream visit,” he said trying to put Winston at ease.
“What are all these twinkling lights? And why are you wearing your bathrobe?” he asked as he looked at his father in a long purple robe. “And you’re really here, aren’t you?” he continued to question and definitely unsure of what he was experiencing. This was so beyond anything he could have ever imagined; he just needed more reassurance this was all actually happening.
“Yes, I’m really here,” he said overjoyed, as he was able to hug his son for the first time in five years.
“Oh Father, I’ve missed you,” Winston said elated, hugging his father as tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. At the same time feeling bewildered by the sights around him. “But what’s going on?”
“Be patient my son and I’ll explain. Some of what I’m going to tell you may sound very strange at first, but know it’s all good and you’re safe,” Simon said continuing to reassure Winston.
“O…Ok!” Winston stuttered, still gazing around at what seemed like millions of tiny lights surrounding them. “But Father, what are those lights?” he persisted.
“They’re beings from the Kingdom of Lights,” Simon replied.
Stunned by the perplexing answer Winston’s eyes widened in surprise as he stuttered, “Those little lights are beings! From where?”
“The Kingdom of Lights is where the essence of the good people of Luminatia go when their time in this world is finished,” his father explained.
“You mean like heaven?” the young boy asked mystified.
“Yeah! Simon smiled at his son’s reaction. “Winston, I’m going to touch on the beginning of an extraordinary true story now and understand that very soon the whole story will be revealed to you.
A very long time ago a difficult and complicated situation arose. Ten people very close to King Shadel, the Ancient One chose to form a secret order called the Order of the Light for the purpose of serving the King and the people of Luminatia. Because their service was freely given, he enabled the ten to become guardians and bestowed them with special powers. Since King Shadel is immortal and the ten guardians were mortal, they all pledged that one child, to be chosen by the King, in each future generation of their descendants, would continue the legacy to become a guardian and enter the Order of the Light.” Simon leaned in towards his son and took his hand, “Winston, I’m a guardian and the descendent of one of those original ten guardians.”
“What? Huh! You’re a what?” was about all Winston could get out of his mouth. It sounded too bizarre to be real.
“I know this is difficult for you to grasp. It was for me when my father told me he was a guardian,” Simon explained, knowing his son could not possibly understand the implications of what else was to be revealed. “What’s happening to you now is called the Dream of Guardians. It occurs just before becoming a guardian. Several days prior to learning their destiny, that person has a terrifying dream. When they awake, memory of the contents of dream is gone. Its purpose is to begin to prepare their consciousness for the transition. Winston, my son, you’re about to become a guardian. It is your destiny.”
Dumbfounded and not quite able to process all he was hearing, he began to ramble on, “Father, I had a dream like that a couple of nights ago. You mean I’m going to become a guardian…for real? Me!” he exclaimed pointing to himself. “With powers…what kind of powers? What about Willow is she going to become a guardian, is Mother a guardian? What does Mother think of you being a guardian?”
“Slow down son,” Simon grinned. “Yes, you will become a guardian and yes in time you will receive powers.” Simon’s tone turned serious, “No, Willow and Mother are not guardians nor will they become one. Winston, do you trust me?”
“Yes, Father of course I trust you,” Winston answered not knowing what to make of the unfolding state of affairs and feeling utterly flustered.
“This must be kept a secret, just between you and me. You cannot tell anyone about this including your sister or your mother. You’ll understand the reason in time. I’m going to touch your forehead and you will fall back to sleep and be returned to your bed. When you wake up in the morning you won’t remember any of what happened until the day after you’ve completed the Dream of Guardians,” Simon instructed.
“Tomorrow night you’ll be brought back to me and I’ll introduce you someone very special. For now, my son, know I love you and you’re quite safe,” Simon told Winston as he put his hand on his son’s forehead and the boy fell into a deep sleep. “By the way son,” he chuckled as he whispered in Winston’s ear while the boy slept, “this is not my bathrobe.”
The same twinkling lights that brought him to his father now returned him to his bed. Bong, the clock struck three, the dust once again floated about in the light of the full moon, the shadows of the tree branches outside of his window danced across his room. The crickets chirped, the owl continued to hoot, the noises of the night were back. Time returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
“You’ll feel better after a good night’s sleep,” Anessa reassured her son as she sat on the edge of his bed that night, trying not to show her concern. He had complained about being very tired all day, which was odd for him, he was always so energetic he never seemed to tire. She would keep a close eye on him she thought
