Chapter 1: Seeing the Totality
A full moon evening, late in May, in Waldmeer:
Purnima means full moon. Full moons are auspicious occasions for new beginnings, and so we begin; again. Merlyn and Gabriel stood awkwardly at the entrance of Twenty Mile Track. Awkward because they barely knew each other, and this seemed too big an adventure for virtual strangers. Nevertheless, there they were, brought together by some unknown force.
The force wasn’t exactly unknown. It was Amira, after all, and she wasn’t unknown. Gabriel certainly knew her; knew her more than anyone else; knew her until that night, a few months ago, when she left this world. Actually, it wasn’t this world that she left. At the time of her passing, Gabriel and Amira were living in the Great Valley of the interdimensional Borderfirma Mountains. So, she didn’t leave Earth, but nor was she here. Except for one place – Ajna Temple – but that was only known to Merlyn (and also Rybert who, upon Amira’s instructions, had been told).
This evening was brought about by another of Amira’s instructions. Amira recently told Merlyn that the entrance to Twenty Mile Track was a gateway to the interdimensional Stone Ground. Stone Ground was a large, round rock, balanced on a flat rock, next to the Borderfirma Lowlands palace. Amira’s son, Aristotle, and his wife, Indra, lived in the palace. Just as Floating Cave Monastery was built around the sacred salt pond of Floating Cave, the Lowlands palace was built around the equally sacred and powerful rock structure, Stone Ground.
Indra had grown up in her father’s house next to Floating Cave. She knew how to guard the etheric power sources. And Aristotle was part of the spiritual bloodline of Faith-Amira with his own gentle, intuitive, and loving nature. Gabriel had a lot to do with Aristotle when he was a child. He considered him partly as his own. That was a good considering.
Amira explained to Merlyn that, every full moon, the grassy area at the beginning of Twenty Mile Track became an interdimensional passage for a period of twenty-four hours. Then it closed again until the next full moon. The portal was aptly called, Purnima Passage. However, as far as Merlyn could tell, no one in Waldmeer called it that. Not even anyone in Prana Community called it that. So, Merlyn wondered who were the people referring to it as Purnima Passage.
This full moon was a particularly special one. It was the Buddha Purnima which celebrates all-things Buddha. However, of more widespread interest, it was also a red moon. In opposite parts of the sky, as the sun set, the moon would be getting ready to rise. Normally, the full moon passes either below or above the Earth’s shadow. On red moon, it passes directly through the Earth’s shadow causing a lunar eclipse called totality. Instead of blacking out, the moon becomes red and turns on a show.
Merlyn heard the folk of Waldmeer talking about the red moon. She knew some of them were planning to take up a possie, on the pier, to witness the event. As Waldmeer’s magnificent main beach faced east, the sunrises and moonrises were spectacularly unhampered. She hoped that none of them were intending to come to Twenty Mile Track which started a mere few streets behind the Waldmeer shops.
It’s not particularly secret or hidden for an important energetic gateway, she thought.
Some things are best hidden by remaining directly in front of everyone’s eyes.
Donna Goddard 