When destiny comes knocking, will you rise to its siren call? If FATE was carved in stone, do you have a choice to change the course of your life?
"One hundred thousand lifetimes,
Twenty-five to a fragment,
Four chances to a rotation complete,
And b...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Day 6
The sixth day. Although not, because Heaven has no time and progresses at its own rhythm. Therefore, time is relative. However, it is the sixth day since Io has returned bodily to the dimension of the earthly plane, and has spiritually been in the garden for that amount of time.
Her eyes are heavy lidded, so weighted by grogginess. Her brain is full of fuzz, and heavy. Her entire body feels like lead, yet drifting on the most softest, fluffiest clouds. She feels so weary, sluggish in her every movement. She feels her hair falling limp in exhaustion. Even her eyelashes feel the fatigue. But she is so comfortable, a cocoon of warmth in the cooling puffs of air, swirling around her. She makes a noise of contentment, snuggling into the tender affection blanketing her.
From above, she hears a gentle chuckle. She scrunches her brows in annoyance of the sound. She wants to burrow in deeper and sleep until she can sleep no more. She squints up through sleep laden eyes and gazes upon the countenance of the Goddess. She blinks up at Her for a full minute, uncomprehending, then sleepily smiles, before cuddling Her again, face pressing into Her middle. She feels a hand card through her hair and the voice of the Goddess saying, "It's time to wake up, little one. Your friends are waiting, and there is still one more place to go to before you return to the earthly plane."
Whining, she struggles out of the cobwebs holding her captive in the Land of Slumber, and forces herself into consciousness, fighting to keep awake and upright, instead of toppling over. The Goddess stands and helps her to her feet, and she stumbles along the paved pathway, blearily following the moving silhouette by her side.
They come upon the Blessed Lake, the Lake of Eternal Restoration. The water is stagnant and as clear as glass. The lake mirrors the cloudless sky, a blue so soft, it looks like an artist had mixed the lightest of blue with white and freely painted across a blank canvas as his heart soars like the eagle. And an eagle does soar below the blue, as it circles, once, twice then glides away.
The Goddess walks into the lake, Io's hand in Hers as She leads her. They both make their way into the lake and the Goddess washes her then, scooping water in her cupped hands and pouring it on Io's head. The water is cooling and soothing all at once and Io relaxes as she allows the Goddess to take care of her, just enjoying being spoilt and entitled for a moment.
She hears the Goddess saying, "Your core is splintered. Your qì unbalanced and defensive. It hasn't been assembled and made whole, because it hasn't yet healed. You have not been able to hold the spells and incantations because of this rip in your very core. The cracks are getting larger and separating further. This has sapped you off your energy and you tend to lose yourself into oblivion, falling into a void, weakened from the intensity that requires carrying the chants. As I wash you, yield and surrender your being to Me, throw open the doors of your mind and your heart and receive the healing freely given to you and take what is yours, what belongs to you.
She sinks into the water, even as the Goddess chants, continuing to pour water over her, she sinks right down, holding her breath, then coming up for air again. She floats on the water's surface, looking up at the dome of Heaven, and feels her heart mending, knitting back together, restoring, renewing and quieting the chaos within. She feels washed, clean, light. So light, she believes she can fly. She moves her arms up and down on the water, as the Goddess smiles indulgently down at her.
She sees the Goddess' cupped hands dribbling water upon her forehead one last time as she shuts her eyes and amid the comforting white noise of the chants and the warmth upon her face, she falls into restful sleep.
