The Ghost Cat and the Traveler

Note: the version of the story I am telling

here will be somewhat different that the

one I will eventually turn into a book.

Because of the constraints of the message

board, some things are shortened, and some

details completely left out just so I can

get the main idea of this story across.

I will only be writing part of the story here

– the rest will be written in book form if

everything works out right

The man led me back to the large room and left me to stand in the middle of it. He returned a few moments later with a scroll in his hands. He began to read from the scroll in a language that I did not understand. Somehow I recognized what he was reading as a prayer. I bowed my head as he continued to read from the scroll. The room suddenly became brighter and I was faintly aware of two angels on either side of me. When the man finished reading from the scroll, I raised my head and looked at the angels. They were both men – very tall with flowing golden hair and brilliant blue eyes. They were dressed in long, flowing white garments and their large, feathery wings were folded behind them.

One of them spoke to the man. “Is she ready, Paul?”

My jaw dropped as I realized who I had been talking to.

The man smiled at my reaction. “Almost. I still need to read the blessing then she needs to be cleansed.”

I could feel every fiber of my being trembling. Was this really happening or was this some sort of dream? I wanted to speak. I had so many questions but I could only stand there silently as Paul turned to pick up another scroll and a small vial. He turned back to me and sprinkled something from the vial on top of my head then began to read from the scroll. I began to feel dizzy and I shaking so badly I could barely breath. One of the angels laid a hand on my shoulder and I calmed down instantly. The dizziness went away and I took a deep breath as my body stopped shaking. Paul continued to read from the scroll stopping every few minutes to sprinkle some more of the stuff from the vial onto me. Finally, he finished reading and put the scroll and the vial down. He picked up another bottle and sprinkled something that looked and smelled like blood onto my head. As he sprinkled some more of it onto my shoulders, I realized that it was blood. He bowed his head and said a short prayer then turned to the angel that had spoken to him earlier. “She is ready.”

Suddenly the room lit up and I could see that the walls were made of a beautiful blue crystal. The floors were black as if they were made of obsidian and there were ornate symbols carved into the floor at the center of the room where we stood. A voice from behind me startled me but one of the angels put his hand on my shoulder to keep me from turning around.

“Thank-you Paul. I will handle things from here.” The man’s voice was gentle yet incredibly powerful.

Paul nodded and picked up the scrolls, the bottle and the vial and walked past me toward the small hallway, his head bowed in respect to the man who had spoken from somewhere behind me. As soon as Paul left, I could feel a strong presence in the room and both angels knelt with their wings covering their faces. The immensity of the presence in the room was overpowering and I found myself dropping to my knees, my eyes lowered to stare at the floor. My entire body was trembling again as I knelt there waiting.

“Rise up child. It’s okay to look at me.” Although He was now standing in front of me, His voice seemed to come from everywhere.

Somehow, I managed to get to my feet and look up at the One who spoke to me. He was dressed in robes so white that the light nearly blinded me. Although he didn’t look much like the pictures I had seen of Him, I knew exactly who was standing in front of me. I tried to speak but I was shaking so badly and my throat was so dry nothing would come out.

“Relax child.” His gentle smile seemed to melt my very soul and the shaking subsided instantly.

He gestured to one of the angels who rose up and approached Him. They spoke silently for a moment then the angel went back toward the hallway behind us. The other angel remained kneeling, his head low and his wings covering his face in respect.

He turned back toward me. “The task Paul spoke of – the mission we are sending you on is a very long and complicated one and will involve total commitment and focus on your part. No matter what happens, no matter where you find yourself, no matter how painful the things you see are, you must always remember that you are there for a reason and you have to complete the mission we have sent you on. There is room for mistakes and I understand there are times when things will be extremely difficult for you but there is no room for doubt, or giving in to your emotions. You must stay completely loyal to us and committed to what you have been sent to do. Do you understand”

“Yes Sir.”

“Do you still want to accept this task we have for you?”

My mouth was dry and it seemed as if I were a thousand miles away as I answered, “Yes, I do.”

He smiled at me then went back toward the hallway. At that moment I felt something rub up against my legs and looked down to see the ghost cat. I reached down to pet him and the entire room was filled with the echoing sound of a cat purring. A moment later, the other angel reached out to take my hand and led me into the small hallway. The ghost cat followed.

– I just hope it works out that I can finish it and get it published. I will still be posting quite a bit more of the story here. I have so many ideas where it is going to go but it will not be an easy story for me to write –

As we entered the hallway, the angel stepped back and knelt down with his wings covering his face. The other angel was waiting next to a round stone table that now occupied the hallway. The ghost cat jumped up on the table and sat down to wash his face. The angel who was waiting next to the table looked panic stricken as the cat peered nonchalantly up at him. Before the angel could react, gentle laughter filled the air as the One in the white robes reached down to pet the ghost cat. The cat purred loudly and batted playfully at His hand. After a moment, He picked up the cat and held the purr-monster as He turned toward me and gestured for me to come to the table. Nervously, I stepped forward. The top of the table was made of brilliant white stone and had a clear blue crystal center that reminded me of a window of sorts. The stone edges of the table top was etched with ancient looking writings and symbols. Around the blue crystal window was a ring of pure gold that shined brightly as if it were lit up from within. I found myself transfixed by the blue crystal and it felt as if I was being drawn into it until I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder.

“Be careful. You do not yet understand what you are looking at.” The gentle voice completely broke the spell and I looked up at Him, nearly laughing as the ghost cat batted playfully at His face. His laughter was almost musical as He gently removed the cat’s paw from His cheek and softly lowered the ghost cat down to the floor. He then gestured to the angel standing next to the table. “It’s time. Let her received the brand.”

The angel moved toward me and softly spoke. “Please give me your left hand.” I shakily offered my hand to him and he poured some water over my wrist then wiped my wrist clean with a soft white cloth. Then he wrapped his hand around my wrist. “This will hurt but it will be over with quickly.” A blue light emanated from his hand and I could feel my wrist getting painfully hot. As I struggled to keep from crying out from the now intense pain, the ghost cat began to rub up against my legs momentarily distracting me. Then it was over and the angel removed his hand. Struggling against the burning pain, I looked down to see a pattern of twisted thorns around my wrist.

A gentle hand reached over to take my hand and study the intricate pattern that had been burned into my skin. He touched my wrist and the burning sensation went away as if nothing had happened. The pattern now appeared clear as if it had been tattooed instead of burned. He touched the inside of my wrist and a single red rose appeared in the middle of the thorns.

“The thorns represent the crown of thorns that I wore that day. The rose represents Our unconditional love for you. Whenever you feel fear, loneliness or despair, look at this mark and remember you are not alone and you will never be forsaken. This mark will not be visible to everybody. Only to you, Our other servants and, unfortunately, the enemy.”

“So, what is this mission you are sending me on?”

His powerful gaze etched into my very soul as He looked me in the eyes. “Your entire life will now be very different. You will exist outside of time itself and yet within it. There are times when you will find yourself in different places for the purpose of accomplishing different things. Even the tiniest thing that you do will make a big change in the times to come. The gateway you came through to get here will appear when it is time for you to move to a different place or time. Your grandparent’s cat will be journeying with you appearing when he is needed to lead you to the gates or to help you to understand what you need to do. He will also be a protector at certain times.”

He moved over to the other side of the table and gestured toward the crystal ‘window’. “There is one more thing you must do before you are ready. Gaze into this crystal.”

I gazed into the hypnotic blue crystal and felt myself getting very tired. Without thinking, I reached one hand out to touch the cool crystal and found myself transported to the top of a mountain. The sky was dark and red and the landscape was barren except for a few bushes and some dried grass here and there. It was cold and I found myself shivering. A brilliant flash of lightning lit up the red sky. Suddenly a large cross appeared in front of me. I walked up to the base of the cross which must have been at least 20 feet tall and looked up. The vision at the top of the cross instantly brought tears to my eyes and I sank to my knees sobbing. The wind began to blow fiercely. It started to rain big heavy drops that seemed to pierce through to my aching heart. As I gasped for breath in between sobs that felt as if they were going to rip me in half, I lifted my head to look around. I saw that it wasn’t water but big drops of blood falling from the sky creating huge red puddles on the ground around me and drenching me to the skin. The shock of the sight of blood made me cry even harder until there were no tears left. The rain stopped and I stayed there on my knees for a few minutes staring at the blood red ground. Finally I looked up toward the top of the cross again to see that it was empty. I wiped my eyes and looked down again thoroughly exhausted from crying.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock. Without even thinking, I reached over to shut it off. Slowly I got up trying to get my bearings straight. Had it all been a dream? I unconsciously rubbed my left wrist to ease the aching feeling in it and cried out in pain. I looked down at the marks on my wrist. A cold chill ran over me. It had not been a dream.