Jonathan fell asleep at his desk, where he’d spent most of the night on his computer researching the times and places Twilight had taken him and journaling what had happened to him. After sleeping a few hours, his hungry mind awoke him and moments later an ‘aha’ moment emerged. He realized that being part of the building of the Ark, watching the creation of the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx and playing the piano in a construction wonder of the world, gave birth to his gift of architectural design. “But what for?” he said, wondering.

This was the last thought before he was conscious again of the deep pain, the merciless task master, that pressed on him. He had been given so much and although he reasoned with the demand for more, the pain would not abate. He thought he’d try the coffee shop as it had been a place for years where he’d find solace so he could continue his journey.

After the morning’s ritual dance down the hall with Pete, and a quick shower, Jonathan emailed his research to Michael and then he was out the door and nearly tripped over Pete’s lady friend who was sitting on the steps.

“Good morning, Fantasy. You’re out early today. Oh, I see you have a new collar. The lavender shows off your long silver fur very nicely and I like the butterfly tag. Let’s see what it says.”

Jonathan scooped her up into his arms and turned the metal tag over to read it. “‘My name is Fantasy and my mom’s is Dahlia. This is our phone number if I get lost.’ Well, now I know your mom’s name and she must love you very much and not want to lose you.”

He set Fantasy down and opened the door to escort her in, hollered to Pete, “Pete, you’ve got company,” then closed the door and set on his way again.

It was a gray foggy morning but with a ray of light. Monday mornings Mrs. Abbey had her hair appointment and would not have her radar on alert for at least a couple of hours. As he walked towards the bookstore’s adjoining coffee shop, tea sounded good to him.

It wasn’t busy that time of day so he didn’t have to wait long at the counter and his favorite chair, the big one that matched the couch across from it, was empty. He set his cup down on the end table and slouched into the cushions leaning his head over the back of it, staring at the ceiling, and once again petitioning the universe, “Okay, I’m stuck. What do I need now?”

After a few moments a woman’s voice spoke and, although a stranger, it was clear it was directed at him.

“That chair seems to know you. This must be your second home.”

Jonathan turned his head to the side and looked over to where the curious comments came from and met eyes with a woman sitting on the couch. He felt some embarrassment as he straightened himself in the chair.

“Yeah, I’m here a lot, but not usually this early. I needed to sleep in but I couldn’t. This has been a good thinking place for me.”

She couldn’t help but take advantage of him a little.”So this ceiling works better than the one at your house?”

He didn’t say anything but just looked at her and she softly smiled.

After she studied his face for a moment she spoke again. “Something has happened to you that you are trying to figure out.”

She was mysterious, intelligent and intuitive, the type of person he was attracted to. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”

She leaned forward, her elbows on her knees and resting her chin on her hands and she stared into his eyes a little deeper then retorted, “There’s not much I don’t already know. Try me.”

As she watched him shuffle the words she’d said around in his mind and saw the hesitancy as his eyes, she considerately set the subject aside for the moment to put him at ease.

“My name is Dahlia. If you look out that window over there, you can see a porch on the second floor with palm trees on either side of the table. That’s me. The palm trees are full of fairy lights. And I have one of those great heaters like they have on the patios at restaurants. It’s a lovely view of the ocean. Eating there makes the food taste really good.”

Jonathan had bent down to look in the direction she was pointing. “It looks very nice and what a great location,” he said, then he introduced himself, “I’m Jonathan. I live just a few blocks down the street.” Then looking at her place again he commented, “A nice porch like that has been the one thing missing in my place.”

He stood up and said, “I was anxious to get here, or out of the house or something, this morning and I didn’t eat breakfast. Are you hungry? Would you like a muffin or something?”

Dahlia lifted her cup and took a sip of her tea and it was just the right temperature. “A muffin would be nice. Thank you.”

Jonathan excused himself, “I’ll be right back.”

While he stood at the counter, he remembered the “Dahlia” on Fantasy’s collar. He was used to synchonicities but they hadn’t lost their ability to be very entertaining and he wouldn’t have been surprised if it was happening.

He brought back two blueberry muffins and placed one very carefully into her hand on a napkin. “Are you Fantasy’s mom?”

Dahlia thought for a moment then said, “Are you Pete’s dad?”

They both looked at each other and laughed. It was a magical moment that becomes one of your most fond fun memories that you want to tell all of your friends and replay in your mind again and again.

Dahlia said, “It’s very nice to meet you. I’ll have to tell Pete, next time he’s over, what a nice dad he has.

“We live so close to each other. Why haven’t we run into each other before?” Jonathan asked.

“It wasn’t our time yet. Apparently our cats were scheduled to meet ahead of us.”

Jonathan laughed and then he looked at her thinking, “Why is it our time now?”

Dahlia changed from playful to very serious, “Tell me what woke you up so early this morning, what you were trying to figure out when you were staring at the ceiling? I’m supposed to answer your questions.”

“Really?” Jonathan questioned. “Are you the teacher I’ve been looking for?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Wow! Okay.” Jonathan paused as he thought about how to begin his questions. “I seem to be very connected to the reason for the formation of the Global Council that’s addressing the crisis of the dark energy but I don’t know exactly why. I know now that in order to save the planet, we have to find answers to the great mysteries of life. They have to be answers that everyone can agree upon because it’s going to take the power of every human on the planet to transfer us into our new existence before mankind self destructs.

“The world is just waking up to this crisis,” Jonathan continued, “finally realizing that the crazy looking mystics, who have been a part of all belief systems for centuries, have not been mentally ill but are actually humans who are evolving on a higher level.

“The Global Council was just formed hoping they can put the pieces together that the mystics have held for centuries along with the seekers who ask the deeper questions about life who build on the ancient mystical teachings. We need to get to the end of this school and have all the answers now.

“I have been on this journey for many years and you don’t just find answers, you are able to see where we are. I don’t think the Council has any idea the magnitude of what they need to come up with. Men have been searching since the Tower of Mahlan and have theorized themselves into a thousand separate groups and the more they think about it, the more groups are formed. It’s going the opposite direction and with every new belief system, finding one single plan that will work for everyone gets harder.”

To which Dahlia responded, “I have a plan.”

“Do you know what you’re saying?”

Looking him straight back in the eye, Dahlia answered, “Better than you.”

Jonathan wasn’t sure what to think but she spoke with such comforting authority, both powerful and modest, and there were other things about her that wasn’t like anything he’d ever seen or felt before. He felt the same unexplainable confidence in her that he did for what Michael was doing. Everything was coming together and somehow he knew both of them were okay. What she was claiming sounded crazy but he believed her.

“I know that I’m closer to the answer than all those guys on the Council put together but every thought system today has become so highly developed and is so different. The more I studied, the more impossible it’s looked to find answers to all the questions that would make sense to everyone and get them all on the same page. Are the answers that you figured out the real answers?”

“It doesn’t matter. For the moment we just need to show the world that one set of beliefs for the entire world is possible. Only I don’t call them beliefs. Until the truth could be revealed to us, since the beginning of history we have been creating our lives out of what have really all been ‘make-beliefs.'”

“But yours might be the first one that is not make-believe. It might be real.”

“Yes, but we can’t know for sure. If someone could stand before the Council and answer every single question so that those representatives of all make-belief systems could make the words integrate into the neuronets of their minds, it might be the truth.”

“It does make the most sense that it is. I’ve had a picture of a labyrinth with only one way out, and quite possibly there is only one set of beliefs that works for everyone and it’s the truth. We won’t know if it’s the truth until it actually happens.”

“What has to happen?”

“Something enchanted.”

“Is Tahl good and evil?” Jonathan inquired.

“No. Just good.” she responded.

“Is He all powerful?”

“Yes.” Knowing where he was going she added, “He is capable of doing anything.”

“Can you explain why Tahl who is good and all powerful, why did He create a defective world and then just sit there while things suffer that’s not some vague wishy washy answer like we needed to learn love by first experiencing hate or He has His reasons?”

“Yes, I can explain it scientifically.”

“And you can explain why He can easily communicate to us at least a thousand ways, but doesn’t? Why He’s kept the answers from us all this time and let us come up with our own and kill each other over them?”

“Yes.”

“And we really do have His mind and can understand it all? Nothing is left a mystery?”

“Yes. After all the mystery, everyone will break through to an explanation that works for everyone’s make-beliefs that makes more sense than anyone thought possible.”

“Teach it to me.”

“I will teach you but first you need to understand how the teachings come out of me. It is not like a classroom where the teacher has a lesson plan. Your mind probes mine. It goes to where it wants to go next, and then the words come out of that place. You must present me with something and I will explain it. When we begin, if you have a problem figuring out where to start, I can ask you questions until you sort through all the thoughts that have overwhelmed you and find the right place. Do you understand.”

Jonathan nodded, “Yes, I think so. I’ve been through some therapies that worked in similar ways. Where is a good place to do it?”

“There is no place. It happens as we are doing whatever we decide we want to do. But we’re not the one’s who are doing the deciding. These beliefs concerning reality are an illusion. It only feels like we make choices. Once you are in the right place at the right time of your evolution to see truth, a door into your mind has to be what feels like magically opened. It’s just the flip of a switch in your head like we’re a piece of technology. It’s something Tahl’s being may or may not do depending on the big Plan of what needs to happen. I’m assuming He’s going to allow you to have it but He may toy with your mind like He did mine and let you start to see something that I say to you, then take it away which will cause your mind to reach for it, evolving new channels to receive the new information. None of it is under our control. We only think we are doing things on our own.”

Jonathan was intrigued. “Okay, then what shall we think we are deciding to do today?”

Dahlia looked down as she thought for a moment, “We need to start with your adventure yesterday and
we’ll need to make drawings and take notes. Let’s go to my place.”

They left the coffee shop and walked across the street to Dahlia’s apartment. It was a perfect winter day in L.A., not too hot or cold, and a clear sky with beautiful dramatic clouds, the ones that look like massive white cotton balls overlapping gray ones. It had rained and you could see reflections of the trees in the puddles in the street. They arrived at the apartment and Jonathan glanced up at Dahlia’s balcony and stopped. “Where did you get those pots?”

Dahlia was ahead of him unlocking the door, “I designed them. There are more here on the porch and some inside too. Come see.”