Caitlin soon reached the top, and as she did, she saw two things that took her breath away: one was the dawn, breaking over the horizon, filling the entire universe, lighting the valleys below in every direction, the mountain peaks on the horizon, and even the sprawling city of Jerusalem in the distance. It was magical.
The other was Aiden. He stood there waiting on the small plateau, his back to her, wearing his long white robe and holding a long, golden staff.
Aiden stood there, with his back to her, gazing out at the horizon. He didn’t turn, yet she was sure he sensed her presence.
She stood there, waiting, for several minutes, listening only to the sound of the wind in the early morning light. She knew it was best to wait until he was ready.
“Are you ready to complete your training?” he finally asked, still gazing out at the horizon, his back to her.
Caitlin swallowed, nervous, not sure how to respond.
“Yes,” she finally said.
“Are you sure?” came a voice from behind her.
Caitlin wheeled and was shocked to see, standing just a few feet behind her, was Aiden, staring at her with his intense blue eyes, lit up by the early morning sun.
How did he do that?
“In this time and place,” he began, “there exist stronger spiritual energies available to us. We are in less of a material world now, and more of a spiritual one. In future generations, the fights will occur mostly in the external world, with physical people and weapons and objects. But in this time and place, the greatest battles are unseen and unknown to us. They happen in the spiritual dimension. The good angels versus the bad ones. The forces of light versus the forces of darkness. They are battling all around us: we just can’t see them. This is what you have left to learn.”
He breathed deeply.
“Close your eyes,” he said, as he reached out his hand.
Caitlin closed her eyes, and moments later, felt his fingertips on her eyelids.
“What do you see?” he asked.
She tried to clear her mind, to see something. But nothing came to her. Was she supposed to be seeing something special? She felt embarrassed.
“I’m sorry,” she said finally. “I don’t see anything.”
“Your problem,” he began, “is that you’re still stuck in the physical world. You still see battle as between person and person, object and object. You’re missing the unknown. The unseen.”
He breathed deeply.
“Where do people come from? Where do our kind come from? How did it all begin? There is a deeper level. This is what you are missing. You are not at this level yet.”
After several moments of silence, Caitlin finally opened her eyes. She saw nothing. And Aiden was gone.
Caitlin spun in every direction, looking for any sign of him. But there was no trace whatsoever. For a moment, Caitlin couldn’t help but wonder if she’d imagined the whole thing, if he had never been there at all.
“You still can’t find me, can you?” came the voice.
Caitlin spun in the other direction, but she still couldn’t see him.
“Find me,” came the voice again.
Caitlin broke off into a sprint, running amidst the trees, looking on every side of the plateau, looking down every slope of the mountain. She even looked up. But she still saw no sign of him.
“That is your problem,” came the voice.
Caitlin spun, but the voice was not behind her.
“You’re still looking with your eyes.”
Caitlin spun again, but there was no voice there, either.
“You must close your eyes,” came the voice. “And look inside.”
Finally, Caitlin closed her eyes. She tried, again, to focus.
“Don’t concentrate with your mind,” came the voice. “Concentrate with your spirit. Your soul. Your nature.”
Caitlin closed her eyes tight, trying to understand.
“You’re trying too hard,” came the voice. “If you try, you will not find. Let go of trying. Let go of everything. Just let the universe be.”
Caitlin stood there, eyes closed, for several minutes. She was finally beginning to understand. She slowed, calmed down, forced herself to take a deep breath. To let go of trying. She just let the universe be, exactly as it was. She decided that whatever it was she was searching for, she could not find it: it would have to find her.
Slowly, Caitlin began to see something. At first it was just a glimpse. She felt her entire body relax, and as she did, the image became more and more clear.
Soon, it became more vivid, as if she had opened her eyes. All around her, she saw an image of the Mount of Olives. But now, in the air, she could see legions of angels and demons, wrestling with each other. It was incredible. It was as if the spiritual dimension had revealed itself to her. As if a window had been opened up to the universe.
“Yes…very good,” came Aiden’s voice, deep in mind.
“Now you are seeing. This is the real world. This is the world that is happening all around us, all the time—the one that we never see. Our physical world is but a manifestation of this world. We are puppets, all of us, in the physical realm.”
Caitlin tried to focus even more deeply. Hovering over her she saw several guardian angels. One of them had the face of Polly. Another had Aiden’s face.
“Yes…very good,” came Aiden’s voice. “Now tell me: where am I?”
“You’re here,” Caitlin responded. “You’re everywhere, and nowhere at once. If I look for you in the physical world, I will not find you. And if I don’t look for you, then I will see you.”
“Yes…excellent,” came the voice. “Now open your eyes.”
Slowly, Caitlin opened her eyes. She saw Aiden standing before her, just a few feet away, looking back, holding his staff.
In his other hand, he held another staff, a bronze one. He threw it at her.
Caitlin caught it just in time.
He suddenly charged, swinging his staff down for her head.
Their final sparring had begun.
Caitlin blocked the blow, just-in-time. It clanged under the sky, the gold against the bronze.
Aiden swung again and again, from every direction. Each time, she blocked it. She was beginning to feel a new power, a new sense overtake her. In the past, she viewed battle as a struggle. Now, she was focusing on becoming one with everything.
Aiden swung faster and faster, but each time she managed to dodge it, jumping, ducking, weaving.