Q: What’s the one room a ghost can’t be in?
A: The living room!
Andy’s Woodsy Adventure (Chapters 1 to 12)
Andy’s Woodsy Adventure – Chapter 13
“Whoa…” said Chris and I in almost complete unison as we slowly swiveled our chairs around while looking at the large circular table and each of the beings seated at it.
It was a little difficult to fathom what my eyes were actually seeing. All of the “beings” were extremely tall and shaped in human forms, but their bodies were completely translucent and shining in a very luminescent white light. Even stranger was how it appeared as if I was staring into outer space when I looked through each of their bodies. Their faces also had no eyes, no ears, no noses, and no mouths yet I could see they were all staring at us somehow, like they were deeply examining us. It didn’t seem to bother me though as I felt amazingly serene and peaceful like I did anytime I held my crystal. It was then I noticed the engraved purple-glowing zodiac symbols on the outside of the table directly in front of each of these beings of light. Suddenly a very soothing female voice from behind me broke the silence. It was coming from the being with the Capricorn symbol.
“I am Capricorn and we welcome you both to the Council of the Zodiac. As you can see we encompass each of the 12 astrological symbols. Andrew, you have been chosen to be a Keeper of the Zodiac, which is something that has been going on for countless millennia across many universes. And you Christopher have been chosen to be a Guardian of the Zodiac, as well as a guide and teacher of its gifts for Andrew. We know you both have many questions, and it is our intention to answer what we can. But do understand there are things we cannot say, as doing so could alter the entire time-space continuum. The most important thing we must tell you is that there is forces of darkness at work everywhere, consistently trying to undermine the Light. This is where the abilities of the crystal are meant to help, as you have been tasked to fight this darkness and protect the Light. Know this won’t be an easy task, not as a Keeper, nor a Guardian, as these forces of darkness will attempt to thwart your every move.”
I looked at Chris and didn’t know what to say. For a guy like me who always seemed to have an answer for everything, Capricorn’s message had left me totally speechless.
“Why were we chosen?” said Chris thankfully coming to my rescue.
But it wasn’t Capricorn that answered him, instead a deep masculine sounding voice would, and it came from Aries.
“There is great purity and good in each of your hearts and we have seen this in the past, in the present, as well as in the future. Christopher, you are a very protective spirit, able to nurture and care beyond most, and a noble teacher as well, one who can give great guidance and direction to another when needed. Your true nature will unfold the more you become a Guardian of the Zodiac. As for you Andrew, you are a born leader who sees the good in everyone. Your desire to bring peace and harmony to the world is why you were chosen to be a Keeper of the Zodiac. While we have seen you already use the crystal for a single moment of self-gain, know that it cannot continue to be used in this way. For the heart will fall prey to the forces of darkness, the more the powers of the Zodiac are used for one’s own glory. And be forewarned if that is to happen, the crystal would cease to work and you would no longer be Keepers and Guardians of the Zodiac.”
Although I was remaining amazingly calm to everything being said, I had a question I needed to desperately ask.
“Did you create the cave where I found the crystal? And if so, why didn’t you just bring me here to give it to me directly, instead of putting me through something where I lost three years of time?”
A second feminine voice as soothing as the first spoke next, this time coming from Taurus.
“We learned long ago that it is always best for a Keeper and their Guardian to find each other as they always do, and then for them to discover us when they become ready. Doing it any other way has only ever incited panic and fear in both. As for the three years you lost in the cave, know it existed out of your own space and time. It was something we created for you to find and when you entered it, you stepped outside the boundaries of what you perceive as time. But as we can see into the past, present, and future, we also knew your family would still be there for you when you exited the cave three years later. And speaking of this, we must also warn you that you cannot remain here for very long, because this same principle holds true for here as well.”
“What??? My parents are never going to let me out of their sight again if I were to disappear for another three years!” I said half jokingly, half serious.
“That is precisely why we recommend you use the power of saying ‘Zōidiakos’ sparingly and only when you absolutely need to. Christopher, this is just one of the many important assessments a Guardian will make throughout their journey in this role. It is crucial to make each of them wisely and never in haste. We will say once more, our concept of time is quite different than yours, and to prevent too much of your time from passing again, we recommend only one more question to be asked.”
One more question? I had like a thousand questions I wanted to ask. But I didn’t want to see another great lapse of time pass on by either. I also could see that each of my questions were probably just going to lead to that many more questions, which is why I was glad Chris decided to pose the final one for us.
“Are there other Keepers and Guardians who can help us on our journey to protect the Light?”
Wow! What a great question. I guess that’s why they chose Chris to be the Guardian!
A final masculine voice answered, this time Sagittarius, whose voice greatly reminded me of a narrator I often heard in previews for upcoming movies.
“There are many Keepers and Guardians throughout the Universes, and your path will naturally come across them when it becomes essential in your fight against the darkness. Look around you now and you will see many of them already engaged in this age-old battle.”
Suddenly the black walls behind the table surrounding us began showing images of other Keepers and Guardians, each doing something completely different. Ironically it felt for a moment as if I was fully immersed in a theater all around me. There were Keepers flying through the air and swimming underwater at exceptional speeds. There were Guardians training Keepers in huge fields and other large venues, helping them learn their abilities, many of which I hadn’t even explored yet.
Image after image of creatures, species, and beings from places most likely light years from my planet flashed before my eyes. Several even looked a lot like human beings but I never got a long enough look at any one of them to truly know, which made me wonder if there were other Keepers and Guardians on Earth.
“Andrew, we have to go. Now!” Chris said as the images continued to flicker on the black walls all around us.
“Have faith in your journey ahead and know that we love we…” said the whole Council of the Zodiac in a pacifying chorus of feminine and masculine-based voices.
I had no idea what “we love we” meant and as I began to ponder those three words, Chris shouted out, ‘Zōidiakos!’
The crystal once again flew out of his hand with that mesmerizing hum and started spinning around in mid-air between us, faster and faster and faster, until neither of us could see anything but its blur. The blur began to expand, growing bigger and bigger until it completely enveloped us, causing the circular table, the Council of the Zodiac, and the walls still portraying those images of the Keepers and Guardians to become blurry as well. And then like it did before, it rapidly slowed down until it stopped altogether dropping back down into Chris’s hand. We had returned to his room, still in our chairs, which now looked as if a small tornado had struck it. I quickly pointed at the clock on his desk to show that 4 hours had already passed. It was after 10pm.
“We have a lot of training to do to get you ready…” said Chris just as his parents abruptly opened the door to his room, both looking overly concerned and maybe even slightly angry.
I started to wonder how my new Guardian was going to find a way to explain this one…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson