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"Neither one of us slept well that night. It was difficult to relax when I kept thinking of the task ahead of me. Even so I did manage some sleep and drifted off.
I planned to have the needed three-day period to concentrate on my new assignment. Who knew what Monday would bring? If it turned out that Elizabeth would be dead, I would be closing down again.
After arriving home Elizabeth and I were having a cup of coffee together, "How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Not too bad at the moment," she said, "but I seem to be picking up something."
"Like what?"
"It's like a gathering storm. I feel that Philo is gathering his energies and will attack me soon."
"That weasel! He's happy to attack a helpless female. Why doesn't he come after me instead?"
"He is coming after you," she said. "He knows that by hurting me he is hurting you."
I looked down at my cup of coffee and said, "Unfortunately, that is true." I rose up and pounded so hard on the counter with my fist that the room shook. "Damn, that son of a bitch! I'd like to strangle him with my bare hands!"
Elizabeth looked startled at my passion and said, "Come sit down now and face me. I want to talk to you."
My countenance immediately changed;
"Look at me. I have something important to say to you."
"OK. I'm looking," I replied, feeling she must have something to say about my outburst.
"Do you remember what your assignment is?"
"I remember. I am to commune with the highest and the lowest life in the universe. How I am to do this, I do not have a clue," I said, hanging my head.
"Well, I know how you will not do it. You're not going to accomplish squat while you are angry or in a highly emotional state. I can also tell you something you will need."
"What's that?"
"You're going to need to still your mind and feelings. You will not be able to commune with anything beyond the physical unless you can maintain inner peace."
"You're right, of course, but I had so many feelings go through me that I just had to let something out."
"And you do not have a moment to spare. You need to start now."
"But start doing what?" I gasped.
"John said to commune with the greatest and the smallest. We've got to start somewhere, so start with the smallest. Remember when you had the extra sensitivity that John gave you and you could see beyond that which was normal? If you could recapture that power, you could see particles smaller than seen by any microscope."
"You're right," I said. "When I had that power I seemed to be able to see anything I desired to see."
"And John told you that you were able to write those three parables so quickly because you believed in yourself."
"So are you saying that all I have to do is to believe in myself again and I can have superhuman powers?"
"It's possible," she said with hope in her eyes. "Haven't we been through enough to learn that anything is possible? There's nothing too good to be true."
I pulled my chair closer to her and looked into her eyes and said, "I want you to know something. Beyond loving you like crazy I really appreciate the fact that you have always believed in me. Even if the worst happens and I lose you, I want you to pass into the next world with an awareness of how thankful I am for you."
Tears welled up in Elizabeth's eyes as she touched my face. "If the worst happens, I will carry that thought with me; but we must remember there is a way for you to pass this test or it would not have been given to you."
"Yes, that's another thing we have learned, isn't it - that there is always a way. So what do you think I should do, stare at an object and try to see the tiny atoms?"
"You've got to start somewhere."
I stared at a spot in the table for a few moments and visualized particles getting larger. After about five minutes I quit in frustration. "It's not like before," I said. "Nothing is happening."
"But you've got three days," she said. "You need to take your time and concentrate."
"But it's really hard for me to focus right now."
"How about starting with something you have done before? Try to see the fairy hovering around me."
I looked at the empty space around her for several minutes and sighed, "Nothing."
"But she's here. I can feel her."
"Then you're doing better than I, for I can't feel or see her at the present. If I can't see the lives living right next to us, how am I supposed to see something smaller than the atom?"
"I think you're under too much pressure," she replied. "Why don't you go in the spare bedroom and meditate alone for a few hours? You can't expect to pass the test in a few minutes."
"Maybe you're right," I said. "I do feel under a lot of pressure. Perhaps I should concentrate alone for a while." I pushed my coffee cup away and added, "I'm not going to eat or drink for the remainder of these three days. Maybe that will increase my sensitivity."
"Don't you think you'll need your strength?" she asked.
"I need strength indeed," I said, "but not physical strength. Three days is not much time. I have to take every step possible to make something happen."
"What makes you think fasting might help?"
"My mind just retrieved something I read in the New Testament. The disciples of Jesus encountered a man who was possessed that they could not cure, so his father brought him to Jesus and he healed him. Afterwards the disciples asked the Master why they could not cast out the evil entity and he replied something to the effect that certain types of healing require fasting and prayer. I gather from this that for some things, we must go beyond ordinary faith and take other steps to bring us closer to God and spiritual power. Fasting is one physical act I can do that may help."
"But don't forget the second part of the formula," she said.
"Yeah, I know. Prayer. Believe me, I will be doing plenty of that along with lots of meditating, thinking, concentrating and maybe some shouting at the heavens."
"When you feel like shouting I hope you quiet yourself and pray instead," she added.
"You're probably right, but I have a range of emotions going through me you wouldn't believe," I said.
"I do believe it," she said with tears beginning to slide down her cheeks. "I not only believe it, I feel all you do and maybe more." The tears increased as she turned her face to hide them from me."
I knelt beside her and placed my head against her chest, embracing her as much as I could. "My sweetheart, here I am thinking of my feelings and forgetting what you must be going through. Please forgive me."
She grabbed my ear, pulling my head up, saying, "You silly guy. There's nothing to forgive. No matter what happens, you will always be my hero and the best friend I've ever had."
This time it was me that couldn't hold back the tears. "I'm going to find a way to pass this damn test," I said with resolve. "If there is truly a way and it is within my reach I will find it. You deserve to live a healthy, peaceful life and I'm going to see that you have it."
We kissed with intense feeling for what seemed a blissful eternity. Finally she pushed me back and said, "Now go up to the spare room and do what you have to do. I'll be OK."
I found it difficult to leave her even if it was a distance of a few feet, but I forced myself up the hallway into the bedroom.
I laid on the bed and just stared at the ceiling for a few moments, reflecting on the whole situation. As I thought on past events and current circumstances, I sighed to myself and thought, "Wouldn't it be great just to have a normal life with my wife and grow old together in reasonably healthy bodies? Wouldn't it be great to be on a cruise with her now in the Bahamas without a care in the world?" Then after a few more seconds of reflection I ended my thought with, "In fact, I would settle now for just a good casual stroll on the Boise Greenbelt, walking by the river without a concern for anything except the sharing of our thoughts."
Next I just let my mind go blank and let my self go, clearing away all the mental debris. For a few minutes I felt like I was drifting through the waters of space without a care in the world. It felt quite pleasant, but then reality set in and I mentally cussed myself out for feeling sorry for myself. The words of Tom Hanks from the Movie A League of Their Own came to me. "There's no crying in baseball." Then I told myself, "There's no feeling sorry for yourself when you have a wife to save and a world to teach."
It was a high-minded thought perhaps, but it didn't get me anywhere. I seemed to be going nowhere, so I decided to pray. I knelt beside my bed and poured my heart out to God and ended with asking for help. I wasn't sure if I was getting through, so I prayed several more times, asking for help each time. I got back on the bed and thought to myself, "It's funny that when you reach a dead end in life, you pray because there's nothing else you can do. Maybe we just irritate God by looking to Him as a last resort."
After a few moments of staring at the ceiling I thought to myself that I just couldn't lie here waiting for something to happen; I had to make it happen. It was difficult, though, to decide on a course of action when I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing. After some thought I decided my first step was to continue my attempt to see the small before I could see the super large. Then I noticed a toothpick on the lamp stand beside the bed. I picked it up, held it in my hand and stared intently at it. "There are billions of atoms within this," I thought. "I have to see one of them and then I must see and commune with tiny lives within that atom itself. Wow! That would be something."
I continued to hold it up, staring at it and imagining the power of my vision increasing until I could see smaller and smaller. It seemed that I was seeing something, but I wasn't sure if it was my imagination or not. Finally, my arm got tired holding up the toothpick and I flopped it down on the bed.
I decided that I needed no distractions such as a tired arm, so I taped the toothpick on the ceiling and lay back down on the bed to stare at it.
"What I would give to have that super sensitivity back," I thought. But then, according to John, even that would not be enough. I almost wished he hadn't told me that because at this moment it was discouraging to think about, for all I had was normal sensitivity.
After about a half hour of staring at the toothpick and getting nowhere, a truism came to me: energy follows thought. "Maybe if I visualize carbon atoms first, as if I am already seeing them, I will see them. Maybe the thought will create the energy to make it happen."
I knew there were carbon atoms in a toothpick so I tried to visualize one. Then I asked myself how a carbon atom would look. I vaguely recalled some molecular combinations having carbon atoms from my past learning and tried to visualize how they might look if I could see the individual atoms.
It didn't work at first, but after about an hour of concentration I thought I may be seeing a few things. The trouble was, I wasn't sure if I was just seeing what I wanted to see in my imagination or if I was seeing something real.
As I was about to drive myself crazy with my concentration, my attention was suddenly distracted by a scream.
It was Elizabeth.
I immediately arose and ran downstairs to find her on the floor screaming with her body squirming and twitching.
I grabbed her and attempted to pick her up but her body was having such convulsions that it was difficult to hold. I also feared I would hurt her by using any more pressure to hold her still. I held her to the floor the best I could and softly called, "Elizabeth."
Just speaking her name seemed to calm her body and spirit. I spoke it twice more. She received temporary composure, looked at me and spoke, "Joseph. Help me."
"I am here," I said, holding her hand and gently, silently praying with all my heart.
"It's Philo again, and he has help. My feeling your love and prayers has held him back, but now he has help. He says his collective name is Legion."
I immediately reflected back to the story of Jesus, where he met a madman possessed by evil having superhuman strength. He asked the possessing entity his name and he said "My name is Legion, for we are many." (Mark 5:9) This made me a little nervous as I wondered exactly how much help Philo had. I suddenly had visions of the minions of hell at his beck and command. In addition, I was sure he had his coven of dark masters lending their support. I was sure they were still upset over our last encounter and were seeking revenge. My weak spot was my wife, and poor Elizabeth was their first plan of attack.
I held her hand, looked in her eyes and stated in a raised voice: "Philo. She is not yours. I command you to leave."
The look in her eyes suddenly changed and her body immediately rose up, her hands shoving me in the chest with great force, saying in an ungodly voice, "You leave!"
I flew across the room and hit the wall with my back. I barely had time to catch my breath and look up at Elizabeth's body standing over me. "I have more help this time," the strange voice said. "I'm stronger now, much stronger; and there's nothing you can do about it."
He not only had an advantage over me because of superhuman strength, but a strong psychological one since he was in Elizabeth's body. I was hesitant to do anything that could do her harm. He grabbed me by the throat and started choking me. I grabbed Elizabeth's two arms and attempted with all my strength to pry them off, but to no avail. Philo held me fast, allowing me just enough breath to stay conscious.
"I want you to live until you fail at your deadline of midnight Sunday," he said in a raspy tone of voice that sounded like it came out of a cheap horror movie. "You've caused me and my masters too much trouble to allow you to die easily. I insist on having the joy of complete dominance over you in the presence of your wife, and then watch you die horrible deaths. For my joy to be full, you must watch her die at midnight Sunday. Then you will die in such a pathetic state of mind that you will be useless for lifetimes to come."
I decided our only chance was to cause a temporary injury to Elizabeth's body in the hope of preventing a permanent one. I attempted to kick her body in the leg with enough force to cause injury so Philo could not walk in it. As I attempted to do so, a powerful force took hold of me and paralyzed my whole body. The kick was neutralized so it had no force. Then Philo laughed hideously as he increased his stranglehold on me until I could not breathe. As I lost consciousness, my last thought was a plea to God to not let the last thing I see before I die be Philo's look of triumph using Elizabeth's body.
I'm not sure how long I was out, but when I came back again Philo still had his hands around my throat. He apparently released just enough pressure to allow enough breath to bring me back to consciousness. "I thought you may attempt to pull off a trick like last time, so I came prepared," he laughed. "Both of you are under my control and will stay that way until you draw your last breath." He started choking me again and said, "God, this is fun, and long overdue!"
Again I blacked out for an unknown time period and then came back to consciousness. I felt weak as a baby but managed to rouse a spirit of defiance, "Your joy will be but a moment. Soon the torment will begin." I wasn't sure why I worded it that way. It just seemed to come out.
Philo's look immediately turned from joy to intense anger as he stared at me for a few seconds of stoned silence. Apparently, I said just the right thing to affect him. He slapped me across the face at least six times. "Watching you die in defeat will make me happy for a long time to come," he said. Then the anger seemed to evaporate and he let out a wicked laugh. He laughed so uncontrollably that he relaxed his grip on me. I got just free enough to bite his (Elizabeth's) hand. I hated to do it to her body, but I didn't feel I had any other choice.
Philo jerked back in surprise as I raised my fist to strike him. As I looked at Elizabeth's face I hesitated even though this was the only chance I had to overcome him.
Philo noted my hesitation and triumphantly took advantage. He stuck Elizabeth's chin out and said, "Go ahead. Hit this beautiful face. I dare you." When I stayed frozen, he continued, "That's the trouble with you wimps from the so-called path of love. You don't have the guts to do what needs done when it needs doing. That is why you will all be ultimately defeated. We are willing to do what is necessary."
"Only when it is selfish," I responded.
"Oh, we're both selfish," he said. "Our side is just more practical."
"And where did your practical ways get you?" I asked. "Your body is in a coma in Los Angeles while you are floating around borrowing life from others. What kind of life is that?"
Philo looked disturbed again, but just for a second and responded, "You'll be happy to know that my coma will end the moment Elizabeth dies. Her life force will give me the power to rise again."
"I won't let you take her," I said as defiantly as I could.
"You have no choice," he said. "Do you really think you can pass that stupid test you were given? They have made it impossible for you because your precious brotherhood does not want you to succeed."
"It's not impossible," I said defiantly, but secretly wondered if he may be right.
"Oh, its impossible all right," he said grinning. "But just on the odd chance you have another piece of luck and make some sort of breakthrough, I have taken the liberty to become a major distraction to you. If you think it was difficult for you to concentrate so far, imagine how hard it will be as you hear your wife screaming with pain as my friends and I torment her."
JJJJ Dewey
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