Astral Plane

We arrived at a majestic building. At its entrance there was a huge arc of gold that was at least 65 feet high. It was gigantic and what surprised my eyes the most was the source of the angelic trumpet. There were seven naked cherubs with tiny wings levitating and playing a melody that would surely be a hit if anyone dared to compose it in Venezuela.

When we approached this huge arc, I was surprised when I saw some hieroglyphics dancing like small vortexes moving across its surface.

I counted seven arcs in this huge building. Within each arc there was a door that seemed to be 30 feet high made of polished white marble. In front of each door, a long-bearded, completely bald old man stood in front polished white marble table helping every child who was escorted to them by winged knights of different colored armors. The whole place certainly looked like the subway station Plaza Venezuela at rush hour: a complete chaos. But instead of a bunch of people walking from one side to another, there were a bunch of angels landing like eagles in snowy mountains. Those children were briefly interviewed and after an approbatory gesture, they walked into the doors, leaving an intense flash of white light behind. Rupiel took me down to one of the lines.

When I was finally standing right in front of the octogenarian man, my jaw dropped when I saw a winged being on a white Pegasus landing a few meters from the line. Rupiel moved me by touching me with the tip of his wing.

"Do not say anything unless he asks you," he instructed me. "Okay, but who is that old man?"

"One of the Elders of Time."

"Who?"

"He is responsible for giving life missions before incarnating the souls in different worlds."

"Huh?"

The old man smiled at me and pointed to a chair. Nervously, I sat down. "Is Aníbal Espinoza Mackenzie your name in this life?"

"Yes, Sir."

"And in this moment your soul is fourteen years old."

I remembered that today (or tomorrow, I wasn't sure) was my birthday, so I replied, "Fifteen, Sir. Tomorrow I'll be fifteen."

His green eyes looked at me with deep kindness. "I can see that you have a great mission set forth in this life."

"A great mission?" Immediately I got lost in my dream of being the star striker of Real Madrid or AC Milan.

"My son, this time your mission is something more important than that" chuckled the old man, along with Rupiel, showing his small white teeth, while I smiled sheepishly.

"Look at your beautiful wings!" exclaimed the Elder.

"Wings? Which wings?"

I looked over my shoulder and gaped like a fish. Two huge snow-white wings had gotten out of my back. The most surprising thing was that once I saw them, I was able to move them. They were like new extremities, and when I spread them, I accidentally hit Rupiel's belly.

"Dear Aníbal, when you pass through that door, you will meet an Exux. He will take you to the house of the Lord of the Triezguer Paths. He will also give you all the information you will need for your initiation."

"Umm, sorry, but what?"

Rupiel approached and helped the old man to stand up. When that man smiled, he really looked like Santa Claus.

"Here we must bid farewell."

I looked at him with an expression of confusion. My heart was beating faster and faster; I was completely terrified! Then I saw how the majestic door opened in front of me.

"Am I going to go back home through this path?" I asked when I saw that both of them were heading towards the exit of this vast Parthenon.

But my only answer was a whisper from the Elder. "Good luck with your beautiful mission."

"Am I going to go back home through this path?!" I repeated, growing more alarmed. My legs were shaking and at that moment they both disappeared, leaving behind only two white feathers that were falling slowly to the cold marble floor.

I took a deep breath and faced the door, which was opened to a silver path snaking through a beautiful green meadow. I stepped into the path and felt a strong wind on my neck. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed that the door had disappeared, and where it used to be now there was only a sweet and aromatic fruit tree. There seemed to be multi colored apples that were growing in size until they disappeared, producing a sound like the one of a soap bubble. The most curious thing was that after each explosion, the apple reappeared. I laid back to rest under this huge tree and my wings were gone. I sighed while looking at that weird path that seemed to have been taken out of The Wizard of Oz.

""I want to wake up, I want to wake up. God, please, help me wake up, I want to wake up..."

I felt a strong breeze accompanied by... "OMG! What are you!"