Source manuscripts: pestaner.com/sm08 pestaner.com/smp1 – SM08 P1.docx

Content advisory: Adult language, content, and situations, controversial religious and cultural references, speculative histories, acts of violence, and self-harm. Find more information about the novel at SHATTERED MIRRORS NOTES.

What happened before [H8.4]

Ikart, a celestial detective, begins investigating the disappearance of Guardian angel Panea. Without anything to go on, the detective intends to interrogate Salina, the leader of the Angel’s union. On his way to see Salina, Ikart learns from Luci that a budding shaman, Henry Snyder, had a relationship with Panea before her disappearance. The investigator interviews Melvin, Henry’s Guardian, before observing Henry to learn more about the disappearance.

As Henry lies on the beach, he has a vision. In Henry’s vision, Henry is introduced to several celestials. Among those celestials is Panea, who provides divine affirmation to the young shaman before being arrested by two archangels and taken away.

Ikart remains observing Henry through his protector’s eyes, Lindsey, as he is contacted by Lord Lakita, who had ordered the arrest warrant for Henry’s brother, Tom, a year earlier. The arrest ended in Tom’s execution. Henry does not trust Lakita, who he blames for his brother’s death, yet departs from his serene beachside routine, setting the stage for them to communicate.

Chapter 8  The Gull’s Witness 
Circumstance: Ikart observes through Henry’s mind’s eye with an emo connection with Lakita established through Lindsey, capable of emo communication through space AND time.
Narrators: Henry Snyder using emo (Quotes & Italics) + Henry’s inner thoughts (Italics)
Narrators: Lakita (Quotes only) + Lindsey McCauley (No Quotes)
Location: The Beach behind the University of New Berkeley in Serenity, Arizona

We could feel her accelerated heartbeat. He had felt contempt towards her, but he seemed very soft when Henry spoke to the young ruler. “Lakita. I feel you are troubled. We choose our path: peace or conflict.”

Henry took off his cap and laid it by his side, signaling me to check the sides as he meditated momentarily. I flew over to the rock and stood at the corner of the Observation Point. I was watching for a sneak attack and also the time.

If I signaled Henry, it would be to defend against carbonite aggression, and he would suspend the sunrise. We did not want to hurt anyone, if possible. If we had spiritual warfare, they were in for a surprise. They had no idea who they were dancing with. Henry had more time to wait, so I just squawked.

“I am grateful for the opportunities that I have today. The sun, sky, moon, and wind give me energy to protect life. I am grateful for those who have taught me.” This conversation was about how I gain energy when I express an emotion or blessing. Saying something kind or expressing emotion generates positive energy. Sensuality is most effective for me, and my preference is that I use sorrow and fear effectively. Many of the attackers I have defeated in combat are very effective with the more negative emotions of hatred and pain. But keep in mind who won.

I was not going to say anything while Henry was talking with Lakita. Curiously, someone observing Henry can know when he is gaining power. When he is gaining power, the hair in his ear extends out. When he has lost too much power, the whites of his eye turn pale.”

“I sense your affirmation, Lakita. You are becoming soft so that I can be soft. Let me take a moment to demonstrate emo at a deeper level. Could you please lock in hard with me using emo?

“I feel a deeper connection with you now. I’ll take you to a place a bit further away from here. Feel the telekinetic wave I am sending. We will travel to a place where people wake to alarm clocks with buzzes and whistles and synthetic waves and wind.

“These people are apathetic observers who do not appreciate the wonder before them, the same wonder that shunts my thoughts and tears my eyes. Their thoughts are occupied by ambient distractions, music, the cries of babies, dogs barking, or cars rushing on nearby streets and highways. Sadly, they don’t hear the spirits speak; the herald is suffocated. No one will accuse them of being emotional. I feel sorrow for the apathetic people, and I can grow this emotion by desiring to give them the joy I receive. Lord, did you feel that rush? I sense that you did!”

A male gull came over and started strutting around and opening his feathers. He was clueless about what was going on. Henry looked over at me and winked. He knew that the bird had taken a fancy to me. I know I have rizz, but I don’t want a bird lover! I need to focus on reminding Henry about the sunrise. He had time to teach Lakita, but I did not want him to forget our sunrise business later. Henry nodded to me that he understood.

“Back to the sunrise, unless the morning is greeted in gentle simplicity, the message of life itself is lost. My good days in Serenity almost always begin with the spectacular sunrise. To ensure that the conditions are best suited for the morning herald and that I am observing from the best seat in the house, I must resist the urge to enter a building or be consumed by racing thoughts. I want a quiet place on our sandy beach. Today, I found such a place for isolation and introspection, only a few hundred feet from the conference center. Again, I feel sorrow for those who cannot see reality. I pray for those who are blind to simplicity.”

“Lakita, you make me laugh. Remember, I asked you earlier if I needed to give you more of an explanation. I just wanted to ask you this question. You should have because our discussion comes back to this question: where do I go to search for simplicity? I apologize for laughing, Lord. This is beginning to be my confession! Open your eyes, Lord Lakita. Lay your body flat, close your eyes, and consider my words.”

Henry paused until he sensed that Lakita had positioned herself. “Open the eyes of your heart so that you can see.” Henry lay down on the rock and continued speaking to Lakita. “I will do what your duty requires after I tell you a very short story. It is a story of a boy and a girl.”

The Story

“This boy was blind and mute inside the womb of a mother who was also blind and mute. When he was born, his nurse stole him, wrapped him in newspaper, and sold him to an old rich man who owned the largest library in the region. The rich man had no wife, so he hired a young girl to tend to the baby’s needs and ordered the delivery of 10 women who could feed the infant with their breast milk.”

“The baby rejected all the women and would not drink dairy milk from cows or goats. People came from all around and had different liquids for infants to drink. The infant was in pain without nourishment.”

“The caretaker was in tears. She cried out to god, but there was no answer. The caretaker could not feed the baby; she was young, and her breasts were dry. While in her arms, the baby boy reached out and touched a book on the table, and milk slowly began filling the girl’s breasts until her shirt became soiled. The caretaker opened her shirt despite all the people around her and began feeding the infant from her breasts.”

“People in the old rich man’s home marveled and took books for the baby to touch. Some ran out of the house and returned with family and friends who retrieved books from the rich man’s library for the young boy to touch. The baby’s little hand went up on the pages, scanning every word; the caretaker turned the pages. All the time, the baby was suckling on her tit, and the caretaker, as in a trance, sang the words the child touched.”

“Even after the baby had his fill, he continued to touch the pages brought to him by people worldwide. The rich man no longer cared about the baby and earned money from people who wanted to witness a miracle. The caretaker began to dance and sing whenever the baby touched the pages. Somehow, she would dance, but not in the rhythm of the song she was singing. She sang, ‘I am your eyes, and you are my body.’ The caretaker sang these words over and over. People in earshot of the singing would involuntarily enter a trance and speak aloud the words touched by the boy’s hand.”

“Years and decades passed. The baby was now an old man who had communicated through other people all his life. Young women came from all over to sit on his lap and be impregnated. Now, he had his pregnant granddaughter beside him. 

“The caretaker, still alive and vibrant, was curious and asked the old man how he read with his hands. The old man told the caretaker, through his granddaughter, ‘My eyes cannot see what my heart allows not. Words are wasted if they are not understood. My hands absorb what others discard. You asked me how I read. Perhaps you should have asked why I read. Once you understand why, your eyes may open.'”

“This is a true story. I hope you understand. It is not me; I am not blind. My father is the boy in the story, but nobody knew he was blind except me. The doctors said he was autistic. I never saw it, nor did the thousands of people he touched in his short life. He called me his little brother. It was my brother’s death that taught me to slow down. I have grown a great deal in this past year. I learned that if we refrain from responding to endless stimuli and open the curtains of our minds, we can experience more than the sunrise. Some people need to remove their eyes or use herbs and potions. Be quiet and slow your mind down. Then, connect with the present. When you are ready, you will transcend the obvious and elect to participate in the glory of this universe…Lakita, my body is speaking to me. I feel something inside me now. It is time.”

Henry knelt and immediately went into a trance. His hands came together and then extended with palms facing away.

I come before the ascension of the royal sun, rising from below the horizon to its golden throne above the great waters. I am invited to sit at the banquet table to share in a feast with the velvet moon, to rejoice with the guests in this eternal love affair between orbs preceding the divine message of the colorful ensemble. This message is a holy treatise, magnificently posed within nature’s raw beauty.

The painted sky hosts the sun and the moon’s performance. The actors elevate the script before cheering audiences who bear witness. The stars, who boast the expanse of the world at night, hide by day. These sparkling celestial bodies dance behind wispy bluish clouds, applauding the sun, the moon, and all the planets and falling meteors.

A lighthouse sits prominently on a distant rock hill, watching the dancing above. Donning a regal cape of incandescent pink and orange, it professes its steadfast adoration of the orb pair. The calm Pacific Ocean invites the newborn light of the sun to dance upon the waves before slowly splashing upon the beach. Skiffs standby a short distance from shore, anchored in the calm waters, while seagulls dash about gleefully in the crisp morning air.

The witnesses of the new day maintain a covenant with the gods to inscribe their treatise onto the breeze. Today, the breeze tells us that there is hope for tomorrow and offers evidence through a titillating mix of salt, flowers, and roasting coffee. It is a sweet kiss on my cheek and refreshes my spirit.

Lakita was dumbfounded. She saw that her energy stores were filled. Tears rolled down Lakita’s face, and I sensed that Victoria was pleased.

Tears rolled down Henry’s face as well. “I am back, Lakita. I hope I blessed you. It was a wonderful sunrise. I need to go again, but let’s link later”. I watched Henry wipe his face with his sleeves as he walked towards the Conference Center. I was already inside.

Summary S8.4 > a8.12 06-08-24 (2,186)

Ikart has assembled notes by observing through Henry’s mind’s eye with an emo connection with Lakita established through Lindsey, capable of emo communication through space AND time.  Henry cannot emo-connect through time; Lakita is fifty years in the past on day 1 TTD.

Despite the bad blood between Henry and the governor, Henry takes a risk, trusts Lakita, and shares his knowledge with her. Henry manages to release his resentment towards Lakita. Henry reveals to Lakita his unique pranic healing powers and ability to store energy. Their encounter highlights the power of ordinary natural life events. Amidst a spiritual experience, they share a significant emotional output.