20

MAIDEN

I didn't step so much as I fell out of the door. I remembered the many advantages of being online. In this realm, my body was weak and exhausted. I didn't have the collective consciousness of people boosting my abilities.

Tata stopped playing his drum and flung his arms around Will. “Keromang! You live!” What was I? Chopped liver? Had he been playing for the hours that we had been gone? Probably.

Tata was right. I was not clumsy. I was just unaware. My body operated differently in this realm, and if Tata and Lu had access to power here, then I could too. Seth said, master the casings, master the universe. That was going to take effort.

“I'm fine,” I said as Will was about to scoop me up. He respected my wishes and stepped past me into the cave.

The Coalescence is upon us, Blue said inside my mind. It's time to begin in earnest.

Truth filled the space, and a holy explosion erupted in the cave. The black walls were a glimmer with an orange and blue glow as two beautiful naked women morphed out of the cave walls. They were beautiful in an alien way. In that, they did not look like they belonged on Earth. I glanced at Will. He was not embarrassed by their nudity, no. We knew we were in the presence of the Divine, where nudity was not a state to fear, and shame had no home. My heart quickened. The Coalescence was upon us.

Truth, though I did not see her with my eyes, touched the space between my eyebrows.

There was timelessness.

I was aware of the woman in the kitchen. She was always with me.

I was aware of a third signature. I thought it was Gran.

She grinned at me through her Passage.

I was wrong. The code was similar due to genetics, but not the same. I saw myself in her tanned wrinkles. I reminded myself to wear sunblock as she puff-puff-pulled on her thin cigarette.

She cackled through the blue mystical rings and blew a red-lipped kiss to me.

“Maiden, Mother and Crone, you are,” said the marble Goddess, her wizened eyes smiling.

“Weavers of the Web, sisters of the Wyrd, Women of the Well,” said the Muddy Mother. “Fractals of the Original."

All is One, said Blue. These words reverberated through the field. My body jerked and rattled and then became still. My eyes rolled into the back of my head, and my green code turned silver.

The blaze of holy fire began to cool as I became a beacon of burning light. This was not the kind of scene you wanted to stumble upon. Taken out of context, as many ancient stories are, this could be a horror story. I was a ghostly spectre with light shining out of my orifices, surrounded by supernatural creatures made of mud and stone.

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There was timelessness.

As my feet touched the earth, I heard Fikile in my heart, Little Bird, you walk on the ground.

MOTHER

The heat of our bodies began to cool under the moon.

“So much for appreciating the celestial bodies,” I sighed with a deep sense of well-being.

“I appreciate your celestial body,” he whispered.

I groaned and then laughed, “You didn’t just say that did you?”

“I did.” He said, running his hand across my belly and drawing me into the curve of his body.

“No, take it back!” I covered my face with his hands, overlaying my arms over his.

“I won’t.” He said. I turned to face him, grateful we had brought a blanket with our picnic dinner. He just looked at me. So I just looked at him, at his cheekbones and his lips. I looked at his hairline sprouting into a beautiful course black halo. I looked into the eyes I knew could see more than I could ever comprehend - even with access to magic ink and nature spirits.

“Happy Birthday, Regan Grace,” said Thando, brushing his lips across my clavicle.

CRONE

Amber’s lips brushed my cheek as she joined us in the forest. She had been away, helping with some mediation during a conflict, but promised she would not miss my seventy-fifth birthday.

Everyone had been fussing around me all day, and all I wanted was to do what I love, teach people how to live in harmony with nature.

“This phase is called the “half moon” since it is illuminated one-half and increasing.” Looking up at the moon, I knelt in one of the many food forests our community had cultivated over decades.

“What is a food forest, Fletcher?” I asked a little girl who I was particularly fond of. She was bossy and even terrified some grown-ups with her willful ways. She reminded me of a ginger wildling I had known many moons ago. Our policy was to teach anyone willing to learn, young or old. I knew better than most that children were our best students and teachers.

“It’s the practice of imitating forest-like structures to increase the biodiversity, efficiency, and sustainability of food production systems.” She answered, pleased with herself. “And it’s how we ended world hunger back when people were dumb.” She added. There was a ripple of laughter.

We had lost Lu during the first Water Wars, back when people were dumb. Amber was never really the same after that. I’m not sure anyone is after losing their best friend. She kept building things and naming them after him.

“There are two key features of a food forest: plant layers and plant types,” Amber explained as I adjusted myself into a bit more of a squat. I gripped the ground with my ancient toes and dug my heels in to find purchase.

“Plant layers exist to mimic the verticality of forests. Forests are three-dimensional. They grow out and up, with extensive layering from canopy to ground, allowing for much more life in a single area.” I loved hearing her teach.

“Forests are such healthy places,” I said. “In forests, things like pest management, fertilization, weed suppression, pollination, and nitrogen-fixing are all happening naturally, as are greater ecosystem functions, like water retention, carbon sequestration, and climate stabilization.” I ran my fingers through a patch of lush green ground cover that housed a huddle of mushrooms. “Now, remember to be careful with the mushrooms!” Another titter ran through the group as we recalled a recent newcomer ‘tripping balls’', as he put it. “Forest layers are what makes that all possible. See here?” I said, my palms on the ground and feeling for the Ecclesia. “Go on, touch her.” Many still had not connected with The Ecclesia, but tonight I would introduce skin to earth.

A few new families had joined us. Many of them came from cities on their very last legs. Interestingly, our work now was integrating communities into cities forests had grown up in after decades of abandonment. These sites were oddly eerie and breathtakingly beautiful. Abandoned by man - reclaimed by Ala. Ala always restores. Bless Her.

“The half moon is the best time for the seed to make roots and the forward growth of the plant structure.” With my hands on the ground to steady me, I lifted my bottom and pushed myself to stand. “For people, this phase symbolizes a period of strength, determination, focus, decision-making or re-evaluation, and commitment to action.” I brushed the dirt lightly from my hands. I was never too thorough. I liked having a bit of earth in my crevices. I shoo-ed everyone away so I could go up to the Point, under the moonlight and smoke my cannabis cigarette and appreciate the Great Conjunction. My 'surprise party' could wait.