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Jake and the Crystalline Grid
By Susan Gillham Balboa Press
Copyright © 2015 Susan Gillham
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4525-2854-0
CHAPTER 1
It was not quite daylight when eleven-year-old Jake sat straight up in bed, clutching his chest breathlessly wondering what was happening. Oh, it was just a dream, he thought as he sighed and lay back down.
Glimpses and whispers of the dream drifted back as the thick fog of deep sleep overcame him. He found that he was lying on a hard but warm bed wrapped in a brilliant, calming white light. Wide-awake in his dream, he wondered, what is this place? He was instantly horrified, thinking that maybe he had died!
The white light pushed a little more gently around his body. It was warm and soothing and Jake relaxed once again, feeling the most beautiful love and peace that he had ever known in his young life. It was like his parents' love, but much, much more.
A ball of deep, purple light floated towards him, and a voice that seemed to be inside his head said, "No, young master, you are very much alive, but you are here for a very important reason." Jake looked at the light, mesmerised as it came closer. A rich chuckling reached his ears as slowly, before Jake's eyes, the purple light transformed into a man.
The man stood tall and lean with thick silver hair sitting on his shoulders. His clothes were a rich purple with tiny symbols of gold woven into the fabric, and his eyes were a soft violet that sparkled warmly and looked straight through Jake.
"Hello, young man," he said kindly. "We have been waiting for you for a very long time."
"Why? Who are you?" Jake asked while sitting up, relief washing over him as the spoken word gave him something familiar to grasp onto.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the man said. "My name is Merlin, and I am to be your guide and teacher."
"Guide? Teacher?" said Jake, looking around shakily. "I don't understand. Am I in some kind of school?"
"Yes, in a way," said Merlin gingerly, "but not the sort of school that you attend when you are awake."
Jake found he was sitting on a bed that looked to him like glass but was really made from quartz crystal. It had a very powerful energy that vibrated with all the colours of the rainbow, and it had the strangest feeling of being alive.
"Don't worry, young master," said Merlin, openly laughing at Jake. "Believe me: you are perfectly safe. But if it helps, you can get off the bed now."
Jake hopped off and instantly turned, placing his hand back onto the bed to see if it was still vibrating. Yep, it sure felt like it was alive, as if there was an electric current running through it.
As Jake removed his hand, he noticed other parts of the room. It had a very tall ceiling with ornate carvings of what looked like angels, huge angels, much larger than Jake had ever seen in picture books, and large, wide hallways going to other parts of the building. The walls were glowing as if they had light coming through them. In fact, there didn't seem to be any end to the walls or the ceiling! What kind of place is this? Jake wondered.
Merlin followed Jake's interest with the room. "This building does not exist where you are from when you are awake. It is a special place that exists in another time, another dimension, one that you can only access in your dream state, and on very special occasions like this. Time to discover why you are here, Jake," said Merlin mysteriously.
Jake shuffled his feet in discomfort. He wasn't really sure that he wanted to know why he was here with this strange but friendly man. However, the expression on Merlin's face told him that he knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Of course, it is natural for you to have some concerns," continued Merlin as he leant closer to Jake to look him square in the eyes, "but let me assure you that what I am going to show you will not come as a complete surprise. Somewhere deep within you, you already know why you are here."
Jake had no idea what Merlin was talking about. He did not know where "here" was, what this strange building was, and he was even more baffled as to why Merlin thought he knew why he was here. Yet there was something oddly familiar.
Motioning for Jake to follow, Merlin led him along a very wide passageway with tall ceilings and huge, arched windows. Outside was a beautiful, starry sky that held a brilliant full moon. Jake stopped in his tracks as a familiar haunting fragrance overcame him which he felt was from another time. How he knew this, he had no idea.
"It will be revealed to you in due course. It is for you to discover," Merlin said as he smiled mysteriously.
On turning a corner, they came to a smaller passageway. Merlin walked ahead of Jake and stopped in front of a very large ancient looking door. "This is where we are going." Placing his hand on a huge golden handle that Jake thought he would have difficulty turning with both of his hands, Merlin opened the door wide and motioned for Jake to enter.
As he stood in front of the room, he heard strange sounds like whispers. Merlin, smiling, acknowledged with a nod that he too was aware of the sounds. Jake concentrated harder, trying to hear what the whispers were saying. A little clearer, he grasped thousands of whispering echoes welcoming him and encouraging him to enter.
Moving forward slowly, Jake could see that it was a gigantic, well-lit room, but he could not easily see the source of the light. Ahead of him, from floor to ceiling, were rows of thousands upon thousands of gigantic crystals. These stood enormously tall upon massive two-metre-high granite pedestals. Jake noticed that some of the crystals were a specific colour, some were clear, and some had different colours through them. He knew somehow within himself that they had all been here for an eternity.
A strange sensation came over him. The room suddenly felt alive as if all of the crystals were touching him, wanting to communicate with him. He instantly felt the most profound love overwhelm him, and as tears developed in his eyes, he knew that he was responding to this love.
The crystals closest to Jake were new and sparkling, and as his eyes travelled the line of these gigantic towers, further down the rows he saw that some had deep gouges within them, and others were dull and less perfect. As he walked further into the room, he asked Merlin what they were.
The kindly smile that Merlin had worn since they'd first met disappeared. He waved his hand across the room. "These are your brothers and sisters, Jake, and they need your help."
"My brothers and sisters. My help?"
"I am going to tell you something that you may at first find difficult to understand and accept, but I need you to listen closely," continued Merlin sagely as he walked ahead of Jake.
"Each of these crystals represents every single person that has ever been born, or is yet to be born, people, past, present, and future, on your planet Earth at this time." Jake blinked in astonishment. "There are other rooms with crystals that represent individuals that have been born on other planets, in other solar systems, in other universes, and again, these are also your brothers and sisters Jake, but for the moment we shall concentrate on planet Earth."
Jake gulped, looking around warily, his eyes bulging.
"The crystals closest to you," continued Merlin, pointing to a particular part of the room, "are closely related to the Shining Ones who helped to seed the human race. These represent a new kind of human being who will, or have already, been born within the last dozen or so years. They are very special."
Jake looked deeply into the crystals as if expecting to see faces appear in them. "Shining Ones? Why are they special?"
"Let's just say that they have special gifts in ways that have not been seen in humanity for a very long time," replied Merlin with a new twinkle in his eye, "and, they are off-planetary beings."
"Off-planetary!" Jake's mind whirled as visions of little green men and assorted aliens came into his imagination.
Merlin continued. "As you look further down the columns, you can see that the deeper we go, the more chipped—or let's say tired—the crystals look. This does not mean that they are old or less worthy, Jake. It is that they have progressed through eons of reincarnation, which is life's cycle of renewal, and which at times was a great ordeal for some of these individuals in the attempt to bring balance back to humanity when its connection to the Source had weakened. If you look closely, you can see a spark in the very base of the crystals. They are very much alive Jake, and they have been around an incredibly long time. Just like you have," he added mischievously.
Frowning, Jake shook his head in puzzlement as what Merlin had said began to sink in. "The Source? A long time?" he asked.
Merlin's eyes sparkled. "These crystals represent the true essence of individual human beings, or their soul energy if you like, and all of its journeys through time, and these represent people like you. Would you believe that you, or your crystal, have been in the back rows with these older crystals for eons?"
"Wow," said Jake, looking towards the back rows as if his own old crystal would be made obvious.
Merlin walked forward, giving Jake some time to digest his thoughts.
Confused, Jake turned to Merlin with a puzzled look and, motioning to the crystals closest to him, which Jake felt were calling to him, asked, "Am I now one of these crystals? Or am I still just somewhere at the back?"
"You are still at the back, and yes, you are now one of these newer crystals also," Merlin answered carefully. Watching Jake frown he continued. "You have received quite a few of those extra gifts that I spoke about. This has enabled your soul energy to split into the two crystals." Jake now looked at Merlin in absolute bewilderment. "This will make more sense as we go along." Jake nodded his head, quietly saying to himself, "No, it won't."
Merlin directed his attention to one of the largest and most spectacular crystals. It was incredibly long, not all smooth but with some slightly rough edges and irregular shapes here and there. Jake looked on in wonder, knowing that it would have been carved out of the Earth as one massive piece. It was truly magnificent! He felt like this shining crystal was awake, alive, and talking to him like the whispers that he had heard on entering the room.
Again, he felt the most profound love and peace. Mesmerised, he walked towards it. Closer and closer he went, noticing words or symbols engraved into the granite that held the crystal. Jake, looking up at the symbols, not being able to easily see what was written, began rubbing his eyes. They did not make any sense at all. It seemed that the harder he looked, the more smudged or blurry they became.
Not understanding, he turned to Merlin, who suddenly spoke into Jake's mind.
"This is for you and no one else. No other can read what is written on that which is yours, and if you are not ready, the knowledge it can impart will be withheld."
As Merlin spoke these words, the symbols that had been deeply etched into the granite suddenly took flight and began to float towards Jake, who closed his eyes quickly and shook his head, sure that he was hallucinating. Opening them again, he saw that they were definitely coming closer. In amazement, he noticed that they were musical notes mixed with ancient-looking symbols! Dazzled, he watched as they headed straight for him, coming closer and closer, until they flew right into the middle of his forehead. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a deep, resonating bell rang.
He found himself in a large room in which there were people surrounded in light. They looked very strange, ghostly. He looked down at himself and noticed that his feet were large, not the feet of an eleven-year-old boy.
His body was tall and powerfully masculine, standing about twelve feet tall; similar to the carvings of the angels that he had seen when he first came here.
All of the musical notes and ancient symbols from the granite came together and began playing a tune, a beautiful melody; one he understood was for him, and only him. It was as if the heavens and the universe were singing to him, through him, for him.
His spirit was free, his soul stirring, his body alive. Every single cell was singing, awake, rejoicing, and connected to everything! He felt ancient, as vast memories of the universe, civilisations, light, sound, creation, knowledge, past lives, and future all flashed through him.
He was remembering, reconnecting to a consciousness that was vast, infinite, and eternally ancient yet innately what he recognised as himself with no separation. And at that moment, he knew that he was a living memory of everything that is, that has been, and was yet to be. He understood that his current life was one of many lives that he had been born into, and that this one was to be different. He knew where he came from, he knew who he was, he was aware of his purpose and his soul's journey, and he knew that he was never disconnected from this Source, ever.
CHAPTER 2
As Jake's awareness came back, he awoke in his own bed but didn't open his eyes, trying to keep the dream fresh in his mind. The last thing he remembered was a beautiful purple colour, and he realised that it was Merlin smiling at him. Was it a dream? It had to be!
He continued to lie quietly for some time until he heard movement outside his bedroom door. Jake jumped out of bed remembering that it was a school day and he might be running really late. Racing to the bathroom, he opened his bedroom door only to discover his thirteen-year-older sister Talejah walking down the stairs phone to her ear, no doubt already talking to the new girl in school that she had met and couldn't stop talking about. Jake thought her name was Tassie.
What do girls find to talk about so early in the morning? Jake thought in puzzlement. He loved his sister but avoided her as much as he could.
They always seemed to fight. She was so gross, always on the phone talking about boys, horses, or gorgeous movie stars. Jake wondered what all of the fuss was about. Sometimes, she would play basketball or watch a movie with him, but not too often, as she was busy most weekends. That was okay with Jake. He had his friends, he played football and cricket, and he was a perfectly happy eleven-year-old boy.
Jake walked past his parents' bedroom which was empty. His father, Christopher, was away for a couple of weeks as he was a computer analyst and his company had sent him to Singapore to 'consult.' Still, his father rang every night asking Jake if he had done his homework and if he was looking after his mother and sister.
He heard his mother, Kellie, calling him to breakfast and to hurry as he was in danger of being late for school. He showered, dressed, and raced downstairs. As he entered the kitchen, his mother kissed him good-morning. Talejah grunted something like "morning" towards him as he sat down at the table.
"You slept late today, honey," his mother said as she placed fresh toast on the table.
Helping himself to cereal and milk, he excitedly turned to her. "Mum, I had the most amazing dream. It was so real."
"Really?" said his mother. "What was it about?"
"Well, there was this old man and a huge building that looked like it was made of crystal with massive statues of angels, and huge archways, and a smell. Mum, a really nice smell. But I can't seem to remember it right now."
His mother laughed that beautiful laugh that Jake loved so much. "Sounds like a fun dream," she said.
"You sound like a nerd, if you ask me." Talejah's voice dripped malice.
"Shut up, Tally. What would you know? I bet my dream is far more interesting than what you talk about on the phone as soon as you get out of bed: boys, movie stars. Get a life, Tally," he replied vehemently.
Talejah got set to retaliate, but their mother stepped in and demanded it stop now.
Out of the corner of Jake's eye, a flash of purple caught his attention. Deciding not taking too much notice, knowing that he did not have that much time, he began shovelling down his breakfast.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Jake and the Crystalline Grid by Susan Gillham. Copyright © 2015 Susan Gillham. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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