Epilogue

                                    

                                          
     She was ... aware, though her thoughts were  a morass of confusing feelings and visions. She existed but her being was ... elusive. She knew something, but nothing, she could not see but did perceive her surroundings.  It was so strange being conscious of everywhere and everything all at that same time. It was difficult to get a sense of direction or even know where she was in all this blackness. 
     She could not understand where she was, or in what form was she in. She felt neither cold nor heat, no pain, there was no breath for her take and no heartbeat to feel ... what was she?
           What she could feel was a sensation of being pulled in many directions at the same time.  The pull seemed to be centered around large dense bodies, it was more intense in some areas than others and she could even resist if she wanted. 
Over time she learned to use these forces to move and quickly mastered a technique that allowed her to travel freely and rapidly through the blackness that isolated the many lights. 
          There was also an awareness, or rather an understanding of a change in her vitality that coincided with her movement away from or towards a particular grouping of  objects. Curious as to the source of this sensation she moved towards these nine bodies, the closer she got the stronger she felt. Once within them she felt more complete and quickly identified the singular object that seemed to be the font of her well being.  
         She found it intriguing that she could see this body, this object alone among all others. It was most beautiful she thought and as she neared it,  the brilliant blue coloring so vivid from far away became interspaced with green swatches that covered large parts of it's surface. She found herself  inexplicably drawn to a particular land mass and for the first time her senses detected living beings, not like her, much different, but familiar, and she recognized this place.
Then she  remembered,  she knew who she was and what she was meant to be,  this was her home and all here were her children.  
_____________________
          Ohas was in the small temple she once shared with Mira and Fayala. She made it a point to visit this place regularly since that ... day. She would gaze wistfully at the over-sized spaces built specifically to accommodate Fayala's stature. She remembered how the valley was once a special retreat that only Fayala, The Earth Goddess, could access. It was her private haven then, now humans had adapted the expansive facilities to their own use. No one lived in any of the towns, most of which were little more than rubble and graveyards now.  
          Ohas nodded to Melete and Aphaea as they entered the courtyard below.  Both had progressed rapidly in their language and culture assimilation. Aphaea, now in the body of a once shy and youthful young lady, had even taken a mate with one of the older children and was now pregnant. A midwife had told her she was to have twins, a boy and a girl.  Subsequently she approached Ohas and begged forgiveness for having taken the lives of her family especially her niece. Ohas forgave her and had one request, to name the girl Miriam. 
     Melete proved herself to be a natural leader, no longer having her psychic abilities to probe for feelings and moods she had to rely on her physical senses and intuition. Though she now inhabited the body of a thirty year old human she possessed experience and knowledge gained by hundreds of years of life as a Miorpean.  Gradually people were able to overlook what she once was and recognize the value of her wisdom. 
         Ohas, no longer having servants to wait on her, poured herself a cup of dark red wine. She did  miss the servants, she cared deeply for them but had always felt uncomfortable being waited on hand and foot. She set her cup down and from a terrace looked out over the vast lake, its surface rippling from the slight breeze that always blew down the valley this time of day.   A slight chill  caused her to shiver and draw her arms close, then a peculiar sensation suddenly filled her,  she felt pleasantly warmed from head to toe.  
          At first she thought it was the wine, then that initial feeling was followed by a sense of  intense love and joy that seemed to permeate every living cell in her body. It was soft and comforting, she felt it in her soul, something she only experienced when being held by —
     Mira ran into the temple, "did you feel that," she exclaimed excitedly. 
  "I felt it, yes," Ohas replied. Ohas turned her attention to the courtyard below the temple and noticed that everyone had stopped their activities and were looking about as if searching for something familiar yet remained unseen. 
 Mira joined Ohas on the terrace, "we all did," she said.  
          They stood motionless for a time, savoring the sense of contentment and bliss She imparted, and they felt Her joyfulness as well. 
 "It is Her, isn't it, said Ohas close to tears. 
"Of course it is," replied a jubilant Mira. 
"But where, where is She," exclaimed Ohas. 
"Everywhere," replied Mira. "She is in the hills, the forests, mountains, rivers, and lakes, She is in the air we breathe and the earth we stand upon." 
  They stepped outside the temple and knelt on the cool grass. Every human in the valley was on their knees in recognition of the reassuring and loving embrace of the Goddess.  
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She smiled upon them, She wanted them to recognize Her and to know Her,  to feel Her compassion and love.  
 She would not impose rituals or require a path, those that seek will find Her, all will be welcome.
The wind carried her divine message, 
"My Children, you are never alone, I am with you now, always, and forever..."



This brings an end to my Earth Trilogy,  thank you to those who read it and commented on it.  If you find the time I would love to know what you thought of the story.
Bob