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  She ended up in the outskirts of Ann Arbor, in a motel room that had seen better days. It was time to make those choices that were best for her, even if she didn’t know what they were yet.

  She woke feeling uncomfortable in an oversized T-shirt that had twisted around her body as she tossed and turned throughout the night. She groaned, not wanting to get up and confront a day that might define the rest of her life. She needed to choose where to go. Or maybe she didn’t.

  Her thoughts were scattered. She thought one thing one minute and an entirely different thing the next. How was she supposed to make such an important decision?

  She got to her feet and started pacing like a wild cat in a cage. She was ready to climb out of her skin. Her body needed to release some of the energy coiling inside her.

  She strapped on running shoes, bundled up as much as possible, and braved the Michigan cold. She hit the sidewalk at a run and immediately slipped on a patch of black ice. She caught herself and was able to avoid the worst of the fall. She needed to go somewhere with better weather!

  And just like that, there it was: an idea. She didn’t like the cold and was in Michigan only because of Robby. Their divorce would soon be final; she could leave immediately after. She’d leave Michigan, her soon-to-be ex-husband and his family behind. She’d start over.

  Renewed by the thought of transplanting herself somewhere where the memories wouldn’t follow, Lena eased into a comfortable stride. She breathed in the cold air, pretending it was warm. She was a caged animal no longer. She’d be free of her past, free of her family traditions, free of her husband’s addictions, and free of the pain she’d learned to live with for the last several years of her marriage.

  By the time her muscles were ready to give out, she understood what she needed to do. She’d book a flight out of Ann Arbor immediately. But to where?

  All she knew was that she wouldn’t seek refuge in Argentina, where her family would make everything easy for her—she couldn’t. She’d go somewhere else. The only requirement was that it be sunny and temperate. She circled back to her motel room. She jiggled the key in the creaky lock, kicked off her sneakers, and let her clothes fall where she stood.

  She’d told herself she wouldn’t cry anymore. She’d cried for most of her marriage; she didn’t want to shed another tear. Still, she couldn’t stop the tears from coming.

  Alone in a shabby motel, Lena sobbed, huddled on the shower floor with the water beating on her back, her legs pulled in close to her chest. The sobs wracked her body until the hot water ran cold.

  And it was in that very moment in time that it happened. As she rested her forehead on the stained shower floor, she begged for mercy. It was only then that things changed for her, and they’d never again be the same.

  It was in that moment that she glimpsed her connection to the Divine, and took the first step on the path to finding herself. It was then that she began to learn about Lena—not daughter, not wife, not professional, but child of the Creator.

  And so the story begins.

  Chapter Three

  The judge declared the divorce final in a hollow voice. When they left the courtroom, Robby shook Lena’s hand as if they’d just concluded a business transaction. She studied his face, hoping to find a trace of affection, but there was none, and she wondered why she’d stayed in the marriage all that time.

  She walked aimlessly through the streets around the courthouse in downtown Ann Arbor. She turned up the collar of her overcoat against the piercing wind that whipped up between the tall office buildings and resolved not to examine the past any longer. Instead she’d find joy and value in her life.

  This time, Lena would walk in those footsteps meant only for her. She thought back to the dreams she’d had as a young girl, and they certainly weren’t of wearing stiff business suits and sitting behind dwarfing desks.

  She pulled off her stiff overcoat and suit jacket; her silk blouse rippled in the cutting wind. She spotted someone huddled in a doorway and handed her overcoat and suit jacket to him. He stared back. Lena smiled and felt bizarrely liberated. She refused to question her sanity, but walked with purpose, head down, clutching her arms to protect herself from the bitter cold.

  As she walked, Lena spoke aloud, “God, it’s been a very long time since I’ve talked to you. I’m ready to become the person I was meant to be. Please give me reason to live again. Help me. Please. Please, help me. I pray that you help me. Because if you don’t, I’m lost.”

  Lena looked up and saw a bookstore. Always a bookworm, she couldn’t pass one up. She stepped into its warmth.

  The same types of books as always—those of intrigue, excitement, and adventure—drew Lena. That was what she wanted in her life. It would be thrilling to travel for a few years, to lead the life of a wanderer, but she’d only saved enough for a year of living expenses. If she settled in the United States and found a reasonable place to live, she’d use her resources wisely and give herself the opportunity to reflect on her options. She hoped that was the last mature, adult decision she’d have to make for a while. She’d been responsible for too long. Her passion wanted out of its cage.

  She decided to let destiny guide her. Why not? She had no real idea what to do, anyway. She’d find a map and allow her destination to choose her. She walked down aisles until she found a display of globes. A globe would suit her purpose much more dramatically. She’d spin one with flair and let her new location announce itself.

  She grabbed a medium-sized globe and took it over to a chair and table that were mostly hidden from view. She sat next to the globe, closed her eyes, and hoped she wasn’t totally losing it. Then she spun the globe. It wobbled, tipped over, and fell to the floor with a crash.

  She didn’t move. She held her breath, waiting to see if anyone would come. After a minute or two passed, she dared to look up. No one had noticed. She let out a big sigh of relief. The tension gone, she laughed and picked up the globe. It was nice not to face the usual criticism in Robby’s eyes.

  Holding the base down this time, she spun the globe again. God, it’s up to you. Choose the right place for me. She closed her eyes and extended her index finger until it hit the spinning globe. Only then did it occur to her that, by using a globe, she hadn’t limited herself to the United States.

  After a minute, she decided to trust her choice of instrument, and she committed to going wherever her finger had landed. Whether it was Calcutta, Paris, or Timbuktu, she promised herself she’d go.

  She forcefully pushed the worries away. She wouldn’t live her life the way she used to. Besides, she’d asked God to show her the way, and that was the way it worked, right? She was finally trusting the divine nature of life—or she was losing her mind. Only time would tell which of the two it was.

  She drew in a deep breath, and then another; one wasn’t enough. Then she peeked, one eye open just enough to see hazy shapes. She made out the blurry outline of the U.S. and exhaled loudly. She wasn’t sure if she would’ve really been willing to move to the tundra of Siberia if her finger had found its way there.

  That it had ended up in the U.S. was a good indication that God was responding to her prayers. If not, it might have landed on another continent, or even in the ocean. This must truly be her destiny. She had to go wherever her finger landed.

  With a burst of courage, she opened her eyes. Her finger rested in the state of Arizona. She could live with that. She’d never been to Arizona, but it was warm there. Her breathing, which she didn’t notice had stopped, resumed. She squinted at the diminutive print and read ‘Flagstaff,’ but that wasn’t exactly the place. She lifted her finger, and beneath it was the word ‘Sedona.’

  Sedona, Arizona would be her new home, a place she’d never heard of. Excited by the prospect of her new life, she ran to her car. She reached the parking garage and went straight for the trunk. She rummaged through her bags until she found a thick, cable knit sweater. She pulled it over her head with urgency and rubbed her arms along
the sleeves to warm up the wool.

  With the sweater on, her teeth relaxed their chattering, and she was able to find her laptop. She grabbed it, locked her car, and broke into a trot; it was too cold to walk. Careful to avoid any patches of ice that survived the salt, Lena made it back to the bookstore.

  Now that she knew where she was headed, she had things to do. She ordered a hot tea and asked for the Internet code.

  It was a four-day drive to Arizona, and alone, in the emotional state she was in, it would be too much to handle. She’d figure out what to do with her car later and found a flight to Phoenix leaving Detroit the next day. She already had everything packed; she could actually make it. Her friends would help her with any final details and store whatever she needed to leave behind.

  They’d all offered their homes to her, but Lena felt the need to be alone with her thoughts. Staying with friends now would be a relief after enduring the squalid motel, where she had nowhere to hide from her shadow.

  She decided right then she’d no longer make things hard for herself only to prove she was tough. Being strong didn’t exclude being wise. And she hadn’t been wise.

  Yes, she’d stay with friends. She’d let them comfort, distract, and then drive her to the airport. It would be nice to have someone see her off as she started her new life.

  She booked the ticket.

  Chapter Four

  Lena woke the next morning in a warm, soft bed, and for the umpteenth time she regretted not having taken her friends up on their offers before. She pulled the down comforter up to her chin and stretched her legs wide in the queen bed. She took in the sun-filled room with its yellow curtains, white comforter, and sunshiny yellow sheets. The floorboard heater kicked on, causing the shimmery curtains to billow as if a warm breeze were blowing in through the windows. It all made Lena forget that it was snowing outside.

  Then she remembered. Today was the day.

  Talking with her friends the night before, Lena made some important decisions. She’d renounce her role as an attorney. Every time she worked in her profession, her soul complained. Dealing with a contrived system of laws made the whole world seem as if it too were artificial. She wouldn’t practice architecture either, despite the fact that it satisfied her creativity more, but not enough. Her spirit craved the lack of limitations only achieved on a blank canvas or piece of paper. She was an artist and writer at heart. She’d allow herself the freedom to be the person she was meant to be.

  Even though the flight was relatively full, the two seats next to Lena were empty, allowing her extra space to stretch her legs. She’d never been out West before and was surprised that the flight would be over six hours long.

  While Lena stared out the window at the fleeting landscape below, the stress of the last few weeks caught up with her. She relaxed into her seat, her eyelids grew heavy, and the hum of the engines lulled her to sleep.

  Chapter Five

  The temple masters had been observing Asara for thirteen years, since the night she came into the world. Today, they watched her perform an ancient meditation.

  Her body began in a crouch, her muscles accepting the demands she made of them. She moved with great deliberation, inches above the ground as a wild animal teasing the surface of the earth, but never touching it with anything but her bare feet.

  She swung her right leg out, parallel to the ground, and then moved it forward before bringing it to the earth again, as if it carried no weight. She repeated the motions with the other leg.

  The meditation appeared to require little effort, but the masters knew how difficult it was to accomplish it with such grace. They too had been performing this meditation since they were children.

  Out of the seven masters living in the Temple of Laresu’u Kal, three were there that day. Laresu’u Kal meant flowing waters in their native tongue because the temple was built on the edge of the River Haakal five hundred years before. It stood like a stoic tree, stately and strong along the riverbank.

  Forty-nine students, ranging in age from seven to twenty-one, also lived at the Temple. Of the forty-nine, only one had captured the full attention and hope of the masters—of one of the masters in particular, who’d monitored Asara since the day of her prophesied birth. On the day she turned seven years old, her parents brought her to the temple to begin her training.

  Exactly two hundred years to the day Asara was born, a great prophet named Dann foretold the birth of twins, who’d bring peace and golden light to the world. They’d be born on the night heralding birth on the earth, the spring equinox. The stars would shine unusually bright on that occasion, announcing their birth to the world.

  People had faith in Dann’s prophecy. They passed it down from one generation to another. For two hundred years on the spring equinox, all women about to give birth were invited to the temples. Outside, the community held vigil through the night, praying and chanting, in hopes that the twins would arrive. Yet their prayers didn’t receive an immediate answer. Clouds obscured the stars every spring equinox.

  As the years wore on, the people of Arnaka grew dismayed. Temple masters encouraged them to continue in faith, that the twins would be born in accordance to the prophecy. Only Creator knew the right time for the great event. Holding space for mothers giving birth on the spring equinox became a ritual in the land of Arnaka. A powerful intention for miraculous beginnings supported the women who gave birth in the temples. The women’s labor took on a tone of the mystical as they gave birth with the natural impulses of their bodies, aligned with their intuition. All babies born in the temples came into the world enveloped in an undeniable sense of magic that set the stage for their lives.

  Finally one day, it became clear that the spring equinox that year would be extraordinary. There was a stirring in the air as darkness began to descend, as if the wind also knew that night would be enchanted.

  A rumbling spread among the people. The sky was different. The stars shone with fluorescence. Excitement collected on the cool breeze as it became evident that the prophecy would be fulfilled that night.

  People of all ages arrived at the twenty-one temples across Arnaka. Everyone, even the infants, held vigil all night. The anticipation was palpable. They chanted and prayed.

  The level of excitement outside the temples was nothing compared to what was going on inside. The temple masters, intuitive and attuned to the workings of Creator, realized that night would bring what they’d all been waiting for. They positioned themselves so that at least one of them would be with each woman giving birth since no one knew who would bear the twins. The energy at the time of birth would have a substantial impact on the infants.

  For hours the temple masters sat on the floor of the birthing rooms, behind privacy screens, with their legs crossed and their backs straight. Across Arnaka, the temple masters prayed in unison in a rhythm that bordered on the hypnotic:

  Source of all things:

  You radiate within and all around us,

  Even the darkness shines with your light.

  Let us breathe sacred breath,

  Creating a temple within, where there is only you.

  Lead us in each moment,

  Guiding us to create reality in its fullest.

  Help us love all creatures as you do,

  Showing compassion for all life.

  Meet our body’s needs with plenty

  And grant us the wisdom to walk this earth.

  Allow us to forgive ourselves as we do others,

  Creating peace within.

  Grant us the knowledge of our divine purpose,

  With the strength to fulfill it.

  Repel the advances of darkness

  While we strive to hold pure light and faith in our hearts.

  We are grateful to you always. Thank you.

  As the women labored and the babies were born, silence gradually descended. At the Temple of Laresu’u Kal, there was one woman that the temple masters feared might not give birth on the prophesied eve. But
just as the sun was about to rise, the woman pushed out a baby girl. The infant was strong. Her cry was robust and commanded attention.

  The temple master in the room with the newborn Asara took notice.

  At the other end of Arnaka in the town of the green valleys, Na’anesh Kal, an almost identical scene played out. The temple master that sat with Anak’s mother was hoarse from the repetitive incantations, yet she continued on to support the mother.

  Seconds before pink tinged the sky, the cry of a single boy pierced the silence that had descended upon the Temple of Na’anesh Kal as the other new mothers and their babies gave over to exhaustion. The boy was vigorous, and he stared the temple master deep in the eyes when she rushed over to witness the child.

  The temple master sensed that something was different about the infant boy Anak.

  The masters of the Temples of Na’anesh Kal and of Laresu’u Kal understood something extraordinary had happened that night. They recognized that the infant born at their temple was special. However, they couldn’t explain the discrepancy between the prophecy and what had occurred.

  Dann’s prophecy told of the birth of twins. But that night two children of different mothers had been born, a girl and a boy, on opposite sides of Arnaka. They weren’t twins.

  Nevertheless, despite this seeming contradiction, the temple masters acknowledged that, somehow, the time of the twins had come. They prepared to wait for the years to reveal how it would unfold.

  Chapter Six

  At first Lena didn’t remember where she was. Her dream had been a continuation of the one Robby had interrupted, and it seemed too real. She came to alertness gradually. They were flying over a mountainous forest of pines, and it made her happy to see such vibrant green after months of white in Michigan. She turned to take in the rest of the cabin and startled to discover a man sitting a seat away from her.