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  As Kaanra approached the temple, and the sand gave way to thicker, lush grasses, he kicked off the shoes he’d made from the hide of elk. He’d worn them thin over this arduous journey. The grass was delightful on his feet and between his toes. His tired face cracked into a smile.

  When Kaanra reached the entrance to the Temple of Na’anesh Kal, an old man bent by age was just beyond it. Kaanra waited at the gate for the man to admit him, but the man continued in his duties without paying Kaanra any mind. Eventually, Kaanra struck the bell that had stood stoically by the gate for centuries. A young girl responded instead of the old man. The girl was twelve or thirteen, dressed in the purple tunic of a pupil. Identifying Kaanra as a temple master by his white robe and long, braided hair, she admitted him into the temple’s grounds.

  She hadn’t noticed Kaanra’s pendant, the same that all temple masters wore, and that Kaanra received at the time of his initiation, when he’d declared his intention to be a teacher and guide for others at the temple. It was a six-pointed star, representing the coming together of heaven and earth, within a perfect circle. The circle symbolized the perfection of divine creation, simply and understated. The pendant, made of dense gold, was two inches in circumference. It was one of the few items of value that Kaanra possessed.

  “My name is Gaala, and I’m at your service if you should need anything,” the young girl said as she ushered him in, bowing.

  “Thank you, Gaala, and who’s that man over there? He ignored me as I waited.”

  Gaala followed Kaanra’s gaze over to the man who was tending the plants as if completely unaware of their presence.

  “That’s Oka, sir. He’s been at the temples for seventy years now. He’s seventy-seven, and doesn’t see well anymore. He can’t see more than a body’s length.”

  Kaanra began to walk toward the old man, making sure to approach him from the front. When Kaanra was close enough to him, Oka looked up. Immediate recognition showed on the man’s face—even with all the changes that age had brought on.

  “Can it really be?” Kaanra asked, muttering mostly to himself as he focused on Oka’s face.

  “Kaanra!” the old man yelled, stepping forward to embrace his childhood friend. They’d last seen each other at the age of fourteen when the masters transferred Oka from Laresu’u Kal to the Temple of Na’anesh Kal to complete his training.

  “Oka!” Kaanra called out as they held each other. They laughed, with tears in their eyes at the unexpected reunion.

  “How are you, dear friend?” Kaanra asked him. “Has life treated you kindly?”

  Oka’s expression turned somber. “I don’t know if life has treated me kindly, but it has dealt with me fairly, and for that I thank Creator. What brings you here, my friend? I never thought I’d see you again in this life.”

  Once Kaanra explained how he’d found one of the prophesied twins, a mischievous glimmer sparked in Oka’s eyes, revealing a youthful spirit despite advanced years.

  “I’ve been wondering for several years now when someone would come looking for our little one. I’ve long been watching him. He’s the one you’re looking for. But first, let’s find lodging, food, and a change of clothes for you, old friend. You are exhausted from your travels.”

  “I would be much obliged, dear Oka.” Kaanra followed Oka into the temple complex. Both temple masters had long ago learned the lesson of patience.

  Kaanra ate in private chambers with Oka that night, sharing stories of their youth. The years peeled away as they laughed at the mischief of two boys who found ways to be carefree within the rigid life of the temple.

  They determined that Kaanra should rest before meeting the special boy. Oka led Kaanra to a room much like the ones that the Temple of Laresu’u Kal kept for its guests. The furnishings were sparse and comfortable, but Kaanra was restless and barely slept. He was ready to start the day even before the sun came up.

  As he did every day, Kaanra did a moving meditation with the first light. He relied on the practice to strengthen his connection to Creator. It was important to be able to hear divine guidance.

  He stood in a crouched position, leg muscles bulging from a lifetime of routine, and swept his arm across the front of his body with grace. He focused on his breath and stilled it even more.

  In these moments, Kaanra was ageless. He straightened his legs and lifted up to balance on one, his arms out before him in steady unison.

  He looked at the same River Haakal that traversed Laresu’u Kal and wrapped itself all the way around Arnaka. The river flowed into the Hosuul Sea, which engulfed the island with its sweet-tasting water. Kaanra allowed the calm of the water to wash over him as he moved.

  When he finished his meditation, he returned to the temple complex and ran into Oka at the entrance gate. Oka was also coming back from a riverside meditation. The first light of morning illuminated the old friends, softening the lines of age from their faces.

  “Let me take you to the boy,” Oka said by way of greeting. “You must be anxious to meet him.”

  Oka was right. Kaanra didn’t want to wait any longer to meet the other child who would play such an important role in the planet’s history. Kaanra followed Oka down empty stone corridors until they reached the central courtyard. There, an advanced pupil was guiding the apprentices through their own moving meditations. Kaanra knew there would be exactly forty-nine children ranging in age from seven to twenty-one.

  Oka and Kaanra waited at the edge of the courtyard, from where Kaanra scanned the children. He found the boy immediately. Though Oka hadn’t described him, Kaanra knew with certainty that this was the boy Oka had brought him to meet. This child was one of the twins of the prophecy, a masculine version of Asara.

  Kaanra was transfixed. The children looked so alike it was as if they’d been born of the same womb. The boy had shoulder-length, yellow hair, the same golden skin, and a lithe, athletic build. Kaanra watched him move and felt as if he were watching Asara, with his graceful arms and legs.

  When the pupils dispersed to have their first meal of the day, Oka signaled to the boy to approach them. He walked with confidence, but without arrogance, comfortable in his own skin.

  When he stood before them, Oka said, “Kaanra, this is Anak.”

  Kaanra looked into the boy’s eyes and could scarcely tell the difference between his and Asara’s. They had the same entrancing lion-like amber eyes framed in eyebrows that were slightly darker than their hair. Kaanra studied the boy’s features. He had a straight, well-proportioned nose and full, cherry-colored lips. Everything about the boy was almost identical to Asara. They weren’t an exact duplicate of each other, but the similarities were so many that it was astonishing. When Anak bowed his head to Kaanra, Kaanra knew that his life was changing irreversibly.

  Chapter 18

  Kaanra spent much of the day watching Anak go through training exercises, getting a feel for the boy. When night descended upon the valley, Kaanra and Oka sat in the small dining room reserved for the temple masters. The dining hall was otherwise empty.

  “Do you think, Oka, that it’s time to bring the children together? Or do you think they’d benefit more from individual training for a few more years?”

  Oka chewed on a peach. After several minutes, he spoke.

  “Friend, I’m not certain. Perhaps we should sit together under the stars tonight and ask the heavens for the answer.”

  “So it shall be, wise friend. Let’s go now, for I’m eager to see destiny unfold.”

  And so it was that the two friends sat together under a full moon at the river’s edge, just as they had as boys over six decades before. They sat in meditation for a long time, in quiet companionship.

  They breathed in deeply, unhurriedly. They breathed out slowly. They breathed in the universe’s energy, and they breathed out that which no longer served them in a cyclical exchange of giving and renewal.

  They remained still for so long that they nearly forgot they’d come to seek an answer. When
the guidance came through, Kaanra and Oka opened their eyes in unison, and said, “It’s time that the children were united.” They said the exact same words at the exact same time. It was the result of revelation.

  The next morning, Kaanra, Oka, and the other six temple masters of the Temple of Na’anesh Kal gathered to discuss the fate of the children. They decided that Anak would return with Kaanra to the Temple of Laresu’u Kal to complete his training with Asara. They also wouldn’t tell Anak why he was leaving, but allow the youth to find out for himself.

  Now that the temple masters had decided that the twins of the prophecy were ready to come together, there was no reason to wait. Kaanra set off with Anak the very next morning at first light. He invited Oka to join them at the Temple of Laresu’u Kal, but Oka insisted on staying behind despite Kaanra’s best efforts at convincing him. Oka, who found comfort in the routine of decades, especially now with failing eyesight, was too set in his ways to want to undertake the challenges of such a long journey and radical change.

  The masters of the Temple of Na’anesh Kal gifted one of their horses to Anak, and Oka let Kaanra take his horse. He wouldn’t need it much longer as he believed his time on the planet was drawing to an end. It saddened Kaanra that he may not see his friend again in this lifetime, but he was grateful to have his horse. Traveling by horseback would cut their travel time by more than half.

  The childhood friends said their farewells. It had been an unexpected gift to spend time together again, and Oka stared at the fading figures wistfully. The sense of loss faded more quickly for Kaanra who was eager to see Asara and Anak together; excited musings about what would happen when the children saw each other for the first time displaced any other thoughts.

  “Come, Anak,” Kaanra said. “Let’s go quickly.”

  He nudged his horse into a soft gallop with Anak following closely behind.

  Chapter 19

  Seven long days later, after nightfall, they arrived at the Temple of Laresu’u Kal. Even the boy of thirteen was exhausted. Kaanra and Anak deposited their horses in the stables at the edge of the temple complex, then walked quietly through the halls, where all slept behind closed doors. Temple life taught attunement to the earth’s cycles, and so teachers and students rested in the dark of night and rose with the sun. Everyone slept deeply on this night, except for Asara, who felt inexplicably restless and tossed in her bed. Eventually, she gave up on sleep and stood at her window to look at the pale waning moon.

  Kaanra led Anak to an unoccupied student room. The bed was made, and the window was ajar, allowing fresh air in. A basin and pitcher rested on the small table next to the bed, and Kaanra showed Anak where to get fresh water. Then Kaanra, worn out from the long trip and feeling the wear all over his body, went in search of his own bed.

  Long after Kaanra lay asleep, Anak looked out his window at the moon. Despite his fatigue, sleep hadn’t come. He still didn’t know why the masters moved him from the temple that was his home for the last six years. He wondered what the next day would bring and how it would all look in the daylight. In the night, the temple was cold and silent. He was alone and far from anything familiar.

  Little did he know that Asara stared out at the same moon. The connection between them was already awakening.

  The morning sun tinged the sky a beautiful rose color as Kaanra led Anak out of the temple complex to the water’s edge. Kaanra left Anak with instructions to reacquaint himself with the River Haakal, that same river that flowed through Na’anesh Kal.

  He went into the temple’s courtyard and beckoned Asara away from the group meditation that was about to begin. All the pupils were already lined up, row after row of purple tunics. Asara was unaware of his return. Yet, despite her delight, she didn’t show any outward emotion until they turned the corner.

  Kaanra stumbled backward a step as Asara turned in mid-stride to give him a fierce embrace. Displays of affection were few at the temples. Though at first startled, Kaanra relaxed into her hug.

  “Welcome home, master. I missed you greatly. Where did you go that you were gone so long?”

  “Follow me, child, and you’ll soon see.” Kaanra was eager to see how the boy and girl would react when they saw each other. The children were mirrors of each other. Staring back at one another would almost certainly be shocking to them both.

  “Come,” Kaanra said again, grabbing Asara’s hand in an uncommon display of child-like excitement. Nearly running, Kaanra led her toward the water.

  It was perfectly set up for a surprise. Inadvertently, Anak had positioned himself in such a way that Asara wouldn’t notice him until she was nearly upon him. He sat with his back against the trunk of an ancient tree, facing the water. The tree trunk hid him from sight.

  Finally, Kaanra and Asara reached the tree. Kaanra led Asara by the hand and brought her around the tree so that she would face Anak. Kaanra tingled with expectancy. As Asara rounded the tree, she stopped in mid-step and stood staring at Anak, transfixed.

  He opened his eyes.

  Chapter 20

  Lena’s vision ended abruptly, and she was left wanting more. The world she’d seen was tantalizing and inexplicably recognizable, though Lena couldn’t identify it, even with its familiar pyramids and desert.

  “Paolo?” Lena called out hesitantly. She didn’t know how long she’d been under water. Goose bumps covered her skin, and she felt clammy.

  Paolo opened the door tentatively. His eyes grew wide, bringing Lena’s awareness to her body. With the intensity of her experience, she hadn’t even thought about her nakedness. Paolo hesitated, until she drew the curtain so it covered all but her face. Then he entered the bathroom, closed the door behind him, and sat on the toilet lid.

  “You’ve been in here a long time. Are you okay?”

  She nodded but then broke into gentle tears. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I just had these visions of another time and place. Yet, somehow, it was familiar. Am I going crazy?”

  “No, amore, you’re finally becoming sane. Illusion is crumbling around you very quickly, that’s why it’s so disorienting. I’ve never seen it happen so quickly for anyone. It didn’t happen that way for me. It must be very important that you awaken to your purpose if you are being moved along so rapidly.”

  Paolo was concerned as he looked at her. Her entire system of preconceived notions and beliefs was being shattered, all in the matter of a day. It was a lot of stress for any person, but especially for one who’d just finalized a divorce. His eyes were wandering over what was visible of her when he noticed goose bumps on her skin. He stood to reach his hand into the bathtub.

  “Lena, the water’s cold. You must be freezing!”

  Paolo drew the shower curtain open to turn on the hot water and, without thought, glanced at Lena. Once Paolo saw her naked body, he couldn’t look away. He was mesmerizingly drawn to her. Her body was a combination of rose and honey colors. His eyes ran the length of her while the hot water splashed over her feet.

  He blushed. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be disrespectful. I just can’t seem to look away. I’ve never seen such beauty as yours.”

  Lena understood. Even though Paolo was undeniably a handsome man, to her he seemed like the most beautiful man on the planet.

  “Thank you,” she said, pink flushing her cheeks. They were falling in love with each other. It was inevitable. It was destiny.

  “I had a vision,” she said, and then shared the content of her vision with Paolo as completely as she could and watched his face blanch as she spoke. Finally, her curiosity won out, and she stopped to ask, “What is it? Am I saying something that upsets you?”

  “No, you aren’t,” he said shortly. “Please continue. I’ll explain once you finish.”

  Lena related the rest of her vision to Paolo and then turned toward him expectantly.

  “I’ve seen the same place and the same time. I’m sure of it,” he said.

  Lena stared at him, dumbfounded.

&
nbsp; “You can’t be serious.”

  “Oh, but I am. It seems that we’ve known each other even longer than I thought. Tell me, what color are Asara and Anak’s eyes?”

  She gasped. “Oh my God! It’s us, isn’t it?”

  “I believe so. It seems that I’ve found you, amore. Finally, after all this time of searching, you’re at my side again.”

  The children in Lena’s vision had the same glowing amber eyes as she and Paolo. How had she not realized the connection? But then, why would she?

  She’d just seen herself in another lifetime. And she’d seen her twin in this other lifetime. Now her twin stood before her in the flesh.

  The water still poured in the tub; Lena’s body was almost fully submerged. Breathless, they stared into each other’s eyes.

  Chapter 21

  Asara and Anak stared at each other. Only their gaze and silence seemed to exist against the backdrop of the running water. Kaanra was forgotten, an observer at the periphery.

  Neither of them knew what to think or say. Their physical similarities were undeniable and couldn’t be overlooked or attributed to coincidence.

  It made no sense. They were mirror images of each other. Had they been misled with the stories of their births? Were they twins who’d been separated?

  Asara and Anak finally interrupted their stare to turn to Kaanra for answers. But he remained silent before their unspoken request for information. He wasn’t yet ready to break the spell of the moment.

  Asara, in her home territory, circled Anak. She looked him up and down, wondering all the while if he was some kind of illusion. Finally, she returned to her starting position standing in front of him. So many questions welled up in her mind, but she finally settled on the most salient one.