XL - Peace
Kamon dreamed of many things.
-- -- Casio telling television reporters that Kamon had been rescued by a goddess - 'Would anyone care to purchase the rights to this story for a television mini-series?'
-- -- The Delphi chastising Kamon for not knowing the proper manner in which to love a goddess.
-- -- Destinatus lecturing the Delphi on the proper interpretation of peace under the Fraus religion.
-- -- Elbe racing excitedly into Kamon's office to announce, 'Sir! I have Nome on my computer linkup!'
And on and on. An abundance of dreams. Most bizarre ones. But in some of them, there was Jasmine. She was beautiful. And she was with him. She stood next to him on the floor of the Council chamber. They went hiking through the mountains together. She was there to greet him in the doorway of his cabin home. He loved her, would so forever.
There were other places in his dreams. Strange settings. Surroundings he did not recognize. Fauna and wildlife he had never seen before. A planet with twin moons. Not Arnot, for it had only one moon. How had he come to be on a strange planet? Jasmine stepped from the lush vegetation. She took his hand. Strength flowed to him through her....Never let go.....Peace.....
Kamon finally awoke. He blinked. He thought he was awake. But then, he had thought he was awake many times. In fact, the most recent dream had seemed more real than this. He was confused. He was laying down, staring up at a white ceiling.
He looked around. This was the elliptical room, his location before he had blacked out. There was nothing in the room except himself and the cushioned table on which he lay.
He had somehow....materialized in this room...in the midst of a white light. That was bizarre....or it had never happened.
His chest -- it no longer hurt. He was wearing a long garment. What had happened to his clothes? He lifted the garment. His chest was perfectly normal. No wound, no scarring, nothing. He touched his chest gingerly. No pain, normal sensation. It was as if he had never been shot.
Kamon sat up and slid off the table. Had he died? He couldn't have healed this fast.....Or if he had been unconscious for a long period of time, he would not feel this fit. He felt perfect.
Had he come to the afterlife? Was this his day of judgement?
He stood in an illuminated room with no apparent source of light. It was definitely unbelievable, far behind his scope of knowledge. Anything seemed possible.
From behind him, came a voice. "I am glad to see you awake, Kamon."
Kamon wheeled to face Jasmine.
"I trust you have rested well," Jasmine finished.
Where had she come from? This place appeared to have no doors. No entrances. No exits. "It would seem I have rested very well," he answered. "My chest," he said as he touched it, "I was dying..." It was a question.
"You are very much alive, Kamon," Jasmine said pleasantly. "Your wounds are healed. You will experience no after effects."
"Then if I'm not dead," Kamon suggested, "that would make you an alien and this a spaceship of some sort." He was not completely sure he was awake, but it seemed so. "Pretty implausible," he concluded.
"Close," was Jasmine's one word answer.
"On which one?" Kamon asked. "Alien or spaceship?"
"I am not of this planet," Jasmine replied, "so that would make me an alien. As for spaceship, that would not be accurate. We are not on a vessel."
"Then where are we?" Kamon asked.
"I'm afraid I can't say," Jasmine answered.
"You can but you won't," Kamon countered. "Why? Who else is involved here? Were you talking to someone while we were in the mountains? Who is she or he? What's this all about?" Kamon finally asked as many questions as were on his mind. It was all very amazing. It was almost unbelievable.
"Okay, I won't," Jasmine conceded. "And yes, someone else is involved, but I'm not at liberty to say who nor explain why."
"That doesn't make any sense," Kamon protested. "You can't tell me who else is involved; we're not on the surface of the planet, but we're not on a space craft either; why would you even bring me here?!..." Kamon stopped. He recalled Jasmine's strange behavior just before they had fled the valley. She had been arguing with someone; that seemed clear now. 'I am not alone', she had said. The argument had been about him! "I wasn't supposed to come here," Kamon suddenly concluded. "I wasn't supposed to see any of this. I'm not supposed to know you're an alien. No one is."
Jasmine nodded in confirmation. "That's true."
"So why didn't you just take me back to Arnot after healing my wounds but before I had awakened?" Kamon asked. "You might have avoided some of these questions."
"You would have asked these questions anyway," Jasmine answered. "If I had tried to convince you this had all been a dream, you never would have believed me."
"You have saved my life....a second time," Kamon observed. He was convinced it was Jasmine's hair in his bathroom. "I am truly in your debt."
"No," Jasmine disagreed. "I am in yours. I have learned from you. I have come away from my encounter with you with memories that I shall treasure for the rest of my life."
"You still could have returned me to my cabin," Kamon pointed out. "Just like before, after the thunderstorm. You could have left without a word. Who would have believed my strange story? It would have mattered to no one but me. You need not have opened yourself to questions. Why did you keep me here?"
"Because I wanted a chance to say good-bye," Jasmine said warmly. "I could not leave without that."
She had tried to once, Kamon thought to himself, after their return from Kefar. She had believed they would never see each other again. He tried to hide his disappointment; he was concerned that might not be possible. There was reason to suspect she could read his thoughts. She had demonstrated uncanny insight; now he knew she was an alien. Some form of mental telepathy might be inherent in her species. He did love her, and he had told her so. At the time, he had thought he was dying. But now facing a full, normal life again, he felt embarrassed by this admission. Kamon was a private man, slow to display his affections. It seemed evident that, though Jasmine thought highly of him, she did not love him. He wished Jasmine not to know these thoughts. If there was any way to keep them from her, he would.
"So what can you tell me about yourself or this place?" Kamon pressed on, breaking an uncomfortable silence. His voice did not deceive him. He hoped that would be protection enough. Jasmine came from a civilization far more advanced than his own. Of course, she was not interested in him. She probably already had a mate, if such were the custom in her society. He did not wish to make a fool of himself. "There must be something you can add, something which is permitted."
"Of course," Jasmine replied. "I am a teacher of peace; that much is, of course, not news to you. However, my teaching missions take me throughout the universe. I stay awhile on a particular planet, and then move on."
"That's quite an area for one person to cover." The statement was a bit dry, but Kamon was making a point while at the same time probing for more information.
"Indeed it would be," she agreed. "But I have help."
"But you can't say who," Kamon added for her. "Is this a code of conduct on your planet? Can't reveal anything about yourselves to the alien cultures you meet?"
"Something very close to that," Jasmine admitted.
"Where will you go now?" Kamon had a feeling the conversation would end soon. He did not wish it to.
"We will journey to pick up my brother," Jasmine answered.
"A brother?!" Kamon was surprised by the revelation. "Any other family?"
"Just a brother," Jasmine replied. "I have no mate, Kamon."
A small bit of hope sprang from within Kamon. Jasmine was leaving....but she had no mate! Kamon fought the emotion. Why had she chosen to reveal that information? Had she read his thoughts?! Perhaps. But if not, he was not going to betray himself. He still hoped he could hide his feelings from her, at least some of them. "How will you get to your brother?" Kamon asked. He deliberately avoided her comment about the absence of a mate.
"That's one of the things I can't talk about," Jasmine said.
"Well," Kamon said, "whether you take a space ship or walk or float to your brother, what does he do? Where is he?"
"He is a preacher of peace," Jasmine answered, "much like I am. His methods may sometimes differ from mine, but our goals are the same. As for his location, I can tell you that. He is on a planet which is not far from yours, although given your present state of science and technology, you would consider it to be a very distant and quite impossible journey. We must leave within the hour to retrieve him. His mission on that planet will soon be finished."
"You've told me a little bit about your brother," Kamon said. "Are you sure you can't tell me something about the other half of 'we' you keep referring to?"
"I'm sorry," Jasmine replied. "It's not my choice. I must not."
"How about a tour of the universe then," Kamon suggested. "Can you tell me which planet your brother is on? Does it have a name?"
"That I can do," Jasmine answered. "Come over here, please."
She led Kamon to the edge of the elliptical room. A small rectangular area about chest high was recessed into the surface. Jasmine passed her hand over the area and a three foot by four foot screen came on. A video display.
Kamon was looking at a three dimensional picture of space, very unlike any television picture he had ever seen. He recognized the galaxy as his own. "I can see this figure formed by the stars at night from my cabin home," he said, pointing to a spot on the screen.
Jasmine nodded and passed her hand over the screen again; a new picture came into focus, planets orbiting a star.
"This solar system lies beyond the familiar star cluster you recognized on the first screen," Jasmine explained. She pointed to a celestial body. "And this planet is the one on which my brother is teaching. We must go there now without delay. He will need us soon."
Kamon shook his head. "I do not recognize the solar system. It is obviously far beyond any that I have seen in science journals. We Arnots know very little of space. Our hovercraft are not suited for space flight. We have, of course, sent out unwomanned probes to the other planets in our solar system, but we haven't managed to reach outside this system yet."
Kamon found the conversation to be interesting, even fascinating, but still, there was an aching in his heart. Jasmine was leaving; he would never see her again. She was an extraterrestrial. It was foolish of him to love her, for she could never return his love. She must think him a very simple man indeed.
"You are not a simple man, Kamon." Jasmine said.
Kamon frowned. "You can read my mind?" He finally had to ask the question.
"In a manner of speaking," Jasmine answered. "It is not like reading a book, however, where the words appear on a page. I sense the emotions a person generates and then evaluate the entire situation in order to give me a complete picture of the thoughts running through one's mind. Individual words and phrases I can sometimes pick up, if they are sufficiently tied to the emotions being generated at the time, but it is usually the feelings themselves which give me the clearest picture of the situation. I do not probe anyone's mind without good cause. It should only be related to my mission as a peace maker. It would be disrespectful to abuse this gift which I have been blessed with. An individual's privacy is important. In your case, however, I may at times have had motivations not related to my role as a teacher of peace. For that I apologize. I shall try harder to restrain myself. You mean a great deal to me, Kamon."
'You mean a great deal to me.' Kamon's heart leaped. Was she reading his thoughts now? Maybe so, maybe not. He could not deny his own thoughts, his feelings. He hated to see her go......but he knew she must. He was important to her; that encouraged him, made him feel good. But she was also leaving.......she did not love him. He hoped she was not choosing to pick up this last thought. It would be embarrassing.
Jasmine took his hand. He enjoyed her touch.
"We must return to the planet now," Jasmine said. "I will explain further there." She led him to the spot in the room where he had first arrived.
"I assume we will not be using a conventional mode of transportation," Kamon commented.
"That's true," Jasmine answered.
"How's it done?" Kamon asked. "What is it exactly?" The first 'transport' had left him dizzy and disoriented. He wondered if the same would be true again.
Jasmine smiled. "I am not permitted to say. Please do not move, Kamon. I believe you will find it to be less disconcerting a second time, however."
And once again, a bright white light enveloped him and Jasmine. His body lightened, then evaporated into nothingness.......
An instant later, Kamon's body began to reform. Weightlessness, followed by gravity regaining control of his structure, and finally, wholeness, freedom to move. It was much less of a shock this time, as Jasmine had indicated.
It was early dawn on the planet surface. The air was crisp and comfortably cool. The sun was just beginning to emerge from behind the Tysom mountains. His cabin stood behind them.
Kamon looked at Jasmine. She was so lovely, so beautiful. She seemed so much like him. Her hand was living flesh, soft and warm. Yet, she was also quite different from him. It made sense that she would want to leave this place....and him.
"How was this supposed to turn out, Jasmine?" Kamon asked. "You never intended to escape from jail and flee to these mountains. You certainly didn't plan on me seeing your ship or place or whatever you want to call it."
Jasmine laughed. "What Casio warned me would be your 'major rewrite' was certainly more adventuresome than anything I had in mind! Yours may in fact have been a better ending -- despite its hectic nature."
Kamon grinned. "Well, as my father used to tell me, 'If you don't learn something new every day.....then that day wasn't much good!'" A slight smile remained on Jasmine's face. "Interesting. Your father must have been a very incisive individual. I shall be sure to remember that one, Kamon." Jasmine then took some time to let her gaze wander over the picturesque and serene setting. "It is very beautiful here," she commented at last. "I can understand why you love it so."
Kamon shrugged. "It is nice, but it is still only a place. Objects are beautiful only if you have someone with which to appreciate them."
Jasmine regarded him with a bemused look. "Why, Kamon, I did not realize you were such a romantic!"
Kamon's face flushed a deep red. He nervously rubbed his palms together. Jasmine had to notice, yet she did not mention his scarlet complexion when she spoke.
"Where did you find the piece of hair?" Jasmine asked.
Finally, she was tacitly acknowledging it. She had walked through the rain on the night of the thunderstorm and picked him up. He had been near death, perhaps might have died. She and......whoever...had intervened. "Your hair," Kamon said, emphasizing the point.
"Yes," she agreed with a smile. "My hair. But where did you find it?"
"I'm surprised you haven't read my thoughts on that," Kamon commented.
"You'll remember that I don't, as a matter of common practice, try to read thoughts," Jasmine reminded him. "Only when I need to. Besides," she grinned mischievously, "that thought never came through clearly. You might say I wasn't 'looking' for it."
"So you don't know everything," Kamon observed.
"I never said I did."
Only because she restrained herself, Kamon thought to himself. She had power....and wisdom to match it. "I found the hair on my abdomen," Kamon finally answered the question, "when I put on a clean shirt. The one I'd been wearing was left in tatters by the lightning; I tore it off. Your hair must have fallen on my wet body and clung there. I struggled to come up with a theory which could bring anyone to my side on the night of the thunderstorm. Your transporter explains it. Clearly, you have the ability to come here out of nowhere. And you also obviously have a remarkable capacity to heal my body, which explains how I survived the lightning bolt. However, I am left with a question: Why? Why were you here?"
"I was here because I chose you," Jasmine answered.
"Chose me? Chose me for what?"
"To lead the peace movement on this planet."
"You must be joking!" Kamon scoffed. "Me?! Lead a peace movement?! I have neither the wisdom nor sufficient peaceful inclinations. If you have any doubts about the latter, you can ask Casio. I am certain he will set you straight on that point."
A light smile crossed Jasmine's face. "I can imagine what Casio's answer might be. Nonetheless, I am convinced that I have chosen wisely. Of the many things I have done wrong on this planet, choosing you was not one of them."
"I'm flattered," Kamon said, "but I disagree. Return here after finishing with your brother." He had a reason for her to return! "You're best suited to lead a peace movement on Arnot."
"I can't," Jasmine said. "If I do, I've failed here. I'm a teacher, a messenger. If I cannot sow the seeds of peace and let them grow after I am long gone, then I have given it less than my full effort. I must journey to other worlds and bring the message of peace to them. It is my calling, my duty."
"You will not fail here," Kamon spoke with sudden determination. "Not because of me. If your legacy is to depend upon me, then it will be done. I will lead the peace movement." Kamon had too much pride, too much love for Jasmine to offer her anything less.
"I thank you dearly for that," Jasmine said. "I can't tell you how much it means to me." Jasmine sighed. "I am sorry to say my time grows short here. I must pass on to you a few final thoughts, then go. One, you should know that you have been missing for seven days."
"Seven days?!" he exclaimed incredulously. "Where does everyone think I went?"
"They do not know," she answered. "You should call Casio immediately. I know he's very worried about you."
"Why didn't you tell him I was okay?"
A pained look came to Jasmine. "I wanted to, but it was not my decision to make. I made the argument; I was unsuccessful."
The unseen entity, Kamon thought, the individual to whom Jasmine had spoken. The entity might not even be humanoid. Although Jasmine seemed to have input, the entity seemed to have veto power. Jasmine was not an equal. This raised a variety of fascinating questions.
"It's alright," Kamon assured her. "I'll take care of it. I'll call Casio. He'll understand."
"No he won't," Jasmine blurted out.
Kamon laughed out loud. "You're right; he won't" Jasmine joined in his laughter.
The laughter finally subsided. Kamon grew sober. "I have a problem, Jasmine."
"What's that?"
"I'm a fugitive from justice!" Kamon answered. "I can't lead a peace movement, at least not from this country. I have to flee Marmot."
"Everything is fine," Jasmine assured him. "Casio's taken care of it. You're a free man."
"How could he do that?" Kamon eyed her suspiciously. "And how would you know?"
"I manage to get around," Jasmine said with a smile. "Hear things."
Kamon nodded. "I'm sure. But what could Casio possibly have done? These are very serious charges!"
"You'll have to ask him," Jasmine said. "I really don't have time to explain. I must go now. My task here is completed....thanks to you. You must carry on my work here, Kamon. You certainly have the ability to become outraged by injustice when you come upon it, but despite your doubts, you most definitely do have the capacity for peace." She stepped toward him and placed her open palm on his chest. "It is here...inside you. Let it guide you."
She gazed into his eyes. It was the 'look'. A twinge of pain passed through Kamon's heart. He would never see those brown eyes search his soul again. Great sadness coursed through his body.
"No," Jasmine said softly, taking his hand and squeezing it.
Kamon suspected she was choosing to sense his feelings. It was appropriate; she was leaving. She would never have the chance again. He suddenly felt odd. His morose thoughts were fading. He could feel her presence! Inside him! It made no sense logically, but it was true. He revelled in the sensation. It was a wonderful, indescribable feeling! He wished to cherish it forever, for he knew it could not last. This would be the final time. She would leave, never to return. The sadness within him attempted to reassert itself. He could 'sense' Jasmine push it away.
"Do you still have the medallion, Kamon?" Jasmine asked.
"Well...yes," he answered in bewilderment. "It is in my room in the Capitol Building. I didn't want to take it with me into the mountains. No matter where I ended up, I knew that Casio could send it to me when I eventually contacted him. Did you hope that I would wear it?"
"Yes," Jasmine answered. "Always keep it with you. It will help you find the right path when encountering dilemmas. It will not specifically answer questions you might have, but.....you will sense something. The answers will be your own, freely chosen, based on your own judgement. But the medallion will help. It is difficult to explain. Just keep it close. You will understand when the time comes." A smile flickered on her face. "I think you will also now find something else on the medallion that you did not notice before. I believe it will please you. It pleases me."
"What is it?" he asked impatiently.
"You will see it for yourself," she answered. "Until then, you must wait."
Jasmine then pressed her body against Kamon's. She firmly grasped his head and pulled his face down to her own. She kissed him fully upon the lips, a long, lingering kiss. Jasmine finally released him and stepped back, smiling broadly -- a full, lustrous smile, the likes of which Kamon had never before seen decorate her face.
Jasmine's eyes sparkled brilliantly as she smiled at him. "I shall return to you one day, Kamon......I promise.....'Peace' is my farewell to you; my peace is my gift to you."
With the lovely smile still lighting her face, Jasmine winked her affection at Kamon.
The warm glow Kamon felt inside himself now consumed his entire being -- an eternal flame that would never be extinguished.
Then the blinding white light returned, surrounding Jasmine. Kamon shielded his eyes, but he continued looking, wanting to keep her in his sight until the last possible moment. Her form began to shimmer, becoming ghostly in appearance. Finally, she disappeared entirely; the dazzling white light was extinguished. All was calm, all was normal once again around his cabin home.
Kamon tilted his head upward toward the sky. He continued looking up for a long time, finally murmuring, "I will wait, Jasmine. As long as it takes....I will wait."
A small white bird suddenly flitted out from a huge Minot tree. It glided across the small clearing and landed gracefully on the roof of the cabin's front porch. Clasped in its beak was a tiny branch of some sort, its leaves gray-green in color. A few small yellow flowers clung to the twig.
Kamon stared in puzzlement at the bird and its burden. Neither was a variety of animal or plant life that he recognized, and he had thought he had long ago catalogued all those that existed near this, his home. Strangely enough, the bird was exactly like the one in his dream, the dream in which Jasmine had died. But unlike the nightmare, he was not now overcome by sadness. Instead, he felt very much at peace with himself.
The bird carefully deposited the small branch in a tiny crevice between the porch roof and the front side of the cabin. Then the white creature took flight, disappearing into the forest.
Kamon pondered the strange bird for a moment before a new thought intruded upon his consciousness. He was finally aware of the spongy, moist grass beneath his feet. He glanced down in bewilderment, then back up at the blue sky. "You forgot to give me back my shoes."
In bare feet, Kamon walked to the cabin, grinning to himself, as happy as he had ever been in his life. Maybe the shoes would be Jasmine's excuse to return. The thought seemed very funny to him. He laughed.
END OF CHAPTER
