That evening, dinner was a very quiet and subdued affair. James and I were absorbed in our own thoughts while Mum and Dad chatted away happily, telling stories from work. Dad worked at an indoor greenhouse center as the chief horticulturist while Mum worked as a veterinary doctor. The greenhouse centers supplied the town with most of the fresh fruits and vegetables we needed. Each household usually ordered their food by Friday evening and it was delivered on Saturday morning by the working robots free of charge.

I chewed the asparagus and potatoes on my plate slowly as thoughts swelled around my head. I thought about Brendan and how he came to live at Waterside Valley with his family. I wondered what they did for a living before coming here. Every outsider had to prove that they could adapt to the lifestyle here, through a life of service before they could even be considered, hence the lack of many newcomers. Brendan’s family must have lived a harmless life and proven themselves worthy otherwise they wouldn’t be here.

I often wondered how people functioned in big cities where everyone had to pay for everything with money. It was an inefficient system that had led people to greed, courrption, murder and even insanity for thousands of years. Yet those who lived in the big cities, outside the network of communities established by the Adepts, still held onto this form of exchange, desperate to gain influence and power over each other. Both the wealthy and poor class seemed content with the status quo and fear of the ever growing violence.

“Hurry and finish your meal. We need to head out a bit early today. Mark just told me there’s lots to be done,” said Dad.

“Oh why? Is something happening?” James asked.

“I’m not sure, I’ve not heard of any major incidents. I think there’s just lots of isolated events,” said Dad.

Mum gathered the plates and began loading the dishwasher. I finished the last of my vegetables and helped her to clean the table.

“We’ll see you on the other side, Rebecka. Don’t forget to do your exercises.” said Mum.

I nodded and headed straight for my room. It was 8pm and the full moon was shining brightly through my windows. Our neighbors were quiet, only the soft rustling sound of the wind moving through the trees could be heard. I closed my curtains and relaxed on top of my bedsheets. The sleeping exercises were usually very easy for me. All I had to do was relefect on the events of my day in reverse order, admonishing myself for where I’d gone wrong and praising myself for good deeds. I started with the last scene from dinner and got as far as the conversation with Will in the living room. My thoughts were scattered on Brendan and I couldn’t gather them sufficiently to concentrate. I tossed and turned in bed for a while until I felt a presence in my room.

It was Ariel, my personal Angel, who had shadowed my life ever since I was born. I was usually able to speak with him fairly easily, especially when I was out of my body at night. We used to play often when I was little. Our bond was as close as one would expect between a human and an angel. He was taller than the average human with perfect symmetrical features and unblemished skin. His hair was tied at the back and he wore a long robe which covered his shoulders to his feet. He didn’t have wings as was commonly portrayed in those famous paintings.

“Hello Ariel,” I smiled in greeting.

“Hello Rebecka, peace be on you,” Ariel’s voice was soft and lyrical and I could listen to it all day long.

“Thank you, and you too. Are you coming with us tonight?” Sometimes we worked with the Angels to complete our assignments.

“That’s why I’ve come to see you. The rest of your family are waiting for you on the other side. You need to finish your exercises and hurry.”

“I’m sorry. I’m trying to sleep but I can’t concentrate.”

“I know. Tonight you need extra help and that is why I’ve come.” said Ariel.

“Can you tell me what is happening to me?” I asked.

“You’re under trial, Rebecka. Brendan has been sent to test you. You need to stand firm and hold onto the things that are true.”

My eyes widened in surprise. I’ve heard of such trials before and knew they were commonly used but it never crossed my mind that I would be under trial myself.

“What I’m I going to do?”

“I’ve come to help you. I’ll be with you every step you take, although at times it’ll not feel that way to you.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Now close your eyes and go to sleep, you’re being called to work.”

Ariel touched my forehead and I fell asleep immediately. I lost consciousness for a few moments and woke up in the astral world. My body was lying on the bed, limp and lifeless.

“Hurry, come with me,” said Ariel.

I followed the Angel through the walls which presented no barrier. We travelled at lightning speed and soon found ourselves in the grand hallway of the temple, the home of the Adepts. The room was throbbing with lightworkers from all over the world waiting to receive their assignments. There were people from North and South America, Europe and nearly every corner of the earth. I spotted Mum, Dad and James chatting to Will’s parents, Russell and Stephaine Barrett.

“There she is, nice of you to join us Rebecka,” said James. He whispered something to Will, who threw his head back and laughed.

I chose to ignore him and greeted Will’s parents. “Mr and Mrs Barrett, it’s nice to see you.”

“Lovely to see you too Rebecka, look how you’ve grown,” Russell greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and Stephaine gave me a warm hug.

“Look James, Lily’s over there,” said Will. Lilly was standing near the entrance of the temple.

Lily was James' fiancee. Their match was revealed two years ago, during James’ final year at high school. Although she lived in Italy, they saw each other frequently on the astral plane. Last I heard was that Lily was planning to move to Waterside Valley after their wedding which would come in 3 years after they both finish college. She was a pretty girl with graceful and delicate features, wide eyes and gorgeous brown hair which glimmered in the light. James waved her over to our group and greeted her with a long hug. Their match had come as a surprise to everyone, including James, who was now smittened with her.

“Lilly, how lovely to see you again. Did you come by yourself tonight?” Mum asked.

“Yes, my bother is sill reco. ..overing from de flu.” Lilly’s english accent was delightful. She spoke in a soft tone which made me want to listen to her forever. I had never seen her parents in this temple and assumed they were not lightworkers. She usually came with her brother, Roberto Romano, but tonight she cut a lonely figure without him.

“You can join me tonight if you like. Once we’re married we’ll go on all our assignments together,” said James, placing a hand on her shoulders.

“Mark is coming,” Dad announced, pointing towards the stairs.

Mark, the Adept who usually gave our assignments, appeared at the top of the stairs, flanked by three more Adepts, John, Dainel, and Frank. I knew most of the Adepts in this fraternity by name, having grown up surrounded by their presence. They had the power to speak with a higher consciousness and project the images from their thoughts to their audience, leaving no room for misunderstanding.

“Evening everyone,” Mark said at the top of the stairs. He walked over to our group and his mere presence had a soothing effect, causing everyone to stand on alert. John, Daniel and Frank spoke to the other groups gathered.

“Tonight we have a lot that needs to be done. You must all finish your assignments quickly, and come back here for the full moon service. Some of you may have to go back out again, it depends on how much we can get done.”

“Is the full moon service at midnight?” Dad asked.

“Yes, it's midnight. Hannah you’ll have to assist the new lightworkers in training. Go to their rooms, each of them should be sleeping, and escort them here. Show them what needs to be done with the children.”

“Yes of course, I’ll do that straight away.” Mum disappeared on the spot.

“Russell and Stephine, if you wouldn’t mind please hurry to the lower regions. Tonight there are a number of people ready to be escorted out. There are also others who are close and need much help and encouragement.”

Mr. Barrett nodded vigorously, “Yes of course, we’ll go now. Come on Will, say bye to your friends”

“No. Tonight Will, James and Lily will head out on their own. They’re off age and should be fine on their own. There’s a ship on the south atlantic ocean near the coast of Brazil which is about to sink. There will be shipwreck but none will be lost. Rescue them all to the nearest Recovery Centre in Brazil until they’re able to return home.”

“Thanks Mark, it’s my pleasure to serve. We’ll be back before midnight,” said James. He held out his hands for Will and Lily and together they disappeared.

“I guess we better get going as well. Come on Steph,” said Mr Barrett.

Mark turned to face me and Dad. He looked in my eyes and smiled, giving me a feeling of intense love and warmth.

“Rebecka, what a great destiny you have before you. I have full confidence that you’ll not fail. We have a lot of hope for you. But it all depends on how much you’re willing to sacrifice,” said Mark.

I twisted my hair around my fingers, clueless as to what he was talking about. As if he read my mind, he said, “Don't worry, everything will be revealed in a good time. Tonight I want you to head to New York City. There are a few people there who’ve been praying for healing. You’ll find them by the light of their auras.

“Excellent, we’ll get onto it straight away.”

Dad took my hands and together we disappeared. We traveled through the air faster than any bird. The high winds presented no barrier to our progress. I had never been to New York before, although I’d heard so much about it. It had once been one of the biggest and most famous cities in the world at its peak. Although still a formidable city, it was now mostly inhabited by the wicked, unworthy and those unready to join the network.

We hovered around the city for a while which was almost the same size as Waterside Valley but 10 times the population. Manhattan was dark and poorly lit but there were still people mingling outside, seemingly busy and rushing to goodness knows where. The city was a shadow of its former glory, with crumbling skyscrapers everywhere. There was very little vegetation in sight, unlike Waterside Valley which was surrounded by trees and forests at every turn. The streets were filled with rubbish and a few rough sleepers. We headed from Manhattan to the eastern part of the city, towards the suburbs.

“Dad, how are we meant to find these people who need our help? Are we just wandering around aimlessly?”

“I believe we’re not far from the first house, it should be just around this turn. Look out for a bright shining aura among the houses which would indicate the prayerful attitude”

We were gliding around Queens alongside rows of terraced houses which had clearly seen better days. I could see the people inside each house with my inner vision which I was allowed to use when out on service missions like this.

“There, I can see something. Looks like a woman is kneeling on the bedside, praying for a child,” I pointed to the last house at the end of a row of terrace houses.

“Yes, you’re right. Let's take a look.”

We entered the house through the roof and stood next to the woman who was praying intensely for the child with tears streaming down her face.

“Can you hear what she’s saying? Listen,” Dad asked.

Suddenly the child tapped her mother on the shoulder, “Mummy, I think there are angels in this room. I feel something as if someone is standing over there.”

The woman did not possess clairvoyant vision and therefore couldn’t see or hear us in the room. However the child on the bed sensed our presence, possibly made sensitive by her condition.

“Angels, did you say? Are you sure? Do you see them?”

“No, I just feel something, as if a presence is standing over there” the girl replied.

“Then we must pray harder,” the mother replied. She bowed her head and focused her thoughts. I could see a blue substance streaming from her head to the child on the bed.

“What is that blue thing? I've never seen that before,” I asked.

“All her prayers have formed a connection to the child, it’s the bond between them.”

“I see, and what is the girl’s condition?”

“Her immune system is attacking her because she hated body in her past life, an autoimmune disease. It’s very important that we show gratitude for our bodies and for our lives. Thoughts of hatred are harmful to us, no matter what form they take.”

I nodded in response. I had been taught that hateful thoughts are harmful but this was the first time I’d seen the results of such a condition brought over from a past life.

“Should we reveal ourselves to them?”

“Oh no, that would simply frighten them. Let's materialize outside and knock at the door.”

“Okay,” I followed Dad’s lead and materialized outside the front door. The nearest street light was flickering and most of the houses had dusty windows with thick black out curtains.

Dad knocked on the door and we waited for a few minutes before the front door was wrenched open. It was the mother, wiping frantic tears from her eyes.

“Hello, we’ve come to see your daughter. I understand she’s unwell.”

“Who are you?” The woman narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

“We’re friends. We’ve come in answer to your prayers.”

The woman widened her eyes as if something had suddenly clicked in place. She opened the door wider and invited us inside. There was no electricity inside the house, making it difficult to see. She led us upstairs with candle light and opened the first door where the sick girl was lying in bed, covered with loads of blankets. The room was dimly lit with yet more candles and it had a strong musty smell.

“Sorry it’s a bit draughty here.Would you like anything to drink? I could make you a cup of tea or coffee?”

“No we’re fine, thank you.” Dad refused politely. “What is your daughter’s name?”

“Her name is Grace.”

“What a lovely name. Grace, well the grace of God has found you today.”

Dad approached the bed and kneeled in the same spot the mother had kneeled moments before. He took Grace’s hands and cupped them in both of his.

“Are you an angel?” the girl whispered from the bed.

“What makes you think I’m an angel.”

“There’s something different about you, are you human?”

“Yes I’m human, just like you. I’m a lightworker.”

“Oh,” the mother gasped in surprise, covering her mouth to conceal the sound.

“You know what a lightworker is?”

The girl nodded, still rather weak.

“We’ve heard rumors of lightworks and the network communities. Is it true it’s like heaven?”

“I guess you could say they’re sort of heaven on earth. Our towns are not exclusive to lightworkers. Anyone who is a good person and can prove through service and discipline that they can adapt to the high rate of vibration there can join us. Our doors are open to newcomers, prayerful people such as yourself are welcome to join.”

“Mummy, I want to go with these people,” said Grace.

“Please heal my daughter, then tell me how I can find such a place.”

“Of course, What is your name?” Dad asked.

“I’m Evelyn.”

“Evelyn, we’ll do all we can for your daughter. It’s a privilege to serve.” Dad beckoned me closer. I knelt beside Grace on the bed and touched her hands. She was cold, despite the extra blankets.

“What do you see?” Dad asked me.

“She’s very weak, her life force is very low. ” I replied.

“Good. Do you have any suggestions for how to heal this? Can you see the state of her organs? At this stage, she’ll only last for a few weeks at best without our help.”

“Grace needs to change her attitude first. To believe that she’s loved and that she’s worthy of love. I can apply the healing force to increase her vitality but without that fundamental change in attitude she’ll become unwell again.”

“I promise from now on, I’ll be grateful for everything. I’ll value my body and everything else in my life,” Grace said in a soft whispery voice.

“Very well, go ahead,” Dad said with a smile, showing his approval.

I held onto Grace’s hands and closed my eyes. I centered all my thoughts on drawing down the healing force from above, just as I would during meditation. A short while later, Grace sat up in bed and pushed the blankets off her legs. All the lines of pain which had pulled her face tight with a grimace had disappeared. I couldn’t believe it. My first successful healing attempt. It worked. It was easier than I imagined and I couldn’t understand why I’d never been able to do it until now.

“I feel amazing, all the pain’s disappeared.” Grace stretched her arms to the ceiling before throwing the blankets off completely.

“Take it easy. It’ll take a while for you to regain your full strength. Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables,” Dad said.

“I don’t know what to say, thank you so much for what you’ve done for my Grace. I’ll make sure she eats healthily from now on.”

“Mum, look at me. I couldn't even sit up before. Look, now I can stand.” Grace stood up and twirled around the tiny room. She appeared to be around the age of 12 or 13 years old with a tall willowy frame. She turned to Dad and I caught a tear drop running down her face. She went on her knees and bowed before me and Dad. “I'm so thankful, I don’t know what to say. How can we repay you?”

“Stand up, don’t bow to us, we're merely human. The healing force comes from the Father, who gives good things to his children. You can repay him by living a good, useful life that is full of service and compassion to others.”

“Yes, we’ll certainly do that. We promise to be good,” said Evelyn.

“Excellent. Maybe one day we’ll see each other again,” Dad said.

“I want to live in one of those communities you mentioned and get away from this horrid place. I’m tired and fed up with these people,” said Evelyn.

“You can choose to apply through one of the official channels but either way it doesn’t matter. If you live a good life your aura will shine and attract the attention of the Adepts. There’s a long waiting list of applicants but very few are found worthy. Being a good person is the key requirement.”

“We’ll do both, we’ll apply and also live a good life,” Grace declared, full of youthful confidence.

“Dad, I think we have to get going now,” I said. We still had a few places to visit and to get back to the Temple by midnight.

“Thank you both for all your help,” said Evelyn.

We said goodbye to Grace who was still wiping tears from her eyes. Evelyn walked us to the door. She watched until we walked out of sight.

“Take my hand and let's hurry, we need to see at least five more people,” said Dad.

We stood on the junction at the end of Evelyn’s street. Dad looked around to make sure nobody was watching.

“On the count of three, One, two, three . . .Now!”

At the signal from Dad, I dissolved my body, scattering the elements into the ethers, rendering ourselves invisible to the ordinary eye yet again.

We glided through the air, searching the city for our next patient until we got to Brooklyn. Dad spotted a man sleeping in one of the apartments. We entered his room through the walls and stood beside his bed for a while, staring at his organs through the blankets. Unlike Grace, there was nobody praying by the bedside or in the apartment. This man was alone and his aura was filled with the murky colours of rage and passion, indicating that he wasn’t particularly religious.

“Can you see what’s wrong with him?” Dad asked.

“He’s got cancerous cells growing on all his major organs, his heart, liver, kidneys.”

“Well done, that’s right Rebekca.”

“Should I wake him up?”

“No, no need. We’re going to heal him whilst he sleeps and afterwards talk to his spirit. I don’t know what he’s done to deserve our help but he’s on our list tonight.”

“Alright.” I knew the Adepts had a reason behind everything they did. Beides, Dad had been doing this for a long time and must have healed loads of people this way.

I stretched my hands towards the man on the bed and prayed that his body should be healed, just like with Grace. However, when I opened my eyes afterwards, I couldn’t see any changes in his body. The cancerous cells were still visible, a black bluish purplish color which could clearly be distinguished from the healthy pink cells. My healing ability wasn’t as powerful as Dads but the confidence I gained after the success of healing Grace was quickly slipping away.

“Don’t worry Rebekca, some cases are very deep rooted and do require more time. In fact we’ll not be able to finish this healing today but we’ll need to come back several times. This man’s been sick for 20 years, bedridden with no friends or loved ones. He comes from a wealthy family who left him some money. He’s been able to hire a maid who comes in once a day to cook his meals and assist him. So you see, this is going to take a while. We’ll need to strip all the diseased cells from his etheric body and lend him some of our strength before he can recover.”

“Wow, somehow I thought all the healing work was performed instantaneously,” I said.

“Most of the time they are but it also depends on the case and who’s doing the healing. For example, the Adepts or a powerful being like the Christ, can draw the healing force with instant results. Lightworkers like us are a long way from being able to do that. For us, persistence is the key.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank goodness.”

Dad chuckled, “You're going to be a magnificent healer one day, Rebecka. I know it, now you need to start believing it.”

I shook my head. I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do once I finished college. Being a healer sounded like a great idea but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it as a full time role. I thought of Magarettt at the Recovery Center and how much she loved her work.

“What are we going to do now? Should I pray for him again?”

“Yes, let’s do it together,” Dad said.

We linked hands and prayed in deep silence for a while. Afterwards Dad showed me how to strip the diseased cells from the man’s etheric body. I saw a noticeable improvement by the time we finished.

“That’s much better, it might take a few days for the changes to reflect in his physical body but he will recover.”

“How often do you have to do this, Dad?”

“More often than you would imagine. Now, wake him up and talk to his spirit. Tell him that he must cleanse his thoughts in particular from passionate and beastly desires. He needs to turn his attention to lofty and pure channels otherwise he’ll humper our healing efforts and the disease will return with greater power. He’ll remember it as a dream when he wakes up.”

I did just as Dad suggested. The spirit of the man was hovering above his sleeping form on the bed so I woke him up and spoke to him. By the time we left the apartment it was 1hr and 30 mins left till midnight. We continued hovering around the city and found three more patients to heal. None were as severe as the man in the apartment with long term cancer. I was able to heal them all with instant success. We didn't materialize but remained invisible in our soul bodies. Afterwards, I spoke to them in a dream form whilst they slept.

We returned back to the temple just in time for the beginning of the full moon service with 10 mins to spare. Mum, James, Will, Lily, and the Barretts had already returned. Once everyone arrived, the twelve Adepts stood in a circle and all the lightworkers, both neophytes and disciples alike, surrounded them. Everyone stood according to their astrological sign so that we formed a perfect zodiac.

I had taken part in several of these services as a little girl and knew just what to expect. In some ways it resembled a religious service except there was no preaching. We sang a few hymns and recited prayers in Latin to prepare the right vibration before the appearance of the thirteenth Adept, whose identity remained a closely guarded secret by the twelve brothers. Despite the fact we stood in an etheric temple clothed in our soul bodies, his appearance was invisible to us and we only ever felt his presence by the increased rate of vibration in the room.

I entered into a deep state of meditation, focusing all my energy on repelling the evil forces in the world just as I’d been taught to do. I knew these services were vitally important for keeping the forces of evil at bay. If someone went to sleep in the evening thinking thoughts of evil, they would wake up in the morning to find they’d lost the motive for the evil deed. By this method, the war between the forces of good and evil had been waging since the fall of humanity. We, the lightworkers, were on the front line of this battle. It was through our efforts that humanity was able to make any progress at all. I held onto these ideals and prayed with all my strength. Not once did I think of Brendan or anything connected to Waterside Valley.