The Guardian of Threshold (17 page)

“I got you two,” she said, still laughing like crazy.

“Is that really you?” asked Jonas.

“Yes, over here we can change how we look the same way as we can move about, by thought alone. So you see, Jonas, now there’s no reason for you to be so ugly,” said Carla.

“Do you think that was funny? I didn’t find it funny, not at all. I’ll get you back for this, Sis, you’ll see,” Jonas said.

Carla knew Jonas was absolutely terrified of vampires. He had been ever since he was nine years old and we decided to watch
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
.

“So… where do I find myself an astral lover? Do you guys know?” joked Jonas.

“Why don’t you wait and see if she finds you attractive first?” Carla replied, laughing.

“Should we check out our notes together?” I asked.

“That sounds like a plan,” replied Carla.

“Sure, let’s get the boring stuff out of the way first,” Jonas agreed.

***

“Okay then, let’s all hold hands so we don’t get separated,” suggested Carla, offering me her left hand while she offered Jonas her right. “On the count of three, think about the basement.”

The basement wasn’t my favorite place, but it was better to get the worst over and done with. Besides, it was worth it.

We were all transported to the basement as if by magic. By the time I opened my eyes, I saw the pool table’s velvet green top.

Right in the middle there was a crumpled piece of paper that read: “9-24-2.” It was Jonas’s school locker combination—I’d known Jonas’s locker combination ever since junior high. Jonas gave it to me when Billy Beu—a fifteen-year-old who was stuck in junior high after repeating two years in a row—locked Jonas inside his own locker.

We were all amazed at how easy it was to travel in the astral realm; everything was so fluid and effortless.

Traveling at a tremendous speed seemed easier than flicking a light switch. Although teleportation was faster and easier than traditional and slower methods of transportation, it didn’t allow any time to enjoy the scenery. There was something to be said about flying slowly through the air as the destination calmly materialized in the distant horizon. That alone was a different adventure each and every time.

“Really? You used your locker combination?” asked Carla, amused.

“That’s the only thing that came to mind. Well, that and pizza, but I thought pizza would be too easy,” replied Jonas.

“Wait a minute, how long have you known my locker combination?”

“I have known that for years. Haven’t you learned yet that you can’t keep secrets from me? Besides, who do you think put that bag full of horse dung in your locker last year? Of course I didn’t touch the stuff, it was gross, but I did open your locker for Billy Beu,” said Carla sarcastically.

“You witch. One day you’ll pay for it,” replied Jonas.

In an effort to avoid an argument, I said, “Guys, we need to remember that Jonas’s note is his locker combination.” I didn’t even know what could happen if they argued in the Astral, but I knew I didn’t want to find out.

“I got it. I don’t think I can forget my own locker combination,” said Jonas, trying to be funny as usual.

“I have a question. If I think about a place I want to go to, I get teleported there. So what happens when I think of a place I don’t want to go to?” Jonas asked.

“My suggestion would be not to think about such a place, because chances are that you would end up there. In this realm, our thoughts seem to be the only driving force. I suspect that in this realm we’re all creators, creating our own realities as well as the realities of others,” replied Carla.

“We should keep going. After all, we have no idea how time works here. I looked for a clock, but I couldn’t find a working clock anywhere, even in places where I know there is one, like my alarm clock next to my bed, it’s just black,” I said. I wanted to make sure we had enough time to at least investigate all of our notes. After all, I was eager to validate the whole experience.

***

“Where to next? Guest room?” Jonas asked, but he barely finished his question before he disappeared right in front of us. Until you have seen your best friend vanish in front of you, you’ll never know what that feels like. I was lost, stunned, and shocked all at once.

“I bet I know where he went. Quick, think of the guest room,” Carla said, grabbing my hand.

In a blink of an eye, we were teleported to the guest room, where we found Jonas, much to our relief.

“Wow, this thought thing works quick, I just barely finished thinking it and I was here already,” said Jonas.

“We should be very careful with it,” said Carla.

“I can see it being a big problem,” I agreed.

“Carla, where’s your note?” Jonas asked in a hurry.

“It’s right on top of the desk,” I said, pointing before Carla had a chance to reply.

“The only thing I see is a flower in a vase,” said Jonas, confused.

“It’s a rose, and that’s my note. Instead of writing a word, I wanted to draw a picture to see what would happen in the Astral, so I drew a yellow rose in that exact vase. That was the picture I had in my mind when I drew it,” Carla explained.

“So it just materialized? Just like that?” Jonas asked, still trying to grasp the concept. I didn’t blame him; everything was so different in the Astral.

“Yes, the only thing I don’t understand is what happened to the paper with my original drawing on it,” said Carla.

“I guess it got replaced by the real thing,” I suggested.

“Okay, now to my note. First, you must promise me that you guys won’t laugh,” I said, feeling embarrassed because they would see what I wrote and possibly know what I was thinking about when I wrote it.

“You know I won’t,” said Carla.

“As usual I can only promise that I’ll try not to,” Jonas replied. “Can we go there separately? I want to try to fast travel again.”

“Sure, I’ll meet you guys there,” I replied just before I put my mind to work on how to get to my dad’s office.

Jonas was the first to vanish, followed by Carla. The twins had astral travel down.

***

Although I was the last one to depart the guest room, I was the first to arrive in my dad’s office. Just as I’d expected, my dad’s office still looked bland and lifeless, even in the Astral. The only exception was the piece of paper on which I wrote my note. That single piece of paper seemed to glow and illuminate the rest of the room.

I must confess that part of me was hoping I’d see my mother instead of my note, like it happened with Carla’s rose. When I realized that it hadn’t happened, I was unable to contain my disappointment and my eyes welled up with tears.

I couldn’t let my emotions take control, not now, especially because Carla and Jonas were coming. I quickly wiped my eyes with my hands and started to think about the only thing, rather the only person, who could possibly cheer me up.

“Hey, mate, how is it going?” asked Jonas from behind me as if he had just appeared out of nowhere. “Your dad’s office looks even more boring, if that’s possible.”

“He never had good taste,” I replied, relieved to see Jonas. Having company in the astral realm gave me strength and comfort.

“Where’s Carla?” I asked.

“She should be—”

Carla appeared right in front of him.

“Speaking of the…” He cut himself short, only to say, “I really wish you wouldn’t do that.”

“What?” asked Carla.

“Appear out of thin air like a ghost,” replied Jonas, now looking around my dad’s office.

“You guys missed me?” Carla asked, smiling.

“Nope, not really,” replied Jonas.

“Guys, let’s finish the experiment. This is extremely important,” I said, moving toward the desk, closely followed by Jonas and Carla.

“Is that it?” asked Jonas.

“Yes, I didn’t know what else to write,” I said, unsure of what else to say.

“Well, at least it will be easy to remember tomorrow,” said Carla, smiling as if she was trying to cheer me up.

“Okay then, to recap, my note is the word ‘Mom’ and Jonas’s is his locker combination,” I said, still looking at that glowing piece of paper.

“And mine is a yellow rose,” Carla added before I even had the time to finish.

“Piece of cake,” replied Jonas.

“Right, just like when you thought that building a model rocket was a piece of cake?” asked Carla, referring to the time Jonas blew up his model rocket before the school science fair had even started.

“It would have worked if you hadn’t persuaded me to change the design and the size of the motor,” Jonas said, not convincing anyone except himself.

***

“Follow me, I want to try something fun,” said Carla.

“Oh boy, here we go again,” said Jonas. “I see trouble in our future.”

“What do you have in mind?” I asked.

“We should fly outside,” suggested Carla.

“Hmm, that might be cool,” Jonas said.

Carla had decided that in order to go outside, we should pass through my bedroom wall. Personally, I didn’t mind it too much, but for the record I didn’t think it was a good idea for Jonas’s sake, especially because we were on the second floor and all.

Even though I was used to flying, I had to admit that I was a bit nervous. After all, this would be a much different experience. For starters, I wouldn’t have a powerful engine to propel me forward, only my thoughts.

I tried to voice my disagreement, but the twins didn’t care to listen.

“Okay, ready?” asked Carla, looking as though she was ready for a rollercoaster.

“Ready as I ever will be,” I said, expecting the worst for Jonas.

“Ready, I guess,” Jonas said, not sounding as confident. “I hope it isn’t too high.”

“Okay, on the count of three, think about flying through the wall,” ordered Carla.

Carla counted until three, and almost immediately I was propelled forward, quickly heading straight toward the wall. I felt butterflies in my stomach. I hadn’t felt this way since my first airplane lesson.

As my speed increased, my heart seemed to be involved in a race of its own. By the time I reached the wall, my heart felt like it was ready to jump out of my throat.

“Oh God!” screamed Jonas, diverting my attention from the imminent collision with the wall.

By the time I looked back, the wall had completely covered my field of vision. Worried but determined, I reinforced my thought and intention of passing through it.

When my body made contact with the wall, I was surprised to meet a rather soft and tingling material instead of solid wall. I slowly started to pass through the molasses-like substance, and as I did, every atom in my body tingled with excitement, as though I was vibrating at a much higher frequency than the actual wall.

In fact, I suspected that was exactly what had happened. Because my astral body vibrated at a much higher frequency than the physical wall, I could pass through it.

Passing through the wall took a bit more time and effort than I would’ve imagined.

When I finally reached the other side, I was surprised to see how magical everything looked. Each snowflake was charged with powerful energy. The same was true for the trees, bushes, and plants. While normally dried up for the winter in the physical, in the Astral they blossomed with life. Trees had what seemed to be electrically charged leaves, plants glowed, and flowers could be seen emanating light from within.

However, I only saw Carla next to me. Jonas hadn’t made it outside.

“Where’s Jonas?” asked Carla.

We both looked at each other, perplexed.

“I should go back inside and find out,” I suggested urgently. Before I thought about going back to my room, I was immediately pulled through the wall. This time, passing through it was a breeze.

Once inside, I found Jonas stuck in the wall once again. He was clearly frustrated.

“Again?” I asked, laughing.

“I hate these damn walls. This is what? The third time I got stuck?” Jonas complained.

“You must be doing something wrong,” said Carla, emerging from the wall right next to Jonas. “You’re the only one having a problem.”

“Oh God, please stop popping up like that.”

“Perhaps the wall is the astral lover you were looking for,” I said, laughing.

“Very funny. Why don’t you guys help me out of here?” Jonas asked.

“Fine, but this is the last time I’m helping you,” replied Carla. I think she was joking.

“Seriously, though, Carla is right. You must be doing something wrong,” I said.

“I don’t know, but as I approached the wall, I kept feeling like I was going to crash into it. I was worried it was going to hurt,” described Jonas.

“That’s your problem right there,” said Carla.

“Yes, that would do it,” I added.

“What?” Jonas asked. “It’s kind of hard to head straight toward a wall and not feel like I’m going to crash into it.”

“That’s exactly what you need to do. That is, if you want to stop crashing and getting yourself stuck,” said Carla matter of factly.

“I’ll try,” replied Jonas, sounding embarrassed and uncertain.

“This time, why don’t you go first?” I suggested. “Try not to think about crashing. As matter of fact, try not to think of anything other than going outside.”

Jonas let out a heart-shattering scream. I saw his blur zoom past me, heading toward the wall.

“Holy crap!” I heard him scream from outside.

“I guess he made it,” I said as we rushed to his aid.

“Oh, my God!” Jonas was screaming when Carla and I arrived outside.

“What?” Carla asked, unable to contain her laughter.

“This is freaking high,” he said loudly.

“You’ll get used to it, just try to relax and take a few deep breaths,” I said.

“You can look at it this way. If you really want to, you can just fly closer to the ground and never get over your fear. Or you could deal with it and win over your fear. Either way, the fact is that you can will yourself to move closer to the ground anytime you feel the need to,” Carla explained.

“Thanks, Sis. I’ll try,” said Jonas.

As we gently flew through the air, we looked and felt like ghosts of the night. It was hard not to wonder if that was what death felt like. On one hand, it felt like I had died, but on the other, I had never felt more alive in my whole life.