The Guardian of Threshold (27 page)

“Are you kidding me? Look at him, he looks evil,” Jonas replied.

“Jonas, you can’t judge anyone based on how they look,” I intervened. “Besides, I have a good feeling about him.”

“I want to trust him, but I don’t know if I should. Sounds like he can give me some answers, though,” Nyx said.

“If you want to follow him, we’ll go with you just to be safe,” added Carla to make Nyx’s decision easier.

“Okay, I don’t trust him yet, but I do trust you guys. If you guys come, I’ll follow him,” Nyx replied.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this again. Remember what I said about Oldroot and nobody listened? You guys saw what happened,” complained Jonas.

“Shh, nobody asked you, Jonas,” said Carla.

I walked over to Dr. Rainer and explained that Nyx had decided to follow him and that we wanted to come too as a precaution.

“Great, follow me. The aerobus station is just around the corner,” said Dr. Rainer. “Would you mind helping me with these books since we’re going to the same place?”

“Not at all,” I replied as he handed me two big and fairly heavy volumes.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of doctor are you?” I asked.

“I’m not the kind you’re probably thinking of. I’m a philosopher. I know you must be thinking, what is a Night Dweller doing as a philosopher? Well, there isn’t anything else in the world I would rather do even if some people think that I’m crazy.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy,” said Carla. “On earth, we’re all taught to follow our dreams.”

“Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for Threshold, but things are slowly changing,” explained Dr. Rainer.

We started to walk through the amazing city. I followed Dr. Rainer closely and looked all around.

***

“Here we are,” said Dr. Rainer after a while.

We came to a stop near a translucent covered bridge. The bridge stretched over the light green river waters, leading to a long, strange vehicle that resembled a bullet train.

We followed Dr. Rainer as he went inside the vehicle. He sat down and apparently left the window seat open for me.

“Relax, my boy. This aerobus will take us where we need to go. Just relax and enjoy the ride,” said Dr. Rainer as he opened one of his books and started to read.

I took Spark off my shoulder and placed him on my lap while I petted him to calm him down. He seemed a bit stressed.

“Hum, very strange, it’s not very common for a
Draconoides Volan Ventralis
to be this friendly… or this scared, as a matter of fact,” Dr. Rainer said.

“He’s just a bit shy, that’s all. I’m sure he’ll make a great guard dragon one day,” I said.

“Of course he will, I have no doubt. He’s still too young and has much to learn. Let’s just hope he’ll have a different destiny than his predecessors. But I’m sure he will. You seem to be a good trainer,” said Dr. Rainer.

“I’m not a trainer. I don’t even live in Threshold, I couldn’t possibly train him,” I said, realizing that Spark and I would have to part ways eventually.

“Hasn’t anyone told you yet? Once you put on that ring collar, you and Spark are one. He’s your sole responsibility, and you’re his trainer. That’s how it has been, that’s how it is, and that’s how it should be,” explained Dr. Rainer. “Besides, even if you were to return to Earth, it wouldn’t prevent you from being his trainer. For one, dragons are inter-dimensional beings, and two, you still need sleep in the physical world, which gives you roughly about eight Earth hours to spend here in Threshold.”

“So I can return here whenever I want?” I asked.

“Sure, if that’s what you want and with enough practice,” replied Dr. Rainer.

“Doctor, I have a question that I think you may be able to answer. I’ve been looking for my mother, but I can’t seem to find her,” I asked, figuring it couldn’t hurt to ask.

“So you think your mother is in Threshold?” Dr. Rainer asked as he closed his book and placed it on the pile with the rest.

“I’m not sure. But I hope she is,” I replied as my heart started to beat faster.

“Oh dear boy, I’m afraid I may have some bad news,” Dr. Rainer replied. I stopped petting Spark in anticipation.

“Your mother may or may not be in Threshold. While it is true that everyone comes to Threshold at some point once they pass away from the physical realm, not everyone stays in Threshold. The universe is a pretty big place, and Threshold is just one of its many realms,” Dr. Rainer said, looking straight into my eyes.

“So you’re telling me that I may be searching for her in the wrong place?” I asked.

“It’s possible. Humans do come to Threshold after their physical bodies are no longer suitable to sustain physical life—the reasons that happens can vary tremendously, for example if a person led a life of crime, their vibrational rate would be so low that the only place they could survive is on the Night Peaks. And chances are that person would turn into a Night Dweller—”

“But you’re a Night Dweller. I mean, you don’t strike me as a bad person,” I said.

As I waited for Dr. Rainer to reply, I looked around and noticed that my friends were looking at me, which I must confess made me feel a bit awkward and self-conscious.

Suddenly, a gentle warning tone filled the air as the aerobus door closed and formed an airtight seal.

“Indeed, I’m a Night Dweller, but before I was a Night Dweller I was…,” Dr. Rainer paused, before continuing in a much lower tone, “I was human. I led a life of vanity, leisure, crime, and cruelty. I woke up to find myself here almost as though I was being punished for my crimes. I can honestly say that I thought that I’d woken up in hell.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t want to risk being insensitive to his ordeal, so I just asked another question.

“So only the criminal and cruel come to Threshold?” I asked.

“No, not at all. Threshold is not a place in itself. It’s just one more region of the vast astral realm. Good people are known to come to Threshold as well. Everything in nature is perfectly balanced. For example, where there is bad, there must be an equal and greater amount of good. The universe is not poised to fail, as many seem to think. On the contrary, the universe is destined to succeed. Threshold is not a place of punishment. It’s a place of change. Sometimes drastic change is required, like in my case,” Dr. Rainer explained as the aerobus started to move.

I was mesmerized. I didn’t know if I should look outside the window and take in the wondrous sights before me, or if I should concentrate on the information Dr. Rainer was giving me. Unable to decide, I tried to do both.

“But to answer your question more clearly, no, there are also a lot of good souls in Threshold. Lots of them are humans much like you and I. You’ll understand it better once we arrive at our destination,” Dr. Rainer said as the aerobus started to hover.

“Ah, guys, I thought this was a train and not a plane,” said Jonas, making his disappointment very clear.

“Since you have never been here before, I figured it would be best to take the scenic route,” said Dr. Rainer. “Nyxy, I suspect that our trip will be very interesting for you as well.”

“Please, Doctor, call me Nyx,” she replied.

For a few minutes, all I heard was the gentle humming noise the aerobus made as it glided effortlessly through the air.

As I looked outside the window, questions filled my mind. A large glowing bridge caught my attention, as did the emerald-green river that flowed east.

“Wow, that’s beautiful,” I said in awe.

“That’s Night River, it’s a sight to behold,” replied Dr. Rainer.

“I don’t understand something. When we got here, we could fly. Why do we need to take this aerobus if we can fly?” asked Carla.

“Well, flying is only possible if your vibrational state is higher than the location where you trying to fly to or at. I’ll give you an example. The reason you were able to fly around Night Peaks is because your vibrational state was higher than the Night Peaks. However, once you moved to a place with a higher vibrational rate like Nightwell, it became practically impossible for you to fly. The reason being that your vibrational rate is not high enough yet,” Dr. Rainer said. He then paused for a second. “Also, don’t forget that in Threshold we have creatures of various vibrational states. Therefore, there was the need to create a method of transportation that everyone could use.”

The aerobus seemed to be following Night River as the minutes passed slowly. I noticed that the sky seemed to be getting lighter the further we moved to the east.

“This is Twilight. Beautiful, isn’t it?” Dr. Rainer said, smiling. It truly was the most beautiful twilight sky I had ever seen.

“So we were in Nightside and now we’re in Twilight?” I asked.

“That’s right. Threshold doesn’t alternate between night and day like Earth does. Over here we have Nightside, Twilight, and Dayside, and they are always constant,” Dr. Rainer explained.

The aerobus seemed to pick up speed, and the subtle humming grew louder as we flew faster above another river, perhaps three or four hundred feet in the air.

“Wow, I think I better sit down,” said Jonas after looking outside the window.

“Dr. Rainer, do you know why I happened different from everyone else?” Nyx asked.

“Nyx, we’re all different. Some of us are very different, while others are just a little different. We’re all unique, with many qualities and virtues,” Dr. Rainer said. “For now, don’t worry. All your questions will be answered once we arrive at our destination.”

“Where are we going anyway?” Jonas asked.

“Our destination is the City of Lights. That’s where the answers lie,” replied the old doctor.

On both sides of the wide river, fields stretched for miles. It was some sort of plantation that I had never seen before, but we were going too fast for me to be able to properly identify the plants.

“Why do you look like a Night Dweller if you’re human?” Jonas asked.

“Every Night Dweller is or was human at one point. Our appearances were changed by the crimes and injustices we committed. The more heinous the crime, the more heinous we look. But don’t get me wrong, not every Night Dweller is a bad person. Trust me, most aren’t. But they’re in debt to nature and its natural laws. We were created for greatness and goodness. We’re all destined for success, just like the universe,” Dr. Rainer explained as he handed me the book I had picked up from the floor earlier.

“Thanks, but I can’t accept it,” I replied.

“You must, because all of you are meant to do great things. The future of Threshold depends on it. You’re meant to do things that I can’t speak of, things that you must figure out for yourselves. But know this; you’re not here by mere chance. There is a reason for everything, there’s always a reason,” said Dr. Rainer, still offering me the book titled
Dweller on Threshold—The Constant Struggle Between Light and Darkness
.

“Thank you very much,” I replied, accepting the book. “However, I don’t know how I can take this with me once I return to Earth.”

“My boy, you have much to learn. Chances are there’s an exact copy of this book on Earth. Most things that exist on Earth had to be created here first. The astral realm is not a copy of Earth like so many assume, but the Earth is in fact a crude copy of the Astral,” Dr. Rainer explained.

“Are you saying that we can find a copy of this aerobus on Earth?” Jonas asked.

“Not yet, but eventually this design will migrate to the physical realm. The same is true with the advanced materials you see here. Just remember that nature is never wrong,” Dr. Rainer replied.

Suddenly, the aerobus reduced its speed. The only reason I noticed was because the subtle humming returned, and I could once again clearly see the scenery outside.

The aerobus slowed more, which allowed me to take in all of the marvelous scenery. I could see the grassy wetlands, which had only a few trees spread randomly. Leafy greens floated on the water, coloring its reflection. Occasionally a bubble or two would burst and disrupt the perfect reflection of the surface with long ripples. Surely the bubbles were a sign that something thrived under the water’s surface.

***

“Look!” said Jonas loudly.

“Wow!” That was the only word that came out of Carla and Nyx’s mouths.

Curious, I quickly looked outside the window and saw a beaming city of light. It had two very high, central towers that seemed to stretch into infinity, toward an eerie twilight. The sky was a mix of orange, red, and purple hues that served as a canvas for clouds of various colors.

“Welcome to the City of Lights,” Dr. Rainer said.

“This place is huge and so bright,” Carla said in awe.

Excited, I stood up and carefully placed Spark on my empty seat so I could move to the other side to take in all the amazing features of the brightly lit city.

We flew past huge and spacious parks with comfortable benches and bountiful flowers that seemed to emanate a light of their own. Trees filled the landscape, which was complete with small lakes and crystal clear fountains.

A few minutes later, we passed whole communities; houses and stores, all in perfect shape, with coordinated colors that seemed to perfectly complement each other.

After the houses, there were smaller parks and more buildings. They all reminded me of the buildings back on Earth, except that they seemed to be made of a different material.

“Do you see those towers ahead? That’s our stop,” Dr. Rainer said as he pointed toward a spiral tower in the distance. I looked closely and saw that other aerobuses where coming and going from what seemed to be a very busy and central transportation terminal.

As strange as it may sound, I felt like I belonged there. It felt like I was home. I don’t know how to explain it, but deep inside I felt like I had been there before, even lived there.

I thought about what Dr. Rainer had said about my mother. While there was only a chance I could find her, I would search high and low. I would search until there was no place left to look. Seeing the City of Lights gave me renewed hope, and for that I was thankful.

When we came to a complete stop at the top of the spiral tower, the doors slowly opened. I woke up Spark; he was sleeping peacefully in my seat.