Chapter 99: Nicky and the Old One

Wednesday, June 9, 1971

I was thankful for Catherine at that moment. Her words were reassuring. I was also thankful for Vickie because she was connecting everyone with me while I was focusing all my energy on keeping the slim contact I had with Nicky.

It was confusing for a moment as Catherine quickly explained what they needed to do, but it wasn’t long before I felt the power increase. When it did, the ones who were connected through Vickie experienced it as well, and suddenly, the power surged. I actually tensed my body, expecting some kind of force against my body, like the g-force you feel on a roller coaster after you crest the hill.

One second, I am holding desperately to the slender link to my sister, the next second, I’m beside her, holding her again, her emotional signature once more coming through loud and clear.

“She’s asleep. Here, drink this,” said the familiar voice.

I sat up as I accepted the cup of steaming liquid. As before, it tasted cool as it passed my lips. I immediately felt at one with the world around me, except there didn’t seem to be a world around me. At least not one you could see.

“Do you need it?” the Old One asked.

“It’s a little disorientating, but nothing I can’t handle,” I told him.

“Good! You’re growing much faster than we expected,” he replied.

I caught the ‘we’, but remained silent. This was the first time the Old One had revealed that there was anyone else involved with this. I wanted to see what he would say next.

“You may just be able to pass the test after all,” he said with a smile.

I studied him intently. It made sense. Before they revealed my mission, they would want to test me.

I could still feel the others connected to me through Vickie and their power seemed to continue to increase, slowly. For the first time I could read the Old One. I could see that he was expecting me to ask about the test, though he could not reveal anything, so I remained silent. However, I did begin to scan him for other information.

“I’m even more impressed!” he said as he figured out what I was doing. Instead of blocking me, his thoughts became like vapor, with no substance for me to grasp.

“Wow! You have got to teach me that!” I told him when I saw what he had done.

“All in good time, young one. All in good time,” he said as his smile returned.

Suddenly, Nicky was no longer with me, but I could sense she was all right, so I let her go. I looked at him, studying. There was silence between us for a time, as I considered.

“Put it in the form of a question,” he finally said. I couldn’t turn my thoughts to vapor like he had, so I’m sure he was monitoring them.

“What will you allow me to know about this ‘test’?” I finally asked.

“Excellent!” he replied.

I felt my connection with Vickie severed. But my power didn’t diminish.

Then the Old One began to teach me.

I lay there for a moment before opening my eyes. I could sense the concern in the girls around me, but also an undercurrent of excitement. My stateroom was crowded with Nicky lying beside me holding my hand. Vickie and Ileana were both sitting on the foot of the bed and Adriana was in the small chair next to the writing desk.

I paused to take stock of what was going on around me. I had been with the Old One for a much longer time than normal.

I was aware of the movement of the train, and assumed we were still heading to New Orleans.

Nicky, Adriana, Ileana, and Vickie were in the stateroom with me. So I checked to see who else was connected. Catherine was at Seven Oaks, and Anna was in her apartment in Washington, DC.

Debbie and Candy were in Candy’s room in Tennessee; Randi was in Julie and Jennifer’s room at their home, next door to Candy’s. I could find no sign of Kalani, but I knew she was on her way back to Tapato. Apparently my range didn’t extend far enough to pick her up.

“Michael?” It was Ileana who sensed me first. There was general chaos as I was bombarded with love and concern from all of them.

“So, you’ve returned!” Anna thought to me above the mental din.

They all became quiet, waiting on my response. Without saying anything, I focused as the Old One had just taught me, and began to wash each of them in my individual feelings of love for them.

“Oh ... my ... god!” exclaimed Julie.

“Michael? WHAT are you doing?” asked Randi.

The others all responded with similar reactions.

“Wait! I can feel your love. But there’s something else...” Jennifer started to say.

“Yeah. I feel it too! It’s ... it’s...” Adriana started.

“It’s making me feel better! I was feeling really bad, cramps and all that, and it’s gone away!” Ileana exclaimed.

I smiled as they began to recognize what was happening.

“I feel better too!” Debbie stated.

“You’re making us feel better. It’s that old man. He showed you how to do this?” Nicky asked.

“You saw the Old One?” Catherine asked.

They all began to talk at once. I just let them go for a minute.

Finally, they became quiet again.

“Michael, why don’t you tell us what happened,” Catherine said.

“First of all. I love each and every one of you,” I said.

“We can tell,” Anna replied, interrupting me. A chorus of agreement rang out from all of them.

“Nicky, why don’t you tell everyone what happened to you,” I requested.

“Well ... I was watching as Michael showed me how much he loved me. He was replaying all these wonderful feelings of when he first woke up from the coma and all the times we were together and all that. Suddenly, I was somewhere that was like ... I don’t know. It was peaceful and beautiful and so relaxing.

“There was an old man there, who told me not to worry. He said that Michael would be here shortly and I should just drink something while we waited. He offered me a cup of something that looked like coffee. It had steam coming off of it. But when I sipped it, it was cool. He didn’t leer at me or anything, even though I was stark naked.

“After I drank the stuff, I felt so relaxed. Then Michael showed up and I fell asleep. When I woke up, you were lying beside me, just like before. I could feel Vickie and the others and was just starting to tell them not to worry when you woke up,” Nicky explained.

I felt like I had spent a long time with the Old One as he was teaching me many new things, but it appeared to everyone else that I was only gone for an instant. I paused to consider it for a moment before continuing.

Adriana interrupted the silence as she asked, “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. Who is this ‘Old One’? And what did he do to you and Nicky?”

I decided the easiest way to explain was to show them some of my time with the Old One, but when I started to replay it, I found that, for some reason, I couldn’t do it.

“That’s weird!” I thought, as I dismissed the idea for later consideration. I guess I’d have to settle for telling them about it.

“The old man that Nicky is referring to, calls me ‘young one’, so I call him ‘Old One’. This is the fourth time he has appeared to me. I have no idea when he is going to show up, but this is the first time he has revealed himself to someone other than me,” I explained.

“I wonder why he revealed himself to Nicky,” Anna asked.

“Evidently, he used Nicky to call me to him. He said it was a test. He also said that ‘we’ were pleased with my progress, and that I just might be able to pass their test. He didn’t explain who the ‘we’ was or anything else, but he showed me how to use my gifts better. He also confirmed what you were thinking Catherine, that my powers emanate from your love.”

“Our love?” Adriana asked.

“Yes. The Old One said that love was the key to my powers. The more I give, and the more it is returned, the more my powers will grow,” I told them. “He also said I would need every bit of power I could get to survive their test.”

“Did he give you any ideas at all about what kind of test it is?” Catherine asked.

“No. He wouldn’t speak of it. But I was able to scan him briefly, before he figured out that I was powerful enough to do that. And when I did, I saw that he is not really a single person, but more like the representation of many ... somethings. It’s hard to describe. It was like he was several different emotional signatures all rolled into one. After that, I was aware that he seemed like different people at different times,” I said.

“So let me get this straight,” Adriana said. “The more we love you, the stronger your powers become?”

“You’re half right,” I replied. “It seemed to be tied to how much you love me, but it’s also linked to how much love I can give back as well.”

“Does this mean that if I admitted that I love you, it would help you?” Adriana continued.

“Only if you admit it to yourself. And you allow me to love you in return,” I told her.

“Oh!” Adriana said, as she became lost in her thoughts.

I didn’t bother to scan her. Watching a female in the throes of making a decision is not a pleasure to watch.

“I’d like to take some time to consider all this,” Catherine stated.

Everyone else agreed and the connection broke up. I sent each of them an individual emotion telling them goodnight and how much I loved them. Randi and Jenny both told me they missed me. Anna said she’d see us on Friday.

I looked at Vickie and she looked exhausted. I could understand why, since she had expended an awful lot of energy keeping everyone connected.

“Ileana? Would you get Vickie some fruit and help her to her bed?” I asked her. “I’m concerned that she wore herself out with our conference call. We’ll talk more about this at breakfast.”

Ileana kissed me deeply, saying, “I love you, my mate,” then turned to Vickie.

“Come with me. We’ll get you something to drink,” Ileana told her, leading her out of the room.

Adriana sat there looking from me to Nicky and back to me. I knew she wanted to stay and talk, but she was also aware that this was Nicky’s night.

My sister watched her also. Finally, Nicky said, “I need to go check on Vickie. May I borrow your robe?”

“Of course,” I replied.

“Should I come back?” she thought.

“Of course. But thanks for being so understanding,” I thought back.

“You’re welcome. I’ll be back in a little while,” Nicky said out loud.

Adriana looked up in surprise. It was obvious there had been some mental communication between Nicky and me. I think she was used to being able to hear my thoughts, but the Old One had taught me how to control them better, directing them where I wanted.

The door to the stateroom had barely closed when Adriana asked, “Were you just talking to her ... er ... with your mind?”

“Yeah,” I replied.

“That’s weird! I can usually hear your thoughts when you are near me,” she said. “But I didn’t hear anything that time.”

I smiled at her. She was really perceptive.

“Is it because I haven’t told you I love you?” she asked.

“Huh?” her question caught me by surprise.

“If I can’t hear you anymore, it must be because I haven’t made up my mind. I mean I think I’m falling in love with you. But I’ve never been in love before. And I’ve never felt like this before, about somebody, I mean. So I’m not sure if it’s love or not,” Adriana rambled as she tried to explain. “It’s all so confusing. Monday morning, I woke up and my world was the same as it has been every day of my life. Some days I dread having to communicate like I do, other days, I just put up with having to write or sign everything I want to say.”

I smiled, but still remained silent, waiting for her to go on. It was obvious, well, to me it was obvious, that Adriana had more she wanted to say. I was also aware that she was talking as much to herself, as she was to me.