Chapter 12: Thrice Blessed

The ‘water’ aspect was immediately apparent, surrounding and encapsulating everything about the image. The details, however, were so incredible that it seemed 3 dimensional. She saw an exact rendering of her face gazing with adoration up at the tree of life (which was similar to their old plum tree). It was a profile representation and her single eye glowed with a power you could almost feel as you gazed into its depths. On the other side was an exact mirror image except for the tiny pigmentation that she had beneath her left eyelid. A distortion in the bark of the tree revealed the entire symbol of Gaia.

Others were equally impressed and it was eventually featured on the cover of Gnarly magazine with a feature article on his restoration of the shovelhead and the community that sprouted up around him and his betrothed. The Harley was completed in February and sat in his garage as a shining dedication to the Earth Goddess. Jesse took it out occasionally to enjoy a short ride with many of his friends who welcomed him into their circle of riders. Maia accompanied him every time and they enjoyed the fellowship and devotion to whichever cause they represented at the time. It was always about the enjoyment of riding and the freedom entailed. But every time the group rode it was for a different charity or to represent a cause they felt close to. All of the riders who befriended Jesse and Maia had adopted her symbol of divinity and wore it proudly upon their leather coats and vests.

It surprised neither of them when they were contacted by the persistent and tenacious Daisy Preston with Channel Seven News for an interview. They grudgingly accepted and met the vivacious journalist and her taciturn cameraman in their home. Tina Marie had welcomed herself over to enjoy the big screen in the living room but turned her show off when the interview took place — opting to sit in the corner with Ana and Ragu while she did her homework.

After several minutes of catching up and trivial discussions, Daisy got to the point. “I understand per the state registry that you are an ordained high priestess of the pagan goddess Gaia,” she stated from her notes.

“The earth goddess, yes,” Maia confirmed. “And by ‘pagan’ I assume you simply mean ‘pre-Christian’.”

Daisy nodded absently as she struggled to stay on track. “As a representative of the earth goddess isn’t it a little contrary to be riding around on engines that consume fossil fuels?”

Maia blinked at her with a curious expression, waiting for her to expound on her inquiry. When she did not, she cleared her throat, “Um, as opposed to what?” she began, “Would you rather we walked around barefoot?”

There was an awkward silence as the journalist felt her interview going to pieces before it had even begun. “I mean no offense to you. I’m just trying to see how you weigh the cost vs reward of spreading the message of world conservation, using methods inherently damaging to the earth.”

Jesse just sat back and smiled as he watched the verbal melee between the young journalist and his beloved.

“You would be referring to the oil drilling and refining industry,” Maia returned evenly, “and the subsequent damage to our ozone layer by the consumption of petroleum byproducts.”

Daisy simply nodded.

“I see where you are coming from and you are not wrong,” Maia replied with a smile. “But where does one draw the line here? We have been refining and consuming oil for over a century now. Has it been harmful to our global home? Most certainly. Will our great life-giving planet recover from it? We will all be long and distant memories before this happens — but it will.”

“Yes, but surely there are better, greener alternatives to rely on for conveying your message, aren’t there — like electric vehicles?”

“Certainly, there are,” Maia responded. “But let’s clarify your terms first. By ‘greener’ you mean ‘Earth-friendly’? Correct?”

Daisy nodded.

“And you assert that electric vehicles are ‘greener’ simply because they do not consume nasty old petroleum?”

Jesse could see and feel the uncertainty in the interviewer’s face as she nodded sheepishly once more.

“Tell me, Ms. Preston, do you fully understand what goes into the manufacturing of a single earth-friendly electric vehicle?”

They could tell by her blank stare that she did not. “Are you referring to lithium?”

Maia nodded, “Not just the element itself but the entire process that goes into mining and refining it into usable material for electric batteries.”

There was an awkward silence in the room.

“Eighteen thirty,” said TM from the corner. Her head was bent over her notebook and she had a text open nearby.

“What was that Teton?” Maia asked.

“One eight three zero,” The teenager said looking up. “That is the hazardous material identification number you see on all the railroad carriers hauling it up to the Spodumene mines.” She got up and stretched. “Do you know what it stands for TV girl?”

Daisy shook her head.

“It’s sulfuric acid,” she answered. “Concentrated sulfuric acid, and they use it in a leeching process to extract the lithium from the ore. It’s not the only method but the others aren’t much better.” She walked over to the fridge and inspected the contents before selecting a can of soda. “They use millions of gallons of acid to collect enough material just to make a couple of cars. The waste byproduct is nothing short of a man-made ecological disaster. Then they have to refine it and process it into the batteries which takes about 900 gallons of diesel just to provide the electricity to make enough units for one or two cars.”

Jesse smiled proudly as his baby sister went on.

“EVs may sound like an environmentally friendly solution but they don’t start that way,” she continued. “And it takes electricity to charge them, which continues to draw on power grids and whatever source they draw power from.” She stood straight in front of the journalist and her cameraman, sipping her drink. “Your station did a story last summer on a fire caused by an EV that broke down on the Tower bridge. It showed the car burning so hot that the fire department couldn’t extinguish it until it consumed all the flammable material built into it. It burned right through the bridge and contaminated the Sacramento River with toxic metals and who knows what.”

Ana had grown to almost half the size of her mother since her birth. She woke from her nap and sidled over to Daisy, setting her face on her knee, hoping for a pet and scratch. She was rewarded with both as the journalist gathered her thoughts.

“I guess it’s just a matter of perspective,” Maia added as she got up and pecked TM on the cheek. She had to rise to her tiptoes to do it now. “Some viewers might insist that a true patron of the goddess abstain from modern conveyances and walk the earth barefoot. But I am quite partial to riding behind my man on his bike.” She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him into a kiss.

They had planned for a simple gathering of family and a few close friends, for the ceremony. It turned out far bigger than they anticipated. Besides the immediate family, over 30 riders showed up. The vernal equinox was a day-long celebration — however, the event itself occurred in a single moment. On this day it would happen shortly after nine in the evening. When the time approached — Jesse, Maia, and Aunt Star retreated into the confines of the circular grove and presented themselves to the Earth Mother.

No others witnessed the moment when Gaia arrived and blessed their union. But her presence was felt far and wide. The grove took on a serene glow that reflected in the faces of everyone who gathered to witness the occasion. To all was felt a calm sense of well-being and peace that seeped into each of them like a warm blanket on a cool night.

Within the grove, the three humans departed their mortal forms and joined the goddess in her spiritual realm. Time ceased for them as they watched the passage of history, learned the lore of the ages, and even caught a glimpse of the future. They swam in an ocean of knowledge and soared through the heavens discovering things about themselves they had never known. With the knowledge, came the awareness of incredible power and the means to control it. The gifts of their mistress were vast and eternal but only two of them took form and became living symbols. Each was as unique as the soul it was destined for. One was given to Jesse to pass on to the person meant to bear it at the time of choosing. He had already foreseen the moment when Tina Marie would earn hers.