Atria (Chapter 3)

Chapter 31


Ashley walked slowly back towards the entrance to the initiation hall where Casey was waiting, deep in conversation with Krystal and Malachi. As she drew closer, Casey looked up. “Hey, Ash, what did the old hypocrite want?” she said with a smirk on her face. “Hypocrite?” Ashley asked, eyebrows raised. “Yea” replied Casey defiantly, “Didn’t you hear! While you were in your last life the truth came out, Atrius has never been to earth, he made his journey here, in Cantrell” she finished grinning. “No kidding!” Exclaimed Ashley. “Ha, I wish I was, so what did he want” Casey asked, folding her arms and leaning up against the inside wall of the hall. “Ah nothing much” said Ashley, “Just to “keep me informed” about my next life” “Really!” exclaimed Casey, “So where are you headed” “I’m not sure yet, he just said that my next lesson is on how to love” Ashley finished. “Lucky you” said Casey, “Love is a good one, when I had my life for love I ended up in the UK, I still remember the sexy backpacker that I ended up marrying.” Casey stood smiling for a second, as if in a dream, then suddenly, she snapped back to consciousness, realizing that Malachi and Krystal were still standing there. “ Oh and by the way Ash, this is Malachi” “Hi Malachi” said Ashley with a friendly smile “We should be going” said Krystal shyly, staring at Malachi, “I promised Tennille that we would go and see her after we finished here, she said she had some spirits she wanted us to meet.” “Fair enough” replied Casey “You should be going too Ash, don’t you have a past life meeting to attend?” “Oh yea,” said Ashley “I shouldn’t be late or Atrius will, excuse the pun, KILL ME!” Casey laughed, “Alright, see you later then” The four spirits went their separate ways, and Ashley again found herself lost in thought. Crazy images sped through her head of the lives she had already had, and it left her wondering, where Atrius would send her. After a short walk, she reached the fountain where the past life meetings were always held. The fountain was a beautiful place, where Ashley loved to spend some of her time, watching the crystal cloud tumbling down the marbled blue ledges and trickling through the crevasses, neither liquid nor gas. The air was fresh, nothing like on earth, Ashley breathed deeply and the air filled her lungs with life, leaving her with a sensation all the way through her body that is best compared to the warmth you feel, drinking hot chocolate by the fireside on a stormy night. She was pulled roughly out of her daydreams of strawberry marshmallows by Atrius’ booming voice. Ashley hastened to pay attention, she was sure that strawberry marshmallows would not be one of the things that Atrius would class as an appropriate though process for a fourth grader. “Welcome back my spirits” Atrius bellowed, all of the chatter between souls stopped instantly. “I am sure that your last lives have granted you with great wisdom and knowledge. Now I would like each one of us to talk briefly about what our last lives taught us for the benefit of the entire group. Tenth Graders first please.” And so the meeting began, each of the fifty or so spirits there talking about what earth has taught them so far. Ashley was awed at the diversity of the lives that these spirits have had. One ninth grader reminisced on his last twelve years as a dog in a suburban Australian back yard. Before Ashley knew it, it was her turn.
She stood up. “Greetings fellow learners, it is good to be back. This time round I experienced both the upsides and downsides of life. I was born into a wealthy family in Wales with three older sibling. After I was born there were another 2 sisters to succeed me. I spent sixteen years with this family, and discovered the joys of living in a happy bustling house hold” Ashley paused for a second, resisting the temptation to say “and the joys of marshmallows and cream,” She continued “My mother died when I was eleven years old and my father became extremely overprotective. I thought of this as a bad thing for a long time but I realize now that this taught me to compromise. I died in a Car accident at 16 years of age, My father barely survived the crash but he had to, he now has to learn how to deal with loss all over again. This life has taught me a lot, and I would like to thank Atrius for placing me so well and helping me to learn. Thank you.” And with that , Ashley sat down.
2