Angels’ highway,” said the Angel, once again reading the sisters’ thoughts, “you know you two are very alike, your thoughts often coincide…”
Natalie and Sophia blushed in surprise and Natalie asked: “Do you also read all our thoughts down there on Earth?”
“Of course, that is a well-known fact, in order to help people when they most need it.”
“Do you mean there are people who do not ask for help?” Sophia asked interestedly.
The Angel replied sadly:
“Now more than ever…”
The Visit to the Secret Island
The starship effortlessly slipped through a cosmos the tender colour of a light blue dawn sky until a light orange cloud appeared in the distance and seemed to get larger and larger. The ship was flying straight towards it and an island appeared underneath them. The island was magically beautiful. In the distance on the horizon there was a range of orange mountains, the peaks of which shone like diamonds in the sun. From the very shores of the island there grew the most wonderful trees with huge diverse shaped leaves. On their branches sat beautiful technicolour birds that sang the most varied songs so loudly and beautifully that their trilling could be heard from way up above the island. The earth was carpeted with silky grass, which shimmered in the breeze and gave the impression that the island was covered in soft green lapping waves. In a different spot there shone the mirror-like surface of a lake with the most translucent water full of the most wonderful multi-coloured fish like an enormous aquarium. The sisters simultaneously let out a sigh.
Then the Angel spoke up:
“No, this is not paradise, but after a lot of hard work one can rest here. This is where our wonderworking doctor lives.”
The starship landed effortlessly in front of a huge, round tree with a trunk that was immeasurably broad. Somewhere, very high, up the foliage rustled. Then right in the middle of the trunk a door, that they hadn’t noticed before, opened. The Angel invited the sisters to go in.
A large spacious hall opened out before them furnished with the most ingeniously crafted and extraordinarily beautiful wooden furniture. In the middle of the hall stood a large wooden table perched on a single leg, which made it look rather like a huge oversized mushroom. The surface of the table had been inlaid with small pieces of wood to form an enormous rose, which changed colour depending on the glancing rays of the sun. The table was surrounded by soft chairs woven from thin branches, which were covered by blankets decorated with huge leaves of every imaginable shade of green. Light streamed down on to the table from a completely translucent ceiling above through which the sound of the great tree's rustling leaves and the singing of the birds could be heard. The rest of the hall was shrouded in darkness but opposite the door a large writing desk could be made out. It appeared to have a multitude of different appliances and gadgets. One of them had a big screen rather like one of our computers, the screen was continually lighting up with new bits of information. Behind the desk sat a young man on a revolving chair. One had the impression that he was talking to the apparatus as if it were a living person, since the computer reacted not only to his voice but also evidently to the minutes fluctuation of his thoughts. But most interestingly of all, the computer even announced the arrival of the guests and even offered a welcoming hand on its screen. The young man turned round and on seeing the Angel with the young women immediately turned off the computer and invited them to sit down at the table.
The young man, one could even say that he was a youth, was dressed in a long dark cassock-like garment of the sort that monks usually wear. He smiled at his guests and pointed to the table:
“Help yourself; you must be famished after your journey.”
And with that he pressed a button and the table was instantly covered with berries, nuts, wooden cups and several jugs containing drinks of various sorts.
"This will restore your strength.”
Natalie and Sophia tried the different berries and nuts with relish and each partook of the juice to their own taste. The young man, (the sisters thought to themselves that he was probably also an angel), suggested that they go for a walk in the forest.
“Feel free to go wherever your heart takes you. You can sit down by a tree that takes your fancy, climb into the hollow of a tree or simply lie on the grass. Come back when you’ve walked your fill.”
Natalie and Sophia left the hall and plunged into this woody wonderland. Close up the trees were even more awe inspiring, huge and monumental and their shaggy green caps seemed to touch the heavens. Their trunks were encased by soft and tender branches that hung down loosely at their sides like arms. The giants seemed to be standing at their posts like sentries, humouring those wandering by with the delightfully, refreshing and soft caresses of their leafy hands. The silken grass shimmered under their feet like a carpet. Alongside them strolled large self-important and stunningly beautiful birds like the fire bird in the fairy tales. They were totally unfazed by the sisters’ presence, boldly standing in front of them, staring them in the eye and speaking to them in their birdlike tongue in a manner that was both comprehensible and clear.
“Don’t be sad. Everything will be fine.” and then calmly continuing on their way. The other birds were arranged on the branches of the trees like the notes on a musical score: at the very top sat the smallest with the highest voices while the larger and fuller voiced varieties were perched on the lower branches. The most colourful ones would jump right onto your shoulder or hand producing sounds like the peals of tiny bells with each step.
The sisters had walked through this magical wood for a little while and were both feeling a little bit hungry. No sooner had the thought entered their heads than a whole meadow with the most wonderfully scented and mouth-watering berry bushes and nut trees opened up before them. Sophia only had to feel the slightest weariness and a hammock woven out of the soft branches of the trees would appear in front of her and immediately rock her into the sweetest sleep. Natalie found herself in a large hollow of a tree, set about with soft moss, finely scented grasses and pungent leaves. She didn't even recall how she laid down in it and fell into a deep, deep sleep. And each of them had the most amazing dream.
Sophia was running through an impassable forest in her dream. The prickly branches tore at her head and hair, scratching her arms and legs. In her arms she held Michael as a small baby. He was crying hysterically and hitting her in the face with all his might. Next to her ran her husband Alexander. He was trying to support her but then a huge tree fell right on top of him striking him on the head. Alexander fell and with all her might Sophia tried to drag him out from under the tree. Finally, with great difficulty they found their way out of the wild forest into a glade. They had just sat down to get their breath back when they noticed an old man sitting under a tree. His grey beard stretched right down to the ground.
And then he asked Sophia:
“Go down to the spring and bring me some water.”
And with that he gave Sophia a wooden chalice.
“Where have I seen that chalice before?” Sophia asked herself, but took it in silence to the spring as the old man had asked.
At the spring she met a young woman with a jug:
“Help yourself to this water and be sure to have some yourself. Give it to the old man and then let your husband and son have a couple of mouthfuls. He will help you get out of this forest.”
Sophia drank deeply from the spring, filled the chalice to the brim and turning to the woman asked:
“But how do you know the old man?”
However, she had disappeared as unexpectedly as she had appeared. Having drunk a couple of mouthfuls from the cup, the old man passed it to Michael and Alexander. Michael began to grow before their very eyes and had soon turned into a young man and Alexander's strength was restored completely. The old man got up, thanked Sophia, and left her with the chalice as a parting gift.
; “Your son had been crying because his soul was in pain, but now he is well. Whenever you find yourself beset by troubles, drink from the cup and all your woes and sorrows will disappear.”
And with that advice the old man got up and left. Sophia was woken by the singing of the birds to find the very same chalice resting in her hands.
Sophia was overcome with the same surprise that a person feels on finding a treasure trove and set off as fast as her legs could carry her to find Natalie and share her joy with her. But instead of the tree with the large hollow where her sister had been sleeping she found herself in front of the huge tree with the hall. The door opened, the young man appeared and invited Sophia in for a cup of tea or coffee:
“We grow it all ourselves.”
The coffee was most unusual, with a strong stringent smell yet soft and tender to the taste and restorative to the body. Having drained her cup Sophia felt that she had poured herself full of strength. She began to patiently wait for Natalie, but still Natalie did not come.
“She is having a long and deep sleep, why not sit down here at the computer,” the young man suggested.
Meanwhile, Natalie had crawled into the hollow and immediately fallen asleep; the curative scent of the grass, moss and leaves littering the floor all took their effect.