Dilemma of Dreams - 9A

An adult speculative Christian post-Armageddon fiction
Dilemma of Dreams
Chapter Nine: Part One
Growing Up with Peralte

I had already noted how Peralte did not sleep. Assadra got tired of lying about in the pool, but I completely enjoyed it. Not having anyone to tell me to get out I also considered a fabulous luxury. While I had requested two bottles of wine to be brought to me, the one that I opened continued to stay full. Not having any reason to leave, I stayed in the water committed to being there all night.

There was a hope that Peralte would arrive to spend time with me. I guess that Dimerkess kept him occupied, as I stayed alone. As the hours passed, I found myself becoming tired. The water was relaxing, and I guess that I fell asleep. The noise of someone coming into the water disturbed me only slightly, although the sound of Peralte speaking caused me to open my eyes.

“Come on, little one. I will bring you to bed.”

“Why? Can’t I sleep here tonight?”

“If you want.”

I heard him moving off, but thought of something that had me blurt out, “No, I will go to bed with you. God told me to stay with you.”

“Maybe He did, but that does not mean that He intended for you to sleep with me.”

“You don’t sleep.”

“Touche’, but that also means that there is nothing improper with you sleeping here.”

I however did consider that the same words could condemn him. “Will you stay with me?” When he only looked to me as if deciding whether he would, I tried to apply more pressure. “Assadra said that you do not talk about your original life.”

“I don’t. When you hear me speak of it, I am usually bragging, and it really was not a life to brag about.” Before I could say anything more, he asked, “Are you hungry?”

I was. Thinking about the list of things that I wanted from the table, I decided to go ahead and get out of the water. Peralte told me that he would bring me a large plate, but I told him that I after I ate some more that I would probably just go on to sleep. He agreed, helped me into my robe and slippers, then escorted me up the steps.

The food still tasted wonderful. It really did not need to have that much flavor. Simply being able to have so much delighted me. Understanding that the sub-basement would be there as well, I considered my present location quite marvelous. As Peralte escorted me up the steps to our room, I told him that I would take the time to tell God how much I enjoyed this place.

“That is good, Vetacha, and you should. However, His command to stay with me needs to be honored. There will be other banquets and pools.”

“There better be, as this is supposed to be Heaven.”

“No, Vetacha, this is not Heaven, and it is not supposed to be Heaven. This is a world that I had a hand in creating, so it is far from Heaven. I however did consult with the Grand Architect, so there are numerous little ‘additions’ for those of us who have the honor of Heaven. Hopefully, this will not be the only stop along the way that you find so enchanting.”

Undressing me took no more work than having me remove my robe. The plate of food and the continually refilling bottle of wine were set on a table by the bed. I sensed that he would go back to doing what he preferred, but I thought to ask one more question.

“Will you help me design my next reality.”

“That is what I am doing, Vetacha. I am preparing you for being able to gain the life you desire. It will take work on your part. I however heard you speak positively of your three years as a very young girl, as it made you ready for your years as a nine-year-old. You then spoke positively about going through the normal aging process to become a woman. Hopefully, you will have the same understanding about what requirements I am going to place upon you.”

I could tell that he was about to go, but I had to say, “One day I will have you in the bed with me.”

“I believe that you are going to become one very lovely lady, Vetacha. I would be honored to have you desire me at that time.”

“I am not really a little girl, you know.”

“Sorry, but you are. Yes, we have a lot of abilities to turn things to our advantage. You however have something that I do not believe that I will ever gain. You have the mind of a girl. God says that he wants us to come to him as children, but I cannot say that I did a good job there.”

Peralte was again in a chair doing something in one of his books when I woke. From the way he held the tome, and the manner of him using the pen, I could not tell if he was drawing or writing. I moved from the bed, then went to kneel beside his legs while asking him what the plans were for the day.

“Enjoy the food and the water, Vetacha. This is my reality, so I am going to spend some time checking on things.”

“I need to learn how to do that, so can I go with you?”

“Yes, it would do you well to learn, so, yes, you may go with me. A set of clothes has been laid out for you.” As I turned to look at which dress I would be wearing, Peralte said something more. “I have set up for you to have your hair styled this afternoon. The lady was mentioning curls, but you might want some other style.”

Thinking back to what some of the girls did with their hair, I replied, “I might just want some combs and such to help manage my hair. Assadra has those large ears to keep her locks from falling into her face.”

“If you look in one of the pockets of your skirt, there is a small purse. If there is not enough money the first time you open up the purse, take what you find, close it, pretend that you opening up another section, and you should then find more. Repeat if necessary.”

I rushed to my clothes to look for the purse. I took out a thick fold of paper money along with a number of coins. I closed it only to open it back up and find another thick fold with more coins. After doing it again, I felt myself quite wealthy. With a very pleased tone I spoke to Peralte.

“You know, this life really is worth all the work I did.”

“Yes, I must agree that I am glad that I choose to put my faith in God.”

“If only we had known, had some proof.”

“Vetacha.” The man’s voice had a very stern tone, so my head darted to look him in the eyes. “What did you just say?”

“About wishing we had proof?”

“No, before that.”

“That this life is worth all the work?”

“Yes. You did all that you did on faith. I have to say that I felt some sense of the divine, but I took many risks and suffered numerous reprimands for most of my deeds. My only virtue was that I always talked to God about what I did. I felt that he spoke back to me, but, as you said, I had no proof. It could have been Satan talking to me, and many claimed that it was. It was not however, although I walked into Heaven a scared man. I still work, but I have direct contact with the divine, and I speak to them regularly. I now know what I am doing is the right thing, although I still get reprimanded.”

I moved to again kneel beside the legs of Peralte. I had been referring to him as my elder, and I found myself believing that he truly was. Maybe not in years, but in strength of his relationship to the divine. I really seldom spoke to my Father. Those twenty-six years that I instead spoke words to Tersepsus, someone I knew to be no better than myself, I should have been speaking to another. Peralte however knew who to take his burdens unto, so I sensed that all that he did was accomplished without him becoming weary. I thus sat beside Peralte hoping that he would tell me more.

“What do you know about looking for gold?”

The question shocked me. As my eyes looked to the man, I however felt that I should be able to supply some answer. I however found myself not having anything substantial to say.

“The stories I read were not that informative. I have even been told that most of the facts the books did state were more imagination than truth.”

“Well, don’t be surprised if I ask you some questions, as I will probably feel that you might have some tidbit of knowledge while I have none.”

I spent some time discussing with Peralte exactly what we would be doing. He showed me drawings of his designs for this reality, then further artwork of how he wanted to add an expansive forest. I laughed as he had to explain most of the pictures, because he really was not a good artist. He drew with a number of short jagged strokes that did a poor job of making his vision clear. I however had to admit that I had not even put out that much effort in designing my town. He spoke of the nuns in the convent mentioning my love for writing, but I simply mentioned that the only work of nine-year-olds in the convent was to take classes. Only those who misbehaved in class had to actually do chores, so I made certain to do my work properly. After twenty plus years of taking the same classes, I could put some flair into my assignments, but I really was not into writing. Peralte listened to my confession, then returned the conversation to our assignment for the day.

“Well, I know what I have done to create this land that we are traveling through. I thus should be able to tell if something is missing. However, I am not into geology either, so there is a fear that I might not be noticing something being removed from the composition of my mountains. Any comments that you feel a desire to make, please do so.”

After promising him that I would, I stood to put on my clothes. I had now become used to the fancy dresses and accessories, although there were steps where I felt the need to ask someone for help. Having Peralte assist me in putting on my clothes this morning however caused me to think about my situation.

I did not feel any surprise finding myself as a young girl being taken by an elder nun and introduced to my new life. At that time I had the memories of my conversation with Tersepsus. I remember being disgusted with the list of chores that I would be required to perform, but accepted the duties again having the knowledge of my agreement. Only as the days turned into weeks, then months, did I lose myself in the repetition of events. The work was not overly taxing however, and I found pleasure in having others that worked with me. I became Vetacha as I found the toil of her life a set of social activities, and wanting to be one with my peers I put away those thoughts that made me different.

Peralte had been correct in taking me from the convent upon the resurfacing of my memories. While I was now Vetacha, the girl of my present persona would have had trouble continuing to socialize with those who could not make sense of certain concepts, even when placed in the form of mystic visions. I needed someone with a different mentality to associate with. Peralte made me comfortable in my present persona while also showing me the wisdom of becoming complete with the memories of my previous life.

The vision of myself in a mirror no longer surprised me. I saw the image of the lovely girl accepting it as who I was. Looking to Peralte I did not think of him as my owner who could do as me as he would, but as a more experienced partner that could teach me things I had yet to learn. I began to wonder how I would look when I grew up, and hoping that Peralte would be the one surprised.