Elara, with her fiery red hair and a gaze that mirrored the emerald depths of her absinthe, stared into the swirling green liquid. Tonight, she wasn't seeking oblivion but inspiration. She was a writer perpetually dancing on the edge of reality, weaving fantastical tales. Her latest project, a science fiction novel, had stalled. The characters felt adrift and lacked a compelling spark.
As the last rays of the setting sun bled crimson through her window, Elara downed the absinthe in one smooth swallow. A familiar warmth bloomed in her chest, followed by a pleasant tingling sensation. She lit a candle in the window and sighed with a hopeless sound as she thought about her writing.
She felt like giving up but decided a break would do. She walked her nightly path by the lake. It was summertime, and she felt sticky from the sweltering heat, stuck inside without air conditioning. And so Elara shed her clothes and plunged into the water's cool embrace in her undergarments without a second thought. It felt strangely buoyant as if she were being held with gentle hands. The water began to swirl around her gently. She giggled playfully, enjoying this natural current that tickled her feet.
Suddenly, her laughter turned into panic as the swirling water became a defined vortex that materialized beneath her, swallowing her whole within seconds. She moved through an ever-changing spiral of color and light that looked like DNA. The world dissolved into a cacophony of sound, light, and beautiful colors.
When Elara's senses steadied, she found herself lying on her back in a golden wheat field. She stared upwards at a breathtaking panorama. Crystal spirals, intricately carved and shimmering with an ethereal glow, pierced a sky awash with vibrant hues she'd never witnessed before. People, with skin like polished amber and eyes that shined like sapphires, moved gracefully between the crystalline structures.
One of them, older with a face etched with wisdom, approached Elara. "Elara, why are you all wet? Were you swimming in the collective again?" he said with a chuckle. "Your clients are waiting for you; it's time to go."Elara, speechless with wonder, could only nod.
As they walked, the man talked about some townspeople and happened to mention where they were. Elara listened and began to understand they were in a civilization he called Lumina. He spoke about how they thrived on a deep connection to the cosmos as a society. "You're so quiet this morning, Star Weaver. I must be talking your ear off, and you'd like to prepare for today's work. I'll be quiet so you can connect."
They called her their "Star Weaver," a revered spiritual coach tasked with guiding them through an impending shift in their connection to universal energy. Lumina was beginning to shift into a new dimension, and Elara was tasked with helping the luminaries weave their power into higher-vibrational stars.
As Elara walked in silence, she began to hear whispers that guided her. The more that she relaxed, the more audible they became. The stars spoke to her and explained what would be done with each client. Even though Elara was utterly shocked and confused, something about her telepathic communication with the stars felt familiar. She didn't know how this was possible, but it felt natural. "Do you call me Star Weaver because I talk to the stars?" she asked sincerely to the man she walked with. He laughed again before responding. " I know you need time to talk to the stars, Elara, I'll be quiet, I promise."
Elara was usually a woman who scoffed at the mention of even horoscopes. Still, she found herself inexplicably curious about this role. Days turned into weeks as she immersed herself in their way of life. They taught her about channeling the energy that flowed through the crystals, interpreting celestial patterns, and guiding their minds into profound inner peace.
Unlike in her world, where spiritual coaching might be a nascent field, it was an essential part of their society here in Lumina. Weeks turned into months, and months turned into what felt like years. Elara honed her coaching skills, drawing from her intuition and the enigmatic wisdom of the stars, who constantly downloaded libraries of knowledge and wisdom into her consciousness.
One night, she lay by the fire, listening to the crackling of the ambers after a long day of helping people throughout the city of Lumina. Her advisor, Ditri, who had been with her since arriving in the wheat field, brought her a large glass of hot honeyed tea with floating herbs that happened to be alive and looked to Elara like antennas or vines that clung to the sides of her glass. She sat reflecting, confused about her old life as a writer. Somehow, this life seemed more real. She sat reflecting on how, as a writer, she thought the terms spiritual coach, life coach, or even spiritual life coach were silly. She didn't take them seriously, And somehow, she was doing the most meaningful work of her life.
One crisp Lumian morning, Elara received a telepathic call from Anya, an elder with a gentle demeanor and eyes that held the wisdom of Venus. Anya informed Elara about Kai, a young Lumian struggling to connect with the celestial flow. His crystal house, usually a vibrant amethyst, had dimmed, reflecting the disharmony within himself. Elara wasn't just a spiritual coach; she was a bridge between the individual and the cosmos. Arriving at Kai's crystal dwelling, she could sense the disharmony emanating from the dimmed luminescence. She placed her hand on the door and closed her eyes, focusing on the energy flow within. A vivid memory tucked away in the corners of her mind surfaced. Images of a woman named Syra, whom she had seen last week and was lost and yearning for direction, overlapped with Kai's struggle. Sometimes, the stars spoke to her this way and flashed images, symbols, and metaphors before her mind.
Elara guided Kai through a series of meditative movements, her voice a soothing melody that resonated with the hum of the cosmos. She spoke of cosmic energy not as a force to control but as a symphony to harmonize. Together, they located a series of beliefs that Kai had taken on that was causing him to live outside of the harmony of spiritual law. Only when Kai could witness this within himself did his light begin to create a synergy between himself and his crystal home again. Only from this place was he in a state of nonresistance.
Slowly, the disharmony in Kai's crystal home dissipated and was replaced by a soft, pulsing rhythm. The once-dim crystal house glowed with renewed vibrancy, mirroring the newfound clarity in Kai's eyes.
Elara's reputation as a channel and a spiritual coach spread quickly. Luminians from all corners, each with their own imbalances in their connection to the celestial flow, sought her guidance. She visited each crystal house, her touch a conduit for cosmic energy, her words a balm for troubled minds. As she guided others, Elara herself felt a transformation. When she helped someone get into alignment, it simultaneously forced an aspect of herself into greater alignment. This taught Elara about the interconnectedness or oneness of all living beings.
This new and mysterious life wasn't just a source of inspiration for her writing anymore; it was a living testament to the knowingness that had blossomed within her. She knew she was a channel for the stars and that Lumina was evolving successfully.
One evening, as Elara stood gazing at the breathtaking spectacle of Lumina bathed in the ethereal glow of twin suns, Solari and Lunari, a familiar warmth bloomed within her.
But it wasn't the absinthe or the celestial light show this time. It was a more profound sensation, a tugging at the edges of her consciousness. Subtle at first, it began to grow. The vibrant colors of Lumina seemed to lose their sharpness, and the once-melodic hum of the cosmos turned into a faint, discordant note that began to dwindle. The coherent and clear downloads, images, and whispers from the stars started to sound like wind blowing through the trees, inaudible and indistinct.
Elara closed her eyes, searching for the familiar comfort of Lumina's energy flow. But it felt distant, like a radio signal fading into static. She had learned so much in her time; she knew that if she clung to her reality, she would be in resistance and out of harmony with spiritual law, so she surrendered and let go. " I let go and let God" were her last words to the stars.
At once, she catapulted through a DNA spiral of light, color, and sound that shot her into the same lake she had walked to years ago for that night swim that transported her to Lumina. Elara tried to swim but was struggling and choked on the water, accidentally inhaling it. She managed to get herself to the corner of the lake's edge. Pulling herself up and out, she noticed that she had returned in the exact undergarments with which she had initially taken a dip.
Walking home with tears streaming down her face, Elara grieved her homecoming.
As she walked through her front door with wet feet and dripping hair and legs, she noticed her absinth drink still had a damp rim; the candle in the window she had accidentally left on was still burning. The neighbor's cat pushed through her door behind her and purred at her feat. Wet, cold, and with a heavy heart, she wrapped herself in a towel by the fire and returned to writing her story.