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With both hands she held the cup. The fact it was jewel encrusted meant nothing to her. Outside raged one of the worse lightening storms anyone in memory had ever witnessed. She stood in the darkness as the rain fell in sheets and the lighening cracked like a whip across the sky. The rain fell into the chalice and spilled over continueously. From the cup she took a deep drink, not realizing she already had company standing next to her.

Micheal sighed deeply, unlike her, he had the good sense to wear a large hooded cape, rainproof, but that hardly stopped the winds from sending a spray across his face. He watched her peer into the cup. Finally, he spoke above the rain, "What do you see, m'lady?"

"Oh! I see the stars and the moon and worlds upon worlds across the river of time", her voice filled with joy and awe.

He nodded with a smile, "You see the heavens, m'lady."

She continued most excited, "I see the connectedness of all things...the net, the web, the pattern....that which binds us all."

Again he nodded, "But this you already knew. What else do you see?"

The lightening flashed and the thunder boomed, but her voice was steady, "I see the universe open, fold back, give way. I see beyond it." Her hands tremble as the rain continues to fall upon her, soaking to her very bones and giving her a chill. "I see destiny, I see the remaking of all things, a new creation, more wonderous and complex, beyond anything I can give words to describe."

Michael's voice was grave as he spoke, "Aye, so it is to be, but we must move beyond here if that is ever to come about and we must learn how it is to be done. But, m'lady", he began and then paused waiting for his words to seize her attention most fully.

Slowly she looked away from the bowl of stars and looked at Michael, "What is it?" She hardly noticed the rain stinging her eyes.

Michael reached his hands to hers and warmly covered them. "You must put the chalice back. It belongs to the Jalawiss, the guardians of the cup." Quickly she shook her head, but he just held her hands all the more firmly. "Because others must make this journey. You can not possess what is unpossessable. You have found what is meant for you, everyone finds something different. It must be returned to the Jalawiss."

She frowned slightly, "I do not wish to possess it. I simply wish to continue to see. I fear....", her voice faltered.

He smiled and finished the sentence for her. "You fear making mistakes." Michael touched her eyes and then her heart, "You see with these, there is no need for a cup of rainwater filled with stars." And with that he dislodged the chalice from her hands.

Without a word, he took her hand in his and began the long journey back to the Jalawiss.