It was in the wee hours of the morning when heavy rainfall started to fall. I was still so sleepy, and the rain was making me feel even more comfortable staying in bed. I was too lazy to even move my body. The rain falling heavily on the ground and houses’ roofs had always been my favorite sound. My room became colder, and I tucked myself in between my sheets and blanket.

Theo. It was a woman’s whisper. I knew who it was.

Leyla, can’t talk. Too sleepy. I mentally replied to her.

Let’s go on an adventure. She suggested. It was almost as of her lips were pressed lightly on my ear.

Now? I scratched my forehead. You go on ahead. I’ll catch up later.

Next thing I knew, I found myself in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. I was struggling to breath and go up the surface. The sudden cold and drop in temperature pierced my skin like a thousand needles. It was more than enough to wake me up. In an instant, I was racing through space and the stars. I was like a raging comet; the heat and speed made me forget about the cold.

Good morning, Theo. I sensed her smile in that greeting.

This is not the best way to wake someone up, Leyla! I shouted at her in my head.

Are you yelling at me? She asked firmly.

No, I’m whispering sweet candid thoughts to you. I fired back at her. I was still rocketing in space.

I heard Leyla’s laugh reverberated in my head. Okay, halt. And I was promptly stopped at my tracks. I found myself standing at the peaks looking over at the worlds within worlds within worlds. A thank you would be appropriate, Theo.

It was mesmerizing. It looked like cogs and wheels rotating and affecting each other but separate from one another. I was also seeing soul sparks. They were twinkling like stars in a distance. Some seemed like fireworks at their moment of awakening. The others emitted tremendous light. Some were subtle.

Leyla noticed I was looking at some of those receding lights. Those are the ones in the verge of waking up or going back to eternal sleep. She explained to me.

I didn’t know you have access here.

I’m your handler for now. Erik’s on a vacation.

“Great, this can actually bring us closer.” I jokingly told her.

She cleared her throat and told me. Focus on the worlds within worlds, Theo. What do you see?

A multitude of colors of sparks. I looked closer and this time more intently. There was one spark that was on hyper speed. That single spark was composed of different colors. It was a multitude of hues and pigments sparkling here and there. It was going all over the place, from one world to the next in a fraction of a second.

Do you think you can keep up with him?

Of course, Leyla, he’s only travelling at the speed of light.

I roused myself awoke, panting and sweating. That was some out of body trip, Leyla. I heard her laughter in my head.

Check your bedside table. She ordered.

I did and I saw the glass ball that once trapped Oshagu Watara. It reminded me of the conversation I had with Leyla. She was the one who created this glass ball technology encapsulating the soul personality within. “What do you want me to do with it?”

Trap him. He, himself is the package, Theo.

What? I could not believe it. This surely was not part of my job description.

He is wanted by the Immigration Agency. They needed help catching him.

Why can’t they do it themselves? I inquired. Or have someone from the High Council help them.

They don’t want the High Council to know that one soul got passed them without their knowledge.

Yeah, I’m sure they have no idea. I told her sarcastically and chuckled.

Very funny, Theo. His name’s Marius Rapida. I know, it’d be easy for you to feel his frequency.

I took the glass ball from my bedside table and immediately started to search for him. My heart was kind of aching hearing the pouring rain outside. I would rather go back to sleep than chase Mr. Rapida. I proceeded to close my eyes.

Theo. Leyla spoke softly. I smiled as it brought back some familiar emotions. It would be best not to be in your physical modality.

Probably a good advice.

You better think of a great attire on how you’ll appear during your OBE’s. You can’t just be flying around in your boxer shorts. You’re a messenger for God’s sake, Theo!

Alright, alright. I look fine with my Postman outfit, khaki shorts and blue shirt. I know you still find me attractive. I taunted her.

Feeling Marius Rapida’s energetic signature was the easiest thing to do. It was unique and quite distinct; you can tell on the spot this was his first time to enter our time and space dimension. He was everywhere, before I could even take a breath, he was on another world. Mr. Rapida did justice to his own name. I centered all my attention towards him. I was getting excited, but I don’t want to be chasing him all day.

Got’cha! I sensed him behind the ravaging waterfall. I appeared next to him. He beamed at me. He was glowing and sparkling at the same time. He was one with the intensity of the falling water.

“Hey Messenger! Woohoo!”, he shouted breathlessly as he fell down crashing against rocks and the water as he became one again with the raging river.

“Mr. Rapida!”, I called out to him, but he was already gone. I jumped on the water and allowed my consciousness to flow with the river.

“Bye, Theo.”, Mr. Rapida waved at me. He was now one with the strong Southwest Monsoon. “Oh, this is the most enjoyable journey I have ever been!”

It amazed me how he can shape shift that fast. He could just easily assume the molecules of the water and wind and be one with it for a quick period. I erected myself out of the water and blended with the strong gusts of wind. Before I could even merge with the wind, he was already gone and onto the next feasible existence.

Theo, you have to do better than that. It was Leyla.

Mr. Rapida blended with a tree in one world. Next thing I knew, he was a rock in the next. He kept going form one world to the next. He was having the time of his life. He was so unbounded and unrestrained. Freedom was screaming through his entire existence. He simply felt limitless and filled with the curiosity of a child.

“Theo, keep up. I am loving your universe!”, he exclaimed happily. “I am tremendously in gratitude for this experience.”

I raced with him, going through object to object. He felt the delicateness of the flower, the difference in the bending of tall grasses and bamboos. He loved being with the streams, rivers, and exiting towards the ocean from one parallel world to the next. He danced with the mountains, the lions, and their cabs. He whistled and went down with the sunset. He was experiencing it all in a matter of seconds. He felt the heaviness of a dirty murky water of a swamp and the freshness, purity and crispness of a clean stream. He became one with the moon and the sun, the darkness, dawn, and then light. He was becoming even more magnificent and vibrant in his every expedition.

Vera would love the sight of him. I thought to myself.

Damn right, Theo. It was Vera. Need help?

Nah, I can handle this. I told her.

Are you sure? I think you are fascinated by Mr. Rapida’s cataloguing. Stated Vera in a sleepy voice.

Cataloguing? Is he-?

Vera cut me off with a bit of irritation in her tone. Clearly, Theo, he’s trying out one existence to the next before deciding which one he’ll be in his sojourn here.

Window shopping. I told her while scratching my forehead.

Great, Theo, take your time, by all means. It was Leyla. She was even more annoyed, I almost laughed.

What’s your hurry, Leyla? Yes, I was pushing her.

Vera sighed. She was disappointed at how I was behaving; she was having none of it. You better hurry, before he decides to occupy someone’s body and make changes in that soul personality’s consciousness.

He’s not a walk in. Is he allowed to do that? I asked.

Vera was keen on following him. Mr. Rapida never left her sight. He is now in an open field, Theo, with a couple of people loving their nature trip. Are you seeing this?

Yes, I am already here on the field.

Mr. Rapida joined his consciousness with the humble bumble bee. He knew instantly how much the bee fluttered seeing a flower, drinking its nectar, and be covered by its pollen.

“This feels more like love.”, Mr. Rapida said with sincerity in his voice. We were on a field of grass with families having their picnics. Mr. Rapida saw a mother and with her infant. The mother was cradling her baby in her arms. It was a no brainer for Mr. Rapida. He got fascinated the way they were looking at each other. The connection between mother and child was too strong to be ignored.

In an instant, Mr. Rapida entered the baby’s consciousness. He stayed at the background and never took over. He was observing the mother and child’s bond in the perspective of the baby. He was even more astounded. The tiny tot felt immense love and security in her mother’s arms. This tiny baby contained a lot of confidence and assurance in him that his every whim will be provided to him. Mr. Rapida was even more stunned at what he had discovered. The mother proceeded to kiss her baby’s forehead, cheeks, and nose. Mr. Rapida exploded like a firework. It was as if he was having a beautiful awakening through the infant’s point of view.

Wow. Vera could not help herself. She saw how Mr. Rapida responded to the mother’s love. He’s not going to remain unseen, Theo. He is shining remarkably bright. Trust me on this one.

Are you even trying, Theo? It was Leyla.

He’s always one step ahead of me, Leyla.

Mr. Rapida left the baby’s garment. A teenager having a smoke next to a tree caught his eye. Curiosity once again drew him closer to the teenager. He was at first captivated by the cigarette smoke.

Mr. Rapida united with the teenager, but again maintained himself in the background. He was easily overwhelmed with the number of negative thoughts that plagued the teen’s mind. The teen’s internal conversations were mostly consisted of anger, self-hatred, and self-depreciation. It was one negative thought after the other. It seemed to have no ending at all. The cigarette was not even helping in alleviating some of her burden. But there was pleasure and delight each time she breathed in the smoke and released it.

Mr. Rapida observed the teenager’s thoughts, memories, and conversations she kept replaying in her mind over and over again. He could not believe it. Most of the internal conflicts were made up conversations in her head. He did his best not to interfere. He knew it was forbidden. You are always loved. Mr. Rapida repeated that phrase in the teenager’s head. He was then able to resurrect a memory from the teenager. It was a time when her mother was still alive. The teenager was still a young girl. They were both in the kitchen making pancakes. Their laughter filled the kitchen. The young girl was chuckling so hard her tummy ached.

“I love you, my daughter.” His mother whispered in her ear. “I always love you.”  

This was when Mr. Rapida exited the teenager’s physical garment. “Messenger, I have made my decision.”, he called out to me.

See, we don’t really need to capture, Mr. Rapida. I said to Leyla.

“And what is that?”, I asked Mr. Rapida.

“For my sojourn here, I’ll be the wind first. There is nothing I would love to do than help people relieve some of their misery.”

“By being the wind?”, I mirrored him.

“Yes, dear boy. Nature has a healing effect on people. I can do that.”, he told me with a wide smile on his face. “Or, I can also whisper to them that they are always loved.”

“That’s great, Mr. Rapida, but a little creepy.” I said to him. “Are you ready?” I took out the glass ball and showed it to him.

“Is that necessary?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Your spark is immensely bright. We don’t want to catch anyone’s attention because this is kind of a bit illegal and not yet given a go signal by the Immigration Agency. You are not from our universe, and you are from another source.”, I explained to him.

“Eons ago, Theo, we all came from one egg which fragmented to many parts of itself. By the way, who needs Immigration Agency when you are playing by the rules of synchronicity?”, he added.

“Please.”, I humbly asked him.

“Alright then.” He shapeshifted one more time and entered the glass ball.