Cast Two Stones
A Story of the Angels of the Rainbow Bridge Phineus and Persphone played amongst the multitude of animals in the vast meadow of the Rainbow Bridge. Kittens fought over bundles of discarded Angel feathers while puppies chased balls of tightly bound meadow grass. As the two Seraphim played and laughed with the all the creatures, they were asked many times by the creatures would now roamed amongst the vast meadow; Why were they there?
Neither Phineus nor Persphone could answer why each creature had found its way to the Rainbow Bridge. The only answer they could give was that because they were loved and the humans that loved them had asked for them to wait until they could be together once again. The creatures accepted this for a time, but as the years grew and the residents began to notice that some animals seemed to remain longer at the Rainbow Bridge than others. Several of the long-term residents asked the Angels, that came to visit and play, why they remained at the bridge longer than others.
"This is what I know,dear friends." Phineus explanied to the throng of puppies, kittens,foals,cats, dogs, horses and an immense swirl of feathered friends. "By love, you are brought here. For love, you wait on this vast meadow. With love, you will cross into Heaven with your beloved friend."
"Do they not know how lonely we are without them?" An ancient ginger cat named Norton asked.
"Do you know how lonely they are without you?" Persephone asked the ginger cat. "Do you know how many times they have looked to their doorway, hoping you will magically appear? Do you know how keenly they listen to every rustle or movement of air, hoping to hear a hint of your passing?"
"I did not know." replied a German Shepherd named Sarge. "We forget that they lost us just as we lost them."
"Beloved friend." Phineus wrapped his arms about Sarge's great neck."It is the blessing of this connection that made the meadow of the Rainbow Bridge possible."
"Be at peace, beloved friends." Persephone said. "Your human friends are always with you. Although you may not hear their prayers for you, we do, and we are truly humbled by the strength of their love."
As the throng of animals slowly dispersed and were distracted by the many wonders of the Rainbow Bridge, Phineus and Persphone were troubled by the doubts that the animals had shared. As Angels, they shared none of these troubling emotions. They knew of two Angels who had shared these human-like feelings, Malachi and Dulcinea; and the results had been heartbreaking for the Angelic host. Phineus and Persephone noticed that two cats had remained behind.
"Oreo" Phineus bowed his head to a older black and white cat that had the the outline of a heart on his forelegs when he sat just right.
"Ubee." Phineus smiled to a fluffy tabby kitten who sat next to Oreo.
"What can we do for you two?" Persephone asked.
"We was loved." Ubee stated as he looked at Oreo and then to the two seraphim.
"What Ubee is trying to say is that we were loved." Oreo reaffirmed.
"We know that beloved ones, that is why you are here." Persephone smiled.
"No, that's not it." Oreo said. "Our humans do not need to be told how much we loved them. At least, I hope not. I would think that a headbutt every night for eleven years would have been a bit of a clue."
"We help tell the next human how much they be loved." Ubee said.
"How will you do that?" Persphone asked.
"We don't know. " Ubee replied. "We finked you help us find out."
"Ubee." Persephone picked up the little tabby kitten. "I don't know but I have a friend who might know how to help."
"Oreo." Phineus held out his arms. "Do you want to help us?"
"Of Course." Oreo replied and he jumped up into Phineus's arms.
The two Seraphim flew far from the Rainbow Bridge with the two cats held tightly in their arms. Phineus with Oreo clutched tightly to his chest had a much easier time than Persephone who struggled with a very squirmy and excited little kitten.
They followed the great swirling creek that flowed under the Rainbow Bridge to its source; the long lost cherubim, Malachi.
The Seraphim landed and placed their companions at the base of the small outcropping of stone where Malachi now sat. Phineus and Persephone froze in their tracks as they beheld the sight of one of their own; trapped in the misery that only humans can create.
Malachi sat on his stone seat and forever wept the tears that human indifference towards God's creatures had caused.
"Malachi." Phineus tentatively approached his long lost brother. "We need your guidance."
Malachi remained motionless and unresponsive on his stone perch.
The four companions stood and stared at the still weeping form of Malachi. The answers that they hoped to find did not seem to be forthcoming. Ubee looked at the his three companions and then at Malachi's still form.
Ubee trotted over to the the stone ledge where Malachi sat. He tried to scale the stone to get to Malachi's side but his tiny little kitten arms could not find any purchase or foothold in the cold hard stone. As Ubee strained to climb up, two stones dislodged from Malachi's prominence and fell to the heavenly firmament at Phineus and Persephone's feet.
"This is what you seek." Malachi suddenly spoke.
Phineus and Persephone each picked up one of the stones.
"Give each new creature at the Rainbow Bridge a piece of stone, and have them cast one into each of the two pools." Malachi said slowly and sadly. "Phineus, my beloved brother. Since you brought Oreo, who bears a lifetime of love and happiness, your stones will be cast into the Pool of Memory. Each creature will now forever add their own strength of memory to its power. Persephone, my beloved sister. Your young charge, Ubee, was taken young, but was loved very fiercely for his tender short life. Your stones shall be cast into the Pool of Loss, where they shall remind all that time is but a fleeting moment to those whose heart is open to God's miracles."
Phineus and Persephone bowed to their brother Malachi, and then picked up Oreo and Ubee and flew them back to the Rainbow Bridge. They did not stop at the Bridge but proceeded well past it until they reached the end of the creek that flowed beneath the Rainbow Bridge. There they found the Pool of Memory and of Loss and the heavenly creature that guided any human who came to partake.
"Malachi sent us." Persephone approached the heavenly being and the two pools of water.
"This is I know to be honest and true of purpose." The creature responded, and then motioned to Persephone. "Give your stone to the little one. He must cast it into the pool."
Persephone handed Ubee her stone. He pushed it to the edge of the pool as best his little paws could muster. The stone tumbled over the edge and fractured the pristine glass-like surface of the pool.Although Ubee's life on Earth had been short and sorrowful, it had been full of love; the kind of love that can bear any amount of loss. The creature tensed as the stone broke the surface of the water. Persephone looked at her hand and saw that her stone was once again held within her palm.
"Give your stone to the one marked by love." The creature asked Phineus. "He must cast it into the pool."
Phineus gave his stone to Oreo who carefully let it slide into the pristine water. Oreo's life had not been short nor had it been excessively long but it had been full of many loving memories nonetheless. The creature smiled at both of the cats.
"Thank you for your gift to humans who might come this way." the creature glowed. "These pools were formed by sacrifice and desolation, but now with your gift they shall be refreshed with love and hope."
The creature looked at Phineus and Persephone.
"Go release your brother from his exile." the creature said. "His love for these creatures has given them the power to help humans without his own suffering. The three of you will now be given the True Purpose of providing two stones to each creature who enters the meadow of the Rainbow Bridge. They will bring their stones here and cast them into the pools. In doing so they will share their own sense of memory and loss with any human who chooses to enter into God's covenant. The pain of loss and the joy of memory the humans feel when they come here in their dreams will be that of every creature who has ever been blessed by them. The humans are no longer the burden of a single heart-broken cherabim. These feelings are now the collective love and sorrow of every creature who calls the Rainbow Bridge their temporary home."
"Did we help? Ubee asked Persephone who wept into his fur.
"Yes, Ubee" Phineus smiled as he placed a kiss on Oreo's forehead . "You and Oreo both helped. More than you may ever realize."
