We climbed that wide marble staircase and entered the reading room, which impressed me with its coziness and comfort. There were massive gold-encrusted tables, placed along the walls with large windows. Each table was surrounded by four armchairs, each of which was just a masterpiece. Combination of cherry seat covers and golden incrustation left an indelible impression. Such armchairs would be fine for greatest kings. As it seemed to me, each table was fitted with an electric table lamp with emerald-colored lamp shade. Each lamp represented a little golden sculpture of some figure. There were sculptures of a fairy, a wistful knight riding his horse, and different fairy-tale characters. The atmosphere in the hall was semi-dark, so the lamps were lighting here and there on tables, occupied by rare visitors, and this created a romantic climate.
Yaroslav motioned me and Anna to have a seat, but instead of sitting down himself, he left the room. Since I had nothing else to do, I entertained myself looking at the visitors of the library. There was a young blonde woman in stylish glasses at the next table. She was thumbing through an old-fashioned tome. To my judgment, she must have been from Netherlands.
“No, I am not from Netherlands. I am from Sweden, and my name is Ingrid. What is your name?” She reacted to my silent thought.
“My name is Alexander, and I am from Russia.” I still did not pronounce a single word.
Ingrid made a jaunty wave of her hand and kept reading. I switched my attention to the table lamp. Its golden foot represented the image of a fairy, hiding under her umbrella. Combination of gold and enamel were making the image of that fairy very magnificent. Stars were shining as a diamond placer on her dark blue enameled dress, and her face was glowing with a friendly smile. She was wearing a crown with diamonds on her head.
I asked Anna to explain me how to switch on the table lamp.
“Alex, my friend! This world is subject to the power of thoughts. Nothing can be ruined or changed here against this collective being’s will. However, a human being may add some details from everyday life in this world. You can also use your thinking power to switch on this lamp. Check it out!”
I centered around my mind and silently asked “Lamp, switch on!” In the same time nothing short of an electric lamp flashed under the fairy’s green umbrella. Diamond stars, shining on her dress, were even brighter than before. Green shimmer of magnificent light was illuminating the surface of the table, while Anna and I stayed in the semi-shadow. I was rushed by romantic vibes and exalted desire for knowledge. I wished to explore the world around together with the entire Universe.
“This is not just light,” said Anna. “It is similar to the drink I offered you on our first acquaintance. Light stimulates cognition processes in your spirit and generates correspondent vibrations of the surrounding data field. Your personal 'self' is merging with this field into one common thing, and thus it can travel inside it. However, the data field seems to be divided into zones. You cannot travel through time and observe your past lives without correspondent adjustment of your soul’s vibrational frequency. Light is what will help you with this. You lack experience, but with the passage of time you will learn how to align yourself with ‘educational’ vibration by means of your thinking power.”
Once Anna finished her speech, I saw Yaroslav approaching us and carrying two thin red paper cases in his hands.
“I have brought two paper cases, although I could use my thinking power and stay in the reading room. But Alex, you are the newcomer, so everything must look natural,” said Yaroslav. “One paper case contains the list of your past incarnations, and the other one keeps the future incarnations of some historical figure. You can narrate these events in your book.”
“Thanks for your care, dear Yaroslav. I think Alex is very interested to see these lists!” Anna replied him instead of me.
Yaroslav put both paper cases on the table and then opened one. It contained a table, filled with dates. Paper was thin, and looked like a parchment.
“Alex, my friend! This is the list of your previous incarnations. Read it carefully.” Anna’s voice was warm and heartful. She hugged my shoulders. I anxiously took the paper in hand and began reading.
§ 1875 – 1918 B.C. The man of Czech nationality, who was born in Prague. Served as the troop commander. When returning to his homeland though Siberia within Czechoslovakian corps, he was executed by a firing squad by false denunciation.
§ 1799 – 1873 B.C. The minor French official, who was born in Liege. He had multiple children family, lived his life in poverty, and never became a good provider. He was the author of the saying ‘No man can be poor forever’.
§ 1740 – 1764 B.C. The man of untitled nobility, who was born in Hungary. Being an idealist, he advocated for struggling against Austrian dominance. He was killed in a fight for a woman’s honor.
§ 1664 – 1730 B.C. The woman, who was born in an unpretentious noble family in Birmingham, England. She was a childless old maid. She persistently practiced alchemistry in an effort to find the philosopher’s stone. But alas! She failed.
§ 1511-1590 B.C. The Romanian monk, who lived in a forgotten mountain monastery, located somewhere in the woods of the Carpathians. This place was not disturbed by the Turkish expansion and internecine wars. He lived a long and happy life.
§ The 13th century. The historical figure in the Rus’.
I will make a short digression here. I did not specify the years of living of this person on purpose, because I was deeply shaken by the thing I had seen. I could not bring myself to write more details about that incarnation. Could I ever know that I used to be the historical figure in the Ancient Rus’? No, never. Maybe, one day I will pull myself together and write about this incarnation.
§ 971-1021 B.C. One of the leaders of the Ancient Rus’, who raided the Byzantine Empire. He tried to settle his people in the Danube River’s delta.
§ 710-759 B.C. The Scandinavian warrior, who lived where modern Oslo now stands.
§ 641-680 B.C. The wife of a Scandinavian tribe leader, who lived on the territory of modern Norway at the White Sea shore. Her death was tragic (she fell in the linn).
§ 10 – 68 B.C. The Roman legionary, who lived on the territory of modern Spain. He retired an honorable war veteran.
While reading this list I seemed to experience those events of the past. I felt one common personal 'self', while carnal experience of my individual ‘selves’ seemed to be detached events of a past age. I felt much the same persons, who remember their spent years. I experienced mental piece and anxiety, love and hatred, pain of parting and happiness of meeting. Sceneries, people in strange clothes, ancient cities, and full-scale battles were floating before my eyes. I wasn’t just an observer. I used to take part in those events. The power of life could be seen in all things. I live, I live in centuries! I was experiencing my own triumph.
“Alex, my friend!” Anna’s voice took my mind off my thoughts. “Choose any past incarnation you want to experience again.”
“Anna, I choose this one.” I pointed on the line specifying the historical figure, who had been living in the 13th century.
“Good choice, Alex! Now, let’s go in the hall, where you can concentrate and transfer in the reality you’ve chosen.” said Yaroslav and started for the door, embedded right in the wall. That door was made of mahogany and encrusted with gold plating. We entered a small hall, which was similar to a movie hall. I saw the screen located in front of it. Comfortable armchairs were located in the semi-sphere. We took our seats. Anna was sitting on my left, while Yaroslav was sitting on my right. I was looking at the screen and kept telling myself “I wish I could see you in half an eye, prince!”… Suddenly, everything swam before my eyes. The movie hall has disappeared. Anna and Yaroslav have vanished as well.
