Glitter and Dragons

This episode shares a letter from one of the beacons, Bert, with regards to her perspective on the changes happening to the universe. Bert has been present in the first two broadcasts but now she finally has a chance to share her side of how things began. Why did she choose to ask the council to lift the veil, and what does she think about how things are playing out?

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The Star Jelly Files
Episode Three
Glitter and Dragons

Hello Everyone, and welcome back to The Star Jelly Files. We are on our third broadcast now, and I think it is time that we finally let Bert have her say about what has been going on in her world. Especially since she is one of the oldest among us. Her perspectives on the universe are often tinted in different ways than the others even if she doesn’t see it. Some say she reveals more with her word choices then she notices. I think every word choice she makes is intentional and we underestimate her. You will have to decide for yourself what you want to believe. Hum gave us some perspectives on how he thinks things began, or at least a glimpse into how he sees the world around him. Vi gave us an idea about how another world feels about the idea of opening the universe back up for all to see and travel. As well as a small glimpse into how the beacons operate. Bert’s account of things begins on earth, where she has been living for a very long time. Most of the beacons believe that she retired there. A few of us know that she is stationed there to guard one of our own. I think that is why things started with Earth this time. Bert decided it was time. To make things clear Bert is not the only non-human being on Earth. There are a great many that live there and have for generation. She is just the one who is the center of this particular story. Maybe in some later letters Bert will let us meet some of her other friends that live in the area. But for now, today’s letter is from the beacon named Bert, and will concentrate on how Bert called Hum and set the universe in motion.

Letter from Bert with regards to Clara and how she says things began.

Astra,

Here are the notes you requested. I hope you are doing well, and that these are not too boring. The beginning of things is not always as exciting as storytellers make them out to be. More often than not the beginning is mundane and simple. I do not plan to embellish anything for you. If you think my story needs embellishment, I leave it to you to make those change before you broadcast it.

Before getting started I wanted to answer one of your questions. I would recommend leaving this part out of your broadcast. Unless, again, you see fit to share it. It is information that is known by some on this world who have their eyes and minds open, but most choose to ignore these types of things. Yes, I know who is pulling on the strings, and who has been stalking the veil in hopes of breaking it free early. Your suspicions are correct. It is the Pleiadians with the assistance of a few other worlds they are working on. I know this because they are also the ones who have been encouraging other worlds to throw asteroids and old technology at earth over the past few years in the hopes of getting this world’s attention early. They are also the ones who have visited over the years in the hopes of having open conversations with this world. Sometimes successfully sometimes not. For the most part earth has ignored these sightings, hidden them, or written them off as unimportant. Although I don’t think that attitude will last long now, especially as the stars begin to change. I imagine they are pulling on the strings for the same reason that they are throwing asteroids, they are too excited to wait for earth to wake up. They are trying to catch attention early in the hopes that it will help ease everyone into the idea that there is more out in the universe then they think there is. On some level this probably makes sense. The Pleiadians have always been particularly wise about planet initiations into the universal community. Once the veil lifts entirely there will be great many new things coming this planets way and a soft initiation into that chaos could be beneficial. To be honest though, it may take being tossed right into the deep waters of the universe for humans to truly accept that just because their science cannot detect something does not mean it isn’t there. Either way the Pleiadians do not mean any harm. As you know they are a peaceful community that just wants to be helpful, but I will talk to them about the Beacons plans to set their excitement at ease and see what help they might be able to offer us in other forms.

Now onto the story of the day Hum arrived. I listened to Hum’s broadcast and see that he chose to begin his story at night. That was an interesting choice considering the story actually began that morning. Maybe he doesn’t remember that, or more than likely he thought the important part of the story began at night. Nonetheless I will begin my story the morning before he released the veil.

The morning before we released the anchor and set the veil free, I was taking some time to recenter myself. On earth it is easy for me to lose my connection back to the home world, and my soul needs some grounding time before I can feel like myself again. I don’t usually do that type of soul work while out and about for the day, but I couldn’t focus that morning. So, I was working in the back room of my store meditating as I did mundane tasks and while Opal was running the business out front. I had told her I was reorganizing the stock room. A good enough excuse to satisfy most of the humans I interact with, but as Hum has already told you Opal is much more aware of the sense of other about me. She knows I am not human. So, she knows when I ask for time alone it is probably for something not earth related. Apparently, I had been out of it for a long while during my meditation, because I didn’t realize I was out of sync with the local time stream until I heard Opal knocking on the stock room door. It isn’t always easy for me to stay grounded while I am meditating and doing busy work at the same time. Counting our supply of glitter covered pinecones wasn’t exactly riveting either. I glanced at the clock on my desk. It was almost 10AM earth time. I had lost three hours in the stock room.

When I was young, my mentors had always told me that finding ways to stay grounded in time on other worlds was supposed to get easier as you got older, and as you worked in a wider variety of places. That had never really been the case for me. My internal clock has always stubbornly shifted back to the time stream for my home world. This means that sometimes I get lost without realizing it and end up gaining or losing hours in my day. This hadn’t really been a big problem until I had come to Earth. Time on Earth moves so differently than in other parts of the universe, which for most beacons means that it takes some time to get used to staying grounded here, and some actual effort to make sure you stay in sync. I have only been on earth for seven hundred years or so, not very long in the grand scheme of things, but my ability to sync really should be better. A master beacon shouldn’t suddenly lose track of time.

Another set of knocks caused the door of the stock room to shake. Opal was demanding to know if I was taking a nap and leaving her to deal with the twenty or so grandmothers who had just stormed through the doors of the store. She was laughing as she said it. Her voice was always filled with joy. Even when she was having a bad day. It made it difficult to tell when she was actually upset. Opal would never really be mad at me even if I had been taking a nap. She was more apt to worry about me than to get angry, but it was still a demand for me to come back to my earth life and live in the present.

I jokingly yelled back that I had just woken up and told her I would be right out to help her. She accused me of lying as all human friends sometimes do, and I could hear her walk away from the door. She never opened the door unless I invited her to when she knew I was working my real job. Although she has a large appetite to know about the worlds beyond earth, she also knows I am only allowed to tell her certain things. To Hum’s point I think it is time to consider making Opal an apprentice. In fact, I am not giving you a choice in the matter Astra. I am bringing Opal to the next council meeting so you can all meet her and make a determination. We have been stalling for too many years and may soon lose our chance to train her. Humans are not as long lived as other worlds. I will not allow us to lose our chance.

Anyway, after Opal walked away, I slowly stood up from my seat on the concrete floor and allowed my muscles to protest as I straightened my knees. Zoning out for three hours while sitting on a hard surface was never good for me. It would take days before my muscles would begin to relax and let go of the tension they held. Especially since I didn’t always have muscles. As I stood, I dusted away the piles of red, green, and gold glitter that had attached themselves to my pants as if I had glued them on. In the soft light of the stock room the glitter shimmered on my hands and shoes. Piles of glitter always make me think of Hum’s world. I would be covered in the stuff for days no matter how many times I washed it off, and It is hard not to think about how delighted he would be if he could see the glitter permanently attached to me. The same delight that accompanies every glitter encrusted piece of paper he sends me.

Giving up on dusting myself off, I walked towards the door and paused for a moment to look in the mirror that I had hung on the wall. Whenever I slip out of sync, there is always a chance that my appearance will revert back to one I held on another world. As you know from your own experiences, I might suddenly have different color hair, a different number of limbs, or may even be a cloud of light that floats around the room. Although considering I still had legs, the only thing I was really concerned about was the color of my eyes. They are stubborn and often insist on reverting back to the bright gold color that I was born with. This wouldn’t be a problem on some worlds, but it was difficult to blend in on Earth with bright gold eyes.

There was no reason for me to worry. The reflection that stared back at me as I glanced into the framed mirror was what it should have been. My short brown hair, hazel eyes, and freckles that ran across my nose were all in place. The smile lines that touched the edges of my eyes and mouth had also stayed. I practiced a smile, shook out my shoulders in an attempt to relax myself, and moved towards the door that led to the front of the store.

I stepped from the stock room into the bright light of the main room of my store, and was bombarded by the smells of cinnamon, and the sounds of twenty grandmothers bustling their way from shelf to shelf. That time of year was always the busiest for my store. I had opened the store soon after I arrived on earth to keep me busy. Although the products I sold had changed over time. The shelves of my general store have always held handmade quilts, a skill that I had learned early in life. Yet they were no longer accompanied by farm supplies and fresh fruit, but by seasonal knickknacks and baking supplies. The baking supplies had joined the party when I hired Opal to work as manager of the store. I love designing the store, and choosing what to sell, but still hate the idea of actually running the business. Budgets have never been my friend. I struggled on for hundreds of years, but when Opal blasted her way into my life, I realized she was the solution to that particular problem. So, she runs the business, and I do pretty much everything else.

Opal was standing on the other side of the store cashing out a long line of customers. Her braided hair was tied up by long strands of silver tinsel, and she wore an oversized red sweater with her plain jeans. The combination made her look overly festive, but she matched the decorations she had placed around the store. The customers always loved it, so I didn’t really have any room to argue about her festivities. She waved at me to get my attention. I could see the large silver bus outside of the window behind her. Tour groups always mean good business for us, especially during holiday season. I began making my way towards her, the old floorboards creaked under my feet as I shuffled my way between tables full of specialty jams, butters, mittens, and quilts. I asked her what she needed. She glanced up at me as the next person in line poured a pile of items from her arms on to the counter and said that she knew I had class soon, but that Clara was there to talk to me.

Opal pointed towards the glass front doors of the shop, where a very tall person was standing with their back towards the store. Opal played along with the charade that I had class every Tuesday night at the local community college. We told people I was learning how to make stained glass. In reality I spent Tuesday nights in between realms, doing my real job. It didn’t really matter if I left late or not, but it was better if we kept up the charade so others in town were not clued into what Opal and I knew. That I wasn’t who I said I was. I asked Opal if she knew why Clara needed to talk to me. Although I knew if she was there, it was probably not for anything good. Opal just responded the Clara had said she needed to talk to me and that was it.

With a knot in my stomach, I started walking towards the door and pushed it opened. A loud jangle of bells announced my departure, and a cold blast of air swept around me as I rushed outside. Clara would only show up if something was wrong, but Opal wouldn’t know that. She had no idea who Clara really was. Hum and I made a decision early on that it was okay for Opal to know who we were but not Clara. For the most part I hid Clara from Opal in subtle ways like having her live in another town. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I introduced Clara to Opal as an old acquaintance that was moving to town, and one that I didn’t really get along with at that. Clara plays the part well. Coldly polite to me when we see each other. She goes out of her way to bother me in small ways every day. Opal believes we are in a feud over something. A perfect cover story. Opal may suspect Clara is not a local friend, but she doesn’t know who she actually is.

I turned and walked towards Clara. She was standing by the old wooden swings that lined the front porch. I didn’t waste time with pleasantries. I simply asked her what was wrong. She turned to me, and she was smiling. Not a sign of worry on her face. Clara was taller than me, maybe six feet tall, and her clear gray eyes shined with excitement even though they were partially covered by her electric blue hair. Clara had a habit of picking loud colors for her hair every other week to change up her appearance, but she was a wanderer so what else could I expect?

You already know this Astra, but for the sake of your broadcast, I should mention that Clara comes from a world where their biggest goal is to learn anything and everything about the universe. This means that once someone reaches a certain age, they leave home and find a new place to settle down for a while, to watch history and life unfold, and to experience as much of that world as possible. Clara was living that life until she made a decision that caused the entire universe, and the beacons to make a very large change. She caused the beacons to put the, anchors and the veil in place around earth and many other planets. To hide the universe away from a great many worlds. As punishment and protection alike Clara had been sent to live on a planet where she could not make too much trouble. I had been sent to keep an eye on her and the impact of having the veil put in place around earth. Astra you should know that although Clara is the same in some ways, her curiosity has not left her, she has changed a lot over the past couple hundred years. At some point we should discuss what those changes mean for her future. She has never truly been a villain even though some among our group and the universe may still choose to see her that way.

Clara’s eyes crinkled with happiness as she looked down at me. She apologized for being fake upset and explained that it was the only way she could see to get me out of the store and away from the crowd that would be there for hours. She said she had tried all earth means of contacting me all day. Phone calls, messages, and emails. But gave up and decided to walk over and visit instead. It makes sense that she hadn’t reached me. My phone doesn’t work in the back room.

She had come to visit to tell me that we had visitors and pointed to the sky. I followed her gaze and saw them immediately. A grouping of purple lights hovering amongst the clouds above my parking lot. Clara said the lights had been following her, and floating around my store for hours, and since I hadn’t noticed she chose to intervene. She had a point, even without earth communications I should have noticed them. Hum was not a quiet soul, and now that I knew he was there I could hear his laughter floating down and around us. He was early. I hadn’t expected for him to show up until later that evening. He probably wanted to catch me off guard. If nothing else to observe my human life to see how much I hadn’t told him. I was a little surprised that he had let Clara see them. He, like the other beacons don’t trust her, but that may have been changing with his last few visits. Like I said, she has become a different person as of late.

I decided it would be prudent to leave work early and get ready for the removal of the anchor. There were a few things I needed to do to prepare, especially if I hoped to trick Opal into ignoring the fact that something was going to happen that night. Also, I hoped leaving early would mean Hum would follow me home quick enough that Opal would not notice he was back. She may ignore most of the things I do as a not human, but the temptation to see other beings from off world would likely be too strong of a temptation for her to resist after all of these years. I paused and looked around the parking lot thinking of the best way to leave for the day. I had been neglecting my real duties in favor of taking care of my store, and also waiting for a few things to play out. So, it was not often that I left work early anymore. Opal would notice. Things would also seem extra interesting since Clara decided to come pick me up. I decided to keep it simple.

I turned back around and headed inside the store, Clara right on my heels. Most of the customers had left and made their way back to the bus, but two still remained at the counter trying to get Opal to haggle the price on one of my quilts. I yelled out to Opal that I was heading out for the day to help Clara with a project she was working on for her store. She owns a small jewelry store now and helping her with something should have been a believable excuse. Opal agreed to watch the store and lock up. No questions asked. It was probably lucky for me that day that there were still customers in the store. But in retrospect I think Opal made it so easy for me to leave because she already had plans to follow us.

I walked towards the back of the store to grab my coat as the last few customers left. Attempting to leave before the next busload arrived. A loud shattering followed by the sound of hundreds of bells hitting the floor rang out through the now empty store. Opal and I both jumped and spun around to see what was going on. Clara was standing by a display of holiday ornaments, with a shattered glass vase and a large pile of marble sized silver bells surrounding her feet. Playing her part perfectly, just a small annoyance followed by a small apology. It was enough to keep our act going, and enough to keep Opal busy as we quickly left the store and made our way to my house. It didn’t take long for Clara and me to leave after that. Opal practically pushed us out the door. She hates when we destroy her displays, and likely wanted peace and quiet to put everything back together or thinking about it now time to lock up the store and head home so she could watch for visitors on our street. As Clara and I walked, I came to the decision that since that was going to be the night that the anchor was going to be removed, Hum and I had debated about a few options and that was the day he chose, that she also needed to prepare for her part of things. She was to pack her bag and be ready to follow me when I left earth. She cautiously agreed. Despite the impression she chooses to give when in other company, I think if given the choice she will choose to stay on earth long term. But I needed her to follow me. Her assistance is essential if we hope to remove all the anchors without trouble. We parted ways at my front door and agreed I would signal her when it was time to travel to the next anchor location. She walked towards her home a few streets away from mine, and I went inside to send a letter to the dragon to let him know that it was time.

Now, I know Hum gave you the impression in his letter that I had not reached the dragon before we removed earth’s anchor. That I would only be able to talk to him after the veil was lifted. But that is the lie I told him at Albert’s request. I have actually been talking to Al for a few years. I unexpectedly came across him at a yard sale on earth. I was out on a sunny fall day looking for fun things I could buy and refinish for my store or more often buy and send to other beacons as trinkets they may like. I was walking through someone’s table strewn front lawn looking at a pile of old music records when I noticed him. He was standing on the other side of the yard closely examining a set of fluorescent orange plates as if he was examining a pile of treasure. He hadn’t noticed me. If he had, I thought he probably would have quickly left before I had a chance to talk to him. He was too absorbed in his examination. I walked up to Al and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped, and his eyes widened once he realized who I was. I had allowed my golden eyes to peek into existence for a moment so he would recognize me. A risk, but a necessary one. His people were supposedly not living on earth any longer. Had not lived on earth in a very very long time. Yes, we had plans to contact their council of leaders after the anchors were removed one day to determine if they wanted to return to visit. Also to have the longer conversation of if and when they would be allowed to visit earth again, but in that moment, I realized they had never left. Or at least he had not actually left when we closed the doors.

Unlike all of the other beings who left earth when the doors were closed, and when it was too dangerous to stay, beings from his world had ignored those recommendations. I know other beings had also decided to stay, but they had also checked in with their worlds and us from time to time when they needed aid or when they needed company. Al had forgone those touchpoints. This explained a few things for me, unexplained sightings that would crop up from time to time being one of them. I know we all know Al and others from his world are not dangerous per say. Al spends most of his time collecting. As it turns out he has spent a good amount of his last few decades collecting specifically things from the 1970s era on earth. Apparently, items form that time are highly valued back on his world. I will have to remember that next time I am looking at what to throw away and keep. I ended up talking with Al for a while, and he invited me back to his home to show me his collection and to discuss how he stayed on earth. I have asked him to send a letter to you with that story. The council should probably review it for any agreements that need to be addressed. But you should know I also found something else at his home. Linc was already there. Linc has known that other beings have been traveling to earth without our knowledge. It is worth your time to get that story from Linc I think if I do not get it from him first. He is keeping secrets again. To be fair so am I. So, I am guessing you already know what his are since you know mine, but if not, it is worth asking.

In the end my visit with Al made something else clear to me. That it was likely that Al was not the only one sneaking through the doors from his home world to the veiled worlds. Which meant we didn’t know who else may already be traveling, and who was letting them sneak through. And if the doors were already sneaking open, we needed to get moving with our part of the process. Better to remove the veils on our own with some thought behind the procedure. Then have them be ripped away without thinking about how to ease the process. So, I sent a notice to the council with my recommendation to move forward. Saying I would begin reaching out to worlds who used to visit, such as Al’s, when the anchor was removed to begin the re-introduction process. Obviously now that was a small lie. I have already talked to Al, the leader of all dragons. I have also started to reach out to the others.

With regards to the night we removed the anchor, the night Hum arrived and Opal followed us, Hum’s account is accurate. I let him take the lead, let Opal follow, and things went smoothly. The one detail to add is that Al was off in the woods slightly out of view. There just in case anyone came rushing through the door once it opened. We ended up not needing the precaution. Also, Al has agreed to keep an eye on things while I am away. He will let us know if any trouble arises. I must admit it is nice to know he is there to keep an eye on things.

I have to go work on some other things now. Al has invited me over for coffee and fondu, and a discussion about what his council feels they need moving forward. I am also planning on introducing him to Opal so he can keep an eye on her too until we are ready for her to meet the council. I will send you more details once I have them.

Love Bert.

Bert has always been the ambassador to worlds that like to travel and tour new places. So, it is not a surprise to me that Al found her. I think Bert knows it was no accident that Al happened to be there one day. He was ready to talk. I am also sure there are others that will come forward, or that she has already spoken too that she hasn’t told me about yet. As we move forward with these broadcasts, I expect things to get a little stranger with time. As new worlds and new beings are introduced, and new adventures revealed. I am sure Hum for instance will have something to say about the fact that he wasn’t told about Al, and I think Linc has a few stories too. Tune in next week for another letter from another beacon.

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Star Jelly Files podcast. I hope you enjoyed this episode and that you are having a great day. The Star Jelly Files is written, produced, voice acted, and created by me, Elizabeth Hamblett. If you would like to support the podcast and gain access to bonus content check out my Patreon at www.patreon.com/starjellyfiles. The link is also in the description.

The Star Jelly Files

Glitter and Dragons

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