Dear Kerry

A few days ago I found this comment and set of questions from a reader who seems touched by the telling of the tale here of Sam and Sally. In the mind of a storyteller the world between earth-bound physical reality and the times already past-present- and future blend together. It is from that almost limitless gourd of 'explanations' that I, the storyteller write this letter to answer these questions from Kerry:

"Are Sal's dual soul's her pre-MCS able to be out in the world, working, playing, speaking etc., as well as the part of her longing to still be able to act as that self and is the part of herself that has changed through the learning and experiences that illness and being different bring?

Is her one soulness she feels as she begins the year, is this the peace she is finding with both past and present, or in other words "what is?"

Dear Kerry,

Thank you for the beautifully heartfelt comment and questions you left here. A storyteller's greatest reward come from the heart of listeners who have no fear of believing they too can cradle the many possibilities of words. On the page or in the air, words have the power to create love, understanding or perplexity only when the audience has a heart large enough to embrace or question for clarity. The head has a grand capacity for questioning too, but the head often thinks it has the answers as well. It is the query from the heart that touches a story and the teller, and like good conversation the story bubbles into a beautiful stew.

Now, on to the question of Sal's dual souls. When I wrote the words in the story
"The Sustaining Soul" I began with a bit of knowledge shared through the channel of Sal's true soul now. You see, if you believe in the sustaining soul you would understand that a human must have a soul to be here on The Planet. This knowledge I have about Sal includes the fact that until just a few short months ago Sal lived with not one, but two souls. According to my informant Sal's "Sustaining Soul" the one which has lived one lives with her, was not ready to take on the rigors of physical life on The Planet when Sal was born (prematurely as it happened). Instead, a willing and able salt of the earth soul stepped in to make Sal's birth happen. Much later, at around thirteen years, "The Sustaining Soul" was ready to take its place with Sal. To say the least, our gal has been challenged to balance the two internal directives.

Your perception, and first question relating to Sal's pre-MCS life could indeed be the parallel universe human beings experience when they live with long-term .... hmmm, the word... illness is one, and yet that is insufficient a description. I believe you know a more suitable description and live it daily as part of your reality. "Being different" is yet another phrase that I as a Storyteller have heard too many times to count. The answer I always have, though who listens to an imaginary teller, is "Being different to what!"

The second two-part question you asked is more easily answered. I believe, and it appears Sal and I agree, the answer to that question is: YES. There is a very real and growing sense of peace knowing where the doors to and from the past Just before the start of Autumn of 2008, that Salt of the Earth soul was freed to evolve and be the one and only in another being. Sal now lives with the life purpose of her "Sustaining Soul." Whether those doors led away from a way of being in the world in this lifetime or in a lifetime past, being at peace means Sal can either lock the door from her side throwing the key away forever, or stow that key in a place she chooses re-opening the past when life asks more questions.

I hope this letter offers you some comfort and hope because that is what a storyteller's purpose is, at least that is this storyteller's life purpose. Some answers are easy, some aren't. Mainly though, a story ought to play the heart.
Sweet dreams and many thanks for your courage to ask.

Sincerely yours,
The Storyteller