"Stop playing games Magdalena," Jeff said.
"I am not playing games, we really haven't even started yet," Magdalena looked piercingly into his eyes.
"What do you mean we haven't even started yet?" Jeff was confused.
"Patience. Let's start with Theeya first," turning to Theeya, Magdalena smiled and flashed her smile.
"I want to know more about my ancestor, you mentioned we are our ancestors' reincarnation. What are we going to do with that information?" Theeya looked at Magdalena with an intense gaze, demanding answers.
"I want you to know this is not how it works. Sometimes a consultation with me will beget an answer that will raise more questions," Magdalena warned.
"Just tell us, we will figure it out if that raises more questions," Theeya probed.
"The Game of Leela. Have you heard of it before?" Magdalena asked the two.
Both Jeff and Theeya shook their head.
Jeff whipped out his phone and ran a search.
"I found it, it is the Divine Play of God. The purpose of creation, is Leela as quoted by Wikipedia it is also spelled L-I-LA. I guess you pronounce it as Leela. Quoting Wikipedia: The concept of lila escapes all the traditional difficulties in assigning purpose to the creator. Lila is a purpose-less purpose, a natural outflow, a spontaneous self-manifestation of the Divine. The concept of lila, again, emphasizes the role of delight in creation. The concept of Prakriti unquote, whatever that is, and quote and Maya unquote which I think is illusion quote fail to explain the bliss aspect of Divine. If the world is manifestation of the Force of Satcitananda, the deployment of its existence and consciousness, its purpose can be nothing but delight. This is the meaning of delight. Lila, the play, the child's joy, the poet's joy, the actor's joy, the mechanician's joy of the soul of things eternally young, perpetually inexhaustible, creating and recreating Himself in Himself for the sheer bliss of that self-creation, of that self-representation, Himself the play, Himself the player, Himself the playground," Jeff looked even more baffled than before.
Theeya concentrated hard on what Jeff was reading out loud on Leela.
"Nostradamus was quoted as saying 'This creative activity of the Divine is called lila, the play of God, and the world is seen as the stage of the divine play.' And Ramakrishna said 'Lila (pronounced Leela) is the play of creation. To awakened consciousness, the entire universe. With all its joys and sorrows, pleasures and pains, appears as a divine game, sport, or drama. It is a play in which the one Consciousness performs all the roles. Alluding to this lila of the Divine Mother the physical universe is a "mansion of mirth." And a more recent quote in 2004 by Milla Cozart Riggio said 'For all this diversity, the core of East Indian spirituality is Hinduism, especially as disclosed in the notion of leela (also spelled lila), or play. The entire cosmos is a leela, a dance of energy, a drama staged by Brahman, the Absolute. Leelas are also specific celebrations.'
So it is playing a game, we are all playing this game in the entire universe so Life is a Game," stated Jeff.
Magdalena smiled and nodded. "That wraps it up in a nutshell."
"But how? There's no instruction manual!" Jeff exclaimed.
"We have the parchments as clues," Theeya said.
"Ah that's right," concurred Jeff.
"I don't know if you have noticed but so far all the descendants who are visited by the red eyes whom we can safely say are the chosen ones... all of you have considerable inheritance from your family, am I right?" Magdalena asked.
Both of them nodded.
"That money that you are born with it sustained all the players before you, all your ancestors who lived before you they were sustained by all these resources, in the name of solving the quest in this Game of Leela," Magdalena said as realization dawned on their faces.
"Like the money we get at the beginning of the Monopoly game," Jeff said.
"Like the movie Matrix! We are plugged into the Matrix and so engrossed in the roles that we play and living the life according to the programs of the Matrix that we are not aware that this is just a game!" Theeya exclaimed.
"Something like that," Magdalena smiled approvingly. "This girl is smart," she thought.
"So you are like the Oracle to give us clues to help us fulfill whatever quest that we needed to do," Theeya spoke quicker as her voice grew more excited.
"So I am Keanu Reeves character? I think I look the part," joked Jeff.
"Neo, that main character is Neo... ah yes. you are handsome enough Jeff to be the male lead," Theeya teased Jeff. She blushed as she remembered her huge crush on Jeff. All these mother dream and losing Jeff as her son messed up her brain. She could still blush so that means she was still attracted to Jeff. "Lord help me please," she groaned inwardly.
Jeff winked at Theeya and her crimson face turned one shade darker. He could not help but chuckle out loud.
"Be warned that there may be serpents and snakes along the way. Otherwise you will be fine. Enjoy this game of Leela," said Magdalena, her tone final.
"But why? Why don't others realise we are al plugged into this game of life?" asked Theeya.
"Everybody got their own function and role to play. Maybe they are just supporting role or just to play a background role to create the setting for the Divine Play. Just know your role and fulfil it. Have some fun along the way," Magdalena winked knowingly.
"Are there more clues from you? If we can't get direct answers at least some more clues to help us?" Theeya asked.
"That's all for now. Check back with me in a month's time. I wish you a safe expedition." Magdalena waved them away and gave them a polite nod.
As Jeff and Theeya made their way back to the Malabar to join the rest at the hotel both were deep in thoughts.
"Jeff, I just realized something," Theeya's voice was barely a whisper.
"What is it?" he turned to look at her.
"After Magdalena visited this morning and I hugged me till I fell asleep... I just realized I don't see the red eyes anymore, I dreamt of my late mother, but that's it, no more red eyes and nightmare," her voice was quiet and in awe, as if she could not believe it, and if she spoke too loud then it would not be true.
"So there is only one way to find out, we have to check with each other tomorrow morning to see if our nightmares are gone for good," Jeff's expression was hopeful. Finally after three decades his nightmare would end.