Big Enough to Be One

[This story contains love, affection, spiritual references, and sex. Because the sex involves lots of people I entered the story in Group Sex. I request feedback more than I request votes, and I want the votes.]

Josh drove up to the church in a borrowed mini van. Everett Moreno was going on the outing with the group, but his brother had been in an accident and he had to go to Chicago to be with him in the hospital. He had let Josh drive he and his wife to the airport and use the van while they were gone. He made Josh promise that they could go "Next time".

Susan was waiting on the front steps of the church. She was wearing hiking shorts, a T-shirt and worn hiking boots. Her day-pack was loaded and sitting next to her on the steps. John White Eagle was sitting on the railing near Susan. He was wearing old, faded jeans that had been embroidered by a lady some years before. The embroidery depicted scenes in a forest and was placed so as to reinforce the stitching around the front pockets of the jeans. The lady who had given John the gift of the jeans had also embroidered a medicine symbol on the inside of the fly, a symbol that would keep John strong and healthy. He was also wearing a neutral color pull over shirt with large sleeves. His long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and it was tied with a leather thong.

Josh noticed the car that belonged to Marilynn and Miles Wilson parked where they always parked when at the church. They had somehow chosen the end slot in the row of spaces along the grass next to the church. They were sitting in the car when Josh pulled into the lot and got out as soon as they saw him. Two spaces from the Wilson's was another car, belonging to Bette and Arnold Shaker. They got out of their car when the Wilson's got out of their's, gathered their day packs out of their trunk just like Miles got theirs out of their trunk and the four walked across the lot together to Josh.

Josh parked the van as close to Susan as possible and got out. He hugged Susan and kissed her, then hugged everyone else in greeting. In fact everyone hugged and many shared kisses while Josh opened the back of the van, and the sliding door to allow the day-packs and people to get in.

As Josh put the day-packs in the storage area at the back of the van Susan followed John to the sliding door and directed him to the back seat, where she joined him. Then Miles and Marilynn sat in front of them and Arnold joined Susan and John in the back seat while Bette sat next to Miles. As Josh was ready to close the back door of the van he saw Rita Shirley running across the front lawn of the church. She was a striking sight, and Josh watched her with delight. She was wearing a teal tank top, no bra, hiking shorts that seemed almost too short and light weight hiking boots that looked new. She was carrying a day-pack in her right hand and a popcicle in her left. Rita had long straight auburn hair that flowed out with the breeze and bounced as she ran. Her smile was bright and she called out, "Wait for me!" They did. After her pack was in the back Josh closed the sliding door and helped Rita into the front passenger seat. He resumed his position as the driver and they started off.

"Since last class have you noticed anything different about your meditations?" Josh asked.

Many seconds of silence followed his question, then Miles spoke.

"I noticed last night that I seemed to be feeling more than I have felt before. I mean, I used a rose bush out on our patio as a focus last night and I felt how happy the rose feels about being. I never felt anything like that before. When my meditation was over I was still feeling such joy, I felt wonderful all evening."

"Anyone else notice anything else?"

"I did." It was Rita. "I was meditating at school yesterday, during my break, just like I do every day. The kids were out at recess and I was in the room alone. I started hearing the voices of some of the teachers in the lounge next door to my room. They weren't talking to each other. I was aware of what they were thinking. One of our teachers is so unhappy. She hasn't said anything but I heard her thinking about how her husband is cheating on her and how he has stopped helping her raise their kids. So I started sending her love, focusing all the energy I could send to her. When my break was over I felt really good and later in the afternoon I saw her and she was smiling."

"I felt someone else in my meditation last night too." Arnold said. "After Bette fell asleep I decided to meditate for a little while and I did. After a few minutes my thoughts seemed to go to the people next door to us. A few days ago I heard them yelling at each other. Something about money problems and then something about him being really upset about something her mother had done. The yelling lasted a while and then she left, slammed the door and drove off in her car. In my meditation I saw them going through the motions of living together, but not really being together. It was like I could see and hear what was happening in their house without being there. He was in the bathroom, getting ready for bed, shaving and then brushing his teeth. I could hear his thoughts. He was wondering why he was shaving when she certainly wasn't going to let him kiss her. She was in the other bathroom doing her night ritual and thinking about why he had to be so stubborn about being right. She was hurt and felt like he didn't listen to her when she had explained about her mother. I focused my meditation on their hearts. I could feel energy from me going to these two people next door. I hardly know them, but I could feel them. I felt him thinking about their fight and how he had been in a bad mood even before she said anything, and how he couldn't remember what it was about her mother that she had said. I heard her thinking that she should go in to him and ask if they could back up and try that conversation again. She thought maybe there was a way to talk to him so he wouldn't get so upset. I watched as they both finished brushing their teeth and left their bathrooms headed for the other bathroom. I saw them meet in the hallway. He said, "Honey, I'm sorry for getting so upset last night. Can we try that conversation again?" She smiled and said, "Sure. I'm sorry too. All I really wanted to tell you was how my Mom is having some troubles right now and wants to know if she can wait another month to pay us back the two hundred dollars she owes us. I didn't say it was OK. I said I wanted to talk with you, and then I'd call her this weekend." He told her he had misunderstood, that he was sorry for not listening better, and for yelling. She forgave him, and asked him to forgive her. They kissed and ended up in bed, making love. I could feel how much they love each other, and how happy they were that the anger and hurt were gone."

Josh pulled the van off the highway and down a half mile of dirt road to the parking area near the grove where he and Susan had been not long ago. As he shut of the engine he spoke to the group.

"I appreciate the openness that each of you has in your meditations to this point. There is something going on, something bigger than just us, just here. I don't yet know what it is. When we go into the grove today we are to walk into the grove letting go of society, of the beliefs about being loved and loving, about the way our relationship with God has been up until now. I know that at the center of this grove God is in perfect harmony. As we walk in, relax, hold hands, walk arm in arm, touch. Observe how the grove welcomes us, welcomes you. Feel the love." Josh opened the door of the van and got out. He opened the back door, handed the day-packs to their owners and closed up the van. Susan took John by the hand and led the group into the grove. Miles put his hand out to Marilynn but Bette stepped up and took it and they walked off behind Susan and John. Arnold smiled and took Marilynn by the hand and followed a few yards behind them. Josh gave Rita a hug and with his arm around her they followed the rest into the grove. As they stepped out of the dusty parking area Josh noticed three deer standing just inside the trees watching them. He smiled.

As soon as John stepped past the first trees and into the shade of the grove he felt something. His skin felt it first then he noticed that he was warm all over, and that his energy was growing. He felt a tingling in his hand, where his skin touched Susan's. He looked over at her and she looked even more beautiful than before. There was something new, something powerful about her.

He did not speak.

When Miles entered the shade he expected to feel cold. He was a bit surprised when he didn't. It was just a little cooler in the shade, not cold. As he got deeper in the grove he noticed the smells. He noticed the odors of trees, that he recognized, and the smells of flowers that he couldn't see. He noticed the slight breeze, and the sun as it penetrated the grove between the trees. A hundred yards into the grove he saw the three deer and he stopped. Bette stopped and stood next to him as they watched the deer walking towards them. The other couples had also stopped and were watching the deer too.

The buck led. He walked right up to Miles and licked his hand. Miles was aware that wild deer didn't approach humans, but he knew these deer were in no danger from them, and that these deer knew it. After licking Miles' hand the buck moved on and the large doe followed, brushing gently against Miles as she passed. The smaller doe walked up, looked up at Miles' face and took two steps more then licked Bette's hand. Bette didn't think, she just reached slowly out and stroked the deer from right behind the head down the back of her neck to her shoulders. When she lifted her hand the doe walked off, following the other two deer. Miles looked at Bette's face. Tears were streaming down from her eyes and dropping to her shirt front. Miles was aware that tears were on his face too. He took Bette in his arms and they stood for about a minute holding each other, feeling more than thinking about what had just happened. The other couples watched until the hug ended and then they all resumed their walk into the grove.

A little deeper into the grove John saw three butterflies ahead. They were moving in and out of the bands of sunlight, being illuminated almost like it would have been a strobe light. He and Susan walked closer and the three didn't fly away, they landed on John. One on each shoulder and the third circled his head once then landed on Susan's head. They fluttered their wings a few times as they sat on John and Susan, then John began walking again. The butterflies remained on them as they walked.

Rita heard the rush of wings and turned to see a blue jay flying toward her. She held out her arm and the jay landed. The bird looked at Rita and Josh then walked up her arm and perched on her shoulder. Another jay flew to Josh's shoulder and landed. A moment later both Rita and Josh knew they should resume walking into the grove. They turned and noticed three raccoons on the trail between them and Arnold and Marilynn. It seemed like the animals of the grove wanted to go with them, and were doing just that. The raccoons followed a few feet behind Arnold and Marilynn.

When Susan reached the center of the grove she saw the large flat rock where she and Josh had meditated before. She stopped near it and the butterflies flew off their shoulders. She and John watched them as they flew away. Miles and Bette walked up to Susan and John and stopped but did not speak. They watched Marilynn and Arnold as they arrived with raccoons behind them. As the raccoons got near they turned off the path and went into the shrubs and bushes seeming to disappear as they did so. When Josh and Rita were fifty yards from the group the two jays left their shoulders and flew around the group twice then flew up and out of the grove through the top. All eyes watched them go.

Susan looked at John, and squeezed his hand gently. He looked at her and was instantly aware that she wanted to be kissed. He slowly took her in his arms and kissed her, ever so gently. He felt an energy exchange, so powerfully that he knew that he could not breathe, and did not care. Susan felt energy flowing up from the ground into them both, illuminating them from the inside. She knew that Spirit was pleased that they were here.

Josh was still holding Rita around the waist and guided her to a spot at the edge of the small clearing by the rock. He let her go and took off his day-pack. When he opened it he removed two round pillows about a foot in diameter and eight inches thick. He then removed a small ground cloth from the pack and hung the pack from a branch nearby. He opened the ground cloth and spread it on the ground by two trees and Rita put the two pillows on the cloth. Then they hugged and Josh kissed Rita. The energy flowed up from the ground through them as it did with Susan and John. When the kiss ended they sat on the pillows and took off their boots and socks. They assumed the lotus position with legs folded and hands on their knees except his right knee was touching her left knee and they held hands at that junction.

Directly across from Josh and Rita, John and Susan set their ground cloth and cushions and sat in like fashion. To Josh's left Marilynn and Arnold sat and filling the pattern directly across from Marilynn and Arnold were Miles and Bette. Without a compass Josh knew that they were sitting at the North, South, East and West points. Josh knew that he and Rita were at the South. As he closed his eyes Josh was aware that every person was sitting in full shade.

John's thoughts wandered after he closed his eyes. What did the deer mean by their actions? Why three deer? Why three butterflies? Why raccoons? What strangeness was this place? What would his mother, the shaman of her tribe, think of this? Then his inner vision crowded out the thoughts with sights he had never seen in a grove. He saw the animals of the grove gathering to watch the humans in their midst. He felt them all around their little clearing, felt them loving each other, and felt them loving him. As he let the love in he was amazed at how powerful he felt. Each breath seemed to invigorate him. He felt energy coming from all around him, from the ground, from the animals and the trees and the air itself. He felt the energy of Susan flowing from her hand and knee into him. Then he felt her energy flowing across the air between them into him, filling him, warming him.

Susan felt the animals as she was shutting her eyes. There was a temptation not to close her eyes, to look for the animals, but she knew that if she was to see them she would. She closed her eyes and felt the energy flowing to her from everywhere. With her eyes closed she saw patterns of energy before her and felt the energy from beside and behind her. Across the clearing she could see and feel Josh and Rita. His green aura was pulsing slowly and had enveloped Rita's aura. The soft difference between their aura colors was meshing and hers growing stronger and stronger as Susan watched. She saw the glow of a white, gold energy to her right, where Arnold and Marilynn were sitting. Moments later she could also see the glow of pale green energy from her left. Relaxing, Susan could then see the outline of the energy of the trees, and soon the animals within the grove just outside the clearing.

Bette sat holding Miles' hand, her eyes closed. She felt energy flowing into her from every direction. She was warming, it was as though the sun were shining on her and heating her. She noticed that some of the energy flowing into her from Miles' hand seemed to flow into her hand, from her hand into the knee her hand was resting on and directly up her leg and into her genitals. Bette knew she was too young for hot flashes but realized she was starting to sweat and that she was wet, and getting wetter.

Miles could feel the energy all around him, but the heat was coming from beside him. He felt Bette's energy flow from her hand into him and through all his body, ending in his penis. It was getting hard, and finding his clothes confining. He noticed that while most of the energy he felt from Bette was coming to him through her hand he could also feel it radiating from her body. On the side where she sat he was warmer. Almost like the sun was on that side, but different somehow. His thoughts stayed with this transfer of energy, and the effects it was having on his body. He needed to shift in his seat, rearrange his clothes to accommodate the space needed by his erection, but he thought it would break Bette's meditation if he let go of her hand. So he sat, uncomfortable and starting to sweat.

A minute or two passed and Miles was beginning to shift his focus from himself to Bette. He had released his attention on his physical sensations and was now focused on Bette. He visualized her sitting beside him. He could see how she looked. Not just from where he sat but from all angles. Then he focused on seeing her without her shirt. He saw her chest with her breasts encased in a lacy white bra that held them gently, showing him the smooth skin of her cleavage. He imagined the bra disappearing, and watching her nipples tighten. He even imagined how they would feel in his mouth. Since his attention was focused here he did not even notice when Bette shifted on her cushion.

She turned so that she was facing Miles. She did not open her eyes or let go of his hand, just shifted, twisted on her cushion until she had turned ninety degrees and was facing him. A few seconds later she uncrossed her legs and stood. Miles noticed.

When Bette stood Miles' attention shifted from his internal imagination to what was happening. He opened his eyes and looked at his hand, which was now high above his knee still being held by the now standing Bette. She smiled at him and tugged up on his hand. He stood. She used her other hand to put a finger across his lips, signaling him not to speak. Then she let his hand go and pulled her shirt from her hiking shorts and over her head. Miles' eyes opened wide as the bra he had seen in his visioning was the very one holding Bette's breasts. She reached behind herself and released the bra, dropping it on top of the shirt beside her cushion on the ground cloth. Then she started to undo her belt. Miles dropped to his knees and took over the job from her. He undid the belt, then the button at the top of the fly of her shorts. He paused and looked up at Bette's face. She was smiling, with her eyes closed and her head forward. He looked back at her shorts and drew the zipper down. He anticipated seeing panties as the zipper went down. He saw skin, more skin and then a tuft of short pubic hair as the zipper ended. He grabbed the bottom of each pant leg and pulled downwards. The shorts pulled over her hips and then fell to the ground around her boots. Miles eyes did not follow them. His eyes focused in on Bette's triangle. His face was a foot away from the well-trimmed pubic hair. At most it was less than half an inch long, a dark blond color and some of the strands looked wet. Bette bent over, stepped out of the shorts one foot at a time and tossed the on top of her clothing pile. She stood back up and pulled Miles back to a standing position. Her eyes were still closed.

She found his shirt and pulled it from his pants and up over his head. She dropped it on top of her clothes, and started removing his shorts. He closed his eyes and put his right hand on her shoulder. He felt her hands as they released his belt, pulled down his zipper very slowly and then pulled his shorts and underwear off together. The instant his erection sprang from his clothes he felt the coolness of the air on it. Bette touched his leg and he lifted it. She pulled his shorts off that leg and then touched the other leg so she could get his shorts all the way off.