Chatting with Angels

by Sasha

with editing from Holly Logan and Angel O'Hare

 

Chapter One – Della

 

They both used Kathryn's computer as the excuse for Montine Dunbar's frequent visits to her home. Although Monty knew a little about computers, most of what he knew had been learned through trial and error. Unfortunately, Kathryn's computer suffered some of the effects of Monty's errors. However when things were said and done, Monty always finally succeeded to restore her aging, patched together computer to function normally, at least for a while, until another component failed.

It had all started when Monty was introduced to Kathryn for about the third time. The first two times had been when he had stopped at the Starfleet table to pick up some literature about the "Fan Association" which translates to fan club. Although he really wanted to join, he feared his parent's reaction, especially of his Father, who had missed the point of Star Trek's morality plays and termed it a "Tool of the Devil." This was especially ironic because it had been his father who had introduced him to the show when it originally aired back in 1966.

Something seemed to click in Monty when Kathryn was introduced as the Captain of the USS MacLeod, especially since she spelled Kathryn the right way! That is, the same as Captain Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager, who was Monty's favorite character on the Star Trek series that was currently airing. Both Kathryn and Monty could be described as Trekkies, however neither of them accepted that term, instead preferring to be known as Trekkers. They both belonged to chapters of Starfleet: The International Fan Association.

At the meeting where they met, Kathryn explained that she could not go online since her computer lacked a modem. Monty had plenty of PC pieces lying around and modems especially. He got together with her after the meeting and arranged to attend a meeting of her chapter and bring a modem to try in her computer.

It was afterward, at home, as she tried to process her perceptions of Monty. Kathryn drifted away in the twilight between sleep and wakefulness. She was astonished to be literally beside herself as her astral body looked down on her near sleeping form. Kathryn was not alone, but had been joined by a beautiful woman, who she perceived as an angel. The angel was rather tall with brown hair and mischievously twinkling green eyes. Since Kathryn had been gifted with visions in the past, she knew that the thing to do was to listen attentively for the angel to begin speaking.

"Greetings Kathryn! My name is Della and I'm here to help you interpret your perceptions of your friend"

"Thank you for coming, Della. What can you reveal about my friend, Monty? Something tells me that he is not what he appears to be. That discrepancy makes me a little uneasy about him on one level but his actions are always full of kindness and truth."

"Kathryn, Let me help you see your friend's spirit and reveal the truth."

Della and Kathryn's astral body were translated to peer into Monty's bedroom as he lay sleeping. They were both witnesses as the astral spirit rose from the body. Kathryn gasped as she watched a spirit in the form of a young woman rising from Monty's body.

"This is Monty's true self. One name that she uses in her mind for her true self is Monti, spelled M-O-N-T-I. She was born with a rare condition, which will one day be known to your world as Harry Benjamin Syndrome. Her brain is no different from any woman's brain. God, who is perfect in creating new life, placed this female spirit within her body to inhabit her female brain."

"But otherwise Monty is no different from any other man?"

"Monty's female spirit makes her a woman. The Spirit and the Soul of a person live on eternally, but the body is temporary. A person's gender is an essential part of their spirit, and is fixed for all eternity"

"Does Monty know he's really a woman?"

"She always knew that she was different but it wasn't until entering male puberty and she did not start developing as the other girls that she realized what the difference was really"

"Monty is an honest soul. Why hasn't he told me about this himself?"

"Kathryn, each person responds according to their gifts. The weight on her soul, of pretending to be someone she is not, will convict her and cause a crisis. She will either choose to be true and reveal this to you or else suffer the consequence that results from denying who she is in reality."

Monty's spirit returned to his body. Everything appeared to be normal but now Kathryn knew better.

Della led Kathryn back to where Kathryn's body still lay in its twilight state.

"Why will Monty wait till a crisis forces him to choose?"

"She revealed her true female self to her parents as a child and later while she was still living with them as a young adult. They called her a liar and claimed that her true self was impossible. They demonized her thoughts so that she feared their reprisal if she revealed her true self again. More than, that she believed the fallacy that they advocated that God would condemn her to punishment unless her actions emulated a male."

Della paused a moment for Kathryn to process her words a little more before continuing.

"Monty told the last woman she had a platonic relationship with before you, about her condition. She told Cindy, what she believed was the truth, that her female self had been buried so deeply that it would never resurface. At that time, Cindy had been her closest friend, and her complete rejection of Monty, left Monty completely devastated.  It is because of Cindy's rejection that Monty will wait till the crisis occurs when she must confront the truth."

"Monty really wants to be my boyfriend. In most ways he already is, except that we don't date. What do I do if Monty asks me if we can start dating?"

"Ask Monty to wait a year. Before that year is up, she'll confide in you about her true self. Even though at times it will be tempting to tell her what you know, it will be better for her for you to wait until she is ready to admit it herself."

"This is a bit much to take. I've already referred to Monty at work as my boyfriend, unknown to him, oh I guess I mean her? How should I refer to Monty?"

"You should simply refer to Monty by the gender she is presenting at the time. I'm glad I could answer some of your questions. The rest is for the two of you to discover together. It's time you returned to your life, Kathryn. Thank you for caring about Monty."

Kathryn's spirit merged with her physical self as Della protected her. Before Della departed, she smiled on the now sleeping form of Kathryn. Della was glad that in her absence that Kathryn's love for Monty, would take both of them thru the challenges to come.

  

  

  

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