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(1) CHAPTER 1 That afternoon | found myself at home. As | happened to raise my head, | noticed a light in the room, which grew gradually stronger and finally was much more intense than natural. In the midst of this luminosity appeared the figure of a young man of extraordinary beauty. As | studied him in utter amazement, | saw that his feet were lifted slightly off of the floor. He was barefoot, clothed in a sparkling tunic, and two bright wings. Enraptured with the beauty and majesty of his countenance, | gazed at him a long time in awe and wonder. This manifestation lasted for a considerable period of time, then finally disappeared as if a light were slowly extinguished. In the days that followed, | could not erase from my mind the beauty of that manifestation, or the sweet feeling of peace that seemed to emanate from that light. It was as if this impression accompanied me silently wherever | went. Since my youth, | no longer believed that visions could be something real; | had always considered them to be the product of stimulated fantasy. But now | thought about the fact that the young person had appeared to me while | was in a quiet and relaxed state of mind, without any cause for excitement. The sense of tranquility which had accompanied that experience was such that | was able to observe very clearly all details of what had been shown to me. | couldn't comprehend it, but as | thought about the wings of that being, | said to myself repeatedly in awe and wonder, "Perhaps the angels, then, really do exist” / One evening before Easter | had just returned home and was about to attend to my affairs as usual, when the manifestation appeared to me again, in the same place and in the same manner as before. The whole room was filled with its light, which seemed to penetrate to my very depths. The radiant beauty of this being disturbed me strangely, yet | hoped that he would not depart. Deeply moved by this appearance, | was unable to either compose my thoughts or to think of anything else. | gathered up my courage and asked him who he was. He smiled, and in a loving voice answered, "| am Raphael". / expressed the wish to learn something more about him and he said to me, "In the holy scriptures you will find the Book of Tobias; by reading that you can become better acquainted with me. You will see me again". He stood for a while before me, with a look both pleasant and deeply penetrating on his shining countenance. Then he disappeared, and the light that had accompanied his presence also gradually faded away. Among my books was a Bible which included the Apocrypha. | opened it, and as if by coincidence, came upon a page from the story of Tobit. | was surprised; it was as if an unseen hand had guided me to find this passage so quickly. | began to read and soon discovered that Raphael meant ‘medicine’, and ‘healing from God'. The archangel had once come down to Earth in human form, to accompany the young Tobias on the roads of the world. He had led him to his bride and had healed her and also Tobias' father. Finally, when they wanted to pay him with gold, the angel made himself known to them, whereupon he rose up and disappeared from their sight. 10 THE BEING WITH WINGS OF LIGHT All this | kept in my heart, and cherished the hope that | would see Raphael again, as he had ANGELS IN STARSHIPS www.cosmic-people.com