" I don't care,” the Marine said harshly. " The rule is " One at a time,” and so you will enter one at a time.”

Not wanting to make a scene, Ani and Isma'il stepped back and waited. Appar walked to the desk in front of him. Sitting behind the desk dressed in western attire was a native of India. He looked up as Appar approached and raised one eyebrow with both an amused and a bewildered look on his face. He studied Appar for a full minute, looking him up and down, from his long, stringy, unkempt hair and beard, to his tattered and fading dull yellow robe with a small bottle around his neck, to his bare feet.

Appar waited. Finally the man spoke, " A sannyasin!? By all appearances from southern India, I would say. You are here seeking a visa? I know your devotion is to wander, but is not the United States a bit too far? You supposedly renounced all the material goods of this world. How do you plan to pay for your travel?”

" I travel with friends,” Appar said quietly, and pointed back to Isma'il and Ani. " They are financing my trip.”

The clerk looked back at the two standing in the doorway. Laughing and shaking his head he said, " Now I have seen it all.” But then his demeanor suddenly changed. " Wait a minute. A sannyasin from south India in the company of an African Muslim and a Tibetan Buddhist nun. What are you doing in the north? Why do you wish to go to the United States?”

Uncertain of exactly how to explain their mission and not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves, Appar replied, " We are following a vision. We feel there is something of great importance in or near Chicago. And time is of the essence.”

" Well, not so quick, friend,” the clerk said in a very haughty manner. " These things take time and this is a most unusual group. We will have to do a background check. Leave your applications with me and come back in a week.”

Frustrated and angry, but knowing enough not to make a scene, if they wanted a visa, the three handed the clerk their forms and left. They had been given an appointment for an interview the next week, so they would not have to wait in line again. The week past slowly. They wandered the streets of Delhi, looking at the sights of India's capital, but their thoughts were filled with the journey that lay before them. When the time for their appointment came, they arrived early, sitting in the hard, wooden chairs outside the visa office and waited.

Their appointment had been for 9:30 AM, but it was well past ten before they were called into the office. The official behind the desk, an American, welcom ed them, said his name was Harold, and apologized for the delay, but a small problem had arisen earlier that morning that had to be dealt with. After studying the paper work in front of him for a few minutes, he looked up and considered the three in front of him. Finally he spoke. " This is a most unusual request, from a most unusual group traveling together. Our background check on all three of you came back negative. Our relations with the Sudan are not favorable,” he paused and then continued. " I don't recall ever receiving a visa request from an Indian sadhu. And you, Ms. Rinpoche, according to our reports, have gone through much in your lifetime. Only your request for a visa has been cleared without question.”

Harold asked them for more information about their relationship to one another and about the vision that was leading them to the United States. Isma'il, Appar, and Ani answered all his question openly and honestly. Closing out his interview Harold said, " It is a curious mission, but I see no danger to my country in your traveling there. In fact, listening to what you have said, I would say what you are looking for is not in Chicago. The most important person to come out of Illinois, in my opinion, was Abraham Lincoln. While he was not born there, he was raised there and was a resident of Springfield, when he was elected president. Perhaps that is of some help. I will recommend that you receive a visa. However, since this is a most unusual request, a letter will be sent to the Chicago office telling them of your coming. They will probably want to talk with you when you arrive.” Standing up, Harold escorted them to the door saying, " I know you feel a sense of urgency, but I cannot speed up the visa approval process. Your visas will be ready in six weeks.” Pleased that they would be able to travel to the United States, but disappointed about the wait, they left the embassy.

During the next six weeks they carefully made their travel plans. Even though the visas would have been available around the 17th of December, the first flight to Chicago that was not full left on December 23rd. Ani's charts said, of all the possible dates, December 24th and 25th were the best. This would make the timing very difficult, but they trusted in the spirit that had led them to this point and booked the flight. As it turned out their visas were not ready until the 20th of December.

They arrived at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on the evening of December 22nd. They wanted everything in order, so that they would not miss their 5:50 AM flight the next morning. All three were filled with uncertainty and excitement about what they were doing and where they were going. As it turned out their Air India flight, number 123, was uneventful, even for Appar. After almost ten hours of flying they landed in London and had to wait another two hours before the plane continued on to Chicago. The plane was on time, landing at 2:30 PM and it was still the 23rd of December.

Leaving the plane they joined the long line waiting to go through customs. When they got to the customs agent, she scanned their passports into the computer and waited. After several minutes, she looked at them closer and said they would have to meet with the Immigration office's director. A soldier approached and led them to a small waiting room. After a long wait, the three were taken to the director's office. He told them there had been a snafu and their paperwork had not arrived. They would have to wait in the airport's detention area, until the letter arrived. Several officers from airport security came and ushered them away.

Isma'il and Appar were placed together in a small cell with no windows and Ani was placed across the hall alone. It took all of Ani's meditative powers not to be overwhelmed by this situation. Being locked away like this brought back the horrors of her cruel ten-year confinement in the Chinese prisons in Tibet. Besides the person who brought them food and drinks, they saw no one the rest of the day.

The following morning they were escorted back to the director's office. He told them that the letter had arrived, but he felt uneasy about their reason for traveling to the United States. " While I have to let you into our country,” he said powerfully, " I want you to keep in contact with our office. You say you will be going on to Springfield. Let us know when you arrive and if you find the couple you are looking for. We would be interested.” With that he returned their passports and let them leave.

After checking with airport information and exchanging some money, they took a cab to the Greyhound bus station in downtown Chicago. To their great disappointment they found they had missed the afternoon bus to Springfield. So they bought their tickets and waited until evening for the next bus. The 8:20 bus was late leaving the downtown station, but it made up for lost time on the road so that they arrived early, shortly after midnight.

Stepping out of the bus and looking around it was evident that they had not arrived in downtown Springfield. Isma'il's vision had been of a couple and a baby in the midst of a city. The fact that the bus station was out on the edge of Springfield was another disappointment. The three stood there in the cold and dark December night, strangers in a strange place, wondering where to go.