Chapter 3: The Transformation of a Lifetime
Cautiously and slowly, I reached out my fingers toward the glistening waterfall. The moment my fingertips touched the dazzling cascade, it exploded into a bright orange light. Music swelled like a balloon that I expected to pop, but the sounds were contained to a comfortable level, much to my ease. The sudden appearance of light startled me and I became aware of the sound of animal noises in the background.
Suddenly, I felt the earth move under my feet and saw two very large objects running toward me from the left of the stream. I shifted my feet quickly and sheltered myself from getting harmed, and not a moment too soon, either. Suddenly, two trumpeting elephants stormed past me as if running from something they found intimidating, too. I looked up with astonishment and noticed that I was in the middle of what looked like an Aurora Borealis. Shimmering colors of red, orange, yellow and green surrounded me. I overheard bird cries and animal roars overlapping in the distance. I gazed through the aurora trying to understand the sounds I was hearing but had a hard time making out anything concrete because of the way the light was shimmering all around me. Then just as suddenly as the elephants had come, the haze parted and I could finally see the animals more clearly. But were they really animals?
I couldn't comprehend how sounds I was hearing were coming from not real animals, but cartoon animals! I was utterly afraid and amazed at the same time as I gazed upon the different species all around me. Suddenly, a school of sketched fish swam up to me – and then right through me, causing me to jump and let out a yell. I was then confronted by a caricature of wolves running and circling around me. They barked playfully while I stared at them with morbid curiosity. "They look familiar", I thought as I tilted my head to the side a little. Before I could do or say anything, they dashed off somewhere behind me.
I felt a warm light seemingly bathe me so I turned around to investigate its origins and what I saw took my breath away. Walking down from the warm splatter of light and color was a man dressed in pioneer clothing. He displayed a coonskin cap, a fringed shirt and pants, wore moccasins on his feet and carried an Indian pouch. My eyes trailed over his body from head to toe and that's when I noticed the rifle he held in his hands. I tensed up in alarm, but then from the corner of my eye I saw another man descending through the rainbow to my right. He was older than the first, who now stood on my left.
This second gentleman was dark skinned with a grayish beard. His attire consisted of brown boots and pants, a white dress shirt with a green coat over it, and a brown farm hat. Blue animated birds flew all around him as he strolled down with a cane. My stance, once stiff, now loosened when he flashed me a warm and friendly smile. I immediately noticed that his eyes twinkled with happiness.
While I was taking it all in, another light shone right in front of me. This was brighter and warmer than the first two had been. Now approaching from the light was yet a third man, who was older than the moccasin-wearing man located to my left, but younger than the friendly, twinkly-eyed man now standing on my right. This third man looked like a professional man with a suit coat over a white, buttoned down collared shirt. He wore a handsome necktie, dark slacks and wing tipped shoes on his feet. Even though he looked like a serious man, his eyes were full of youth and mischief. I contemplated his appearance as he stood in front of me. I instantly saw he had a brown mustache, bright eyes, and he was quite tall. Then recognition hit me like a bolt of fierce lightning.
"Wait…Walt Disney?" I said, incredulously. He smiled warmly at the mention of his name and with that, he brought forward his hand, palm upward as if offering. With quavering nerves, my mind regarded all of my anxious actions. Uncertainly, I looked towards Walt's two acquaintances seeking guidance in their eyes. The gunman nodded as if saying, "Go on". The dark-skinned man grinned, saying, "It's okay". I was amazed upon hearing his voice, so deep and pure. I turned my head toward Walt, thinking about my decision. I didn't trust my senses and tried to wake myself up from this strange dream. At least I hoped it was a dream. The only way to find out was to take the man's hand, I concluded. So I took a deep breath and reached out my hand to join his. I couldn't mistake the feeling of warmth and the happy sensation that came from touching his skin. His grasp was firm, but welcoming and I suddenly felt myself lifted off the ground.
"Here we go again", I thought in desperation. The happy sensation was now replaced by despair again as I floated off the ground and rose toward the sky. The wind began to whistle as the pioneer and old man disappeared into the light from which they came. My fear then turned to panic as I heard the animal's noises growing louder. Walt began to frighten me, too, because he started blending with the light, which I knew would leave me stranded, alone, in the air. I floated there and watched, horrified, as the animals and bright lights mixed together and swirled around me faster than I remembered a roller coaster could go. I just wanted to wake up or get back to the ground, but really, just get out of this nightmare I found myself in. I regretted grabbing hold of Walt's hand. I regretted opening the wardrobe and regretted even going outdoors to read a simple book but no regret could come close to the regret I felt at ever thinking a negative thought or saying something unkind.
Surely I was being punished for something because suddenly, I saw something very strange, and very scary, floating toward me. It was a glowing heart; mind you, not a real beating heart, but one you would use for cards on Valentine's Day. My own heart raced harder in my chest the closer the glowing heart got to me. In that moment, I could imagine the pain of a heart attack, because I was sure that's what was happening to me. In no time at all, the glowing, beating heart was right in front of my eyes. I reached out my hand to push it away but it quickly shifted downwards until it was no longer directly in front of my eyes, but directly in front of my own heart. It inched closer to me and I put my hands around it to keep it from getting any closer. In that moment, another extremely bright light began shining from the middle of the pulsing heart and the brightness caused me to close my eyes to shut out the brightness.
Unfortunately, this left me vulnerable; I could no longer control this strange apparition. Suddenly, an extreme pain hit me like a train had just struck me and the heart I was trying to hold suddenly flew into the pendant hanging from the chain around my neck. The irony was not lost on me that the pendant it entered also was a heart-shaped object and I felt my mind split, my senses losing control. I didn't know what was up – or down, soft – or hard, or even what was comfort to what was pain. Nothing was as it should be and nothing made sense anymore. The voices intensified and the animals were now at their loudest. I found myself hating Walt for deserting me to this horrific experience but I also suspected the experience would soon be over and I'd be dead because the noise got louder and the lights swirled more frantically, causing me to now spin. I clutched at my beating heart and felt my pulse slam in every part of my body now. I threw my head back to scream but no sound came out. Everything around me had exploded, expanding out sideways.
My body and senses went limp and numb. I could hear the animal roars overlapping around me as I was gently floating downwards toward the foot of the mountain. Light was still reflecting off my body when I finally touched the ground and lay upon it. I allowed the solid surface of the ground to comfort me and bring that sense of stability back to my shattered soul. Finally, I struggled to stand despite the fact that I was so weak. The lights seemed to gather up towards the sky and then with the sound of thunder, they vanished without a trace.
I stumbled and fell as I made my way, searching to find some kind of shelter from the sudden downpour of rain that began falling all around me. I was so dizzy and couldn't see straight and fell several times. I wondered why I should even bother to get back up. This entire experience left me confused, drained, tired, but most of all, angry and that anger drove me on. I replayed everything in my mind, still stumbling in the sudden darkness like a blind person. At the edge of the cliff, I looked down, trying to see through the rain. I don't know if I lost my footing or was pushed from behind but I found myself falling and falling till the world went very, very black.