Chapter 1
6 months later

On the other side of the continental United States, Cathryn Rivers started a new life out in Peach Springs, Arizona. Just recently her twenty-first birthday passed unknowingly to almost everyone, even herself. Jack had sent her a card with some more money and another cliché phrase. She smiled at his kindness. It wasn't like her real parents would have sent her anything if they couldn't brag about it or make her feel guilty. But Cryn was in the process of putting her old life, including her parents, behind her. Though she was definitely happier after the drastic change she had decided upon, she never lost her somewhat dark and cynical sense of humor. Which she realized, gave her a more, realistic point of view, if not a slightly smug one. But it did offer a wealth of insight.

She realized, after moving to Arizona (or at least the car trip over), that what everyone meant when they told her about her potential and how "she had her entire life ahead of her," was that the raw potential of a young person's life, especially if in some way gifted, is always more alluring than the reality of choice, responsibility and commitment. She would smile at those people and nod her head appropriately. The "advice" everyone always felt inclined to give, especially if it was given to a younger person, always humored her. Not to say she wasn't happy to receive another's opinion on an asked matter, but sometimes people like to hear themselves talk or just take themselves too seriously. Yet, her understanding did offer more peace of mind, oddly enough. The understanding of these people and their motives for their advice, even if she didn't agree with their behavior, really put the proverbial 'big picture' into focus.

Besides, there was no point in trying to impress the ultimately faceless crowd of one's peers (or one's parents' peers) with one's own life. Cryn was determined to live her life for herself. It wasn't her fault she didn't know what to do with it. But she had gone through the phase of trying to please others, of trying to do what was precisely expected, and emerged a better, if not slightly bitter, person. It had ended roughly a year before her parents crashed. Probably because the pressure her parents put on, combined with their double standards, that pushed her to the realize that (unless one was lucky) the only person interested in the well being of one's self... is one's self. And no amount of self pity was to change that (she discovered this by experimentation). She now had a very laid back attitude though debatably overly laid back, that, at the very least, allowed her to appreciate the smaller things in life. And try to discover something for the long term, though abit slowly.

So, while noticing the slight hypocrisy of doing what was debatably expected of her and enrolling in 12 online credits from Arizona U, she took a simple roll over job at a local tourist trap located just down the street from her new humble abode.

***************************************************************************************************************





'I can't believe I'm out here,' Cryn mused once again as she gazed at the distant gold peaking on the horizon. She gave a slight jump to readjust her backpack. 'Everything is so surreal and… exotically beautiful.'

She let her feet guide her to the Hualapai Burial Grounds Gift Shop. It wasn't too early, the fall sunrise was beginning to peak relatively late, but the area still had a sense of timeless twilight about it.

'Perhaps another world holds this quality. I just wish I could have been born a few hundred years later in human civilization. Just enough time to let Earth be the home of a space traveling species, but still leave some major exploring left for me to do.' She smiled and gazed up at the rapidly fading stars. 'Still, the desert is so much like another world. I just might be where I want to be.'

The only thing disturbing in her life now was the increasing bouts of insomnia. But since her life was pretty low key, the lack of sleep wasn't affecting her too much. And it was nothing compared to the stress she had when her parents were alive.

Her mind wandered to her hometown, and her parents. 'If only we could have resolved our problems before the accident.' She kicked a stone as she drew nearer to the gift shop, but continued out loud. "Yeah right, and have them put aside their self-righteous, prideful egos?" She made a sour face.

'A piece of work they were.'

"Cathryn, dear, You must not crinkle your pretty face so. It will give you wrinkles early." The woman tending to the small gift shop peeked out of the front door upon Cryn's arrival.

"I know Mrs. Flybird. I 'm just… reminiscing." Cryn cocked her head a bit at Mrs. Flybird's presence. "I thought I was opening today." She opened the squeaky screen door and proceeded to her 'cubby' behind the front counter. She felt like a grade schooler and smiled at the thought. She was fond of her backpack. Though it was kind of beat up, it was the one possession she had that always felt… familiar to her. She straightened herself and her khakis as Mrs. Flybird started to talk again.

"Oh, dearie, I just felt like tidying up a bit, and I need you to close tonight. Is that okay?"

Cryn only nodded, but mentally rolled her eyes. 'I like mornings, but I don't like them that much as to wake up unnecessarily. Especially when I actually fell asleep last night.' She sighed off her annoyance and started about her duties.

Later that morning, after gazing at Cryn, the old woman prompted, "You know what you need?"

Cryn gave a sarcastic smirk and twisted a thought through her head. 'Something to end my self pity and mediocre life that has no better future than to become slave to a desk or service worker to the very society that puts me in this dismal situation?' She turned to meet the dark-haired woman's gaze.

"A man," Mrs. Flybird confidently continued.

"Oh," was all that Cryn had to say.

"I mean it dearie. You'll be happier when you have a person to comfort, protect, and provide for you." Mrs. Flybird gave a Cryn a grand motherly glance that had that 'I know 'cause I'm old' look.

Cryn knew that the old woman sincerely believed that. She herself didn't throw out the theory entirely, but then again took it for what it was worth; an old schooled woman's musings. She raised her eyebrows and had a slight gleam in her eye as she voiced a spontaneous thought. "I don't think I like men that way, anyway…"

Mrs. Flybird popped her head up from behind a shelf with one ear slightly turned toward Cryn. "What did you say Deary? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over here."

Cryn knew she physically heard but just smiled. "I said that I don't think I've met the right kind of man anyway." She flicked some dust off of her emerald green tee shirt and continued, "Besides, there is a good chance that this Mr. Wonderful doesn't even exist for me. I think my problem is my indecision with what I want to do with my life. I haven't really found anything yet that has tickled my fancy." Cryn walked around the store until she was next to her boss. She helped her settle a new box of tour books under the bottom shelf.

Mrs. Flybird didn't voice doubt on Cryn's self analysis, but she did seem slightly disappointed that her solution wasn't immediately taken in as the ultimate solution.

'Whatever.' Cryn thought.

For the rest of that morning Cryn took turns with Mrs. Flybird at the cash register, and helped the first early risers to come into the store, however, since it was mid fall, there were few customers in the late morning. Mrs. Flybird had prepared her a snack that day, and so while she munched on the bag of trail mix Cryn opened one of her class books she had brought. She glanced down at her randomly chosen physics book and opened to the first chapter of review and applications. Soon after her eyes involuntarily glazed over, allowing her to drift in thought.

'I need a... a mission. Something that I can lose my pride for. Something that I can believe in.' Cryn continued mentally while setting her book on her lap and grabbing a stress ball and began to absentmindedly toss it around in her hands. 'I don't entirely doubt the concept of Mrs. Flybird's 'Man.' But there must be more than that to a solution in life. Why do I feel this longing, this... this need for accomplishment, for... approval... for self validation?' She actually knew, and it somehow everything always led back to them.

She snorted softly. 'Never once did you guys have anything to say but disapproval. Disapproval of me and how terrible your materialistic lives had become. And you wondered why we never had that parents/daughter bond. I tried guys. I tried until I determined for myself that both of you had created your own hell to to live in.'

The most disturbing thought was how much she had picked up from them.

'Like parents like child, eh?' Her subconscious blatantly interjected.

"Uuhg!" Cryn grunted. 'Why can I never escape them?'

The voice of a tourist broke her train of thought.

He was tall, blonde and had curiously, but not unattractively, angled features. It almost looked like he wore a faint splash of theatrical paint. His eyes, though not unattractive, were the most prominent. They had... well... they had translucent and sweeping markings from his eyes to his temples. But it was just light enough to see, since it seemed to actually originate beneath the skin. 'How odd.' Cryn thought.

"Ma'am? Can you tell me how much this is?" His voice was soothingly deep with a twinge of English accent. She furrowed her brow at his unlikely hairstyle of blonde madness.

'Ah... that explains it.' she thought. 'Europeans.'

He brought her out of her thoughts again by holding up the object in question. She hadn't remembered shelving it, but it seemed familiar. It was a water crystal, like the kind found in most gift shops. Although instead of a cheap plastic space stuffer, or the moderately nice type common to a gift store, this one was delicately crafted with what seemed to be an inward glow. It looked especially expensive, even from her vantage.

Cryn knew that what the tourist had found had no place in a rinky-dink shop as the one she worked in. He held it a bit higher, catching the rays of the sun through the window. He gazed upon it and then once again looked at Cryn.

He had a curious look upon his face, but his expression allowed only his slightly pointed teeth to peek through their thin-lipped bondage, and eluded nothing to what he was actually thinking. Although it did make Cryn feel like there was more than just the water crystal he was interested in. But that wasn't her problem. She turned her attention back to the gorgeous crystal. She again mused at how it seemed so odd and yet so familiar at the same time. 'Strange...' She motioned him over, if not to pretend a to give him a price, but for her to study it more closely. As he glided towards the counter she couldn't take her eyes off the globe.

It's odd quality seemed to increase exponentially as the crystal was brought nearer to her. It seemed to almost pull towards Cryn. An unknown gravitational pull tugged at her mind toward it's crystalline structure. Its base was covered in ruddy sand, speckled with microscopic rhinestones that sporadically glittered and some other sandy colored shades. As the base met with the crystal, the water bent the light of the sand to a smooth rust red color, with some gray mottled objects immersed in the center of the sphere. The man tipped it over in search of a tag and the motion stirred the light catching particles inside, giving them a life of their own. Though they floated about with inaccurate water slowness.

When the man reached the counter the globe had been righted and she could now clearly see the sphere in detail. Her forehead creased a bit upon her realization that the sand's jewels were not actually rhinestones, but were of a more authentic breed of gem. The gray objects were a construction of walls, in a maze like fashion, with meticulous detailing of the surreal environment. There was a structure in the middle, a castle of some sort, but very odd in it's design. Everything looked as though a microscope would revel more detail, and she could hardly believe such immaculate intricacy. And though there was a soft glow emanating from the center, in front of the tourist's dark royal blue shirt, the globe seemed to capture a whole world at night.

Mesmerized by the crystal, Cryn didn't notice the gradual but accelerating blur of the gift shop around her. She didn't understand where it had come from, but it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It really was a miniature world. Ironically, all that was hers began to disappear, but Cryn barely felt herself fall. It was slow, unnatural, and almost insensible. And though her body reflexed, her mind never let go of the image of the crystal. Even as everything went black.


************************************************************************

There is Magic in the air.

What? Where am I?

Can you feel it?

Who are you?

What do you sense?

I see Darkness.

And without your eyes

Nothingness.

Is that all?

What else can there be?

Everything

Who are you!?

What you must sense

I can't SEE anything!

Do you want to see?

OF COURSE!

Sense and see

How?

Can you feel it?

The magic?

The Magic

I don't know