Chapter 1 – I am Sam, Sam I am
Laura sat in her room, her music on as loud as her speakers, and family would allow. She wanted more than anything for her family to stop fighting, the constant bickering was really getting to her. She stared up at the wall where her Legolas poster hung, she sighed, and silently wished to be in middle earth. She knew things had to be so much better there, even in the time of the war of the ring. Her mother called up the stairs to her. "Laura, it's dinner time." Laura stood and walked to the door, she sniffed the air. "What's for dinner?" She called down. "Meatloaf." She sighed, they all knew she was a vegetarian, why did they insist on making meat every night for dinner. "Not hungry." She slammed the door, and again sat at her seat in front of her computer. She was busy with a school paper when her mom knocked on the door. "What?" "Honey, the music is loud, please, and why didn't you come down for dinner? Your dad wanted to say goodbye." Laura stood and sprinted out the door, calling behind her. "He left? How could he leave and not say goodbye."
Laura stood silent in the driveway, her dads car was gone, the only family member she could talk to, the only one who understood her. Her mom came up behind her, put her hand on her shoulder, and said. "I'm sorry Laura, he wasn't happy when he left. He must have forgotten." Laura with tears in her eyes and whispered. "It's all your fault." And turned to run into the house.
Laura sat in her room in silence, completely still, meditating with incense, and candles burning, her tantric music playing in the background. Bells, bells and flutes, and harps, she was in ecstasy. She often used the elf Legolas as a meditation point, picturing him, making him shoot his bow, staring into his beautiful blue eyes, sometimes even talking to him. Of course whatever he said, she had made up in her own mind, or had she? Maybe middle earth did exist, maybe Legolas was somewhere out there.
Suddenly Laura's entire body felt warm, her fingers and toes began to tingle, and she felt light. "Relax, don't break concentration." She told herself, her teachers always told her, this was the beginning of astral travel, and if she panicked she would lose it. Breathing evenly, and not moving a muscle, she began to slip into a sleep of sorts, only a sleep one does not rest in. She found herself floating above her body then, a thin silver cord going from her body into her now weightless form.
"Laura." Laura turned to face a man floating there in front of her. "Who are you?" "I am your spirit guide, I'm here to sort of show you the ropes I guess. I am Sam." Laura picked up her silver cord. "Rope?" The man smiled, and nodded. "Yes, in a way, that is your link back to your body. Should it ever break, you would never find your way home again." Laura looked at the man in confusion. "It can break? How? Why? From what? Why wouldn't you be able to find your way home? How far can you even go with this short thing here." "Well Laura, you can actually go anywhere you want, the cord stretches quite far, and it can only break when there is no desire to return to your body." "And?" "Well, how about we go somewhere, a bit nicer, your room is rather cramped and dark." "Uh okay." "Hold my hand Laura."
Laura looked down at the hand she held, he was transparent, how odd, then looking up she noticed they were no longer in her room. "Wow, where are we?" "We're in my favorite astral café Laura." She looked around in utter confusion then began to laugh. "I'm dreaming, I fell asleep." She looked to the man for confirmation, he shook his head. "No Laura, you are on the astral plane my dear." "Wow, okay, so show me how to work this thing will ya?"
They sat down at a table in the corner of the café and he explained everything to her, she asked questions, he answered, and they just talked. She found he had been with her since she was born, helping her along in life basically. He explained that the possibilities were endless with astral projection. She could do anything, go anywhere, and be anyone she wanted on the astral plane. "Okay, I have a big how to question. How do you get where you want to go? How do you I guess work the controls?" "Simple Laura, you think of where you want to be, and you're there. Instant travel, no lines, no waiting around, no delays." Laura stared in shock. "Wow." "So Laura, where do you want to go? What do you want to see?"
Laura sat in silent contemplation, scratching behind her ear now and then, an old habit she had for when she was thinking hard. Her brother always said it was her brain leaking out. She gritted her teeth at the thought of her brother, she really didn't like her family, her dad left and everything went to hell. Her mom married a jerk, he brought his kids with him, and he became her constant tormentor. "Laura? You okay?" "Yea, I'm fine Sam. I was just thinking about something. Hey, I think I know where I want to go." Sam smiled. "Great! Okay, all you have to do is think hard, 'I want to be in….' and you'll be there!" "Okay, I want to be in Middle Earth. Mirkwood Forest."