Sarah opened her eyes to bright sunlight, but her mind was filled with a thick soupy haze. She propped herself up on her elbow and surveyed her surroundings. Above her, the bright light of day sprinkled its warmth through the scattered branches of a tree. The sunlight danced upon the rich green grasses and wildflowers that grew in the shadows of the tree branches. Spots of light and dark green emerged and then faded as clouds passed before the sun and the branches swayed with the soft breeze that came from the East. As she sat up, her head slightly reeling, she noticed as a peach dropped from her grasp and was instantly cradled by the grass beside her. She gently placed her hand next to her head as the pain intensified from the effort to come to a sitting positon. She didn't remember how she got there or why. She picked up the peach as something about it played at the recesses of her mind, but nothing seemed to come to the surface and the thoughts toward remembering vanished like a whisper as she caught sight of the vibrancy of red dancing about her peripheral vision. Sarah turned her face upward and saw that the branches of the tree were covered in long strings of red ribbons. They drenched the branches in bright apple red, fluttering in the breeze like dripping flowers. She struggled against the vertigo threatening to seize her as she tried to stand. The feeling of imbalance and spinning lasted longer than a few seconds and she waited at her knees, patiently, for the sick feeling to pass.
As she waited, she saw a dandelion and reflectively plucked it up, snapping the long stem that held the soft white puff of seeds ready to be launched to travel the air in search of new ground to lay roots. She smiled as she looked down upon the white parachute seeds and then gave a quick blow against them as if trying to put out the candles on a cake. She blew several times till all of the seeds were launched and lifted into the air to float along the currents. Afterward, she cast the stem aside and grabbed another as she gathered her feet beneath herself and stood up. Her legs were weak and stiff and she felt that she might lose her balance at any moment, as if her legs were suffering from atrophy from lack of use for far too long. She tentatively took a few steps till she gained confidence enough to make it to the base of the tree for support, quickly maneuvering so that her back slammed against the larger trunk to keep from falling.
The backward crash into the tree was equally painful as she felt metal welt her back. She quickly turned to see that the entire trunk of the tree was covered with sideways-turned coins that had been driven into the bark of the tree, encasing it. She traced her finger over one of the coins as she mindlessly in wonder at why the trunk was blanketed with millions of various sized coins in an array of colors of metal. She traced herself around the tree, her hand gliding over the bumpy coins. They were everywhere. From the base of the tree to the branches that flowed thick with red ribbons. Absentmindedly she raised the second dandelion to her lips, her eyes just beginning to close as voice stopped her. "Who are you sending your thoughts and dreams to?"
Sarah glanced about herself but could not see where the voice came from. She quickly spun about and looked toward the left and right of the tree and then slowly circled the trunk, expecting to see the owner of the voice but there wasn't anyone there. She heard another noise and the rustling of leaves above. She glanced toward the interior of the tree branches and partially shielded her eyes against the sun, craning her neck and vision to see and there sitting among the branches was a beautiful dryad that was resting in the tree. She wore a beautiful headdress with bright pink flower blossoms at her temples. The headdress wrapped about her forehead with two arches that came to a widow's peak at the center, holding another single pink blossom. The arches were mimicked upward in lime green with gold trimmings. Tri-cording in gold looped at the top of the headdress in two layers while branches spilled from behind, long and dripping with even more blossoms in soft pink and white. She had a sing-song voice that was as gentle as a breeze and delicate like sleigh bells. She motioned once again toward the dandelion that Sarah held.
"It must be someone important if you are sending them so many."
Sarah caught herself and then inspected the flower she held, suddenly intrigued by the words of the dryad. She turned it slowly in her fingertips, pondering. There was someone that played in the back of her mind but she could not remember who it was. A name wanted to rise from the depths of the fog that lingered but she couldn't remember it.
"I….I….don't remember to whom I am sending them." She turned the flower again. She began to raise her eyes up to the dryad in the branches again, but as her vision lifted from the flower, the creature was suddenly standing before her. The headdress made her look several inches taller than her own height. The dryad was clothed in a white dress with long sleeves that nearly touched the ground. Her hair was a white blonde color and flowed down her back like a waterfall. It too, was so long it nearly touched the longest of the grasses living about the tree. "I think that I am searching for someone." Sarah said more like a question.
Sarah touched her temple again, as if there was a pain that increased it suddenly. "I…I can't really remember. Do you know how I got here?"
The tree spirit smiled at her. "You must have wished yourself here, for you only suddenly came to my tree a few hours ago. I have been waiting for you to wake up."
"Wished?" Sarah pondered the response loudly on her tongue. The concept seemed foreign to her. "Why would I wish myself here?"
"I don't know," the dryad replied. "And yet here you stand at my wishing tree."
"A wishing tree?" Sarah raised her head and gazed up at the branches of the tree. "How is this a wishing tree?"
"See all of the red ribbons and coins? Those are the wishes of people." The dryad reached up and caressed the low-lying edge of one of the ribbons. "I listen on the wind and hear the wishes of people. When I do, I write down the wish on a ribbon and then tie it to the tree. When they wish with a coin, I press it into the bark. What all wishing trees have in common is that of being a place where people try connect with what truly matters to them. Often times, young marriageable girls send wishes for a husband, but they never wish to be here and send their thoughts with the dandelion seeds like you have done. That is new. Who are you trying to connect with through a wish?"
"Do you grant the wishes?" Sarah inquired.
"Oh no…it isn't my place to grant the wishes. I just write them all down and guard the tree. But I have never had a person wish themselves to my tree before. Your wish must be very powerful or important. Or even both."
Sarah tried to recollect what she had wished for but her mind was an empty vacuum, filled with nothing but blackness and stars, ozone and magic residue. She shook her head. "I don't remember making a wish to be at a wishing tree. I don't remember anything….anything at all."
"And yet here you are." The dryad stated matter-of-factly.
"Yes..." Sarah pondered. The pain in her head started to increase and she stepped backwards so she could lean against the trunk of the tree again but then remembered the coins that would hit her back. She tried to straighten and keep her balance. "My head. It aches so much."
"Please…sit and I shall make us some tea and you will feel better." The dryad motioned for Sarah to sit down and she too sat before her, making sure to leave space between them. With the snap of her fingers a table appeared before them. The table was carved from the large root mass of a camphor tree and polished till one could see their reflection in the marbled colored wood with its burly knots and many root legs. It was the perfect height for both women as they sat before it. The dryad placed a cup before Sarah and one before herself and then proceeded to pour the steaming liquid into each cup from a large copper and silver tea pot that was intricately carved with peacock feathers.
"It is obviously hot," the dryad stated as she replaced the pot. "You should wait before drinking it so it doesn't burn your mouth. Perhaps you would like something to eat?" The dryad lifted a silver lid from a small covered saucer to reveal small cakes in the shape of lotus flowers. She picked one up and offered it to Sarah.
Sarah took the large mooncake from the dryad and broke off a piece. It was a rich pastry and filled with a thick paste. It tasted slightly sweet and Sarah could not help but sigh with gratitude at the sweet treat. She didn't realize how hungry she was until the filling touched her tongue. But the cake was dense and encouraged the desire to drink. Sarah lifted the cup and carefully sipped the hot liquid. It too was slightly sweet and refreshing rather than a dark and bitter type of tea. The entire experience was executed will little talk between the two women and was quite peaceful and natural in manner. It wasn't until Sarah had consumed the last piece of her mooncake that the dryad spoke again.
"Perhaps I should read your tea leaves and see why you have come to see me."
Sarah peered into her cup. The darkened specks and residue of the leaves were pooling at the bottom of the cup with what little liquid remained. She lifted her head to see long pale fingers attached to an outstretched arm across the small table expectantly waiting for the cup. She bit her lip, nodding her head while gingerly placing the cup in the pale palm.
The dryad pulled the cup back before her and stared down into it. Then looking up gently and inquired, "What is your name girl?"
"My name?" Sarah echoed back to her.
"Why yes, so that I may address you properly."
"My….name?" Sarah sat back stunned. She wanted to reply but there was nothing. It was as if she were staring at a blank page. Nothing but whiteness loomed before her eyes. A name? Name….name…name. The word reverberated in her mind over and over again but no answer replied. Clearly the shock must have registered upon Sarah's face because the dryad tilted her head oddly at her and then reached over and placed a gentle hand up her own.
"You don't remember?"
"I….I…guess I don't." Sarah replied. "I don't remember my name at all. I don't know who I am."
"Oh….do not look so sad." The dryad cooed toward her. "It is okay. Do not fret. All is well."
"How can things be well if I don't know who I am and why I am even here?" Sarah replied with a panic-tinted voice.
"It is good." The dryad stated again as she peered back into the cup. "It is good that you don't remember." The dryad once again looked up from the small empty cup that she held in her hands. She made a small swirl motion one more time and then looked down. Her head nodded and then she engaged in the same manner another time. Sarah watched her as she nodded at the cup. Another swirl, another nod. Finally, after the fourth time, the dryad looked up toward the raven-haired girl sitting across from her.
Sarah repeated herself, "Good? It can't be good at all. Why in the world would you say that it is good for me to be completely clueless of who I am?"
"Because of your wish." The dryad answered.
"My wish. You know what my wish was?"
"Why yes, it is in the tea leaves."
"What did they say?"
"I see darkness and night. I see day and light. I see balance between the two."
"What does that mean?"
The dryad, suddenly glanced to her side as if she heard something coming. She placed the cup down quickly and scrambled to her feet. The quietness of the tea time was broken by the rustling of her skirts and dress. "Make haste," she quieted her voice and whispered to Sarah. "Someone is coming. You must prepare yourself." The dryad was motioning for Sarah to get up from the tea table.
"But what did I wish for?" Sarah questioned as she scrambled to her feet. She quickly came around the table to the pale figure and grabbed her hands within her own. "Why am I here? What did I wish for?"
"Why….the beginning, of course." The dryad said as she quickly fell behind Sarah's shaking body. Sarah could feel her small hands on each side of her upper arms, as if to steady her. She could feel the soft breathy whisper in her ear as she continued. "Now get ready to wake up."
"Wake up?" Sarah said in shock. "Wake up? You mean this was nothing but a dream?"
"Why, yes….of course." The dryad's voice started to drift away. "But what is coming isn't. So quickly…wake up."
And then Sarah opened her eyes.