"What came next in the movie? Let's see, in the movie Sarah and Hoggle missed the guard and then Hoggle ran away when they heard Ludo yelling. We met the guard instead and I got lost. I wonder if Ludo will show up for them or for me? Maybe both of us? Then we'd have two of them if we all made it to the castle.
"I wonder what Ludo will look like animated? Fur usually doesn't animate well. He'll probably be a disappointment."
"Hey, now this is different," Cara said as the hedges ended, opening into a flat area filled with raised pools. The light seemed brighter here than in other areas of the Labyrinth so far and Cara could just see walls off in the distance where this water garden ended. The maze continued in this area as well, with paths running between the chest high walls of the pools, which made the walls low enough to see over, but really too high to climb easily.
"But what if I just climbed them once and walked on top and jumped from wall to wall?" Cara mused. She examined the nearest wall. Constructed of the drab gold stone again, it narrowed at the top making walking on it nearly impossible for anyone but a tightrope artist. Cara did not relish falling into the weed covered ponds on a regular basis. "That takes care of that idea."
As she worked her way across the garden, she noticed a familiar odor she could not quite place. The plants she had dismissed as water weeds had to be producing it. She looked at them more closely.
"They look familiar, too. Where have I seen them?" She felt memories of them somewhere. She teased them out getting an impression of being very small, very young. The flowers had been much bigger then.
"And they were different colors. Pink... and yellow... and white, not orange and red like these. I was little and it was a big garden with a pond. My parents took me and my mother showed me the fish in the pond and the flowers. She told me about the flowers. What were they called?" Cara clutched her fists in frustration as she walked. The name flitted just out of reach, on the tip of her tongue. The smell of so many of the flowers gave her a headache and made it difficult to concentrate and follow the memory.
"Which is odd when you think about it, because they're computer-generated flowers and it's a computer-generated scent. It shouldn't affect me. But I do have a computer generated head, so I suppose it all makes some sort of sense. It's just more complicated than I thought it would be," she sighed and returned to her former question.
"Now what were these annoying flowers called? Lily? No, they weren't water lilies. It started with an 'l' though. They were... lotus! That's what they were called! And there was something about gods..." She threaded her way through the maze, remembering more and more of that day almost 20 years ago.
It must have happened several years after they had moved to America, though she had no memories of that at all. It seemed to her that she had started kindergarten soon after this day.
"No, that's not right. It was a reward. We went after I started. It was a special garden, for a temple or something and we had to drive a long way.
"And there were bright pictures in the temple, and some of them scared me. Only I didn't say anything after the first one because they said the pictures were gods and I shouldn't be afraid of them. I had nightmares with those pictures in them for a long time." She shook her head to banish the faint memories about the dreams.
"And then we went outside and there were statues and Mataji showed me the pond and the fish and the flowers. And she told me about a goddess. Which one was it? It was an important one, she said. Something to do with being happy and getting everything you want."
As she tried to remember the story her mother told her, Cara found the center of the water garden maze where four paths came together in a circular, paved clearing. She paused a moment then continued across to the path that looked most in the direction of the castle.
Gusts of wind buffeted her as a huge barn owl landed in front of her. It settled its wings and crouched, blinking at her. Then a figure sitting on its back moved, drawing Cara's attention. The woman, dressed in a brilliant red sari, got down from the owl's back and stood in front of Cara.
"Who are you?" Cara asked.
"Don't you know?" The woman's numerous bangles clattered and chimed against her golden skin as she moved.
"If I knew, I wouldn't ask. Should I recognize you?"
"All good Hindus recognize me, worship me. I bring pleasure and prosperity to the faithful who appease me. I am Lakshmi, I give all good things. I am Shreedevi, I make kings out of men. I am Bhudevi, I give all creatures food and shelter."
Recognition dawned on Cara. "You're the goddess she told me about! Mataji said by praying to you I could get anything I wanted. Of course since I was about five at the time anything I wanted encompassed toys and candy and not much else. So why are you here? Why am I seeing you now? I haven't prayed to you."
"I am here to give you a second chance. To show you what you have refused by turning away from your parents, by not doing as they bid you."
"I know what I turned down. Marriage to some guy I'd never met and a life of doing what he tells me, if I'm lucky."
"Look what you have refused." Lakshmi cleared the lotuses from a corner of the nearest pond. The open water made a dark mirror, pictures forming on its surface.
Cara saw herself dressed in a sari, decked with gold jewelry – the wedding ceremony she would have had. This faded and a large house appeared surrounded by plants she did not recognize, the house in India she would have lived in.
The house also faded. Another image formed – she recognized herself again – showing her commanding many servants. Her clothing had changed. She no longer wore the wedding sari, but her clothes, something she would never wear ordinarily, were not fully western either.
Then she faded and reappeared again, this time she had aged. Her hair had grown long and was pulled back from her face. She stood outside and four children ran up to her. She greeted them with hugs and kisses, apparently very fond of them.
"Children? I would have had four children?"
"Perhaps more. That is the number at this point in time. Do you see what you have given up?"
"Oh yeah, I sure do."
"Wasn't it such a small thing for them to ask? Just that you do as they bid you, marry who they arranged for you, like an obedient child? Your parents only wanted the best for you. They knew better than you what your proper life would be."
"No."
"Remember what your mataji told you, do what you are told and perform the prayers and rituals properly and faithfully and you will lead a good life."
"No. I won't do anything that woman told me." Cara dismissed her tender childhood memories – even they had the betrayal running through them. "She wanted me to get an education, so I got it, but when I found something I wanted to do she wanted me to drop everything and give it all up. Everything I had worked for like she told me. Just so I could move to India and marry who they found for me. So that they could cement another business relation."
"You help your family and they help you. You are never alone in anything you do," the goddess instructed. "You must consider the family's welfare. The family must come before the individual. The family comes before everything."
"Oh yeah, sure. Family's important. As long as it behaves. Family helps you as long as you're doing what they want you to do. What you want doesn't matter. Just what they want."
"It wasn't all for them. Look what you would have gotten. Remember what the vision showed you."
"I don't want that. My husband telling me what to do, what to wear, how to live. Four children, maybe more. I don't want that."
"You said you wanted wealth and power. You wanted to be rich. You wanted a powerful husband."
"I wanted to do my own thing, not my husband's. And I don't want to have a cooking accident if my husband's family doesn't like me."
"You've seen that that won't happen. You will be rich. You will have servants to command. You will have many children to take care of you when you are old. That is what every Indian woman prays for."
"But it's not what I pray for. I don't even want the same things now that I thought I wanted then. Wealth and power were high-school dreams. I don't want that anymore. I just want to be happy. And my idea of happy does not include moving to India. Now leave me alone and let me solve this Labyrinth."
Cara turned to continue on her way through the maze and found her way blocked by the owl, dozing in the sun. Her abrupt movement had caught the bird's attention and it turned its head to look at her. She had forgotten about the bird, but it gave her an idea.
She vaulted for the bird's back. Why walk thorough the Labyrinth when you could fly over it? She clutched handfuls of soft, tawny feathers as the startled bird hopped into the air.
"Okay, now how did she control this thing?" Cara asked herself as the owl wheeled over the water gardens and then headed off at an angle slightly to the left of the castle. She tried talking to it, leaning to the side, and kicking the bird, but nothing made any difference in its flight. "With my luck it probably only understands Hindi. Another thing I should have done like my parents told me," she said sourly.
"Well, I am still sort of moving toward the castle. That's better than nothing or the opposite direction." She watched the terrain passing beneath her. They had flown beyond the organized mazes and now passed over a rocky wilderness. In the distance she could see a forest, a wall, and a flat, drab lowland. "That must be the Bog. Just as long as it doesn't drop me off there I'll be happy."
As if triggered by her thoughts, the owl began to descend and landed in a clearing near the summit of a rocky hillside. Cara tried to get it to take off again, but it crouched down and refused to move. Cara had the distinct impression that it was sulking.
"What else should I expect from a barn owl? This is probably where Jareth gets it."
She swung her legs over to one side and slid down off the owl's back. Almost as soon as her feet touched the ground, the owl roused. Cara backed away from the bird and it hopped into the air again and flew back the way they had come.
Mataji, in case you couldn't figure it out from context is Hindi for mother. The goddess is an actual Hindu goddess and is really associated with owls. Cool, huh?