05 An Awakening

When I awoke the next morning in my motel room, the apprehension I should have been experiencing the day before took hold of me. Lifting my hands, they shook subtly, the anxiety felt throughout my body. Last night when I retired to bed, I wanted to rush back to the forest to search for Mary and accept her offer, but after a restful sleep, I felt more reserved.

Fetching a fast food breakfast, I sat in my motel room and thought over Mary's warning. If she was playing with me, I would be back in my empty house by tonight, returning to my mundane job the next morning. If she was truly of a different sort—magical or otherwise, then I would be going on a great adventure. But was any adventure worth risking everything? I pondered.

With midday approaching, I began to explore nostalgically my old haunts, observing at how my childhood town had changed, changes that I had not noticed until now. Eventually, my stomach began to crave lunch, and my hunger directed me to my favorite hamburger joint. Filling my stomach with greasy meat, salt, and sugar, my brain soon needed to relieve the growing anxiety, so I returned to the woods for another mountain bike ride.

With my bicycle unloaded, I hesitated to begin my ride with the worry that Mary could appear at any moment. However, the ferocious insects were not so patient, and their bites urged me onto my bicycle. When I reached the halfway point on the trail, I chugged a bottle of water while pedaling with a light cadence, trying to keep ahead of the black flies before making the 6-mile trek back to my car.

The day was perfect with the sun crossing a cloudless sky and a light breeze drifting off the lakes, cooling me on the winding trail. Passing from one lake to the next, I glided along the dirt trail, pressing south. If anything came from this weekend, I could tell Dee that I enjoyed two invigorating bike rides.

Arriving back at my car, I quickly tossed my bike under the hatch before hopping inside for some needed air conditioning. With my lunch burned off, I sat calmly in my running car, catching my breath as the tops of the trees swayed ever so gently. Letting the engine run, I sipped from my second water bottle and began contemplating my past mistakes—as I often would after a ride. What would I do different if given a second chance? I thought. Realizing that I would probably just make a different set of mistakes, I nervously chuckled as I continued to sip my water.

However, the events unfolding were different this time. Mary was not a drunken girl at a college party; she was not a gaudy tattoo that would fade with age; and she was definitely not some thrill seeking stunt that taunted death. Mary was special, whether or not her stories were true.

My bladder broke into my train of thought, and forced me from the sanctuary of the car. Standing before some brush, I urinated as a barrage of insects swarmed me. Finishing prematurely, I rushed back to my car with the realization that sunset was nearly three hours away, time I did not want to spend in the car. If I turned off the car's engine, the interior would heat up in mere minutes; likewise, opening the windows was not a possibility with the ferocious insects ever on the hunt.

As I debated driving around or letting the engine run, the movement of a large white object in my rearview mirror signaled Mary's arrival. Looking over my shoulder, I spotted the woman riding on the back of the great white horse as they emerged from a trail from the back of the parking lot, a trail I rarely travelled.

Turning off the engine, I exited the car and greeted the pair with a smile. "Hello, Mary."

The woman smirked at my pronunciation of her name. "So you do remember?"

"Name or not, I'd never forget you. I wasn't sure of the exact time, so I came a little early."

When the horse stopped before me, Mary remained mounted on the creature, her look stoic. "Have you decided?"

"Yes. I would like to travel with you and meet your people."

Betraying her tension, Mary slowly inhaled through her nose. "You will be away for a year, and possibly lose everything you leave behind here."

"I am aware of your warning, and accept the consequences."

"But, you don't fully believe me."

"I want to. But none of this matters, I simply want to be with you."

My words seemed to register with the woman, for her face softened. Soon after, she nodded acceptance.

This was when I noticed the absence of the pestering insects and began turning in a slow circle. "That's strange."

"What?" inquired Mary.

"I'm not being eaten alive by the mosquitoes and flies."

Mary smiled. "I asked them to leave you alone."

I glanced up at the woman, unsure of what to say.

"Once you learn how to ask, you'll find most other life forms amenable to suggestions."

I held out my arms to see if I could detect any insects, "Don't mosquitoes need to bite to live."

"Just females for their eggs. To survive, they only need nectar. I promised the insects that I'd lead them to the bluebells if they left us alone." Ignoring my doubting look, Mary nodded for me to look up.

When I lifted my gaze, I found a hovering cloud of insects just out of reach. The large assortment of biting flies and mosquitoes drained the blood from my face. Glancing at the horse, I thought the animal was smiling, amused by my reaction.

Mary offered me her hand. "Up we go."

Befuddled, I gazed up at her atop the great horse. "How do I get up there? I need a stool or a stump."

"I'll pull you up. Give me your hand."

"Really?"

"Yes." She gestured again for me to take her hand.

When I reached up, she gripped my hand much tighter than expected and easily pulled me up onto the horse, depositing me on my stomach with my legs dangling off on one side. Flaying about, I eventually sat up straight behind her.

"You should hold onto me so you don't fall off."

"Um…." After a bit of fidgeting, my hands came to rest on her hips. "Is this okay?"

The woman's face betrayed her amusement as she turned her head. "Sure. If that works for you."

"Wait. I have an overnight bag in my car. It has a couple days of clothes. I should get it."

"You don't need it," she said before whispering something to the horse.

When the animal began to turn, I posed the question, "Is that because we're not really going anywhere special?"

"No. We're going, but you won't find your clothes as comfortable as the ones we'll give you. You're better off without them."

"Okay." Looking over my shoulder, I could see the cloud of insects beginning to follow us. "I think the flies and mosquitoes coming with."

"I certainly hope so. I promised them bluebell nectar."

Suspecting that she had sprayed herself and the horse with some sort of insect repellent, I attributed her explanation to be another tall tale. "Have you ever asked the biting insects to attack someone?"

When Mary glanced over her shoulder, her eyes appeared flirtatious, especially when accompanied by her smirking lips. "From time to time, when feeling playful. We little people do like to have our fun when we visit your world."

"I suppose you lot are the ones who hide our car keys and cell phones, making it look as if we misplaced them?"

"Heavens no. The spriggans do that. We prefer to play with actual humans, not their belongings."

I inhaled the pleasant scent emanating from the woman's long black hair, the smell reminding me of summer rain. "Would tricking a human—such as myself—into riding off to some hidden land be one of those things that the little people like to do?"

"I'm not tricking you. I've given ample warning of what may happen if you should accept."

"And I appreciate that." As the horse travelled along the trail from whence we came, I ducked under some branches, as did Mary. "Are there any dangers at this place we are going?"

With a slight hesitation, she replied. "Some, but I will keep an eye on you. I'll keep you safe."

"Could I die?"

"You could, but you are more likely to die in your world than mine."

I smiled. "Fair enough."

The horse followed the narrow forest trail up a slight incline, heading towards a larger utility trail, but when we reached the intersection, the horse unexpectedly continued forward onto a rarely traveled trail used only in the winter by cross-country skiers.

"Um," I began to ask, "how long will this journey take?"

"We should be crossing over in about an hour, with the twilight."

"I see." I gazed about from atop the horse, the high perspective new to me. I had ridden this trail on my mountain bike before, but only a couple times, since the thick wild grass only slowed down my progression and, on occasion, tangled in my chain. I had to admit that traveling this overgrown trail by horseback pleased me much more than it ever would on my mountain bike.

Within less than an hour, we turned onto a smaller side trail that I had only investigated once before. The sunlight began to diminish, but not from the setting sun. The dense foliage overhead had formed an arch over the trail, which gave the woods an eerily feel as the accustomed forest sounds also seemed to lessen.

Looking off to my side, I spotted bluebell flowers, the ones Mary had given me at our lunch meeting. "Those are that flowers," I said. "These are the ones I was looking for yesterday."

"You are correct."

Looking back, I found our cloud of insects dispersing as they dove for the nearest bluebells to harvest their nectar.

"Don't these flowers need more light?"

"No. They get plenty."

"Are they native to your world?"

"They are native to both our worlds; they seem to thrive in the passages in between. They actually prefer the moonlight."

"Isn't that just sunlight reflecting off the moon?"

Mary hemmed before saying, "Not exactly. It's more complicated than that."

"I see," I replied with blissful ignorance. "So the panniers are mostly for collecting the flowers."

"Yes. You will see that we don't live near these passages in our world. Whenever one of us travels between worlds, we harvest a couple panniers of flowers." As if reading my mind, Mary lightly tapped my leg in mock scolding. "You wait and see. You have so much to learn."

"Please ignore my teasing, and please believe me when I say that I'm enjoying myself immensely."

Mary hemmed again.

As the sun started to dip below the horizon, we continued traveling unhampered along the darkening trail. Though it was harder to see, I could still make out the passage as slivers of twilight slipped through the dense tree canopy. With a warm glow in the sky, we exited the dense forest and entered a wide prairie, its vastness easily viewed in the twilight.

Collecting my bearings, I failed to place myself. "I know the southern part of the wildlife refuge like the back of my hand. Did we cross the county road and enter the middle section?"

"No."

"Where are we?"

"Where do you think?"

Trying to think of a snide remark, my senses unexpectedly came alive. Goosebumps began forming over my arms as a light breeze swirled around us; the scent of the prairie filled my nose with a rich earthy odor. Everything around me seemed to have a faint glow from the subtle ambient light. As the horse carried us upward towards a crest of a hill, I studied my surroundings as if given a new set of eyes and unable to speak.

Mary touched my leg. "How are we doing?"

"Something has happened."

"It has."

"We are somewhere different."

"We are."

"This is not Minnesota."

"It is not." Mary glanced at me over her shoulder, smiling. "Iktomi was right; your senses are strong."

The smell of fresh water permeated my nose. I inhaled deeply and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You're very keen to your surroundings."

"I've always known that," I said. "I attributed my physical awareness to Darwinism. It's how I survived the many bullies in school."

"No. It's more than that."

Reaching the crest of the hill, the horse began nimbly stepping down a rocky hillside towards dense woods. These woods appeared much darker that the last. And despite sun setting and the encroaching darkness, I did not begin to worry, for the horse continued to step surefooted, entering the next section of forest with ease. As we progressed, moonlight began to grace the tops of the trees, seeping down around us, highlighting the foliage.

No sooner had we entered these wood, we exited onto a sandy beach. The moon sat poised high in the night sky, illuminating the landscape with phenomenal clarity. Before us, a lake rippled from sporadic breezes as the horse treaded through sparkling sand. As we followed the shoreline, I tried to judge the size of the large lake, noticing the many flickering lights that dotted the shoreline.

"What are the lights?" I asked.

"Campfires. It's very common for everyone to gather at the beach to relax. We are a social bunch."

The water seemed to have a faint luminescence with the moonlight brightly reflecting off the surface. Not needing the sun to appreciate the lake's beauty, I became mesmerized. "It's amazing."

"Wait until you see it during the day," said Mary. "If you are not tired, I can introduce you to Iktomi. It's up to you. There is no rush."

"I'm not tired at all. Take me to your leader."

"He's not our leader." Leaning forward, the woman whispered to the horse, which then turned towards a large ramshackle house shrouded in darkness. "We don't really have a leader. Iktomi has been here longer than most, so he is a good source for advice."

"There has to be a leader."

"No." The woman gestured to the lake. "If we have a leader, it's the lake."

"The lake?"

The woman nodded. "It's a living thing."

"It's just water."

"Your mostly water," she retorted

"Touché." Focusing on a nearby campfire, I could now make out the shadows of figures as they danced around the light. Some of the people danced and sung, while others were still, sitting on the sand.

Reaching the house, Mary nimbly tossed her leg over the animal's neck and slid off, I following suit—though more slowly as Mary observantly kept me from landing on my face. She next removed the panniers from the horse's back, allowing the gentle creature to proceed on its own into an adjoining stable.

Reaching for a dandy brush, Mary proceeded to brush down her friend. "I hope you don't mind, but I want to do a partial brushing before we go inside. He was so kind to carry us."

"I don't mind." Sheepishly, I stepped around to see the animal's face and said, "Thank you."

The horse subtly bobbed its head, and Mary translated his meaning, saying, "Your welcome."

Feeling giddy, I aimlessly gazed about the moonlighted stables. "I know nothing about horses. If I can help, tell me how?"

"I got it."

Before my face, the dust from stable drifted through a stream of moonlight. I held up my hand and studied the light upon my skin. Unable to explain it, I found the light different from what I was accustomed. Studying every minute detail around me, all my senses felt heightened, as if awakening from a long sleep. "Are we still on earth?"

"Yes...and no."

I turned to find Mary finishing her swift brushing of the horse. Judging the look she presented me, I smiled back at her and said, "Let me guess, it's complicated."