#3 ~ THE PATH

As usual, her rest was interrupted by the dream/vision. It was always the same, clear, and yet obscure in meaning. What it presaged she did not know, but she accepted its presence in her subconscious, the same way she accepted that her heart pumped blood through her. She let it run its course, not doing anything to impede its steady march across her inner eye.

She was walking on a boardwalk that drifted aloft among the clouds. She could not see where it ended, nor did she know where it began. She only knew that the woman she saw on it was herself. Eventually, she stopped walking, and merely stood watching the path ahead of her, waiting for something. Or someone.

This was one of the mysteries of this dream/vision. One of the things she did not understand. Was she awaiting another ship to another destination? Was she awaiting her guide? Was there some other purpose for her stillness, her waiting? She asked the questions in her mind, but no sound issued from her lips. She only stood.

The clouds around her roiled and fluffed, and thinned where the sun broke through them. She could hear the whisper of thunder in their shifting round her, feel the sting of lightning. And yet she knew she was in no danger as long as she stayed on the path. It was prescribed, and it would take her where she needed to go.

The sound of the morning birds impinged upon her mind, and the dream/vision ended, as abruptly as it had begun. It was dark when she looked out the window, and as she rose from the cot she had slept on, she heard the sounds of movement below stairs. Someone else was up and about, probably the innkeeper, getting ready for his day. She would need to be long gone by the time the first of his clients went down for breakfast, or travelers found his establishment.

Her preparations were even simpler this time. The knapsack contained a change of clothing She donned them slowly, after washing herself with the water that had been left for her. She made the bed, and left a small tip for the one who would come to check her room when she was gone. A last look, and she stepped into the dim hallway.

This time, for the first time, she felt as though that hallway was the boardwalk in the sky, and what she was about to do was the beginning of a different, a higher adventure. Her skin tingled with pinpricks of excitement, and she could feel her heart beat quicken. This was unusual - never before had she felt such anticipation at the start of a new sojourn. There had only ever been dread...until now. Now, dread was replaced by a disturbing mixture of fear and anticipation, as though her heart knew something her head could not yet see.

She walked down the stairs quietly, and went directly to the door where she knew her guide was waiting. He would pay her way, and give her final instructions.

"It is a new day," he said without preamble, and she knew he was not talking about the day which was beginning.

"Yes," she agreed.

"You will walk till noon, and then you will be there. Take this," he pressed a small package into her hands. "It contains food and water. It will only last till noon."

She put the package in her knapsack, and turned away, as usual. He did not want her thanks. Once she had given it to him, and he had admonished her, saying that it was he who should be thanking her. And so she prepared to leave, when his voice made her turn and look at him. His trunk-like neck seemed to glow in the dim light of pre-dawn.

"This time will be different," he said. "I know you have felt it." He spoke with certainty. she had no need to respond. "Follow the path," he said.

"How will I know?" she asked him simply.

"You will know, as you have known in the past when it was time to leave. Stay on the path and your sojourn will go well!"

She smiled at him then, again understanding the other message, and turned away. She did not understand, but she knew she would be safe. She opened the door and felt the cool morning air upon her cheeks. Closing the door behind her, she stepped into the street, and turned east, toward the rising sun...