Discovery

[Storyteller]

It was all three dimensional. That was how I saw, now. Or rather, what I felt and tasted. When the breeze caressed my skin, I tasted the fresh expanse of the open air almost immediately. I could practically imagine the billowing white clouds, the bright sunlight warming every crevice of my skin, and the expanse layered in a coat of green before me.

But since I could not see it, I was glad my ability to dream could bring the place, so full of magic, to animated life.

Did I know where I was? Not a clue. Did I care though? Not even a bit.

I was out of that hell-hole known as “Coruscant” and they couldn’t keep me in that hospital -mental or not- even if they tried. Those bastards. I’ll never forgive them. But at least there I had food and a place to sleep. As the wind swept against me again, I couldn’t help but feel the pucker of gooseflesh on my skin. It was cold, and It would be a rough night ahead of me.

I had no guide, it wasn’t like I knew what direction I even wanted to go in. So it would be of course, more difficult for me to follow a path that was constantly winding. The first thing I did was change. I did my best to hide behind the cover of a bush and tree, while I could only hope and pray that someone didn’t walk by and see me. I threw my hospital johnny to the wind, without the intention of ever wearing it again, and set a course for wherever the road would take me.

The dirt crumbled under my feet as I followed the path, stopping several times to dig into my stores of food and drink. I was so thankful for shoes, you can’t imagine. When I had snagged them off of the desk at the hospital and stowed them quickly in my bag, I knew I was home-free.

Right now though, I had little water left, and I could feel that dusk was soon approaching. The way I was able to tell time now, was by the warmth of the air and whether the sun was out. But honestly, I wasn’t sure what to make of this, simply because this world... worlds... were so much different than home. I also had taken a small device from the Corsucant Hospital’s stores, and I think it was meant to help people with blindness, but I am not sure how to work it yet, and don’t have the time to pause and fiddle with it now.

With the assumed shade of night, I grew worried that a monster or creature that I had heard about from the nurse android’s stories. It didn’t matter what verse I was in, because ‘verses’ were indeed what they were called. I was scared. It thrilled deep inside of me and lay tense in my shoulders until they throbbed with ache. It was kind of horrifying, being in a place you did not know, that you could not see, without a friend to help you through.

Even if I did meet someone on my way, it was impossible to tell if they were friend or foe, so what was I going to do? Based on the climate and texture, I kind of determined I was either in Camelot, the Pale Moors, or the Vasty Deep.

Of course, I could have been somewhere else, but it really didn’t feel like it. I also ruled out the Vasty Deep, because there was no scent of ocean in the air -though it did occur to me, that the ocean may not be made with salt- nothing could be ruled out, in this very crazy dream.

I heard a few horse hooves passing by on the path, they kicked up dust and rocks and these specks of earth flew at my face. I blink, because they probably couldn’t tell I was blind, but that meant nothing to me. It was still rude. Plus I was cranky and irritable from walking all day, and I could already feel the blisters forming on my sore heels.

Today I gained my freedom and escaped a new land. I entered a portal to another world, far away from the great city. But I also had no idea where I was going, or how long this journey would take me. Or if I would even make it to the other side, alive.

Today was both the best and the worst day ever. And it wasn’t even over yet.

[Storyteller]

The darkness behind my eyes grew placid still, as if nothing would bring my sight back to life. Ripples of swaying color were nonexistent as I continued my stroll throughout the rich and vibrant land. I didn’t mean to whine, but I was still adjusting to the dark. Unfortunately for me, it was the same darkness that clouded my judgement. In fact, it clouded my entire world with potent, formidable fear.

Everything began to dawn on me, except of course, the light. I would never see my favorite color again, though I would always remember it. I would never squint at too much brightness, but I would still feel the warmth of its light on my skin. I would never see my family’s faces, if even, get to hear their voices again. It was hard. And I could feel the angst welling up underneath my skin. Ripping apart my insides, begging to tear off this mask I called my face, and let loose all the chaos storming within.

I paused on my road, and went to where I could hear the rustle of the trees in the wind. I moved my hands around to find it’s bark, and finally I balled my hand into a sturdy fist. I felt all the anger within me grow like a thrashing fire. Like lightning, my fist lurched out and struck the tree. Immediately I felt the pain roar in my nerves as it thrilled through my entire body.

Again.

My hand collided into the tree with all the force I could muster. Again I shook its branches with the power of my pain. Again, everything in my heart begged for me to be strong, and all I could do, was hit this friggin tree.

The blindness was overwhelming. Unstoppable. And most of all, I was helpless as I waded in its dark, eternal pool For the rest of my life, I would be shrouded in this cave, while others lived in the beautiful meadows that she could only smell by the taste of the breeze. Anger bristled again in my body, and once more I thrust my fist outward and into the harsh force of the tree.

Again. and Again, and Again. my fists met the hardwood with increasing flames of anguish. On the tip of my tongue I felt the words of every curse word I knew form. Anything I could think of to damn it all to hell. Anything... to free myself from this torturous condemnation. Any expression of pleasure or disgust to rid me of my pain, any at all, so that I could get all the emotion out and just finally feel numb. Because if I held it in any longer. I was sure, that I would break.

My fists grew raw as the skin was scraped and wore down through the flesh and into the bone. Finally the pounding stopped, and I took a step closer to the tree, as my hand extended to feel the impact I had made. My fingertips, smeared with warm oozy blood and shaking with adrenaline, found themselves caressing the missing blotches of bark and wood. The little indents that I had caused to this grand and marvelous tree, that surely went on for stories above me.

I finally took in a breath, and it all crashed upon me. The weight of my sorrow bore down into my shoulders, and then buckled my knees. I fell forward, into the tree, and lost my grip with reality. While my knuckles burned like acid, the gnawing burn dug deeper into my flesh, and the razor edge splinters stuck in like needles.

Sorrow surged with every beat of my heart, as though it was pumping through my body with my blood. I could hear it loudly as it roared in my ears with the sweet sobbing that gave way into a familiar cry. Raw fists dripped into the blades of grass below, and my world was spinning. I had no sense of direction, there was no sky or ground, up or down, I simply heard the thud as my numbed body crashed to the ground.

My emotions heavy, my tears, pouring still, and the ache of my heart was unable to be filled. Just when I thought it was over, that my shuddering, deprived lungs were ready to take their last sip of air, she heard a voice from above speak, “Who goes there?”

[Storyteller]

“Who are you?” I growled back, frantically wiping the smoldering tears from my still-steaming cheeks.

“Who, whoo are you?” the voice persisted.

“Alicia. Who are you?” I settled, feeling the scowl weigh heavy on my brow.

“My, my Alicia, what beautiful green eyes you have. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a shade quite so like yours!” the voice cooed and purred as a playcat’s might.

“What? Is that a joke? My eyes are brown.” I snarled, still snorkeling through my runny nose.

“A joke, a joke? I think not. Why ever would someone try to laugh about that? Now it is you, I think, who is telling the joke, for your eyes are indeed, a luscious shade of green, more lush than the leaves, of the trees, and the sea of grass behind you.” the voice seemed bewildered, and I could imagine their head tilting, that is, whoever it belonged to.

I remained silent and then I finally found by what the being was saying that this was a trickster type character, “Nice try. I have brown eyes. It isn’t like they’d just change color in the middle of the night, now you better buzz off before I...” my threat fell short, I couldn’t exactly call the cops now, could I?

“Joke, joke! Now it seems you’re the one whoo-whooo is being funny. You’re eyes really are green young one, and my, the way you held to that not-so-true fact is quite amusing! You Whoo whoo a funny one!” I heard the light scrapings of a branch high above my head, and perhaps the light sensation of dust descending on my matted hair. I inhaled through my mouth, because my nostrils were still closed off, and caught a taste of crunchy tree bark.

“Gah, ugh,” I spat, attempting to get the splinters out from my tongue, and the creature grew closer, extending broad arms as it swooped from a higher branch, till it landed on a lower one, and finally one closest to me and the ground.

“Curious one, you are, human! Yes?” the creature purred and snapped its beak as it extended its head forward toward the girl, intrigued by her actions. It seemed to have noticed the marks she made on the tree before swiveling its head back to focus on her, “Might I ask what the tree ever did to you?”

I gulped and sniffled, suddenly feeling embarrassed. My hands extended like antennas and my finely ringed fingertips brushed the beaten bark of the tree. I had punched pretty deep into it, my fists had devoured both bark and splintering chunks of wood, and the damage I had done was probably even as bloodstained as my mutilated hands. I could feel the drying of what was originally the warm smear, now coating the cracks of my hands like clay.

My head tilted down and as this happened I felt my curly hair sway over my shoulders, it was almost as though  I could still see my hands for I placed my fingers over the place where the dried blood could be felt the most and rubbed, as if to cleanse myself of the sin I had committed. Instantly I bit back the shaking buzz of pain that caused me to wince, the flinch, which I was sure  showed on my face, rocked my composure enough so that the creature who called at me from its perch in the tree, “You alright, strange human?”

“Stop calling me that,” I said weakly, “In my world, there were only humans. Now I’ve got to deal with a swarm of everything. New people, new technology, new creatures... What are you again?”

“Who, who, you ask?” he fluttered his feathers just slightly so that I could hear him, “I am an owl, my name is Bardock. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Alicia. Now, the tree... You see, the reason I ask is because this tree is my own, and you’ve weakened it to such an extend I fear it will die. My cubby is up high in the tree, and I hunt for small prey at night.”

“An owl,” I should have known, “But you talk?”

“Many creatures in this verse speak the tongue of humans, as well as elves. It is you humans, who do not speak the language of the trees, who are at the greatest disadvantage in this realm.” the owl informed the girl.

“Realm...” Which verse does that mean am I in? I thought I was in the Pale Moors, but the robot of Coruscant did not mention elves, other than the dark kind, inhabiting this place.

“I see however, that you are new to the Omniverse, did you at least arrive well?” the voice wistfully inquired.

Unconsciously my hand clutched my once sore abdomen, and I felt myself fret at the memory of pain.

“Quite the contrary, but at least I survived.”

[Storyteller]

The owl continued speaking in a roundabout way, leaving my questions only partially answered, however he had relinquished his name and species. I could picture it in her mind, using fragments of old memories and my own imagination, yet though the picture a large brown owl, with tawny wings, bright yellow eyes with pupils like daggers, came naturally, I could not see the picture clearly in my mind’s eye. I willed it to form in the black darkness that I would surely see for the rest of my life, yet only in the back of my head could I truly imagine, mainly out of instinct, what an owl looked like.

I remembered, and paired it to what information my senses gathered to construct a three dimensional view inside my mind. I didn’t have super senses, I didn’t have super hearing, however I could hear the soft glide of its wings as it descended downward to eye-level in front of me.

It sounded like he was a large owl, on the side of two or three feet tall. Large muscular wings, soft feathers, I still kept in mind the color I could no longer see, since nothing about the owl struck me as old or graying.

“Are you... Well? Whoo- Whoo,” the voice asked softly.

Good question, I thought, “Well enough to stand,” I spoke confidently as strength began to pour into my veins once more, solidified by a freshly sound composure.

“Oh good then, you’ll tell me why you were knocking on my tree?” the owl, and I imagined, was gazing at my fiercely, the tones of his voice warped a bit at the end, and I contemplated that if owls could tilt there heads forty-five degrees, this one’s head was at ninety. “Do you... Have business with me or my tree?”

There was a slight ringing in his voice, as though he was set to a tune, his sentences always ended with a coo, but only if they didn’t rhyme or ask a question. He was, perhaps, a character from a fairy tale. Perhaps.

“No...” I started, my voice was a little hoarse as I tried to lie, “I just uh...” I didn’t really have a good excuse for punching a tree, at least, not one that would make sense to an owl, “Hey, tell me about the scenery around here.”

“Play the ol’ switcheroo, did you?” the owl hooted before chiming in, “Alright, I’ll play along, with you. There’s trees over on this side, the left side of the road, and then off to the right, a large meadow that expands beyond it, but that, I’m sure, you can see with your eyes. Hmmm, let us see, let us see, when you venture deeper into the forest, there are elves, lions, and oh! If you go into the villages, be careful of the hooded men! They do not want to sell you peace, but war within yourself!”

“What, what do you mean? What hooded men?” My voice grew concerned.

“Those that sell pieces of peace, it is an illusion, no, a hallucination...” The owl corrected, “Whoo-whoo.”

“Sounds like you’re talking about drugs...” said my own deductive phone.

“However I do not recommend you go to the forest, if you do not speak the language of the trees, you’ll surely get lost, and hunted by the predators. I knew once, a girl, a bit of a dunce, who stumbled upon a village of ninjas, and well, after that, she didn’t stumble on anything anymore.” the owl let out a small, sad whimper, “Who-who...”