Chapter 5, Dreamland
As night awakens and day snores in slumber, the moon slowly rises above the horizon only to give way to dense clouds that seem to settle across the land like a blanket of warning. A whippoorwill calls in the distance, its mournful song eerie and mysterious; making the hairs upon the neck of a weary traveler stand on end. Upon the slight breeze that rustles the leaves of trees nearby, whispers carried to her ears beg her to seek refuge from this night. Stranger to this land she is, come from far away. Drawn like a moth to the candle, only to have her wings singed by the dancing flame. Something is here; she can feel it in her bones; yet what it is she does not yet know. So onward she ventures, wandering slowly as if to invite whatever is out there to test her forbearance.
Somewhere between being awake and asleep, where the Elysian field passes between the twin pillars of reality and dreams, a little wrinkled medicine man with long white hair, sat upon a smooth flat boulder of Igneous rock, making notes and curious sketches of wayfarers upon that ancient well traversed road. When he had created a handful of these gargoyle type portraits, made of finely pressed charcoal paper, which he inscribed with pungent elemental pigments, he would consign it to a constantly tended fire pit just to the right of the boulder, while dancing flames demanded to be fed.
Shirley stopped upon a visit, curious as to why the medicine man would send all of his creation into the fire.
"I quench the thirst of the eternal flame" said the medicine man, and dipping a nib into a flask of sable ink quickly executed a not entirely flattering portrait of her. Knotted hair and warted nose, with a dark complexion mottled with pale spots.
Shirley was not overly impressed with the medicine man’s rendition of her.
“That is quite horrendous; I wouldn’t mind if you threw that into the flames.” She spoke, “It is truly ghastly.”
“It is the picture of your soul I paint.” Spoke the Medicine man.
As her eyes turned dark in indignation, she fingered the great crystal Ulun‘suti, then uttered a particularly malevolent series of injunctions against this vindictive man that caused the unfortunate Shaman to become naked, his skin on his body was etched in words, and as Shirley tried to decipher what was written upon him, he rapidly assumed the physical attributes of a wolf, a snake, a bear, a mountain lion and a majestic Eagle, each of which, in a passionate act of auto-symbiosis, caught then swallowed its immediate predecessor. The eagle unceremoniously spewed forth the medicine man, to stand before him.
The Medicine man
“The never ending red road unfurls at my feet,
the boundless sky beats its wings above my head; the steps of the sacred white buffalo calf woman begins at my doorstep, my pipe of peace and truth feeds an eternal flame.”
The Eagle
“I will pluck the ever watchful eye from the sky
to feed my little baby in its nest of down, I will pluck the quills from the wings of Infinity to weave into the walls of my nest with twigs and little strips of frayed rags filched from the hides of the rotting carcasses of buffalo. Once this mighty wilderness was crisscrossed by a thousand pathways, prancing wolves, elk, and buffalo beyond number traveled upon them seeking mysterious and glorious pastures, now they are the playgrounds of scavengers and bone hoarding vultures.”
The medicine man
“I have looked Chief Yunke-lo, in the face
and read the great truth in His amused expression; I have seen the sons of man wielding the perennial scythe that harvests the souls from all mortal forms. In the interval between two breaths, I stole a glimpse to the entrance of heaven and, making my obeisance’s, prostrated myself before the great spirit of Wakan Tanka .”
The Eagle
“Here I am in my bright and flashing plumage, observe the exquisite arch of my wing and my white crested head! What need do I have for the divine realm full of resplendent mystery? -the sun is warm upon my back, the water is wet beneath my sure talons, the rainbow trout wriggles delightfully in my golden beak! Besides there is a monster, a great serpent blocking the way, impeding all who would look upon heaven?”
The Medicine man
“My life’s blood runs through all of creation, all things blowing in the wind is my father and the womb of potential my mother. The stars that shine in Heaven are my ancestors; everything is a thought-projection of the Great Spirit, Even Uktena, the keen eyed one who is the keeper at the gate.”
The Eagle
“Here is the rain to smooth the earth and heal the framework of the world. In their bright speckled eggs my little chick lings dream of what is yet to be; I will call to the young doe, surely she will quell the desire of the Serpent monster, and then together we will glimpse the happy hunting ground.”
The Medicine man
“Days and nights fly over me; one day there will be no more tomorrows and the shell of the fragile grandmother world shall crack. My children will be proud and strong-winged warriors in the light of the final Sun... They will traverse the great red road of the sacred white buffalo calf woman, only then will I put off feathers and flesh to dance a final sun dance before the Great Spirit........”
*************************
……The wind was at her back, pushing her further towards her fate, the one Lucifer had specifically chosen for her. This is what He had planned, so it must be done. Shirley wasn’t even worried about the seventy-seven story plunge. He would carry her, and fly her to his kingdom, where she would be his Queen, her place at the side of this anointed Cherubim.
“A few more steps, my love,” The young blonde haired man hissed from behind her. “And do not worry about the child. I will care for him until it is time for him to join you, with me. I am his father, you can trust me with his soul.”
“Yes! I can trust you. I named him after you. And one day, we will all be together. We will all be safe together."
He agreed wordlessly, pushing her effortlessly towards the brink. When her bare toes were hanging over the edge, she looked down to see the ground rise up to meet her. Things were so small down there, so insignificant, so not worthy of her, or of her pending power, or of her immortal soul. All she need do is jump. Only her will mattered. Then…..the man-child would be born.
She was almost over the ledge now, the wind whipping around her like the Angel of Death, pulling yanking tearing until she gave in. The wrist she had drawn blood from to paint the now crusted pentagram on her chest was still dripping with crimson blood. She licked the blood thirstily, drinking deeply and dreaming of her glorious future. Pushing herself closer and closer to the brink of mortal destruction, she heard His voice again, and for the last time. I am leaving you now, love; I am off to be with the child. He cannot be alone right now. Then she was left alone.
Closer and closer she drew to the edge, saying a final prayer of safe deliverance and worship to the one she loved so dearly. The plunge didn’t seem so far, and she knew He’d be there to catch her. In his large, warm arms, He would catch her, and carry her to her new home, Titan where she would finally be awakened. After all her years of waiting, it would finally happen.
The child had been His idea. He needed the child to create a gateway from His home on Titan to this mortal world. The child would validate his very existence, Shirley not wanting to anger Him, had agreed.
I adore Thee, King of Evil, by the beautiful body Thou hast fashioned in the likeness of Lucifer. By its purity impassioned I adore Thee, King of Evil! She proclaimed, in a quiet yet somehow reverberating voice. It was then that she threw herself, feet first, back upon the roof of the building. She landed on her feet, the clouds opened and a small ray of light touched the man-child, immediately the child was caught up to god. Shirley then realized she was not just a naked creature standing accused, she was a co-creator.
&n
bsp; Shirley sat up in bed. She went to her night stand and took out the crystal, its beauty was overwhelming, she now had it wrapped in Deerskin and she fed it regularly. She had never asked anything of it, the past few months that it had been in her keepsake. But now....something was calling to her, she realized that the dreams she was having were real. They were in fact more real than her waking life.....she now needed to follow her dreams...but not the image of the handsome young blonde haired man. Oh yes he had been cajoling her, calling to her, speaking sweet words in her ear. Somehow it sickened her, repulsed her, she felt violently ill when she thought of him, yet, she was also very attracted to him, her dreams were telling her, she must find him...She would take a trip in her new Jeep to North Dakota and find out about Daniel Ghostwolf. He had sent her this crystal; she needed to find out about this man, her curiosity would not allow her to leave it alone.