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8. RAINBOW’S CABIN
A windmill stood next to a quaint cabin on the green.
A breeze was starting to lift and swell, so Rainbow checked the trough for water to moisten his garden. He thought he could hear hooves galloping and wondered if it was Tyber— wondered why he was returning so soon. It was not even noon yet, and collecting herbs took most of the day.
When the winds raised their glorious melodies, whirling through the trees and chatting to the animals, Tyber asked Freegirl if she minded galloping, for he knew his horse would be inclined to do so—such was the way winds affected horses.
Freegirl, though still dazed, enjoyed the idea and almost smiling, said yes—for she was familiar with running equines.
Upon a vague and dusty path they roared. The sun was powerful and healing, as the two upon horseback seared the meadow, recreating a trail covered and blurred from previous rains.
It was not a heavily traveled course, as the country had few inhabitants, so the long green grass hid the path in places. Most people traveled in boats, for water vessels needed no rest or food. This left the dirt trails virtually empty—save for the wild animals headed to drink from the rivers and streams.
“Oh! La!” Freegirl and Tyber heard the voice of a man calling from the tall green grass, as the stallion was pulled to a stop. “Tyber! You and Wilson fly like a plump humming bird! I've always known it!” Rainbow loved to take note of how his friend enjoyed soaring upon his steed, rapidly. “And who is this pretty lady?” chattered Rainbow.
“Rainbow!” Tyber exclaimed, with exuberance born from galloping. “This is Freegirl!” And then, remembering her touchy state, he relaxed his tone and said softly, “She needs to rest.”
“I need a boat,” Freegirl corrected Tyber.
Tyber slid off the mount, while Rainbow watched in confusion. Freegirl was gaining her strength, and slid down after the boy, not bothering to take his offered hand. She thanked him for his effort, but the girl was obviously on her own, now.
Rainbow quietly pondered. He lived a very quiet existence. Gentle, reserved and subdued, Rainbow was beautiful. He had feminine grace and elegance, and like a feline stretching, his movements were fluid.
Rainbow’s smile was calm, and his gaze was peaceful. He held his hands open with long fingers flowing, and extending his arms towards the door of the abode, invited the company into his dwelling.
As the three people walked into the humble cabin, Rainbow pointed to the flowers in his garden to the newly arrived girl. “We have marigolds, begonias, petunias, cosmos and nerembergia. Look at how purple those petunias are!” He was so happy to have company.
Rainbow was thirty-five and lived alone. He knew Tyber’s parents from the Spring Meeting and they'd all become friends.
Inside Rainbow’s cabin, sitting upon an over-stuffed chair, Freegirl felt anxious. Though she had learned in her childhood to be patient, nothing in her childhood could have prepared her for what she was now experiencing.
“You would not believe how I found her,” said Tyber.
Freegirl hoped Tyber would say nothing about her materialization, but she knew it was not likely. It was the first time either of them had ever experienced something as uncanny as that.
“I was at the foot of the mountains, where tons of berries were growing. I know my mother can use the leaves as well as the fruit, so I planned to make a day of getting thorn-scratched and bloody. I had one basket full, when further up the hill among the fuchsias, something caught my attention. It was like a glob of oil paints was oozing from the ground beneath the blossoms! I couldn’t figure so I continued watching the lava-like stuff rising, and I thought for a moment Mount Gold is active! Then I remembered the golden caves and the people living there, and I knew it was not lava.”
Momentarily, Freegirl thought of erupting volcanoes and burning meadows and became melancholy. Her eyelids lowered.
Tyber continued. “When the oozing suddenly turned solid I thought, Oh my blood! It’s a human! It made me dizzy!” He looked at Rainbow to see if the man understood his impact.
His friend's eyes had a serious tone, but other than that, Rainbow was unaffected.
Tyber finished his story. “Then I realized it had to be an Image, so I asked her if she was.”
Rainbow looked at Freegirl, who sat gazing at the rug on the floor of the gentle man’s cabin. An Image. Whoaaa.
She was not thrilled about the implications. For her Vision, she wanted no attention. Three days had passed since the Full Moon Gather and weird events were happening. The hardest test now was Freegirl’s not remembering those passing days. The look was on her face. Not a content one, Rainbow noticed, as he quietly contemplated her presence.
Freegirl suddenly blurted. “Is there any way I can borrow a boat?” She was determined, her mind was set on her goal.
Rainbow did not ask her if she was an Image, but instead, gracefully sauntered into the kitchen to pour some tea, and with corn muffins, brought hot cups back to his visitors. Freegirl bit into the food and realized for the first time she was hungry.
“I have many friends who have boats,” her host softly explained, as he walked into the main room. “Where is it you need to go?”
“The Lore Halls,” she answered immediately and firmly. Her voice was strong, her voice was deep, and the look in her eyes was serious.
Then Rainbow finally asked, “Are you an Image?”
Images were rarely seen by ordinary humans, for they spent a lot of time studying and traveling on other planes. They avoided ordinary folk for the lack of conversation and common knowledge. For a Child of the Glimpse to meet an Image was an honor.
“If I was an Image, would I need your help?” She was tired and slightly exasperated, but she spoke gently. “I wish I was an Image, then I could get myself out of this mess.”
Her eyes widened after she said, “this mess”. People upon Photopia did not get into messes. Even being stalked by a wild animal was not considered a mess—it was an excellent challenge for teaching Focus. She wondered what her listeners were now thinking.
Tyber and Rainbow curiously glanced at one another, but subtle was their exchange.
“True,” answered Rainbow. “Images are all-powerful. Simple folk need not assist.” Then he grinned slightly. “But Tyber said you… materialized?”
Freegirl looked into her steaming teacup and sipped the liquid. There was no way she wanted to talk about this. There was no way she wanted to reaffirm anything. After a moment, she replied, “I guess I did.” She gazed into her memory like it was a spell, her eyes unreadable and contemplative. “I’m not sure what happened.”
The three of them sat and regarded her situation. The newly discovered girl had introduced an unsteady reality into what was normally a very peaceful, simple life.
After a biting moment, Tyber finally said, “If you travel the river through Shadow Meadow, it will take you twice as long to get to Save the Lake. The meandering of the river is endless. Horseback is the only way to go, at least in the beginning.”
“Tyber is clear on that one!” added Rainbow, enthusiastically. He lifted his voice happily, as he offered Freegirl, “I will lend you a horse! When you get beyond the Arch of Save the Lake, many great boat builders can be found. Tyber knows people who might even be able to take you all the way through Living Forest.” He included the assistance of his young friend to escort Freegirl, knowing Tyber’s excitement towards horseback riding adventures. Then Rainbow added, “More than four hundred miles covered! There! You see?” He winked into Freegirl’s serious face.
“Do you realize how far the Lore Halls are, Freegirl?” asked Tyber kindly.
Freegirl looked at the ceiling of Rainbow’s cabin. With a serene gaze and calm tone she answered, “I don’t know, and I don’t care. If it takes me my entire life, I will get there; and I will leave as soon as possible.”
Again, the three sat in silence—in a tense way. “I would escort you all the way to the north, but I only just arrived at Rainbow’s. I have hundreds of herbs to gather. Maybe you could wait a couple of months?” Tyber was fantasizing the glorious adventure to come. But of course, he had never been beyond Living Forest. He, too, would have to find an experienced traveler with maps if he wanted to take such a quest.
Rainbow smiled at Tyber’s dreaming, while Freegirl’s forehead pinched into a look of panic. She was hoping to leave first thing the next morning.
“Take her to the lake,” said Rainbow, calmly. “While you are gone, I will collect the herbs you need. I wouldn’t mind going across the meadow myself, but you know more people of Save the Lake than I do. I will lend you Black Raisin,” he said to Freegirl, “and the two of you can leave tomorrow morning, if you like.”
“You’re a clear one, Rainbow,” responded Tyber. He looked into Freegirl’s eyes deeply, knowing her urgent heart. “At dawn we ride north!” he blurted with enthusiasm. “I have ridden the length of this meadow hundreds of times. If you can handle sitting on a horse thirty miles a day, we should be at the lake in one week. We can find most of our food in the valley, but there are some things we need to start packing today. Rainbow has everything we can use, including—lucky you—his horse, Black Raisin.”
For the first time, Freegirl smiled fully. With her eyes glowing, and her enamel radiating, she flashed her teeth and gums—and joy became her. These strangers understood, and were going out of their way to help. And so far, they had not even asked why.
Of course, if neither had offered to help, she would have started walking alone anyway, but was very thankful her option was not put to the test. She began to relax as Rainbow filled their teacups with more chamomile tea.
Freegirl needed to rest before the journey’s beginning at sunrise, and she needed to acquaint herself with the horse called Black Raisin. But in the meantime, as the June sun slowly dropped behind the river to be shaded by the river trees, fun was necessary.
Rainbow gathered his instruments—wooden flutes, and various hand drums and shakers—all made by him and other woodworkers. Music was as natural to a Child of the Glimpse, as eating was to the wild animals. Each person took lessons from a master of their tribe, and learned one specific instrument, while other instruments—especially the human voice—were also explored. Consequently, most Children of the Glimpse were capable of playing a variety of musical instruments and singing.
Tyber, Rainbow and Freegirl played heartily, bouncing upon their feet with laughter and song in the late afternoon garden. Freegirl was happier than she had ever been, but fretful for her family’s concerns. She focused upon the Voice of her mission, for she knew the next morning life would become serious work— as traveling is a test in survival.
The three played and danced until dinner, then in the pale evening, after a meal of freshwater salmon and mixed vegetables, Rainbow delivered Black Raisin to Freegirl. With a waning moon rising, Freegirl rode the borrowed horse.
The huge Photopian moon was narrowing, as she curled onto the stuffed matress upon the porch, scared for her future. When one is unsure, the blur seems eternal. Three days had passed, and she had no recollection of its passing. Never had she imagined a memory lapse, much less experience one. She had been at the Full Moon Gather, a perfectly normal event for any Child of the Glimpse.
But wait a moment! Hadn’t this Gather been totally out of the ordinary? For the first time in her life, her father, the Leader of Communications, had not been present. He’d been injured and not healing?
How was Thunderbold doing anyway? How come they were not looking for her? Or were they? Rainbow’s cabin was not far from the mountain. How long had she been in her Vision? Three days?
Her mind was spinning, and she knew if she did not let go of her past, she would never get to sleep. And to sleep is to heal. She loved her family and was alarmed for them, but they would have to accept her disappearance as inevitable. She was not trying to hurt them, but those missing three days! That was a subject to invade her serenity.
No, she thought. Those days were gone and no matter how much it rattled her mind, they would not return. If she needed what was lost, she would find it. Nothing was going to interrupt her enthusiasm for moving, or her need for rest. She had met two blessed people who were totally involved with her needs and ready to help. These were people she did not even know, and they were going to do more for her than her parents had ever done. They were going to initiate her journey to the Lore Halls, and she would never forget them.
Holy, the words in Freegirl’s mind. She was going to the Lore Halls!
Wilson and Black Raisin were lead to the front of Rainbow’s cabin by an early rising Tyber. The Fireye had not yet risen, and Freegirl was still sleeping deeply upon the front porch. Wilson, the big gray-white stallion who loved to run, was stamping his hooves with impatience as his friend walked beside him, halter in hand.
The mare was walking on his other side, and was Rainbow’s most energetic horse of young fire. Small, taut and glistening solid black, she pranced gaily to impress, or upstage, the big bright hulk stomping on the other side of Tyber. The young man between them was occasionally lifted off his feet by the romping beasts. “Hold your whippers, you wild waggadoons!”
Freegirl heard the commotion and popped from her cot. Momentarily forgetting where she was, and unable to see Tyber and the animals in the early morning dim, she sat perfectly still and waited. It was dark and the air upon her skin was cool-warm. She was outside. The fragrance of an incredible garden slowly coming into her senses enveloped the area in which she sat. When she heard the nickering horses, she remembered.
Today was the day she was going to the Lore Halls!
“Oh, La!” greeted the young woman, as Tyber tied the horses to a long narrow log, hitching them in front of the porch.
“Bright mornings to you!” answered Tyber. “Are you ready to ride some land?”
Freegirl sprang out of her sleeping comforts and gleefully exclaimed, “I’ve been ready my whole life!” She was so excited, she threw her arms straight to the sky, stretching and twirling. She twirled thoughtlessly straight off the porch—for life held still the morning darkness, and it was hard to see. Like a cat, she landed on her feet and exerted an unexpected giggle, surprising the horses who shied instantly.
Tyber handled the horses with an apprehensive mind, for the beasts were excitable enough as it was.
The girl barely took notice. She bounced gently up to them and carefully chirped, “Are you ready to ride, sweet creatures of the wild?” She patted them on their noses and cooed, “Oh sweet babies of the land. Take me to my dream!”
Tyber watched her smiling, as the Fireye began to drizzle light upon the surrounding blossoms. Freegirl was not the same dazed person he had found materializing the previous day.
“Are you ready to ride?” repeated Tyber, standing in the dawn’s haze. “We have two hundred miles to go, as much as thirty miles a day. Have you ridden a lot?”
Freegirl was physically fit and knew how to ride. Her family had horses, as did most Children of the Glimpse. However, Freegirl did not ride daily, like Tyber. For her, running through the hills, meadows, and sands of the beaches was more invigorating than horseback riding. After her run, she would find a special place to sit quietly, listening to nature play music. Riding horses she did for a change, and usually with others, as she considered it to be social play.
She was not sure how to answer Tyber, for surely she did not have the riding experience he did.
“I usually ride once a week with my friend, Leon.” She thought of this sweet boy of Mount Gold and felt a stab in her stomach as she realized new pain. Freegirl had no idea if she would ever see her friend again.
“How many miles do you ride at one time?” inquired Tyber.
“Oh…I don’t know…I suppose…” Freegirl lingered in thought a moment. “Well, we go to the beach and gallop through the waves; or we ride into the hills and pick wildflowers. Sometimes we run on the trails in the meadow, or we follow the river.”
“I see,” responded a friendly Tyber. “You play with the horses rather than take journeys with them.”
“Yes,” she answered. “But I’ve been to the Spring Meeting five times and we rode every time. That’s almost a hundred miles in one direction.”
She remembered how long and challenging it was to be fixed to a horse for an entire day. It took her family four days to reach the famous meeting.
“Well then. You know how it feels to be on a horse all day. That’s great.”
Tyber was preparing the gear to be strapped to the horses. “I ride every day. Sometimes I go as far as I can possibly go before the sun drops.” Tyber’s main hobby was horseback riding; he could ride for endless excursions in any season without a break. “If you start getting tired or sore, we can stop and stretch.”
The morning was awakening and soon Rainbow was alert and helping the two travelers. As the three people were rolling extra clothing and blankets, to stuff the saddle packs, an immense shadow began to emerge above their heads, blocking the barely visible sun. They all froze in motion, stopped their efforts and looked to the sky.
Countless birds, gravitated together, came steadily flying out of Living Forest. It was one massive cloud, similar in view to a storm cloud, but moving at a much faster rate. Soon the sky was full of birds shadowing the entire meadow.
Freegirl, Tyber and Rainbow instinctively moved under the porch covering, to avoid the many drops of bird feces that rained in scatterings here and there. The shadow lasted about as long as it would take a person to sing five songs, then directly the birds returned to Living Forest.
After the phenomenal interval of bird flight, the three offered honor to the Fireye, the sun, which was peering on the horizon, above the line of trees.
The day was initiated. Herbs, knives, flint, bows and arrows, water baskets, cooking pots, sleeping bags, a small tent, extra clothing and rain parkas were rolled into the gear to be packed for the journey. It was not a heavy load, but it had bulk.
Tyber had plenty of his own necessities; Freegirl had nothing but the clothes on her back, the same sleeveless cotton shirt and knickers she had worn at the Full Moon Gather. Because of the clean diet and stress free existence of the Children of the Glimpse, Freegirl had no odor. Her clothing, however, was wrinkled.
Rainbow, seeing this, donated several of his own belongings for her to keep. He was not much thicker than the girl, so his pants and shirts fit her fairly well. A sleeping bag was also given to the unprepared child. Rainbow had gear for the horse, but had no extra wildfur to cover the saddle, which meant the possibility of Freegirl getting saddle sores.
If it was not for the amazing healing powers of these humans, they would have taken more time to put comfort upon her saddle. But that would mean hunting fur, and presently, they just wanted to start traveling.
Freegirl suddenly realized she was going to miss her flute. As if on cue, like a divine director had planned it, Rainbow sauntered slowly through the cottage doorway and into the garden, playing one of his handmade flutes. She had played one the day before, when the three people had celebrated being alive.
The slim man held out his palm containing the instrument. “Go with the brightest stars, Freegirl,” he said. “I know there is something great awaiting you.”
The girl hesitated, not wanting to misunderstand the wonderful gesture, and then slowly took the flute from his hands. Rainbow smiled at her and said, “You play so well, you should not be without one,” and then he stepped up the staircase to his peaceful porch, and sat down on his cushioned chair.
It was time for the riders to leave. The two teens hopped upon their horses, loaded fully for the trek. Tyber called out to his friend, “See you in a couple of weeks!” And across the gorgeous green meadow the two riders pranced into the morning light.
Rainbow smiled, as he imagined the children’s coming journey, gazing at the horizon beyond them.
It was late that evening, while Rainbow was tending his flowers, that he saw a muddy piece of paper with something written on it. He thought now what could this be? As he was shaking out the wet note, he saw the word “Freegirl” written on it, and hurriedly dried the message to read it. It said, “Our daughter, Freegirl, missing since the night of the full moon.” The note continued to describe the missing relative’s appearance and clothing. Then Rainbow saw the date. The message had been left on the cabin door the morning before Tyber had arrived with the unusual girl.
Oh my, thought the gentle man. This was really beginning to get strange. The child had left without telling anyone where she was going? Rainbow knew when the dawn broke the next day, it was his duty to ride to Mount Gold and tell the people, he, indeed, had seen their daughter, and he knew where she was headed.
To the Lore Halls Freegirl was bound, and she did not look like a person who would allow herself to be stopped.
Not Freegirl.
Not now.
Not ever.
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