Welcome to my seemingly endless journey.
A trip that will take you to places I might have visited many moons ago.
It´s a tale that came back to me when I meditated on one of my past lives. A life I told you about in my unbelievable true story.
As promised in that story I will now share this story with you.
Chapter 21
The day has already progressed quite a bit when I am finally able to leave. Luckily I have no destination, so it doesn't really matter. Still, I think it's a pity that I only have half a day to go.
I take the map from my shoulder bag and examine it carefully. Which isn't really necessary, because it's so imprinted in my memory that I can draw it blindfolded.
Still, I study it carefully, to be able to oversee unexpected obstacles and avoid them if necessary. It will be a short trip, the edge of what my fellow villagers call the 'Dark Forest' should be less than half a day away.
I am strongly advised not to travel at night through this forest full of ghosts, fire monsters, and a giant cyclops. The latter is said to be the lord of the forest, roasting people alive on a huge spit in the middle of his forest.
It all sounds very fanciful, the kind of story that myths are based on. Still, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to spend the night at the edge of the forest. There is no harm in following the advice I have been given.
As soon as I am on my way, I feel spied on again. It is a strange sensation as I have never experienced it before. But I feel watched by something or someone not far from me. Several times I stop at a bush or tree, hiding behind it and waiting.
Sometimes I wait a few heartbeats, sometimes a longer time. I spy in the direction I have come from, trying to spot my pursuer. Despite my efforts, there is only the great open plain again and again. That alienates me. Am I still paranoid or am I being followed by someone who outsmarts me?
As I walk, I lower my breathing and try to transcend my body, looking for proof that I'm not crazy. I manage to rise above myself while walking and try to feel the presence. Trying to pick up the vibrations that this entity is emitting. But it doesn't help.
Disappointed, I decide that the thrill of the journey, although I don't experience it that way, is playing with my consciousness. What else can it be otherwise?
I ignore the feeling for the rest of the trip. Over time, it seems to ebb away. It must have been the tension, or maybe that strange poisoning.
Reassured by the disappearance of the feeling, I begin to enjoy the surroundings. The grassy steppe, with its small dry barren trees, starts to fade very subtly into a landscape that is much greener. It starts with a small green grove here and there, but slowly the trees become bigger, greener, and more frequent. I must be getting back near the river as there are even is small a stream forming.
I follow a path that is probably made by animals, I see no human footsteps among the tracks that the path follows and crosses frequently. Some I recognize, others are completely new to me. Which is not so strange since our tribe hardly lives from the hunt. We only know the tracks of the domesticated animals to track them down if one is missing.
Large bushes begin to appear on the horizon, and I quicken my pace as I think that it is a huge group of Halicen flowers.
Halicen flowers are a delicacy, very difficult to find. Some women from the village have devoted themselves to growing these flowers. Unfortunately, it turns out to be so difficult that only a few flowers per year are ripe enough to eat.
The leaves are so recognizable, round leaves on enormous long rods. The blades spread out like peacock feathers. The flowers grow from under the red foliage. The bush is a bit away from the path, and I can't resist going to see if there are already some ripe flowers.
The plant blooms at the end of spring, and even though it isn't quite the season yet, there is of course the possibility that the weather and the gods are favorable to me.
I leave the path and walk to the plant. As I get closer, I feel moisture in my sandals. I look around and realize that this is a very swampy piece of land. When I try to lift my foot, I hear a sucking sound.
It takes a lot of strength to free my foot from the swamp again. There are only a few meters between me and that beautiful plant, so I carefully put my other foot in the soggy grass. I almost lose my balance, my leg sinks up to my thigh in this boggy mess.
Only then do I realize that I forgot to add a significant detail to the map. It isn't so strange, for the night was already old and the morning was about to awaken when one of the young men told me a frightening story.
He was not far from the Darkwood with a group of young men when one of them briefly left the path to relieve himself. The group halted and decided to stop for a bit of reiku (rice-boiled drink). Not much later they heard a terrifying scream.
It came from the direction of the young. The men sprinted toward the sound as they heard the boy calling. "Help me, the earth devours me. Help me."
They could now see their friend in the distance distance, at least his torso. His legs seemed to have disappeared and only his upper body was sticking out of the ground. He flailed his arms violently and twisted like a snake. As they got closer, more and more of him disappeared into the ground.
“Beware, friends, the earth here will swallow you too,” he cried, sunk to his chest into the earth. The fastest men were now a few steps away and began to approach the boy cautiously. The man in front stopped and pointed to his feet that had already disappeared, swallowed by the earth.
“Don't wait any longer,” he called to the others. As he tried to pull his feet away from the sucking earth, his sandals were gone, but with considerable effort, he managed to free both feet. “This earth is after our lives,” he yelled to the rest, panting.
“Go no further, try to find the edges of this engulfing mass of earth so that we can reach Yani that way,” he said, gesturing with his arm for the men to circle around. The men scattered, but none managed to get close enough to reach out to Yani.
Panicked, Yani started screaming “Oh mother earth, what have I done to you that you want to devour me now? Have mercy on me, this can not be the fate you had in mind for me. Oh, great spirit.” Yani swung his arms and threw his head back, fixing his eyes on the sky and letting out a scream that rattled the marrow.
“Keep calm, Yani,” the oldest man of the group yelled at him. “Each movement sinks you deeper and thus limits the time we have to free you. Every breath of air will be needed for the effort to get out of here alive.”
Yani began to sob softly. “Courage, Yani, if it is the will, you will be set free. Take courage, for he who gives up always loses.”
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