Primal Power 1, page 2
It sat on the wagon looking at me for a time and then the bird spoke; it was speaking my language, even though I knew my language wasn't being spoken.
"Do not fear the thunder in the mountains for it is releasing the fear, but instead keep your mind still. That will help you, for you, like me, are very small."
It spoke as if it had no lips and only a tongue to form the words. Of course, it didn't have lips, I knew that, however, that was the only way I knew how to describe the voice.
"There is thunder in the mountains. You need to go back to your nest and be safe until you know which way to go."
"I would love to go back to my nest," I cried, "but I am lost and in a strange land. I do not know which way to go. I do not know where it is safe to be. I just want to do everything right." Tears fell across my cheeks like rain upon the smooth rock of the mountain. "I don't even know where I am."
Sitting on the edge of the wagon the little bird studied me for a bit before it whistled a song, a song I didn't understand.
Shortly thereafter, several other birds came and they began tugging and pulling at the bags on the other side of the wagon. Were they trying to find something to eat? No, that couldn't be it, because some of the vegetables were outside of the bags and the birds seemed to have no interest them.
Drops of water fell and the rain was soothing my bruised body, however the thunder and the birds were indicating that a storm was brewing thus I might not feel the same way in a few moments. The birds still tugged and pulled until they had torn off a piece approximately the size of a blanket and dropped it upon me. Had these birds given me this piece of burlap so I might have a little more protection from the natural elements?
Upon that thought tears from the kindness flowed, "Thank you," I squeaked, "that was very kind."
Ascending in the air for a second and then sitting on the edge of the wagon, the birds all stared at me. Was I supposed to do something? Finding a comfortable position, I pulled the blanket around me. Was that what they wanted?
Squawking, for lack of a better description, as they were not singing; instead they were flying on and off the back of the wagon as if they were flying off the handle a wee bit. Was I not appreciative enough? My instincts were giving me the feeling they did not mean to hurt me, but how do I ask them what they wanted me to do without sounding rude? Maybe the burlap was not meant for me, but if I hand it back, would that be rude?
Then the wagon came to a stop. A broad, plump man with shoulder length grey hair got off his donkey. He was dressed in brown trousers and a brown buttonless shirt that looked a step above a burlap bag. Walking towards us, he waved his arms yelling for the birds to get away from his wagon. Thankfully, I had the burlap blanket! Grabbing it, I crawled down between two of the bags of vegetables. Pulling the burlap over top of me I hid underneath it, trying not to scratch my itchy nose or shake in fear, for the man seemed very angry.
The looseness of the thread count in the burlap allowed me to see him but him not to see me. The birds flew away. The man examined the top of the bag they had torn the piece from, he looked up into the air, shook his fist and said something. I didn't understand what he said, but I was sure it was not very nice. He went away, at least out of my view, and the next thing I knew we were moving again down the bumpy dirt roadway.
Now I was really scared, but I knew I had to stay positive, so I thought of the woman in the temple. The thought of her somehow made me feel more peaceful. I was wondering if I should have stayed when I felt something tugging on my burlap blanket. It was my bird friend and when it spoke, its voice was soft and quiet. It told me to climb to the top of the vegetable bags and then get on top of my blanket. That did not make sense but I had a strong feeling I needed to trust. So, I did what I was asked to do.
Standing in the middle of the blanket I watched all the birds come back. Suddenly and unexpectedly, they swarmed around me and with their clawed feet they each clutched a bit of my burlap. It all happened so quickly that when they started lifting the blanket I came plopping down upon my buttocks!
With the weight of my fall the birds lost a bit of momentum, but not for long, as they were able to takeoff once again. They flew with me sitting on the burlap blanket, up into the air. It felt much like how I had imagined a magic carpet ride. Only I was going more up than across with my hair blowing in strange directions as it caught the undercurrent from the wings. It was not a long flight, and I barely had a chance to wonder where we were going, when I was put down on twigs and branches.
"Where am I?" I asked softly as I looked around through the branches of the trees into the sky.
"You said you did not have a nest, so we are sharing our nest with you, at least for the time being," answered my bird friend.
"Thank you so much! I was quite scared sitting on the back of that wagon," I said, still feeling a bit disoriented.
The bird looked way up, paused, and then looked down as if it was focusing on something in the middle of its nest. The bird rolled its shoulders up to its cheekbones, then rolled them back and down. Its feathers ruffled and moved and then settled looking smooth as silk. My bird friend then became still, still like the woman holding the world, so very, very still. I looked through the tree branches into the mountains and watched the veil of the blue sky push the storm clouds away. The rain was subsiding, and rainbow colours were emerging across the sky.
The bird's eyes suddenly opened wide and out of its beak came the words, "The white crane". It hopped up on the edge of the nest and sang a song.
One of the wonders,
You of longevity,
Patience and perseverance,
Oh wise woman of time.
You that brings guidance.
You that brings perseverance
And transition of time.
Let's form a dance,
let's form a dance.
Time to gather.
Time to dance together.
We will form a dance,
We will form a dance
Oh wise woman of time.
Chapter 3 - The White Crane
After a while a white bird flew over. It perched on the edge of the nest, and said:
I know where it is
The entrance,
The cave.
It is in the mountains
Behind the pool
Where the water flows.
The night, the night, the night,
The full moon,
Timing, timing.
It must be rising
It is only then that
Your light will get through.
Jumping into the nest, the white bird sat directly in front of me, brought its shoulders back and down, and stared into my eyes. What was I to do? Was I supposed to stare back? So, I sat with wonder, staring into the small round eyes of the bird. We were there for what seemed a long time, until a sense of peace and reassurance came over me.
Then the white bird jumped back on the edge of the nest and looked at my bird friend.
"Will you gather?" questioned the white bird.
"I shall gather," said my bird friend.
Then the white bird flew away.
Turning towards me, my bird friend said, "Rest now, eat, be joyful, and feel safe. It is only a day or so before the moon is full. I will go find you some food and we shall eat well in the days to come." Then my bird friend flew away.
Sitting in the nest I peered out watching the rainbow fade as the sun got brighter and brighter. The nest seemed to be lined in fluff, maybe from a shedding animal. A piece of straw or a twig that had wheedled its way through the fluff stabbed me, though it was nothing that a little patting down didn't solve.
My stomach growled; food, yes, I was feeling hungry. Well, at least that was familiar because changing sizes and ending up in a bird's nest certainly was not; what had happened to me? Was this some sort of heaven or another dimension?
I had thought dimensions were a change of consciousness where things were brighter or darker depending on your state of mind.
Before I went through the wall, I had felt betrayal in almost every part of my life. The type of betrayal that there was no coming back from; a hurt that changes you forever.
Well, this place so far, was a lot brighter than that. What happened yesterday had to stay there, at least for the moment, because right now, I was in a bird's nest. I was dependent on feathered creatures with beaks who eat... worms, and worms were exactly what I received.
My bird friend was very proud to come back with them. Well, it was protein. I heard they were full of it and supposed to be the thing to eat if someone was starving.
A polite smile crossed my face, hopefully it did not look as forced as it felt. Remembering the soft, soothing voice saying, 'It takes someone of very strong character to even get this far,' I decided I needed to be strong and brave. Bracing myself for the taste, I dangled a worm above my mouth when I saw in the sky... birds, white birds.
In the lead were several carrying a bag, with many more of the white birds following behind. The bag was put in front of me and was topped-full of berries. Beautiful, ripe glorious berries and I did not think I had ever seen fruit looking more amazing than I did at that moment.
Gathering in the trees the white birds sang the same song my bird friend had sung previously.
As the moon peeked its head over the mountain they started to fly; swarming and dancing they mesmerized me into a deep, deep sleep.
When I awoke the forest was busy. Some of the birds had fuzz hanging from a tree. They seemed to be smoothing it, making it into a thick yarn while other birds were hooking the yarn onto tree branches. Soon I realized they were using the tree branches as their loom with a very small bird acting as a shuttle flying the yarn in and out.
The squirrels were chattering away. I was instructed to go down to the ground to gather sage, sweetgrass, cedar, berries and an unripe apple. So, with my bird friend's help I gathered these things, not knowing why, but at this point all I could do was breathe away my fear, and trust as they were the only friends I had.
Being small had its advantages because I was able to crawl underneath the berry bushes. It reminded me of when I was young and would do the same, so I could get all the plump ripe juicy berries that hung in the middle. All the birds chattered and sang as we took breaks from our work, ate berries, and drank refreshing water from the nearby spring. By the end of the day everything was gathered, and I had found sage, sweet-grass, cedar, berries and an unripe apple. The apple took a while to find because I was too small to pick one from a tree. Finally, I found one on the ground; it was quite bruised and for the most part, unripe, but an apple nonetheless.
Up in the tree, the material in the loom was finished, and the birds were singing their song while they swarmed and danced. This time I was on the ground. I gently waved my arms in the air and focused on a couple of the birds. I did my best to move with them as they circled above. It made me feel like I was part of their magical dance. Tiredness took over. I spread my burlap blanket out and laid down, letting the white swirling of magical dancing birds lull me to sleep.
When I awoke, I was back up in the nest and my bird friend was standing behind the top of my head with its chin tucked into its chest, staring into my eyes.
"Good, you are awake, we are ready for you, today is the day," were the words said as my eyes came into focus.
"Today... is the... day?" I muttered in a sleepy tone.
"The day of the full moon, we are ready for you, come."
Jumping up to the edge of the nest and then hopping along a branch my bird friend beckoned me to follow. A gulp fell slowly down my throat, I wasn't totally awake and certainly not used to hopping along branches, especially ones this high up. 'Ohhh-kay, I can do this', I reassured myself, but I didn't do it very well. I held onto every little branch I could. Sometimes I crawled while the birds chattered in joyful laughter. Finally, I made it to where there was a piece of material with twigs and pieces of wood woven into the middle.
They beckoned for me to sit on the wooden base and to pick the sides of the material up. It came up to my chin. Handing me a branch in a circular shape, they guided me to thread it into the top rim. I needed to hold the sides up so I could put in the twigs which allowed it to finally stand erect in the shape of a basket. Bringing my burlap, they took me to the ground where we ate and drank before they flew me back up and put me in the basket.
"What happens now?" I questioned.
"The white crane will come and take you away."
"Will I see you again?"
"That I do not know," said my bird friend, "we see the dance once a year, but we have never prepared anyone for the journey before, thus we do not know. There is the white crane now. Good luck my friend, we need to sing."
"Thank you, thank all of you, thank you!" Then as the crane came closer I said under my breath, "I think, I hope, it's thank you."
"Don't forget what you have gathered," said one of the birds as another dropped a pouch in my basket. Swooping at me, the white crane came so close I thought I was going to be hit! The next thing I knew, I was flying in a basket that was held in the beak of a crane heading towards the mountains. Even if this was a dream, it was unlike anything I had experienced before.
Flying by crane was interesting, however I think I would have preferred a closed cockpit. It was a smooth enough ride although my stomach was very queasy. With my hair blowing clear of my face we flew above the trees into the mountains. Swerving around the mountain passes, I really wished I wasn't feeling nauseous as the view was so breathtakingly beautiful; it truly deserved much more enjoyment than I could muster.
Finally landing on a cliff, my basket was set down. The crane was not very friendly, so I merely watched as it pecked at the rocks and the bushes eating insects and berries. Should I get out of the basket and have something to eat? My stomach had just begun to settle thus I decided against it.
My senses became alert to the moistness and heaviness in the air and as I looked down, I saw a long fissure in the rock. Changing my focus, I saw two more cranes coming towards us. The three of them gathered like a mother, father, and child.
Then one of the new cranes seemed upset. It came towards me and abruptly picked up my basket. Was it upset because I was here? Was it going to throw me over the cliff?!? Holding onto my basket as the crane dangled it precariously, I held my breath. Whoa, we were so high up and the land was soo far down. With my fingers clutching the basket's edge the crane let go. Ohh noo, I was falling!!!
Falling, my heart skipped a beat or two, or three and tears formed glossing over my eyeballs. Time slowed down as I was dropping past the sharp rock. The purples, reds, blues, greys, browns, and all the tones captured by the rocks, slid past. This must be the end! I must be dying! I don't want to die!
Just before the final crunch I was caught by the crane and flown through a rocky chasm. It was almost deafening before it turned peaceful.
We had come to a large pool encased by a rock wall with a waterfall behind it but no outflow. How was that possible?
The crane put my basket on the edge of the rock wall. Two other cranes stood on each side of the waterfall with their white chests puffed out as if they were the guards of the cascade.
The water splashed, cooling my skin and I could almost feel my hair frizzing while the moisture tickled my nose. The water in the pool was clear, housing a reddish-purple turtle with fins for legs. The reddish-purple turtle did a circle around the pool before it disappeared. Where did it go? What? My basket was being picked up and held above the pool! Was I going to be thrown into this too, like I was off the cliff? Was I going to disappear?!
'Be ready to hold your breath', was being said over and over again like someone was whispering in my ear. 'Breathe breath into every cell, store your air, store your air'.
The time seemed long, but it also seemed short. The moon was beginning to rise; its light weaving through the dripping water caused the rainbow colours to disperse through the pool.
Then one of the cranes dove into the water. I had no choice, but to follow as my basket must have been tipped and I was breathing in as much air as I could before the initial hit of the cold water. Down I went. In front of me I could see a crane and behind me there was another. Hoping I could swim underwater for as long as the cranes was for naught, because water was filling up my lungs! My head was feeling quite dizzy and yesterday's world and this new world disappeared.
Chapter 4 - Rainbow Dancer
When I opened my eyes, I was in the basket covered by a burlap blanket with a pouch at my feet. Above me was rock with a crack of light shining through. It looked as if I was in the middle of a mountain. My hands patted my arms. I seemed to be alive, I was very thankful for that.
Sitting up, I realized that beside me was vegetation, looking like coral rock with plants waving as if submerged under an ocean. I didn't think that I was under water. No, I seemed to be in a basket floating down a river. This must be where the outflow for the waterfall was, and why I couldn't see it while I was with the cranes. The cranes, where were they? Had they left me here all alone?
The basket, so far, seemed to be waterproof. This was good. However, to be floating alone, aimlessly down a river that I was unfamiliar with, now that might not be so good.
My ears perked to a sound. It was similar to when I was travelling through the mountains with the cranes. Was that the sound of a waterfall?! Ohh, this situation could be much more dangerous than I originally thought. Well, if I was aware of the danger, and go forward with caution and circumspection, then maybe I would be successful at getting out of this situation.
When I was growing up in yesterday's world I swam in the tidal streams and paddled canoes down rivers. I knew the only way to get out of the current was move with it, gradually and diagonally towards land. Therefore, I would be working with an element that was stronger than myself, instead of against it.
