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Ceramic DM - Spring 2005 (Late Bloomer) - We have a winner.
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<blockquote data-quote="Hellefire" data-source="post: 2338185" data-attributes="member: 28129"><p><strong>The Trip - Round 1 Hellefire vs Speaker vs FireLance</strong></p><p></p><p>The Trip</p><p></p><p> </p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> I cannot change. I must change. To live. To breathe. To grow. But I cannot change. I thought I could once. Me and Jim. Jim and Jem. It was cute. We were cute. I was cute. Once. The world was bright. And full of colors. Oh the colors. And ever-changing. And we were changing. Why did they take him? Where have they brought me? Why? Why did they dress me? And paint my lips and eyes? [r1m1p1] To show me that Jim, more than I, cannot change? Jim. You and I. Jim and Jem. We were denied our ride. And what a ride it could have been. I can still see that day. Yesterday? The day by the lake. When my world came alive and I first saw the colors. Oh the colors.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Cough, cough. Sara! You're gonna pay for that!"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "What is that? A buck fifty? And yeah I want fries with that!" Sara screamed with laughter as I grabbed her leg and pulled her under. Nobody dunks the mighty Jem! I flutter-kicked toward the shore. "Where ya goin'? Give up already?" Sara shouted after me.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Let's go get camp ready. I could eat a bear!" A little shiver traveled through my spine. Hungry or not, I didn't want to think about bears. The locals had told us that it was entirely safe, but it IS Alaska after all. "Well, a cheeseburger anyway. Yeah, yeah, with fries."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Sara and I swam back to shore, climbed out of Ptarmigan Lake and walked to our campsite, shivering slightly. And stopped. There was a strange backpack lying next to mine. A branch snapped behind me, my breath caught in my chest and I froze. Slowly I turned around, still not breathing. My last thought before I saw him was, 'Bears don't carry backpacks!' My next thought was 'Wow!' as my breath stopped again.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> He stood looking at me, a stack of branches in his arms, his head cocked to the side, and a quirky smile on his lips. His long brown hair curled, and his brown eyes twinkled as he said, simply, 'Hi!' I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> He laughed with me until I managed to stop. As I calmed myself down to light giggles, he smiled broadly at me and said, 'So, um, come here often?' It took another five minutes before my stomach cramped from laughing and I had to stop.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> I offered my hand. “Hi, I'm Jem.” He looked at me strangely, shaking my hand lightly.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Have we met? How did you know my name's Jim?"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Not Jim. I said Jem. As in diamonds, rubies, pearls, oh my."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Understanding hit his eyes and he started laughing again. "Nice to meet you Jem. I'm, well, Jim!"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> I heard a small cough from the side. Sara! "Jim, this is, ah, Sara, my best friend," I stammered lamely. How had I forgotten my best friend?</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Nice to meet you," Sara said as she smiled thinly, then rolled her eyes and walked to her tent. She started taking her tent down.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Hey, whatcha doin'?" I asked.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Quilting. What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing my stuff, walking to the car, driving back into town and getting a room. These mosquitoes are killing me!"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Sara, this was our plan!"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Jem, this was your plan. I like most of it, but I need a shower. And a drink. Now, I'll come out in the morning and pick you up. We can have breakfast and you can tell me all about it." Sara winked at me and went back to packing. I sighed and went to help her. </span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Sara hugged me and headed toward our rented Honda. "Watch out for the bears," I shouted after her. She flipped me off and rounded a bend in the trail.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "So. What's a girl like you..." Jim said from behind me, leaving the question hanging.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "I've always wanted to see Alaska. So Sara and I had a week vacation and decided, what the helle. The sunlight is kinda cool. Still getting used to all this space though. The solitude is nice." I stopped, feeling like I was rambling. "And you," I asked, "what are you doing in this, ah, neck of the woods, so to speak?"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "I just got back from Talkeetna Blue Grass Festival. It's a hippy party up by Talkeetna. Go figure." Jim smiles softly. "I wanted to get away from the crowds. I prefer to be alone for the Ride. Or in a small group of good friends."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Ride? What do you mean 'Ride?' I don't see a Tilt-a-Whirl around here anywhere," I joked.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim pulled something out of his pocket. "The Ride. I can't explain it unless you see it or know what it is. Do you like colors?"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Colors? Like red, blue, green, alabaster? Those colors?"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Well, let's start with blue. We'll go from there." Jim smiled and opened his hand to reveal a bag filled with mushrooms, blue rings around their stems.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Are those, um," I stammered. Jim nodded.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "It will be a great night for it too. Ptarmigan Lake gets a great sunset on a day like this." Jim made a pile of the mushrooms and started dividing it. "Of course, it's your choice. I, however, am going on a little journey to the land of the other colors."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> I stood for about a minute before deciding. Life is an adventure, right? I joined Jim on the ground, sitting on our backpacks. "What the helle. But be nice to me!"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim's eyes sparkled. "I'm always nice. And so are my little blue friends here." He passed me one of the stacks and started chewing on his, one at a time. I tried to follow his lead, but almost gagged on the first one. Oh, what an awful taste! "Yeah it takes a little getting used to," Jim offered, "let's wander over to that clearing. We'll get a better view."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> We sat on the shore and started talking. We talked about our lives, our friends, our passions. I told Jim how I had lived on one farm my entire life. How I felt trapped, like I couldn’t move, couldn’t breath, couldn’t grow or live. Talking helped. I was feeling cozy and warm and kind of, glowing. I couldn't stop smiling despite the topic, and I really didn't want to stop. He told me that we have to move, to see, to live. It made sense. I was just noticing small lines in Jim's face, lines that gathered when he smiled, when he pointed toward the lake. "Now isn't that beautiful?" he asked. I looked, and had never seen such a beautiful sunset [r1m1p3]. </span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "See how the pinks stretch from the horizon, almost as if they are reaching toward us?" Jim asked. I looked and I could see exactly what he meant! It was like a living thing, trying to touch us. "There are living beings inside there. Fire sprites and fairies and elementals. All alive!" I was so excited! I could hear the passion in his voice, could almost see the little creatures inside the sunset.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> </span></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Phaedra! I'm gonna catch you!" Sandy yelled as loud as she could while full-out sprinting. Phaedra jumped out from behind the leaf where she was hiding.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Boo!"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Sandy shrieked and fell over trying to get away. "You scared me to death!" Phaedra grinned at her friend and sat down next to her.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Sandy rolled onto her side, suddenly serious. "Phae, do you really plan to do it? To go? With him?"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Phaedra smiled with her mouth and eyes and nodded emphatically. </span></span></span><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">"Absolutely. He is perfect. His ideas and imagination are amazing." She looked at her friend quizzically and asked, "Don't you believe in Flight Mates, San?"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Sandy sighed. "Flight Mates? I don't know. I know you are that age. I know you have to go. I know that the Great Trip is coming for you soon. And me. I just don't like the idea of us...drifting apart. If you'll pardon the pun."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Phaedra touched Sandy's hand. "I know what you mean. You're all I've ever known. You and this place. But it’s so hard to breath here. I can’t move. I can’t feel much. I have to change. I need it.”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Sandy smiled through a tear. “You’re all I’ve ever known too, Phae. Ever.”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Phaedra tackle-hugged her best friend. "Just always remember me. And find your Flight Mate. Pharaoh and I will look for you in the wind."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim and I watched as the fairies danced toward the darkening horizon. It seemed to take forever, and that was fine; I didn't want it to ever end. Jim stood up and reached his hand down to help me up. "C'mon Jem, let's go for a swim."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "It's almost dark! But, that seems like fun. I wonder what the water will feel like, sliding around my body?" In my mind I could feel the liquid, running around my body and touching me everywhere. I smiled. "That is a great idea! Race you!"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> I didn't realize until I was chest-deep in the lake and pausing to look back that Jim was going skinny-dipping. The more I thought about it, the better that idea seemed. I took off my bathing suit, knotted it and tied it around my wrist. The water felt, simply, delicious. I wasn't chilled in the least, and I could feel the little eddies and currents circling my body. </span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim disappeared under the water. I looked for him, but it was too dark. Splash! He popped up right behind me. Laughing, he put his arms around me and kissed my hair. I turned to look at him.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Jim, you know the fire fairies in the sunset? I saw them, but couldn't feel them. It feels like there are water fairies swimming around me, brushing my skin everywhere."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim smiled and nodded. "Exactly! There are all types of elementals, in every element. Watch!" Jim ducked his head under the water, then jerked it up and flipped his hair backwards. Water sprayed out from his dripping locks. "In every drop of that water is a fairy, an elemental. Imagine them all playing there!"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Wanda and Wayne flowed around each other, slowly at first, then faster and spinning in different trajectories. They giggled as they danced in unison.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Sammy dive-bombed them, shifting into a hawk as she split them apart. "You too are so wishy-washy!" Sammy scolded as she flew circles around the couple. She laughed at her own joke, breaking her attempt at seriousness. "And you really think you can enter a human?"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Wanda nodded strongly. "Definitely! I am so looking forward to assimilating a person. You've had, what, about 300 different hosts so far? But not a single human! But we will! I know we will!"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Sammy shrugged and changed into a turtle. "You know how hard it is to get into a human? Most of the time, you'll end up in the ocean, or in the ground. I only got to absorb as many animals as I did because I landed in a river." She looked down. "Of course, being such perfect Float Mates, you might be able to go more places together than I could alone."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Wanda looked intensely at Sammy. “I have to get out of her, Sam. I HAVE to. I’ve spent my whole life in this one bubble, this one fishbowl. I have to see things and learn things and touch things. I would die if I had to stay here.”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Sammy looked up and tried to smile. “I know you do. Of course you do. It is the experiences, the forms, the changes that keep us going. That make life fun.”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Wanda squished her best friend's head playfully. "Don't worry Sam. You know we all end up back here, during little breaks in the Great Trip. Time to reflect and play. We'll see you again soon!"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> We floated on the lake for a while, and then slowly went back to our camp. I was wonderfully cool yet was grateful when he started to build the fire. "S'mores?" Jim asked plainly.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> "Mmm. Yeah, sounds great. I'm not really hungry, but some melted chocolate would be perfect right now!" I got out my own marshmallows to help him.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> As we sat, dripping in gooey sweets and getting to know each other more, I realized I was feeling something warm and fuzzy deep down in my stomach. We crouched closer to each other, almost touching. Jim suddenly leaned over and kissed me, a light kiss that stretched into eternity then found purpose. His body felt warm and smooth and strong. His eyes were full of life and Love. When we started making Love, I'm not sure. When we finished, it was fully dark. We sat, snuggling and watching the flames leap and dance. My eyes drew down into the depths of the coals, where the air hit the heat and, spinning in quiet anger, turned the wood into ash [r1m1p2]. “And the fire fairies, they are there, too.” I murmured, half to myself.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim took out a pack of Camels and lit two, one for each of us.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Pharaoh peeked from behind a bush. "Talking about me again?" He grinned at Phaedra and waved at Sandy.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Phaedra smiled back. "Speaking of the Devil!" Her smile faded. "Are you ready Pharaoh? Do you think the time is coming?"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Pharaoh hugged Phaedra close. "Yes, my wispy Love," he replied, "the time is short now. We must climb to get to the best departure point. Remember, when we hit the air, and start to float and swirl, hold tight to me. I have heard that the beginning is a bit, awkward."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Phaedra walked over to Sandy and wrapped her arms around her, hugging as tight as she could. "Are you sure you won't come to the top with us San?"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Sandy shook her head. "No Phae. I want to watch the others first. I have always been a watcher. I will wave to you as you take off first! Remember me in the wind." Sandy turned toward Pharaoh and warned, "Take care of her! Air-headed as she is sometimes, she is the best Flight Mate you could ever have."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Pharaoh smiled. "I know. Take care, Sandy. It was great meeting you. We will be looking for you. You know, we all must change. It is the next step. Without change, we are no more. We MUST change! The Great Trip awaits!" He took Phaedra's hand, turned, and walked up the brown hill.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> They reached a point where they would have to climb. The leaves were dense and hard to hold on to. But they wanted to be first. They HAD to be first!</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim threw his butt into the fire, leaned over me, and zerberted my side. I pitched and tossed, grabbing his head and sinking in my nails. "Ow! Ok, I give!" Jim yelled, then leaned down and kissed me again.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> I smiled at Jim. "I've had all these thoughts and seen all these things and it's been wonderful, Jim. I've been thinking about, well, do you know what Soul Mates are?"</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim grinned back. "Well, I know the concept. I have always had my own concepts. That one I believe in. But my life goes by my rules. There is only one way to tell. You must take the Trip. Together. You must go there and back and everywhere. Together. You must change. Together. For without change we are nothing. We are gone. We are dead. But if we can. If we can take the Trip, and change, and be together. Then. Then we are Soul Mates or Cosmic Twins or Karmic Buddies or however you like to say it."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> I looked at him thoughtfully. "Sounds a little esoteric to me. But it sounds. Right. So, I was thinking. Maybe, we should take a ride sometime."</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim looked deeply into my eyes, for what seemed like a century. "Let's do that now," he finally said, "let's do that right now." We dressed, helping each other and feeling giddy. As I was zipping my sweater, I looked up into the sky, and a raindrop landed in my eye.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Wayne and Wanda sat in the bottom of the ship, looking down through the ship’s transparent skin toward the ground far below. The sides ballooned out and gave a warped view of the surrounding whiteness. Slowly, the ship grew. The space around them expanded. They looked at each other, excitement and fear growing in their eyes.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> “RRRRROOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!” An ear-piercing sound shook them as something large landed in their ship, poised to strike! [r1m1p4]</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Sammy changed into a mouse, laughing the whole time. “Oh, that was great! You should have seen yourselves jump! Ha. Wow, you two are so tense. Relax a little! Let it all flow!”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> The couple’s anger seeped out of them, and they burst into nervous laughter. “I am SO going to get you back next time I see you,” threatened Wanda, “but right now we’re about to drop. I wish we could all go, but you know the ship won’t hold together all the way down with three of us.” Wanda looked at her friend, anxiety covering most of her grief.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Wayne reached over and touched both Wanda and Sammy. “Feel the pressure? It’s starting!” He looked at Wanda and asked, “Ready for the Trip?”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Wanda nodded and smiled broadly, despite the small sadness of the situation. “Until next time, dear Sammy. We are finally going to change! We are going to change so much your head will swim! Take care of yourself. And leave a note if you go down again!”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> “Don’t forget; study everything, learn all that you can, and come back to the source.” Sammy hugged them both and darted out of their ship. With a small ‘blip’ their ship grew beyond itself, broke away, and headed…down.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim and I threw everything inside my tent. “Don’t worry,” he told me, “we’ll be back for it. Or, maybe we won’t.” He had the most amazing mysterious smile on his lips as he took my hand and we headed toward the trail. </span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> It was only about 500 feet to where his car was parked. It was a black Mustang convertible, with the top down and caked with a light layer of dirt. Jim opened my door for me, and then jumped into the driver’s seat. Led Zeppelin came out of the speakers as he started the ignition and threw it into reverse. He braked, put it in first, and took the dirt road toward the highway.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> “So, where are we going?” I asked as we reached the paved highway. </span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Jim flipped an imaginary coin in the air, caught it and put it on the back of his hand. He let me peek at it. “What’s it say, babe?”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">“Looks like left,” I answered. “How far are we going?”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> “How far do you want to go,” he asked, looking into my eyes purposefully as he pulled onto the black-top and lit a cigarette.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Pharaoh and Phaedra fell as the world tilted and the wall next to them became the ground beneath them. They landed in some of the compact brown foliage that was their world. Rolling to their feet, they felt more than saw the fire.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> “So we will change, just like that?” Phaedra asked.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> “Yes,” Pharaoh replied, “we will, in the span of a breath, assume our new forms. We will be capable of flight! We will soar and float and see and hear and experience everything! And we will be the first on our block!”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> The flame died down to ember and rhythmically surged toward them. The heat approached, consuming the vegetation. The time was now! Let the Trip begin!</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim gunned the engine, and then let it purr as we sped along the highway. I could feel the wind, blowing my hair into impossible tangles. I could hear the music, the car, the night. I could smell the sweetness of plants, and the smoke from his cigarette. I could taste melted chocolate, still on my tongue. And I could see a million stars in one corner of the sky. I suddenly realized the rest of the sky was black, covered with clouds, as two more raindrops hit me. “Ack, we’re gonna get drenched with the top down!” I half-pleaded.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Jim laughed. “I don’t melt. And I LOVE the wind in my hair!” He touched my shoulder and smiled into my eyes. I smiled back, but my vision was slightly blurred by an increasing deluge of rain.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> The pressure on the ship increased. Wanda and Wayne could both feel it, coming at them from all angles. The were plummeting, approaching that place where they would become something more than themselves. When they would see and learn and live. They had started their Ride!</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> The view on the way down wasn’t much. It was night, and dark. Besides heavy, black clouds, there really wasn’t anything about. No birds, no flying objects, just other ships on their way to something new.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> “So, Sammy said the changes would be gradual, but never-ending. That it would take hours to assimilate something, days to learn it, then more days to find another host.”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Wayne shook with anticipation. “Technicalities, all technicalities. I just want to do it already! What do you think we’ll be first? A tree? A mammal? Even a human maybe?”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> The ground was coming at them quickly. Wanda grasped Wayne’s hand and answered, “We’ll know soon enough!”</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">I tried ducking behind the windshield to avoid the worst of the rain. It only stung a little, but made it hard to breath. Jim didn’t even duck his head down to drag on the cigarette; he just held his head up and blew smoke towards the sky.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Jim took a deep drag, sucking the smoke into his lungs. In the cherry on his Camel, I thought, for some strange reason, that I saw a small movement. Then, it was consumed in glowing heat and smoke.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Phaedra and Pharaoh saw their bodies changing. They didn’t really feel anything, but they could see their legs becoming grey and wispy. They saw the ember rushing toward them and starting to consume their bodies. They were changing into their next stage of development, looking upward toward their new playground.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Wanda and Wayne saw the ground coming, fast. They took a deep breath and closed their eyes, holding each other’s hands tight. Then they felt, heat. Heat, boiling their ship and themselves. Their drop disappeared in an instant, their bodies were dehydrated and they opened their mouths to scream.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Phaedra and Pharaoh were in the middle of the change, almost ready to fly. Suddenly, the heat that helped them change, that made them change, disappeared! It was sucked into a round, blue ball of something, from which two forms could be seen. Then the ball or bubble or whatever it was surrounded them. They could not breathe. They could not fly. They could not complete the transformation. As blackness covered them, they opened their mouths to scream.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> As I was looking into Jim’s cigarette, suddenly I heard many voices, cries of pain and fear and demise coming from it. Or were they inside my head? But no, Jim heard them too! He looked down in amazement at the tube in his hand, unsure what he was hearing. I could see the cigarette. And Jim looking at the cigarette. And the two bright areas of white behind the cigarette. They looked like stars, growing, flying directly at us. Jim did not see them; he was looking at his hand. And the screams from the Camel were joined by a metal-on-metal scream from outside me. And the bright, white lights became blackness.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'">*************************************************************</span></span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><span style="color: white"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> The blackness stays. I am changed. But I cannot change.</span></span></span></p><p></p><p>Aaron Blair</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hellefire, post: 2338185, member: 28129"] [b]The Trip - Round 1 Hellefire vs Speaker vs FireLance[/b] The Trip [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] I cannot change. I must change. To live. To breathe. To grow. But I cannot change. I thought I could once. Me and Jim. Jim and Jem. It was cute. We were cute. I was cute. Once. The world was bright. And full of colors. Oh the colors. And ever-changing. And we were changing. Why did they take him? Where have they brought me? Why? Why did they dress me? And paint my lips and eyes? [r1m1p1] To show me that Jim, more than I, cannot change? Jim. You and I. Jim and Jem. We were denied our ride. And what a ride it could have been. I can still see that day. Yesterday? The day by the lake. When my world came alive and I first saw the colors. Oh the colors.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Cough, cough. Sara! You're gonna pay for that!"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "What is that? A buck fifty? And yeah I want fries with that!" Sara screamed with laughter as I grabbed her leg and pulled her under. Nobody dunks the mighty Jem! I flutter-kicked toward the shore. "Where ya goin'? Give up already?" Sara shouted after me.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Let's go get camp ready. I could eat a bear!" A little shiver traveled through my spine. Hungry or not, I didn't want to think about bears. The locals had told us that it was entirely safe, but it IS Alaska after all. "Well, a cheeseburger anyway. Yeah, yeah, with fries."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Sara and I swam back to shore, climbed out of Ptarmigan Lake and walked to our campsite, shivering slightly. And stopped. There was a strange backpack lying next to mine. A branch snapped behind me, my breath caught in my chest and I froze. Slowly I turned around, still not breathing. My last thought before I saw him was, 'Bears don't carry backpacks!' My next thought was 'Wow!' as my breath stopped again.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] He stood looking at me, a stack of branches in his arms, his head cocked to the side, and a quirky smile on his lips. His long brown hair curled, and his brown eyes twinkled as he said, simply, 'Hi!' I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] He laughed with me until I managed to stop. As I calmed myself down to light giggles, he smiled broadly at me and said, 'So, um, come here often?' It took another five minutes before my stomach cramped from laughing and I had to stop.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] I offered my hand. “Hi, I'm Jem.” He looked at me strangely, shaking my hand lightly.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Have we met? How did you know my name's Jim?"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Not Jim. I said Jem. As in diamonds, rubies, pearls, oh my."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Understanding hit his eyes and he started laughing again. "Nice to meet you Jem. I'm, well, Jim!"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] I heard a small cough from the side. Sara! "Jim, this is, ah, Sara, my best friend," I stammered lamely. How had I forgotten my best friend?[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Nice to meet you," Sara said as she smiled thinly, then rolled her eyes and walked to her tent. She started taking her tent down.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Hey, whatcha doin'?" I asked.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Quilting. What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing my stuff, walking to the car, driving back into town and getting a room. These mosquitoes are killing me!"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Sara, this was our plan!"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Jem, this was your plan. I like most of it, but I need a shower. And a drink. Now, I'll come out in the morning and pick you up. We can have breakfast and you can tell me all about it." Sara winked at me and went back to packing. I sighed and went to help her. [/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Sara hugged me and headed toward our rented Honda. "Watch out for the bears," I shouted after her. She flipped me off and rounded a bend in the trail.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "So. What's a girl like you..." Jim said from behind me, leaving the question hanging.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "I've always wanted to see Alaska. So Sara and I had a week vacation and decided, what the helle. The sunlight is kinda cool. Still getting used to all this space though. The solitude is nice." I stopped, feeling like I was rambling. "And you," I asked, "what are you doing in this, ah, neck of the woods, so to speak?"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "I just got back from Talkeetna Blue Grass Festival. It's a hippy party up by Talkeetna. Go figure." Jim smiles softly. "I wanted to get away from the crowds. I prefer to be alone for the Ride. Or in a small group of good friends."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Ride? What do you mean 'Ride?' I don't see a Tilt-a-Whirl around here anywhere," I joked.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim pulled something out of his pocket. "The Ride. I can't explain it unless you see it or know what it is. Do you like colors?"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Colors? Like red, blue, green, alabaster? Those colors?"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Well, let's start with blue. We'll go from there." Jim smiled and opened his hand to reveal a bag filled with mushrooms, blue rings around their stems.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Are those, um," I stammered. Jim nodded.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "It will be a great night for it too. Ptarmigan Lake gets a great sunset on a day like this." Jim made a pile of the mushrooms and started dividing it. "Of course, it's your choice. I, however, am going on a little journey to the land of the other colors."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] I stood for about a minute before deciding. Life is an adventure, right? I joined Jim on the ground, sitting on our backpacks. "What the helle. But be nice to me!"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim's eyes sparkled. "I'm always nice. And so are my little blue friends here." He passed me one of the stacks and started chewing on his, one at a time. I tried to follow his lead, but almost gagged on the first one. Oh, what an awful taste! "Yeah it takes a little getting used to," Jim offered, "let's wander over to that clearing. We'll get a better view."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] We sat on the shore and started talking. We talked about our lives, our friends, our passions. I told Jim how I had lived on one farm my entire life. How I felt trapped, like I couldn’t move, couldn’t breath, couldn’t grow or live. Talking helped. I was feeling cozy and warm and kind of, glowing. I couldn't stop smiling despite the topic, and I really didn't want to stop. He told me that we have to move, to see, to live. It made sense. I was just noticing small lines in Jim's face, lines that gathered when he smiled, when he pointed toward the lake. "Now isn't that beautiful?" he asked. I looked, and had never seen such a beautiful sunset [r1m1p3]. [/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "See how the pinks stretch from the horizon, almost as if they are reaching toward us?" Jim asked. I looked and I could see exactly what he meant! It was like a living thing, trying to touch us. "There are living beings inside there. Fire sprites and fairies and elementals. All alive!" I was so excited! I could hear the passion in his voice, could almost see the little creatures inside the sunset.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] [/font][/size][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Phaedra! I'm gonna catch you!" Sandy yelled as loud as she could while full-out sprinting. Phaedra jumped out from behind the leaf where she was hiding.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Boo!"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Sandy shrieked and fell over trying to get away. "You scared me to death!" Phaedra grinned at her friend and sat down next to her.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Sandy rolled onto her side, suddenly serious. "Phae, do you really plan to do it? To go? With him?"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Phaedra smiled with her mouth and eyes and nodded emphatically. [/font][/size][/color][color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]"Absolutely. He is perfect. His ideas and imagination are amazing." She looked at her friend quizzically and asked, "Don't you believe in Flight Mates, San?"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Sandy sighed. "Flight Mates? I don't know. I know you are that age. I know you have to go. I know that the Great Trip is coming for you soon. And me. I just don't like the idea of us...drifting apart. If you'll pardon the pun."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Phaedra touched Sandy's hand. "I know what you mean. You're all I've ever known. You and this place. But it’s so hard to breath here. I can’t move. I can’t feel much. I have to change. I need it.”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Sandy smiled through a tear. “You’re all I’ve ever known too, Phae. Ever.”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Phaedra tackle-hugged her best friend. "Just always remember me. And find your Flight Mate. Pharaoh and I will look for you in the wind."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim and I watched as the fairies danced toward the darkening horizon. It seemed to take forever, and that was fine; I didn't want it to ever end. Jim stood up and reached his hand down to help me up. "C'mon Jem, let's go for a swim."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "It's almost dark! But, that seems like fun. I wonder what the water will feel like, sliding around my body?" In my mind I could feel the liquid, running around my body and touching me everywhere. I smiled. "That is a great idea! Race you!"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] I didn't realize until I was chest-deep in the lake and pausing to look back that Jim was going skinny-dipping. The more I thought about it, the better that idea seemed. I took off my bathing suit, knotted it and tied it around my wrist. The water felt, simply, delicious. I wasn't chilled in the least, and I could feel the little eddies and currents circling my body. [/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim disappeared under the water. I looked for him, but it was too dark. Splash! He popped up right behind me. Laughing, he put his arms around me and kissed my hair. I turned to look at him.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Jim, you know the fire fairies in the sunset? I saw them, but couldn't feel them. It feels like there are water fairies swimming around me, brushing my skin everywhere."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim smiled and nodded. "Exactly! There are all types of elementals, in every element. Watch!" Jim ducked his head under the water, then jerked it up and flipped his hair backwards. Water sprayed out from his dripping locks. "In every drop of that water is a fairy, an elemental. Imagine them all playing there!"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Wanda and Wayne flowed around each other, slowly at first, then faster and spinning in different trajectories. They giggled as they danced in unison.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Sammy dive-bombed them, shifting into a hawk as she split them apart. "You too are so wishy-washy!" Sammy scolded as she flew circles around the couple. She laughed at her own joke, breaking her attempt at seriousness. "And you really think you can enter a human?"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Wanda nodded strongly. "Definitely! I am so looking forward to assimilating a person. You've had, what, about 300 different hosts so far? But not a single human! But we will! I know we will!"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Sammy shrugged and changed into a turtle. "You know how hard it is to get into a human? Most of the time, you'll end up in the ocean, or in the ground. I only got to absorb as many animals as I did because I landed in a river." She looked down. "Of course, being such perfect Float Mates, you might be able to go more places together than I could alone."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Wanda looked intensely at Sammy. “I have to get out of her, Sam. I HAVE to. I’ve spent my whole life in this one bubble, this one fishbowl. I have to see things and learn things and touch things. I would die if I had to stay here.”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Sammy looked up and tried to smile. “I know you do. Of course you do. It is the experiences, the forms, the changes that keep us going. That make life fun.”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Wanda squished her best friend's head playfully. "Don't worry Sam. You know we all end up back here, during little breaks in the Great Trip. Time to reflect and play. We'll see you again soon!"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] We floated on the lake for a while, and then slowly went back to our camp. I was wonderfully cool yet was grateful when he started to build the fire. "S'mores?" Jim asked plainly.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] "Mmm. Yeah, sounds great. I'm not really hungry, but some melted chocolate would be perfect right now!" I got out my own marshmallows to help him.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] As we sat, dripping in gooey sweets and getting to know each other more, I realized I was feeling something warm and fuzzy deep down in my stomach. We crouched closer to each other, almost touching. Jim suddenly leaned over and kissed me, a light kiss that stretched into eternity then found purpose. His body felt warm and smooth and strong. His eyes were full of life and Love. When we started making Love, I'm not sure. When we finished, it was fully dark. We sat, snuggling and watching the flames leap and dance. My eyes drew down into the depths of the coals, where the air hit the heat and, spinning in quiet anger, turned the wood into ash [r1m1p2]. “And the fire fairies, they are there, too.” I murmured, half to myself.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim took out a pack of Camels and lit two, one for each of us.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Pharaoh peeked from behind a bush. "Talking about me again?" He grinned at Phaedra and waved at Sandy.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Phaedra smiled back. "Speaking of the Devil!" Her smile faded. "Are you ready Pharaoh? Do you think the time is coming?"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Pharaoh hugged Phaedra close. "Yes, my wispy Love," he replied, "the time is short now. We must climb to get to the best departure point. Remember, when we hit the air, and start to float and swirl, hold tight to me. I have heard that the beginning is a bit, awkward."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Phaedra walked over to Sandy and wrapped her arms around her, hugging as tight as she could. "Are you sure you won't come to the top with us San?"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Sandy shook her head. "No Phae. I want to watch the others first. I have always been a watcher. I will wave to you as you take off first! Remember me in the wind." Sandy turned toward Pharaoh and warned, "Take care of her! Air-headed as she is sometimes, she is the best Flight Mate you could ever have."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Pharaoh smiled. "I know. Take care, Sandy. It was great meeting you. We will be looking for you. You know, we all must change. It is the next step. Without change, we are no more. We MUST change! The Great Trip awaits!" He took Phaedra's hand, turned, and walked up the brown hill.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] They reached a point where they would have to climb. The leaves were dense and hard to hold on to. But they wanted to be first. They HAD to be first![/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim threw his butt into the fire, leaned over me, and zerberted my side. I pitched and tossed, grabbing his head and sinking in my nails. "Ow! Ok, I give!" Jim yelled, then leaned down and kissed me again.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] I smiled at Jim. "I've had all these thoughts and seen all these things and it's been wonderful, Jim. I've been thinking about, well, do you know what Soul Mates are?"[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim grinned back. "Well, I know the concept. I have always had my own concepts. That one I believe in. But my life goes by my rules. There is only one way to tell. You must take the Trip. Together. You must go there and back and everywhere. Together. You must change. Together. For without change we are nothing. We are gone. We are dead. But if we can. If we can take the Trip, and change, and be together. Then. Then we are Soul Mates or Cosmic Twins or Karmic Buddies or however you like to say it."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] I looked at him thoughtfully. "Sounds a little esoteric to me. But it sounds. Right. So, I was thinking. Maybe, we should take a ride sometime."[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim looked deeply into my eyes, for what seemed like a century. "Let's do that now," he finally said, "let's do that right now." We dressed, helping each other and feeling giddy. As I was zipping my sweater, I looked up into the sky, and a raindrop landed in my eye.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Wayne and Wanda sat in the bottom of the ship, looking down through the ship’s transparent skin toward the ground far below. The sides ballooned out and gave a warped view of the surrounding whiteness. Slowly, the ship grew. The space around them expanded. They looked at each other, excitement and fear growing in their eyes.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] “RRRRROOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!” An ear-piercing sound shook them as something large landed in their ship, poised to strike! [r1m1p4][/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Sammy changed into a mouse, laughing the whole time. “Oh, that was great! You should have seen yourselves jump! Ha. Wow, you two are so tense. Relax a little! Let it all flow!”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] The couple’s anger seeped out of them, and they burst into nervous laughter. “I am SO going to get you back next time I see you,” threatened Wanda, “but right now we’re about to drop. I wish we could all go, but you know the ship won’t hold together all the way down with three of us.” Wanda looked at her friend, anxiety covering most of her grief.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Wayne reached over and touched both Wanda and Sammy. “Feel the pressure? It’s starting!” He looked at Wanda and asked, “Ready for the Trip?”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Wanda nodded and smiled broadly, despite the small sadness of the situation. “Until next time, dear Sammy. We are finally going to change! We are going to change so much your head will swim! Take care of yourself. And leave a note if you go down again!”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] “Don’t forget; study everything, learn all that you can, and come back to the source.” Sammy hugged them both and darted out of their ship. With a small ‘blip’ their ship grew beyond itself, broke away, and headed…down.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim and I threw everything inside my tent. “Don’t worry,” he told me, “we’ll be back for it. Or, maybe we won’t.” He had the most amazing mysterious smile on his lips as he took my hand and we headed toward the trail. [/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] It was only about 500 feet to where his car was parked. It was a black Mustang convertible, with the top down and caked with a light layer of dirt. Jim opened my door for me, and then jumped into the driver’s seat. Led Zeppelin came out of the speakers as he started the ignition and threw it into reverse. He braked, put it in first, and took the dirt road toward the highway.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] “So, where are we going?” I asked as we reached the paved highway. [/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]Jim flipped an imaginary coin in the air, caught it and put it on the back of his hand. He let me peek at it. “What’s it say, babe?”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]“Looks like left,” I answered. “How far are we going?”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] “How far do you want to go,” he asked, looking into my eyes purposefully as he pulled onto the black-top and lit a cigarette.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Pharaoh and Phaedra fell as the world tilted and the wall next to them became the ground beneath them. They landed in some of the compact brown foliage that was their world. Rolling to their feet, they felt more than saw the fire.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] “So we will change, just like that?” Phaedra asked.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] “Yes,” Pharaoh replied, “we will, in the span of a breath, assume our new forms. We will be capable of flight! We will soar and float and see and hear and experience everything! And we will be the first on our block!”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] The flame died down to ember and rhythmically surged toward them. The heat approached, consuming the vegetation. The time was now! Let the Trip begin![/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim gunned the engine, and then let it purr as we sped along the highway. I could feel the wind, blowing my hair into impossible tangles. I could hear the music, the car, the night. I could smell the sweetness of plants, and the smoke from his cigarette. I could taste melted chocolate, still on my tongue. And I could see a million stars in one corner of the sky. I suddenly realized the rest of the sky was black, covered with clouds, as two more raindrops hit me. “Ack, we’re gonna get drenched with the top down!” I half-pleaded.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Jim laughed. “I don’t melt. And I LOVE the wind in my hair!” He touched my shoulder and smiled into my eyes. I smiled back, but my vision was slightly blurred by an increasing deluge of rain.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] The pressure on the ship increased. Wanda and Wayne could both feel it, coming at them from all angles. The were plummeting, approaching that place where they would become something more than themselves. When they would see and learn and live. They had started their Ride![/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] The view on the way down wasn’t much. It was night, and dark. Besides heavy, black clouds, there really wasn’t anything about. No birds, no flying objects, just other ships on their way to something new.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] “So, Sammy said the changes would be gradual, but never-ending. That it would take hours to assimilate something, days to learn it, then more days to find another host.”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Wayne shook with anticipation. “Technicalities, all technicalities. I just want to do it already! What do you think we’ll be first? A tree? A mammal? Even a human maybe?”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] The ground was coming at them quickly. Wanda grasped Wayne’s hand and answered, “We’ll know soon enough!”[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]I tried ducking behind the windshield to avoid the worst of the rain. It only stung a little, but made it hard to breath. Jim didn’t even duck his head down to drag on the cigarette; he just held his head up and blew smoke towards the sky.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]Jim took a deep drag, sucking the smoke into his lungs. In the cherry on his Camel, I thought, for some strange reason, that I saw a small movement. Then, it was consumed in glowing heat and smoke.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Phaedra and Pharaoh saw their bodies changing. They didn’t really feel anything, but they could see their legs becoming grey and wispy. They saw the ember rushing toward them and starting to consume their bodies. They were changing into their next stage of development, looking upward toward their new playground.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Wanda and Wayne saw the ground coming, fast. They took a deep breath and closed their eyes, holding each other’s hands tight. Then they felt, heat. Heat, boiling their ship and themselves. Their drop disappeared in an instant, their bodies were dehydrated and they opened their mouths to scream.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] Phaedra and Pharaoh were in the middle of the change, almost ready to fly. Suddenly, the heat that helped them change, that made them change, disappeared! It was sucked into a round, blue ball of something, from which two forms could be seen. Then the ball or bubble or whatever it was surrounded them. They could not breathe. They could not fly. They could not complete the transformation. As blackness covered them, they opened their mouths to scream.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] As I was looking into Jim’s cigarette, suddenly I heard many voices, cries of pain and fear and demise coming from it. Or were they inside my head? But no, Jim heard them too! He looked down in amazement at the tube in his hand, unsure what he was hearing. I could see the cigarette. And Jim looking at the cigarette. And the two bright areas of white behind the cigarette. They looked like stars, growing, flying directly at us. Jim did not see them; he was looking at his hand. And the screams from the Camel were joined by a metal-on-metal scream from outside me. And the bright, white lights became blackness.[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman]*************************************************************[/font][/size][/color] [color=white][font=Times New Roman][size=3] [/size][/font][/color] [color=white][size=3][font=Times New Roman] The blackness stays. I am changed. But I cannot change.[/font][/size][/color] Aaron Blair [/QUOTE]
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