Excerpt "Traveler"

I thought I heard traffic racing by and a wind gusted and eddied around me. Voices echoed and hissed from every direction and my vision rippled and heaved. I was standing before a pile of small amber rocks in an open field one moment and then hurtling through space, my arms battering the air as a rocky shoreline careened upwards towards my falling form. I heard what seemed to be a seagull calling and then felt my actual body lurch, legs kicking out, and realized I was dreaming. Helpless to stop the descent, I was afraid I’d feel the impact. I watched the white capped waves break upon the rocks. So lovely, the green and blues mixing and crashing against the boulders, darkened with algal growth and contrasting with the stark white of the air entrained foamy water.

The impact stung like thousands of tiny punctures and I felt ribs shattering and bone ends jolted from their sockets and then blessed nothing and floating. The sound of traffic speeding past returned and a feeling of being pulled through space, hurtling and a sudden jolting stop, and I was in front of that mound of rocks again and heard the waves below, distant, and I saw the cliff face in my mind, taupe sandstone, and I knew the cliff was behind me.

I stared at the rock pile and heard someone softly weeping. Under a tree, the only tree in a vast rolling high plain, I saw a lank youth. He was down on one knee, his body curled over and leaning upon a short primitive shovel. A piece of blood stained embroidered blue fabric clutched in his blistered and bleeding hand, I heard him praying, his head bowed and his face pressed against his forearm. His voice hissed in supplication and he choked and lifted his head, his eyes clenched shut as he turned his face towards the cairn before me and I understood suddenly that it was a grave. His eyebrows squeezed together in suffering and his brow furrowed as he steeled himself to look upon the mound and his eyes opened, swimming in tears and brimming blue, as stunning as topaz. He swallowed hard and slumped against the base of the tree and let the shovel fall, his arms dropping to his sides as he glared again from under his brow and rocked his head back against the tree, wishing to die.

The wailing traffic sounds came again and I heard laughter, children giggling, and heard his laughter, relaxed and full of love, behind me as I raced through a field of grass and wild flowers. Short chubby legs trundled beneath my body and I felt cold earth beneath the soles of my bare feet. I heard myself squeal in delight as his arms closed round my waist and he hoisted me up into his embrace and rolled me over, cocking his head and smiling as he gazed into my eyes briefly before lifting me up higher to sit on his shoulders. My chubby fingers gripped the mop of fine wavy auburn hair atop his head as the dogs came out to greet us and I knew he’d lifted me for fear they’d knock me over... again.