Olaf

 ~Stepping Through ~

With one foot through the forth portal I am immediately transformed. The traveling attire I had chose does not fit the atmosphere I see ahead of me.

The day is cold, dry and I long for a warm drink. Perhaps I have made a mistake in not choosing from the other three portals. As I look back the cover slams shut and I jump with a startling quickness. I am here and know without hesitation I am to remain until the end of the journey.

Not far down the dirt road under a strange tree are mules and donkeys. Their grey and tan color blends with the iced thick frost upon the brown ground and atop the grey tree branches. The girth of the tree extends widely East And West. Each branch travels straight up like twisted candy canes.

By the time I reach the great tree I can see the steam releasing from the animals back. I notice a mule standing somewhat distant from the others. I approach him carefully and reach for his reins. His eyes are big, beautiful, like painted almonds.

He is ready – saddle bags full, water canteen, and blanket rolled tightly. He speaks finally and asks that I stop rummaging and climb aboard. He reminds me we have a schedule to maintain -places to be seen – people of all sorts to meet. With his permission I am allowed to call him Olaf. I climb upon his back and begin to become his burden. I hold the reins and turn ever so slightly toward the cobblestone road.

I learn from the mule he has a proud family tree – he is none other than an Appaloosa Horse Mule, a blue blood in the pecking order of mules and or donkeys.

At once I miss home and it’s early morning comforts of hot fresh coffee, and the sounds of the radio – jabbering the daily horoscope. I can adjust the heat or walk a few steps to my bedroom and grab a bathrobe, or my stretched out sweater.

Here in Lemuria, I am out of my element and into a strange land without the sureness of ordinary days. I realize I must stay alert, quarded and depend on my own resources, some inside of me and others out as I take myself down a road called Owl Creek toward a place called the Alluvial Mine.

~ by Patricia Hine Stewart on December 4, 2006.