Following the Footsteps

Wandering around aimlessly, seeing where these footprints lead is a great way to start the day. No, that was not sarcasm. There is something fun about it. It's like a mini mystery to uncover. I doubt treasure will be at the other end, but you never know. The footprints are wild. They go in all sorts of directions. They start out in in a perfectly straight line. Then they make a U turn. It goes around in circles for a bit. After that they leap, and another leap and another leap. Are we following a small child? Eventually the footprints straighten out. We follow them along a path in to a forest of tall, thin, pine trees. The sandy footprints are now replaced with mud footprints. We travel deeper into the forest. The footprints seemingly stop at a tall pine tree. We look up. Nothing in sight. Should we climb?

Footsteps

I don't remember falling asleep, but we must have at some point. We woke up the next morning to a golden sun. There were only scant remnants of the bonfire from the previous night. The Purple Haired Woman was no where to be seen. I shouldn't be too surprised though. She will pop in and out at just the right time to make you wonder if she is really just a figment of your imagination. At any rate, we decided to pick ourselves up and start the day. Olivia noticed footsteps in the sand. It could have been mine, it could have been hers, it could have been the purple haired woman's. It could have been anyone's for the matter. But we decided to follow them. See where they lead, because why not?

Beached

We lay in the sand motionless and soaking wet, viewing the night sky. It is peaceful and quiet. The only noise we can hear is the crackling of a nearby fire. We turn our heads to see an abandoned bonfire. “ You think we should put it out?” I ask. Olivia shakes her head. “No, we might as well stand by the fire and dry off.” We walk to the bonfire. It is much bigger than I thought it was. The flames almost seem to touch the sky. “Where do you think we are?” I ask. “I don’t know.” “Who do you think left this fire?” “I don’t know.” “Why do you think they would leave such a fire?” “ I don’t know. Could you stop asking questions for one minute?” Olivia snaps. “Sorry.” I say shyly. “It’s fine. Let’s just enjoy this right now.” I put my hands out near the flame. I can almost feel the water evaporating off me. Out of no where a loud cricket chirps. Perhaps the loudest chirp I have ever heard. Olivia smiles big and bright. “Crickets.” “ I think that was just one cricket.” I reply. Out of the darkness, emerges the Purple Haired Woman, riding a giant cricket like a cowboy. Or should I say, cowgirl? The Purple Haired Woman dismounts the giant cricket. “I see you found my bonfire.” She says with a grin. “This is your fire?” I ask. “Indeed.” She says. “Don’t you know it’s a bad idea to leave a fire unattended?” “Relax, I was just getting these.” She reaches in her sleeve and pulls out three sticks with marshmallows. She hands us each a stick. Olivia is excited and begins to roast her marshmallow. I , however, am more confused. “Go on.” She says to me. This is not the weirdest thing I have seen by far. So I shake it off and begin to roast my marshmallow. The Purple Haired Woman joins in. “So, did you complete the mission?” She asks us. We both nod. “So what happened?” Olivia chimes in. “Well right after it happened, we were in an old dream Scott had.” The Purple Haired Woman looks directly at me. “Interesting.” “Yeah, it was. Apparently we talked to his guardian angel.” Olivia continues. The Purple Haired woman leans in. “Did you learn anything new?” I bite my lip. “No, not really. I kinda just said exactly what I said in the dream.” I say, sheepishly. The Purple Haired Woman gasps. “That’s a waste, you could have learned so much.” “I know, what’s done is done. But what do we do now?” I ask, impatiently. The Purple Haired Woman snorts. “What?” “Don’t ask me.” She says, trying not to laugh. “ Don’t you have answers?” Olivia asks. “Sure, I’ve got answers, but you guys are on your own.” My mouth hangs open slightly. “Hey, you two. Don’t be so glum. Marshmallows are almost done, and I have gram crackers and chocolate.”

The Crash

There was virtually no time to think or react. We hit the water with full force. I was thrown against the wall. Olivia, however was able to kick the window open when the water was only ankle deep. Good thing too because as soon as we hopped out the window, the space ship began to sink. The water was like ice and it was night time. Neither one of us is the best swimmer, but when you are in such a situation, you could easily become a Michael Phelps. We swam like there was no tomorrow. Luckily, it did not take long at all to find a beach. As soon as we got there, we plopped down. Every muscle in our bodies was aching. I sat up and viewed the sinking spaceship. At this moment, there was only a small piece of it still above water. "Are they still in there?" Olivia asks. "I don't know." Just as there is only a tiny, tiny piece of the space ship still above water, it turns into a bright white light. The white light shoots itself into the sky and becomes a star. Olivia stares at the star in awe and says "Maybe they found their way back home."

High School Dance

Turns out blending in wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Yes, the students and the band stared at us,but after a moment, a very brief moment everything went back to normal. The band continued to play, the students danced, and the gym was filled with music and chit chat of "Who will be crowned King and Queen?" No one was phased. It was almost as if they were expecting us.Our entrance and attire didn't even raise any eyebrows. It was almost as if they were thinking "These guys are crazy. They always have some sort of costume and they show up when they want to." The band starts to play the song "Unchained Melody." You know the song that goes "And time goes by so slowly are you still mine?" Granted, the singer is able to hold the note a little bit longer, but you get the idea. We decide to enjoy this moment and have nice, slow dance because, dare I say it? Knock on wood. Whoever or whatever was following us was gone. So we dance to a classic oldies song. At that moment all the problems of the world melted away. Nothing else mattered. I wish I could live in this moment forever, but my vision cuts out. Everything I see is bouncing up and down. "What's going on?" Olivia shouts. "You see that too?" I ask. "Yes, and it hurts my head." Suddenly, we're out of the gym and back on the spaceship in our regular outfits. The space ship takes a noise dive, and we are thrown against the window. I glance out the window to see a large body of water quickly approaching us. "Looks like it's about to get more interesting."

The Vent

Here we are in a cramped air vent. In the spy movies they always show ample space to crawl around in. In reality it is a narrow passage. There is barely enough room to scoot on your belly. Olivia sneezes loudly. "God bless you." I shout up to her. "Thanks, it's really dusty up here." "Indeed it is." "This is not at all like in the movies." "No, its not. I thought it would be more fun." "Where are we going anyways?" Suddenly I hear a loud thud behind us. "Right now, I think we should get away from whoever is following us." I shout up to her. Olivia scoots as fast as she can. I follow close behind her. The clanging continues. We have to pick up the speed somehow. We crawl on our bellies as fast as we can go, but the clanging behind us continues. Olivia stops. "Why did you stop?" I ask. "The air vent separated. Which way should we go. Right or Left?" "Um go left." We take a sharp left. It makes as much sense as any direction and it seems to work out in our favor. Until the vent can no longer support us. We crash land into a gymnasium decorated with streamers and balloons. It is filled with teenage couples dressed in formal attire. The crowd of fancy teenagers look on at is in bewilderment as we pick ourselves up and dust or selves off. "Prom?" I ask Olivia. "Or some sort of dance. Let's just try and blend in."

Spies in Disguise

When I heard about my assignment to build a road, I assumed I would get to use a purple crayon. The truth is building a road for my extra terrestrial friends is much more bizare. I should not be surprised though. We were told to look deep into their eyes. By doing so we would be able to help them find a way home. I don't get it. We've been looking deep into their almond shaped eyes for what feels like the longest minuet of my life. I don't know if they are trying to seduce us or what. I don't feel anything for them so far. Hey, what the hell? I don't think I'm in the space ship anymore. Olivia, are you there? "Right behind you, baby." I turn around to see Olivia wearing jeans, a black turtle neck, and dark sunglasses. "Are you a beat now?" I ask. Olivia shrugs. "You're wearing the same thing as me." I glance at my new attire. "Son of a gun." A loud siren blasts. I can hear the stamping of a nearby enemy. "What do we do?" Olivia shouts out. I pier up at an air vent. "My natural inclination is to to go through that air vent." I give Olivia a boost. She struggles at first to unhinge the vent, but she makes it. I watch her little feet kick as she crawls into the air vent. " Ok, now pull me in." I shout as soon as she is all the way in. I jump into her arms . The enemy footsteps are closer. I make it all the way into the air duct and we seal up the entrance just in the nick of time.

Telepathic Friends

A heavy, automatic door slides open revealing three gangly aliens. They look like the traditional kind you see in Sci Fi movies. Frail, big almond eyes, grey skin, and elongated hands and feet. I cannot discern their genders. Perhaps they are all androgynous. They inch closer to us with an almost child - like curiosity. We are not afraid though. Something in our bones is telling us that these creatures are safe. That they mean no harm. Then we feel an intense pressure in our heads, followed by a voice. They are communicating to us telepathically. "Be not afraid, we mean you no harm."  The voices tell us. "You guys speak English?" Olivia asks in amazement. "We know all languages we know every language. We speak the one you are most familiar with." "What do you want from us?" I ask. "We are lost, we need you to build a road." "There's roads in space?" Olivia asks. "Not the one's of Earth. These are mental roads that are created by unique individuals." I look around at their superior technology. "Can't you guys do that?" "Normally, yes, but there was a great wall put around our minds stopping us. We need someone from the outside to help us." I smirk and turn my head towards Olivia. "What do you say?" She smiles back. "I'm up for it."

"My Favorite Breakfast"

"My Favorite Breakfast." It was a journal assignment I had to do in the 6th grade. Everyone else was talking about going to get pancakes or something like that. I didn't find that to be particularly interesting. Don't get me wrong, I like pancakes. I like them a lot. But I wanted to jazz up the assignment a bit. So I wrote about how I was abducted by aliens and they took me to Area 51 to get breakfast. Needless to say, it was not exactly what my teacher was expecting. To be fair though, she never said it had to be a true story. Also, who is to say it is not true? I could also argue that if I were to believe my own story that it would become true. At least in my own head it would. Who knows, maybe the aliens are taking us to IHOP. I can dream, can't I?

Olivia breaks my inner monologue. "Where do you think we are right now?" She asks. I stare out the window into infinite space. "Don't have the foggyest." We're in a big, empty room. You'd think we'd be restrained in a glass tube filled with goo, but we're not. We're free to roam around but we choose to look out the windows. "It reminds me of Communion." I say.  "First Communion?" Olivia asks, puzzled. "No, it was this book by this guy who was abducted by aliens." "Huh. Sounds interesting."  "Yeah, it was. He described everything in great detail. Though some wonder if he was in a state of sleep paralysis when it happened."  "What do you think?"  "I don't know, he could have been trying to make a quick buck." I suggest. Olivia shakes her head no. " I mean what do you think of aliens? You think they're real?"  "Of corse I do." That's odd. I never thought twice about aliens. Just seemed a fact to me. They're out there. They have to be. Makes perfect sense to me. "What do you think?" I ask. "I don't know. I guess we'll find out." We continue to stare into space.

Visitors

Growing up near O'Hare airport, it was easy to completely dismiss low flying airplanes and ignore the noise pollution. So when I heard a loud humming directly over head I did not think anything of it. That is until a bright red light illuminated the ground Olivia and I were standing on. I looked up to see a flying saucer directly above my head. It looked like something straight out of a cheesy 50's B movie. I was almost expecting to see a string attached to it. I'm guessing the fruit or whatever it was that was growing off the branches set a signal to this space craft. We stare in wonderment as the ship hovers above us. " I always hated this part in the movies." Olivia tells me. "What do you mean?" "This is when I yell at the TV because the characters are so stupid." I laugh. "You're right, maybe we shouldn't be here." The humming from the space ship grows louder. Olivia has to shout over the spaceship now. "I think I get it now. You instinctively know you should probably look away, but you just can't." A circular door on the bottom of the spaceship opens up. A green light shines down on us and begins to pull us in. "Besides" Olivia continues. "I think it's too late to back away now." The green light pulls us into the spaceship and flies off into the night sky.

Strange Fruit

Despite the surrounding chaos , the tree with the exotic fruit appears to be untouched. It is as if by a miracle this one tree is not only surviving but thriving. I mean the soil that it is growing out of is dry and covered in trash. I go to grab the fruit from one of the branches. Olivia slaps my hand. I look at her feeling puzzled and alarmed. "Doesn't this look familiar?" She quips. "No, not in the slightest." "Doesn't it remind you of a certain garden?" I smile slightly and shake my head. "What?" She asks. "I hate to break it to you, but this isn't exactly Eden." I reach for the fruit again. "Why is your first reaction to eat it?" Olivia blurts out.  "Because they look so tasty." I say mesmerized. Olivia shakes me. "Snap out of it." "We don't have to eat it. But what if we plucked one of the branch and cut it open?" I ask. Olivia shrugs. "Sounds fair enough." I take the nearest fruit I can find and pluck it off the branch. I really want to eat it. I know it will be delicious, but I hold back. Olivia snatches it from my hand. It's big. It barely fits in the palm of her hand. She tries to pierce the surface of the fruit with her thumb. The skin is like rubber. It bends, but it does not break. " I don't think these were meant to be eaten." She says, still struggling to break open the strange fruit. " If people can eat coconuts, then we can find a way to eat whatever the hell this is." A glow emits from the inside of the fruit. Olivia throws the fruit to the ground. " I don't think this is food." She says. I look up at the tree. One by one, the fruit start to glow. "No, this is something else."

Ghost Town

The  coffee shop entirely fades away.  We are left with a fog that encircles us. The fog dissipates slightly. Enough so that we can see ourselves standing in the middle of a street of a major city. Or what once was a major city. Something happened. I don’t know if it was a natural disaster, riots, or bombing, but one thing is for certain. This is not a lively, active, thriving city.  Trash cans are overturned contaminating the sidewalks and streets with garbage. The street lights that are working are either flickering or the glass is bashed in and the light bulbs are just hanging on by a thred. All the buildings are missing doors and windows. Some don’t even have roofs. The atmosphere of the city is quiet. Eerily quiet. “This is spooky.” Olivia states while viewing the ghost town. “Yeah, I think we should get off the streets. There could be roving gangs.” I tell her.  The first available place we find happens to be a school. Although the windows are cracked, it is slightly more in tact than some of the buildings we have passed. We walk inside, and there is some sort of nursery. No one is there , but you could tell this part was for young children. There are cardboard building blocks, big wheels, dolls and dollhouses, tiny desks and chairs. Little bins for art supplies. Mostly finger paints, glue and popsicle sticks. At the front of the classroom is a green chalk board with stick figures drawn on it. “What do you think happened?” Olivia asks. “ I don’t know. Could be almost anything.” I say. “ Do you think they were hurt?” Olivia asks worriedly. “It seems more like the whole town was abducted.” Olivia picks up a doll and starts to play with it. “I suppose stranger things have happened.” She says still looking at the doll. I nod and feel a shiver come over my body. Olivia notices me shivering. “I was feeling a little cold myself. Maybe we can put something over the window?”  There  is not much in sight. I figure I can at least put my cape over the opening as a temporary solution. As soon as I get to the window, something unusual catches my eye. There is a tree with rather exotic fruit growing off  it. The fruit is a bright blue. They look like a cross between a strawberry and a raspberry, but are about the size of a pomegranate. Perhaps bigger. I call Olivia to the window. “Have you ever seen anything like this?” I ask. “Never, they’re beautiful.” “What do you think they are?” “ I don’t know, but it looks like they are breathing.” “What ?” Olivia points to one of the fruits. I take a closer look. Indeed ,they are pulsating. I can not explain why, but I feel that they are beckoning us.

Float On

The ground beneath our feet opened up and we feel into what I can only describe as an abyss. Nothing but black as far as the eye can see. Which in darkness is not particularly far. So here we are, essentially floating. One cannot tell up from down and left from right here. All one can do is float. A glimmer of light eventually shines in. We can see each other now. Not much, but it is better than nothing. The light becomes brighter as we descend. Or what feels like descending at least. We are placed gently and carefully feet first into what appears to be a coffee shop. All the doors are closed and the machines are shut down. There is only one light on, illuminating the entire building. It looks like we broke in long after hours. I notice a telephone on the counter where a register would normally be. " This looks very familiar." I say out loud. The phone rings once. I pick it up eagerly. An angry voice shouts from the other side, "Why are you here?" I hear a click on the other end right after wards and hang up the phone. I turn to Olivia. "I think we're in a dream I had a while ago." I tell her. "So what do we do now?" She asks me. "If memory serves correct, we look up right now." We do, and lo and behold there is a giant, floating head. It has purplish, grey skin and looks down on us with half opened eyes. The floating head does a slow 360 and then addresses us in a whisper. " I am your guardian angel."  I lean in to Olivia. "And I believe this is what I said to him next." I look at the floating head directly in the eyes and say simply, " I don't want to hurt anybody." The floating head does another 360. It takes a deep breath and says "That is fine." With that last word, the floating head does one last 360 before it vanishes. "That's it?" Olivia says, somewhat disappointed. "That's when I woke up." "But if you've been here before, you could have asked different questions. You could have gotten different information." She's right, but what's done is done. Plus everything in the coffee shop is disapperaing and becoming fuzzy. Olivia notices the fuzziness. "What's going on?" She asks. "This part of the dream ended."  "So where do we go now." "I don't know, maybe we're about find out what happens when the dreamer wakes."

No Where to Go

Olivia is urging me, really urging me to swing into her arms. I try and I try, but I just can't seem to make it. "I can't do it." I cry out in despair. " Yes you can. You have to." Olivia insists. I try to swing to her yet again. It is still no use. She is is just out of reach. "I'm stuck!" "You're not stuck!" "Yes I am." "No you're not. Keep swinging." I stop my swinging and simply hang motionless. "Why?" I ask. "What do you mean why?" "Why do I have to continue to climb? Why can't we just go back down?" "Are you fucking serious?" Olivia shouts to me. "What?" I ask naively. "I didn't come this far just to turn around at the last minute."  "What's the point, there's always going to be a mountain or something in the way?" I say, feeling defeated. "Don't give up. keep at it." At Olivia's command, I swing my body once more, but I still can't make it. "I can't do it." "Yes you can."  "No I can't. I can't." With that last word, a lightning bolt shoots out of the pink bubble and strikes the top of the mountain. Olivia stares wide eyed at the now severed, smokey mountain top. "I think you did that." She tells me. "How?" I ask. "Maybe you just finally let out all your frustrations. Close your eyes and try it again." She says. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I think of all the fear, anxiety, angst and chaos in my head and I try to let it go. I hear Olivia's shield developing and electric current, but it shorts out. "Did that do anything?" I ask while opening my eyes. "Not really, I've got an idea though." Olivia walks back to the mountain Lion. He is checking his nails. "That was a nasty lightning strike." The mountain lion says to Olivia, still looking at his yes. "Indeed and there is more of that to come." The mountain lion chuckles. "I see you are alone again." "Just for now." The mountain lion leaps up. "Alright, shish kabobs, it will have to be." The Mountain lion runs towards my area. Olivia stays closely behind him. "You." He shouts to me. "Are you done hanging yet? I'm very hungry." "Even if I could come up there, I wouldn't." " You would leave your girl to do die here?" "Don't touch her." I demand. "Give up. There is nothing for you to do. No where to go." I feel a cold chill running down my spine, but I simply say "No." The mountain lion laughs. "What did you say?" He asks me. "No!" As I shout no, a lightning bolt juts out of Olivia's pink bubble. The lightning bolt barely misses him. Two more lightning bolts hit him in the back. The second one launches him off the mountain. Olivia is now able to grab me by the hand and pick me up. We embrace and look off into the distance. " We did it." I say jubilantly. "Not yet." Olivia takes the green emerald out of her pocket and buries it under a small mound of snow. We continue to look on at the wonderful birds eye view. Nothing happens, but maybe nothing spectacular was supposed to happen once the emerald was buried. Just then we hear cracking. The ground beneath us opens and we fall...