Rolling

A few moments pass by. My saucer sled sinks deeper into the hill creating a divot. I sigh at my attempts to recapture a cherished childhood memory. Olivia approaches my side. "My efforts were in vain." I tell her. "You tried." She says, trying to cheer me up. I grasp a handful of snow. It crumbles and falls through my fingers. "You can't even pack it." I say, frustrated. "Such is life." "This sucks." Olivia scowles at my current in ability to lift myself up. She bends down and grabs hold of the saucer sled. "You attempting to push me again?" I ask. "Something better." She replies. Olivia lifts up the sled, forcing me off it. I immediately fall forward and roll down the hill. She waits a beat before rolling after me. I look like a rag doll being tossed around. Olivia is somehow more graceful. I land on my back, arms and legs a mess. Olivia is not only able to control the momentum as she rolls, she also manages to be sitting up when she lands. "Are you nuts!" I shout. "Maybe." "Why did you do that?" "Buttercup did it to Wesley in Princess Bride. I always wanted to try it." I sit up. Everything hurts. "You did it because of Princess Bride?" I ask. Olivia shrugs. "That and it was the only way to get you to snap out of it." I ruby face. "That was dangerous." I tell her. Olivia grins. "But it was fun, wasn't it?" She continues. I look up at her, eyes filled with wonder. "Yes it was." "Good we'll go again. This time I'll give you pointers."

Sledding

It snowed last night. Not much, it doesn't even cover the grass. You can still see tuffs of brown and green poking through the milky white snow. Regardless, it is change of scenery, and that is much appreciated. Without saying a word, I exit the kitchen. Olivia follows close behind. She knows not where I am going, but can tell I am a man on a mission. We walk for what feels like miles, heading to the spot where we first arrived.Where we first caught sight of the dinosaurs. Everything looks similar, and admittedly it is difficult to tell one scene from another. I remain determined. I'll know it when I see it. That's when everything will make sense. Olivia is an angel. How or why she goes along with this is beyond me. I mean my toes are numb, and I wanted to give up several times, but she will not let me. I hope we find it soon. Not even for me anymore. For her. I want to make her proud. See the glimmer in her eyes when I shout " I found it!"
"I think I found something." I hear Olivia announce. I turn around. She kicks the ground. It makes a loud, metallic clang. I excitedly fall to her feet and brush away the snow. There I find a bright yellow, curved object. "You found it!" I shout. "What is it?" She asks. "The shield. My shield. This is just what I was looking for." "Oh, glad I could help." I pick up the shield. It is pretty heavy. I'm glad we left it here after all. I spring up and walk towards the first hill I can find. It so happens to also be the highest one. "Where are you going?" Olivia asks. "Something I have to do." Olivia stares at me, concerned. "It's nothing bad." I assure her. Olivia shakes her head and follows me up the hill. Carrying a heavy shield up a steep hill is no easy task. I made it though. Now to reap my reward. I place my shield on the ground. I carefully sit inside it. Olivia reaches the top of the hill, out of breath. "Did you make yourself a saucer sled?" She asks. "Sure did." "I hate to break it to you , but I don't think there is enough snow." I look up at her. " I need this." I say , simply. I'm sure that sounds strange, but it's true. The modern world is dazzling and enchanting, but it is also chaotic and exhausting. If I could let myself be childlike for one moment, it would make all the difference. After all, this activity is something that I enjoyed greatly. I would sled for hours. The sun would go down, and I knew I should go home. I knew I would most likely get in trouble if I didn't. I didn't care. I would think to myself "Not until I'm good and ready." Olivia sees that this is something I need to do. "You want me to push you?" She asks, sweetly. I smile and nod. She places her hands on my shoulders. Her touch light, yet firm at the same time. She counts to three then pushes me off. Before I can say "WEE", I am stopped less than a foot away. "I'm sorry baby, do you want to try again." She says. " I don't think there's enough snow." "You wanna go? Do something else?" "No, not until I'm good and ready."

Out of Dark Places

We don't say much to one another on our journey back to the ranch house. There isn't any anger or animosity, rather it is a comfortable silence. Words can fail often, but pictures remain. We are out of the dark, scary jungle and on the farm once more. The dinosaurs are waking up, stretching their long necks to the sky. They let out thunderous yawns that leave behind icy clouds. It's winter now, and though temperatures have been warmer for the average January, I can't help but wonder how these giant, naked creatures stay warm. This is a concept that has been explained to me time and time again. That animals, all animals are not like humans. That they know how to survive the most extreme temperatures. Whether that means developing layers of fur and fat or going under ground. That is the science I have been taught. Still, how can anyone really know? If I gaze into their weary eyes will I know their worries. Will I know their struggles? I trek past one of them, I am almost tempted to stop and contemplate this matter further. I know I can't though. The dinosaurs have managed this long, they're fine. After that personification detour, we made it to Doug and Sheri's kitchen. Sheri was staring out the window with a worried look upon her face. " What was out there?" She asks. " I don't know." I respond. Sheri slants her head. " I don't understand. You were out there." "It's a void." Olivia chimes in. " A void?" Sheri asks, puzzled. Olivia opens a cabinet and pulls out a box of pop tarts. " Yeah, a void. I don't think it's meant to be defeated though." Olivia says putting two pop tarts into the toaster. Sheri sits down and starts breathing heavily. Olivia stands by her side and comforts her. "It's nothing to fight, but rather, to learn from." "What are we supposed to learn from it?" She asks. " I think it's different for everybody." I jump in. Olivia looks up and gives and approving nod. The Pop Tarts spring up. I grab a plate and toss them on to it. My hands only slightly burning afterwards. I offer the breakfast treat to Sheri. However comforting the words may have been, they did not eaze her worried mind. Sheri rips a corner off the Pop Tart. "They're not something to be afraid of, but they're not something to run after either." Olivia explains. " What do I do then?" Sheri asks. Olivia sits down. "Just that. Don't be afraid of the dark places. Let them stay where they are. Don't sneak into to those parts, but if they come to you, then you deal with it."

The Jaws

It brings me closer to its mouth where its fangs eagerly wait to rip into my flesh. Death is nearing. It prepares itself to chomp down on my skin when all the sudden something stops it. It tries again with no luck. Something is blocking its jaws. It tries in vain to clamp down. After a few mighty tries the , the jaws release their hold on me and the eyes disappear into the night sky. It is then that I realize that I am in a bubble. Olivia must have shot one up to me. I descend slowly until my bubble connects to hers and I am on the ground once more. "Thank you." I say to her. "That was foolish what you did." I take a deep breath. " I know." "Why did you do it?" She asks. "I don't know. Thought I could handle it." Olivia's eyes widen. " By yourself?" "I guess." "I won't let you do that. I'm sticking around." She says, sternly. I smile and nod. Olivia punches me on the shoulder. " Don't do stupid shit like that." She warns. I nod once more, realizing that what I had done was foolish and we were looking for trouble just being there. Olivia puts her arm around me. " Let's get the hell out of here."

Take Action

Sometimes it's good to leave yourself alone to your thoughts. Letting them go where they go. Other times, not so much. It is in those moments that self doubt is rampant, and every possible worry is amplified to the 100 degree. Perhaps, that is when one should stick to the quiet the most. Push past it somehow. Push past the anxiety. Push past the tightness in the chest. Push past to the pot of gold on the other side. It's all theory, as I usually can't allow myself to sit with those feelings long enough for any type of pay off. Movement is what will make me feel better. Action is what will make me feel good. Against better judgement, I leave the protective pink bubble. The bubble prevents strangers from entering, yet it yields to my exit. There is a slight tingle, but that is all. Olivia is still in her zone, focused with her legs crossed. She either doesn't notice, or doesn't mind my leaving. I'll assume for the sake of argument that she doesn't mind. Outside, the fog is as thick as ever. I feel the fog wrapping itself around me. Tightening its grip like a boa constrictor. It becomes harder to breath. My body is being lifted into the air above the fog. Higher it pulls me into sky where the moonlight reveals the outline of an enormous hand wrapped around me. The fingers were so long that they circled me twice. The menacing eyes appeared. Followed by a razor sharp grin.

Criss Cross Apple Sauce

I've been told that the blind make up for their lack of sight by further developing the other senses. What about those who are not blind, but can not see as well as the rest of the population? I like to think that the near sighted have a fighting chance. A dense fog surrounds us. We can not see out, but a strong, devastating, howling wind taunts us. Olivia sits on the ground cross legged.
"Daylight will be upon us soon." She says to me. I join her on the ground. "That it will be. Does that mean we're giving up?" Olivia turns her head to me. "We're not giving up." "We're not?" I ask. "No. The storm outside comes from the storm with in." She takes a deep breath and zones out. She proceeds talking, saying " We wait now. That is the best thing we can do."

Jumping, Taunting

I keep my flashlights aimed to the sky. The beam of obliterates everything in its path. "Greetings." I hear a voice from off to the side. I turn my head to see the eyes, those dreadful eyes starring at me. I aim one of the flashlights to the side. The beam is less intense but it works. Those eyes disappear. "Boo." I hear from the other side of the bubble. The eyes jumped to the opposite side. I stretch my other arm out and aim the flashlight in that direction. The eyes disappear once more. There are now two, thin, long beams stretching out of both sides of the bubble. "Over here!" I hear the eyes shout to me from above. I shine both flashlights directly above my head, trying once more to vanish him. "Tired yet?" It asks as it jumps to my right. "No, i could do this all day." I reply as I make him dissolve again. It jumps to the other side. " So can I, but I don't want to." "To bad." I say , as I shine both flashlights to him. He reappears in the sky. "That's clever, but what will you do when there is fog?" As soon as he asks, a fog creeps in the jungle. It's thin at first, but becomes thicker. So thick that we can't see out of the bubble. Even with both flashlights working as a strong beam. " What will you do now?" It asks, laughing at the same time. "We're still protected." Olivia responds. "That you are, but you'll have to come out eventually."

The Audience

The mud continues to spiral into the sky. Slowly it ascends. Ever so slowly. It doesn't ever stop, but the bits of mud become smaller and smaller. Almost to the point that they are unnoticeable to the naked eye. When the sky looks peaceful and calm, Olivia and I become illuminated bye two large eyes. The eyes are soon followed by a sinister grin. "Can I get an audience?" It requests. The area lights up with eyes and mouths. They all cheer and laugh menacingly. " Who is hungry?" The eyes in the sky ask the audience. The crowd cheers like a pack of ravenous hyenas. "Then come and get it!" It announces. The eyes leap into the air and zip past us. We have the protective bubble, so none have landed on us. However, they keep zipping past us so fast that Olivia can not shoot any of them with pink hearts. We haven't even seen any of the creatures in their entirety. All we can discern are the occasional snouts and hoofs. I View the madness for a moment. I watch the eyes leap here and there. I see they don't come as close to the bubble as I thought the did. Our pink bubble emits a light. It's faint, but it gives me an idea. I pick up our temporarily discarded flashlights and aim them directly above my head. " I want you to focus all of your energy into this bubble." I instruct Olivia. Olivia closes her eyes and concentrates. Nothing happens at first. The crowd still leap over and around our pink bubble. Then, as if on cue, a giant searchlight stretches out of the bubble and into the atmosphere. The leaping eyes that were caught in the beam shriek and disappear. The others skimper away. "That seemed to get rid of them." I say, still pointing the flashlights in the air. "What about the leader?" Olivia asks, slowly peeling her eyes open. " I don't know, but I wouldn't celebrate just yet."

Mud Storm

We arrive at the jungle. Not a soul in sight. We wait patiently and listen. Listen for anything stirring. Nothing seems to be moving. All of the sudden something splashes my face. A moment later, that something hits Olivia. "Is it raining?" She asks. "It doesn't feel like rain." I respond. "Then what is it?" I get hit on the chin. The impact pushes me back slightly. I run my fingers along my chin. I grab something that is wet and cold. I put that hand under my flashlight beam. "It's mud!" I shout. We point the flashlights to the ground and notice small bits of mud detaching themselves from the ground and going up to the sky. It looks like reverse rain. The reverse mud rain soon picks up. The small bits of mud turn to large chunks. The chunks knock us over. We have to crawl to get out of the storm. Only problem is, the ground is where it is coming from. So it hits us, and tries to push us up at the same time. We have to dig our fingers in to the Earth and pull ourselves across the terrain. When it finally looks as though we are out of the storm, it changes direction. This time it turns into a tornado that surrounds us. Miraculously, we are not sucked up. Rather, it encircles us. The mud ascends the air in a spiral. It does this quickly at first, then slows. It is almost as slow as when it started out. I look up at the sky. "Do you think it's over?" I ask. Olivia puts up her shield. "I don't know, but I'm not taking any chances."

Flashlight Walk

Flashlights in hand, we explore night time at the ranch. With nothing blocking the way, the beams of light stretch for miles. A beam passes by one of the brachiosauruses. We notice that it sleeps standing up. Much like a cow. "Look at that! Who knew?" Olivia proclaims, pointing to the sleeping giant. "Careful, I don't want to step in any droppings." I announce while aiming my flashlight at the ground. "That's what you're more concerned of?" Olivia asks. " I can deal with the idea of carnivorous animals, however, I don't want to land in anything." "How about you point it to the ground, and I'll aim straight ahead." We do that for a while. My flashlight aimed to the ground, and hers straight ahead. Nothing will get by us. Before I know it though, I have to stop for a break. It is much further than I realized it would be. "How long we been out here?" I ask, trying to catch my breath. "About ten minuets." "Why didn't it feel so long last time?" "Because we had a ride." Olivia tugs at my sleeve. "We have to keep going."

What's Out There?

Sheri stands in front of the television and blocks the view of the electric violence. Douglas cranes his neck and tries to see around her. "Honey, can you move? I can't see." He requests. "Why didn't you tell me?" She demands. "Tell you what?" He asks, still trying to see around her. "That we have visitors in the jungle." "What are you talking about?" Sheri turns off the T.V. "I was told there are animals in there." She explains. Douglas stares, dumbfounded. "Animals that shouldn't be there." She continues. Douglas sighs. "It's their home." Sheri crosses her arms. "That doesn't make me feel any safer." She says. "I wouldn't worry, one of the dinosaurs could stomp it." He says as a matter of fact. "But what if it's something bigger and more ferocious?" She asks, frantically. I interrupt the conversation. "We could check it out." Douglas reaches for the remote and flips the T.V. back on. "There ya go. Problem solved." "I don't know if that's a good idea either." She says, nervously. Douglas waves his hand. "They'll be fine." Sheri walks into the kitchen. She rummages through some drawers. A moment later she comes back with two flashlights. She hands them to us. "If you're gonna go, at least use these."

Dishes

A well planned meal is much like Christmas. Once the festivities are over you aren't left with much other than a faint aroma and the hope that the next holiday is just around the corner. Or that you make the next day just as special.I'm working on my domestic duties right now. Scrubbing the dishes with Sheri. It's tough, and often gross, but I enjoy seeing the soap bubbles every now and then. Olivia is with Douglas. They're in the living room, watching a Schwarzenegger flick. It isn't Terminator or any of his more famous ones. All I know is that there are lots of explosions. Lots and lots of explosions. I'm in the kitchen, but it feels as if I am right there. They must have the T.V. cranked up all the way. "You don't mind doing the dishes?" Sheri asks. "No, not at all." I take off my yellow, rubber gloves momentarily to scratch my nose. "That's only problem." I explain. Sheri nods. "Yes, it seems every time my hands are full is when I get nose itches as well." I smile and put my gloves back on. "Have you ever been to the jungle?" I ask, changing the subject. "Our jungle?" "Yes." "No, I've never cared to venture that far." She admits. I pause and reflect for a moment. "What is it?" She asks. "There is something living in there." I say. "Well, I know Doug has seen scorpions in there." I shake my head no. "No, I don't think that's what it was." "What did it looks like?" She asks. " I don't know. We could mostly just see its eyes. But it could talk." Sheri looks up at me sternly and takes off her gloves. She then proceeds to walk to the living room. "What did I say?" I ask. She stops and turns around. "If there is something going on out there, I want to know about it."

Ribs

Where I come from, ribs is considered a delicacy. One wouldn't normally decide to have it for dinner and then eat it alone. No, you have to have it with friends or colleagues. It is a social food. When I say social food, I don't mean dinner party. That you get dressed up for. You ware your Sunday Best. Ribs is messy, you come as you are. "It's nice you could come to dinner. Especially because the Johnson's could not make it." Douglas's wife, Sheri says to us. "Don't get me started on the Johnson's." Douglas says with food in his mouth. "Did something happen?" I ask. "They're just flaky that's all." Douglas explains. Sheri wipes the BBQ sauce from her mouth. "It gets a little frustrating when you plan to do something and they back out last minuet." She says. "I bet. Are you guys close?" Olivia asks. "They're the closest people within miles." Douglas quips. "It's probably just hard for them to come out here." Olivia tries to rationalize. "I'm sure that's it." Douglas says, rolling his eyes. "Are you two from around here?" Sheri asks, changing the subject. "Not really." I say. There is a an awkward silence. "Where are you from?" She asks. "Illinois." I tell her. "That's far from home." She says. "That's the land of Capone." Douglas blurts out. "And Jordan." I say, trying to put a more positive spin on it. Douglas nods. There is an awkward silence once more. " Was having a Dinosaur Farm something you always wanted to do?" Olivia asks. "Sort of. I always wanted to have a nice tax write off." He explains. " I always thought it would be fun." Sheri says with a child - like smile. "How did you get the dinosaurs?" Olivia asks. Douglas leans back in his chair. "You can buy anything. I could get you a cheetah. You want one?" "No, I don't want a cheetah." Sheri takes a deep breath. "They were always here. We just had to sign a paper and the land was ours." "But where is here?" Olivia asks. Sheri and Douglas look at each other and shrug. "How do you not know where you live?" I ask. "We just don't." Douglas says, defensively. I take another bite of the ribs. For the first time in a while, I'm wondering where I am and why I am here. Douglas gives us one more thought to chew on. "We wanted to go where the dinosaurs were.They let us come, as long as we were kept in the dark and had minimal contact with the outside world."

Dinosaur Farm

The dinosaur farm is a vast valley. It stretches for miles and miles. I wonder if Douglas has ever seen all of it. Currently we are near the reservoir that Olivia and I were at previously. Two Brachiosaurus drink from the water. One chomps down on leaves from a nearby tree, and a fourth has its back turned to us. He stares out into the horizon. "That one is Galahad." Douglas says, pointing to the one eating leaves. " You named them after the nights of the round table?" Olivia asks. "Sort of. My wife wanted to name them after the seven dwarfs, so we compromised. Some are knights and some are dwarfs." Douglas points to the two drinking from the reservoir. "That's Doc and Happy." Olivia smiles. "It's neat two dwarfs are together." Douglas grins. "Yeah. And then we have Sleepy, Robin, and Arthur around here somewhere." "What about that one?" I ask, pointing to the one facing away from us. "Oh, that's Robert De Niro." "Why Robert De Niro?" I ask. Douglas looks surprised that I would ask such a question. "Look at him. His back turned to us. He's got this "You talkin' to me" attitude. So it wouldn't make sense to name him after a dwarf or a knight." "I guess not." I reply. Douglas turns and starts to walk away. " Come on, I want to show you one more thing before we go in." We temporarily walk away from the dinosaurs down a green hill. We step over what appears to be a crushed, brown picket fence. Douglas leads us past the rubble to a giant hole in the ground. It is about the size and width of a small car. It looks as if it is a couple feet deep. More alarming still is that this hole is only a few feet away from a quaint ranch home. "Did one of the dinosaurs do this?" I ask. Douglas nods. " Robert De Niro is a little scamp, but don't worry I gave him a talking to about it." "And he understood?" Olivia questions. "Yes, I told him you can't do that sort of thing and he feels terrible about it." "You know how he feels?" Olivia pries deeper. " You spend enough time with them and you start to understand how they think." He responds. "That may be, but you had to of known that fence wouldn't be strong enough." I blurt out. "I'm sure in the back of my head I realized that, but it was really more of a privacy thing." "There is no one out here." I say. "Maybe not people, but I don't want one of those guys to see me changing. That's just weird." "Fair enough." Olivia says. "Even still, you guys don't understand what this means." He tells us. "What does it mean?" I ask. "You know, when this happened I wracked my brain trying to figure out how to fix it. Then, like a flash of lightening, it came to me." He says with his eyes wide. "I'm gonna transform this into a hot tub." "That's not a bad idea." I say, staring down into the pit. "Of course it's not. Relax you in every way. And maybe if the mood strikes, a little naked hot tubing with the Mrs." He says , nudging me with his elbow. "Thank you so much for that image." I say, sarcastically. "Sexuality is a perfectly natural thing." He explains. "I know, but I don't need to hear about your exploits." I tell him. Douglas raises his eyebrow. "You ashamed of your body?" He asks. "No." "Then what's the problem?" "Aren't you concerned about your privacy?" Olivia chimes in. "You are right, and I would fix the fence before I did anything. Or if it came down to it, and I just couldn't wait, and the hot tub was done first, I would just put up a curtain. Or maybe a predator decoy to keep them away." Douglas lightly smacks his forehead. "That's brilliant. I should have done that a long time ago." He says to himself. I shake my head. "I'm just living my life. Spicing things up here and there where I can. Sorry if you don't like the image of my naked body ingrained in your brain." I cringe and Douglas chuckles. He pauses and then says "Ready for ribs?"

Jungle Friend

The jungle is wild and strange. Even in the daylight one never knows what may be lurking nearby. Off in the distance we see vines and branches being thrown down by a machete. "Who could be here?" Olivia wonders. A few more layers and branches get hacked away. We now see a man standing before us. He looks about late fifties. He has thin balding hair. He wears John Lennon sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt. "What brings you here?" He asks, surprised. "I could ask you the same thing." I reply. "I live here." He says, casually. "You live here?" Olivia reiterates. "Well, technically this jungle isn't part of my property, but no one comes out here." He responds. "Are you aware there are dinosaurs out there?" Olivia asks. "Yeah, that's my Brachiosaurus farm." "What?" I say in shock, as if it has not registered. "You know, like an Emu farm, but with dinosaurs." He elaborates. Olivia and I look at each other. "What? You've never seen a dinosaur before?" He continues. "Not until today." I tell him. "That's weird. Where are you two from?" He asks. "All over the place." Olivia says, quickly. "And neither of you has ever seen a dinosaur?" We both shake our heads no. "If you want I could show you around. Then if you're hungry and want to stay, my wife is making ribs." He informs us. "That would be great!" I respond enthusiastically. I heard free food and that is a go for me. The man smiles and puts out his hand. "The name is Douglass." We shake his hand and he begins to lead us out of the jungle. "Just one thing." I say. "What's that?" He asks. "You don't have any T- Rex's do you?" He takes off his sunglasses and looks at me, confused. "Why would I?" "I have no idea." I respond, sheepishly. He walks past me and utters to himself. " A T - Rex? That would be like a Tiger in an Emu farm." A social faux pas? I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later.

The Eyes, the Eyes

The sinister eyes continue to leer. One set of eyes draws near to us. We can now see a snout and bright white teeth. The eyes draw closer to us. It pounds and shakes the ground with each footstep. Its feet have sharp , bear - like claws. I gulp. Olivia, on the other hand appears calm and collected. "Aren't you scared?" I ask. "They're not gonna attack." She responds. "What makes you so sure?" "They would have pounced already." All the eyes in the background laugh. "Quiet!" The eyes in the foreground shout out. "You can talk?" I gasp. "Yes, I can." The eyes jump and disappear into the shadows. We look around among the sea of eyes to try and find him. "Over here." It says behind me. I turn around to see its glowing, winking eyes. "You were right. We're not going to kill you. At least not now." It says, leaping to the ground. Its body is still out of view from the moonlight. "What do you want from us?" Olivia asks. The animal, the creature, the eyes, smile. "Lights, please." It says. With that, the sun rises and our "friends" vanish, leaving us alone in the jungle. At least it is daylight though.

Surrounded

There are eyes everywhere. They wince and wait to attack. Who or what they are is unknown. We can not discern any shapes. All we can see are eyes. Bright, glowing eyes. Much like cartoon characters in the dark. Some eyes squinting, all staring. We hear growling, hissing and snarling. We are surrounded. "Maybe if we stay perfectly still they won't notice we're here." I suggest. We hear a loud roar. "So far I don't think that's working." Olivia says. "I know, but right now I don't want to move a muscle either."

Destination?

We journey far from the herd. Far from safety. To a deep, dark jungle. Many creatures we can hear, but none that we can see. The brachiosaurus leads us to a clearing. It kneels down on its back legs causing us to slide down its back and onto the ground. It stands back up and cranks its head toward us. Once it realizes that we are unharmed by the fall it turns around and heads back in the direction that it came from. "Where are you going?" I shout out to the dinosaur. It does reply to my cries, it keeps going. "Why did it take us here?" I ask Olivia.

The Climb

Here is a little known fact. I can't get on a horse let alone ride one. Growing up in suburban Chicago, having such knowledge would have made little, if any significance. I could ride a bike. I could do all sorts of tricks. I would probably be able to remember some of those tricks too, but most likely it will not come as a surprise, a horse and a bicycle are two very different things. "How do we get on it?" I ask. " First, I would recommend you put down your shield." I look down at my yellow shield that I earned. "No way." "You can't climb with that." She says to me. " But its mine now." "I know, but you can come back for it later." I sigh and place the shield on the muddy ground. "Well'll come back back for it. No one will steal it." She assures me. "How do we climb it?" I ask. Olivia walks over to its tail. She latches herself onto it, and cups her hands in the groves of its skin. "This is probably the easiest way to go." She says to me while attempting to climb. I follow her lead. The groves in the dinosaur's skin creates perfect footholds for climbing. That's not to say the climb was a cake walk. I almost fell a couple times, but it was a lot easier than I thought it might be. We go to the top of the dinosaur. The view was spectacular. By this point, a reddish sun was waiting for bed time. Our long neck friend cracks his head to us. It does not appear upset in the slightest. He seems to welcome us as if he were expecting us. Olivia blurts out in excitement. "Take us somewhere with adventure." It nods slowly and whips its head back around and proceeds to walks forward.

Rough, Worn Leather

I was once told that the Blue Whale is the largest animal. Bigger than any dinosaur. I'm sure that if I were ever to come across one I would marvel at its size. I would wonder how one of those, let alone many could swim and live in the ocean. Yet if you were to tell me its exact size, it would mean little to me. It would be an abstract number that I would shelf somewhere in my brain only to be forgotten. But here we are, looking up at the mighty brachiosaurus. We are like ants in comparison. We barely reach its ankle. In case you were wondering, its skin is interesting. The closest thing I could compare it to would be leather. Rough, worn leather. I wonder if we feel like gnats to it. I know it feels us as it looks down every now and then. I guess it does not mind. It must innately know that we are not a threat. Now is when I make a bold decision. "Wanna ride him?" I ask. Olivia's eyes light up and she smiles big and bright.

Observing the Long Necks

We watch the giant creatures sip from the reservoir. "I was never into dinosaurs as a child, but now I can't stop watching. Why is that?" Olivia asks. "Because they're fascinating. Because it's something that's never been photographed." "A dragon has never been photographed." She replies. I shake my head. "Then it's fascinating because it's something new." I say. "What do you think it feels like?" "An elephant?" I suggest. "I never pet an elephant." She says, still looking at the dinosaur in awe. "Me either." Olivia springs up and starts to walk to the reservoir. "What are you doing?" I ask. "I'm gonna go pet it." "What about the predators?" "We can defend ourselves. Come on." She says, ushering to join her. I hesitate for a moment and then leap to my feet. Admittedly I am curious about the texture of dinosaur skin.

Local Wildlife

Absorbing my look a like took a lot out of me. I don't feel any wiser, but I do feel a change inside me. I rest on a rock outside the exit. I'm so exhausted I am unaware of my surroundings. I hear Olivia gasp in excitement. "What is it?" I ask. "You'll never believe me. Look up." I rub my eyes and lift my head. To my amazement, I see a group of brochiosaurses (long neck dinosaurs) drinking from a beautiful blue reservoir. "Are we still in Main?" I ask. "I don't know where we are." "They're beautiful." I say, astonished. "Do you think we should get closer?" Olivia wonders. I shake my head no with my mouth still wide open in awe. "No, I don't want to risk scaring them away."

Blockage

"If we continue down the path we're stuck in a loop, but what if we turn around?" I ask. Olivia glances over her shoulder and sees the darkness behind us. "It's worth a shot." She says. We turn around, and attempt once more to leave the tunnel. At first it feels much like when we entered. No light, and relying purely on sound to guide us. It soon felt confining though. An intense pressure was forcing itself on us from every direction. Boxing us in. The air became thinner. Despite, or because of the lack of vision, it felt more and more like we were walking in place. "I can't breathe!" I shout out. "Me either, let's turn around." Almost immediately the pressure dissipates as we head back down the path. We keep walking and my doppelganger reemerges in the same exact spot. "I think this is something we have to deal with." Olivia tells me. " Yep." Olivia fires a pink heart into his chest. He doesn't budge, but I feel a warm glow and a smile on my face. Olivia notices right away. Curious, Olivia tries an experiment. She reaches over to my doppelganger and carefully flicks his ear. He doesn't flinch, but I react as though it were mine, grasping my right ear. "You're him, and he's you." Olivia explains. "No way." "Need further proof?" Olivia slaps his face. "Ow! That hurt." I exclaim. "Sorry, just proving a point." "Ok, we're one in the same, but what do we do?" I ask. "I don't know. We can't hurt him because that would hurt you, but we can't move past him either." I step closer. My face is inches from his. Our eyes are locked on each other. "There may be a third option." I say to Olivia without breaking my stare. "What is it?" She asks. "We go through." I walk on and crash against him. To me, he does not feel like a person, but rather a heavy wind. A heavy wind that tries its best to keep me away. I persist and press on. His head becomes one with my head. It is painful at first. Then it is like nothing. Like a ghost. No, lighter than a ghost. Before I know it, my doppelganger is gone. Enveloped in me. Olivia looks on in amazement, and I stare straight ahead towards the exit and natural light.

Tunnel

Chilled to the bone. Chilled to the bone. Winter is not for the faint of heart. Am I being dramatic? More than likely. The days are getting longer, and this isn't cold. At least not in my strictest definitions of the word. This here, this is freezer burn. A sharp, icy bite to wake one from a deep slumber. Olivia and I have been walking for what feels like miles. We talk about everything and nothing. Crunching the snow beneath our feet. We walk and walk till the sidewalk ends. It's not quite like in the Shell Silverstein sense of the word we're were hovering over a void with land somewhere below us. This was merely just an unfinished sidewalk. Stopping a few feet in front of a dark tunnel. It almost looked as though the city planners did not want any one to go through. With no light emanating from the inside, it certainly did not look welcoming. But we would not be scared off. Not today, and not so easily. The grass leading up to the tunnel was hard and freezing. A wind whistled from the mouth of the tunnel. Ushering us in. We clench our fists and enter. There is no light. All we can do is rely on our hearing. Paying close attention to our shoes clanking against the pavement. We walk in darkness for a few minuets, holding each other's hands. Slowly a light begins to appear in the distance. It is faint a first, but becomes brighter the closer we get. Eventually we can make out a silhouette. "Is someone waiting for us?" Olivia asks. "I don't know." "Who are you?" Olivia asks as we continue to walk. The silhouette does not respond. "Do you think it's hostile?" I query. " I don't know, but I'm preparing." Olivia opens her palm and faces it in the silhouettes direction as we walk ever closer. All of the sudden something catches my eye. I see the silhouette has a hood. I run up to it and notice that this person, this thing is my doppelganger. From my hood and cape, to my shield, to my expression. It's me, or a look a like. He doesn't move though. He just stands there , motionless. Olivia looks at me then the doppelganger. "Which one is you?" She asks. " I'm pretty sure I'm me and that is something else." I respond. Olivia examines it closely. "He follows me with his eyes." "Can you blame him?" I tell her. Olivia smirks. "I mean his body doesn't move. His eyes do though. He's like the Mona Lisa." "Huh, weird." I say while walking past him. "That's it?" Olivia questions. "He doesn't seem like a threat. Let's keep going." Olivia is slightly disappointed that I brush of the incident so easily, but she continues past the doppelganger as well. It looks as though we are about to exit the tunnel when it unexpectedly grows dark again. Just like before we rely on our hearing to guide us, and just like before we are met at the end of the tunnel by a silhouette who looks remarkably like me. Olivia turns to me. "He may not be a threat, but we have to find out how to get out of here."