Thursday, September 13, 2018

To Come And Go

It was bright. Her eyes needed a moment to adjust to the light and that was why it hurt to look around. After a moment, she moved forward. She could see a patch of green ahead and it seemed much more inviting than the dark where she had come from. It had been cold there and she felt that she would feel better where it was warm.
The green she saw was flooded with the light that had caused the discomfort for her eyes. They had adjusted now and felt much better even though she was drawing nearer the source of the gleam. She walked out of the shadow of a tree line onto a large open field. Green grass and plants completely filled the area and the light, that brilliant glow, encompassed the entire expanse.
As she had hoped, the light was indeed warm. It was an alien feeling to her, this warmth, and she felt a thrill of fear for such a strange thing. A battle between her curiosity and her anxiety began. But her curiosity was strong - much stronger than fear. So, the inner war waged quickly and she crept onward.
Where had she been? It was a question that sprang to her mind and then flitted away. It seemed unimportant.
She bent down to look at the green that was on the ground. Mixed among the color, were little yellow flowers that, when touched, sprang back and wrapped long stems around themselves. Wondering at them a moment, she moved on.
The light enveloped her as she walked further into the field. Her curiosity was again busy battling her anxiety about the source of the light and her gaze flitted about looking for an origin.
She spotted it high above the area, a hanging globe in the distance. Its brilliance was so dazzling to her sight that when she looked away, great dots echoed in her vision. She closed her eyes and saw the shadow of the light even there. How wonderful!, she thought. Delight filled her and she felt a warmth inside herself as well as outside. Spreading warmth moved to her toes and she became aware of sensation within her feet.
"That's right," she said aloud. "I have feet. They are called feet." She remembered more about the form she had taken. That she was an upright creature. She walked on feet and legs. She used integrated fibers and tissue to connect the parts of her body. A combination of chemical reactions resulted in emotions, sensation, and thoughts. When she had decided on the form, it was the potential for explosive sensation that had appealed to her. She reveled in that opportunity now.
From somewhere ahead she heard sound. Sharp and rapid bursts in a somehow melodious pitch were coming from what she identified as a bird. It was categorized as a lesser creature to the form she held, yet it was appealing in what she knew now was referred to as "song." Feelings moved through her and she felt muscles on her face contract, drawing the edges of her mouth upward. Her lower lip spread wide and she realized it was a pleasant feeling that caused the condition. She had stopped moving and was standing still, swaying somewhat on her unfamiliar feet and legs.
Her thoughts were moving back to the question of where she had been and why she was now here when a sharp sensation ripped through her center. It was a terrible feeling. Immediate and wrenching, she fell to the ground unable to stay upright. There was more warmth, but this time, it felt wrong. Her hands reached for the place where the feeling originated and from the center of her form, she felt a solid object that she was sure had not been there originally. Her awareness of being in the expanse of green began to fade.
The sound of bird song was no longer clear. The brightness of the light began to dim. She closed her eyes because she felt such unhappiness about the dimming of what had inspired such wonder within her. She thought of where she had come from and wanted to return to it. The dark would be good and these terrible sensations that were no longer delightful or wonderful would not be there. Fear, it seemed, had become stronger than curiosity and the battle was brutal.