I looked around, yes, with my closed eyes. I looked around, from one tree to the next, wondering whether one of us was crazy. Then… a shadowy, and I say shadowy because it looked like a shadow, dark transparent, flat on the ground and up a tree… this shadowy thing seemed to move from behind a tree, and grow, and grow. It became so huge that I thought it could’ve been three men across and five more on top of each other.

What the heck? They did not teach this stuff at school.

And wham, I heard Alex swing a long stick across the shadow. “You do not belong,” he said. “You exist no more.”

You? He called this thing, a shadow, you?

I turned to look at him, at Alex, at the stick I did not know he had.

Are there more? I wanted to ask, but Alex beat me to it.

“There are many more. But we must leave before they start appearing.”

“Why?”

“Think of your home, your apartment,” he said. “The colors of the walls…”

The second he said home, and colors, and the walls, a picture of them appeared in my head. Alex snapped his fingers three times.

“Breathe. Focus on your breath.” Maybe a minute passed, then he told me to open my eyes.

I didn’t understand why we stopped. I looked at him. I was mad, and I wanted him to know it. “You’re not polite.”

“Why?”

“Why didn’t we stay there?”

“You asked to see where I go. I showed you. And, you’re too young.”

“No I’m not.” I was definitely angry at him, for not trusting me, for not knowing that I could handle it. I felt the anger in me spread out and boom. I stormed out of the apartment; I wasn’t sure why, maybe I did not want him to see me like that, or maybe because I didn’t know what to say.

~~

The morning was better, because by then, by breakfast, I had decided I would go back, whether Alex liked it or not.

So… I returned that next night, the second night. I wanted more, but with all honesty it was not clear to me what it was that I wanted. What was clear was that I could not wait for the day to end, and the clock’s big hand to reach midnight. I barely slept.

Alex seemed a bit surprised to see me. “You’re back?!”

“Of course I’m back. What dd you expect?”

“Well, I’m going to the other side on this night. I’m not sure it’s appropriate… uh, for someone…” there was a pause, an abrupt interruption in thought.

“What? Someone my age? I’m more than mature enough. And it is appropriate. And anyway, you can’t show me a little of something and then decide not to show me the rest. It’s just not polite.”

I ducked under his arm and passed through into the apartment. My chair was not around. Alex was staring at me, but seemed to understand what I was looking for.

“It’s in the kitchen.”

We stared at each other for a moment. I got the hint, brought the chair myself and set it in the same spot as the night before. I wiggled myself on it until I felt comfortable. Closed my eyes, and declared that I was ready.

A few moments passed. Alex seemed to move around a bit. Then there was some movement in the room. Alex touched both my shoulders. I felt a shiver, but stayed put.

“There is a spot between your eyes,” the words came from the front, into my face, “where the eyebrows meet, just a little behind them. That spot is brighter than the sun, but you are the only one who can see it and feel its light and warmth. This sun is yours alone. It will show you where we are going on this night.”

It sounded strange. Like a light on a helmet that construction workers wear.

“Your body will stay here. But you. You and I. We will go somewhere together. We will cross a bridge. Then you will see what work there is to do.”

A bridge? Work…

“See your sun. Your star. Your own star. See it shine down on a road. A dirt road with short grass on both sides.”

I went along. Imagined light all around me. And a dirt road, with the green grass everywhere. A plateau as wide and vast as I could imagine. I added beautiful flowers of all colors.

“Start walking down this road. I’m with you to your right. Walk slowly. Breathe. Smell. Hear. Feel the breeze, and the grass.”

The flowers smelled so good. The air on my skin felt gentle, like an invisible friend walking along with us.

“Let’s keep going a little longer. A few more minutes.”

I looked around me, at the plateau, at the open green field, at the flowers.

“Look ahead, some one hundred yards, a little to our right. Just there, we will reach it soon. There is a cliff that looks down a wide and deep canyon. And there is a bridge. A wide and long long log. We will walk on it and cross the canyon.”

My breath grew shallow. I worried a little. I liked the green grass but I wasn’t sure I wanted to cross to anywhere, definitely not above a deep canyon.

“Just a little more. A minute or two and we will be there, near the edge.”

The breeze grew a little stronger. I noticed a few large birds, maybe raptors, ahead, and looked down around the area where they were. It was the canyon. Empty space.

“Your sun is shining. It is bright and warm. See all the light, all that it shows you, all that’s around. Now slow your breath. Make it deeper. Remember, I am with you.”

The green grass ended. It just stopped. Just after it, was about a couple of feet of gray rock and brown earth. I figured we reached the edge. I dared not look down and stopped there, about a yard from the edge. The canyon.

A giant log, I assumed once a huge tree, was to our left. Its trunk, its width… high. The tree must’ve been so wide that its trunk seemed higher than me.

“You’re wondering how to climb up.”

No. I was not wondering anything. I was thinking maybe this was not a good idea.

“I carved out a few steps on the left side. Like a small staircase.”

We remained where we were. I did not want to move.

“Remember that breeze. Gentle and light. It’s still here. The same breeze. And your light. Also here. Bright and strong.”

And the tree… the log… why is it here?

“And the tree, is a bridge. It will help us cross. To the other side.”

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