The PureLights of Ohm Totem

by Brandon Ellis

  The sun pushed its light through the many branches hanging above, dappling the path with bright shadows from branches and leaves. Today was going to be another hot one, thought Coda. At the triple fork, he planted his feet firmly on the ground. “I'm not following you.”

  Zoey started to sing one of her made-up songs, clearly ignoring him. Coda frowned. Zoey’s ignoring me? She had walked away without any hesitation, when in the past she'd always follow Coda, doing what he wanted to do when he insisted.

  Coda shrugged his shoulders and followed her. He wasn't going to let her off the hook that easily.

  “Why are we going to see a stupid made-up talking tree?”

  “She's real!”

  “You don't have any friends because you make everything up,” Coda badgered.

  “I do not, Coda!”

  “Yes you do, Zoey!” he insisted, and laughed obnoxiously to really get on her nerves.

  Zoey scowled, but didn't reply. They walked in silence on the skinny dirt path. Coda listened to the sounds of the creek, its water curling around roots and splashing against rocks, making him yearn to jump into the water to escape the heat of the day.

  It was too hot for Coda and the last thing he wanted to do was go with his sister to see an imaginary tree. If his parent's hadn't made him go out, he'd be back at home playing with his Legos in his air-conditioned bedroom.

  They walked past light green ferns and orange and yellow wild flowers, until they finally came to the spot Zoey had found the day before.

  “Right there!” she proclaimed, pointing at the tree.

  “What? That's it? It looks like the cherry tree at Michael's house.”

  Just at that moment, a ray of sunlight lit up the tree.

  Looking closer, Coda could see that the tree stood proudly by itself, glowing more brightly than the other forest trees. It twisted in a spiral all the way from the base of its trunk to its top branches. The limbs from the tree dazzled in the light as the wind nudged its bright green leaves, making it look as if the tree was waving at them.

  “OK, that’s a weird looking tree,” Coda admitted. He’d already forgotten about Zoey's story and ran toward the twisted tree to climb it.

  This is perfect for climbing, he thought. His legs brushed against a myriad of ferns that covered his path to the tree as he ran.

  “Wait for me, Coda!” yelled Zoey, chasing after her brother.

  “You can’t get me!” called Coda. He looked behind to see his sister closing in on him fast.

  “Let’s play hide-and-go-seek,” said Zoey, as she got closer.

  “No, let’s play tag and you’re it!” Coda sliced through a narrow crack between two large bushes that lined the path. Then he stopped with a quick jolt. He was just a couple of yards from the weird tree when he felt a wave of different sensations running throughout his body. “Whoa!”

  Zoey caught up to him and gently touched his hand as she stood next to him. She stared at the tree along with her brother. “What’s the matter?” she asked.

  “Do you feel that, Zoey?” A tingling sensation started to play with the crown of his head and a soft, almost feathery touch tickled his arms, hands, legs, and feet.

  “Oh, that’s the Snow Tree. I told you about it. She gives off that feeling.”

  Coda screwed up his nose, something he always did when he was unsure. He looked up and saw the Snow Tree’s branches directly above him. “I d-don’t know, Zoey.”

  “Seriously,” said Zoey, walking over to the Snow Tree and sitting on its knob. “It’s okay. Come and…” she stopped talking and pointed at Coda, her mouth wide open in surprise. “Oh, my gosh!” She was staring at a spot just over Coda’s right shoulder.

  “That’s his spirit animal. It will be with him for his entire life,” said the Snow Tree. “You have one, too.”

  Zoey pointed over Coda’s right shoulder. “Coda, look! That’s your spirit animal.”

  Coda stood perfectly still. He was confused. He had heard a voice talking to Zoey, but where did it come from? He could feel a strange tingling sensation on the right side of his face and ear. He twisted around to look over his right shoulder, but couldn’t see anything.

  “He’s touching you!” yelled Zoey. Her eyes glowed with utter delight. “He's a big black panther!” She laughed, “He's standing on his back legs, with his front paws on your shoulder. He's licking you!”

  What's she talking about? Coda nervously whipped his head from side to side, seeing only the forest around him, not a big black cat leaning on him.

  “He’s purring,” Zoey added.

  “Who’s touching me?!” yelled Coda.

  “Your spirit animal. He's always at your side,” answered the Snow Tree softly.

  Coda froze. He could hear a woman’s voice speaking to him, but only Zoey was there. Still, for some strange reason, he didn’t doubt that the tree was talking and he didn’t doubt that a spirit animal was next to him.

  “He's simply you in another form,” explained the Snow Tree.

  Coda’s eyes squinted as he looked off into the distance. “Me—in another form?” A small breeze ruffled the leaves above Coda as a calmness settled over him.

  “Yes,” replied the Snow Tree. “Your spirit animal will help you with your journey in more ways than you could ever imagine.”

  Coda looked to the ground, scuffing the dirt with his shoes. “Um...okay.” His mind raced as he remembered the voice in his ears from yesterday. It, too, had talked of a journey, but he didn't show any outward sign that he remembered it.

  “Who are you?” asked Coda.

  “I am the Snow Tree. Come and sit next to your sister.”

  Zoey scooted over, and then got up so Coda could have the whole knob chair.

  “Look around,” said the Snow Tree.

  Wide-eyed, Coda looked around, but saw nothing but squirrels playing, birds taking flight, and trees all around.

  “Close your eyes, Coda, and take a deep breath,” directed the Snow Tree.

  Coda wriggled a bit, and then closed his eyes. As he took in a deep breath, he felt a tingling sensation surrounding his body. He began to smile as a sense of joyful energy entered him, pushing away the nervousness he had felt only moments before. He opened his eyes to see a completely different world. A world he thought existed only in cartoons.

  He saw blue, green, white, and purple balls of light floating over and around trees, bushes, ferns, and everything growing in the forest. Some of them were traveling fast, some were slow, and others were stationary, hovering over large and small plants. He noticed that the stationary balls were beaming white light into the plants.

  “Those are the caretakers of the forest,” said the Snow Tree. “They’re called orbs. Now, focus on an orb and tell me what you see.”

  Coda had completely forgotten his objections to Zoey about a talking tree as he eagerly put all of his attention on a green orb a couple of feet in front of him. It was hovering over a strange long-leafed plant with purple flowers. Without warning, the image faded into the background and he could only see Zoey sitting cross-legged next to the plant, her face illuminated with exhilaration.

  As usual, this annoyed Coda and he shook his head. “I don’t see anything else. What am I supposed to see?”

  “Relax,” said the Snow Tree. “Take a deep breath and clear everything from your mind. It’s then that you’ll see.”

  Doubt crept into Coda's mind and he began to feel silly. Is a tree really talking? Is it good to see orbs? Were his eyes and ears playing tricks on him? What kind of a trick was Zoey playing on him?

  Coda stood up abruptly and all of the orbs instantly disappeared. He brushed past Zoey with a scowl. “We’re going.”

  “What’s the matter?” Zoey asked.

  The Snow Tree spoke again to Coda. “There will be plenty of moments to think twice about me. But, right now I need to help you and Zoey get ready for the mission you're both about to go on.”

  “Mission?” Coda liked t
he idea of a mission. He stopped and turned toward the tree.

  “Yes, a mission. In order to start your mission, I'm going to show you and Zoey how to find your true courage.”

  “Whaddya mean, our true courage?” asked Coda.

  “True courage is when you can look at something you fear, and change the fear into love. When you do this, all of life feels safe in your presence and life fears you no more.”

  “I’m not afraid,” Coda asserted.

  “Life fears us?” asked Zoey.

  “All of nature senses your fear. Animals will respond to your fear with their own fear. Changing your fear into love will change the way nature responds to you,” said the Snow Tree. “Fear is the opposite of Love. It is an energy that flows through your body when you have negative feelings and thoughts. Love is an energy that flows through your body when you have positive feelings and thoughts. Both energies are very powerful. Love, however, has more power than Fear. Love comes from the thoughts and feelings of your heart and evaporates fear instantly. You must have the courage to love what you fear in order to fulfill the mission you're both about to go on.”

  Coda played with a small rock, trying to understand what was just said. “How can you think from your heart?” He dropped the rock and watched it hit the moss-covered ground. “That doesn't make sense.” He furrowed his brow, not trusting the words he was hearing.

  “It's easy,” responded the Tree. “You can practice by closing your eyes and bringing an image to your mind.”

  “Alright,” Coda nodded, “I’ll give it a try—even though I’m not afraid of anything.” Zoey stood next to Coda as he closed his eyes.

  “What's something that scares you?” asked the Snow Tree.

  A vision of his mom came to mind, scolding him over something. Next, he saw his school teacher from last year, Mr. Hacklin, and his heart nearly stopped. Coda and his friends thought Mr. Hacklin was the scariest teacher in the history of school teachers. He was a towering, grumpy old man with gray hair and white whiskers that came out of his ears and nose. He would creep up behind someone when they weren’t paying attention, and ferociously slap a metal ruler against his own hand or on the desk. More than once Coda had nearly jumped out of his skin at the unexpected noise, and then had to go to the front of the class to explain what Mr. Hacklin was just talking about.

  “What do you see?” asked the Snow Tree.

  “Mr. Hacklin. He was my teacher last year,” Coda said, anxiety wriggling around in his stomach.

  A bird landed on the Snow Tree's lowest lying branch, twitching its blue head to the left and right, as if listening to the words being said. Then it flew off, darting to the next tree.

  “Before we start this exercise, the bluebird wants me to tell you something. When you're done practicing, she would like you to follow her.”

  “Huh?” asked Coda. “Follow her where?”

  “Wherever she leads you, but I suspect she'll lead you through the blackberries.”

  “Will I see the talking elephant again?” asked Zoey.

  “The talking elephant?” Coda questioned.

  “Yeah, an elephant…an elephant talked to me yesterday. I swear, Coda!” Zoey was very animated, waving her hands above her head and tripping all over her words.

  Coda gave a sideways glance toward the Snow Tree. “Is that true?”

  “What Zoey says is true.”

  Coda rolled his eyes. He wanted to tell them both that this entire thing was ridiculous, but before he could say anything the Snow Tree asked them both to close their eyes and calm their minds by taking deep breaths. He was intrigued by the idea of a talking elephant, so he closed his eyes.

  “OK, let’s practice changing fear into love. This is the same practice you use for all Beings in nature, and for all people,” added the Snow Tree.

  For a few minutes everything was quiet, except for the wind slowly blowing against the leaves and the sound of water streaming in the background.

  “Now, Coda, I want you to think of Mr. Hacklin again. When you see him in your mind’s eye, imagine him moving down from your mind and into your heart.”

  Coda suddenly felt very uncomfortable. His whole body had tightened up and his heart felt like it was filled with gremlins trying to scratch their way out. He didn't like Mr. Hacklin occupying his heart.

  “Imagine,” continued the Snow Tree, “a pink light filling your heart and surrounding Mr. Hacklin. Give him all of the joy, love, and happiness that you can with that pink light. Know that he comes from the same creator that you come from, and know that you are both equally loved. Even though Mr. Hacklin looks like he's always mad, know that he needs love, just like you.”

  Coda imagined the angry, seething Mr. Hacklin covered in neon pink light. He chuckled as the pink light bubbled and dripped all over his most feared teacher. It looked like he was being smothered with melting cotton candy. Then, for some reason, he thought of his friend Michael and the fun times they always had together, making him smile and filling him with joy.

  In a flash, the butterflies in his heart and the tightness in his body disappeared. Feeling very happy, Coda naturally thought of all the things his mom and dad did for him. He knew without a doubt how much they loved him. He even thought of Zoey and how much she loved him, even if she was a bit of a pain sometimes.

  “If Mr. Hacklin were in front of you now,” said the Snow Tree, “you'd beam that pink light through your heart toward him. At the same time, you might feel him become happy. Since he's not in front of you right now, try to beam that light out into the world, addressing it to Mr. Hacklin. Like mailing a letter.”

  Coda did just that, instantly feeling tranquil and alive. He felt as though the fear he had for his old teacher was completely gone from his heart and he felt a new sense of freedom.

  “Someday soon, Coda, and you too, Zoey, you'll be able to do that instantly without having to do this exercise at all. It'll become a healthy habit. You'll even be able to do it with your eyes open. This exercise will become a part of you in the same way that your hands, eyes, nose, and mouth are a part of you. ”

  “That's cool!” yelled Coda. “Zoey, you should...”

  The bluebird suddenly flew over Zoey's shoulder, interrupting his words. Zoey ran after it and Coda followed. The bluebird dove through the entrance of the blackberry bushes, vanishing from view.

  Zoey suddenly came to a screeching halt and Coda zoomed right past her. “Come on, Zoey, let's see where the bluebird is going.” Coda ducked just in time to avoid the dangling thorns and vines hanging from the top of the blackberry entrance. He screeched to a halt with his body half in and half out of the entrance, and stared at Zoey. He prodded her to join him.

  Zoey looked at him and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and opened them. “Okay,” she said somewhat hesitantly, but forcing a smile.

  What's wrong with her? wondered Coda. He turned around and slowly walked through the opening into the tunnel. He saw that the vines shielded most of the light coming from the sun, shadowing the ground beneath his feet. He heard the sounds of birds singing, the sounds of tree branches shaking as squirrels jumped from tree to tree, and felt a cool breeze coming through the bushes carrying the scent of the forest with it.

  “This would be a cool fort!” he yelled, then scrunched his nose. He shouldn't have said anything. Now Zoey will want to use this as a fort with him. And she'd ruin the fort somehow, like she always does!

  Zoey shrugged her shoulders and stared past Coda's head. She looked like she was waiting for something to happen. Coda half-grinned. “What's wrong?” He hoped to goad her away.

  “Nothings wrong,” lied Zoey.

  Coda giggled. Maybe she’s afraid of seeing another elephant. Maybe, he thought deviously, if I talk about it she’ll turn around and go back home. “Is it the elephant you saw yesterday?”

  “It's weird seeing an elephant that can talk, that's all,” replied Zoey. “Aren’t you scared?”

  “No. Well, I
don't know. I don't feel much of anything right now.” He sighed. He might as well just let her do what she wants to do.

  Coda held his hand out for Zoey, which she eagerly grabbed, and he pushed forward, almost dragging Zoey along.

  Coda was halfway through the tunnel when he stopped and looked around. “Where'd that bluebird go?”

  He noticed something else, as well. The sounds of the forest had changed and everything was quiet. The birds weren't singing and the squirrels rustling in the background had disappeared. The fresh smell of the forest had changed to a more rich and thick aroma, reminding him of the roses that grew in his side yard at home. He loved that smell and gave a huge sniff. “That smells good!”

  “I think we’ve entered the new place now. It feels good to breathe here,” said Zoey. She stared longingly at the end of the blackberry tunnel, wondering if the elephant was going to show itself again.

  “New place?” asked Coda.

  “You'll see,” replied Zoey.

  Coda took several paces forward, but Zoey didn't move. He looked into her blue eyes. “Well, come on!”

  Zoey knelt down, poking at the ground with her fingers. She slowly shook her head no and opened her mouth to say something when a loud pounding sound came from just outside the end of the tunnel.

  “Hey, I found you guys,” called an elated voice from outside the tunnel's exit. “Why are you hiding in there?”

  They heard another pounding, as if something heavy had hit the earth.

  Coda looked back at Zoey. Her eyes were wide with astonishment and her mouth gaped. She lifted her hand, pointing in the direction of the exit. “See!”

  Coda slowly turned around and jumped back, flabbergasted. “It's an elephant!”

  Chapter 6

  A large gray elephant was bent down on its front knees in front of them. It was him. He was back.

  Again, just like before, the elephant spoke.