The PureLights of Ohm Totem

by Brandon Ellis

  Chapter 9

  To the east, hundreds of different birds came into view, forming a wall against the darkened sky. The wall of birds must be the PureLights, thought Zoey. They faced the oncoming flying Dims. It was apparent that the PureLights intended to stop them.

  Zoey wanted to close her eyes, but didn’t. Chev picked up speed, then stopped abruptly. Zoey tipped backwards, sliding sideways, and falling toward the ground. She spread her wings and glided softly to the green moss. She looked at the darkness above—at the battle about to ensue.

  “We're here,” announced Chev.

  Zoey’s heart pounded hard and fast, sinking into her stomach. She knew that the wall of birds were from the Sihu Tribe and she didn't want such nice animals to get hurt. What if they lost? Would the PureLights be gone? Would we be stuck here in Ohm Totem forever?

  Unable to watch, she shielded her eyes with her wings. Shaking her head, she cried out, “Let's go home, Coda. Let's go home. Please, let's go home! I'm scared. I want to go home!”

  All that returned to her was silence. Still clasping her wings over her eyes, she took a deep breath, waiting for Chev or Coda to respond, but heard nothing. Something was different. Something had happened. Where was she?

  She took another deep breath and the soft, rich air filled her lungs, giving her trembling body a calmness she very much needed, bringing more vitality to her muscles. She suddenly felt strong, peaceful, and loved—loved in a way that felt like a long overdue hug was offered and received.

  The silence suddenly filled with the soothing sounds of ocean waves. It was as if everything drifted away from her and she was back in her bed, waking to an early morning sunlit glow. But, at the beach?

  “Coda?” she said, still covering her eyes.

  “Coda doesn't play in this realm, child. You do”

  “Snow Tree?”

  “Open your eyes, Zoey.”

  Zoey lowered her wings, slowly lifting her eyelids at the same time.

  She was standing on a beautiful beach that stretched ahead of her for miles. The sand was the color of ivory, soft and warm under her feet. Sparkling, luminescent blue waves broke, splashed, and foamed against the sand.

  A few feet in front of her sat something shiny and golden, surrounded with an aura of moving colors. It reminded her of the Aurora Borealis, which she'd seen on TV. She took a step closer, realizing it was a thick book. It had a cover of pure gold.

  In its center were words etched in white. The Golden Opus. Embroidered around its edges were spirals. They looked a lot like the DNA strands she'd seen in her science book at school.

  She tentatively glanced around, wondering if she was alone.

  “Hello?” she said aloud, hoping that someone kind and helpful was there. She felt a little bit stranded for the moment, but not really afraid. In fact, she felt pretty good here. Somehow this place felt familiar to her, like home. Where's the Snow Tree?

  A short, soft breeze picked up, slightly ruffling Zoey's feathers. “I'm here,” said a whisper in the wind.

  Zoey looked all around, but didn't see the Snow Tree. Taking in a deep breath, she imagined herself inside of her heart, surrounding herself with beautiful pink and white colors. She took in another breath and cleared her mind.

  “Where am I?”

  The wind picked up, blowing against her feathers. “You're in the heart of Ohm Totem.”

  Zoey furrowed her feathered brow, somewhat baffled. “In the heart of Ohm Totem?”

  “Yes, it's the most sacred of places.”

  This looks more like the beach than the heart of anything, thought Zoey.

  “Snow Tree?” she asked.

  Just then snow started to fall all around Zoey, and then quickly stopped. “This is the Snow Tree. Lady Wind carries my words on her back.”

  Zoey smiled. She was excited that her friend was with her.

  “Why am I here?” she asked.

  “Follow your heart, Zoey. It will answer your question. It will tell you.”

  “What will it tell me?”

  After a long pause, Zoey looked to the left and right, expecting the Snow Tree to be standing in all of its beauty somewhere. “Tell me what? Snow Tree?”

  All was silent. Zoey sat down, examining the white sand.

  What am I supposed to do here?

  A tingling sensation tickled up and down her spine. The book!

  She excitedly half-walked, half-flew over to the book, flipping open the cover with her beak.

  Empty.

  Not only empty, it was hollow. It had a perfect rectangular hole cut out of it, and sand at the bottom of the hole.

  She was disappointed. Now what?

  As if in response to her question, the sand at the bottom of the book slowly moved up and down and left and right, like swells in the ocean.

  Placing her wings on each side of the book, she drew her beak in closer to observe the moving sand. There had to be a reason it was doing that, but how? And why?

  As she observed the movement more closely, she noticed the swells were getting bigger and bigger, becoming more active in the process. The swells smashed against the sides of the book, splattering sand every which way. The swells grew even higher, until the sand transformed into a volcano.

  The volcano grew so quickly that Zoey had to step back to get out of its way. She heard a loud 'pop' and the volcano erupted a geyser of sand twenty yards into the air.

  Zoey’s beak gaped open. She'd never seen such a phenomenon. Suddenly, three books flew out of the geyser, landing side by side with a thump, thump, thump right in front of her. Within seconds the geyser began to die down, until it completely stopped.

  Except for the beach, air circling around her, and the crashing of the waves, quiet filled the beach once again. What just happened?

  She sat on her haunches, tail feathers in the sand, and curled her wings around her cheeks. She wasn’t sure if she was waiting for another explosion or if she was just getting her wits about her. She looked around, hoping for some help to arrive, but realized once again that she was alone on this beach.

  “Snow Tree?”

  She sat quietly for another minute, waiting for a reply.

  Nothing.

  “Snow Tree?” she called, raising her wings in exasperation, “what do I do?”

  Again, nothing.

  She looked at the books, noticing that they were slightly smaller than 'The Golden Opus', but had identical designs, except for the titles.

  The title of the first book read, The Opus of the Mind.

  Confused, she looked at the middle book, hoping for a better understanding.

  It was called, The Opus of the Heart.

  She slowly shook her head. She was puzzled, not knowing what that title meant, or even what the word 'Opus' meant. She looked at the third book’s title: The Opus of Fear.

  As she read the title of the third book, a hazy, violet light began to appear around the letters of the title.

  Tentatively, she inched closer.

  The book seemed to be coming alive. She saw a blueish-white electric energy form around the hazy, violet light. The electricity danced around the light, slowly spreading itself around the rest of the book, dancing over the spirals, through the book, and around the sides.

  Zoey was transfixed. She wanted to move away, but the dazzling lights seemed to be sucking her in. She was in a placid, deep trance that she couldn't, and didn't want, to get out of.

  And then it stopped.

  Coming back to herself, she took a deep breath and sat on her tail feathers.

  The book opened up and the pages rapidly turned, stopping smack dab in the middle of the book.

  Zoey was flabbergasted. What now? She stepped forward, peering into the book to read what was inside:

  Aria: “Fear persists.”

  Bienra: “How is that?”

  Aria: “The energy of 'what you fear' follows you where ever you go. 'What you fear' will continually repeat itself as a lesson in your
life, until that lesson is learned. Once the lesson is learned, then 'what you fear' is transformed, and no longer has the ability to frighten you. Therefore, fear persists until it is transformed.”

  Bienra: “Transformed?”

  Aria: “Yes, transformed—that is, when you change your fear into love. Most of the time we're afraid when we don't know or understand what is going on. But what we're afraid of isn't necessarily scary, we just think it is because it is new to us. When you embrace the fear of the unknown, then what you fear is transformed into love.”

  Bienra: “How do you do that?”

  Aria: “By emptying the mind, which is where all fear exists, and facing 'what you fear' with your heart, which is where all love exists. Therefore, fear persists until it is transformed with your heart into love. Thus, you will truly love what you once feared. That's the path to follow. The path of the heart. When you follow the path of the heart, nothing in life can harm you. You have found peace.”

  Zoey stared at the page, wondering what it all meant. Isn’t that what the Snow Tree was talking about?

  She wanted to keep reading, but she knew if she were to turn the delicate page with her beak, she'd probably rip it. So, she gently touched the page with her wing, feeling the silky texture of the paper against her soft feathers, and attempted to turn it.

  Her wing slipped. She tried again. It slipped a second time. This wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.

  She tried again and again with her feathers fumbling all over the page, slipping off its smooth, silky texture. Soon she realized that feathers weren't at all like fingers, making this once simple task nearly impossible.

  She paused and scratched the top of her head with her wing. There had to be a better way to do this.

  She placed the strongest, most hardy part of her left wing on the page and pushed down on it, crinkling it to the left, allowing her longest right wing feather to slip under the crinkle.

  Aha! she boasted loudly in her mind, as she easily flipped the page over, uncovering the next.

  Fear persists until it is transformed with your heart into love.

  Those words again.

  Now what?

  “Fear persists…” echoed a gentle voice. Zoey looked up. A gray wolf with a violet crystal stood in the distance next to reeds and grasses that grew out of the soft sand. She knew immediately that it was the wolf in her dream. He smiled as he continued, “Until it is transformed with the intelligence of your heart into love.”

  He walked toward Zoey, stopping just a few feet away. He bowed his head, gazing into her blue eyes. “I remember going through the same book many, many moons ago. The writer of that book is a very special spirit animal.”

  “Who are you?” asked Zoey boldly, all of her fear vanishing. It was a question that had been on her mind ever since she had the dream. She felt she knew him very well, but how?

  “I'm Lao. It's nice to see you again, Zoey.”

  “Nice to see you again, too.” It was a habitual response, rather than a true statement. She wasn't entirely sure if it was nice to see him.

  “Thank you for answering my call and coming to Ohm Totem. I must ask, will you stay and help?” beseeched Lao.

  Amidst the deep chasms of emotions in a place hidden in her gut, Zoey felt a strong energy wash through her. She felt an overwhelming sense that she must stay in Ohm Totem. She didn't understand why or even where this knowing came from, but it was rooting her feet into the ground, making her feel strong and brave. She knew what she must do. She must stay and help these wonderful creatures.

  She closed her eyes, trying to shake the feeling away. It didn't budge.

  “How do I know you?” she asked again. As she said these words, an image popped into her mind. She saw Lao and her sitting in a forest with gigantic trees. The trees were the width of houses and the height of skyscrapers. The sun was brilliant, shining in a blue sky. He was playfully laughing at something she had said. This image, however, felt as if it was something that happened long ago. The scene then faded and she saw the wolf staring directly at her. He smiled.

  “We've traveled together before. You've known me for many moons,” he answered.

  “I've just met you. How could I have known you for many moons?” Zoey puzzled.

  Lao sat on his hind legs. “Remember, Zoey.”

  A little frustrated by Lao's response, Zoey asked, “Remember what?”

  “Who you are.”

  “But I...” Lao vanished, just before Zoey could protest anymore.

  A light wind touched upon Zoey's body and a whisper in her ears said, “Open your eyes.”

  Chapter 10

  Even though the sun hung low in the west, it shouldn't have been this dark in the green forest. The shadows from the confrontation in the sky blanketed the land drearily. Coda flinched, shivering as a cold, southern wind blew against his fur.

  He looked up to the northeast, watching the storm of birds fight in the air. He felt unnaturally still about this, almost as if he'd seen this picture a thousand times before. He looked at Chev to ask him why he felt this way, but yielded. He could tell that Chev had his mind on something else.

  Chev grunted, shaking his head in disbelief. His long trunk scraped the ground, lifted up soil, and tossed it over his back. He was disgusted.

  “Why does he continue to attack us?” asked Chev, speaking his thoughts out loud.

  Chev hung his head low, dragging his trunk, pacing back and forth. “We leave him alone, but he doesn't leave us alone. We do this, he does that. We defend ourselves, he attacks us repeatedly. We drive him back, he comes right back at us. He...” Chev caught himself, realizing he was having a little fit in front of Coda. His orange forehead crystal glowed. He gathered himself and cleared his throat. “Shall we go to the portal?”

  Coda looked toward the sky again. He saw the wall of Sihu birds moving forward as the attacking birds moved back. The attackers were fast, but the dance like movements of the Sihu birds were too much for them. The attackers were thrown left and right, and many of them fell out of the sky like limp, dead birds.

  Dying birds? A sudden shock hit him and he looked over at Chev, then Chev looked at Coda, understanding his unspoken question.

  “They're alive, don't worry.” He pointed with his trunk at the ongoing onslaught, “Pay attention to one of the PureLight birds and see what they're doing.”

  With great focus, Coda peered into the dark sky. He could see so much farther here in Ohm Totem, and in the distance he spied a white swan. He saw an indigo colored crystal on the swan's chest and forehead.

  “I think I see one,” Coda said, pointing his tail toward the battle in the sky. “It's a white bird, just over there. I think it's a swan.”

  “Yes, watch her.”

  The swan ducked as an eagle's talons swiped at her head, barely missing her. If the swan hadn't ducked, the eagle would have sunk his talons deep into the swan's skull, maiming her, or worse. Instead, the eagle passed on by, clearly surprised at his sudden miss.

  The swan flipped on her side, nimbly turning and circling to face the eagle. The eagle also flipped on its side, turning just as nimbly as the Swan.

  "Watch this. I can tell she has something tricky planned for the eagle," said Chev.

  The eagle and swan flew at each other, both with skill and determination. It almost looked like a head-on collision in the making, until the eagle rose slightly, widened its wings, and turned over with his outstretched claws reaching toward the oncoming swan.

  The swan, seeming to expect this, straightened her body, pointed her feet toward the ground and her head toward the sky, fanning her wings out wide. To Coda, she looked like a winged angel in the sky.

  In one swift movement, the swan twirled at lightning speed, causing the eagle to miss yet again. However, what Coda wasn't expecting was the precision in that twirl.

  One of the swan's wings pushed the backside of the eagle with an incredible force, directing the flailing eagle toward a
target that the swan had picked out with pinpoint accuracy.

  The eagle slammed head-first into a dark brown hawk that seemed to be having its way with a defending Sihu owl. The hawk and the eagle tumbled toward the ground, appearing in and out of Coda's view between the obstruction of trees and branches.

  Coda crouched low, inching forward to give himself a clear view of the falling birds. He saw the two birds continue to fall to the meadow floor, until finally, they flapped their large wings only a few feet before hitting the ground. They flew off toward the sky, unharmed.

  He detected, however, that the owl and swan were waiting for them. They dove and landed on top of their attackers. In a flurry of feathers, the hawk and eagle fell motionless to the ground.

  Coda gasped, and Chev, feeling the surprise that pounded at Coda's heart, touched the top of Coda's head. "They're stunned, not dead. They'll be out cold for a while."

  Stunned? How did they stun them? wondered Coda, but withheld the question, knowing that he didn't have much time before they needed to get back to the closing portal.

  Remembering Zoey, he looked at his sister a couple of yards away. She was as still as a statue, with her wings covering her eyes.

  "Zoey, let's go!" he yelled, then glanced again at the fight in the sky. The wall of Sihu birds was still advancing its line. He could see that the attackers were falling out of the sky, hitting the grass, moss, and ground cover in the meadow below.

  "Coda?" Zoey rubbed her eyes with her wings and took a big yawn. She seemed to be as calm as a sleeping baby, unlike a few minutes before when she wanted to get home as fast as she could.

  "Zoey?" questioned Coda, wondering why her composure had changed.

  Zoey said in a clear voice, "We're staying," and stomped her right foot on the ground, letting him know that she wasn't budging or changing her mind.

  Coda stared at her in disbelief. “Are you crazy? I didn't want to go at first, but look at what's happening here.”

  “He's right, Zoey,” added Chev. “It's time we got you away from here and back home.”

  Zoey, as if not hearing a word Chev had just said, jumped up and flapped her wings. She rose into the air, landing on a strong cedar branch about ten feet up.