by P. Z. Walker
Wendy also got dressed, kissed Mike on the cheek and then joined Sheila in the car. "He's mine," she stated with a big smile. She waved at Mike as the car pulled away.
"I never thought you'd turbo-crush on someone like that."
Wendy grinned. "I don't. I just saved it up for the right guy." She looked back, but the winding path had already taken Mike from view.
They drove on in silence for a while, both occupied with their own thoughts. Then Sheila said: "Wendy?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for coming with me today."
"Why's that?"
Sheila sighed. "For giving me the confidence to strip today."
Wendy patted her friend's knee. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it soon enough. It's hard to do at first for someone who's not used to it, but I noticed that you were yourself most of the time. You didn't feel the need to peek or stare, you just did what you had to do. And that's the whole idea."
"I noticed. And that's what makes it so odd. You hear and read about it, but you don't have a clue what naturism or nudism is unless you've tried it. And then you find it's not that big deal most people make of it."
"Indeed," Wendy confirmed. "Most people's ideas are formed by all the porn and nude stuff on the internet, and the nudity they see on TV. That's all dragging things out of proportions and context, but since there's so much of it everywhere, it's difficult to counter it."
"Makes sense," Sheila nodded, "and I'd never thought I'd like it this much."
"Oh dear, we have a convert," Wendy grinned. "Next time up there you're going to become a member."
"Yeah, right," Sheila growled, but at the same time Wendy's words sounded credible, if not appealing. "You might be right."
That made Wendy giggle. "Then I'm coming with you, to witness the moment!"
"You just want to see Mike again," Sheila laughed as she turned the car into the parking lot in front of the building.
"True." Wendy didn't make a secret of that. "And we'll have a few more from the group with us too. Boy, they'll be shocked." She looked at Sheila. "And don't let them stop you, okay? I'll be there with you, girl."
Sheila had to swallow hard on that one. Yes, they were going to the resort on Saturday, and then some of her friends would see her undress. If she had the nerve to do that.
"Hey, don't worry, okay?" Wendy pulled her into a hug. "We'll show them. Thanks for the ride, Sheila. We'll keep in touch."
They both left the car. "Oh. Wendy? Stupid question moment, please? Do you go around naked at home?"
"As much as I can," Wendy said. "Best way to be. Bye!"
Sheila waited until the little, red car had screamed out of the street before she went inside.
*
After leaving the shower Sheila looked at her nightgown that hung waiting on the hook on the wall. She frowned at it, touched it. Then she shook her head. No, no clothes as long as it was nice without them, she decided, and walked into the living room with a towel to sit on. She rummaged in her bag and took out the things she'd taken to the resort with her. Among the things she found was the feather Wendy had stuck in her hair. She turned the feather around and around, wondering what bird it came from. It wasn't black. In an impulse she flipped on her ability and examined the feather again. There was nothing around it, it had probably been on the ground for too long.
Sheila lay back on her couch and closed her eyes. She felt a bit tired from being out in the sunshine for so long. She remembered Wendy fussing over Mike, and smiled. Would be great if they could get together. Then she thought of the strange, blue light with the Five Oaks again. Her mind drifted off to what she'd seen there, the shapes of people, and then -
"Hello, Shíile Isshiiá."
The voice was there again, that of the man. Sheila shot off the couch and looked round the room, covering her breasts. "Who's there?" she asked as she didn't see anyone. There was no reply. "Am I going nuts or something?" she wondered as she settled on the couch again.
She'd hardly closed her eyes, when the voice was there again. "Do not worry."
Despite the peaceful voice, she did worry. With eyes open she asked: "Who's there?" There was no response, so she closed her eyes.
"We met in the forest today," the voice immediately said.
"And who are you?" Sheila trembled a bit; this was very weird. Not only did she see colours, she now also heard a voice.
"My name is Acaraho. I am Crow."
That surprised her. "And why can I hear you but not see you?"
"I am your spirit guide. I have waited for you, Yellow Hair."
Sheila laughed. "I wonder what Mike or Wendy slipped in my coke that I'm now hearing voices. Yellow Hair?"
"It is the name I gave you. You have yellow hair. Your Crow name would be Shíile Isshiiá." The voice remained calm, friendly.
"Wait, wait, this is not happening, right?" Eyes still closed, Sheila waved her hands in the air as if to ward off something. "You're a crow that waited for me and now you're giving me some funky-sounding name?"
After a short silence, the voice spoke again. "I am not a crow. I am a spirit who once was a Crow Native by the name of Acaraho, which means 'Mountain'. Today, near the circle of the five oak trees I sensed you. When I spoke, you became scared."
"Yes, funny, wasn't that?" Sheila still didn't feel at ease, talking to a voice in her head that didn't seem to come from anywhere.
"I would not call it funny," Acaraho replied. He clearly didn't understand sarcasm. "It was necessary. You have a gift and we must hone it."
"Wait up again. We? Does this mean you're going to be stuck in my head?" Sheila was almost ready to open her eyes and find herself a drink, something she hardly ever did.
"I am not stuck in your head," Acaraho said a bit irritably, obviously taking some offence to her words. "When you enable your gift, I can speak with you. That will change in time, but for now you need to have your gift enabled."
"Oh. Really?" She switched off the colours. The voice and the presence were gone. "Wow." After making herself a coffee to get the strange feeling out of her system, she sat on the couch and wondered if she should call Wendy about this, but what would she know about voices in her head claiming to be a Crow Native?
After her coffee she took a deep breath, lay down again and switched on her ability. "Hello? Are you there?"
Just as she was about to give up, Acaraho replied: "I am here. You must have many questions."
"In fact I do. Are you real? I need to know, before I turn myself in at the psych ward."
"I am real, though with no body any more. I am for you what you might call a spirit guide."
"Uhm... does that mean you're dead then?" The idea that she was talking to a dead guy gave her the shivers and made her want to put on something warm.
"I have left my body behind long ago, and since then I try to guide gifted people. You are the second one I have found."
"Right. Oh, uhm, can you see me?"
"I only see your face. You do not want me to see more of you."
"Can I see you?" Sheila suddenly became curious.
"Not where you are now yet, but soon. Now you have to be on Crow soil for that," Acaraho explained. "But the contact we have is important. We need to trust each other."
"Crow soil? Oh, you mean where I was today? The resort?"
The silence from the voice in her head told her that he didn't understand her entirely. "Where you were today, indeed."
Sheila bit her lip. "I see. It might be a bit awkward though."
"Why?"
"It's a place where people wear no clothes." To her surprise it was very easy to say it to this voice without a face.
"When the weather allows that, it is not awkward," was the surprising reaction.
"And why were you waiting for me?" Sheila then asked. "I am sure there are more people who can see those colours."
She sensed a mild amusement from the strange entity she heard. "Seeing colours. That is a nice way to say that you can r
ead the energy of everything living. Yes, there are more people who can see colours, but not all have Crow blood. I found you because you do."
Sheila frowned and smiled at the same time. Never before had her grandfather's blood from mother's side been so special. "So because I am part Crow you noticed me? That's neat."
"And because you were on Crow soil," Acaraho added. "That is where the connection to the land is strongest. Were you barefoot?"
"Uhm, I was bare everything," Sheila blushed, even if there was no one to see it. Saying it out loud still was a bit uneasy for her.
"I understand, you were naked. That is the best way to commune with nature," Acaraho told her. "That way you are most open to the world around you." As Sheila didn't respond immediately, the man's kind voice asked what was troubling her.
"Troubling me?"
"There is something of loss within you, Shíile Isshiiá. I sense it. If you tell me, maybe I can help you."
Sheila now sat up, keeping her eyes closed. "Help me? But you're a ghost. Well, spirit."
Acaraho convinced her that telling him would not be a bad thing, so Sheila told him about Josy gone missing. "And this happened near the circle of the Five Oaks?" he asked to make certain.
"That's what my friends told me. She had forgotten her bag there, ran back to get it and she never came back." She then tried to explain when it had happened, during which she learnt that spirit guides didn't have the same sensation of time as humans. 'Over a week ago' meant little to Acaraho.
"You must return to the area, Shíile Isshiiá, and contact me there. I can help you better when we are both on sacred ground."
"Sacred? It's just five trees among a lot of other trees!" she exclaimed. "And do I have to keep my eyes closed when I talk to you? I need to pee and I'm afraid to run into the wall."
"Why do you have your eyes closed?" Acaraho asked. "You can always talk with me, although, yes, perhaps in the beginning it is a little confusing."
Sheila opened her eyes. "I'm looking now."
"I can still hear you."
"Right. Then I'm off to the loo." Sheila jumped up and went to do what she had to do. "And no peeking!"
Acaraho did not feel the need to respond to that. "When will you return to Crow soil?" he asked instead.
"Coming Saturday. Soon," she added, remembering that Acaraho had a different idea of time and days. "I'll let you know," she decided on as he still didn't really understand. She then explained that she would be there with friends, to try and locate something of Josy on another plain than the physical where everyone had already looked.
"I will help you with that. I don't know when your friend went missing," Acaraho said, "I have not been there lately. I know that the energies of the heavens were strong a short time ago."
"Were they really?" Sheila wondered as she re-emerged.
"They were. I must leave you now. We will talk later, Shíile Isshiiá."
Before Sheila could reply, she sensed that Acaraho had indeed left her head. "Now that was weird," she mumbled to herself. For a moment she wondered if she should put this in a mail to the group, but decided against that. It might give some of them a wrong idea about this.
She decided to go to bed. Her dreams were filled with Native Americans...
Chapter 10.
The rest of the week at work went by with a new oral hygienist. It was an older man named Herbert He was of the grumpy persuasion and had an immediate dislike against all the female assistants. Sheila and her co-workers complained about the man to Gary, but he apologised and said it was difficult enough to find someone suitable on short notice. "We'll have to do with him until Josy's back."
Sheila asked him if he'd heard from the police, but they hadn't gotten in touch. That didn't mean much good, she understood. It was going to come down to good old DIY.
By Friday afternoon she was relieved that work was over, as the hygienist had snapped at her more than usual, as if he held a personal grudge against her. Quickly she drove home, changed into her own clothes, and drove to her parents’ house. Her mother had invited her over for dinner, something that didn't happen very often. Before she went on her way, she told Acaraho where she was going. He simply told her to let him know if she wanted to talk.
As the family ate, Sheila carefully asked her mother about her grandfather. "Do you know if he ever mentioned speaking with his ancestors?"
Her mother looked surprised. "With? About, you mean. He did that a lot."
"No, I really mean with. Sometimes I read about Native Americans having contact with their spirit world."
Her father shook his head. He was very scientific and didn't believe in stuff like that. "Don't believe everything you read, child."
Sheila looked at her mother, who shook her head. That was clear then, topic wasn't appreciated and therefore shoved under the table. After dinner she spent a little while longer with her parents, chatting about safe subjects, but she left for home quite early so she could do a few things that usually were scheduled for Saturday. Sheila wanted to be ready for the trip to the resort as soon as possible.
On Saturday morning she packed the few things she wanted to take and then sat waiting for Wendy, Lizzy and Jeremy to arrive. They had agreed to come along. Clearly her friends were eager to go, for various reasons she was certain, so it was just past noon when they drove off. Jeremy and Lizzy sat in the back and were making a lot of jokes about the naturist resort. Wendy, sitting next to Sheila, just winked a few times. They'd have their share of fun yet.
By the time they passed the first sign telling them they were coming close to the resort, Jeremy and Lizzy became more serious and silent. That was Wendy's signal to begin chattering about the place and how great it was to drop all clothes. The weather was fabulous for it, and she said that the two in the back were going to enjoy it a lot. Her enthusiasm was met by still more silence. Finally Lizzy asked: "You mean you're really taking off everything?"
"Yes. Everything," Sheila replied, to Lizzy's surprise. "Except my sandals."
"You too?!"
"Of course. It's wonderful."
Jeremy and Lizzy exchanged glances, Sheila noticed that in the rear-view mirror. They clearly had not expected that, which was understandable since she had joined their group because of the lack of nudity. They were probably wondering what had happened to her that she'd changed her mind.
She drove off the road and onto the path that led to the gate. Wendy hopped out of the car and took care of the opening and closing, after which the remainder of the journey was a matter of a few more minutes.
Mike was already waiting for them; he sat on one of the logs that lay around the parking. He waved as Sheila parked her car. She knew it was for Wendy, who sat waving like a fool and almost fell out of the car in her haste to get to Mike.
"Who's he?" Lizzy asked. She didn't make any move yet to leave the car.
"That's Mike, he works here. Wendy has a crush on him the size of Manhattan," Sheila grinned as she left her car and started taking her clothes off. "Come on, what are you waiting for? The oak trees aren't coming down here." It didn't take her long to be stripped of everything except her sandals which she knew she'd need. As she tucked the bag with her clothes in her boot of the car, Jeremy and Lizzy emerged from the back seat and looked very uncertain.
Mike and Wendy, who by then had her clothes in her hand, came walking up. Mike introduced himself, much to the fright of the two new people.
"Don't worry guys, he won't bite anyone but me, I promise," Wendy said. "If you don't want to strip, then come with us the way you are, that's all fine."
Lizzy nodded, so did Jeremy. Mike then offered everyone something to drink, but this time they came prepared, with a few bottles of lemonade and a Thermos with coffee, so after Mike had collected his shaman drum from the office-building, the group set off to the Five Oaks.
As they walked, Sheila pondered if she should tell them about Acaraho. Wendy and Mike had already heard her mention hearing a voice,
but for the other two it might be too much of a surprise on top of walking around here with three naked people, so she kept that to herself for now.
Silently in her head she called him. "Acaraho? Are you there?"
He replied so promptly that it seemed as if he'd been waiting for her. "I am. I sense you are on Crow land, Yellow Hair, it is much easier to talk with you."
"We are walking to the Five Oaks now, where my friend disappeared. Maybe we can do some kind of ritual. Energy work. To see if we can find a trace of her."
"A noble cause," Acaraho replied. "I will be with you, to guide you if I can."
"That's great. I'm not going to talk much for a while, or my friends will think I lost my tongue," she grinned.
"What's so funny?" Lizzy asked who had caught Sheila's smile. "Are you making fun of us?" She was obviously referring to Jeremy and herself.
"No, of course not, Lizzy," Sheila said as she put an arm around her friend for a moment, sensing how Lizzy seemed to freeze for a second. "I had to grin at my Native American name."
Everyone was all ears now. "What? You have an Indian name?"
"Yes. My mother's father was from the Crow tribe, so I am part Crow too. My name is Yellow Hair. Shíile Isshiiá."
"You're really a trip, little sister," Mike grinned, ruffling up Sheila's hair. "Yellow Hair. Good name." The others were surprised too and Jeremy asked if he could have a Native name too.
"Unfortunately my Crow granddad died, so I can't ask him," Sheila told him. "But maybe you can find someone on-line who can help you."
They were already climbing up the path to the Five Oaks when Sheila told everyone she was activating her colour sight. Jeremy and Lizzy watched her, hoping for something impressive to happen, but they were disappointed in that. Only then she realised that she had spoken with Acaraho without her ability active! "Acaraho, can we talk without my ability on when I am here?"
"We can talk always, now we are more used to each other," the old Indian explained. "I am staying away from you when you don't see, to give you your space. You'll learn how to let me in or keep me away soon."