by P. Z. Walker
"Look at me. Pretend I am holding your coffee."
"When I see you, I'm going to kick you," Sheila threatened.
"Remember you are barefoot."
With a sigh Sheila slumped back into her couch. Again she tried to relax and form the image of the Native in her mind. She imagined him standing in her room with a mug of coffee in his hand, just because she was getting tired of all the failed attempts. Slowly the shape appeared and became almost solid. He held her favourite mug. That was a sign it was just an image because that mug was on the small table next to her couch.
"Hello Shíile Isshiiá," said the shape. It actually moved its lips, and it spoke in Acaraho's voice!
Surprised she opened her eyes and saw the empty room in front of her. "Bloody hell, I saw you!"
"You did well. Now go to bed."
"You're my guide, not my mother, Acaraho." Glad that she had made her point, she noticed she was very tired. "I'm now going to bed. But because I want to." She got up, put the mug away and... "Damn you, Injun Joe," she muttered. With her special sight on she went back into the living room and relaxed, imagining Acaraho standing in the room. It took only a few seconds for the shape to appear and solidify. It was an actual Indian man, with leather pants, a bare upper body, long, black braids and a black feather sticking from his hair.
"You do that well," Acaraho said. He nodded. "Now you must sleep."
"I guess you're right. Just thought I'd try this. With the ability on it's much easier. Good night, Acaraho. It's good to... uhm... see you." Sheila released the ability and the image vanished. "I'm really turning into a freak show," she muttered to herself. Then she went to prepare for some sleep.
Chapter 18.
The next day Wendy came to pick up Sheila. Lizzy would go to the resort on her own. On the way to the Mighty Oaks resort Sheila told Wendy about Jeremy's approach the day before.
"Did he really?" Wendy grinned. "You could be worse off, he's really a nice guy, Sheila."
"I know. But I never gave him any thought. I mean, he's Jeremy..." Sheila bit her lip as she thought about the young man. Sure, he was nice enough, always friendly - well, most of the time anyway, but to get into a relationship with him...
There was not much time to muse though. Wendy started talking about Josy again, wondering if it would be possible to move through time to bring her back. "I've been reading some quantum physics books about it," she said, "and I don't understand any of the words longer than five letters."
"Don't you have that problem with any book?" Sheila teased her friend.
"Hey, watch it, I'm driving!" Wendy exclaimed as she tried to slap Sheila, and then they both laughed.
Mike was already waiting at the parking lot, where the three of them then waited for Lizzy to arrive, who apologised profusely for being late. She had overslept.
"What's the plan?" Mike asked.
"Is there a plan?" Wendy grinned.
"Coffee first," Lizzy suggested. "I raced off without any, so I need some, or you'll be hauling an irresponsible idiot around. And without coffee I'm keeping my clothes on." That remark of course cost her a round of coffee, which she gladly paid for.
They took their mugs outside to drink their coffees in the morning sun that was already warming up the area.
"Nice here," Sheila said to no one in particular. The others agreed in silence. Then she told them about the exercise in guide-viewing she had done the evening before, and how that had worked. Her friends were impressed, and Wendy said she was downright jealous, be it in a good way.
"Can you see your guide now?" Lizzy wondered.
"No. He's not here at the moment," Sheila elaborated.
"Oh. Must be strange to have someone in your head," Lizzy continued.
"It was in the beginning," Sheila confirmed.
"I'm sure. And I can't believe that I'm sitting here with you all," Lizzy suddenly changed the subject.
"Huh, what?"
"With no clothes on, I mean. My family would die if they knew."
"Don't tell them then, and keep them alive," Mike commented. "Living relatives are usually more useful."
They all grinned. Sheila then wondered out loud if Acaraho might be one of her very early ancestors, but considering the fact that her great-great-grandparents had come from Europe, he probably wasn't.
"So, what's the plan now?" Mike inquired again.
"I quickly want to check in with Josy," Sheila announced. "After that I'll go where you go, is that okay?" With everyone agreeing, they took their towels and bags, and they walked off towards the Five Oaks. They saw Harry in his wheelchair, who waved and thanked them once more for rescuing him.
On the way up the hill, Sheila tucked the feathers in her hair again. She had intentionally brought those with her, somehow they gave her a sense of being more part of the area. After sitting down among the big trees she activated her sight and asked Acaraho to keep an eye on her. The spirit guide immediately replied that he would do his best. Reaching out for Josy had become almost routine for Sheila, and soon they were talking. Josy reported that it was still morning with her as well.
"I have seen a few birds this morning, Sheila!" the woman said excitedly. "I've seen them a few times since we last talked. You probably think I'm crazy, but it's such a relief to know I'm not all alone here. Even when it's just some birds."
Sheila asked Josy if the birds were pretty. Josy said they weren't, but they were quite gentle. "They're big too," Josy could add to that. "And I'm glad to hear your voice again. I'd love to see your face too, but I guess that's off the table still, right?"
"Unfortunately." Sheila then told about how she had seen her spirit guide, and that news was something that gave Josy hope again. A tiny spark of hope, but at least it was hope.
"I guess the others are there with you?" Josy asked.
"They are. All but Jeremy who had something else planned for today."
"Okay, that means no hug for Jeremy," Josy decided. "I don't know who it is, so maybe that's a good thing."
"He's nice, you'd hug him," Sheila said.
"Oh. Wow. That came out so fast! Do you like him that much?" Josy laughed. The sensation wasn't audible, but Sheila knew she did.
"Maybe. I don't know. He did tell me he likes me, though." Sheila hoped she wasn't blushing, it would look very strange to the others.
"Ohhh I must see him and how he is around you!" Josy had far too much fun with that thought. "But until then you just have to tell me about him, Sheila. And thank you for talking with me again. I appreciate it."
"I know, Josems. And this afternoon I'll check in again, okay?"
"Deal!" Josy sounded quite cheerful now. "Enjoy your day, Sheila. Hugs to the others, I'll go and try to enjoy my day here as well."
"Bye, Josy..."
As she opened her eyes, closed down the sight and got up, she felt a little desperate. The more she spoke with Josy this way, the more it seemed that her friend would never come back again. Sheila hoped that Josy wouldn't go crazy and disappear on her. As she distributed the promised hugs, she shared her worries with her friends and also with Acaraho. They all understood her fears.
Mike suggested they'd go up to the small waterfall again as that was a spot Josy loved. "Maybe we can bring up some good vibes and send them to her," he suggested. No mention of his guru approving, but everyone agreed that it would be good to do.
The day promised to be a hot one. Wendy pulled out her sunscreen and made everyone apply it liberally, and then they followed Mike to the waterfall area. The rushing water greeted them as they approached it, and the hot, sweaty people lingered near the big fall for a while as the cold spray did a wonderful job in cooling them down. They still had the climb ahead and that would warm them up nicely again anyway.
After the climb they all fell down on the plateau near the small waterfall and drank something from their supplies.
Lizzy looked at Sheila and said: "With those feathers in your hair you look almost like a real squ
aw. All you'd need is black hair."
Sheila grinned. "Can't help you there, Liz. I'm Yellow Hair according to Acaraho. Shíile Isshiiá." Then she recalled how he had said that this was a powerful place. "Let me try something..."
"What?"
"I'm going to try if I can see Acaraho here." Sheila got up and stood close to the falling water. She activated her sight, closed her eyes and thought of the image of her spirit guide. A few times it almost worked, and suddenly he stood next to her.
"Shíile Isshiiá. You are getting better at this," he said.
"Wow. This is amazing," Sheila agreed. "Hey guys, I can see Acaraho here," she told her friends.
Her spirit guide held out his hand. With a grin she held out her own hand. Of course there was no sensation, after all he was just an image she thought up, but it was a fun thing to do. In a mean streak she pretended to hold his hand and stepped forward, imagining how he'd react as she pulled him into the water - but then something unexpected happened. Instead of feeling the water over her, she suddenly sensed a cool wind around her. Acaraho's image vanished as the change occurred. Sheila opened her eyes, shivering in the breeze. She found herself standing behind the waterfall, but something in the light had changed. As she turned around, she also noticed that the waterfall was bigger. "What the hell..." she wondered. "Hey guys, I'm coming back!" she called out, but she waited for an answer in vain.
Sheila gathered her courage and jumped through the screen of water which was considerably colder than the first time she'd been in it. She found herself on a plateau in front of a long line of waterfalls, the water running around her feet and then down the edge. Her friends were not there, and below her was a giant, dense forest. The resort was gone.
Fear jumped at her throat. What had happened? She had just stepped into the water, and during that something had gone wrong. The only thing she could hope for was that she was where Josy also was, otherwise she as well as Josy were lost forever.
"Acaraho?" she asked, out loud and in her mind. There was no answer. She called out his name. In the silence that followed, tears started rolling down her cheeks.
*
Sheila didn't know how long she'd stood there crying. Her sandals had become soaked from the flowing water, her feet were cold, and she had nothing to warm herself with. First she had to get away from here, she decided. She looked along the ledge if there was a way to go down, but without wings that proved impossible. The only thing she could do was to step back through the falling water and see if there was a way out along the rock wall. Before she moved, she decided to try something.
"Josy!"
With baited breath she waited.
"JOSY!"
She called out a few more times, hoping that her friend was here and near enough to hear her, but there was no response. A feeling of despair flowed through her as she turned to face the water. At that moment she heard a sound that could only come from a human voice.
"Help!" she cried out, looking left and right for someone.
"..re are you…" A faint voice called out, fighting against the noise of the falling water.
"I'm here, on top of the ledge! At the waterfall!" Sheila shouted out several times.
She didn't dare to move now; walking off might make her miss whoever was there. "Hello, are you there?!" she tried.
"Sheila!" Over the sound of the waterfall it was Josy's voice. Sheila turned and saw her friend jump through the sheet of cold water, and a second later they clung to each other. "Sheila! You're here!" Josy cried as she was overcome with emotion, and Sheila cried for relief of having found her friend and not being alone in this strange place.
"Come, it's too cold here," Josy said, and took Sheila's hand. "The way down is a bit tricky if you don't know it." She guided Sheila through the falling water once more and walked along the rocky wall behind it until they came upon an opening. Behind it there was a slope downwards that didn't deserve the word stairs, but on all fours it wasn't too bad a climb.
At the foot of the mountain they emerged into an entirely different environment. A lush, green and brown forest spread out in front of them, there was grass everywhere. Josy and Sheila walked away from the mountain until they reached a warm spot in the sunlight.
"I can't believe you're here," Josy said as she looked at Sheila. "How did you manage that?"
Sheila, taking off her wet sandals, told her friend that it had been an accident.
"What do you mean, an accident?"
"I didn't actually plan to come here. Don't get me wrong, I did of course, but not yet. Because..." - Sheila took Josy's hands - "I'm sorry Josems, but I don't know a way back." Seeing the grave disappointment on Josy's face almost broke her heart. All she could do was hold her hands and wait.
"Okay," Josy said after a while. "So we're stuck here. At least we're stuck together." She sighed. "Isn't there anything that Indian guide of yours can do?"
"I've lost contact with him. I tried talking to him but he didn't respond." It hurt Sheila to have to admit that. She had grown fond of that presence being there when she needed him, and now she - and Josy - needed him badly.
"I guess I should show you around then, since we're going to spend quite some time here together," Josy then took control of the situation. "My cave is big enough for two to sleep in, but if you snore you're going to find your own cave, hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Josy." With her sandals in hand she started to follow Josy, but the grass proved too hard and painful for her feet. Soggy sandals were not great, but still better.
The cave was quite a stretch away from where they had come out of the mountain-ridge. It was remarkably spacious and warm, as the sun was on it most of the day.
"It can get really warm in here," Josy explained. "When it's too hot I climb into a tree to sleep there. I don't think there are nasties in the grass, but it's too hard and sharp to sleep in."
"But the trees are hard too," Sheila suspected.
"Hah, not the ones with thick moss on the branches!"
Josy showed her the river where they could drink and wash themselves, and then introduced Sheila to the diet she'd survived on so far. It wasn't anything like she had ever seen, and Sheila suspected that she'd lose quite a few pounds here. Josy's already skinny frame had become thinner too, that was a serious indicator.
After the tour they sat on a sandy patch near the river. "That's my domain," Josy said. "I can have a bigger one, but that's too far to walk." She then observed Sheila. "I can't believe you're actually naked."
Sheila blushed a little, even though she was used to being undressed now. "It's all your fault," she then grinned.
Josy looked as if she wasn't sure whether she should laugh or cry. Then she asked: "Do you like being naked?"
"I do. Not at first, but now I do."
"Yeah, the first times are the weirdest ones, until you discover that no one pays attention to you."
Josy grinned. "You'll find that this place here is a naturist's paradise. No need for clothes and the temperature is fabulous. Okay, it's paradise except for the coffee. And some other things."
Sheila nodded. Coffee would be great now. "I am going to try and see if Acaraho is around."
"Who?"
"My spirit guide. Acaraho is his name."
"Oh, right."
Sheila took a deep breath and said the name in her head. Then she waited. Perhaps it took a while, because they were so far from their own time. Minutes went by in which she tried a few more times, but there was no answer. "I'll keep trying," she told Josy, who understood that this attempt had failed.
Josy nodded and looked at the sky. "We should find some food. It's getting late, it'll be dark soon."
Sheila caught a hint of worry in Josy's voice which alarmed her, as Josy had said there was no one here but her. And Sheila now. She decided not to ask for now. Instead she followed Josy, hoping that what she called food would indeed resemble food.
It didn't.
*
"Shei
la, are you okay?"
"I can't sleep," Sheila confessed. She'd been tossing and turning on the grass and leaves bed Josy had fixed her. "Everything itches."
"It takes some getting used to, I know. Give it a few nights."
"A few? Gods... Acaraho, where the hell are you?"
Josy grinned for a second. "Try to sleep, okay?"
"Okay. G'night."
Chapter 19.
Sunlight poured into the cave and hit Sheila's face.
"Damn, I just fell asleep," she muttered as she turned around to get out of the light. When there was no response to her growl she sat up and looked around, brushing little bits of green stuff from her hair with her fingers. Josy wasn't there.
Slightly surprised and confused Sheila got up and walked outside. The scenery was breath-taking. Huge trees reached for a blue sky, flowers in many colours grew among the hard grass, and the early light of the sun gave everything a radiant glow. She smelled the scent of the many flowers. Quickly she put on her still moist sandals and walked out into the field, simply to stand in the middle of so much serene beauty. As she stood there, feeling a light breeze play around her body, it struck her that being naked in this area was the most perfect way to be. Clothes would affect the way to experience this world, and not in a good way.
"Hey, you," Josy's voice then rang out, "isn't this great?"
Sheila searched for her friend and saw her walking among a few of the great trees. "It is, it's brilliant! What are you doing?"
"Gathering breakfast," was the obvious answer, "want to help?"
Together they collected plants and herbs. Josy had become an expert on what was edible, so it didn't take them long to have an ample supply of vegetable stock.
"It gets boring after a while," Josy said as she showed Sheila how to crush certain nuts with a few rocks, "but it keeps you alive. It'll take a while before there's a Seven-Eleven close by."
Sheila had to laugh at Josy's humour, but as the day went by she realised that humour was a precious commodity to have here. There was nothing to do except go to places, but the grass was very high in places, and impassable, which limited the number of options for visits. The alternative was sit and do nothing, or swim