Naked Crow

by P. Z. Walker

  "I know it sounds insane," Josy said, holding her coffee mug in two hands, "but it happened. And I don't want it to happen any more. I vote we take Sheila into our circle of friends-" with that she looked at Mike "-and make sure she is around as often as possible when we're at the resort. She sees and knows things we can't see and don't know."

  Mike and also Wendy nodded. "Of course. I still don't understand the big change in her," said Mike. "My guru might, but I'm not my guru. But this little sister is one of the trippy kind."

  The friends didn't stay very long, Josy was still easily tired, so they said their goodbyes and then Jeremy offered to take Sheila home. They had formed a sincered bond that went beyond friendship, even though Sheila still needed time to adjust to it after the very tumultuous experiences of late. Jeremy was very understanding, so after dropping her off and giving her a kiss on the cheek, he drove off.

  Sheila was surprised that Josy and she both still had their apartments to live in after so much time. She walked in and looked around. She was home. Slowly she wandered through the rooms, looked at the kitchen and the bathroom. Then her phone rang.

  "Sheila? It's Josy. I'm so happy to be home that I had to let you know once more. Thank you for getting us home, girl..." Josy started sobbing on the telephone. "I thought I'd never see my place again."

  Sheila felt tears sting in her eyes. She had felt the same several times. "I know. But we're here."

  "Yeah. Do you know what I want to do? You'll probably think I'm crazy, but... can we go to the Five Oaks tomorrow? Just you and me?"

  The question surprised Sheila. "Sure. But why?"

  "I'm not sure. I guess I just want to see that place again. Where it happened. I need to go there and walk then away from it and... simply go back home. It feels important to me, Sheila."

  Sheila sat down on her couch and closed her eyes. "Let me talk to Acaraho, see if he thinks it's a good idea."

  "Okay. I'll wait."

  Sheila envisioned the native man, who appeared instantly.

  "Shíile Isshiiá. You are home. I am pleased."

  "So am I. Josy wants to go to the Five Oaks tomorrow. Do you think that's smart?"

  "You can go there. It is safe for the coming time," he assured her. "And when you are there, you can see if there is an energy that can cause a problem."

  "How would that look?"

  "I cannot say, but it will be clear. When you see what you saw before, all is fine," he replied.

  "Thank you." Sheila sighed. "Josems? Acaraho says it's okay to go there."

  "Okay. Can I pick you up tomorrow morning? Just a tip: it's going to be colder than in... Jurassic Park."

  "We'll live. We've seen worse, haven't we?"

  "We did, sister!" Josy responded.

  *

  The next morning Sheila and Josy drove up to the resort. It was indeed colder, but they didn't care. The people at the office were very surprised to see them come in and bombarded them with questions, but the two said they didn't want to talk about it any more. They left their clothes in lockers and walked up to the trail, then climbed up the hill to where the five special trees stood.

  Sheila shivered a little as she activated her special sight and saw the blue, flaming shields as they approached the spot. It was there like always, nothing interfered with it, nothing was out of place.

  "This place scares me, Sheila," Josy said.

  "There's no need for that any more," Sheila told her as she disabled her ability. "I looked at it as Acaraho told me to. Nothing's wrong. Here. Hold my hand. We're going to walk among them and nothing will happen." Acaraho had better be right.

  Hand in hand the two naked women passed through the centre of the circle. Nothing happened.

  Sheila noticed that Josy breathed easier. She did too. "See? Nothing."

  "Nothing," Josy grinned, relief all over her face. "Now let's get the hell back to the office and get dressed and grab a coffee. My treat!"

  "Yeah. Naturism is fun, but not in this temperature!"

  They ran down the hill, laughing and screaming, leaving the Five Oaks and a lot of fears behind them.

  About naturism/nudism.

  "Naturism or nudism is a cultural and political movement practising, advocating and defending social nudity in private and in public. It may also refer to a lifestyle based on personal, family and/or social nudism.

  Several other terms have been proposed as alternative terms for naturism, but none has found the same widespread public acceptance as the older terms naturism and (in much of the United States) nudism."

  (Naturism as described on Wikipedia.)

  Naturism and nudism are often thought to have a sexual or erotic basis. This is not the case.

  About the author.

  P.Z. Walker embraces the naturist's lifestyle. He hopes to shed some more light on naturism and dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about it.

  More information on naturism.

  The International Naturist Federation

  http://www.inffni.org/

  WikiHow’s How to become a naturist

  http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Naturist

  The naturist society

  http://www.naturist.com/

  The American Association for Nude Recreation

  http://www.aanr.com/

  The website of British Naturism

  http://www.bn.org.uk/index.php