Teagan's Amazing Experience (Story - Chapter Two)

"Where is this?" she asked quite simply.

"I’ve just told you," Hgiel answered. "You’re in Acinorev, my land where I have always lived."

"But . . . " she stammered, and continued to look around. Wherever it was, it was certainly a beautiful place. She was standing in a field of singing flowers, only it sounded like an entire chorus singing. As she looked around, she began to understand. The small wild flowers were singing soprano, the bigger flowers were altos, the bushes were singing tenor and the giant oaks were basso.

"You keep looking behind you," he said. "What do you expect to see there?"

"I don’t know for sure, I guess I’m just looking," she replied, looking behind her once more.

"Do you think you’ll see the where you came from?" The little brown face had changed to a clever little smirk.

"I don’t know, I suppose," she said. "Isn’t it normal to wonder where you’ve just come from and where it’s gone, the place you just came from?" She continued to stare in that direction.

"Too normal," he replied, shaking his head. "You keep looking back, even though you’ve done it several times and can’t see anything there except . . . what’s there. You’re looking for something that doesn’t exist. You see, you’re on a new adventure, stepping out to where you’ve never been, and yet you’re looking for that mirror, that little slot in time where you left what you knew to try what you don‘t know."

"I don’t understand thought," she continued. "I can’t see the mirror or anything about my room, and it’s making me very nervous right now." She did seem to be trembling slightly.

"No, you can’t see it," Hgiel said sweeping his arm in a wide gesture.

His vagueness was beginning to frustrate here. "Then how did you see me, if I can’t see it here? You were looking right at me through the mirror. And you pointed at me and put your finger on the back of the mirror too."

"Ah," he quickly countered. "You say I was looking at you, but do you know that I was really seeing you?"

"Of course you were seeing me. I could see you looking right at me, just as I said a second ago." The thought suddenly crossed her mind that she was somewhere, talking to a little brown man with a very strange name, standing in a field of singing flowers and having no real idea how she got here or . . . terrifyingly, how she was going to get back.

"I don’t need to see you, since I can sense you," he said simply, turning his head a little sideways and winking at her.

Obviously there were many things she had to learn about this place, if she decided to stay at all. And that was the question that kept pounding in her head.

"Can I ask you a question?" She took a deep breath, anticipating his answer.

"Most certainly do," the little man said quickly. "For I am a man of many answers."

"Good then," she said and sighed. "If I wanted to go back to my room right now, could I do it?"

A subtle grin crossed his face and he looked at her a little sideways. "I suppose it would depend on why you wanted to go back." He motioned to her. "Come on and walk along with me here."

She felt strange walking along with this little man with the big deep voice who barely came to the bottom of her . . . She suddenly realized she had on only her shortie pajamas. Her face turned a bright shade of rose quite suddenly, but the little man didn’t seem to notice. If he had only "sensed" her before, maybe he was only sensing her now and couldn’t really see how she was dressed. Whatever. And besides, why was she doing everything he suggested. She was still torn between wanting to just go back and forget about whatever this was and staying to find out what was going on. She was nearly positive she was only dreaming, but never-the-less, she wanted to know. And, he hadn’t answered her question either.

"What would be a good reason for me wanting to go back, that you would show me how to get back."

"Well, first of all, you’re asking me about your own reasons. And second of all, you’re assuming I’d be able to send you back." He said all this without looking up at her.

"Well, by saying that I guess I can assume I’m ‘somewhere’" she said, grinning.

"Oh, most definitely somewhere," he replied. "We’re all somewhere, it’s just a question of whether we’re where we want to be. And not surprisingly, many are not where they want to be." Now he looked up at her with those bright green eyes. "Are you where you want to be, Teagan?"

She looked around, then at him quizzically. Something about the look on his face told her there was more to the question than just physical location but she wasn’t really good at getting all those little innuendoes that others cast about. Taking the easy route she said, "But you won’t tell me where I am so how can I know if I’m where I want to be?"

"I’ve told you," he answered quickly. You’re in Acinorev."

"But, where is that?" she countered.

It’s where you are," he shot back coyly.

"Aaarrrggg," she croaked. "You’re teasing me and confusing me and it’s not fun . . . and not funny either."

"Oh, I wouldn’t want to do that, Miss Teagan. I just want you to think."

"I was getting ready for bed when you showed up and was sleepy. I don’t think well when I’m sleepy." She paused for a second. "But," she said as she straightened to her full height, "I’m here so I want to see what this is all about. I still may be asleep, but I want to know."

"Fair enough," Hgeil said. "Come along and we’ll get started."