Zollocco: A Novel of Another Universe (14 page)

At last, above me deep blue sunlight eased through each layer of leaves. These leaves were formed like lace or snowflakes. The light passed layer after layer of the thin curtains of leaves. Stronger, brighter, closer came the light, becoming pastel blue, and finally touching the low-bedded plants. The forest dew slowly disappeared like sleep. I stood and stretched the long sitting hours out of me. A distance from me I saw a strolling forsythia stand and stretch its blossoms. It caught sight of me and ran away. The woods began to vocalize like a baby standing in its crib. The floral ivy lifted its fresh perfume to the hands of the air. The Forest had awakened.

Tired from my long, fear-induced vigil, I sought a place to sleep. Slow and lumbering from fatigue, I crossed a stream, stepping only on rocks. The logs, I feared, might decide to plunge me into the water. Everywhere the foliage was sunning in pale blue rays. The life here was smaller and more delicate looking than the same species in ... in--I couldn't help it; I kept feeling these woods were people... in the Forest Zollocco. The people of Imenkapur believed the Forests of Ipernia had individual personalities, and whenever I was in one I felt as though the Forest were cognizant, but how could it be true? I looked about me and listened. When occasionally the flora around me ruffled, as it did now, the Forest cooed, like a summer infant pleased by a breeze.

She is stubborn like Zollocco, observes Our NightShade, drowsily slipping into slumber.
We, as Day-Shade, lead Our human visitor to the Priestess-house. You wonder, creature of Zollocco, amidst Whom are you? We are the eldest Forest of Ipernia, and We have many things to show you. Come, this way, this way, this way...

I plodded along sleepily for I don't know how long. Sometimes I think I was asleep and dreamed that the Forest spoke to me as I walked. At length, I saw ahead of me a house in the midst of a small clearing. I walked slowly toward the structure, with the sleepy belief that I was hurrying. One side of the house was all glass, tinted a smoky green. With the blue sunshine upon it, the glass wall looked like a vertical sea. The rest of the house was built of stone, and moss covered much of the stone. The lawn had given over too small, woodland flora; the stone steps of the stoop were chipped and cracked; the front door was invitingly missing.

Resting my hand on the doorjamb, I called "Hello?" Taking the silence as welcome, I went inside. I stood in the middle of a passageway, the glass wall where I had entered behind me, and a stone wall facing me. The parallel walls were set about two yards apart from each other. The masonry wall was composed of dark-gray stones tinted with hints of deep blue. The front door, which was made of thick, smoky-green glass, was leaning against the masonry wall. Bark screens were pulled down the length of the glass, protecting the interior from too much heat. I opened them part way, and the light streamed in. Now I saw that the masonry wall had a few windows set in it, allowing the light to transverse the rooms behind the thick of the stone wall. Three doors were also placed in the masonry wall, and as I walked along the passageway, I could tell what the rooms were by peering in the windows: a living room, a study, and a dining room. I entered the living room and found it had a doorway that surely must lead to the dining room and another doorway opposite the one I had entered. Exiting the living room through that doorway, I found a kitchen replete with refrigerator, stove, and sink. I tried plugging in the appliances and they worked. I tried the faucets, and after a little pounding with my shoe, hot water gushed from the spigot. The kitchen had a pantry nestled in one corner, and the kitchen opened onto the dining room in one direction and onto a hallway in the other direction. The first door in this hall opened to a huge bathroom. The bathroom had a second door, which I discovered led to a bedroom. In each of the rooms I passed, cobwebs streamed the doorways, and cobwebs dangled from the ceiling corners. Dust, forming brown fluff, edged every doorjamb, floor, and every sheeted lump. I peeked under some of these lumps and found as I expected a table and chair, desk and bureau. Why would anyone abandon such a lovely place? The bedroom had a door to the hall and the hall continued on to a vestibule with closets and a metal spiral staircase. The metal spiral staircase led to the second floor. Here there were five bedrooms and two more bathrooms. In one of the rooms, I threw open some French doors that led to a balcony. This one bedroom was the only one with a big bed. The other rooms all had twin beds. How strange this all was. I grabbed the dustcovered sheet from the bed and hurled the musty thing over the railing to the bushes below. The bed was made up. I climbed into it and fell exhaustedly asleep.
Mixed with periods of deep sleep were nightmares. I dreamed I sat in a birdcage on a huge spacecraft and a gamekeeper threw a bunch of brown, vile smelling fruit into my cage. He kept prodding me with a long stick to get me to eat it. Although I was hungry, I was not hungry enough to eat that. A particularly sharp pang of hunger awoke me. The light was deep blue on the sill. Was it morning? No, it was dusk. My confusion propelled me out of bed and down the hall. A little more awake, I returned to the room and rummaged through my knapsack. I found the small loaf of bread and the little can of fish I had stored in the knapsack. I carried the food to the kitchen, found a glass, washed it, filled it with water, and ate my meager meal. Lonely, I wandered the silent, silent house.

She wanders.
She searches.
How can she be lost?
Our-Shade must be glimpsed by her.
She needs companionship.
Let's guide her to the room where the human-shades are kept in papers bound by leather and gold.

Yes, We should like to hear from some of those hidden paper shades.
Which ones do You think shall call her, call her, call her..
.

There was a library on the first floor, so I opened its window, removed a sheet from a chair, pulled a book off a shelf, and snuggled into the cushions. The story was a comic epic about a man who was taken to visit this fiery planet where all of the evil was burned out of tormented souls so that the souls could be at peace. Among the tormented souls were painters who had thrown temper tantrums and torn up their best works of art, physicians who had grown bored and careless of their patients, and corporate presidents who had stolen all of the money from their businesses. There were family men who told their musician children to get real jobs, journalists who uncaring ruined reputations, and the motley thieves, murders, arsonists, and politicians. When the man came back from his visit he refused to tell anyone what he had discussed with all of the interesting people he had met on the fiery world. The moaning, crying, tearing of hair, and rending of clothes in this book was so extreme and detailed as to be screamingly funny.

Relaxed by my reading, I returned to bed and slept undisturbed until morning. On awakening, I fished the large yellow towel out of my pack, as well as my one change of clothes, and headed out doors. I paused on the stoop. The forest was filled with a haze that glowed in the deep blue morning rays. At the edge of the clearing, just where the trees began, I saw some little s-plants. A twinge of hunger sent me in the direction of those plants. I knelt before them, reached for the s-nuts, and the branch extended itself towards me. The shells opened of their own accord, and the nuts fell in a pile before me. Awestruck, I stared, and then slowly ate the nuts eyeing the plant in consternation. Unlike the Forest Zollocco, this Forest seemed to have taken an instant liking to me. What could its name be, I wondered.

Saemunsil, Saemunsil, Saemunsil
.
I roamed the woodland, picking here a red fruit, there a purple truffle to eat.
She can't hear Us. The noise of Ichloz is too loud in her mind. We must quiet her, quiet her, quiet her...

With each bite, my hectic city life in Ichloz seemed a thing of the distant past. The Forest's blue light warmed into gold as the morning advanced, and the sun percolated through the lacy leaf cover of the woods. Calm and supine I enjoyed the morning, as the spirit of the woods warmed fragrantly with the rise of the sun. I found a pool, shallow and sweetly cool. There I bathed and watched the elegant noses of the Harlequin- patched, six-toed sloths twitch at intruding scents. Once dressed again I dashed through the trees for the sheer love of life and movement. I ran not caring where I went, only concerned with motion. No branch scratched my arm; no rock threw my footing off-balance. At last my feet slowed and halted beside a small waterfall. Here I found sweet yellow berries and spicy bark to make a lunch of. I gazed into the waterfall.

Gazing and gazing, I discerned a reflection in the waterfall---my reflection. The reflection altered. It became flashes of light, flashes of color, flashes of sound. Was it speaking?

Human, you enter the collective mind and your and individuality regains its power. Entering the collective mind, you find time and space become hollow and you may touch the Lonely Hermitage which is so often in your thoughts. We seek to create the conditions where health and vibrancy and peace may occur by means of Our contact with you, by means of Our contact with The Worlds Imenkapur. Peace is most difficult because it is most active. By means of Our contact with you, We also have contact with the Lonely Hermitage, Earth, and the same focus of healing We use within this Universe We extend to your home universe, your home world. Delighted We are to have at this moment contact with Our darling relatives, the Forests of Earth. Sorrowful We are to sense Their disease, and gently do We ease Their pain with Our exuberant health. Grateful We are that you have come as ombudsman to warn Us of the need of ministrations to Our beloved relatives.

Much troubled We are by the dire malady that feverishly courses through the entire planet. As the humans of your home world now seek to live in harmony with the Forests, so, too, We desire to live in harmony with the humanity of Our universe. Will you guide Us in Our endeavor? There may come a time when circumstances allow that you may maintain a silence among the shades of the waking. If you keep that silence the Toelakhan will feel compelled to listen to Us, for you will be a reminder to them of Us.

They desire to entrap and control you, as they desire to entrap and control Our Nature. Discontent Shades, they seek to contain Us in order to fix the elusive. Discontent Shades, their purpose they do not discern. The Toelakhan are traders, and as traders express the balances of exchange, passage, and mobility. Yet, the Toelakhan, themselves freely moving Man from place to place, strive to withhold, restrain, and make static that which by nature must be granted, given, and moved. If you keep that silence, that silence where deed and example are given eloquent voice, then power will grow within you, a power of freedom that will be shared by all living things. The Ways of the Worlds, Imenkapur, will be changed, for the ToelakhanShades will be brought into closer harmony with themselves.

The health of the Lonely Hermitage will be improved, for the balance and harmony of the Worlds Imenkapur will be reflected by the World Earth. If you would be of Our way of creating accord, then your World, the Worlds Imenkapur, and Ourselves would flourish, flourish, flourish...

...Yes, yes, yes, just color, light, and a reflection of myself. My hands dipped into the stream, and rubbed my face. It was time to go home. I looked around me. I had absolutely no idea where I was. I stood worried, not knowing which way to go. This was quite dangerous. The forest could keep me hopelessly lost if it wanted to. The leaves began to rustle, as if in frustration with me. The sound fascinated me. Was I hallucinating or was the sound becoming melodic? It seemed reminiscent of the song "Let It Be." I followed the rustling lacy forms as though I were following a score. Vaguely, I thought of going home. The rustle was so sonorous, I forgot about being lost. Suddenly the sticky sensation of sweat filming over my face and back alerted me the day was now quite hot. My attention dropped from the leaves. I discovered I was about to step into the pool where I had bathed. From the pool, it was easy to find my way back to the house.

As I scrubbed, mopped, dusted, and raised the bark blinds to allow the sunshine to saturate the house, I went over in my mind my experience in these woods. The Forest had actually guided me back to the pool when I was lost. And what had possessed me in the first place to go running blindly through the woods? I knew very well that was a terribly dangerous thing to do, and yet at the time there had been no thought of danger in my mind. Why had I had the impression the stream's waterfall was talking to me? Had I been asleep?

By sunset, I was ready to retire from these thoughts and from the housecleaning for the day. I sat on the front stoop, ate what I had gathered from the Forest on my way home from my excursion, and watched the twilight settle the woods to sleep.

That night was another night of nightmares. I dreamed I was back at the university, and a student had a large dog on a leash, in one hand, and me on a leash in the other hand. The student took us to be groomed. The beautician said, "Ah, that beautiful Oggie dog only needs a shampoo and a trim, but that other one. Well, she's going to need a lot of work!" I dreamed I was working in a bookstore, and was unable to read any of the books because the words kept crawling out of the pages. My boss was angry because the words were crawling out of the store, and he was afraid they were going to a competing bookstore. I dreamed of a huge room of babies, their umbilical cords attached to a huge Maypole. The babies were thumbing their noses at me. At last, I was rescued by exhaustion, and became dreamless in heavy slumber.