Beyond the Clearing

Calioco is a wonderful place.  I go there in my mind, or maybe my heart.  I am not sure which.  When I first came to Calioco, I found myself in a large field of grass and flowers with the sun shining brightly.  I was at the entrance to a forest.  Normally, I would’ve been frightened, but I wasn’t.  I stepped into the forest, and realized it was not like the forests here.  It was made up of willow-like trees with vines wrapped around them.  It was dark, but gleaming with soft, misty light, and somewhat enchanting.  I couldn’t see a sky; only more misty, glowing light.  As I walked deeper, I heard a hushing, gushing sound getting closer and closer.  I decided to follow it.   It lead me to a clearing in the willow trees.  I peered into the clearing.

 

Beyond the clearing was something that resembled a waterfall.  There was dark mist, and soft light pouring out of what looked like the edge of a cliff.  There were dead trees that I could barely see through all the mist.  There were branches and a tangled mess of vines on the ground.  It was mysterious, and it seemed as if there must be dark things, lurking in the place beyond the clearing.  Feeling like it was time to leave, I started to turn back, but before I could, I felt something gently touch my shoulder.

 

I turned around swiftly.  There was a lady in a crimson dress, with long dark hair, and kind, dark purple eyes staring back at me.  She was beautiful, majestic.  I wasn’t afraid anymore.  I felt at peace with the world around me.  She took my hand, and said, “I am Cestovia.  This is Calioco.  I hope this place will become home to you.”  Her voice was deep and enchanting.  I looked at her in wonder, not knowing what to say or do.  Cestovia said, “Come.  I will show you everything, Calissa.”

 

We walked deeper into the forest, and I wondered how Cestovia knew my name.  Cestovia told me about the many places in Calioco, all of them ending in “ia”.  She told me about Charia, the place of the pond, Delia, the place of mystery, and so on.  She told me that the concept of time is beyond the understanding of most people in Calioco.  Cestovia was one of the few who paid a great price to learn and understand the concept of time.

 

I asked about the place beyond the clearing.  Cestovia began, “It was once called Ceelia.  Two friends were walking in the forest and they discovered the clearing.  They made their new home in Ceelia, and others came to join them.  It was a place full of light and beauty.  The people who made their home in Ceelia seemed more at peace than those who made their homes in other places.  But after a while, the people of Ceelia stopped communicating with the rest of Calioco.  They refused to go past the clearing.  They stopped going to the festivals of the trees, and stopped visiting their friends from other places.  There was a storm many years ago in Calioco.  After the storm, I went to the clearing to make sure the people of Ceelia were well, but when I got there, the people were no where to be found.  The light shining out of Ceelia was dark.  It looked abandoned and empty.  When I returned to tell my friends what I had discovered, they all set out to search for the people of Ceelia.  The people of Ceelia were never found.  Still, no one knows where the people went, and no one dares to enter Ceelia.  Ceelia was named Ceel so it would not match the other places �" so it would be separated from Calioco, forever.  Many believe there is a darkness named Valvez who lurks in Ceel.  They believe he deceived the people who lived there.  They believe he swallowed them, and took them to the underground world of darkness and despair”.

It was getting darker in Calioco.  The mist seemed to be getting thicker.  Cestovia told me to follow her.  We walked back through the forest, the same way I came in.  We reached the break in the trees with the sun shining through, and I could see the field.  Cestovia took my hands and said, "I am glad to have met you.  Remember this place as your home.  Goodbye, Calissa".  I thought, "But this is my home... Isn't it?"

 

I awoke and looked around me.  I saw a dresser with a mirror, sun shining brightly through a window, the feeling of soft covers over me, and pictures on the wall.  I didn’t understand where I was at first.  I thought to myself, “Surely, what happened was real.  Surely, I met Cestovia in Calioco.  The clearing was real.  The mist, the light and the forest were all real…”  Then I realized it must’ve been a dream.  I was sad because the dream seemed more beautiful than the life I knew, than the reality I had.  I got out of bed and went about my day.  Pretty soon, it was the end, and time for sleep again.

 

Reviews

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Nice description and very poetic imagery! I was expecting this story to develop into a fantasy novel, my favorite genre, and lo and behold turns out it was all a dream. or was it? Hoping for more

[Calissa Knox]

Thank you very much for the encouraging words, Cher!