From the Shadows

Prompt: There are living shadows but have been locked in the darkness until a lunar eclipse releases the shadows.

The energy in the night air was palpable as Monica leisurely made her way down the winding forest path. She soaked in the moonlight, stopping occasionally to pick a mushroom, a rock, a feather, and various other items. Tonight would be very special and she wanted to savor every moment of it. The path ended at a clearing with a small circular pool of water in the middle. Mushrooms grew around edge of the pool, but she dare not pick those.

Monica lowered her pack to the ground just inside the clearing and pulled from it a sprig of sage, an abalone shell, and a feather that she picked up from the path on the way. Taking a match from her pocket she lit the sage, blowing on it until bright glowing red embers formed. She breathed deep and meditated momentarily on cleansing herself inside and out. She envisioned a white energy surrounding her, each deep breath causing the energy to grow dense. Once satisfied with her level of protection she started walking the circle of the clearing clockwise, fanning the sage with the feather. After three circles she was satisfied with the cleanse and set the lit sage in the abalone shell. Turning to her pack she pulled various items out to be placed carefully around the circle of mushrooms. A glass bottle of water that she made under the solar eclipse for the West. A ceramic jar of graveyard dirt from her family's private burial grounds for the North. For the South she started a small fire contained within a ring of rocks. Which she then used to light the resins and herbs within the abalone shell for the East. She continued placing various items that also represented the elements around the circle. Effigies carved out of various crystals and gems. Items she picked up from the forest path. When she was satisfied that the circle was complete she stepped back and considered it for a long moment. The outer circle of her sacred items. The middle circle of mushrooms. The inner circle of the water. It sent chills throughout her body. She looked up at the full super moon and positioned herself with the pool of water between it and herself. Determining it was time, she picked up the sprig of sage again and started walking the circle of the clearing. This time counter clockwise. The chills got worse with every step she made but she was determined to finish the three circles. When she finally stopped back at her starting position she replaced the sage in the shell and stood tall. She turned her face full to the sky with her arms spread out wide envisioning the silvery glow being drawn within herself. She closed her eyes and started muttering a prayer. Slowly she slipped into a meditative state. She folded her legs into a sitting position, however, instead of her body lowering to the ground her legs rose up to meet her. Her state of meditation deepened. She intended to stay like this until the moon descended over the treetops.

After some time, the moon started to lose it's fullness. As the minutes passed more of the moon became obscured until darkness descended upon the forest. Unlike a new moon this darkness was tangible. Monica opened her eyes as the energy she was absorbing changed. Panic started to bubble inside her as she turned her gaze from the blackened moon to the pool of water where the moon still shone as brightly as it had an hour before. Suddenly she felt as if she wasn't alone and the disturbance to her peace brought her to the ground with a hard thud. She stayed seated, however. The darkness obscured everything but the pool where the moon now resided. No mushrooms. No sacred items in a circle. No trees. Only blackness. She stared at the watery moon and prayed. She didn't dare close her eyes. An unnatural breeze blew over the water and dissipated the image of the moon. With the darkness completely closed around her the panic took a firm hold of her psyche. She stood and ran to where the forest path should be, but no ground crunched under her bare feet. No twigs, no leaves, no rustling of the trees. She ran in a straight line away from where she had been. No winding path.

Reviews

[Clif]

Shadow people can be a manifestation of spirits. Burning sage smudges is sometimes used for cleansing spectral entities from a place. Could Monica have stepped through an other dimensional portal?