On Perplexity

I was positive that I was seeing things. "This isn't possible," I muttered looking from side to side. Millions of stars illuminated the darkness, something that I wasn't used to growing up in a place that created its own stars called city lights. I could see that I sat in a clearing, surrounded by a long stretching barrier of a forest to my right. The darkness masked anything beyond the first row of trees and that made me a little paranoid, mostly because anything could be watching me without me knowing.

 

The scene around me looked like anywhere north of South Florida where the trees grow in groups, unlike the solitary palms that I had seen all of my life. Mountains rose up in the distance to my left with flat lands leading up to the range. Above me, the starry and cloudless sky showed me something else that confirmed that I wasn’t anywhere near home.

 

Instead of the moon that I was used to seeing, two round globes loomed above - a smaller one overlapping a bigger one. I tried to comprehend what I was looking at, but my mind was trying to fight the examination. I finally decided that they had to be planets not so very far away because of the faint lines of the terrain that shouldn't have been visible with the naked eye. It was eerie to say the least, almost like one wrong cosmic move and all three spheres would collide - a psychological menace with the discomforting closeness. It was this more than anything else that made me think that I was hallucinating or dreaming, it didn’t matter which one, just that this wasn’t real.

 

Picking myself up off of the ground, I dusted off my scraped knees that shockingly stung from the dirt that was embedded in them. However surreal I knew this was I couldn’t shake the authenticity of every thought and movement. A dull ache began to set in near the front of my head �" the pain seemed very real as well. The fall down the steps came rushing back moments after the throbbing set in; it was forcing me to recall exactly what had happened. I must have hit my head on the stairs, I thought. That would have been the end of that thought and the beginning of a string of others like how badly I had hurt myself or if I needed to see a doctor. Those would have been important if another question hadn’t been much more prominent. Where had they come from?

 

In the sixteen years I had lived in my house and the 11 years that I could actually remember, there had never been stairs in my yard �" there wouldn’t have been a logical reason for them. The nagging thoughts that I didn’t have answers for at the moment were unimportant as I looked behind me to where I had descended from. Sure enough the stairs were there, yet their presence was trumped by what sat atop of them.

 

Cobblestones stacked at least fifty feet high, by my best estimate, formed an arch that stood unsupported except for its base. Absent were the walls on either side of the archway, unlike any door I’d ever seen, but that wasn't the most peculiar thing about this structure. It wasn't really a door in the typical sense, there wasn't a handle to open it or hinges that indicated that there was anything to even open up, it was more of an entry way. Within the archway’s borders the lightest overtones of blue, purple, and ivory iridescently glowed and danced.

 

Mesmerized by the magical oversized window I began making my way back up the steps and finally I stood before the now blinding glow, with one hand I shielded my eyes against the brightness and with the other I tentatively reached forward. I pressed into the center of the archway hoping I could pass through to the other side, thus waking me out of my state of unconsciousness and finding myself back in my yard. My fingers tingled against the hard surface and a rush of excitement flowed through me as my hopes grew higher. Opening my eyes despite the mildly painful light, I could see that I was still in this strange place. I pressed harder, nothing happened, then I pressed some more, but the tingle was gone and so were my hopes.

 

Turning around, I sat on the top step with my hands propping up my head. I now knew how Alice must have felt when she fell into Wonderland, helpless and at the mercy of my mind. Strange bird calls sounded off in the distance, a breeze whipped my hair around forming golden blindfold and again I had the sensation that all of this seemed to be too much for a dream, it was unlike any I'd ever had. Every feeling was crisp and tangible, not a vague awareness of what was happening, like any other dream I’d ever had.

 

I smacked my hand against stone I sat on and then again, nothing wavered, it was solid as if this was reality. Not to mention all of my actions were conscious decisions. Despite these evidences, I was only left with dreaming as an excuse to explain where I was. Deep down I knew it didn't add up, I knew for a fact that I had been awake and trying to get home with my mom's medicine - I couldn't have been dreaming because I hadn't been sleeping. Besides, the bag lay in the grass a few feet away from where I landed.

 

Maybe I fell and hit my head, I posed to myself, and now I'm unconscious. While this seemed logical, it still didn't explain why the medicine was with me - a mental connection to reality I supposed. A whole new set of worries came with the idea that I could be unconscious, many of which led back to my mom's safety, however a few were for my own. I'd never been clumsy or accident prone, if anything I was overly cautious. All I could do was hope that it was Oliver who found my body and not a neighbor, my cover would definitely be blown then. Eyeing my fingers, I resisted nibbling on my nails - they were beyond repair as it was. I needed another outlet for my nervousness.

 

A rustling in the forest ahead snapped me out of my pity party. It got closer and I could see a faint glow through the darkness, it got brighter as the movement came nearer. Fear spread through me, making my heart pound and stomach knot, as absurd as it was since none of this really existed. Unfortunately, being scared easily overrides logical thought processes. Running down the stairs, I darted behind the entrance hoping whatever it was didn't see me. The back of the archway mirrored the front with a bright, but thankfully not see through face. I waited and tried to listen over my heart, but the commotion within the trees had fallen silent. Holding my breath, not wanting to be the first to make a noise I listened even harder. A few moments later - a shuffling on the ground.

 

"Ohhh nooo," a nasally voice whined and it made me jump. "Melda is going to have my head. This was my last chance. Why can’t they ever just stay here? She's going to say 'Tauni, you've really done it this time. You've let another one go and get lost.' Yeah, that's what she'll say. Probably got eaten by a Weelard or a Yarkee."

 

I eavesdropped on this voice while it continued its muttered soliloquy until I couldn't contain my pestering curiosity any longer. Peeking around the cobblestones, my eyes landed on the owner of the voice, who was sitting on the steps just as I had been a few minutes earlier. The creature was unlike anything I'd ever seen, save for fantasy movies. He was tall and lanky with spindly fingers and had skin the color of a ripe

 

tangerine. It was wearing a brown, knee length tunic and matching sandals. From my view, he didn't seem to be carrying any weapons, but he may have not needed any. The monsters I’d seen in the movies usually had sharp teeth or hidden spines, so my observation could be useless. This is a dream, I reminded myself, I would wake up fine if he hurt me. Somehow this didn't calm me.

 

What he had been saying was sinking in past my initial reaction to his appearance. My presence here had been expected and I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. The creature coming to find me could mean safety or danger, but that was a moot point in my decision now. Its fear of Melda, whoever that was, was enough for me not to chance my life, so I remained mostly hidden behind the archway.

 

Suddenly the thing’s head swiveled my way, I swung myself the back of the archway, but I knew I hadn't been fast enough. My thoughts had been quicksand and I had been pulled into their distracting trap. Closing my eyes, I said a prayer and hated myself for even doing it. This is a dream, I chanted instead over and over in my head. The fear wracking my body was undeniable despite my mantra, my heart was a jackrabbit's thumping foot against my ribcage and tension began winding my muscles tight in dread. This is a dream.

 

"Are you the new one?" A hopeful and again nasally voice called out, this time it was uncomfortably close to me. I hadn't heard the creature creep up.

 

Forcing my lids open, I turned my head to the left and there it was with hopeful eyes and an eager smile that would have been soothing if not for the jagged teeth that lay inside. I had been right about the teeth. I couldn’t begin bracing myself for that kind of death, so I resolved to try to feel nothing at all.

 

I swallowed the thick knot in my throat I answered in a shaky voice. "Yyyes. I think ssso." I realized I wasn't sure what I was saying yes to, I didn't even know what he meant by "the new one". It was all I could manage though, figuring that not answering might have made it mad.

 

A flush of relief came over his face, but it quickly turned to something else. “You know, you would have caused the both of a whole mess of trouble if I left without you.” My defensiveness flared for a moment, then I remembered who I was standing in front of and that its disposition didn’t seem good.

 

“Sorry,” I said weakly, partly in fear and partly in insincerity.

 

“I’m Tauni,” he said, almost reluctantly as he held out his hand like the introduction was a burden or necessary at all. I just wanted him to leave me alone.

 

"Ummm, Allison." I took its hand, reluctant myself, and shook it like meeting a strange creature was an everyday thing for me. Who knows, maybe this was for him. There I went thinking this was real again. "Where am I?" Though I doubted the answer would either satisfy or convince me, it was worth a try.

 

"We'll get to that, but first we should get going." Tauni grabbed my hand and with unexpected strength began tugging me behind him. I dug my heels into the ground, but that only made me stumble forward and fall to my knees as he kept going. Tauni let go and turned around. His face confused.

 

"Where are you taking me?" I asked with a poorly masked trembling voice. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me."

 

He laughed. "We're going to Alaria, it's a city a few miles north of here. Don’t worry, I'm not going to hurt you." Holding out his hand he helped me up off of the ground. By now, I was beginning to see that Tauni wasn’t the dangerous one, I was sure that he would have hurt me by now if he was.

 

"I'm not worried about you. What about Melda? You seem scared of her, why shouldn't I be?"

 

At first he looked a little taken aback that at the fact that I had heard him talking to himself, and then his expression showed me that he was offended. "Hey now, I'm plenty scary. Look how I tower over your small figure." He just looked silly, like a big gecko with his yellow oval eyes and shrill voice. He paused for a few moments, but thought it better to continue, or maybe he was just thinking aloud. "Melda’s harmless, well to everyone but me. She doesn't particularly like me. I guess she's not entirely unjustified though, I have lost a few of the newcomers."

 

"Lost?”

 

He saw the worry on my face and quickly said, “Don't worry, I never found them at the Threshold in the first place. I haven't lost one along the way...yet," he added, ushering me forward.

 

"How do I even know this is real? I mean why even go with you? I should just stay here and wait to wake up." I said as I continued walking with him, making me wonder if my curiosity had a mind of its own.

 

"I was wondering when you were going to ask. The others asked sooner, I thought you'd be my first believer."

 

Believer in dreams? I asked myself more than a little confused, and then decided it better to ask him. "Believer of what exactly?"

 

Tauni didn't answer until we reached the far end of the clearing where a gnarly wooden staff was jammed into the ground. Yanking it out, he finally answered. "Most newcomers don't believe in our world. They have usually the same notions as to why and where they are �" they’re usually wrong." He walked towards the dark forest from whence he came. "Let me guess, you think you're in a coma?"

 

"Not quite. I was going with unconscious."

 

"Haven't heard that one before," he said rolling his eyes dramatically. "So this is how it goes, it all leads back to your subconscious, you're going to ask me a question that you couldn't possibly know the answer to and I will give it to you, thereby proving that this isn't a dream or the result of being unconscious. Simple enough, right?"

 

"No, not really," I retorted arrogantly. "If I don't know the answer in the first place then how do I know that your answer is correct?" Consternation plagued his face; he was probably hoping that he was going to outsmart me. "Does 'anyone' actually fall for that?" I asked mocking his existence with my air quotations.

 

Tauni didn’t dignify my question with an answer, instead he continued onward, stepping into a gap between two large trees. I wanted to hesitate, my cautiousness was trying to protect me, but my inquisitiveness wanted to be satisfied �" the latter was unusual for me and ultimately won the battle. I followed the creature into the shadowed forest until I could no longer see him or anything in front of me for that matter.

 

"I can’t prove it to you,” he admitted, “and if you can’t take my word for it, then I guess you’ll just have to have a little faith."

 

Just as he said it, a faint glow pulsed to life, the same one that I had seen in the forest right before Tauni appeared. Milky bulbs upon the branches emitted a soft glow and lit my way, which happened to be a clean cut pathway through the trees. The phenomena stopped me and in every direction hundreds of those differently shaped bulbs radiated and showed me a forest was like any other. I imagined that this was what it would be like if I was standing beneath a gigantic Christmas tree. Reaching out I ran a finger over one of the odd illuminators and it began to grow. I smiled at the affect I was creating.

 

Suddenly, it burst and its skin was splattered in pieces over my face and arms. Panic seized me and my eyes immediately sought out Tauni for an explanation. My guide was no longer in front of me and another surge of panic welled up inside. I ran forward, the lights illuminating with each step. Ahead, another glow began to creep into my vision, I was sure I was catching up with Tauni's long strides.

 

It became overwhelmingly apparent that the landscape was beginning to change as my chase ensued. The flat path began a downward slope, but the soil on either side of me remained intact. Soon, I found myself in a ravine and the slant evened out once more. To my left and right gnarly roots roped their way over the walls and onto the ground near my feet. Slippery moss masked those roots, making my footpath a little more precarious. Overhead, a canopy of vines dripped like emeralds from a wealthy woman's neck. The forest was starting to feel more and more like a cave.

 

The orange creature’s figure was now only a few feet away and I finally slowed. "I broke one of those bubbles," I called out nervously, waiting to see if there were any consequences that I needed to be aware of.

 

"Oh are you still following me. I thought you might have thought it better to wait back there until you woke up."

 

I ignored his snide comment. "That thing exploded on me. Am I going to have a reaction or something?"

"Nooo," he said, drawing out the word exaggeratedly, as if I should have known. 

"How do they do that? I asked “Light up?" I clarified.

 

Tauni sighed, "They detect body heat. For us they protect and guide us as we make our way through dangerous territory."

 

I didn’t like the sound of that. Just the word dangerous had me nervously firing off questions in my head, only the most important made it out though. "What do we need protection against?"

 

"A variety of things and that is why we need to watch all sides." I guessed that he was hinting at me to be quiet and pay attention to the surroundings, but I wasn’t sure that was possible. He hadn’t exactly answered my question after all, at least not to my satisfaction.

 

I needed to know specifically what those dangerous things were, whether they existed or not. I started to imagine the only things I had ever known, lions, tigers, and bears. Although, judging from Tauni’s appearance, the monsters here would probably rival my most inspired beast. I tried my best to override my wary thoughts, but my motto better safe than sorry wasn’t letting me abandon it now.

        Keeping my composure, I questioned further. "What should I look out for?"

 "A light like ours,” he answered simply.

 

"That's all, a light like ours. What is that supposed to tell us?"

 

"That tells us that there is something approaching us and I don't know about you, but if I'm going to be attacked, I'd like a warning," his response was snarky and I didn't appreciate it. I was beginning to think that maybe this wasn't in my head. It was hard to believe that if I was imagining this that I would create a creature so scornful. “On the other hand, it also alerts whatever is out there that we are here.”

 

The relief that temporarily came with the news that we wouldn’t be blindsided fled once the catch-22 was revealed. This time, I forced my mouth to change the subject to my disbelief of this world, in an inoffensive way possible. "Assuming that this is real…”

 

He didn't let me finish, "You either believe or you don't. But you need to ask yourself why exactly you don't think this is real. Is it that scientifically you don't that there are things that the universe can do that your kind can't comprehend?"

 

"Of course not..." I had always thought the possibly of aliens or other life forms were a possibility. So why was this so hard for me to accept?

 

"Then is it that the things you’re seeing couldn't possibly exist because it doesn't fit into your realm of normalcy? They teach you about dinosaurs, which you've never seen and yet so many of your people believe in them because some scientist found bones in the ground. Yet, they say that dragons or my kind can't exist because they don't have 'proof'. Perhaps the proof is there and they just aren’t looking hard enough."

 

"When you put it that way..."

 

Again he cut me off and I was starting to get aggravated. "All it takes is a little faith and belief in what you have decided to call impossible. It might do you some good."

 

"You're pretty good at the guilt trip thing," I stated, finally able to finish a sentence.

 

"I've had a lot of practice," he was completely blunt, I wasn't used to this level of honesty where I was from.

 

I decided that maybe he was right, what harm had it caused Alice when she fell into Wonderland. Either I would wake up and it would have been a fascinating dream or...it would be real and in that case I'd probably have to convince myself that it was only a dream for my sanity's sake. Just to be safe I knew I should be just as cautious as I had always been and then some, so belief in this dream world it was, as hard as it may be. I wondered if the others Tauni had guided had been so opened minded - probably not. I had always had a pension for silly things like far off worlds and mythical creatures - I guessed I had always sort of wished I could run away to a place like this.

 

"Once we get to Alaria, then what? When can I go home? My mom's sick and she needs me." I hadn't thought about her since I'd met Tauni and it was probably the longest I had gone without thinking of her in a long time. Surprisingly I didn't feel as guilty as I thought I would and I wondered if it was because I still didn't fully believe that this was real or if I knew that I could trust in Oliver to take care of everything.

 

"That all depends on you." His lack of elaboration was frustrating.

 

"What do you mean? If it's up to me then I want to go now," I said angrily. "Send me back now."

 

Tauni turned to me, "If it was that easy I would. You're bossy, you know. I don't like the bossy ones," he muttered the last like I wasn't standing right in front of him. "I said it depends on you. Not that it's up to you." I didn't respond - there was no need to. My face said that I was puzzled and he would need to explain further. "You will stand before the Council and they will give you your prophecy. If you fulfill it you will be permitted to pass back through the Threshold into your world."

 

I protested at his aloof declaration as if I should be content with it. "I didn't ask for this. I never wanted to come here."

 

"No one does, it's random."

 

"Well then they should...I don't know, stop it from happening. People can't just be uprooted from their lives to fulfill a prophecy in your world."

 

"When you figure out how to prevent traveling through a wormhole let the Council know and I'm sure that they would consider putting a stop to it. But seeing as how you’re a teenager, you probably haven't figured out how Quantum Mechanics work."

 

He lost me at wormhole and by the time he got to Quantum Mechanics my head was spinning. "Whoa, you're going to have to slow down. What are you talking about?"

 

"You've slipped into an alternate universe and..." I searched my mind for the meaning of the words; it was something that once examined became a web of confusion.

 

Realizing that he hadn’t tried to continue, I prompted him "And?" But Tauni was distracted.

 

"And ended up..." again he paused, looking past me, "in...a...DUCK!"

      "In a du..." I didn't get to finish the question because he pulled me to the ground. Not a moment later the air swished above me and took my hair with it, until it was covering my face. Brushing the tickling strands away, I stared into Tauni's wide eyed face. Then, I looked behind him and I'm sure my expression trumped his.

 

"Ba...ba...behind you," I fearfully stuttered and pointed to the culprit that had my hair a mess and me in the dirt once again.