Stacy--Part Nine

Splog # 32

Nine

   Stacy started to ask again how Splog knew her name but he put his finger to his lips and then pointed over the side of the arch. He looked that way for a moment and then brought his hand back in front of him with his index finger pointing up. This gesture said to Stacy both "Wait a minute" and "Listen".

   Splog turned and walked to the right side of the arch and went out onto it a little way. There was a curb at the side and he approached it and stopped. He seemed to be both listening and looking for something at the same time. Stacy walked up beside him to find out if there was anything to see or hear. When she looked down from the arch, all she could see was mist. She looked to her right, again at the marble chair. But when she looked to her left, past where Splog was standing, she began to make out a landscape. It was as though she had tears in her eyes which were gradually drying. The landscape appeared blurry and out of focus. But she blinked her eyes a few times and then as she gazed at it, it began to come clear. She saw a large plain with a few scattered small houses or shacks and here and there a tree. There was a road that seemed to wind aimlessly with so many curves and turns that it sometimes seemed to be heading back the way it had just come.  She didn't see anything moving. No birds or squirrels or other wildlife. But maybe that was because she was too far away. There didn't seem to be any signs of greenery either. The plain seemed dusty and gray. The leaves on the trees may have been green but from here she could only see that they were a dull color, whatever it was.

   And then she realized the whispering was filling the air around her again. "I can't remember my name." She looked at Splog and he nodded at her with raised eyebrows.

   "Who are they?" she asked.

   "They're the Doolins. They live out in that plain you can see to the left there."

   "What happened to them?"

   "I'll tell you all about that after you've had a bite to eat and rested a little."

   "Oh, I'm not at all tired. I feel rather - I don't know exactly how to express it - I feel free. But I'm not sure why I say 'free'.  The air is nice here. It gives a spark of energy when I inhale it." Stacy laughed. She suddenly had the urge to run or jump or twirl.

   Splog just looked at her. "Go ahead," he said.

   So she ran up the stairs to the chair, encircled it once and than ran back down to Splog.

   "How did you know my name? Where am I? Did you know there were faces floating in the air? Were they the Doolins that you mentioned? Why am I here? Is Splog really your name? How did I get here? Is your butterfly the same one I saw this morning? Is there something wrong with those people? I'm not dreaming, am I?"

   Stacy took a pause wondering if there were any questions she had left out. Splog pointed again to the butterfly on his hat. Stacy looked at it for a moment and then looked back at Splog. Splog said nothing but pointed again to the butterfly. Stacy looked back to it and waited. She wondered if something was supposed to happen. Maybe it would turn colors or disappear or change size or who knows what. But still nothing happened and again she looked back to Splog. He closed his eyes and pointed at the butterfly. Stacy was at a loss so she closed her eyes too. She waited for a few moments and then opened them again. Splog was looking at her with a smile and pointing to his hat. But there was no butterfly on it. The butterfly was fluttering around their heads.