Eric--Part Fourteen

Fourteen

   Eric started walking faster and faster, wanting to get away from Bev and Nol and be somewhere alone so he could think about what had been happening to him. The full moon was directly overhead and the path was wide enough that the shadows from the trees lining it didn't cause much difficulty as he rushed down the unfamiliar trail. The darkness did increase somewhat as the burning building receded behind him. He thought about the fire and how quickly the small building had been consumed. And then a sudden thought struck him and he stopped so abruptly that Nol and Bev were upon him within seconds. They remained silent and he looked at them both for a moment and then turned and slowly started making his way back to the clearing in the woods. As he walked he puzzled over the thought that had flashed into his mind. He had been in a building with a group of people. The building had caught fire and everyone had left, but not in the manner he had expected. There was no rushing or shouting. No one had seemed frightened. Bev and Nol had pulled him outside but not frantically or in haste. And, except for a burst of heat when, he assumed, the fire had started, he had experienced none of the physical sensations that he imagined he would being present in or nearby an edifice when it was consumed by fire. The air surrounding the building hadn't seemed as though it were getting hotter. There were no leaping flames or billows of smoke. There was none of the chaos of a raging inferno, although that image could be somewhat of an exaggeration. There were simply flames that seemed to be following the outline of the building. They had started in the hearth and then emerged from it, consuming the back wall and spreading to the ceiling, the side walls and the floor.

   As he was pondering all these things, he re-entered the clearing and saw, to his astonishment, that the door with the stars on it was still standing. He approached it warily, figuring it wouldn't take much for its precarious balance to be disturbed. When he got to it he found that, though it wasn't attached to anything, it was still standing firmly and steadily. He touched it gingerly at first, and then pressed on it with the flat of his palm. It retained all the strength it had once possessed as part of a complete structure. And it was cool to the touch, though less than half an hour ago it had been surrounded by fire.

   Eric turned to see Nol and Bev standing a short distance behind him, watching him patiently and a little curiously. He noticed that Bev didn't have the rabbit in her arms any more and wondered when she released it. Had it been with her when she sat next to him and watched the building burn? But that wasn't important. He looked back to the door and then stepped to the side so he could view the remains of the building. He expected to see a smoldering ruin. He looked once and then turned back to Nol and Bev. He looked again and then stepped forward onto the ground where the building had stood earlier in the day. From what he could see in the moonlight, there was no sign or trace that at any time there had been a building on this plot of land. Just an expanse of ground with here and there a few tufts of straggly grass poking up through the dirt. He walked clear to the back and could see the train tracks. He squatted down and then he could see a line indented into the dirt. He stood up and followed it to a corner, turned and traced it to another corner and then it brought him to the door, still mysteriously standing freely, attached to nothing. On the other side of the door, he could see the line proceed to another corner and then turn and run back to the railroad tracks.

   So there remained some trace of the building here. There had been people chanting and Nol had brought him inside and Bev had a rabbit and now there was only a door and Eric had no idea where he was or what he was doing here and he was exhausted.

   Nol came up to him and quietly said, "Since it's late, come and stay with me and we'll start again tomorrow. It's a great night. We'll stroll back and get some rest. You haven't changed your mind, have you?"

   Eric started walking faster and faster, wanting to get away from Bev and Nol and be somewhere alone so he could think about what had been happening to him. The full moon was directly overhead and the path was wide enough that the shadows from the trees lining it didn't cause much difficulty as he rushed down the unfamiliar trail. The darkness did increase somewhat as the burning building receded behind him. He thought about the fire and how quickly the small building had been consumed. And then a sudden thought struck him and he stopped so abruptly that Nol and Bev were upon him within seconds. They remained silent and he looked at them both for a moment and then turned and slowly started making his way back to the clearing in the woods. As he walked he puzzled over the thought that had flashed into his mind. He had been in a building with a group of people. The building had caught fire and everyone had left, but not in the manner he had expected. There was no rushing or shouting. No one had seemed frightened. Bev and Nol had pulled him outside but not frantically or in haste. And, except for a burst of heat when, he assumed, the fire had started, he had experienced none of the physical sensations that he imagined he would being present in or nearby an edifice when it was consumed by fire. The air surrounding the building hadn't seemed as though it were getting hotter. There were no leaping flames or billows of smoke. There was none of the chaos of a raging inferno, although that image could be somewhat of an exaggeration. There were simply flames that seemed to be following the outline of the building. They had started in the hearth and then emerged from it, consuming the back wall and spreading to the ceiling, the side walls and the floor.

   As he was pondering all these things, he re-entered the clearing and saw, to his astonishment, that the door with the stars on it was still standing. He approached it warily, figuring it wouldn't take much for its precarious balance to be disturbed. When he got to it he found that, though it wasn't attached to anything, it was still standing firmly and steadily. He touched it gingerly at first, and then pressed on it with the flat of his palm. It retained all the strength it had once possessed as part of a complete structure. And it was cool to the touch, though less than half an hour ago it had been surrounded by fire.

   Eric turned to see Nol and Bev standing a short distance behind him, watching him patiently and a little curiously. He noticed that Bev didn't have the rabbit in her arms any more and wondered when she released it. Had it been with her when she sat next to him and watched the building burn? But that wasn't important. He looked back to the door and then stepped to the side so he could view the remains of the building. He expected to see a smoldering ruin. He looked once and then turned back to Nol and Bev. He looked again and then stepped forward onto the ground where the building had stood earlier in the day. From what he could see in the moonlight, there was no sign or trace that at any time there had been a building on this plot of land. Just an expanse of ground with here and there a few tufts of straggly grass poking up through the dirt. He walked clear to the back and could see the train tracks. He squatted down and then he could see a line indented into the dirt. He stood up and followed it to a corner, turned and traced it to another corner and then it brought him to the door, still mysteriously standing freely, attached to nothing. On the other side of the door, he could see the line proceed to another corner and then turn and run back to the railroad tracks.

   So there remained some trace of the building here. There had been people chanting and Nol had brought him inside and Bev had a rabbit and now there was only a door and Eric had no idea where he was or what he was doing here and he was exhausted.

   Nol came up to him and quietly said, "Since it's late, come and stay with me and we'll start again tomorrow. It's a great night. We'll stroll back and get some rest. You haven't changed your mind, have you?"