Stacy--Part Thirty-Nine

Splog # 142

Thirty-Nine

   So Stacy walked forward into the gently lighted darkness, accompanied by a file of ants on either side of her. She proceeded somewhat slowly as there was something about walking under the earth that wasn't conducive to striding along as she had up above prior to her fall. Recalling her mishap, she was grateful to realize that both her ankle and her knee were feeling less strained and achy. Maybe this gentler pace is good for them, she thought. And now, in the quiet of the cavern, she began to hear a rushing that reminded her of wind blowing through trees. She looked up in search of any natural chimneys or flues in the earthen ceiling above her that would be creating such a sound. But the ground above her, which also happened to be laced with designs of light, seemed to be devoid of anything that might create what was assailing her ears. She continued  walking on and thought that possibly the sound could be made by water in motion, an underground stream maybe. Then she  became aware that the dark space ahead of her, between the glowing walls, was now lighting up in a chaos of shining designs. As if she were approaching a solid wall. She wondered if she were coming into a cavern of some kind. The noise was becoming quite loud also. And after about ten steps she found that the passageway she'd been travelling through ended at what seemed to be an underground river. The water was flowing in a channel directly across her path. And there seemed to be no path on the other side, merely a wall of the strangely lighted rock. She looked down to see what the ants were doing and found that they were moving up and down a short flight of stone steps that led down to the water. And there was something in the water at the bottom of the steps. She felt a little unsure about this whole undertaking by this point. But one look behind her into the darkness where the wall lights were fading and she knew she couldn't go back  now. As she walked down the steps, she discovered that the object at the bottom was a raft. Just the thing I need to proceed further, she thought. Whenever an obstacle appeared, it seemed some counter to it also appeared. She studied the raft in the dim light. She could see the logs composing it all nestled against each other, but not what was holding them together. The raft seemed rather large for one passenger. But why should she assume that she was the only one who would use it? And there was a large bulk at the left end of the raft. With the water flowing to her right, she assumed the left was the rear of the craft. The shape almost looked like a couch or a huge pile of pillows. It looked soft and she thought it would be comfortable to recline as she floated along. The raft was directly adjacent to the last step and it seemed as if all she need do was step aboard and shove off. Then she noticed that the ants were milling around up and down the steps but were not going on board the raft. In fact, it looked as though more ants were going up the steps than down and the population ajacent seemed to be thinning out somewhat. It occurred to her that they might not go any farther and she envisioned herself travelling alone on the raft on an underghround river. She wasn't too sure if she was keen on the idea. And then, from the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a slight movement from the shadowy bulk at the back of the raft. She peered closely to try to get a clearer sighting of exactly what was there. As she gazed through the darkness, she found colors becoming more vivid, though still in shadow. Impressions of orange and yellow grew in her sight with some darker patches here and there. A slightly rhythmic motion encompassed it which could have been the water it floated on but also reminded her of breath going in and out. And when a long and thin rope-like something rose in the air for a moment and then returned to the surface of the raft, she rushed back up the stairs without thinking of the ants under her feet or the aches in her limbs. It was the tiger! The tiger that had leaped over her and ran ahead of her was now asleep on the raft she was supposed to travel on. She stood at the top of the stairs breathing heavily and thinking her only option was to return to the valley. Then she thought of the ants and looked down to see what damage she had done. She was standing in a clear space at the top of the steps. Ants surrounded her in a wide semi-circle and, to her surprise, they were relatively motionless. She didn't think she could reach to step over them so that must mean they were trying to keep her here. But if they didn't want her to go back, did that mean they wanted her to go with the tiger?