Song of a Sophomore

CHAPTER 30 - Voodoo People

The music pulsated. My body throbbed in response. Figures danced wildly around me, singing along to the hip-hop songs, country ballads and techno beats blasting through the air in wavelengths I could practically see and feel. The light of the fire danced on their faces, twisting them into odd, menacing shapes as they clutched red, plastic cups. I was aware of them, but laser focused on the blanket beneath me. It was so velvety and soft, like a bearskin rug against naked flesh. I thrashed around, stroking the delicate fibers.

It was like something switched gears inside me and accelerated my energy level into the red zone. Full power. The urge to dance pulled me to my feet. Throwing my arms up, kicking my legs, rocking back and forth at a frenzied pace, I moved with the music. I became the music, wild and free like an animal let out of its cage.

Out of the corner of my eye, a menacing wolf passed. Then, a formidable red bull. A haughty turquoise peacock. A sly snowy leopard. A seductive black swan. A glowing princess. A menagerie of mystical creatures crowded around me looking, pointing and laughing. I reached out for them. I reached out for them but they seemed to vaporize in thin air.

A sharp tap erupted on my shoulder and I spun around, dizzy with need to feel the touch something again. The bull stared down at me—a penetrating, soul-searching stare. I orbited him, dancing wildly in the firelight. The peacock and the princess took my hands and encircled the bull. We danced madly in a trance, like primitive people must have done for tens of thousands of years. Wild. Tribal.

The scene dissolved into blurry shapes, blended colors, and flashes of light. I fell to my knees. The wolf lifted me to my feet. His ferocious fangs jutted forward and threatened to tear me apart. I stepped back in fear. The synapses of my brain fired to the maximum. I didn't know where to look or what to do. It was all so overwhelming.

I need space.

I stumbled off into the field. The darkness enveloped me. I shuffled through slippery grass, which tickled at my bare feet, and found my way into the tangled maze of the vineyard. Time slowed to a crawl. It felt like I hovered six inches above the ground as I made my way down the row of vines. They reached out to me like bony fingers and tore at my dress. The autumn breeze rushed down the corridor of vines, chilling me to the bone.

A voice rang out from far away. "Rosy," it called.

I crouched down and held myself, tears streaming down my cheeks. I got lost in the sensation of my hands against the bare skin of my arms.

"Rosy... where did you fly off to?"

The pitch changed dramatically from one moment to the next. I shuddered and peered through the vines. The dragon prowled past, just a few feet away. The bull charged down the row behind me kicking up dust, its sharp horns menacing and fierce. A buck with wide, innocent eyes and majestic antlers stood at the end of the grapevine. The sight of it washed me in peace and calm. I felt a kindred connection with the beautiful beast.

I blinked and it was gone.

"Found her." It was the peacock. Her iridescent feathers poked at my face. She pulled me to my feet. "Come with me, little bird."

The vineyard released its icy grip on my flesh as we approached the bonfire. Figures rose and fell against the rippling flames. Their dark shapes mingled into one body, pulsating like a beating heart. It gathered and moved toward the road, winding like a serpent over the rough gravel. The bull lead the way, carrying a delicate princess on his back. Others followed behind, walking single file in a procession, chanting song lyrics in a drunken stupor. I brought up the rear, holding onto the peacock's hand as she staggered in front of me, pulling her boombox in her free hand. It blasted incantations into the night.

A crumbling structure, like a classical Greek temple, rose from the earth. Firelight lit up the broken windows. I treaded up the decaying front steps and through the open doorway, which glowed with soft, golden light. Inside, a fire roared in the wide, ornate stone fireplace in the center of a great room. An elaborate wooden staircase wound around the perimeter, its bannister like a snake slithering up the walls. The bull and the princess marched up the stairs, circling around and around, up and out of sight. I looked down at the flames of the fire dancing wildly before me. The blaze burned orange and red, forming curves and lines that morphed in and out of existence right before my eyes.

"Little bird," a voice called out.

I looked over my shoulder. The animals thrashed wildly through the first floor rooms, spinning and shouting to the music. I spotted a peacock the size of a woman strutting at the bottom of the staircase. Its showy feathers spread out before me like a fan. In awe of its beauty, I tiptoed closer. In the iridescent sheen of the feathers I caught sight of my own reflection—a fiery red bird with a gold beak and black, beady eyes. I looked down in disbelief, seeing only wings with shiny, scarlet feathers where my hands had once been.

The peacock lowered its glistening feathers to the ground and pivoted toward the stairs. The regal bird bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I followed closely behind with curiosity, careful not to tread on the creature's flightless wings. All of the sudden, I sensed a powerful rush of strength building in my limbs. I reached out, catching the air and, to my utter astonishment, flew into the cavernous expanse of the great room, soaring up above the winding staircase, following it up into the darkness of the third floor. The jagged talons of my feet touched down on the dusty wooden floorboards making a scratching sound against the rotting wooden floors.

A sliver of golden light glowed from underneath a closed door at the end of the long corridor. I treaded slowly down the creaky floorboards taking in this strange new reality. Wonder and anticipation flooded my senses. The door opened as if on cue as I approached, revealing two human figures twisted together as one on the wrought iron bed. Their bare flesh shined in soft glow radiating from a lit fireplace. I took a step backward, in shock.

The statue-come-to-life stared at me with blank eyes. I looked down at the figure below him and saw my own face.

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This is all really out of character for Rose... do you think it will be bad or good for her in the long run? What do you make of her visions?

Sidenote: MDMA/ecstasy is a psychedelic drug associated with rave culture in the 90s. It was taken (and still is) for the altered consciousness if produces as well as increased energy, empathy and pleasure. Interestingly, studies are now showing it can help treat PTSD because it unlocks or awakens a critical "child-like" period in the brain where is a state of neuroplasticity, which allows the brain to change through growth and reorganization. Pretty cool... but also a dangerous and illegal drug.