The Seventh Direction

PART THREE: Stalking Violet. Episode 62

["D/A" narrates. An' a one an' a two —A.A.]

I started to laugh again, but spin me the other way and I could have easily been crying I don't know why. "We—" but now the laughter was gone, I felt myself numbing. "We used to hear the count, back then. But the polka music would only start after the silent three-four count—the three-four count always silent, and then the dancing would begin—the two or the three step, and we kids would laugh our heads off. Funny, how I used to laugh at old Larry, but eventually I came to love the guy. Funny as he'd seemed to me as a kid because he was so different, I knew later in life that he was genuine. Yeah. In the end, I think so, he caught-on to a funny reason or two which helped him to become famous. He would play-up his own idiosyncrasies, old Larry would, and we watched him every week,"

"Come out with it now, Jay," Lady El said after a moment. Wonder who wears the pants in their family? "We know something's up. Out with it now, and tell us what's up."

"This thicket is way too small," he said, and he flew round and round, a blue blur, till the thicket was more to his liking.

"Nice," she said. Master J' had shaped his full-blown self behind Lady El and was rubbing her shoulders. Odd, I could feel him rubbing mine too, and could've easily said to him: "Two places at once. Nice one, Jay, 'an' a one an' a—'" but instead I repeated The Lady's question: "What's up, Master J'?"

Something was up. Way up. I felt it powerful in the atmosphere now, in the thicket. Dear God knows how fast I was becoming nervous. Wyl—I knew Master J' was highly connected to Wyl, I knew he was working with him (obvious), and I had many nervous-born questions firing in my head . . . one of them as to JUST how highly they were connected. About to man-up and ask him what the hell was going on—

"I think he's okay now," Master J' said. "I was at work with him but had to let him go it alone. He just needed some added energy, and so not to interfere—"

"You THINK he's okay now!?" My heart suddenly leapt. Sank. I felt suddenly gutted.

"Trust, and let me finish. So . . . not to interfere, I came here and stirred things up a little. Fractals? You know? Laughter IS sometimes the best medicine, and young Wyllen's skills are such that I trust he picked-up on the energy here. Understand me? But I have to go now, this trial of his is almost over." And there on Lady El's shoulder he morphed bluebird once again; then he hopped onto mine and danced a little two step, until half-heartedly I giggled—fretfully. Then Jaybird flew low through the thicket, down a path I knew well. I suddenly felt cold.

"Trust him," El said, "He knows what he's doing." We both stood at once and embraced for a long, warm moment . . . and when we broke, I saw a tear in her eye, and one rolled down my cheek. "I will teach you about sorrow sometime. I promise. I'm better with sorrow than Jay is, I don't mind saying. For now, though, just think of sorrow as a gateway and go through it."

I turned my eyes inward. A gateway, I thought, and my spirits lifted a bit, enough that I felt the energy within sorrow, a massive energy, and, using it, took the moment to follow her bidding. When I returned my eyes outward, Lady El had a pile of earth in her hands. Instinctively, I cupped mine, and she let it pour till my hands were half full.

"We need to talk about our Mother Earth now," she said, seriously. Too seriously. "Mother Earth, beneath her crust— Oh, let's not do this," she changed her mind. "Let's change it up."

"Change what up?" I asked.

"Tonight's lesson, which is or was rooted in a probability that's now changed. The lesson, though, hasn't changed much, but the root and the reason has, due to a recent event we hadn't banked on earlier: Your little trip to Avalon, my dear?" (Avalon?) My new plan is just to change it up, in the moment. So now I am going to do just that. Way up!"