WayFinder (The Fool's Journey)

Chapter 16: Tallulah

After I crossed through the silver portal, I sat quietly in third eye replaying my meeting with Arcania. My reactions to him seemed to be growing more and more intense with each visit, but this time even more so. I was having a hard time keeping my wayward thoughts in check, especially after realizing that his energy was just like a past version of myself. 

I desperately wanted him to take me in that field many times over. His apparent anger, an emotion I had never seen in him before, left my body aching with desire. There was only so much I could guess about him, but his rampant emotion today had reflected in his energy. Arcania had been worried about me, and that knowing drove me absolutely wild. Why had he been worried? I didn’t know, and I knew he would never tell me. 

I sighed as my eyes slowly opened to the bright light of the sun and the glowing energy. My vessel felt warmed from lying on the ground for so long. I flexed my fingers and limbs as my consciousness slowly settled back into my body. As it did, I groaned at the feeling of my skin being stretched too tight, it bordered on painful. My stomach felt like I had eaten too much though there was no bloat. The intense itchiness I felt all over did nothing to help, if anything it had grown worse since this morning. 

I breathed deeply as more energy poured into me, hoping it would alleviate some of the feeling, but then I froze when I had the feeling I was being watched. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I turned my head to the left, checking to see if there was a silhouette in the cave entrance. I saw no one. I turned to the right, and there sat a woman a few feet from me with a multicolored bag slung over her shoulder. Her shorts-clad legs were crossed as she leaned back on her hands. I stared transfixed as the sun caressed the skin of her exposed face, legs, and hands.

"Um, hi. I'm Tallulah. I didn't want to interrupt your meditation, so I decided to sit and wait. You sure do meditate for a long time,” she said in a low-pitched, friendly voice.

I gazed at Tallulah, fascinated. She was the first person I'd met so far that could stand out here.

"Hi," I breathed. 

We both just stared at each other for a moment. She looked to be around my age, perhaps a bit older. Her face was a lovely display of her heritage. Indigenous and black. Her olive toned skin glimmered under the caress of the golden energy. A short curly bob framed her oval shaped face. She had high prominent cheekbones and a wide nose. A pair of deep brown eyes stared back at me. 

I smiled. She smiled back.

"I'm Sienna," I offered without moving.

"Nice to meet you Sie, as I said I’m Tallulah. I've been walking for a few hours and you're the first person I've seen out here," Tallulah spoke as she turned her face to the energy. A small smile appeared on her face.

I rolled onto my side, and lifted up onto my elbow, "You haven't seen any others in the sun?" 

She shook her head, “Nope, just me and the energy. And now you of course.”

"When did you realize you could?" I asked, curiosity lacing my tone.

"The smoke told me this morning. I see visions in it," Tallulah grinned. 

I looked at her in awe.

"That is so cool," I smiled.

"How did you know?" Tallulah asked, as she rolled onto her stomach with her chin in her hands and her feet in the air.

I laughed at her change in position. It gave the impression that we were having girltalk.

"I got a vision about it through third eye a few weeks ago. Though I couldn’t decipher it entirely before today," I admitted.