Matilda Jane and The Abysmal Road

Chapter 6

            Matilda shared a quick breakfast with Rory and Morfi and a long tearful goodbye the next morning, they were all still off put by this city and wanted to depart at dawn so they were up before the sun, and thankfully before Shay. "It will take me a week or so to get back to you. It's best if you keep on the road, don't detour unless it's for a good reason. Stay sure of yourself and walk confidently, dearie." Morfi was still in human form, so he hugged her, "I will miss you." MJ had no doubt now that Morfi was a true friend, and hoped she'd be blessed enough to find more souls like his, and Rory's. Rory also hugged her and promised she'd make her way back on the road once she knew her mother was okay. As the sun began to rise over Mimic city and they heard the mayor start to stir upstairs, they made their departure.

               Making her way forward on the Abysmal road alone once more, MJ occupied herself by making wreaths from the surrounding shrubbery as she walked. When she finished one, she tied them to a tree or laid it on a rock and began to make another. She only stopped to sleep, eat, and meditate, though she didn't have much to distract her; this part of the road was mostly barren other than the trees, stones, and sky. It occurred to her that she hadn't seen a single animal in several days, and if this continued she may have to stray from the road to find more food. Her current supply would last her only a day more. Morfi should be back in a few days, so she wouldn't starve if he returned on time, but she wondered if he was susceptible to detours. Thanks to the solitude though, her meditations began to take her places she had never been before. They became lucid, and one night she found herself in a temple. This holy ground felt so pure she was over taken with humbleness and dropped to her knees.

       She prayed for Morfi's safe return, for Rory and her mother's safety, even for the soul of the Aswang to be given a chance at redemption if it should reincarnate. She wished the people in her origin city to be well, and she asked her deities and ancestors for guidance. She hardly noticed when a man entered the temple, only taking note of him when he kneeled next to her, smiling. There was nothing threatening or concerning about his aura or soul, so she let him be and let herself seep in her prayers. He did not disturb her either, but as she wrapped up her blessings, she found him standing before her with his hand extended for her to stand and was overwhelmed by his presence. The man was toned in the way years of hard work shaped the body, with ginger curls nearly as long as hers and eyes the shade of limes. Reading his soul more she found it resonated with hers, like it had with Morfi but more intense- as if their souls were truly bound to each other through all time and space. "Well it's about time I found you, Matilda." she took his hand as he spoke her name in a wonderful accent, knowing him immediately. 

             "Arthur, have I really found you?" MJ asked in spite of seeing her soulmate before her. Everything here felt so real she couldn't tell if she had fallen into another dimension again or if she was astral projecting, something Morfi had told her about on occasion where the soul is able to travel from the body to non physical realms. She had apparently done it when she found Morfi, but with nothing to ground her soul to her body she washed up in his domain. "You and I seemed to have found each other in our meditations." he confirmed her suspicions, "I can't say our conscious selves will remember this meeting. But I am delighted to see you, regardless." Arthur pulled Matilda into a tight embrace and she felt what seemed to be the whole universe shaking in delight at their reunion. Wherever this place was, it was clear to them both they had met in many lives, and they would in many more. 

           When Matilda awoke, she did not remember. She felt refreshed though, and  after a small breakfast she made way on the road again. She traveled all day and found her way to a wonderful lake, brimming with fish not far from the road. It was nestled at the base of a mountain, surrounded by tropical terrain. "Now this is more like it!" Matilda took only a few steps off the road before hesitating, this could be considered a detour, and Morfi had warned her many times that not everything here was as it seemed. The day was nearly over though, and she was nearly out of food and water, so it did seem like a necessary detour at least. Weighing her options and checking her bag to survey her supplies, she found a blue box that wasn't familiar. "Did Rory leave this?" she wondered aloud before peeking inside. 

            Matilda found in the box an old and very ornate compass, scribed on the back were the words 'Anima sana in corpore sano vivit'  which she knew as her own mantra, 'A sound soul lives within a sound body'.  The compass felt cool in her hands and gave off a low hum which she realized was of a similar wavelength to the call of the Abyssmal road. She tinkered with the compass to test her theory, walking some to the left, and the right, and then from whence she came and in every direction she went, the compass pointed towards the way she needed to go on the Abyssmal road. "Well wherever this came from, leaving the road to get food and water couldn't hurt now." MJ scooped a handful of large black pebbles on the ground and headed towards the lake, making a trail of them as an extra protection.