Fly ∆way Girl

|22|

|ROLL ∆W∆Y YOUR STONE|

I was hesitant to open my eyes when Josiah let my hand go. He could have taken me anywhere. I believe that more than anything. Given what I know about him, which still isn't much, he is extraordinary.

I finally did open my eyes, and bright light forced me to close them once more.

Once they were ready, my eyes took in the breath-taking scene before me. The sun was rising before us. I was witnessing it from a whole new perspective. It seemed as if I weren't on earth anymore, but floating around in space.

We were on the top of a mountain, but we seemed to be much higher than any human could go. It was more than just a birds eye view, it wasn't anything's view. It was more than looking at earth from space, I have seen some pretty incredible pictures, but they didn't come close to this one.

I could feel the warmth of it all around me, even within my soul some how.

Is this how moths feel? Is this why they are so drawn to light? If so, I can relate. I am like a moth after all; I am mesmerized by the dazzling light.

The ground below me was covered in the greenest of grasses, and it was soft to the touch; unlike any I have ever felt.

Though we were on a mountain, I could see no slopes. It was a layer of grass, then puffy white clouds around. The sun seemed to be everywhere, surrounding everything.

I wanted to question where we were, but I remembered how hesitant Josiah was to answer my questions. So, I went with a different one.

"Is this real?" I asked. It seems impossible, too perfect to be a part of this world. I'm so used to everything in the spirit world being creepy and depressing. This place is a nice relief.

He smiled. Instead of giving me an answer, he returned questions. I shouldn't have expected any less from Josiah. With him, everything is a teachable moment. "Can you feel the warmth, the grass, the breeze?"

Just as he said it, a breeze picked up a piece of my hair, and blew it behind my shoulder. The sudden air made me aware of my skin, it tickled it. "Yes." I answered.

"What scents do you notice?" He asked.

I took in a few deep breaths. I've grown so used to smelling nothing, that I hadn't noticed before. "I smell grass. It smells freshly cut..." I suddenly remembered being at my grandpa's house in the summer time, and watching him cut the grass. I loved being there with him, and playing in the yard.

"If you can feel it, and smell it, and see it..."

I cut him off excitedly. "Then it is real!" I said. Just knowing that this amazing place really exists made me feel butterflies inside my tummy; yet another feeling I haven't had in a while. Oddly as it sounds, I missed it. It's a feeling that makes me feel human, and I definitely miss that.

Thoughts of Larson clouded my brain. He wasn't real. Those were Josiah's words, but I still don't quite understand them.

"Larson wasn't real..." I said quietly. It wasn't exactly a question, but I was hoping he would elaborate. Maybe I was still trying to convince myself...

Instead, he took my hand in his. "Close your eyes, Harley."

I did as he asked. "Now, tell me what you feel." He said.

I thought about it, trying to put my senses back to use. "I feel the warmth of your hand under mine."

He closed the other on top, sandwiching mine in between. "Now your other hand is on top of mine. It's soft, yet strong."

I was suddenly pulled into a tight embrace. I still held my eyes shut.

His whisper was in my ear. "What do you notice?"

I concentrated harder, I wanted to get the message from all this. I took deep breaths once more. "You smell like a rose, a white one specifically." I'm not sure how I knew that specific smell, but I did. "You smell like an ocean breeze, the air after a light shower, or a green forest..." So many wonderful smells came to mind, I couldn't pick just one. He smelled like so many nice things.

"How do you feel?" He whispered again.

I tried to relax to get the full affect. I noticed several things at once. "I feel happy, almost like I could cry tears of joy. I feel warm, and safe. I feel like nothing bad has ever happened to me, or ever will. I feel like I could do anything. I could fly. I am soaring. I feel weightless..."

"Open your eyes Harley." Josiah said.

The sun's brightness greeted me again, but I quickly noticed that we were no longer on ground, nor was any visible.

We were in the sky. Clouds were just beneath our feet, and I realized we were standing in them. How is that possible? I didn't have a freak out moment like one would expect. I knew I was safe with Josiah.

"I am real." He said.

I believed him. I've felt him. He was really there. The more I thought about it, I determined that I never felt Larson. His touch wasn't really there. I never could smell him. Maybe I never really heard him. I only saw him, and that must have been a hallucination. Larson wasn't real, but Josiah was. He was here with me the entire time.

My heart started to race as more realizations came to light. I was alone the entire time I've been here. I was talking to a hallucination. Nothing I said to him mattered. Nothing he told me mattered. It was all fake, made up by my own imagination. How many weeks have I been here alone? Three, four? Josiah was the only one really there, and I told him to leave...

I could cry. I could feel tears of sadness and fear. Am I crazy? Have I gone totally insane? Talking to yourself doesn't make you crazy, but talking to a person you made up for weeks and weeks, well that lands pretty high up on the crazy list...

"Josiah..." I'm not even sure of what I wanted to say to him, what could I even ask now? "How can this be? How did I imagine all of the things that happened here?"

"It wasn't all imagined. It's very complicated, Harley. Rather than explaining, I'd rather just show you." Josiah said.
"I have so much you need to see for yourself. It's going to hurt you, and bring back the pain you've been shutting out, but it is necessary." His brown eyes bore into mine. They seemed to already be looking into our future. They held sadness, for me I assume.

"I want to know what happened to me. I need to know." Even if I still have to move on to another "world", I can't go on not knowing. I don't want to exist anymore without knowing the truth.

"I want you to know. I want you to understand why things happened the way they did."

"I'm ready to see." I said. I was definitely nervous. I was afraid to know what happened, and frightened of the secrets we may uncover, but it is necessary to know. I have to trust Josiah if I want to know the truth.

I interlocked my fingers with his, and closed my eyes. "I'm ready." I said.