Eyeseffendee

7

As the darkness tip toed away, the husky twilight squatted where the stars had been, not longer than a few moments ago. The red rocks woke up, but none of them had the energy to get up and stretch; They wished to snooze for a little longer. The landscape was sleepy; nocturnal animals were huddling down, ready to sleep through the hot day.

I followed Saguaro (or Sarah) through the sleeping land.

"They're a little skittish, and they'll come off as rude at first, but don't worry, they'll get used to you." Saguaro babbled on, flicking her carmelish tail back and forth.

I needed to pick up the pace of my limp in order to keep up with her happy gait. I couldn't tell where we were headed at first, but as soon as sunlight striked the red cliffs, I could see a shallow cave in the face of the stone. It was taller than the largest tree I had ever seen (which wasn't saying much, trees didn't get very tall in the desert) and barely deep enough to provide shade. A little pool of water glittered in the base of the cave like a mirage, reflecting spider webs o light across the ceiling. Looking at it made me remember my dry throat. I hoped it was real.

"Does your . . . flock live in the cave?" I asked.

"Yep! It's nothing fancy, but it has everything we need: shade, water, a connection to the spirit realm-"

"Wait, what?" I cut her off. "Connection to the spirit realm?"

"Would you stop interrupting me? It's very rude, and I'd appreciate if you wouldn't do that!"

"Sorry." I mumbled.

"Spirits can't come to this world unless they have a connection, a bridge or a ladder, from the spirit realm. Reflected light from water, especially shaded water, is a great stepping-stone for spirits." Saguaro said.

I waited for her to pause before I spoke. "Wait, what is the spirit realm? And why would they want to come here, where it's hot and dry?"

"Oh dear," she stopped and turned around to stare at me. "you don't know what the spirit realm is? The place where the unearthly creatures come from, where they travel across the starry sky?"

I shook my head. I think I had heard of the spirit realm, from an old pup-tale, but I couldn't remember anything besides the memory of being snuggled up in a den of the Piedra tribe's hollow, looking up to the stars in the sky while Creek told Sego and I the old stories . . . the memory made me ache.

"I don't know all the details, but the spirit realm is basically a place where creatures who don't live on Earth can travel across the sky, moving all around the Earth, other planets, or even other galaxies. My flock rests at our cave during the day and travels in the spirit realm during the night. They're scared of the darkness. I think that's weird, the sky is even darker than Earth! Anyways, I should let them explain it to you. They're a lot better at talking than I am." Saguaro said.

"Really?" I asked sarcastically.

"They are so good at talking! They use all sorts of fancy words, I can't understand them most of the time. But they're really smart. They know so much. You'll love them!"

I didn't love them. I didn't like them either.

A flash of light shimmered from the pond, and the water began to stir. I thought my eyes were just playing a trick on me, but after a heart beat, a dozen shimmering forms of light crawled out of the water and onto the sand. They didn't have any distinctive form or shape; just soft, glowing bodies, floating around the cave like feathers caught in a warm breeze. If I followed one with my eyes, it looked like a rabbit, or a small coyote, but in half a second it turned back into a shapeless form.