Delphic Song

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

The first thing I noticed was the sound of crickets chirping nearby. The second was the ensemble of peepers performing their nightly concert, and the next the gentle breeze rustling the foliage around me.

Wait… that wasn’t right. The peepers were never this loud from my room, and my pillow certainly didn’t smell like dirt.

My eyes snapped open, and I was met with a pile of leaves and sticks uncomfortably close to poking them. “Omigod!” I gasped. Jumped up, my head hit something solid above me. “Shit!” I muttered, rubbing the crown of my head. Peering above me, I saw the culprit of the bump. A large tree branch stretched away from the wide trunk of a pine tree. I’d hit my head on the thickest part if the branch.

“That’ll leave a mark,” I grumbled. I glared at the tree irately, then suddenly leaned closer, frowning. I recognized this tree… I paused, trying to remember where I’d seen it before, but then it came to me. I’d seen it last night while I was out looking for Coco, when that stupid cat had escaped – wait a minute. That had been a dream.

Great. You really know you're crazy when you can’t separate dreams from reality, I groaned to myself. The crazy situation still made sense, though. Obviously, my subconscious had recognized this tree and thrown it randomly into my dream last night. It was only a coincidence that I was here now.

Speaking of being here… I glanced around. It was dark, and the trees loomed above me like broken teeth. A cool breeze brought the scent of the coming fall on its wings, sending shivers down my spine. Although it wasn’t a warm breeze, but it was still summer and I shouldn’t be cold. I looked down at myself and did a double take when I realized I was dressed only in an oversized T-shirt and pink underwear. Oh, wonderful: they were the panties that said JUICY across the butt. I groaned to myself. Why did I even own these? It wasn’t like I had a boyfriend to impress.

Yet. I smiled as I thought of Nate.

I climbed out from under the tree, swatting at branches and pine needles that got in my way. As I stepped out from the circumference of undergrowth, I noticed a strange glow reflected off the ground and the trees around me. I frowned. It looked like the light I had seen last night in my dream.

Shaking my head, I dusted off my clothes. That didn’t make sense… unless this was a dream as well. I scowled, exasperated that I was so confused about the line between reality and practicality. The only answer to my question was that this must be a dream as well.

Well, if it’s a dream, then I’ll just go check this weird light out. And if it turns out to be a psycho murderer holding a flashlight or something, then I’ll just die and wake up. Reassured, I stepped forward around the tree and into the light.

For a moment, I shielded my eyes against the light. They weren’t used to the glare yet. When I opened them again, I kept them squeezed in a squint to protect them, and peered out from under my eyelids.

Flickering, wavering, and glowing, the light seemed to have a life of its own. I watched the blue radiance dance across the ground in awe, my eyes widening to the size of large soup bowls. Where was it coming from? I looked to either side of me, then turned to examine the ground below me. Nothing, only shadows, rocks and undergrowth. I turned my gaze to the sky and stumbled back in shock, my heart skipping a beat. A log tripped me and I tumbled to the ground, sticks and rocks jabbing at my bare legs, but I was barely aware of the pain.

 A huge mirror was floating in the sky about one hundred yards away. Its surface looked like water; it rippled like the surface of a lake. It was bordered by a polished silver frame with smooth rocks, vines and vibrantly colored flowers braided around the precious metal.