Magic On A Breeze

It is said when autumn leaves fall, carried on the whims of gentle breezes, something magical is close at hand. Or so Sam had once read scrawled in bold lettering across a square of toilet paper.

So when Sam found himself wandering along a winding trail, surrounded by the mottled rustle of swaying canopies, he remembered those words and gazed about with magic in mind.

Then, he spotted it. Tucked between all the other towering trunks, a woodland secret.

It was fatter by half than all the other trees, but the strangest thing of all was how its bulk lifted above the ground on twisted roots. "A man could crawl under there." Sam muttered to himself.

The ground beneath the tree was padded and patched with yellow, orange and brown leaves. Twigs and acorns, and something else. Something shiny. Something gold and glinting.

"Arg, ye’ scallywags! There be treasure!" Sam said in his best imitation of a pirate. Which, he had been told, wasn't very good at all.

He shuffled closer, trying to identify the half buried booty. Twigs snapped under his feet and leaves crinkled. He would have to lie flat if he wanted to reach his prize.

Flat on his belly he wiggled into the cluster of roots, clawing his way under the elevated thickness of the heavy trunk. With one arm stretched out before him, he reached, grasping at the sparkling treasure. Too far. He wiggled further, beneath him the cushion of leaves dipped slightly under his weight. Just... a bit... further... and... gotcha!

The cool touch of metal exposed to the autumn elements pressed into his palm. And then the world lurched and down Sam tumbled.

All around him was dark. He fell and fell and screamed as loud as could.

His landing was soft, not at all what he expected. Truth be told, Sam thought he had been about to die. Somewhere deep down in the dampness of earth where no one would ever find his bones. Instead, he found himself sprawled atop a damp bed of moss and leaves and musty smells.

As his wits slowly returned, and he stood on shaky legs, he noticed he was in a very strange place indeed. He stood at the centre of a small ring of light. But no matter where he looked there was only the meshed together hues of an autumn forest floor. Except, there was no forest. Past the edges of the illuminated ring only darkness lurked. Oddly, there was no source of light coming from above. There, too, loomed only darkness.

"Where am I?" Sam breathed. He turned full circle, trying desperately to spot anything besides leaves and darkness.

He began to worry. Panic took seed within him and started to quickly grow, "Hello?" He called out, and was answered with a growl.

Sam spun on his heels. There, where the light ended and darkness began, burned two primal eyes of yellow. They were not human eyes. Oh, no. They belonged to something fierce, something predatory.

He swallowed hard, his heart thumped wildly in his chest. His voice broke as he said, "Hello?"

"Hello, Sam." Came a deep guttural reply.

The eyes moved, then. Coming nearer, into the light. First came a snout, then the eyes themselves, followed by pointed ears and padded paws.

A wolf, Sam gasped. Black as night.

The wolf calmly padded the circle, staying within the boundaries of the light.

"Do... Do you know where I am?" Sam asked, "I seem to of taken a tumble and now I am lost."

The wolf laughed. It was an odd noise, which, curiously, made Sam think of how a bear might sound if it coughed or possibly sneezed.

"You are within the Hallowed In-between." The wolf growled, "And I am the guardian of this most ancient of places."

The In-between, Sam wondered. In-between where? "I don't understand. In-between where exactly?"

"Worlds, Sam. Dreams. Fantasies. Realities." The wolf’s eyes burned like the sun, "In-between the All and the Everything. And you have been given the greatest gift of all, you have been granted the use of this most sacred of sacred places."

I'm dreaming, Sam thought. I must be. Yes, I've gone and bashed my head. I could be in a coma. And leaving this place could be my only way of waking. Like that film, with that girl, that actress with the long red hair. Ok, I'll play along. If only to find a way home.

"Alright. Wow, I’m truly honored and, err, blessed. But, for now, is there a way I can go home?"

"Of course. Just use the key you hold within in your grasp."

Sam opened his hand, he hadn't even realized he had been holding it. There, in his palm, was a golden key. His pirate plunder.

"But there are no doors." Sam said, peering about.

"Walk to where the darkness begins. Think of where you wish to travel and a door will appear."

Sam did as the wolf instructed and to his relief a door appeared. The door was round and made of dark glossy wood with a key hole just the right size. Sam slid in the golden key and turned.

..click..

"Until we meet again, Sam."

Sam nodded, "Sure, can't wait." He pulled open the door and stepped through.

He lowered himself out of the open tree trunk, twisted roots serving as steps. As his feet touched the ground beside the strange and elevated tree he watched over his shoulder as the door closed behind him and faded away like a dispelled illusion. Leaving only the rough bark surface of a tree.

Sam held the golden key, and over the stirred rustle of swaying branches he could hear the chatter and scrape of boots of people nearby, out for stroll. He stared at the tree in wide-eyed wonder. "Was it a dream?" And then he remembered bold words printed across a soft square of toilet paper and he smiled in childish wonder.