The Hypnotic Bedtime Story

 Chapter 2

For a moment I wasn't sure if it was morning or evening. Faint golden light streamed through the cracks around the red velvet curtains, warmed the room slightly, and called attention to the dustiness of the place. The sun was setting and my sleeping hours were off track. My snug cozy cabin didn't feel quaint and charming any more. The air was stale and I wanted to be outside. I wanted to be at the top of the hill again where the air was clear. I felt stiff, confined, and yearned for the freedom of the night and my special world of magic things.

  My bed wasn't comfortable so I escaped from it quickly and hurried into my jacket and damp slippers. My well worn favorite footwear felt pleasantly cool on my hot prickly feet. I was relieved to see my rod was still where I had left it and brought it with me as I opened the front door. I stepped out on to my front porch  to see the last of the orange sun dissapear behind the softly sloping mountain across the highway.

The air was fresher and cleaner outside but did not yet possess the quality of night air. I would have to wait until the last of the sunset had left the sky for that.

  I sat in my chair holding my rod in both hands across my lap and minded the business of my fellow ordinary human beings. The cars on the highway went back and forth as usual and Mr. Smith was out in the north pasture.  I could not recall Mr. Smith's first name because it had been my habit, as far back as I could remember, to forget the given names of people I did not like and call them by their sir names.

 He was repeatedly thrusting a rod into the grounnd very much like the one on my lap. Once it was driven into the earth and positioned, he would step back and watch for a moment, scratch his head under his trucker's cap, retrieve the rod, walk about another ten feet, and plant it again.

 I cautiously slipped my rod behind my chair for I neither liked nor trusted Mr. Smith. Whenever I spoke to him he always had a reason I was to give him extra money over and above my normal rental fee. He would work himself into a blushing sweat telling tales of how previous tenants had tried to swindle him. These stories always ended with him being the smart one who came out on the better end of the deal. He was an annoying imposition I would have preferred to do without and I didn't feel comfortable in his presence.

 Mr. Smith was just about to thrust his rod into the ground a few feet to the east of his pickup when he spotted me and waved. I smiled and waved back cringing inwardly sure he would want to drop by for a chat. When he snatched the rod out of the ground, hurried into his vehicle, drove past my driveway and toward his own house, I was almost disappointed. I would not get the opportunity to ask him what he was up to.

 With him out of the way I had time to catch my thoughts as the light dimmed. I began breathing deeply and evenly to relax myself and turned my attention inward to quiet the revving of my mental engine. I whittled down my mental clutter to just one question. Why was this happening to me?

 It had been my experience whenever anything was happening to me I wouldn't see the why of it until it was over. I decided to wait patiently for understanding in the prensent moment and content myself with doing what was before me to do without complicating the situation with too many questions.

 The quiet within me knew I would have to follow this mystery to its end and accept it as part my destiny. To  ignore this inner knowing would lead to misery or madness.  I no longer felt any resistance to my fate. I was prepared to be on my way.

 Darkness had fallen and the moon was nearly full. The stars were larger and more abundant than I had ever seen them before. It was a good night for an adventure.

 I stood, stretched, and did a little dance to loosen my stiff muscles. Rod in hand I slipped in to the cabin one last time to take my flash light off of the shelf by the door and feel a little nostalgia for the quiet time I had spent there.

 I didn't need too much help from my torch in the bright moon light. The air was sharp, clear, and alive. Myself and my rod half walked, half skipped down the driveway. I couldn't remember feeling so vibrant since I was a child.

 Along the dirt road I could make out the outline of the hill. It was darker than the air around it and for a moment I imagined it as my friend the ball. I wondered if it would begin to glow.

 I was glad I could cut across the field to the hill and save myself the spooky trip through the woods. I didn't think the rod could glow and keep me safe as the ball had done and thought it woud be best to stay out in the open. A mother cow would stomp a coyote to death for coming near her calf at night. I didn't  know if this  was true but it made me feel safe to think so. I kept this in mind and kept towards the cows and calves and away from the woods as I crossed the pasture.

 My first impulse while climbing the hill was to use my rod as a mountaineering tool but I pulled back at the last second. I would not plant my rod into the ground until I had reached just the right place and I knew where that spot was. With a mild sense of triumph I wondered how long Mr Smith had been looking for it.

 Atop the hill I found the circle of dead and burned grass still there from last night, drove my spike into it and waited a moment. When nothing happened I felt deflated. I was mistaken. This all didn't make any sense and last night was just a crazy dream. I must have been sleep walking when I found one of Mr Smith's rods then made up a story about it. Perhaps I was delusional and believing my own fantasies.

 I was upsetting myself with this line of reasoning so I sat on the grass in my favorite cross legged posture and meditated for a moment. As I became quiet, peaceful, and still my mood improved and I was seeing things more clearly. I could sense something extraordinary was about to happen and I was to trust my instiincts and my perceptions.

 This was when the ground benieth me began to vibrate. Softly at first then building in strength untill my hill was experiencing a small earthquake.

 I stood and stepped back a few feet searching for more stable ground. It was difficult not to fall with the earth below me shifting so. A portion of the top of the hill measuring about eight feet by eight feet square began to rise up out of the earth. Shakily I outlined these dimentions with my flashlight.

 It rose before me, slowly at first, only an inch at a time, then it gained momentum and rushed up several feet. The vibration stopped, most of the dirt and grass clinging to it slid to the ground, then all was still.

 I was looking at a cube, dark, dirty, and rusty in places. As I moved my beam over the surface of each side, I saw broken pipes, frayed wires, moss, and strange inscriptions.  I reached the side facing the highway and saw two doors and a button to the left like what you would find on an elevator. I pushed the button, and startled slightly as there was a loud squeak, groan and rumble as the doors slid open. I looked  inside. This was much like an ordinary elevator. One thing that caught my attention immediately was a black bowling ball without finger holes on the floor in the back left corner. The carpet reminded me of  the curtains at the cabin for it was the same shade of red, worn, and dusty. The walls were made of smoked mirrors that did not reflect back any image of myself or my world. I saw only the inside of the elevator and blank space where the doors were open. I pushed my right arm through the opening and as it crossed the threshold my hand became visible in the mirrors. When I withdrew it the image dissapeared. I stepped aboard, turned around , and said good bye to my world as the doors glided shut with new found grace and ease. My stomach bumped pleasantly along with the elevator as I was on my way to who knows where. This was going to be fun.

 While waiting for my destination. I noticed the six pot lights above my head were buzzing, one was blinking on and off, and the recesses they were held in were full of spider webs and inauspicious dead bugs. To the left of the doors, painted a similar shade of red to the carpet, was a panel of yellowed plastic buttons. One looked like someone had tried to burn it off with a lighter. The symbols on these buttons were foriegn to me so I left them alone and trusted the elevator to take me where I was supposed to go.

 I watched the long row of perhaps a hundred buttons above the doors light up one by one starting with the first one. Each one would light up for what seemed like an interminable length of time before the light would move on. My legs were feeling a little stiff so I sat crosslegged in the back right corner, closed my eyes, and focused on the empty world of  unmanifested realities asking for patience till I felt a comforting bump. I had arrived somewhere.

 The doors slid open quickly and smoothly. I only had a split second to register my shock as they opened miles above the ocean facing down. I was sucked into the thin, cold air instantly. It took me a moment to adjust and try to breathe.

 A feeling of knowing spoke to me without words. This told me nothing bad was going to happen to me. Calmly I surveyed the land masses below me and could not discern from them where I was in spite of the fact my geography had always been good. The black ball was passing me slowly on my right and I swam through the rushing air towards it. I took it in both hands hoping to find some relief from the wind stinging my eyes as icy tears were being forced back into my hair. I couldn't catch my breath and I was becoming very cold.

 The ball was warm and expanded in my grasp. The ocean was getting closer and I was now able to make out individual waves on it. Urgently I focused my attention on the growth of the ball and as it grew its solid blackness was fading to a translucent grey.  My hands slipped through the surface of it followed by the rest of my body. Inside I was gently floating and and grateful to be safely out of the cold air.

 I landed softly and was thrilled to see little ripples on the water. Those I had seen from a higher altitude were, on closer inspection, thirty foot swells. The leaden sky threatened rain yet I was dry and at ease.  I rolled over to observe the ocean below me through the bottom of my almost completely transparent sphere.

  Under the surface was restful, unaware of the upset above it. The clear water tinted greyish blue sloshed at the edges gently holding little bits of seeweed and specks of things. I wanted to go down there and as soon as I had this thought my bubble began to sink.

 I rolled onto my back and watched the water rise up around me till the storm dissapeared and I was watching soft grey light beams dancing in the still dark water. The light faded growing smaller and farther away until it vanished and I was left sinking in total darkness.

 In an atmosphere of perfect stillnes I lost track of whether my eyes were open or closed and whether I was awake or asleep. Time took on a dreamy quality where a long time and a short time meant the same thing.  I was snapped out of my reverie when I noticed a faint smudge of light far below me and felt myself traveling towards it.

  I could make out shapes there that glowed. These shapes were rounded and resembled buildings of natural design. As I drew near the darkness benieth me was replaced by a patchwork of fields glowing with crops. I followed bright white lines like rivers or roads in awe of the beauty of this civilization so deep below the sea.

  Gently I bounced over the tops of red trunked trees with irridecent hair leaves swaying in the current. Here and there I saw some very interesting fish. They were of varying sizes, consisted of a head that looked very much like an angel fish up to six feet long and behind them trailed the long tenticles of a squid. They too emitted their own soft light.

 I was nearing the centre of the city and could make out holes in the sides of the oganic structures. Some stayed open and others opened and closed as the fish beings swam in or out of them. The buildings loomed collosal as any above the water as my little habitat floated amongst them. I neared one of the holes and drifted in to it. The entrance squeezed shut behind me and I was in a sparkling domed chamber slightly larger than the little cabin I had left behind.

The room was empty and smooth. Off to one side halfway up one of the walls was an overhang reaching out a few feet and curving gently almost to the floor. Directly across from me was an archway leading to another chamber. Through this opening swam one of the fish beings.

She was a teenaged female. I knew this immediately but didn't know how I could tell.

 She began swimming slowly and gracefully back and forth in front of my bubble. She was quite beautiful to watch. What I found most striking were her eyes. I could only watch one at a time for each was on either side of her head. As each one floated past me I was fascinated by it.

  Her eyes were silver and grey, about as big around as a sandwich plate, and in the centre was a large black pupil that grew and shrank somewhat. These pupils contained a dark stillness that went on forever. I felt an intense desire to see into them. I could catch a glimpse of eternity with each pass if I could just will her to stay still long enough.

 A word swirled around me and moved though me. This word could not be pronounced by human speach but my mind translated it as closely as it could and came up with Silliloque. Silliloque was a beautiful sound that suited her well.  This would be her name.

 I felt we were becoming one spirit as I watched her amazing eye swim back and forth in front of me. My eyelids began to feel heavy and my blinks became long. I closed my eyes resting in the feeling of being one with her. Blissfully and joyously I let go of my consciousness and crossed over into the realm of the long sound sleep.



The book shown above as chosen because my teen daughter was mad about it. I picked up a copy to be a good mom who shares her interests and now I am begging her for the next two books in the series. It's a really good book and you can click the link above to buy a copy if you would like. If you treat it gently you can also use it as a gift to any teenagers in your life and they will love you for it.
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