Tales on Tuesday – Dark Shadows

Sharon closed her eyes after she climbed into bed and covered herself from toes to chin. She turned on her side, curled her knees to her chest and began her deep breathing ritual. It took so long for her exhausted body to relax and her overactive mind to slow enough for sleep to claim her.After an hour and a half, she lost consciousness and moved into the world she loved best.


The flowers bloomed in neon teal and iridescent pink. Pterodactyls with striped wings chased her to the cliff edge. She jumped into the blue-green air, landed on a cotton candy cloud and raced it over snow capped mountains, down into a valley covered in giant sunflowers with stems as thick and wide as redwood trunks. She skidded to a stop on the moss covered ground, running under pavilion like leaves. She made her escape by crawling into a cave that belched frigid air from the bowels of the earth.


Once inside the grotto, stalactites and stalagmites created temple columns that led her to an old man sitting on a throne formed by nature. Decorated in furs from snow leopards and albino giraffes the regal chair contrasted the man’s pitch black robes and sloe colored hair and beard. His skin glowed in the dim light, mother-of-pearl from the reflected colors of the gems piled around the base of his seat. A unicorn chorus sang lullabies in the background while fireflies danced above her head like thousands of stars twinkling in the night.


“I have come for wisdom and direction, sage advice on the path I should take to fulfill the purpose of my life,” said Sharon. The walls swallowed her voice like warm, liquid tar swallows pebbles. She knelt at the feet of the hermit waiting for him to grant her the knowledge that would bring her peace and comfort.


He stretched an arm, the bones creaking as he moved and pointed a white, long nailed finger at her. His eyes watered, the rims red and swollen.


“Where did you get the idea life would or should be easy, quiet, serene?” He coughed, phlegm rattling in his chest.


“I’m not sure who told me. I just sort of thought there was a secret trick to it all.”


“Nah. Quit looking for a short cut. Go back to the real world and get busy living.”


“Busy is never a problem but is that really living?”


“Who the hell knows?” The light faded, dark shadows enveloped the recluse until Sharon could no longer see him.


She opened her eyes to the indistinct shapes of her bedroom, disappointed in the advice from her spirit guide. At least she had some new images to post on Tuesday.

~ Tales on Tuesday ~

The theme for Tuesday, April 6, 2010, will be"Golden Girls." Suggested by Thom.

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