Roads, Stairways and Wings

I wake sluggish
Finding a velvet bag at the foot of the bed
Its contents are light

The dim morning
Is full of honking donkeys
It’s chaos and they are all talking at once
Trying to get the attention of their chosen rider.

A yellowish donkey
calls my name in a sing song voice
Her name is Dorothy
and she wears a funny bonnet

After much fuss and confusion
We lurch forward into a single line
Dorothy starts to interview me
She wants to know everything
I try to tell her the minimum

A cool shivers passes over me
As we enter an oddly quiet forest
No birds call or breeze stirs
It’s still as death
Dorothy stops and hesitates

Everyone seems on edge
Strange whispering
The whispers become faster
then louder

A group of bandits
Surround us
Terrified
Mayhem erupts
We run in all directions

Finding my feet
I crouch low near a tree

Voices trail off
I am alone
I wait

Clutching my bag
I seek something useful
Finding the spectacles
I put them on
As if I had stepped into another world
I am surrounded
By little people who blink
On and off like fireflies
They wave at me
and start to push and pull me
onto a trail I could not see before

The trail slopes downward
And I am overlooking
A beautiful lake with a waterfall
It’s enchanting
I tip my spectacles down
And without them
The beautiful scene looks like a muddy bog
What is real here?

The velvet sack has disappeared
The little folk giggle and laugh
at the little wings
A floating candlestick lights my way
I put the little anchor in my pocket
Faeries hate iron
The medallion floats in the air
They seems to like the way it sparkles

Soon we are at a spring
And I am suddenly sleepy
There waiting for me is a bed of soft leaves
I sleep

Singing birds
Slowly waking
in a comfortable bed.

The fey must have done this
Where am I?
In a cave
I hear dripping water

The sky is soft pink
The fey motion me to go
I nod my head to them in farewell
And they happily wave back
The dear, silly, helpful wee ones

I journey up, over a small hill.
There I see a long winding staircase
to a brilliant marble building.
A carved serpents head
Spirals on the handrail

The stairs are murderous on the legs
After many stops and starts
I remember
I have tiny wings
I place them on my back
they flutter to life and lift me
to a grand entrance

White marble columns tower beautifully
A dark mahogany reception desk shines
A huge griffin waits

I register
The Griffin asks me with an elegant voice
to prove who I am
I have no Identification cards
I think she means something deeper, I am sure
I try to keep calm

I proclaim:
I am the daughter of Haruko
Who is daughter of Kana
I carry the bloodline of Shinjo
They who went before me
Bring me guidance in all things.
And I honor them.

A long silence
Then she slowly nods
And looks to her left
There a young woman smiles
I follow her to a room
And she quietly says

“Welcome to the House of Serpents
Rest and freshen up here.
A banquet will be waiting
to welcome all the travelers.”