The PureLights of Ohm Totem (10 page)

“You felt your sister's feelings, Coda. That's an example of an ability that comes much easier in Ohm Totem. With the crystals, your sense of feeling was heightened even more.”

Coda groaned. He didn't like the idea of sensing his sister's feelings.

Ignoring Coda's dismay, Nova looked at the vast trees growing on the hills to the northeast. “Another example would be our eyes. Here in Ohm Totem, you can see much further into the distance than what you're used to. Your world would consider this an ability that is vastly superior to normal vision. But, for us, we consider our vision to be, well, very normal. That attributes to the health of our bodies, the air, the land, and the water. If your land was as rich and healthy as it should be, your abilities would be nearer to what we have in Ohm Totem.”

Nova paused for an instant to allow Coda and Zoey to digest what she had just said, then continued. “The colors that your crystals display tell us what you are. You two are both PureLights, because your crystals shine with a color. The Dim's crystals don't shine. Their crystals are dimmed to gray, where they shall remain until they wise up—so-to-speak.”

Nova lifted her chin toward the blue sky and watched a red-tail hawk fly overhead. “The hawk above has indigo colored crystals. If she were to gain even more mastery, then the color of her crystal would change from indigo to violet, making her a VioletLight.”

“Why is Coda a panther and why am I a skylark?” persisted Zoey.

“Another good question.” Nova thought for a moment, trying to think of a way to explain in a fashion they could understand.

“To get to our world, you must enter through the portal that you used. Once here, your body changes from your human form to your animal form, known as your 'spirit animal'.”

“Whoa!” Coda's mind was spinning.

Zoey pointed a wing at Coda, saying, “That's what I saw when I sat on the Snow Tree. I saw the black panther next to you, Coda! Your spirit animal.”

“First, we all come into being, or into existence, by way of The Great Spirit. The Great Spirit instills gifts in us by endowing us with the special talents and life lessons of a certain animal. Coda, for example, is a black panther. The black panther represents a powerful and fierce guardian. In that aspect, Coda will eventually grow into a protector. If you follow your heart, Coda, you'll always defend the innocent, keep the truth safe, and above all, master the night. In the darkness you'll be able to see what most others cannot: the truth. If you pay attention to your heart, the truth will never slip away from you.

“And Zoey,” continued Nova, “you're a skylark. The skylark is associated with the universal song, which is the sacred sound of nature and the universe. Zoey was born with the sacred sound in her heart, allowing her the ability to communicate with nature much easier than most. With practice, all of nature will become Zoey's greatest partner and lifelong friend. If you follow your heart, you'll always be able to sing that sacred song. The question is, do you trust your heart enough to sing your song?”

Nova paused for a moment, looking toward the sun. She nodded in its direction as if agreeing to something.

She bowed her head to the children. “I'm honored to be in your presence.”

Zoey and Coda gave each other a funny look, not knowing why she would be honored. Zoey spoke up and Coda could feel that this was her most burning question of all.

“So,” said Zoey as she stared toward the river, eyes unblinking, “how do we get back home?”

“You follow the path you came in on. Do you remember the path?” asked Nova.

“Zoey and I were pretty scared when we got here, so I don't think we really know how to get out. I wasn't paying much attention to the path when we were on the elephant.”

“Yeah, me neither,” said Zoey.

“Ah,” replied Nova with a smile. “Well, if you wish to go home, then we must take you there.” There was a tinge of sadness in her voice.

Coda sniffed the rich air into his lungs and closed his eyes. He didn't know how to explain it, but if felt energizing here, making him feel stronger, not only in his physical body, but also in his mind.

"I'll ask Chev to carry you back to the portal. You must hurry, though. The portal closes when the sun meets the horizon in the west.”

"We won't miss it, will we?" Zoey replied, her nervous energy very apparent. “Mom and Dad would get mad if we stayed another day.”

Nova rubbed her cheek against Zoey’s little body in a nurturing way. Zoey relaxed and Nova stood tall, with her tail pointing to the sky. “If you miss the portal, then you'd remain here until the next full moon. It opens only when the energies of the moon are at their peak.”

Coda thought for a moment, bringing up a scary image of his parents looking for them all over Cornell Forest, yelling their names, and wondering if they were lost or dead. “Well, Mom and Dad would be panicked and worried if we didn't go home right away."

Nova bowed her head to them again. "You don't have to worry. A day in Ohm Totem is only a few moments where you're from. I won't let you miss the open portal, though. You still have many moments until it closes." With that, Nova jumped down from the large boulder, landing as softly as a cat jumping only a foot or two to the ground.

“Whoa!” said Coda. “Did you see that?”

“And she doesn't even have wings,” replied Zoey.

Nova focused her gaze onto the two children. The air around her body burst with sparkles of white light. Instantly, Coda felt his and his sister's body loosen up. They both were lifted from the boulder by the mysterious force. They descended slowly, being gently placed on the ground beside Nova.

Without a second to spare or even a moment to gather themselves, Nova dashed down the mossy path, back in the direction they came from. She called over her shoulder, "Follow me or miss the portal!"

Zoey flapped her wings, pushed off with her small legs, and flew at an incredible speed toward Nova. Coda reared back and dashed as fast as he could, quickly closing in on them. As he ran, he noticed that the green shrubs lining the path were whizzing on by as if he was running at a hundred miles per hour.
Is this how fast a panther can run?

When he caught up to Nova, Zoey was just above her, flapping her wings with all of her heart. She beamed absolute joy because of her newly discovered ability and she was determined to keep up with the fast pace of Nova.

"Chev!” yelled Nova as they narrowed in on the Snow Tree.

Within seconds Chev arrived at the Snow Tree.

He grinned, "Hello everyone!"

Nova stopped her run as abruptly and as skillfully as she had started, and looked to Chev. "Will you take them back to the portal?"

"Of course I will. Now..." he said, getting down as low as he could, "jump on! We have a portal to catch!"

Zoey studied the gray elephant. Her wings were still new to her and the thought of landing on something round, such as the curve of Chev's gray back, didn't appeal to her. What if she landed incorrectly and fell off? She imagined that if she did, she'd simply flap her wings and fly up and then onto his back again. She dismissed the thought, noticing that his trunk was lying perfectly still on the ground.
That's the way to go
, she thought.

Chev's orange forehead crystal glowed brightly and his big, blue eyes seemed to shine at her in amusement. So, instead of jumping in the air and flapping her wings, she simply walked up Chev's trunk, walked over his crystal, down between his large floppy ears, and onto his back.

Zoey turned around and faced the back of Chev's head, then sat a little way from the base of Chev's neck. She looked over at her brother. He decided to copy the same route, but did so with all the steadiness of a bear balancing on a slippery wire. One leg would fly out in one direction, keeping him from falling, and then, once that leg landed back onto Chev's trunk, another leg would flail to the other side. Coda did this all the way up, making Zoey laugh out loud.

“Ow!” said Chev. “That's my eye you're putting your paw into.”

“Oh,” replied Coda, “sorry.”

“It's okay,” responded Chev. He waited for a minute for Coda to get settled on his back. “Are we ready?”

Zoey was excited to get back to her parents. Enthusiastically, she replied, “Yep!”

Chev stood up and trotted toward the portal. One foot pounded onto the ground and then another, bouncing Zoey and Coda up and down.

Nova's voice boomed behind them, “I hope to see you again.”

The kids looked back. Coda waved a paw goodbye and Zoey waved a wing. Nova nodded solemnly.

Zoey felt bad for leaving, but why? Nova was nice and helpful for sure, but Zoey had a home in another land. This is Ohm Totem, not the Cornell Forest where she came from.

“Zoey?”

Zoey saw Coda staring at her, deep in thought.

“Yeah? What is it?”

“I don't know. The Snow Tree said we had a mission. I sort of think we should at least see what the mission is.”

Zoey was shocked. “Don't you want to be with mom and dad?”

“Yeah…but, Nova said time is different here or something like that.” Coda’s tail lashed back and forth, indicating that he was nervous. Zoey shared his nervousness. “I think,” said Coda hesitantly, “that we should stay.”

“Stay here?” asked Chev as he itched the top of his head with the tip of his trunk. “Okay,” he responded, and stopped smartly. He turned around and walked back in the direction of the Snow Tree. Nova was still there.

Nova's eyes widened, as if surprised by their unexpected reappearance. She looked curiously toward the children.

“No, turn around. I want to go home,” ordered Zoey. A picture of her parents scolding her for being out too late had flashed into her mind. “Please, please, please take us to the portal, or whatever it's called.”

She didn't want to be in trouble. She was tired of being in trouble. She was always in trouble for the way she talked, in trouble for never eating breakfast, in trouble for sleeping in her clothes, and now she might be in trouble if she didn't come home in time for dinner.

“Will do,” Chev said agreeably, turning and pointing his trunk at the line of dense trees straight ahead. “We're off again!” he announced.

The sun, dazzling lower in the west, sprayed the trees ahead with its light, welcoming those entering the vast forest. Zoey bounced up and down again from Chev's fast strides, staring at the terrain as it passed by. A breeze whispered in Zoey's ear saying, “Close your eyes.”

Zoey startled. “Huh?”

“Are you alright back there?” Chev called back to Zoey.

“Did you hear that?” asked Zoey, as she sat back down on Chev's thick elephant hide.

“Nope, didn't hear a thing,” replied Chev.

Zoey turned to Coda. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“I heard, 'close your eyes'.”

Coda shook his head. Then his panther face grinned broadly. “Let's just stay the night here. Just one night.” He looked excited, as if staying the night would be a fun adventure.

“Stay the night?” repeated Chev. “Okay.” He was only a few feet from entering the large forest, but he turned around and headed back toward Nova and the Snow Tree.

“Coda! We'll miss the portal if we stay the night!”

Coda laughed, doing his best to get under his sister's skin. “Who cares?” he said with delight.

Zoey could tell that he really wanted to stay in Ohm Totem for a while. She looked back at the fleeting tree line blanketed by low-lying shrubs and ferns. She saw that the mossy path led straight to the shrubs and through them, parting the trees slightly as it continued.

If I just flew off of this elephant's back and followed the path, then I could make it to the portal by myself and I wouldn't get in trouble.

Doing just that, she leaped off Chev's back, flapping her wings against the air. She was determined not to get into trouble.

She'd already been in the forest for several moments by the time she realized that she was flying. Pine needles showered her face and wings, making her drop below the lowest branches to avoid them. The ground consisted of brown soil, low-lying brush, and some scattered pine and green scaly cedar needles. She landed next to the base of a skinny maple tree and looked around. She didn't know where she was.

Uh oh!
Zoey was off the path and it was nowhere in sight.
Where is it?

She hopped as fast as she could to what she thought was south, hoping to run into the path. Passing next to a mushroom growing near an old fallen tree branch, she stopped abruptly, amazed at the sight before her. She was standing in the middle of thousands of mushrooms. They were everywhere, and of all different varieties. Red ones, brown ones, polka-dotted ones, orange ones, and even purple ones.

Something made her look up, away from the mushrooms. She could feel someone or something watching her. An eerie feeling crept down her spine, all the way to her tail feathers. Then it penetrated her like a sharp knife digging deep in her belly, paralyzing and pumping her full of fear. She'd felt this before. But when?

The Komodo dragon!

Shaking her thoughts loose, she scanned the forest, seeing rows of trees that seemed to go on for miles. She turned around and took small baby steps, making sure to be quiet. She didn't want to disturb who or whatever it was that had bothered her.

“Welcome to our land, young lady,” said a low-pitched, malicious voice directly behind her.

Jumping and turning a full 180 degrees in the air by flapping her wings, she could see him staring at her. It was the Komodo dragon. His angry red eyes penetrated her soul, making her recoil. She looked away.

A red-hot burning sensation suddenly surrounded her.

“What do you think of this place?” he asked.

Zoey pushed against her fear. “It's kind of weird here,” she replied uncertainly. The burning sensation deepened. Her stomach felt like someone was scraping it with a fork. A moment later the sensation passed.
Was the sensation from the Komodo dragon?

The Komodo dragon hissed, showing sharp teeth and a forked tongue behind his green, scaly mouth. “Don't you like this land?” His tongue slid out of his mouth like a snake, splattering saliva onto the ground.