Reaching My Door - Lisa J

I apologise that my account of this stage of our journey is so long winded, but I wanted to capture every detail!!

Well my excitement and anticipation has been replaced by a happy exhaustion! We have finally arrived at the Cave of Sybil!! The bus ride was uneventful - you could feel the excitement of beginning a journey tingling in the air, quiet chatter as we scooted past fields and mountains and rivers.

Winnie cruised along in her little car behind us - I hope she wasn't so busy concentrating on driving that she missed the picturesque landscape we were passing through. We stopped in the cutest little town to have a quick lunch - the street was lined with small shops selling just about anything and everything. I wolfed down a sandwich as quickly as I could and went for a quick explore. There was one store that was selling beautful handmade soaps and things - I bought a bar that smells like jasmine and lavender, a bottle of body lotion and a couple of lip balms (I already have about 12 in my pockets and carry bag - but you can never have enough lip balm!) I would have loved to explore some more of the little stores, but before you could say "impulse spending" i would have used all my money, so the bus loading back up saved me!!

I settled back into my seat and pulled out my mp3 player and headphones and spent the next little while watching sun drenched fields and trees roll by, my ears filled with my favourite music from Carla Bruni. The whole album is accoustic, and in french. I don't speak french, so I have absolutely no idea what she is singing about, but I lay there daydreaming and imagining who she is singing to and make my own story for each song. Not too long after, we stop apparently in the middle of nowhere.

We have came down a small dirt road that weaved through the forest and has suddenly come to an end. Sybil Enchantress informs us (almost a little too gleefully!) that it's on foot to the caves from here, but not far. There are a few groans at this news, but I'm actually quite happy about it - a stroll through the forest will be quite nice. Surprisingly though, we aren't going to the caves as a group. we could, but we would have to take the old path, which is steep and rocky and dangerous, not to mention takes several days (if you're lucky) to get to the entrance of the caves. There is a shorter way - a path for each of us. We must look through the forest for our path - I'm a little concerned I'm going to accidentally follow a trail not meant for me and get lost, but Sybil assures me that that is not possible and I will most definately know my path when I come across it. Once we find our path, we must follow it and it will lead us to the entrance of the caves.

Everyone has loaded up their gear (I've offered to help Winnie carry some of hers!) and is heading off in different directions. I choose to stroll towards the gap between two giant trees, that have great boughs reaching out across each other forming a kind of archway. They look like ancient old lovers holding hands. I pause and gently lay a hand on the trunk of one of the old trees. My hand looks tiny on it's huge trunk, and it tingles. I can almost hear what the trees are whispering to each other, but not quite. I continue on and pick my way through the shrubbery. I hit a thick patch of brambles at one point, much too deep to go through, so I decide to try and go around them and turn south and follow them downwards. After walking for about an hour, i spot a small hillock and climb it to see how much further I have got to go. Much to my dismay, the trail of thorny bushes seems to go on forever. I turn back northward and decide to try the other direction, only to find the same thing - they are seemingly endless.

Suddenly I begin to panic - I am out in the middle of a forest, alone, seemingly lost and stuck. It will get dark soon and then what do I do? Breathe, keep calm. You can remember the solution to this problem. I need a better view - surely these things must stop somewhere!! I look around frantically for a tree and spot the perfect one. It's branches hang low and it will be easy to climb. Dropping my rucksack, I scramble up the tree. After much grunting and a few scrapes I am almost up the top of the tree. I straddle the branch I am sitting on and cautiously move out towards the edge of the limb. As the foliage parts before me I gasp in astonishment. I am high above the forest, and an ocean of green spreads out before me in every direction.

Mountains rise up into the distance, their rocky peaks pointing accusing fingers at the sky. I scan the forest, and see very nearby a clearing amongst the trees. There is a large rock in the centre of it, and a small deer grazes nearby. I try to find the path to the clearing and groan with the realisation that it is through the brambles. I have to go through. Well, no-one said it would be easy. I climb down the tree and pause before I go to thank it for it's help. I don't know why I do this, it's just an impulse - I feel it would be rude to leave without showing some gratitude. I move north still, figuring I'll get even with the clearing then go straight across. I come to the place where I plan to push through and decide to have a quick break before I undertake the task I am so dreading. Sitting on a large rock, i sip at my water and ponder the best way to do this.

Then, there is a deer in front of me. I swear it wasn't there a moment before, and blink to check my vision isn't tricking me. Perhaps I scratched myself on some poisonous bush and I'm hallucinating? Again, I am taken by the idea that the deer can understand me, just as the tree could. I put my water away, move to within a few steps and drop to one knee. "Hello" I say, solemnly, inclining my head slightly. "Oh what a stupid thing to say!" I think. I feel I should be more formal somehow. I suddenly jerk my head up and stare at the deer. It looks back at me with it's huge, dark, trusting eyes. It is telling me that hello is fine. It is telling me that it has been waiting for me and will show me the way. I have no idea how it is communicating to me - it is not out loud, not in sentences, somehow I just seem to understand. "thank you" i reply sincerely and stand and gather my things. The deer turns and leads me a little further northward, glancing back over it's shoulder at me every now and then to make sure I haven't fallen behind.

Suddenly it veers left and disappears into the brambles. As I reach the place where it vanished, I discover a tunnell through the thick growth! I laugh out loud and enter. The deer seems to be smiling at me, then suddenly we are running. The bell on my wrist jingles as the edges fo the tunnell flash past me. The deer prances ahead of me and i am chasing it - i never knew I could run so fast!! Then i burst out into the open clearing I had seen from the tree. I laugh again and collapse on the large rock. I feel the deer nuzzling my hand and gently stroke it's head. Its fur is so soft! I gently pet the deer, thanking it, then start just chatting to it. It still isn't dark yet - I can't believe it's only been a few hours!! It feels like a week! - but the sun is just beginning to set.

I rest for a little, then feel the deer nudge me - it wants to play. It wants to dance. I smile as it begins prancing round in circles, calling for me to join it, then start to sing out loud as I do join in. My voice rings clear and loud through the forest as we dance. I spin round and round until I am dizzy and have to sit down before I fall over, and collapse in a heap on the lush grass, laughing again.

When I sit up I notice, with some surprise, a door!! It is just, well, there!! It's not attached to anything, there are no walls either side of it, it's just there! I grab my rucksack and approach it. It is a big door, and made of dark wood. It has intricate carvings, and intruiged, I reach out and trace the beautiful patterns with my fingertips. Like the tree as I left the bus, my hand tingles and I can once again almost hear what the trees are whispering to each other. I wonder whether the trees I felt first, and along the way, were telling me I was going the right direction? There are a myriad of shapes carved into the door, with no apparent pattern, but all fitting together perfectly. There are straight lines, spirals, waves, all sorts of shapes.

As i follow the path of them, the door gently swings ajar. it's then I realise that it doesn't actually have a handle on it. I gape at the door, then stare at the deer, then back at the door. The deer tells me there is no handle on the door so that it cannot be opened by anyone else. It opens to my touch only. I nod and look at it again. I turn to the deer and kneel once more, I thank it for its help. It prances a little circle - it is proud of itself. It has been waiting for me. It's task was to guide me, and it is full of pride that it has done it's task well. It tells me we will meet again, but for now it must go run through the fields. I wish it well until then, and turn back towards my door. I push it all the way open and am surprised that it is almost weightless.

There is a hall beyond it, a hall of stone. There are torches flickering at intervals along the walls. I step inside and the door gently closes behind me. All bemused at the events of the afternoon, I give a shrug and start moving down the hall. I stroll along, often touching the stone. The hall winds this way and that, then suddenly stops at another door. Seemingly the first door has just moved to this spot, because it is exactly the same, no handle and all. I reach out and touch it and again it swings open. As i touch it I have the understanding that this is not the same door - it is a different one, with a slightly different working. Anyone can open this door by touching it - anyone except a person who intends me harm of any sort, be it physical or emotional. That knowledge makes me feel incredibly safe.

I step into the room and look around. There is a massive canopied bed. The fire is already going and there is a hot meal steaming on a small table - my favourite pasta in fact - with a glass already poured from a bottle of my favourite red wine. I sit down and wolf down the food and then relax for a moment, enjoying the wine. The bed is covered in thick blankets and I'm tempted to crawl into it right away! Instead I explore the room a little more - there is a huge bathroom off to one side. It has a double shower with multiple jets, and a massive bath that appears to be carved into the stone floor. It is full of steaming water, yet there are no taps. A hot spring! that's it! Without a second to waste I strip off and dive into the bath, the hot water relaxing my aching muscles and cleansing me. I clean myself with the soap I bought today (which seems a lifetime ago!) and just relax. "aahhhh" I think, sipping my wine, "heaven!!!". I had been expecting a guide to lead me to my room and wondered what had happened to them.

Then it struck me - a guide had lead me to my room. The hall I followed led directly from my door into the caves to my room, there were no intersections of forks the whole way. The earth itself had been my guide. I reluctantly climb out of the bath and wrap myself in the massive fluffy bathrobe and slippers hanging in the bathroom. I refill my glass and settle into the huge armchair in front of the fire and wonder how all the others went, how they managed to get to their rooms and what their doors were like. I certainly hope it was easier than my trip! I will go find them soon and find out, but in the meantime I am hypnotised by the fire, so I sit quietly.

Lisa