FADING HEART: Chapter Five, The Precipice

Chapter Five: The Precipice

(Mid chapter: Reilly and Lottie have just gone through a portal from the courtyard at the Embassy.)

     They walked carefully along the ridge, glancing down at the seemingly endless ravines on both sides. After walking more than a mile, they came to a crossroad, and stopped. Reilly slowly turned clockwise, considering which direction to take. Lottie turned counterclockwise. They met facing each other at their starting point.

     They looked to the sky and saw three white birds descending. As each stopped and hovered above one of the paths, a voice echoed softly across the ravines: “The path you choose determines your destiny.” A seagull flapped its wings behind them. “This path will bring you to decisions you’ve already made, with an opportunity to choose differently,” said the voice. A snowy owl hovered to their left. “This path will take you to future choices that will arise from choices you made in the past.” A dove fluttered to their right. “This path leads to the secrets of your Stelladaur and to Tir Na Nog.”

     Reilly and Lottie looked at each bird, hoping the voice would repeat its message, but the birds just circled silently.

     It was not an easy decision for Reilly. Even with everything he already knew and believed about his Stelladaur, there were things he would still choose to do differently, if he had the chance. He would have shouted “Get down!” when the boom of the sailboat swayed toward his dad; he would have done something to keep his dad from falling overboard and drowning. He would have held his Stelladaur more tightly when he flew on Nebo’s back, so it still hung on its golden cord around his neck. And he would have found a way to rescue Norah before it was too late.

     Putting logic aside about the possibility of changing the outcome of his previous choices, and not wanting to know about limits on those he would yet make, Reilly knew what path he had to choose. He assumed Lottie was considering her own reasons for which path to choose. But when it came to his dad, his Stelladaur, and Norah, it didn’t matter what it was called—fate, destiny, or decisions. He desperately wanted to hold each one of them again. 

     Struck with a sudden urge to keep moving along, he pointed to the third path, and said, “That one!” He looked at Lottie, astonished! She had simultaneously pointed to the same path that led to the right.

     Instantly the ridges behind and to the left of them shifted positions, melding into the path they’d chosen, so there was now only a single precipice to walk along. The maze transformed into a straight ledge, extending onward as far as they could see. The seagull and snowy owl disappeared, and the dove flew ahead in the distance.

     They walked in silence. Hours seemed to pass as they meandered along the ridge. The other birds did not reappear, nor did Reilly and Lottie see any other animals. The monotony of a cloudless deep-blue sky, set like a never-ending dome above the lush green at their feet, became wearisome.

     “I’m getting tired,” Lottie said.

     “Yeah, me too,” Reilly replied.

     “Let’s rest a while.” She sat down at the edge of the never-ending precipice and dangled her bare feet. “Do you suppose we will truly find Tir Na Nog?”

     “I hope we do, Lottie. More than you know.” Reilly sat beside her. “But every portal I’ve been through before seems only to make it seem further away.”

     “What do you mean?” she exclaimed. “Do you think just because you haven’t found it that it doesn’t exist? How do you explain sitting here?”

     He hadn’t meant to dissuade her enthusiasm. “I didn’t say I could explain any of it. I guess I’m just getting tired of finding answers that only lead to more questions.”

     Lottie nodded and patted his leg. Reilly appreciated her sensitivity, but secretly felt a little jealous and frustrated. The Stelladaur around her neck was a painful reminder that his was missing.