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.
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