21. When they opened their eyes they were standing in the middle of the woods. There were some houses nearby but they didn’t look familiar. Or, rather, they looked pretty much like every other house he’d seen in the dream. They looked around themselves.
"Do you know where we are?" she asked.
"No," he said.
"Which way should we go?"
He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the image of the temple. When he opened his eyes, he pointed and said, "It’s that way."
"How do you know?"
"I can feel it."
They took a step and the woods rippled around them like a pool disturbed by a stone. They stopped and looked around them. It felt different but looked the same. One of the houses seemed a bit taller perhaps. And then other distinguishing marks became apparent. There was a sign on one of the huts that seemed familiar to him. He thought he’d passed it on his last trip in the dream. They took another step and again the woods rippled around them and this time there was a definite change.
The temple swam up to them like a cork rising in a pool. It was just in front of them.
They walked up to its entrance and looked inside. There were people going about their business. Retainers employed in the daily goings-on of the temple. One led a horse by the reins, one carried a bushel of apples, one pushed a cart full of clothes.
They walked inside and he said to her, "We’ll both align with someone at the same time. We’ll pick a pair that is going to the shrine together so we won’t get separated if somehow we get trapped inside our hosts. I don't think that’s going to happen but it’s better to take precautions."
"Ok," she said. She was glad she wasn’t responsible for making decisions. She was overwhelmed by the newness of everything. She hadn’t come to the dream as often or as strongly as he had and everything was still unreal. Like a dream.
They walked towards a group of pilgrims and skirted along the edges of the crowd. They were listening to a pair recount their failed attempt to gain access to the shrine. The shrine was situated at the center of the temple with a rigging of curtain strung up in front of it on all sides. The pilgrims entered the curtained area and were face to face with the shrine.
"What was it like? What happened?"
The pilgrims tried to express the awe and rapture they had felt but could not. Their faces shone and their mouths hung open wordlessly.
"You will see," they said. "When it is your turn, you will see everything." Every pilgrim that had gone beyond the curtains had given this response and it was always dissatisfactory. None of the pilgrims had even gained access into that holiest of holy places within the walls of that ornately detailed structure.
What was inside?
The next two pilgrims were preparing themselves to make an attempt. He whispered to her that they should try to align themselves with these pilgrims.
"Why are you whispering?" she asked.
They carefully made their way over to where the two pilgrims were kneeling. He went up behind his pilgrim and kneeled, their bodies overlapping, the two becoming one. She hesitated and began to kneel just as the pilgrims were standing. He saw the two align for a second and then as the pilgrim rose, she fell to the ground and vanished.
He stepped out of his pilgrim and watched them walk towards the curtain and enter. They’d missed their chance but hopefully she’d return to the dream and they could try again. Something had gone wrong and he hoped that she had woken up on the other side and would be put in a trance by the store owner and come back to the dream quickly. In the mean time, he’d look around and try to learn something useful.
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"Do you know where we are?" she asked.
"No," he said.
"Which way should we go?"
He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the image of the temple. When he opened his eyes, he pointed and said, "It’s that way."
"How do you know?"
"I can feel it."
They took a step and the woods rippled around them like a pool disturbed by a stone. They stopped and looked around them. It felt different but looked the same. One of the houses seemed a bit taller perhaps. And then other distinguishing marks became apparent. There was a sign on one of the huts that seemed familiar to him. He thought he’d passed it on his last trip in the dream. They took another step and again the woods rippled around them and this time there was a definite change.
The temple swam up to them like a cork rising in a pool. It was just in front of them.
They walked up to its entrance and looked inside. There were people going about their business. Retainers employed in the daily goings-on of the temple. One led a horse by the reins, one carried a bushel of apples, one pushed a cart full of clothes.
They walked inside and he said to her, "We’ll both align with someone at the same time. We’ll pick a pair that is going to the shrine together so we won’t get separated if somehow we get trapped inside our hosts. I don't think that’s going to happen but it’s better to take precautions."
"Ok," she said. She was glad she wasn’t responsible for making decisions. She was overwhelmed by the newness of everything. She hadn’t come to the dream as often or as strongly as he had and everything was still unreal. Like a dream.
They walked towards a group of pilgrims and skirted along the edges of the crowd. They were listening to a pair recount their failed attempt to gain access to the shrine. The shrine was situated at the center of the temple with a rigging of curtain strung up in front of it on all sides. The pilgrims entered the curtained area and were face to face with the shrine.
"What was it like? What happened?"
The pilgrims tried to express the awe and rapture they had felt but could not. Their faces shone and their mouths hung open wordlessly.
"You will see," they said. "When it is your turn, you will see everything." Every pilgrim that had gone beyond the curtains had given this response and it was always dissatisfactory. None of the pilgrims had even gained access into that holiest of holy places within the walls of that ornately detailed structure.
What was inside?
The next two pilgrims were preparing themselves to make an attempt. He whispered to her that they should try to align themselves with these pilgrims.
"Why are you whispering?" she asked.
They carefully made their way over to where the two pilgrims were kneeling. He went up behind his pilgrim and kneeled, their bodies overlapping, the two becoming one. She hesitated and began to kneel just as the pilgrims were standing. He saw the two align for a second and then as the pilgrim rose, she fell to the ground and vanished.
He stepped out of his pilgrim and watched them walk towards the curtain and enter. They’d missed their chance but hopefully she’d return to the dream and they could try again. Something had gone wrong and he hoped that she had woken up on the other side and would be put in a trance by the store owner and come back to the dream quickly. In the mean time, he’d look around and try to learn something useful.
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