Enchanted Pond

Annie waves good-bye after leading me to the entrance of the main cavern of the Lemurian Alluvial Mine. I’m suddenly suspicious of the word “entrance.” Will the mine entrance me? Am I entranced by what is mine? An entrancing entrance to the mine of what’s mine? Words and their meanings have become fuzzy, and I feel an itching sensation all over my body. I tear off my clothing and scratch myself frantically. To my disgust, I shed a skin, just like a reptile! Realizing what I’ve done, I pull my clothing back on and stare down at my old skin. Looking around, I see several old skins lying about. Apparently this is not an unusual occurrence. I pick my skin up by the scruff of its neck and hang it on a rocky protrusion.

It’s time. I take a deep breath and place my hand on the handprint. The rock face beings to glow and this is what I see:

I’m transfixed by the beautiful image. Is this a portent of what I will find inside? The door opens slowly and I pass through as the image of my handprint fades back to blankness.

Interesting. It is lighter in here than I would have thought. Not as cold as caves I’ve visited in the past. What causes this ambient glow? I guess I won’t need my candle just yet. Good thing since I don’t think I have any matches!

Hmmm. A decision point already? Three tunnels ahead – one heading down, one to the right and one to the left. I guess since I’m supposed to be descending, the downward path is the way to go.

Supposed to be? I realize in a flash that I don’t have my glasses on. I’m not seeing things as I should! I reach into my bag and pull out the tiny frames. Immediately after putting on the glasses, the entire cave looks different. I don’t see Down, Left, Right. Instead I see “Delightful Descent into Roots, Caverns, Motivations, Dreams and the Sub-sub-conscious.” “Levels filled with all You’ve Lost, Left Behind, Lingered Over or Taken for Granted,” and “Right Paths that go Wrong Ways that Lead You Exactly Where You Never Thought You’d Go but Where You Always Wanted to End up.” I laugh.

I take the descending path anyway, but for a completely different reason than before I donned my glasses. I wish Dunbeg were coming along with me, but he insisted on remaining outside. I think the sweet clover and the little spring may have influenced his decision, but there is no reasoning with a mule.

The tunnel I’m walking down is packed earth mixed with rock. Roots stick out everywhere. They’re covered with tiny insects that phosphoresce. I hear a faint humming. Music? It grows neither louder nor quieter, as though it is emanating from my new skin.

After some time the earth gives way to complete stone. Instead of roots, I now see crystals. Just a few at first, but more and more the deeper I go. Mostly quartz, I think, but glowing in many different colors and growing in amazing formations. A small room opens to my right and I go in to explore.

The tinkling of water leads me to a small dripping of water from the wall. It falls directly into a shaped crystal bowl, obviously not a natural formation. The formation changes colors randomly, affecting the color of the water and the bowl. Without thinking, I thrust my hands into the water and bring them up to splash my face. Droplets collect on my glasses. I feel – blessed.

Unwilling to leave this little sanctuary, I pull my Indian blanket out of my backpack and fold it into the shape of a pillow. I also remove the small rock globe from the purple velvet sack inside my backpack. Holding it gently, I sit down on my blanket. Time to meditate for a while. I’ve been rushing around getting ready, traveling, meeting people, but now it is time to slow down. Time to go deeper. This can’t be hurried, nor would I want it to.

The globe warms in my hand and pulses along with my heartbeat. I close my eyes and breathe.