RITUALS

RITUALS

I have a question for Storyteller Tree.  I want to know the story of the girl who was given the Magic Armor.  I know that I must travel to the island.  I go to the beach to find my boat.  What will it be this time? 

As I approach the water I see a Viking ship, sharply ornamented, adorned with serpentine figurehead.  I climb on the vessel; this is a far cry from the simple little rowboat I first used to visit my island.  I sail over a gray, nondescript sea.  Somehow I have found a suit of armor and have covered myself with it.  When I reach the island I clamber off the boat, armor clanking.  Peacock seems amused at my predicament.  I tell Peacock that I want to hear the story of the Little Girl’s Magic Armor and I thought that I would dress the part when I went to visit Tree.  Peacock’s eyes sparkle knowingly. 

Peacock and I start our island ritual.  It is how we prepare to meet Tree.  We climb the rocks through the jungle to the hut at the top of the cliff.  I see delicate greenish-white flowers along the path but my armor does not allow me to bend to enjoy their scent.  I stumble and fight my way to the top of the path.  When we reach the hut I am exhausted from the climb and collapse in a corner, too tired to sit in front of the hut and enjoy the view.  

Peacock gives me time to rest, and then it is time to visit the waterfall below.  I slip and slide down the hill, ending up in a pile of metal at the bottom of the slope.  I manage to pick myself up off the ground.  I know that the next step in our ritual is to stand under the waterfall.  I wade out into the water and stand beneath the falls.  From inside the armor I hear only echoes of water splashing.   I barely feel the cold through the metal plates on my body.  Do I feel at all?

We will go to visit Fish next.  I stumble down the overgrown slope and find the water where Fish play.  I know that they are there, I have played with them before, but right now I cannot feel them swirling around my legs.  I cannot feel their Joy.  The armor protects me.   Nothing will harm me.  I will feel nothing.

It is time to see Tree.  Peacock silently accompanies me.  I stand before Tree and ask him to tell me the story of the Little Girl’s Magic Armor.    “Ah, my child, you are not ready yet.  You need to wear your armor a while longer.  It is meant to be.  You need it now.” 

“But how will I remove it?  Must I wear it forever?”

“I will remove it in time.”

I am relieved when Tree tells me that I will stay in my armor for now.  I am tired from my journey and there is no energy for changing.  I sit for a time on the sand near Fish and rest.

When Peacock and I start our journey back to the other side of the island, the path to the waterfall seems easier somehow.  I am more aware of Peacock next to me than I was before.  Warmth flows from deep inside me.  I hear Tree’s voice telling me that the armor will melt from the inside…in time.

We stop at the waterfall.  This time, when the water falls on me, I feel several drops trickle down inside the suit of armor.  The water is fresh, clear, soul-quenching.

We leave the waterfall and start the climb to the hut.  I see that Peacock has given me a rope to use.  Was it always there?  I hold onto the rope and I am lifted effortlessly to our hut.  I am not tired.  I sit in front of the hut with Peacock and we take in the view.

On the return to the beach where my boat sits, I tumble down the hill; somersaulting and laughing.  I land on the soft sand of the beach.  I do not want to board my boat…there is no need to travel yet.  I lie on the soft sand next to Peacock and rest.