How else could this be? The trees are together! That's what Seileah decided. Somehow the view-tree is 'mine' and in the dragon-boy's world—like a join in the paths between both of our lands!

The early evening light began to grow dim. Seileah now crouched looking under the roots, inspecting grey swirls, catching glimpses of shapes, but the smoke wouldn't clear. She looked to see sun warmth—waning to night. It drew close to the far away hills by the sea.

Oh, I should have stuck around first-home until Marmeth had heard me. I wish I knew why she didn't come out. Why is she staying in whispers? She doesn't do 'whereabouts' like Iris, —not very often, so why is she gone?

There was a lot Seileah was noticing now. Is she upset with me too? Or how often does she go off when I'm away in the trees? Did I not see this, —when isn't she home?

And then—in reflection—she put her hand out towards the clouds in the void, again. Sounds of voices lept through it.

She jumped, at the hard sound of a man—the likes of whom she'd never heard—as though he might be talking to Dragon, "Ye are naught welcome here amongst surface dwellers. Ye might as well return from whence ye came. But, what have ye for me?"

She pulled her hand back. The smoke instantly thickened and the sounds disappeared. Only birds! Water and trees! No other presences now.

She moved her hand nearer again, concerned for the boy—intending to pull her touch back in testing her theory—and heard a second subservient voice, emploring the first.

"Rumours can create mysteries without any substance, but this is no rumour, Sir. If we don't do anything different, this cannot go well—" So she listened. "There be dangers there, Bulin! Yes there is, as you thought, a gate, a thing, like a gate, but there be darkness within— And they seem to know more than they say!"

She could see only the bulk and hem from a long heavy coat moving off to the side, and heard a gruff snarl, then a pause, while the first man considered, unhappy, and grumbled.

At last, with nothing more said, the leader's final words floated back toward Dragon, "As expected."

And Seileah imagined she could see Dragon flinch.

The voices diminished—too hard for her to make out any more the men discussed with each other. The boy seemed both eager to please and hesitant about whatever they'd said. Seileah had no real comprehension, but did not like the feelings that came with those words. She was glad they had gone.

I must be right. The view-tree is the crux between lands. And I've climbed above this spot, so many times! Was it here through all of the seasons or is this a new contrivance in the coming of age? And if it is, what does it mean?

As Seileah muddled along through her questions, the boy in the view seemed to give up.

Bothered, unable to focus upon his task the way he had wanted—he frowned, deep in thought, then got up, stretched, walked about in small circles, and wandered to the exact place she kneeled, observing him.

She couldn't help pulling back as he approached and stared through the veil directly above her.

She wrenched back, in spite of herself. As she scrambled away the vision vanished. Phew! That was a fright. I thought he would walk right out—and greet me.

So, wriggling back she looked up at him. He was now towering so much taller and closer. Hesitant, she reached out and put her hand forward again, all the while looking up to catch his expressions. She tested the air near the root. What is the difference? Why did he stop? He's done it before—come through the hole.

And with her hand near, the vision cleared. She sucked in her breath. Can he see me, as I do this? She moved her hand closer to smoke.

Seileah watched the boy's face. He only looked in front of himself, as if into air. Has he sensed me? Is that why he's close?

The dragon boy's eyes were not focused and she decided, no.

"He'd wonder about me too though, I'd bet." She breathed with the tree, and its needles whispered, and the boy only stood.

It's just an accident that he seems to be looking. What should I do? Seileah was still holding herself back on her arms, leaning away to one side, in case he should suddenly keep moving forward.

But then she watched the boy turn and find his nearly-same seat as before on the root of 'his' tree, in his world.

She stared at it closely—the colour of bark, the texture of surface, the curves, how his root met the tree and the cliffside. Then she looked at her root. It is exactly like mine! It is my root—the matching root to mine—my own tree—no difference!

Black meadows! She needed to steady her jitters.

Seileah swivelled, clambered up with far less than her usual poise, then paced hard, up the ridge, to a few leaps beyond and steadied—hands on her hips.

She habitually surveyed the far distant views—virescent stripes along her valley of colors and hints of something exotic beneath the large plumes of mists—where, in the shadows, she sometimes thought she could notice a streak shoot toward the Valley of Caves.

Although her clan-folk felt at home in the ground as much as in trees, Seileah did not much relish the idea of exploring so far away. At least, when she tried to think harder about it, the wish would instead easily drift from her mind and, then again, she'd lightly dismiss this chasing of whims as its own form of natural guidance—trusting connection to all things beyond.

She could see a large shadow appearing to hover in clouds far off—by the sea, like a seagail, but could it be the distance was fooling her eyes, with the sun just now sending its last, long-reaching arms out to kiss it goodnight?

Something shuffled behind her. She leapt like a cat, in its grace—swinging around before she hit the ground to look back at the hollow—her heart pounding hard, but now she landed so softly—no footfalls were heard by any but earthworms.

Again now, there the boy sat, still on the tree root. But now he actually was here in her world! This was 'her' root she could see from her farther off viewpoint, not in the void. Oh, no! He has come back!

He sat alone, looking dejected and somehow disappointed or lost, consumed in his moment.

He's taking a rest, and perhaps this happened purely because he was lost in his thoughts? She pondered. Could that be? He had suddenly appeared on her side of the void—well almost, but she studied the scene— He's not in as much physical form now, I think.

He was exactly the way Seileah had seen him, just moments ago sitting on 'his' tree, but slightly less 'here' than she was, she gauged. She glanced down at her own arm to check. How much is the difference?

Will he sense me if he's only here in part-form? She slipped low and half-crept down the hill in slow motion, in tune with the All, making no noticeable movement by blending with her precise moments in time.

How close can I get before he startles? And she wanted to laugh in satisfaction —like he's made me do—twice now!

She crept and slunk, a bit at a time. She stopped, expecting him to react any moment.

He didn't.

He just shuffled some more—leaning forward to put his face on his palms, elbows on knees and sighed—swishing the toe of his foot cover, side to side, in the dust. He rolled a pebble about, absentmindedly, only aware of where he would assume he should be—still on the tree root in his world, thinking he was within his pondering moments.

He should somehow react, should he not? Seileah was sure. Her blending was good, but still. Why doesn't he notice? She kicked a pebble in his direction, but it landed far off to the other side of his legs. And he's still not looking!

Seileah picked up a leaf on a small twig that had blown over the path and she tossed it onto the ground close beside him, but just then he leaned forward, bending the other way to reach for the same stick he'd been peeling earlier. And he didn't see her twig land.

Still nothing. For petal's sake! Her lips pursed, puzzled.

She plucked another stick off the ground intending to toss it closer this time, but then realized, Hey! If it's going to be here, it should also be there— And she quickly whiped her head sideways to look with her peripheral vision as she passed the void along side her, and gave this the quickest of thought, just before she sent the stick into the air. Is it—? She tossed it.

It is! It's landed! Amazed, Seileah could see the twig hit the ground beside the boys foot in the shimmering-image. And the boy there startled in time with 'this' boy but then he just seemed to think an insect had come in for a landing and both versions of 'he' went back to his thoughts.

He lives in both worlds! She looked more in great detail again at 'her' root to check she was right. But she was not visible in his world!

At the edge of her vision but in her own world, if only Seileah had noticed, a coyote slipped by, and a figure further up on the ridge moved ever so little and squinted his eyes.

≈≈≈

Hmmm... now what's that about, I wonder...?

I'm so curious to find out what you might be thinking...? Can you fill me in how this chapter and the story are coming across? Where are your thoughts? I so love having every bit of your help!

And ... he hem... Seileah is loving your votes on her story! :)

(She thanks you so much :)