The new path was somewhat rockier than the path he had been on with Everett. This path was straight and very narrow and the golden, wheat like vegetation on either side of him, was only about three feet tall. It shimmered like waves of molten gold in the sunlight as soft breezes raked across the field.
Nathan pressed on and in the gentle whooshing of the verity he heard that voice again, the one from the white light. “Nathan.” It was very soft and hard to make out but it was without a doubt a voice.
He stopped and looked around. There in the field was a being, not ghost and not flesh and bone. Indistinguishable as a man or a woman. It had long silver hair but it wasn’t old and the facial features were as distinct as if it were carved from stone and yet soft and friendly. Without raising and lowering as would be common with someone walking, it glided through the field as it came nearer.
It was beautiful and terrifying. Almost translucent and yet right in front of his face. This was strange and awesome and confusing all at the same time. Nathan knew now that he wasn’t anywhere he had been before. This place and its ability to alter the landscape based on his choices was like nothing he had ever heard of before.
“Welcome,” the being said. “We are glad that you saw past the forest and all it ostensibly had to offer.” The being walked with its hands by its side feeling the tops of the verity. “This journey isn’t easy but it is simple. Just stay on the path. That is all.”
“Who are you?”
“Apologies, I am Nuncio.” The being said adding a little bow.
“Where am I?”
“You are in God’s country.”
“What’s going on?”
“You are walking the path you have chosen.”
Nathan looked stunned. “What happened to Everett?”
“He completed his task and has moved on.”
“Task, what task?”
“His task of helping you make your choice.”
“I don’t get it.”
“You will. You have a long road ahead of you so let us continue on.”
“Where are we going?” Nathan asked half expecting a nonsensical answer.
“You must know; you chose the path.” Nuncio replied in a wispy voice.
“Is this the path that leads to God?”
“There is only one way to the Father.”
“Then who can give me the answers that I am searching for?”
“The ones that you meet along your journey have some of the answers if you know who to trust and where to look. Also it would be beneficial to know what to ask. Each simple answer you acquire is only a piece of the tougher question you will ask later. I will check in on you from time to time.” Nuncio said lifting up above the field.
“Wait, how will I know who to trust?”
“Trust only those that are true to your choice.” Nuncio said as he ascended.
“What are you talking about?” Nathan yelled in frustration.
He threw his hands up in annoyance, “you don’t make any sense.” He watched as Nuncio vanished into the vast sapphire blue and cloudless sky.
As he started walking again he felt an overwhelming sensation of solitude like quick sand; the more he walked, the more it swallowed him. He tried to occupy his mind with thoughts of Kathleen and his children but it just made him feel more alone. He marched forward, over small hills and into low valleys as the sun had begun to hang low in the sky directly ahead in the direction he was traveling. The verity rippled beside him like golden waves crashing on golden beaches.
When he reached the top of yet another hill he noticed that in the distance, the field no longer stretched from horizon to horizon. Now there was a boundary of forest to both his left and right as if he were entering into a funnel. He also noticed that although he had been walking for what felt like hours, the forest behind him was still visible and no more than a few minutes’ walk back. But this time the forest had felt imperious in the way the loud-mouthed attendant at the ring toss booth might be while trying to get someone, anyone to play his game.
He walked on, even more confident in his decision to take the path going into the field. Then perhaps as a reward for his steadfastness, observed something so amazing, so miraculous, that he couldn’t quite comprehend it. As the sun began to sink further and the sky began to change from light to dark he noticed the sunset had colors that he had never seen before. Even more, it inspired him and his desire to go on.
The colors on the trees and on the golden verity were such that his heart began to let loose its chains of turmoil and allow him to feel a joy that was not only new to him but that filled him up as rain fills a pond. He smiled and laughed softly. Then he began to walk again, but with a swifter stride and a bounce in his step. He hummed a soft tune to himself and carried onward gently kicking small stones down the road.
This was an amazing place after all he thought. The stars shone brightly - more stars than he ever imagined seeing at one time. The moon was so bright that it cast a shadow in front of him even though the sun had only now slid into evening’s pocket.
Though the road had been long and he had no food, he wasn’t tired or hungry anymore like he was on the endless road to nowhere. He had to admit that at this point he felt pretty good.
He had been watching his steps and looking ahead at a million fire flies twinkling and dancing across the field so he didn’t see the storm cloud rolling in behind him. He froze in mid step when the first flash of lightning and crash of thunder came.
The lightning lit up the field bright as day and the thunder boomed so loud it made the ground and his knees shake. In the pause between crashes he heard the scurrying of what he thought to be small critters heading for cover. Then the rain began, slow at first then in buckets. He pulled his suit coat over his head and pushed on. The rain had not yet fallen on him but he began to look for cover before it did. The Verity didn’t seem to offer much protection and the open field was no place to be standing in a lightning storm. A sense of panic began to rise up in him as the storm clouds breached the boundary of forest and field.
“Oh dear child, come here and get out the rain.” He turned and saw a plump little lady standing under a tree branch at the edge of the forest behind him. “Come now child, you goona catch yur death out there.”
Nathan looked up the path, rain turning the dirt around his feet into sloppy, slippery mud.
“I got hot tea and warm biscuits, also there is a fire to warm you up.” The plump woman said in a voice like velvet. She
Nathan turned and ran back to the woman; he would just wait the storm out and be on his way when it stopped. As he reached the forest the rain poured down on his coat. “Thank you ma’am.” He answered as he got to her.
“Oh honey, you're soaked clean through. What you doin in that verity field in the rain.
He leaned under the tree branch and shook off his coat. “I’m sorry ma’am, what was that?” The rain on the tree limbs and leave was so loud it made it hard to hear anything else.
“I said, what you doin in that there verity field in the rain?”
“Verity field?” he said shaking off his hands and then shaking his hair like a dog.
“It’s what you been walkin in.” The woman explained sounding irritated at his ignorance of all things agriculture.
“Oh, I know what verity is, Nuncio told me what it was. I thought it was just plain old wheat but I guess you folks have a special name for it.”
The woman weighed Nathan as he stood there under the drooping tree branch. “That’s right child, it’s just wheat. Some of the other’s try to use words that make it seem more important than it really is. But never mind about all that, I have fresh treats just for you.
Nathan looked around and saw a little cottage with smoke Billowing out of its stone chimney. He could smell the fresh biscuits through the air. That little house looked so warm and he had begun to shiver in his wet clothes.
“Well come on now, let’s get you warmed up.” The woman said waddling towards the house.
He hadn’t realized that he was so hungry until he smelled the fresh pastries drawing him into the cottage. When he reached the front door, he looked at his muddy shoes, then he noticed the leaves on the forest floor.
The light from the house showed the leaves and branches and… Nathan looked up at the house, then to the field. He thought about what Everett said, “Don’t be wast’n time with folks if they ain’t got both feet in the verity.” Verity - he looked at the old woman who was now becoming increasingly impatient with him, then back to the field, that’s the verity.
He looked at the woman in the doorway. “Thank you ma’am but I think I should just keep on my way.”
“Don’t you want some tea and biscuits?” her voice became a more wretched sound and her eyes not as friendly as before began to glow with a sewer green tint.
Nathan turned and headed to the field at a brisk walk, then a jog. “Get him boys, don’t let him reach the field.” The woman screamed. Nathan heard the pounding of heavy feet gaining quickly and he began to sprint as fast as he could. The sloppy mud made it hard to get traction and to keep his balance but as he bounced from tree to tree he saw the edge of the forest getting closer.
He could feel the ground tremble with each step they took behind him. He smelled their rotten breath and felt their finger grasping at his shirt and hair. He dared not look, just run. As he reached the edge of the forest he dove forward and landed in the muddy field. He kicked and clawed to put more distance between him and the beasts that chased him through the forest. When he had stopped he looked back to make sure they weren’t following him. He couldn’t see anything in the forest as it had become as dark as if the curtain had been pulled on a horrifying Broadway play.
He stood up, checking around him, and made his way back to the muddy path. When he found it he double checked the forest again – nothing but darkness - and then continued on his journey. He was soaked through and through but the more he walked the less he shivered and the less hungry he was.
He hoped that the rain would somehow wash some of the mud off of him but didn’t expect it. He tried to wipe the mud off his shirt but his efforts were ineffective at best. So he walked on down the slippery, muddy path in the dark.
A Glimpse Of Tomorrow Page 3
