at our feet in the act of raising its cap to peer up at us.
These are the things I think I’m glimpsing along my vision’s periphery. But when I turn my head to look at them directly, all my gaze falls upon is inanimate forest.
I hear Kitsune giggle beside me.
“Why are you laughing?”
“You are acclimating.”
“I’m what?”
“The food you ate. The water you drank...”
Kitsune bows her head, hiding the redness blooming in her cheeks.
“The song I just sang to you.
“The island is revealing more and more of itself to you.”
“What are you talking abou—?”
Kitsune abruptly halts. I follow suit.
“Hush.” she commands. “Be still.”
I stand there for several minutes, impatient and feeling like an idiot.
Then I notice one of the floating wildflowers drifting toward me.
The wildflower drifts in closer and closer until I see that it’s not a wildflower at all. Looking at the non-flower, a single word comes to mind: fairy.
“Still now.” Kitsune warns. “Let the kami come to you.”
Yes. I think. Not a fairy. Not here. Here on the island, they are called kami.
The kami dances through the air, its inverted petals hanging like a dress beneath the lean stigma constituting its torso.
It lands on my shoulder and continues its dance of slow, graceful movements. Then it catches another air current and lifts off.
I relax my eyes as though I were looking at one of those 3-D paintings in the mall and follow the kami’s flight pattern with my gaze. My eyes wash over countless tiny beings comprised of leaves and vines and bark nestled in the trees. Some of these are humanoid in form, but many defy description.
But all contain traces of intelligence in their visages—looks of worry, curiosity, and even amusement.
It’s amazing—another strange and miraculous world lurking just beneath the surface of the equally wild one I’m in now. It boggles the imagination!
Later, I thank the heavens above that this wondrous moment wasn’t darkened by knowledge of the terrors to come.
Chapter 11
The network which runs throughout the multiverse connecting all places, times, and ideas is referred to as the axis mundi. The concept of the axis mundi has been expressed in many different forms throughout recorded history.
Norse mythology refers to the cosmic tree, Yggdrasil. The tree’s branches stretched far into the heavens, and were supported by three roots extending far away into other planes of existence.
Likewise, the Nesopotanians of the Aegean Islands epitomized the axis mundi as an underground labyrinth that increased in size and complexity the closer one came to its core...
—Excerpt from The Multiverse: A Wonderwork! , by Daniel Sabella
“S o, how far exactly are we from the Toho?” I ask.
Kitsune and I’ve been walking for hours, moving deeper and deeper into the forest, the chirping cicadas providing the soundtrack for our journey. The delightful enchantment the woods held earlier has all but vanished. Now the trees crowd in around us, herding us on toward some new peril.
It seems like that’s all I’ve done since I was marooned here—move from one danger to the next, getting deeper and deeper into trouble with every step.
Despite the length of our trek, Kitsune shows no sign of fatigue. There’s not a single drop of sweat along her perfect, golden brow. Even the bruises she received at the hands of the Oni have seemingly healed over night.
I, on the other hand, am covered in scratches and bruises, and can think of nothing but stopping to take a rest.
To pass the time, we have been practicing the song she sang to me after our escape from the kappa. The words are completely alien to me, so the going is difficult.
At least in my opinion.
Kitsune, on the other hand, seems to think me a virtuoso, and showers my efforts with praise, telling me I sound even better than her.
I’m good, admittedly, but I cannot help but think she is being overly generous.
But when
These are the things I think I’m glimpsing along my vision’s periphery. But when I turn my head to look at them directly, all my gaze falls upon is inanimate forest.
I hear Kitsune giggle beside me.
“Why are you laughing?”
“You are acclimating.”
“I’m what?”
“The food you ate. The water you drank...”
Kitsune bows her head, hiding the redness blooming in her cheeks.
“The song I just sang to you.
“The island is revealing more and more of itself to you.”
“What are you talking abou—?”
Kitsune abruptly halts. I follow suit.
“Hush.” she commands. “Be still.”
I stand there for several minutes, impatient and feeling like an idiot.
Then I notice one of the floating wildflowers drifting toward me.
The wildflower drifts in closer and closer until I see that it’s not a wildflower at all. Looking at the non-flower, a single word comes to mind: fairy.
“Still now.” Kitsune warns. “Let the kami come to you.”
Yes. I think. Not a fairy. Not here. Here on the island, they are called kami.
The kami dances through the air, its inverted petals hanging like a dress beneath the lean stigma constituting its torso.
It lands on my shoulder and continues its dance of slow, graceful movements. Then it catches another air current and lifts off.
I relax my eyes as though I were looking at one of those 3-D paintings in the mall and follow the kami’s flight pattern with my gaze. My eyes wash over countless tiny beings comprised of leaves and vines and bark nestled in the trees. Some of these are humanoid in form, but many defy description.
But all contain traces of intelligence in their visages—looks of worry, curiosity, and even amusement.
It’s amazing—another strange and miraculous world lurking just beneath the surface of the equally wild one I’m in now. It boggles the imagination!
Later, I thank the heavens above that this wondrous moment wasn’t darkened by knowledge of the terrors to come.
Chapter 11
The network which runs throughout the multiverse connecting all places, times, and ideas is referred to as the axis mundi. The concept of the axis mundi has been expressed in many different forms throughout recorded history.
Norse mythology refers to the cosmic tree, Yggdrasil. The tree’s branches stretched far into the heavens, and were supported by three roots extending far away into other planes of existence.
Likewise, the Nesopotanians of the Aegean Islands epitomized the axis mundi as an underground labyrinth that increased in size and complexity the closer one came to its core...
—Excerpt from The Multiverse: A Wonderwork! , by Daniel Sabella
“S o, how far exactly are we from the Toho?” I ask.
Kitsune and I’ve been walking for hours, moving deeper and deeper into the forest, the chirping cicadas providing the soundtrack for our journey. The delightful enchantment the woods held earlier has all but vanished. Now the trees crowd in around us, herding us on toward some new peril.
It seems like that’s all I’ve done since I was marooned here—move from one danger to the next, getting deeper and deeper into trouble with every step.
Despite the length of our trek, Kitsune shows no sign of fatigue. There’s not a single drop of sweat along her perfect, golden brow. Even the bruises she received at the hands of the Oni have seemingly healed over night.
I, on the other hand, am covered in scratches and bruises, and can think of nothing but stopping to take a rest.
To pass the time, we have been practicing the song she sang to me after our escape from the kappa. The words are completely alien to me, so the going is difficult.
At least in my opinion.
Kitsune, on the other hand, seems to think me a virtuoso, and showers my efforts with praise, telling me I sound even better than her.
I’m good, admittedly, but I cannot help but think she is being overly generous.
But when
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