...Swan Song/Assimilation...Third and Final Segment of the Forest Labyrinth Preview

As I rapidly drove towards the reservoir I knew that what I needed to do would take time and patience. I connected with Her quicker and more frequently than ever. There were so many new cords being connected and subtle changes being made. I knew that seeing the pair of swans floating on the surface of the enormous expanse would inspire me and perhaps beckon Her into manifestation.

I arrived at the bridge where the two beauties normally docked themselves along a small green isle. Only one swan was present as I saw the Queen step out from beyond the trees in the background. She never walked. Her fluid motion glided and mixed with red mist along the ground. I am sure Her feet barely ever touched the earth.

Her arms spiraled up and around like a windmill, palms filled with mist and steam in the early August morning. The portal swirled before me as I stood alone on the side of the road. I barely heard the water as it splashed inside the portal.

The swan came forward and hissed as I entered into her space. She blew open her wings and I stepped quickly back. They spanned out to an unexpected width and flapped with an impressive force that alarmed me. I backed up giving her plenty of space, but there was nowhere to go. Only the portal shimmered like a mirror behind me. A passing plumage of clouds and tiny white butterflies hovered above us. The moment, although stressful, beautifully imprinted itself in my memory.

The Queen spoke then, completing the moment to begin the next. “This graceful creature is also one of the fiercest. She has no idea of how beautiful she is. She has no ego. All she knows is strength and dedication. This information will be of utmost importance as you travel through this way to the Future. She will allow you to see the bridge between yourself and I more clearly as you become less concerned with how things look on the outside.”

With a majestic sweep of Her arm, She conjured a bridge out of the mist hovering upon the water. It rose up and over the green isle and bowed out over the short distance to the forest beyond. At once She was there, on the far shore and motioned for me to cross over. The swan gently returned to dipping her beak into crystal clear waters as the mist followed me across.

We walked down a long corridor lined with trees until we came to a small pond with shimmering prisms dancing upon its surface. Tiny entities hovered above sprays of sunlight darting through surrounding tree trunks. My reflection in the surface swirled into other shapes, other faces that I recognized from my life. Suddenly they all merged into one huge face, Her face and the whole pond turned into red mist, evaporating into the air.

She stood where the pond had been. Her dress flowed out over the space effortlessly and smooth. Her hands pointed down to the earth. Stones began to rise out of the drying dirt. I saw names engraved on them and realized they were the names of those who no longer alive. They were deceased ancestors, most of whom I had never met. Her strips of red silk and ribbon twisted around them and gently highlighted certain ones. She spoke softly, almost inaudible. “Come deeper now into the forest. You must see your where your own cycle ends as your assimilation begins.”

The August sun became cold in the wake of Her words. I followed the train of Her dress as it wove in and out of heavily wooded and thorny path. I felt the sharp pinpoints and watched as tiny points of blood popped up on my arms and legs. She turned to look me over as I inspected myself. I felt way too vulnerable in this place where I was supposed to be immune to human pain.

She stood in front of a dark cave entrance. She moved Her hand from Her abdomen as if She were tracing it across a great ocean. Tiny flickers of light began to glow inside the darkness. I followed Her inside where the cold womb was now welcoming. Water dripped from unseen crevices and my wounds were bathed in healing condensation.

She moved ahead in the darkness and as She did, the lights faded. The ground beneath my bare feet became slippery as I tried to keep up with Her. I could hear nothing but steadily dripping water, a maddening pendulum pulse. As I inched along in the darkness I noticed a slight breeze along the sides of my feet. Just before I fell I heard splashing beneath me.

Darkness consumed me as a nervous sweat covered me. It was only an instant before I hit ice cold water. Things slithered past me in the water and I knew screaming would cause more harm than good. With my eyes closed in the velvet blackness I joined them under the surface.

Flickers of light began to shine from under the mire. They coaxed my eyelids open and I hallucinated that I was no longer under water. Opening them, I looked straight into the eyes of another woman who was not exactly human. Lidless eyes stared back at me hauntingly familiar to my own. I gasped in a mouthful of water and saw nothing else.

Floating in a listless darkness Her words sung lightly in my ears. “I know you well and time will tell…what it always has…the same old cage…the same old rage…has expired in this well…the Dark has fallen; the Light is calling…although both adhere within…now turn your face…away from this place…and the illusions that reside within.”

Opening my eyes I stared into the darkness once more. Tiny dancing flecks of light again gave me hope. I blinked a few times and saw bits of dust floating on light streaming in from the exit of the cave. I pulled myself up out of the water towards slats of light that flowed between branches. As I made my way out past leaves and birds chirping in the blinding daylight I heard the most mournful song drifting through the air. I smiled although it made me sad to hear the swan sing her song, and understood its meaning as I made my way back to the portal to return home.