In the morning a newly-purchased transport left the town in a pleasant mood. It was an old local taxi, but the repulsars were in good condition and it trundled easily through the woodland with its few passengers. Leb sat in the driving seat, and in the back rode Ayleah, Niisi, and a pair of villagers who hadn't realized the cab was out of service. Leb had been very gracious with them and offered to take them around the lake, as their stop was on his way as well.
As the small company traversed above the northern shoreline of Norton Pond, they followed a road that slabbed slowly upward along the hillside. To the left rose an open forest of gentle hardwoods climbing beyond view. To the right however, the slope funneled down into a dark thicketed vale overtowered by tall pines. To Ayleah the sense of the place seemed more than visual. There was a pull to the obscured shoreline, quite a ways off through the dark trees. Though the cart moved along well enough and the pitch was not steep, the travel felt slightly difficult, like a drag of friction from their right. The pine needles covered more of the sun over there, but there was also a darkness about the place only detected by some sixth sense. Her training with Telon had sharpened this mysterious sense only a little, but the energy here felt so large and powerful that it was distracting even her.
Just as a small bit of fear crept in for that dark spring glen and the call it had, Ayleah remembered one of her lessons that previous year at the Sanctuary. It had been early on in the curriculum; a discussion about the duality of the world. The teacher had said we should not be afraid of the “darkness” because it is just as beautiful, and often more innocent than the “light”. The terms themselves were a polar construction imposed by reason onto what in reality was a beautiful swirling spectrum. Some places are very light, and others are very dark, but they meet in utter harmony and play with each other.
For it is certain that darkness is beautiful because it contains the most precious lights, and cradles them in velvety wonder. The darkness, when lit properly, has such incredible glamour, yet is often maligned and thus given to dis-appreciation and un-qualification. The light is equally beautiful, but it hides a secret for those who do not embrace both sides. It has always been the case that one cannot exist without the other- we only know light and dark because of their contrast and tension. Therefore if darkness is most beautiful due to the light it holds, then the inverse must also be true. The brightest light holds the most special darkness of all, and it too is plagued by the misfortunes that befall all darkness in a world biased towards the light.
We are not to blame, at least not in the direct way in which we blame. Life needs light, as a fact it looks to survival before perception. One can be blind to much of the world if overly-confident in sight. Life without care does not care for balance. It is up to us to move forward, and use perception to rediscover our care.
So Ayleah saw the darkness, and was afraid, but she acknowledged her feelings, and saw the darkness on its own terms. Then she felt secure, even held by its presence. She reached out to appreciate that place for the beauty it had, and it released her from its probing prejudice. Aside her in the transport, Niisi caught her eye and smiled.
“I'm glad you decided to come with us Ayleah. When we first met I thought you'd be a great addition to our crew.” From up front Leb gave a short laugh. “What 'crew' Niisi? We're just going back to the falls now. I have plenty of work at home that's been put off for this little excursion.”
“What Leb?” Niisi responded, “You've been the most supportive of this trip all along! I thought you actually wanted a bit more adventure in your life again.”
“Make no mistake, I did this for Jaen.” Leb's face was set, though he did not turn around. “We've always been such good friends, how could I say no? Plus, I figure whatever he and Sutton got up to won't work out for him too well. It'll be a good experience for him. I'm sure we'll all catch up in a few days back at the falls and see what he's learned.”
Niisi turned back to Ayleah. “What about you? Do you think you'll leave as soon as you can for the mountains?”
“I don't know...I'm still only hoping that I'll be able to find out where Telon was going. Once I do know though, I'll need to leave as soon as possible.”
“You really think something bad might have happened to him?” When they had met up again after Jaen and Sutton's departure from the group, Ayleah had divulged the real reason for her trip, and her concerns for the whereabouts of her scholarly mentor.
“There's just no reason the Sanctuary hadn't heard from him. He was supposed to return more than two weeks ago now, and I know that the head sages often receive messages from their mountain counterparts, so word would have been sent if the plans changed. But even though they seem concerned, they refuse to do anything concrete. I have to try and find out what happened myself. They have no excuse to stop me- classes aren't in session, and my mentor is missing. I can take care of myself well enough. Though,” she added, smiling back at Niisi, “I am glad I found some friends for at least a bit of the journey.”
Before long, they reached the top of the rise. The road led through a gentle saddle of land in the ridge that enclosed Norton Brook Reservoir. A smaller road marked by dual rock cairns turned off to the right and led back down toward the eastern shore. On one of the smaller rock piles they saw a familiar-looking figure. Jaen sat by the roadside looking the opposite of the bright sunlight that filtered though to the road junction. The dejection only grew when he saw who sat in the vehicle that drew closer. They stopped beside him as he stood, and he approached the driver's cab, opening his mouth to speak. Leb put up a hand to silence him and said: “In lieu of an apology to me, I suggest you make use of this time contemplating the lesson you may have learned here. Now get in, if you want. I only stopped anyway cause it was where these two were getting off.” he indicated the two villagers who had just unloaded from the old taxi. The two old friends connected, and Jaen climbed in beside Niisi. Leb steered the taxi back on course and they continued on their way under the placid sunlight, somehow glinting orange even through the high green canopy of the woods.
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