Chapter VIII, Reading 2

"I'll do the dishes," Kewero offered when they were finished with their meal.  "Go put on your riding clothes and saddle Deru.  Meet me in the central chamber of the cave.  Then I'll lead you though to the outside."

"Are you sure you don't need help in the kitchen?"

"Quite sure, so go change."

With a smile, Flindra turned and left the kitchen.  She was pleased she could be of service to Kewero by practicing the skills she had learned from her Papa and Leudh.  It was a very satisfying feeling to be able to provide food for those one loved, and Flindra had grown to love Kewero during the time she'd been in the caves.

It was also going to be a pleasure to be outside.  She looked forward to riding under a blue sky and sunlight.  The smell of fresh air was something Flindra always enjoyed and something she had missed while in the cavern.

A wave of comfort and security washed over her when she put on the familiar trousers and tunic.  She was again Flindra and not Princess Flindra.  The fact of her royalty was a reality she accepted, but it was something she wasn't used to yet and it was easy to slip into the comfort of the familiar.

Kewero was waiting for her in the central chamber after she'd saddled Deru.  She looked closely at Flindra and was reassured to see she was already more relaxed.  She smiled and received an answering grin from her Princess.

"You already look better - your eyes are brighter and there is less tension in your shoulders.  Mount up and then I will take you through."

Kewero waited for Flindra to secure her bow and quiver to the saddle and then mount.  Taking hold of the reins, she pulled the horse forward.

The shimmering zone appeared before them.  Kewero walked toward it and then guided them through.  Flindra tried to concentrate on the transfer from the cavern complex through the gleaming region to the world beyond.  Her training had heightened her awareness in matters of being and mind so she wanted to study the experience.

It was perhaps due to her elevated consciousness that the passage back to the world seemed entirely different than her first encounter.  The sensation was analogous to what she experienced with the crystal orb.  A kaleidoscope of pure color surrounded her, which shifted rapidly from red, to white, to violet and back to white.  Then the colors changed from white to gold, to blue and finally green.  Before the green could shift to another color, they were back in the yurt that marked the entrance to the world.

Kewero laughed at the shocked expression on Flindra's face.  "I think you look more surprised than you did the first time through."

"The first time I felt a connection with life - with everything living.  I didn't experience that now.  Instead, my mind was filled with shifting colors.  Why was it different?"

"What makes you think that it was different?"

Flindra only looked confused.

"You actually experienced different aspects of the same phenomenon," Kewero explained.  "Life is energy; light is energy.  They are the same.  How you perceive this energy is controlled by what you are attuned to at the instant of contact.  Effectively, your thoughts form the nature of the experience."

"I don't think I really understand."

"That's quite all right, Flindra.  We can discuss this again in more detail.  For the moment, you are to reacquaint yourself with the joys of life.  Let Rigga cloak you now.  Keep alert, for there may be enemies still searching for you.  Come back to this yurt when you are through with your ride and I will return to guide you back to the caverns.  Enjoy your ride, my Princess."

Kewero had unfastened the flap of the doorway while she had been giving her instructions.  She inclined her head slightly by way of parting and disappeared back into the shimmering light.