A page from On the Road to Salvation

It was a girl--asleep against the stump, and more importantly, naked as the day she was born. Embarrassed as much for myself as for her, I stepped back to give her space. What in the world was she doing out in the woods, butt-naked, and sleeping out in the open? I didn't have a clue what to do. I couldn't just leave her, but what's the proper etiquette for this circumstance?

I decided to forego the lean-to and get a fire going right where I'd left the kindling and logs. If she awoke to find a warm fire, perhaps she'd be inclined to stick around, if at a distance, and it might keep the predators from making a meal of her in the night. A thin, flannel coat was all I had to offer her. I hung it on the side of the stump where she could easily find it, then settled in for a few gooseberries and a crackling fireside nap.

By the time I woke up, the flames had died down to embers. It was night. When I realized where I was, I jerked up and looked toward the stump. The flannel coat was gone. Flagrant rustling in the trees behind me--I wheeled around, still groggy but agile enough to get onto one knee. More rustling to my left... and more in front of me--deliberately scurrying around an invisible perimeter. Whatever they were, I hoped they had frightened away the sleeping watcher to a safer place. I heard something charging at me. Still I saw nothing but darkness. Instinctively, I tumbled backward, over and through the coals, sending sparks from embers soaring like spirits freed from the fire. Then the eyes. They revealed the wolf before its form. They glowed a heavy blue-grey through the bright orange sparks. I grabbed the end of a small stick with a glowing tip--a sad weapon, but better than nothing... maybe. A chorus of growls from an anxious pack followed the alpha's lead. More blue-grey orbs flanked the leader. Clenching my fists, I prepared for for the fight.

"Morach! Nya!" a stern, woman's voice called, "Nya kuta!"

The wolves stopped--their eyes turned to my right. Scampering to my feet, I held firmly to the flimsy, smoldering stick because it was the only thing that still made sense. The voice belonged to another woman--also long red hair--also naked, head to toe.

"They will not harm you," she said confidently as four more young women emerged from the woods near her, "and neither will we."

Every hair on my body was raised. None of it seemed like it could possibly be real.

Adrenaline coursed through me like lightning. Her eyes glanced down at the feeble stick I held. I dropped it into the fire as if were pure evil. A weapon, even as futile as a charred stick, seemed an abomination in their presence. But the wolves... they obeyed this woman before their own primal hunger. I thought... I must be dreaming... or dead.

"What is this? Who are you?" I demanded.

"I am Taenope. You have come into the Nesh seeking fortune?"

"No, I'm not seeking anything, really. The wolves obey you. How?"

"They do not obey me, they simply understand me, as I understand them."

"Okay... I'm not sure what that means, but thank you for stopping them. They would have torn me apart... though not without a fight," I assured her... or perhaps just myself.

"You are no more their enemy than the fallen tree is yours--it is a means to your survival."

"Okay, I guess I understand that. What are you doing out here... all of you?"

"We live here. This is our home. What are you doing here?"

"I was heading to a town... though I'm not sure it still exists."

"Thessyna will show you the way."

"Thessyna?"

"My daughter... you presented her with a gift without knowing her name. For this act of selflessness, it is our tradition that she must do for you whatever you ask."

I felt a warm presence, like a heat lamp, behind me. I turned to see the girl--the one who had been sleeping--wearing my flannel coat as she approached humbly. I was stricken by her beauty, I won't lie, but she was so out of place. I turned back slowly, saying, "I appreciate the offer, but I'm not in need of..."

They were gone--the wolves, the woman, and all of the others--gone. Thessyna was the only one remaining. I spun around to try to catch a glimpse of their retreat into the trees, but there was nothing--nothing at all--no sound, no movement, just darkness. I turned back to the girl walking toward me, utterly devoid of apprehension. The warmth she emanated could not be explained by any logic, or even hypothesized by pure conjecture--it was... magical if it was anything.

"Thessyna," I said calmly, grateful that my throat still held its voice.

"And may I know your name?" she asked.

"Graeson Reid," I said, caught in her eyes like a snare, "How old are you?" I asked.

"I don't know. You're a human, Graeson Reid?"

"What? Yes, I'm a human. What do you mean, you 'don't know' how old you are?"

"We don't keep track of things like that."

I rubbed my temples in mild frustration.

"Please... let me," she said, reaching for my head with both hands.

The sensation of her touch was as inexplicable as the radiating warmth of her approach. Her fingers were medicine--healing pains I didn't even realize I had. My eyelids collapsed in absolute relaxation, my shoulders sagged at my sides, hands tingling with energies unknown to them. My eyes fluttered open as I let old breath out of new lungs. Her eyes were soft and clear, lips parted as if begging for contact. I blinked away the notion. She was young and beautiful, but too young... and too beautiful. I gently took her wrists and brought them down to her sides. The blissful moment was over.

"What... what did your mother mean by, your tradition?"

"It is a rare thing--a traveler giving something valuable to a perfect stranger. The gesture requires repayment."

"But, to commit to doing whatever someone asks... that seems like it could be dangerous."

"Luckily, it doesn't happen very often," she giggled, "and those who give out of goodness rarely ask out of malice."

"You sure don't talk like a young girl. May I ask... how old are you?"

She ignored the question, "Come on," she said as she began to walk away.

"Where? Where are we going?" I asked, following obediently--almost involuntarily.

"The tradition states I must do whatever you want..."

"Yes, I understand that, but where are you taking me?" I asked.

Looking over her shoulder at me, she replied with a coyly, "I'm going to show you what you want."