Chapter 5

I heard someone shouting for me to stop, but I kept running. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw two men in black with guns running after me. I panicked and ran straight into traffic to try and escape them. The cars wizzed by, horns blaring and tires screeching. I still ran.

I began to walk around the island more and try to get my bearings. It was very small – I can’t eye measurements like acres and miles and such – so it appeared to be about 6 city blocks square. Not tiny but not very large at all. As I walked around I could see some land off the horizon to the east, and also some to the west. I still couldn’t see any sign of inhabitation anywhere, so I was getting quite a bit worried. The heat of the day was passing and the sun looked like it was going to set in a few hours.I didn’t see any sign of dangerous wildlife either, though one never knows. I began to brainstorm about how I could get the attention of… well anyone. I could start a fire… but with what? I’m no boy scout; I can’t make fire by rubbing sticks together. Damn me for trying to quit smoking, because I really could use my lighter right now. Not to mention a ciggy. Of course this all assumes that there is any civilized life nearby. Wait, why didn’t I think of this before? My distress signal the Mossad gave me my first day!

This is when I, Baba the marvelous, interject and explain for the poor confused reader. You see, Jamie is (sush don’t tell anyone) an undercover agent for the Mossad, otherwise known as the Israeli Intelligence Agency. He hasn’t told anyone about this, not even Lyia. Now this is no secret that he works in the UN (United Nations) headquarters in New York as administrative assistant to the Secretary General. The secret is that he passes on important information to his handler, who shall remain nameless – for now anyway. When he first joined the Mossad they gave him a small, dime sized distress beacon that supposedly works anywhere, which he keeps taped to the inside of his upper thigh. Despite how uncomfortable one might think this might be, he often forgets that it’s there. Back to the story.

I put my hand down my pants and pulled the device off my leg. Pressing it together tightly, the red light activated, and I waited for the light to turn green and indicate that they had picked up it’s signal and were coming for me. I stared at it for a few long seconds when I realized – I’m not on fuckin earth, this thing’s not going to work.

Yes, the sad truth – Jamie is an idiot. Despite being a spy and working administratively in the United Nations, he is an idiot. I must comment how amusing it is to watch him in this little roller - coaster ride of hope and crushing disappointment. And I can laugh because I know how the story ends. Yes, up yours.
Well, let’s cut to Lyia’s story – much more interesting, so much less idiotic.

Lunch went pretty much the same as breakfast – food in abundance, appetite nowhere to be found. I took the time to walk around the block a bit, let the cool air clear my head. It didn’t do much good though. All I ended up with was more questions and a runny nose. Damn this cold. After walking around the block for the fourth time, I decided it to be best to just go inside and back to my desk. But I think I’ll just stop by my favorite deli and pick up some more smack from my favorite little old Arabian man.. Yeah I really need my fix today, because this is just too much drama for me. I got to the store, looked both ways to make sure there were no cops around; then tentivily walked in. It had been a while since I had my smack, so I was a bit nervious about the whole thing, buying smack in public, … I don’t know anymore. As I was walking into the deli, … I over heard two little old men taking about Bill Gates, condos (I think they said condos and not condoms), and other various odd ball topics that old neighbour hood men like to discuss as they talk to each other, discussing various items of discussion as they talk. Their conversation seemed vaguely interesting, but it was far too vague to be of any intrest to me. So I walked up to the counter and and looked for him to ask for my usual.
“Excuse me.” He didn’t look my way.
“Um excuse me…” All she heard were beeping noises coming from various places, and… other people talking in other languages to other people.
She sighed, irritated. “Excuse me!”
He turned to her with a dullish look on his face. “…”
“Can I have my old usual?”
“Your old usual? As compared to your new usual, which wouldn’t be possible since you stopped coming here anymore.”
“…”She gazed at him lustfully. His multi lugualness was a definite turn on for her, along with is caramel skin and his purring accent as he spoke multi lingually; which was sedcuctive in it’s purringness.
“Hmm… yes,”she purred back at him. “you know my usual…”
“Hmm…. And will that be the… full package, my darling?”
She couldn’t really do anything with him, it was far too late and her lunch hour was almost over. “You know what papi, just give me the usual now, and I’ll pick up the benefits later…” She – woah, all of a sudden I started talking about myself in the third person. “I”am not”She”. Where did that come from? Yes, I definitely need my smack today. Anyway, back to my story.
He winked at me as he said”Ok if that’s what you really want… but don’t worry, I’ll be waiting.”
“Yes I’m sure you will.” I watched as he walked back to the back of the store and came out after a fex seconds with a small paper bag. He handed it over to me, and I discretely handed him a wad of cash.
“I hope to see you again, my flower…” He purred as he spoke to me.
“Yes I know you will…” I turned to walk out of the store, but didn’t get very far before I heard shouting, and just a second later something dark slammed into me. I fell to the floor, my head throbbing. I heard shouting in the store, and then a gun shot. Panicked, I tried to crawl out as fast as I could, but a hand sweeped down and grabbed my jacket. I twisted around to see who it was, and reaslised as I looked at his uniform that this was a drug bust. Damn it. I worked free of my jacket and ran out of the store, stumbling a bit as I went. I heard someone shouting for me to stop, but I kept running. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw two men in black with guns running after me. I panicked and ran straight into traffic to try and escape them. The cars wizzed by, horns blaring and tires screeching. I still ran. I kept running, and being that I was a very fast runner, their shouts became more distant. When I finally believed that they were far enough behind, I ran into a subway station and junped over the turnstile. The train was in the platform just was I was running up to it, so I ducked into it and began to walk down the train’s length. The train was still stopped at the station, and I began to worry that the cops would catch me. There was no way out here, so I walked between the cars to the next train car and peeked through the window to see if they were still in pursuit. A few seconds went by, and then suddenly I saw one jump over the turnstile, with the other shortly behind. The train doors started to close, and the other one had caught his foot on the turnstile and fell flat on his face. The first cop just made it into the train though, and so I knew that he would be searching. I quickly headed up the train to the end of it, and held on to the rails and poles as I went. I was breathing so heavily I could hardly hear anything else, and it was like the whole world was just a blur. The thought flashed through my mind – my papi… was that gun shot from him or for him? I would never find out. The next stop came and went, and I was sure all the while that the cop was right behind me. Now I was at the last car, and there was no where else to go. I waited, staring at the door between the cars to see if he would come through. The train began to enter the station, which just turned out to be prospect park. Just as the doors began to open, I saw him come through from the other car. He saw me and gave a shout, pushing through the people to get to me. I ran out of the train and into the station, out of the turnstile and up the stairs. Looking around, I decided to run into the park. There was a farmer’s market, and I ran through there, trying to lose him in the crowd. I heard him shouting still, saying Stop, NYPD. I got into the park, and ran up a hill into the trees. The crunch of the leaves under my feet as I ran, and my breath heavy in the air. I stopped, out of breath, and leaned on a tree, looking back to see if he was still following. It was silent, but then I saw him a little ways off, and he saw me too. I turned and ran. My heart was pounding as I went through a clearing, and then up another small hill. With a flash I realized that this hill was the hill we were at last night. With no time to think, I ran up into that circle of trees, and when I got to the center of them I turned and looked back in his direction. He was getting closer and as I twisted back to keep running, my eyes set on the sun that was just above, and in an instant the world around me begain to blur. I was frozen, and at that same time a blinding flash of light came and I fell. I heard a great rush of wind, and then everything was gone as I blacked out.

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Chapter 4

“Fine, sure, whatever. Just go away and take your damn charisma with you.”

I had reached the edge of the forest and was forcing my way through some underbrush when I saw the water. This was the first time I had seen anything outside of what appeared to be an island since I had arrived here. The initial shock of what had happened was wearing off, and now only two things were in my mind: figure out where Lyia is, and where I am would be nice too. I was walking along the edge of the little beach when it hit me – maybe Lyia wasn’t here, maybe she didn’t come here.
It seemed that I came as soon as I saw the setting sun – it must have been that exact time and where I was looking that brought me here, and Lyia wasn’t looking at what I was looking at. She must still be in Brooklyn, and probably scared to death. I have to get back. I don’t care about finding out about this world anymore; all I care about is getting to Lyia. I headed back to the circle of trees, fighting through the underbrush. I got back to them and went straight to the center, and looked directly into the sun. All I got was a blinding light – nothing happened. So I kept walking around, trying standing in different places, looking all over, thinking all the while what I could have possibly done in the park that made me come here. I tried everything, and could only come to the conclusion that it was the specific time and the sun I looked into, and not anything else would work. I realized this and shakily sat down on the ground, thinking of the weight of this. I could be here for 24 hours, at least. Maybe days, months – a year, or I might never be able to leave. It was all just so much to process… how would I survive even for a few days? I was on an island in a world that, as I just saw when I looked up, had two moons. I couldn’t be anywhere near earth. There was no sign of civilization, no trace of human inhabitation. It was getting towards noon, and the heat of the sun was beginning to get to me. I got up, wincing because my leg had fallen asleep. I worked my way over to some shade under the other trees. Sitting down on the ground again, I tried to think out what I should do.

Hey it's me, Baba. I love the fact that I am allowed to just come in at any point during the story and say whatever I will to embellish and reveal, dazzle and entertain. Ok I’ll get you back to current events now. Lyia just got to work and is quite understandably a tad disturbed.

“Hey Lyia, how doin?” My co-worker was standing over me at my desk, altogether far too chipper for this early in the morning.
“Hm? Oh I’m fine…” I said, quite irritated already. But I was far too headachy to really care that much.
“Well you don’t look fine. Are you OK honey buns?” She leaned in closer, and let out a little gasp. “Are those bags under your eyes?”
“Please don’t ever call me ‘honey buns’, ever, ever again.” My voice was deep and droning, and my demeanor in this state was usually enough to turn trolls into stone. But not Cacique. Damn I just wanted to punch her artificially whitened teeth out of her face. “And yes, those are bags under my eyes. Do you want them?”
“Girl, I think you’re in a bad mood. I’m going to call up my prayer chain and ask them to pray that you’ll get some Jesus into you, is that alright with you girl?”
“Fine, sure, whatever. Just go away and take your damn charisma with you.”
“Iiright if that’s what you want. Guess I’ll be seein’ you at lunch then. Have a good day!” She waved and walked away, clicking as she went.
I turned back to my computer and started looking through my emails, trying to distract my mind from what was weighing on me. I couldn’t. All I could see was those trees; all I could hear was my thoughts racing through my head about what I was going to do. What was I going to do? I know that I’m going back - I have to. But what am I going to do once I get there? Do I really want to disappear to wherever Jamie went?
“Miss Connelly. You’re late again. Do you plan on getting your work done today?”
Damn. It’s my supervisor, officially the 2nd most irritating person in the world. What to say this time…
“I’m sorry, I just got a little… morning sickness.” Always use unavoidable physical problems as an excuse. You don’t have to apologize for them. “And yes I do plan to get my work done.”
“I do hope so.” He turned to walk away, then stopped and turned back. “Oh yes, and there’s a general staff meeting today at 3. I trust I’ll see you there?”
“Yes Mr. Peterson you will.”
“Good then.”
And he was gone. I guess I really should get to work, and push this out of my head. I’ve been pushing my problems out of the way temporarily for my whole life; I should be able to manage one more time - until tonight.

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Chapter 3

All I could hear was the sound of the leaves on the trees rustling, and waves, softly breaking on an unseen shore. For a moment, it was so peaceful. Then I opened my eyes and realized that I was alone.

We walked down the concrete path, and as the path turned those trees came into view. They looked different somehow than they did when we first saw them, but the foreboding we felt in the dream kept getting stronger and stronger in our hearts as we walked up to them. It was nearing sunset, and the sky that was thick and grey was beginning to take on a tinge of purple and orange. The air was cool and the wind brisk, so I pulled my jacket a little tighter and crossed my arms as I walked. Both Lyia and I were silent the whole time we walked that path, until we came right up to the edge of the little hill that those trees grew on.


“So what now?” Lyia asked. It wasn’t really a question of what to do so much as asking if we were actually doing to do anything at all.
“We can’t just turn around and leave,” I said. “We’ve come this far, and it’ll never rest until we find out what happens once we step foot inside.”
Lyia sighed, biting her lip. “Let’s just walk in. fgbr rgv revg vgrgv rt r4vbgrbh rgvt4rtg4rbv e edtf4
I took the first step. It seemed that my feet were so heavy as I started going up the hill, and Lyia was walking right beside me. The wind started blowing harder, and to be honest I was scared. I think Lyia was too. But the next we knew, there we were, inside the ring of trees – and it was exactly the same as we had dreamed. We just stood there silently, like we were expecting something to happen. But nothing did, and the wind just kept blowing.
“What are we supposed to do?” I asked. “Just stand here until something happens?”
Lyia just exhaled and shook her head. I started walking around a bit. The sky was changing color as the sun set, and everything was beginning to turn slightly orange. It seemed brighter than it should be, brighter than it had been all day.

That was the last thing I remembered of this world. Next I knew I was lying on the ground. The first thing I remember of where I ended up was the sound. It was so quiet, and so alive. All I could hear was the sound of the leaves on the trees rustling, and waves, softly breaking on an unseen shore. For a moment, it was so peaceful. Then I opened my eyes and realized that I was alone. Lyia was gone, the park was gone, and the entire world that I had known since birth was gone. I got up, and stumbled a bit as the blood rushed to my head far too quickly. I got my grounding, and started to look around. It’s so beautiful, but so terrifying at the same time. My mind started to race – what was I going to do? How would I get home? Where’s Lyia? Where am I?

I just stood there, looking out between the trees into the little forest. The ring of trees that I was standing inside then seemed to be the exact same ring of trees that was in Brooklyn. God, back in Brooklyn. The thought struck me with its starkness, that I was in a completely different world. I could hardly get my mind around the idea. Had I traveled back in time? Forward? Was this even the same planet? The thoughts seemed so absurd, but what just happened to me was so absurd – but it was real. So here I am, lost in a world that is not my own. But - the world I was in – was it my own either? I sighed. Always the philosopher. Here I am, in a place that I could very well starve to death, and I’m pondering my place in existence in the world. I shook the thoughts out of my head and forced my self to walk around. I walked out of that ring, and into a light forest of smaller trees. The ground was soft and the light breeze had a wonderful, earthy smell to it. The air tasted different, the sky seemed brighter and everything was almost imperceptibly cleaner, fresher. Just breathing I felt strengthened, calmed. I kept walking, and I decided while I was walking that I was looking for Lyia. She must have come through as well and just ended up somewhere else.

This is the narrator. No, not the main character who’s been talking to you before. This is Baba, and I’m the main character’s childhood stuffed animal. I decided that, as Jamie was writing, that I should interject and tell a little bit of Lyia’s story, as he doesn’t know it nearly as well as I do. I’ll begin back in the park where Jamie disappeared, and we’ll just pretend that Lyia is now narrating.

“Hey Jamie come look at…” I turned around to where he last was, and he was gone. “Jamie? Where are you?” I began to panic. This was all just too weird, and I thought that it was really cruel of him to play a joke on me like that.
“Jamie it’s not funny. Where are you?” I looked around, and he wasn’t there. He had just said something a second ago.
“Jamie?” Silence. Just dead silence.
“Jamie!” I was scared. My best friend disappeared. This was no joke. I didn’t know what to do, so I just ran. I was crying, and the wind was blowing hard, almost like nature was taunting me. I ran down a path and onto a small wood bridge. The tears were streaming, and all I could hear was the sound of my heart pounding. Leaning on the bridge rail, I could barely see through the tears. I was so scared. I turned away for one second, and he was gone. What could be going on? Breathing heavily, I slowly sat down on the floor of the bridge and tried to clear away the tears. Slowly I recovered myself and began to think. I replayed in my head exactly what happened. I had just asked what we were supposed to do, and started to walk towards something I saw on the ground. Then I said something and turned around and he was gone, without a sound. Wait, no. Not without a sound – he said something. It was almost mumbled, but I remember him saying something… he said something about the sun… yes, he said “the sun”. I should have turned around right when he said that. Maybe I would have gone with him, wherever he went. Where could he have gone? I have to know. I got up and started walking back to the trees. The sun was almost done setting, and it was getting dark. I was still scared, but I refused to let it control me. I would not run away. I got to the ring of trees, and walked into them. He had said something about the sun, so I looked in the direction of the sun, but it had set already. The wind was cold, and I folded my arms and shivered. I kept looking around for a few minutes, but finally decided that there was nothing else I could do. But one thing I knew I would do, I would come back to this place tomorrow at the same time, and see if the sun held the answers to my questions.

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Chapter 2

...we were stepping into something much bigger than ourselves, like hearing the ocean before you can see it. You know that it’s just around the bend, but it’s still just a sound that you can’t get out of you head. That sound haunts you, drives you to find whatever great force is behind it.

That night I dreamt of those trees. I had seen nothing of any note that day, nothing that I could tell would have haunted me, no way I could have known what was to come. But I put it out of my head and continued on.

“Are you alright? You look really tired.” Lyia said as she stood over me. I was just sitting on the grass minding my own business trying to write a paper, and here she is. I love her.
“Yea, I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep well last night is all.”
“The last time you didn’t sleep well at night was when we were in Italy and you thought that some guy had put a hit on you.” She said as she sat down next to me. “What is it this time?”
“It’s nothing, really. Just a bad dream.” And to me, that’s really all it was.
“Wanna tell me about it?” Leaning in closer, she put on her counselor face.
I took a breath. “Remember those trees that you thought were weird in the park the other day?” I asked.
“Yea, what about them? You dreamed about trees?”
“Umm yea.”
“What specifically did you dream?”
“I dreamt that I was inside their circle, and I was looking around, like I was searching for something. Then as I was looking around I looked up into the sunset and I felt a gust of wind and everything went blurry.” Even as I was saying the words I could see the picture in my mind. “Then I woke up. That was it.”
“That… that’s the exact same dream that I had last night.” She shifted, looking off into the distance. “Word for word.”
Neither of us said anything for a few minutes there. We had dreamed the same dreams before but never this vivid, and never about something that felt so… odd. I broke the silence.
“So what do you think it is – what could it mean?”
“I think it means that we have to go back to the park.” She said, pulling her hair behind her ear.
So we went back. And what happened when we went there, well – I’ll just let the story tell it self.

We both walked in a slightly apprehensive manner, wanting to know what was going on in our dreams and if it had anything to do with, well, anything. Neither of us are very prone to chasing after images in dreams, or believing that they are anything more than figments of our subconscious mind. But here we were, walking down a concrete path to go see some trees. Though this wasn’t the first time we had done things this insane. It’s just the nature of our friendship, we do crazy things together, just because we know that there’s no one else who would even entertain those kinds of ideas. Like I’ve said before, I would marry her, except that we just despise the idea of waking up next to each other. One crazy thing that we did once was when we were in college. We were both taking a cooking class and had been appointed to take care of the dessert for the senior’s banquet. College is no different than High School in this; the freshmen don’t like the seniors and vice versa. Both of us being freshmen, we decided to have ourselves a little fun.

“We could put teeth in instead of macadamia nuts,” I suggested. “It would still look alright.”
“Where are we going to get enough teeth? Where are we even going to get one tooth?” Lyia was almost always the voice of reason.
“We could punch out some high school students.” I said.
She paused -“I can’t believe I even entertained that idea in the first place.” Lyia said. “We have to think of something that will cause considerable pain, but not get us in too much trouble – something we can pass off as an accident.”
“One word – cyanide.” I said, my eyes lighting up with mock delight.
“One word – No.”
“Ok then, what do you suggest?”
“Oxymetazoline chocolate chip cookies.” She said, quite happy with herself. “But of course we’ll we’ll just say that they are chocolate chip cookies – quite run-of-the-mill.”
“It sounds quite brilliant – but what, pray tell, is oxy-meta-zooll-dorf-dorf?” I asked.
She blinked at me. “Ox-i-met-AZ-oh-leen is a decongestant also used in red-eye reliving eye drops.” She sounded so much like an evil scientist. “It’s tasteless and when ingested it has the effect of causing one to temporarily lose bladder control.”
“See, that’s why I should have paid attention in biochemistry class.”
“Hon, you don’t learn these things in biochem. You learn these things being a waitress in a casino who always carries eye drops with her to take care of irritating customers.”
“You’re evil. I love you.” I said – and I really did love her at that moment.
“Thank you. Now let’s make some cookies, shall we?”

No one ever found out that it was the cookies that did it – everyone thought it was the suspiciously spiced chicken. But we knew who we were, and needed no recognition.

It was getting late, and the sky was still overcast. I looked up at the clouds and a chill went up my spine. The clouds were rolling, thick and dark, like a storm was coming.
“There’s no wind.” Lyia said. I hadn’t noticed until she said it.
“Something’s really not right here – I mean I know it’s an obvious observation, but… something’s not right.”

I stammer when I get nervous, or scared. I can’t really say that I was scared, but I certainly wasn’t comfortable. And what made it worse was that neither of us had any good reason to be scared. We both had the same dream about some trees. So what? But, something was off. We couldn’t pin it down, but something felt abnormal about the whole thing. The day, the rolling clouds in the sky, the lack of wind, the dream, and that one tiny raindrop Lyia felt days ago. That and a few chills up our spines all added up to the certainty in our minds that we were stepping into something much bigger than ourselves, like hearing the ocean before you can see it. You know that it’s just around the bend, but it’s still just a sound that you can’t get out of you head. That sound haunts you, drives you to find whatever great force is behind it. Little did we know then, but that sound that we had heard in our dreams was the sound of a land that was calling us unto itself. That stillness in the air was the force of that land driving back all distractions, making itself heard above all nature. That sound was the cry of Rokani.

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Chapter 1

“Remind me again, why are you my best friend?” She says as she squints her eyes at me.
“Because you’re a princess in disguise and I’m really your bodyguard who pretends to be your best friend to protect you from ninjas.” I stated, quite matter-of-factly.
She looked at me, opened her mouth to say something, but paused in midair – “Oh yes, that’s it.”

As I set foot on that small island once again, I was reminded of the person I was when I last saw those trees in the distance. It had been such a long time since I had seen that island, having avoided it so much in the past. But now I stand on it’s shore, looking out over the water, and I don’t regret the decision I made. Thinking back over all the years, how this place has worked it’s way into my heart and soul, and how it had somehow always been there, in my heart, calling me to it. It was the first time that I laid eyes on this land that I knew that it had always been inside a small part of me, crying out to be found. And now, as I stand on this ground for the last time, I know deep within my soul that I have been fulfilled, and my time in this land is now complete. I’ll certainty miss it.

Walking through the brush, deeper into this rather small island, it almost seems that the underbrush is pulling at me, urging me to stay here. But I know that I cannot, so I trudge forward.
There they are, those trees again. So beautiful and yet so foreboding, almost painful. It’s beginning to lightly rain, and the rain is mingling with my tears. I love this place so much, but what I know compels me to continue forward towards that circle of trees that had haunted my dreams for so long. The ground is growing more level now, it’s no longer such a climb uphill. The trees are almost on me now. The sun is about to begin setting, so I know that I’m right on time. Fate has a way of working these things out. I breathed in deeply, inhaling the cool damp air. It’s still raining but the leaves of the trees are shielding it out. Now I’m standing at the edge of that ring, the circle of trees that are both my beginning and end here. Looking back, I can see the boat that carried me out here drifting away. So now it’s final. I have to go. Turning towards the trees, I walk into the center of their ring. The wind is beginning to blow a little harder now, and I can feel the rain hitting me. The sky is so beautiful, iridescent in colors of red and orange and blues too brilliant to describe. But it’s beginning to fade. Looking around me, taking in the browns of the dirt and the greens of the trees, listening to the creaking and soothing sound of the wind and trees, it’s almost as if the land is saying farewell, giving me something more to remember. It’s so beautiful, and I want to stay so much. But with tear filled eyes, I raise my head and look into that enrapturing sunrise one last time.
“Farewell, Rokani.”
And with a strong gust of wind, the land I began to call home melts away.

That was exactly one year ago. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I’ve tried to go back, but the portal closed behind me. I still go to that identical ring of trees in Prospect Park, exact replicas of the ones in Rokani. It is that circle of trees in the park that carried me there so many years ago, and it is that circle of trees that I came back to my birthplace in. It’s a break, you see, in what separates these worlds. When I was there so many years ago, I was standing in a crack between the lands, and by looking into the sunset I fell through that crack and landed in Rokani, at it’s sunrise. I never could have known what would happen to me when I stood in that circle here in Brooklyn. But standing in that same circle in Rokani, I knew exactly what would happen. The years that I spend in that land, a land that I never could have imagined existed, changed me so much. You must think I’m crazy, sitting here telling you about how I was just walking through the park one day and ended up in a land no man-made mode of transport could take me to. Sometimes I even think I’m crazy too. But it’s that small stone that I have from that place that assures me that it’s real. It still glows sometimes, and when I hold it, it’s almost like I can still smell that earth, taste the air and see the color. There were colors there in Rokani that we don’t have here, smells so alluring that can compare to nothing in this earth, and textures so complex… oh how I want to go back. I still visit, you know. But only in dreams. Ever had a dream that was so real, that it was almost like you felt less alive when you woke up? That’s what Rokani was like. It was a revival of my soul, a wellspring of life for those places in my heart that I thought would never be fulfilled.

But enough of me blabbing on and on about how much I miss the place. The only reason you’re here is because you want to read the journals I kept in Rokani. Don’t worry, I’ll get to them. But first there’s some history I have to give you.

It all began when I was born, way back in the day. Just kiddin, I’m not gonna bore you with all that crap. I was a boring kid. Heck, I was a boring teenager, and a boring adult. Now, after years of being boring, I get to be a senile old man who can be as cranky and eccentric as he wants and nobody gives a hoot. It was Rokani, you see, that taught me not to be so blooming serious all the time. But here I go, rambling again. Sorry.

Where should I start… I’ll make it quicker and start the day that I discovered that there was something different about that circle of trees in Prospect Park. You see, I was just walking along with Lyia – Oh yes, I forgot to tell you about Lyia. She was my best friend in the whole wide world. I once even thought about askin her to marry me, but then I realized that neither of us were too keen on the idea of waking up next to each other. So I decided to just continue on being her best friend. Anyway, we were walking through the park one day…
“Did you feel that?” Lyia said.
“Feel what?” Replied I.
“That drop of rain.”
“Rain? Are you sure that wasn’t spit? Cuz there ain’t a cloud in the sky and we are in Brooklyn you know.”
She didn’t even see fit to acknowledge that statement with a reply, she just gave that look that girls give boys when they happen to prove their manly stupidity.
“Alright fine,” I said, “it was a drop of rain. So what?”
“Never mind. It’s just…” She paused and looked over at some trees behind us.
I had seen that look before. That was the look of a person who knows beyond all shadow of doubt that something’s not right about something, and they want to find out what it is.
“What are you looking at?” I said, trying not to sound like I was going to make fun of her.
“Nothing.” She turned and looked back at me. Seeing that I was not convinced, she explained.
“It’s those trees. There’s something odd about them.” Folding her arms and furrowing her brow, we had both stopped walking and were standing facing those trees.
“I just think it’s odd how they’re in such a perfect circle – and that drop of rain almost felt like it came from inside their ring.”
“Do you want to go back and… you know, look at them more?” I asked.
“No,” She said as she exhaled and turned to face me. “Let’s just keep walking. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“O.K., if you say so.” I said. “Hey, wanna walk up to the farmer’s market at Grand Army? I hear rutabagas are in season.”
“Since when are you a fan of rutabagas?” She said, once again giving me the you’re-a-stupid-little-boy look. “Do you even know what rutabagas are?”
“They’re reddish things that grow in dirt, right?”
“Remind me again, why are you my best friend?” She says as she squints her eyes at me.
“Because you’re a princess in disguise and I’m really your bodyguard who pretends to be your best friend to protect you from ninjas.” I stated, quite matter-of-factly.
She looked at me, opened her mouth to say something, but paused in midair – “Oh yes, that’s it.”

That was the first day that I had any exposure to that circle of trees – and I never did get any rutabagas.

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Preface

As I raised my head and looked into that enrapturing sunrise one last time, I breathed a raspy prayer for this land, that with its breath had enflamed colour into my eyes and life into my heart... farewell Rokani.

So this is where my verbal monstrosity will be harboured. So here's the working idea for the "novel".
Rokani is the title, and the story is based off of a dream that I had about a year ago, and has been mulling about in my head for that entire time. I'm not promising greatness, just a lot of words. It should start really well... I'm planning to write approx. 2000 words a day, that way I can slack off every once in a while. A friend is graciously lending me a laptop, which will help me immensely. This blogged version will be about the same format as it is here, a gem of a quote at the top (to lure you in), a few witty or possibly angsty comments, and the full text of that day's writing on the "Read More!" link at the bottom of each post. More to come on November 1st... See you then!
-Hans

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