Number Twelve

Sa and Atee awoke at the same moment. The suns were rising, the trees began breathing, the critters on the floor awoke from their own dreams.

Sa and Atee blinked their eyes but did not move. They both felt a prayer move through them, the whole forest was awaking to this same praying.

The boundary between object and subject vanished as the tremendous energy embraced all of this hemisphere with a loving hug. As its arms released, Sa and Atee's wings began to flutter. They were gently nudged out of the tree and glided softly into the open sky. The whole sky was theirs to explore. All of the world had now awakened and

Number Ten

Sa and Atee both smiled thinking of the rainbow hanging over them.

Their food was cooking in the boiling water, held in a shell they found high in the branches. The wood was dry enough to burn once the first spark was made.

The humid heaven beneath them was waiting for the two to come down. Some of the bugs wanted to feed on them, some of the flowers wanted to share their their scent with something new. Somehow, even the ground was enticing them to walk on it, it wanted to feel their feet massaged into it.

Unfortunately, neither Sa nor Atee were able to know these things, They were sad and frightened when they considered climbing down. Each night Sa prayed a miracle would rescue them or provide them with the courage so they may rescue themselves.

And Atee fell asleep each night praying the branch wouldn't break or bend under the tremendous pressure of maintaining two lives. Each morning they smiled in their hearts, in each others direction, knowing they must have been listened to.

Number Nine

Sa and Atee landed in a tree, thousands of feet higher than the worms and primates on the ground. Luckily, one ancient wooden branch was strong enough for them to balance on.

They knew that they should climb down but the view was so gorgeous that they waited six days watching the sun rise and set. After the first couple of days, their stomachs stopped growling, their eyes stopped watering and their hearts stopped aching.

They were hundreds of feet above where even the next leaf grew. The humidity distorted the light like a flame, growing stronger the closer one came to the muddy ground. Up above, where they sat it was crisp and fair. The branch the dry. The sky was a pleasant, pale green.

Even higher were other trees and their canopies obstructed the flooding flow of star lights. Some of the pink stars still shone between the twigs at the top layer of the canopy.

Sa and Atee both remembered their first feelings and thoughts, as they fell they both believed that they were falling onto a pebbly ground. The dense canopy looked like dead earth from the sky. The sky was orange with streaks of deep violish-blue, they felt an unnatural force guiding them softly onto this branch. It seemed to disrupt the principles of reality. Nevertheless, they were here now.

Atee was curious why the tree wouldn;t sway despite when the kicked it her hardest way above its center of gravity. It must be well rooted, she thought.

Sa was curious why a piece of bark he tossed off fell sharply at first, and then floated down like a deather once it reached where the leaves grew.

The tree was curious why Sa didn't just try jumping off itself, surely he too would float down.

A small bird flew over the canopy, nobody saw it, and a feather left its body. The feather dove nose first towards the worms and primates. The bird flew on, alone.

Number Seven

Sa told Atee to hold onto the kite they built. They both squeezed tight and jumped off the edge of their world. They couldn't see the bottom, they had no idea where it was. But it didn't matter, they had full trust in life.

The kite functioned as a glider, sailing them across the waves of wind through low-laying clouds of some unknown world which has discovered them.

Sometimes the wind would push them backwards and neither of them could see where they were headed. The air became heavier as they descended, but they were still miles above the ground.

Massive glaciers floated atop seas of lava. Icebergs jutted out like horns.

The lava faded into sand and the sand rose in mammoth pyramids and dunes almost sweeping against their own feet. Atee's shoe fell off and landed softly upon the gentle, virgin surface of a sand dune.

The invisible wings of existence propelled them onward into the womb of the unknown. The once sand dunes now had been washed into the ocean by foamy waves.

Atee's foot was now illuminating light, her whole body began radiating light and her voice was almost silent.

The waves fell into a hallow pore of the planet. Sa was witnessing innumerable spores of fungus populate what used to be underwater mountains. The peeks jutted out making buttes and plateaus, in between the valleys sunk low into the crust of the planet. Once the water had left, fungus began claiming the whole territory.

Somehow Atee and Sa were carried upwards by a powerful force and the fog of the clouds hid all of the splendor of their new playground.

Once the clouds passes by, they met sweet angels passing by in the opposite direction. Neither Sa nor Atee were able to say goodbye or hello, but full eye contact and smiles were shared. Afterwards, they felt like angels were still them, althought at that first moment, Sa had no idea that it was an angel. It was only once it smiled that Sa could tell.

Gigantic structures made of sand and crystals, emeralds and diamonds towered marvelously over the land beneath their feet. Beings made of diamonds and emeralds moved about on their legs, kissed with their own lips and talked with their own lungs. Each one reflected the rays of the many stars uniquely. Each one could see that they al had their own reflection, their own light and their own crystallic eyes.

Their kingdom never seemed to end. Just as they flew over the castles, small villages and trees and rivers made of gems and amethyst sprouted from the shroud.

Atee's own inner light caused trillions of beams to be refracted back in other directions. The crystal beings acted as prisms, bending and shaping the light. Some of the beings looked up and prayed to them, but most continued meditating under the stars, swimming in the rivers and bathing in the pools of paint.

Sa said a prayer for all of them. He prayed that their king beise and compassionate, that their rivers be pure and loving, that their stars be lucky and forever bright, that their trees be whole and rooted, that their soil be healthy and tender and that their peace may last as long as their is a sky above their heads.

The energy shifted and Atee and Sa were pushed into another direction. Sa prayed to the planet that their kite may guide them to safety.

Number Six

Sa woke up early and heard Atee singing, dangling her feet over the edge. Sa didn't want to interrupt her so he lied down pretending to sleep. He appreciated the music she made with just her voice.

Atee sang about people leaving and dying and never coming back. She sang about guardian angels who looked over the creatures of the planet, and she sang about those angels among the living who would sacrifice everything they have if it could save somebody else. She sang about the vastness of her life, about how young she was and how long she would live. She sang about what a perfect place this world was and how wonderfully happy she was to be able to share it with so many others. She sang as loud as she could, but never did it strike Sa as too loud.

Sa peeked open on eye as she sat down and painted on a large leaf. Sa wondered how long she had been awake and how long she would wait if he stayed asleep all day. A dream tried washing over Sa but he pushed it away and sat up.

Atee somehow noticed he had gotten up and somehow Sa knew she was smling.

Atee walked back to the edge and let the leaf go. It took off like a feather into the wind, which was always gentle and soft.

They decided to go back to sleep. Sa waited for the dream to overwhelm him and he fell asleep wondering what she was dreaming about.

Number Five

Sa spent plenty of time with Atee. They would tell each other their dreams and ideas on everything. Atee didn't have a family, she said families didn't exist on her planet. Sa didn't have one either so they spent time together and would get lost in the strangest places.

They never had anywhere to go or anything to do for anybody but themselves. Anywhere they would go they were entirely free. There wasn't ever harsh weather and so they could fall sleep after hours of travelling.

Atee said that she had always lived in the crater because it was comfortable and safe. Everybody she knew had always lived there.

Sa learned that the rest of the planet seemed empty of creatures, it was such a mystery since the land was so beautiful.

One day they would roll somersaults down into a chalky valley and the next day they would venture into a dark, unwelcoming cave. They always felt invincible when they were together, they felt like they could solve anything.

Number Four

Sa walked around the crater with Atee, which was the name of the lovely creature he met. Sa hadn't even noticed before but a new darkness shrouded the distance. Atee told him that it took some time before his eyes would adjust and the entire landscape could be seen.

Atee explained that what Sa called moon was actually a much larger place than where Sa had come from. Where Sa lived, she said, was actually the satellite of her home planet which he had just landed on, not the other way around.

Sa asked why Atee hadn't spoken in his language when they first met and she said that he looked different than the other creatures from the moon. Sa admitted that he was an outcast and never fit in with the others who dreamed on the beach.

Sa explained that his whole existence was always like a dream and that's why he didn't fit in with the evening dreamers on the beach.

Atee nodded agreeingly and to Sa's fortune seemed to understand.

Number Two

Through Sa's fingers a metallic, liquid slime dripped and sludged its way to the bottom of the river.

Sa was back to where the bubbles popped at the surface. Once a bubble had lifted him above the surface before disintegrating. The bubbles released waves of heat, which was trapped within them.

Those on the beach watched as another departed, hypnotized by the ominous attraction of the clouds. Those close to shore laid on their bellies, like ancient turtles, and built sand villages. Every once and a while a sinkhole would consume a stone and purified sand would be projected into the air. Sun beams reflected off the crystallic, sand diamonds glittering over the villages.

Sa rolled over onto his chest and stared deep into the water below. Sometimes, a movement would cause swirling, warped colors to ripple. Sa's gaze would wander and would get itself lost.

Sa rolled back over on his back to be comforted by the sky. Rain would fall and the winds would raise in velocity. The suns would vanish and the moons would blanket the atmosphere. Sa would lie still on the warm water. The bubbles ceased to rise as the surface temperature lowered throughout the night.

A small fire disintegrated a bush into simpler elements. Sa meant to look over but the warm lake was was so kind to him, that he didn't bother.

One could never be sure when the next day revolved around, strange objects often pierced through the visible universe with drifting, colored light and bolts. Two perfectly similar objects descended towards this paradise. Sa couldn't actually determine if it was it his own sleepy eyes which duplicated the image or if they were clones.

Either way, Sa fell asleep too soon to know.