The crossed branches holding the waterskin pot above the flames sagged under the weight of its burden. Steam rose from the half-filled container and dissipated into the air. Stretching out his legs, Jakal locked his fingers behind his head and reclined, resting his shoulders against the log behind him.
Gazing up at the sky vividly colored by the sunset, he sighed. "Sala, once again you prepare a meal worthy of a Gathering of Clan Leaders."
It pleased her to see him content. Jakal had been almost continuously tense since she first proposed a shared pilgrimage to the Spirit World using the sacred mushrooms she discovered near their camp. The woman knew it was not easy for him to agree to what she asked of him, and admired his courage for being willing to go through with it despite his fear.
"The meal would not have been complete without the meat you provided," she reminded him.
The man smiled at her, pleased she had thought to mention it. "It was good for a change," he admitted, allowing himself a self-congratulatory moment.
The couple sat in silence as dusk faded into twilight. Displacing the friendly, casual banter they enjoyed, a sense of nervous anticipation once again filled the space between them. Glancing down at the steaming bowl beside her, filled with the beverage that would facilitate their voyage, Sala decided it was time to get started and spare him further anxiety.
"Jakal," she began, "if you will come sit across from me, I will explain what to expect tonight and answer any questions you may have."
Rising slowly from where he was with subconscious hesitation, he took a few steps over to the place she indicated and sat down again.
The woman gave him a warm, encouraging smile. "Do you remember last night when I said that we will be going somewhere, but we also will not need to leave this place?"
"Yes." He could not forget that statement; it was one of the most puzzling things she had said in a very puzzling conversation.
"Try to think back to a time when you took the sacred journey before. Did you notice your body there?"
"Of course."
"Were you able to touch things with your hands, things that were there before you entered the Spirit World?"
"I, I do not know. I do not remember other things being there."
"Do not let that concern you," she reassured him. "Do you perhaps remember the floor you sat upon?"
That he did remember. "Yes, I do."
"Do also you remember the cushion you sat upon on the floor?"
He was getting more confused, not less. "Yes, Sala, I remember," he answered impatiently. "What of it?"
"I asked you these questions to help you understand that the Spirit World and our own intersect. The things that are here, right now -- the fire, the lean-to, the river, the rocks and the trees -- everything that is here also exists there."
"I do not understand. How can that be?"
"Have you noticed that every time Spiritwalkers guide our people to the Other World, we are always inside? In the Gathering Place, or a dwelling, or the Ceremonial Hut?" The woman suppressed an almost reflexive shudder that came whenever she thought of the last location.
"Now that I think of it, you are right."
"I do not know the reason for that particular practice. Perhaps it is to keep us safe, to protect us from becoming overpowered by what we experience there. A person who is afraid and does not understand may get hurt, lost or even killed. Perhaps it is also to help facilitate direct contact with the Spirits by focusing our attention on one goal." She hesitated. "And, perhaps, it is also a way to keep us from knowledge and ideas we might acquire. More openness regarding the magic Spiritwalkers use in their ceremonies might expose information to us that they wish to keep to themselves."
"What does this have to do with your assertion that our world intersects with the Other?"
"I do not want you to be...overwhelmed by what you see and hear and feel during our time there. The experience will be very different from those you have undergone before, and I want you to understand why before we go. You know already how powerful visiting the Spirit World can be; crossing over out in the world it can overcome you if you do not know what to expect.
"As I stated before, the things of our world will be there in the next, like and yet unlike it is here. You will be able to touch things, even pick them up, but they will be both different and the same as they are here. You will be able to smell and taste things just as you do here, but you will perceive them in a different way. It is similar enough that you may even be able to move about, walk from place to place, though it can be difficult."
"How can this be, Sala? How can the Other World contain the same things that are in this one?" Jakal asked, genuinely astonished.
"I do not know the answer to that, Jakal," she answered honestly. She decided then to make her first admission. "You guessed correctly that my first visit to the Spirits' domain was with the mother of my mother. We did not have as much time as we wished to discuss our journey..." The woman took a moment to regain control. "But Mala thought perhaps the Other World appears similar because it exists very closely to ours, almost as if it is shifted just a little bit from what we can perceive under normal circumstances."
An idea suddenly formed in her mind. "Think of it this way. We cannot see in the dark, not very well, without fire or the moon or the stars to light our way. Without them, we are almost blind. But the owl hunts in the night and sees our world very well in the dark, far better than we do. If we had eyes like the owl we too would be able to see in the dark. Use of the sacred magic is like giving us the eyes to be able to see the Spirit World."
