Confused, I stammered; “but that’s ridiculous….how can you have been waiting for me….how did you even know I would be here”.
Staring into the fire, as if looking off far into the distance, the corners of the guide’s mouth turned upwards in the slightest of smiles, “You have much to learn, everything you see here is part of your own mind”.
Looking back towards me he continued, “I am here to take you deeper into the world of your dreams, to show you how you can learn from them, and how you can control them”.
Gracefully standing up, the guide walked over to me, and placing one hand on my side he gently directed me towards the door, “For your first lesson, walk out to the far end of the grass clearing, from there you will see a river. This river is the fastest way out of the forest, it will take you where you need to go.”
I had only just met this person, why should I do what he said, and even if he was telling the truth I certainly wasn’t ready to leave, so many questions were racing through my mind. And yet from the moment I saw him sat there peacefully be the fire, I had this overwhelming sense that I should trust him. I couldn’t really explain it, something about the way he spoke, the way he moved, everything was telling me to listen to what he was telling me to do.
So reluctantly, I stepped outside back into the clearing. A cool night time breeze feeling fresh against my face that had just gotten used to the warmth of the fire. I had only taken about ten paces when from behind me the guide called out, “There is one more thing, ‘When you see the turtle don’t forget to rub your hands”.
‘What!?’ I thought, and turned back around. At that moment the breeze picked up, and a gust of wind rushed past me. The door to the guide’s house had blown shut. I ran back to ask him what he meant, but when I opened the door, the fire we had been sitting round just a moment ago had gone out, and the guide was nowhere to be seen.