After Victor finally stopped thrashing about like a toddler in a grocery store, I was actually able to look around at my surroundings and focus on something other than Victor's newly reddened face that almost shined like what I imagine Rudolph's nose would as he just lay on the ground. As I began looking around, I noted that there seemed to be what looked like an ocean of life energy that had cumulated in the dimension we had entered. It flowed in currents that in some places even began to glow due to the concentration. The area might not have had animals, but there was certainly vegitation that stretched as far as the eye could see. Vibrant trees, grasses and shrubs of all different colors, shapes and sizes grew from every square inch in every direction giving the sensation of walking in a kaleidoscope, especially with the ocean of life energy flooding the area creating luminous sections that gave the place an otherworldly appearance. Well, of course it would. It was a whole other universe after all, but still, this was an entirely different level from what I had been expecting to find. The only thing I could possibly think of that was similar at home was the rainbow eucalyptus tree, and I hadn't ever even seen one in person. The only reason I even knew what it was is because there was a picture of one on the front of one of my books for my general Optometry courses. It was so beautiful and unique I had to look up what type of tree it was. But this was something even grander, more magnificent and magical than anything in our world. To say it was spectacular would do it an injustice. There were bioluminescent fungi that spread all over, making it appear as if tiny gold stars filled the world with their light in addition to the ambient glow of the life energy. It was otherwise still night time, but the darkness that should fill the area was combatted by the mysterious and mystical nature of the forest surrounding us. Victor got up begining to laugh as he rose from the ground looking at our faces. His earlier embarrassment replaced with absolute delight. "I hadn't gone into detail about the landscape earlier because I thought it would seem too fantastical to be true and you would think I was lying. So I waited for this exact moment in order to see your faces. I have to say, I was not disappointed." Victor said as he laughed, almost to the point that he was fighting back tears. "Victor, this place is absolutely amazing. I can understand what you said, but what's so funny?" Victor then pointed to Jacen who, I guess still hadn't quite recovered from the initial shock of the beauty of the place we were in and was looking around the place with eyes that almost shed tears themselves, his mouth wasn't hanging wide, but it was parted in awe of the magnificent site. I still didn't quite understand Victor's outburst of laughter until realizing that this place was somewhere he had been stuck for years. To him, the place probably lost it's splendor long ago. Something he had grown so acostom to, now illiciting such a reaction as what Jacen and I had was bound to be hilarious to someone who saw this on the regular. I myself almost started laughing at Victor for his nonchalance towards the place and his deep interest in us. However, I began to consider just how sad and lonely Victor's life must be. He had gone into this beautiful world, with nobody to guide him, nobody to care for him, nobody to help him to understand anything about this place. He had been alone while he was here, and he was alone when he finally made it home. Everyone had called him a liar, thought he had lost his mind, and put him on medications that had essentially turned him into a droopy, drooly mess. The thought saddened me a bit to think that it could have literally happened to anyone, but Victor was handling things all on his own. The worst part is that his parents, the ones meant to protect him, were the first ones to turn their backs on him. No wonder he acted a bit off, the poor guy never had a chance for normality, his only escape was into what seemed to be this fantasy world, but he had no way to prove it's reality, not without having willing participants like Jacen and I to be escorted out of our dreams and into a completely different universe. Someone like that doesn't just come along everyday. It takes a lot of trust or I guess in my case, desperation for someone to agree to; one, let someone literally into your dreams (one of the most vulnerable, and personal places you have) two, follow that person out of your own dreams, and three, follow that person through some magical fissure in the universe to a completely different one. Jacen and I are fulfilling his dream of recognition just as he is satisfying our need to find the lost tribes. I've been so focused on finding the Anasazi tribe, that I almost forgot that it's not even the Anasazi that I am looking for, but the tribe that highered the Anasazi to hide them. A tribe that not even historicaly existed. A tribe who's only witness is a dog who learned of their stories from his father who in turn only passed on a story told for many generations. Now though, I am close. Whether to the Anasazi tribe, or the tribe I'm truly searching for is a complete mystery. But I'm so close that I can practically taste the end of this journey. I take a few moments to just breath in the alienly fresh, unpoluted air, breathing in the magnificent smell of the world untouched but the modern day. I allow myself to finally relax and take everything in, even if for just a moment. The fresh air, the beauty of the other world, the magic of it all, even for just a moment, is better than a week of therapy.
