The Adventures of Brian (cont)
Lucas and Aiden had similar stories. They both fell asleep playing the same electronic game, and they woke up to find themselves here with Brian and Liam. They were also calmed by an inner voice soothingly telling them this was an adventure-by-invitation-only, and that they would be protected and welcomed.
The path leading up to the boulders had looked deceptively short. They walked for two more hours, and it seemed like they had several more hours to go before they would reach the top of the boulders. Aiden was the only one with a watch. He announced that it was nearly five in the afternoon. The trees along the path became thicker and less varied as they walked. There were fewer and fewer flowers along the way. The path became narrower and steeper, and the stream seemed to flow faster and more violently. As they continued, the water crashing onto the submerged rocks scattered in the stream foamed up and roared louder.
"I’m thirsty", Aiden said.
"I want something to eat, too", Lucas added.
"I have something for everyone!" Brian remembered his package of long term food supplies. They stopped by a small patch of grass with several fallen logs of tree stumps on the side of the stream. A flat rock was used as the table. Brian opened his little box and took out a couple of cookies and several tiny pills to lay on the table. Suddenly, before he had a chance to take anything else from his hoard, the cookies and the pills grew larger. Like heated popcorn, they changed their shapes right in front of their eyes. The cookies grew large and changed color gradually until they had completely transformed into loaves of deliciously sweet bread and varieties of baked goods. Their delicious aroma gently wafted to the starving and mesmerized friends.
The tiny pills broke into several smaller pieces which grew into bowls and trays of soup, salads, beef, chicken, cheese, soft drinks, and fruit plates. Everyone was stunned by the incredible magic of the food performance in front of their eyes. They devoured the food joyously. When they finished, the dishes and leftovers automatically shrank to become tiny pills and cookies again. The boys screamed with delight and amazement. The magic of the food, the sword, and of the entire place surprised and stunned, but did not scare, the boys.
"This is a wild dream, but it also is so real I can taste it!" exclaimed Lucas, and everyone laughed.
Gentle breezes brought pleasant mist from the stream to the boys. Some lay down and slept. Others walked along the creek tossing pebbles to the stream. After resting for about half an hour, they decided to continue. Lucas complained that he had a slight stomach from overeating the sumptuous feast earlier, and they had to walk slower for a while to accommodate him. They were a bit agitated, but gradually felt better as Lucas' stomach ache subsided.
Liam now heard the comforting and soothing voice of the rabbits telling them that they would arrive soon. Brian had his sword clung to his backpack, seemingly stuck to the metal clasp of his backpack, like a Japanese warrior. He let the sword fly away, up and playfully with the boys earlier. Now everyone was tired. All were quiet walking. They must find some shelter for the night.
They finally reached the top of the boulders. It had been a hard trek, and the sun was now low behind them. From the top of the boulders they saw an immense lake reaching far out into the horizon. They could now see that the stream dumped its water in a low waterfall so large that they could not clearly see the other side of the lake. The water was lapping at the boulder walls. They realized that they had walked to the top of a lake wall.
Click here to next
