My name is Anima.
I grew up in a little village in the foothills of the big mountain.
Life was harsh and the community was very tightly knit because all of us depended on everyone doing their share to ensure our survival.
The children would guard the sheep and the goats,
The adults would work the ground,
And the elders would mind the smallest children and cook the food.
On a whole,
It was a good life.
We would gather to celebrate the seasons,
Tell stories around the fire.
Sing and dance together and beautify the tools and furniture we needed for our daily lives.
Life was hard,
But the community made it all worthwhile.
Everyone had what they needed.
Everyone contributed.
Everyone was loved,
Cared for,
And valued.
And yet.
I found myself wondering if this is all there is to life.
There were some odd things that happened.
Sometimes I would see a bright light out of the corner of my eye.
I would have these vivid dreams of beautiful otherworldly beings coming to whisper secrets to me.
Sometimes one of the community would just mysteriously disappear.
And it was just assumed that they had got lost in the mountains and be more than as having passed.
As if we didn't know those mountains like the back of our hands.
And learned how to stay out of trouble as soon as we could walk.
There was a road that ran past the village that was always immaculate,
Which made me wonder because our houses always needed repairing.
But when I asked the elders,
They just shrugged and said it had always been that way.
They also didn't know where the road came from or where it led because no one had ever gone to find out and come back to share what they had found.
And then they would tell me to stop asking questions because everyone knew that grave dangers awaited anyone who stepped on that road.
Travelers would occasionally come to barter some of the things we could not make for ourselves,
Or some of the beautiful items we crafted.
They said that the road came from the big port city on the ocean.
I asked about what an ocean was like.
But I could just not imagine so much water in one place.
The travellers didn't know where the road led either,
Because they turned around and retraced their steps once they had completed their trades with us.
One day,
My cousin Tesoro disappeared.
We were like twins.
We were born minutes apart on the same night,
But she was minutes before and I was minutes after midnight.
We looked so much alike except she had black hair and brown eyes,
Whereas I am blonde and have blue eyes.
We were 15 at the time.
I was deeply distraught because she was my best friend.
Not even her dog Joya,
Her constant companion,
Was anywhere to be found.
The villagers did their mourning and moved on,
But I couldn't.
I missed her so much.
One night I had such a vivid dream of her.
She told me to walk the road.
I woke up and could just not get that restless feeling out of my bones.
I packed some provisions and my few clothes,
Asked my cat to keep watch over the family.
Called my dog Bonnie and set off while the village was still sleeping.
My dog wants me to tell you that her name is actually Black Lightning because she is so fast.
But she accepts that that is a very long name and she's happy to respond to a nickname because she is beautiful too.
I decided that what I had been taught and told about the road being dangerous might be true,
But it also might not,
And I would never find out unless I took the first step.
And if I didn't take that first step,
I knew exactly how my life would unfold.
And I wanted more adventure than that.
And to my surprise,
I could take that step.
And another one,
And another one.
It was like across an invisible boundary that had been held in place by the stories and teachings of my elders.
Bonnie was excited about the adventure and went up ahead checking everything out.
After we crossed the first ridge,
I could see a big castle up ahead in the distance.
It seemed deserted,
But I could see that the road led to the castle.
So now we had a destination.
As we came around another bend,
There was a huge chasm.
There were the remains of a bridge crossing it,
Two arches with some rotting plants spanning them,
Most of them long ago fallen into the depths.
The wind gusted just then,
And I was scared that if I crossed the chasm hanging onto the sides,
I would be blown off.
And besides,
How would Bonnie manage?
Bonnie put a paw on the bridge where there seemed to be a gap.
And a solid,
Shiny plank appeared.
She looked back at me to say,
Sometimes you just have to trust the unseen.
I took a tentative step and the whole bridge materialized.
We crossed easily,
Enjoying the magnificent view of the river in the chasm below and the lake off to the left.
We kept going along the path,
Which got us closer and closer to the castle,
Or rather to the tall,
Grey,
Wide,
Extremely solid stone wall around it.
We followed the path along and came to the massive portal which was closed with a big door.
Within the big door,
There was a smaller door with a grill.
I looked at Bonnie and she looked at me expectantly saying,
Well.
I did not sense that there were any living creatures in the castle,
But I knocked at the door,
And to my surprise,
A small window opened and a frowning sentry looked at me.
May I come in,
Please?
And he said,
Do you have a key?
Of course I didn't have a key.
We didn't need keys where I grew up.
But I checked in Rostato to find a big golden key in one of my pockets.
I put it in the slot and it worked.
The door opened and the big,
Strong,
Frowning sentry barred my way.
He asked me.
Are you worthy of entering the sacred land?
Do you know the rules?
I looked up at him wondering how I could possibly know the rules,
Not having even known of the existence of this place until just a few hours ago.
But I had learned to trust the unseen,
And I asked my heart if I might know the rules.
And I felt my heart open and allow the most beautiful energy of love and abundance to flow straight into the back of my chest,
To the front of it,
And from there to the guard.
And in the process,
I grew taller and lighter.
I looked in amazement at my hand,
Which now emitted sparkles like tiny fireworks.
I looked back at the guard.
Who stepped aside to let me in.
