The Long Journey to Jake Palmer by James L. Rubart

Author:James L. Rubart
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2016-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

23

As dawn crept over the hills to the east, Jake pushed through the tunnel of trees toward the field. It seemed narrower this time, as if the branches had grown closer in just a few days, the green boughs now brushing his shoulders as he moved forward.

He pushed past the curtain of willow branches at the end of the corridor and stopped. The instant his foot hit the ground on the other side, a surge of adrenaline sent him stumbling to his right. Nothing looked different. The trees, the grasses, the pond, the waterfall were all the same. But he knew the meadow had changed.

This time he felt like he was part of the field. He was in the field but the field was also inside of him. The thought made little sense in his head, but this wasn’t a place of the mind—it was of the heart. Peace coursed through his body, mind, and soul, and he had no doubt he was about to be given what he wanted most in the world.

He closed his eyes, breathed deep, then opened them and eased forward. The ground under his feet felt softer, the breeze coming straight at him warmer than his first time here, the calls from the birds in the trees more melodic.

Jake didn’t think, didn’t need to. He allowed himself to be drawn in without consideration of where his feet would take him. A rabbit scurried out from under the brush like before, but this time it spotted him, stopped, and stared directly at him for a moment before scampering back into the brush and disappearing from sight.

He looked back at the branches of the willow tree now blocking his view of the corridor. The real world had vanished. Real world? This one he now stood in was as real as anything on the other side. His friends back at the house were the ones living in a dream.

Jake turned back and now the meadow did look different. Nothing significant. Little nuances like the color of the sky overhead. A deeper blue. The emerald leaves of the aspen trees more vibrant. He closed his eyes again and strolled forward, breathing air that seemed to make him lighter, that seemed to pour strength into his arms and body and legs. His skin tingled as if it was . . . yes, on fire. But a fire of power and life.

When Jake opened his eyes again, he found himself standing at the edge of the pond. The water seemed clearer than before, the creek feeding it more animated as it cascaded over the glistening boulders, the tall grasses at the pond’s edge greener than before.

An otter broke the surface on the other side of the pond and Jake watched the ripples slowly come toward him till they reached his side. As they died he studied his reflection in the water, starting with his face and working his way down his body till he fixed his gaze on his legs. As he stared at the mirror image, Jake shook his head.

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