Forest Ranger

AAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH! I yell as I fall down a steep mountain with no way of stopping myself. I fall over and over until finally I slam shoulder first into a rock formation protruding from the Earth. I lay there for a second holding my shoulder. There is a slight loving warmth in my arm that runs from my shoulder to my wrist letting me know that it is probably separated. I hope not. I have to keep moving. They spotted me just before I fell like a crash test dummy for what seemed like forever down this mountain. To my side the locket Sasha gave me had come off of my neck and opened on the rock. Something is shining brightly from it as it lay there opened. There is a crystal attached to one side of the locket.

I had no idea. It’s beautiful. It’s shine is like nothing I had ever seen before. Or maybe just not in a while. Not since the old world. The crystal is clear with waves of violet and blue flowing through it. Mesmerizing. I pick up the locket, close it and put it back around my neck. I look down from the rectangular flat piece of rock that broke my fall and realize that I am at the bottom of the mountain. It’s not that far down so I jump to the ground in front of the rock. I look back and see a natural cut big enough for me to hide out of sight. The sun is going down now so maybe they won’t find me. I climb into the rock and lie down. I listen for a moment. I don’t hear anything but a waterfall somewhere. I breathe a little easier. I try to move my shoulder a little and a sharp pain hits me like a spear. Yep. It’s separated. Or worse. “A crystal is in this locket. What is it for?” I think as I hold it in front of me and open it. I lose myself in its beauty. Simply gorgeous. Almost as gorgeous as the woman that gave it to me. She entered my life just as suddenly as she left.

I was gathering firewood one morning when I turned around and there she was standing there looking at me with a smile that was like the sunrise. At first I was startled and dropped the pile of wood. Then I just stood there and looked at her in amazement. She was so lovely. She had long blue shining hair, dark skin, and dark brown eyes so elegant you immediately fell into a trance. She was wearing white boots that went up to just below the knee that had long thick square heels, a white dress with spaghetti straps that revealed her shoulders, and a beautiful silver heart shaped locket that had a blue stemmed white rose on it around her neck.

“Hello. My name is…” I said before she interrupted me.

“Nick.” She said. “I know who you are. We have been observing you for some time.”

“What?! How?” I asked in disbelief. “There are no cameras around. We used to have satellites but only the government and the rich had those. And most of them are all dead now I think.” She giggled lightly and her hair changed color. It was dark red now. Then she said,

“We observe differently.” My name is Sashabunkdelugutbuss.”

“What?” I said confusingly as she said it very fast.

“You may call me Sasha for short.” She said with a smile that just made me melt inside.

“Nice to meet you. Your hair, it changed color.” I said fascinated like a child.

“Yes. My hair changes with my feelings. Your people used to have a saying. ‘Wearing your heart on your sleeve. ‘ Well my people wear their hearts on their heads through their hair. You also had jewelry that would do the same. I believe you called them mood rings. ”

“ Yes that’s right.” I said as I nodded my head at this new piece of information.

“My hair turns red when I feel joy and laughter. When it is blue I feel peace and love.” She said holding a portion of her hair in her hand as it turned from dark red back to blue.

“Where are you from?” I asked.

“I am from earth. But my people have remained hidden from the surface.” She said smiling. And witnessing how her hair changed color. I believed her. “My people and I feel that you are ready, with training, to go to the new world. This is why I have come to you.”

“New world?” I asked.

“I will show you.” Then she reached out her hand…and I took it.

I close the locket and put it under my shirt. I’m going to need this to find her. This morning I had a dream that she was speaking to me in front of a beautiful blue tree with white roses. She said,

“Sorry my love but I have to go. Dangerous people are headed your way. Take this locket and come and find me at the bottom of the mountain. I love you.” When I woke up she was gone and her locket was in my hand. I held the locket next to my heart then put it around my neck. I hear something outside coming up the mountain. Sounds like trucks. I peek outside the cabin window and see two military trucks pull up. No camouflage painted on them. Instead they were painted black except for a green dragon head on the hood. Two men exit from the back of one of the trucks with gas masks on and dogs with leashes. I went through a trap door in the floor that I made for emergencies, crawled out and started running. Just as they spotted me, I fell to where I am now.

Still no sound but the waterfall. The sun has disappeared now. I wonder what they are doing. I start to think about Sasha. For what seemed like a couple of months she taught me about love, compassion, and the ways of the Universe. She taught me about meditation, vibrations, chakras, and crystals. She also told me how everyone died. I didn’t know. There was no one around anymore to tell me. And even if there was, they probably knew about as much as I did. Nothing.

“Gaia, the name of your planet,” she said, “ has raised her vibration and could no longer exist without cleansing herself of all bad energy. So she released a natural toxin that would eliminate all beings with lower vibrations. That is why only a few of you survived. Your vibration is higher than most humans and the toxin could not affect you. “ It made sense. I was working as a Forest Ranger at Sequoya National Park in California when everything fell apart so there was minimal damage here. I remember arriving at a campsite and bodies were just lying everywhere. I appeared to be the only one on earth that survived. I wasn’t married but missed my friends and family. I was very sad for a long time. But had to move on. So I built a log cabin about 9 by 12 feet next to a lake. Got my food from fish and a garden I planted with tomato’s, okra, squash, lettuce, green onions, and peppers from seeds I had saved. I was doing alright for someone surviving the end of the world but was still very lonely. I had been out here for about 3 years I think before I met Sasha.

“Wow. “ I said. “ And that’s why most wild life survived instead of humans?”

“Yes that is correct.” She said. “But some of the humans that survived fell into chaos and formed groups that roam Gaia and kill anything they see. Be for food or for sport. We must watch out for these humans. ”

“I feel blessed and sad.” I said. “I suppose my family in the city is gone too?”

“I am afraid so.” She said as I just looked at the ground. “My people and I were very troubled when this happened. Gaia gave warning signs to humanity but your ruling world government suppressed the information and it became too late. A very sad ending indeed. I am sorry. ” A tear rolled down her cheek. Her hair was black now. I thought to myself,

“ What a work of art she is. Sadness did not take anything away from her beauty no matter what color her hair was.”

One day we were meditating by the lake and I felt her staring at me. Her hair was a beautiful violet color now that shined so illustrious. “Is everything ok?” I asked. “Why has your hair changed from blue to violet.”

“My hair turns this color when I feel a strong amount of love.” She said as she looked down with a smile.

“You are such a great being.” I said. “You love everyone and the Universe so much that your hair has changed color.”

“It is not Universal love that changes my hair to this color. It’s romantic love that I feel……for you.” She looks up at me. Never breaking my gaze from hers I kiss her passionately. We made love by the lake and held each other. It was amazing. I could hardly believe it. In a lonely world I found love. Or rather…it found me.

It’s dark now and I still don’t hear anything but the waterfall. Why not? They were right behind me. Surely they saw me fall down the mountain. I take another look outside my rock sanctuary and see nothing in either direction. Just darkness. Suddenly I hear footsteps and the sound of air coming in and out of gas masks closing in on my location. I take a chance and run out of the rock formation. The two men with dogs were now on top of my rock refuge behind me. Shining a bright light they spot me, and release the dogs. I run for my life as I lose my footing again and fall to what I think is my death but fall about 60 feet into a pool right next to a waterfall. I can hear the dogs barking on the cliff above me.

I swim with one arm towards the water fall. I crawl out of the pool and sit with my back against a rock. I see beams of lights shining on the pool of water in front of me but then go out as they can’t find me. Suddenly the locket around my neck begins to shine and I look up and see white roses. The fragrance was intoxicating. My back was against a tree not a rock. The branches were blue. Blue stemmed white roses. Just like on the locket. I stand up and look at the shiny blue trunk. This is the tree behind Sasha in my dream.

There is a shape of a crystal cut out of the tree. As I approach the tree the shape starts to shine like the locket. I remove the locket from around my neck, open it and remove the bright shining crystal. I place it in the shape on the tree. The crystal is consumed by the tree and it expands into a huge door way that has some kind of transparent liquid that I can see through. I see nothing but green hills and what looks like to be lavender planted everywhere on the other side. Then someone steps in front of the doorway. It’s my blue haired goddess. Sasha. She looks at me, smiles and her hair turns violet. She reaches her hand out towards me out of the transparent fluid…and I take it.