The Secret Invitation

A brisk autumn wind whisked up a miniature tornado of fallen leaves as Alexis pulled into her community nature preserve. She brought her aging powder blue beater to a reluctant halt with a crunch of gravel and groan of rusted metal. She thought to herself that those little tornados had always been one of her favorite parts of the season, and must be a fortuitous omen for the day ahead. Gathering up her impromptu portable gardening tool kit with a renewed sense of purpose, she headed out into the park for today's illicit horticultural mission.

Alexis had been making it a point to cultivate and care for some of the wild plants in her community park, and though she was pretty sure she wasn't exactly allowed to be doing this, she found herself unable to resist. Today she planned to gather wild herbs, as well as collect and scatter seeds to ensure their conservation. She looked about and with a thrill of excitement noticed no other cars in the lot. Perfect, she thought. No one to question why she's walking around with a basket and trowel.

She walked off along the path, which was not much more than a vaguely flattened two track, her boots sticking lightly in the mud with each step. After a few minutes and a few stops to collect acorns to plant, she came upon just the patch she was most interested in. Swaying gently in the breeze were the beautiful spiked heads of some purple coneflower she'd been keeping track of. The plants had matured over a couple years and were now ready for a root harvest. Also known as Echinacea, the roots of the purple coneflower can be used as a powerful medicine she intended to prepare in advance of the coming cold and flu season.

She knelt down and set to work, pocketing and sowing the seeds from the spent flowers first with a prayer of gratitude to the plant spirit. Grabbing her trowel, she bent to dig up one of the plants which was being crowded on either side. With a solid thud, her trowel came short on something that was definitely not dirt. Puzzled, she investigated further. The sound did not resemble the familiar cadence of metal on stone that frequently happens when you've dug into a rock, and the obstacle was too large to be an invasive root from a nearby tree. As she felt around with the tip of her shovel, she discovered a squared off corner on the buried item. How bizarre. Excitement buzzing through her now, she began unearthing the mysterious item.

After a few short minutes she brought up a rectangular package wrapped in a muslin cloth. Dusting it off, she unwrapped it to reveal a little black leather bound book. It was nondescript, she turned it over finding no identifying marks. Heart beating inexplicably fast, she opened the cover to find that inscribed on the first page was a letter directly to her. Astonished, she read:

Dearest Alexis,

What joy to see you blossom into the beautiful steward of Mother Earth you were born to be. I've left you this little black book of forbidden Herbalism, for you to peruse at your leisure regardless of whether you accept the invitation I am including with it. Should you so choose, I am offering to cover in full your expenses to attend a private university designed to educate those like you who hear the call of Gaia, and all her plants, animals, and minerals. I trust you will listen to your intuition and decide whether you are prepared to immerse yourself in all the magic, medicine and mystery this planet has to offer. I have included a map to our location, as you will not find our physical address listed anywhere. This is a simple matter of protection we offer our students and staff, and I trust you will not divulge this information to the public. If you can forgive the assumption, I went ahead and scheduled you for a tour on Thursday, October 7th at 2:00 PM. I hope to see you then.

Blessings,

Ceri

Alexis was floored. Or grounded, as she had at some point while reading the letter plopped back onto the damp earth on her butt. The moisture was seeping into her jeans, but she barely noticed as her head was spinning. Something had taken root in the region of her heart, a joyous, light and purposeful feeling that was growing rapidly. She felt an immense sense of serendipity, of being in just the right place at just the right time. She couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that somehow today was October 7th, and it was currently about noon.

She had always known she had a unique set of gifts, but had concluded upon never receiving her Hogwarts letter at age eleven that there wasn't any place in this reality for those with magical blood. She'd set about living the best mundane life she could manage, but often at the expense of her spirit and sense of well being. The only solace she'd found in her adult life for her magic was in horticulture, for no amount of mundane narrative could remove the magic from the natural world.

This was it, Alexis concluded with unwavering certainty. This was her opportunity to be true to herself and her gifts and learn all the ways to apply them to the benefit of her community. She vowed to see this through. Tucked inside the cover of the book was a folded piece of paper. She opened it up to reveal the map to her destiny. It looked as though the school was located on a large plot of land about thirty minutes from her.

Harvesting utterly forgotten, she collected up her basket and the book and made her way back to the car. Her hands trembling in anticipation, she started up her car and pulled out of the lot. The drive passed in what felt like seconds while all her suppressed hopes and dreams surged to the surface in her mind. She couldn't believe that after all these years, she was finally going to be able to learn how to harness and control her gifts. She was finally going to meet others who recognized that she wasn't fictional or insane. There really existed a place for her.

With a growing sense of wonder, she pulled off the main road onto a private drive. It was clearly marked for residents and invited guests only, and against any solicitors. A short way up the tree lined, well maintained gravel road, she came upon an ornate gate. It creaked open welcomingly at her approach. The circumstances leading her to this moment already being so odd, this didn't even register as a surprise. Of course they knew she was coming. Once through the gate the trees opened up to reveal an expansive verdant garden as far as the eye can see. It was the most beautiful thing Alexis had ever witnessed.

She continued on, hope blossoming into a fearsome brightness within her. The garden only continued to get more beautiful, and the whole experience was so wonderful she found herself pinching her arm to be sure it was real. Ahead grew an austere brick and marble construction, towering three stories high and as wide as a football field. The gravel drive terminated in a cul-de-sac directly in front of the building entrance. White pillars stretched to hold up a large and welcoming porch with wide marble steps and trailing greenery flowing over more decorative planters than she could have ever dreamed to fill.

Alexis wasn't quite sure how much the tuition to this school might be, but she was certain that it was more than she could afford. She wondered, absently, whether included in her apparently covered expenses to attend this school would be a new vehicle. Comparatively she was sure the cost of a replacement beater would barely register. She took a moment to just take it all in. With every footstep she could feel the energy of place soar up through her feet and swirl through her being. She felt powerful, just being here, and quite unexpectedly felt inclined to never leave.

She turned back toward the expansive building. Standing gracefully on the porch was a dark and mysterious looking woman in a flowing royal blue dress. Her hair fell in midnight waves to her waist, and she wore a circlet with a sapphire dangling over her third eye. She smiled mysteriously and extended her arms in greeting.

"Welcome, Alexis, to the rest of your life."