FACING SUNRIZE
Chapter 4, page 2
Lali strained and stretched her neck and eyeballs to see into the tunnel. Little by little she was able to fit her head down into it and she saw there were many tunnels, in all directions. There was a light at the end of one tunnel, and that seemed to be where the hooting was coming from. What she didn't see or realize was that as she was looking into the tunnel, she was growing smaller and smaller, until she was the size of the owl woman, who had become a little owl.
Just then, the little owl woman, came around the corner of the pyramid behind Lali, still doing her lively dance. When she saw Lali's butt sticking up from the hole, she gave it a swift whack, knocking Lali down into it. Lali looked up at blue sky dazed and unsure. She clung to the earth with claws. She herself, had just turned into an owl and looked just like the old woman, who now jumped into the hole after Lali. She stared curiously into Lali's eyes, then scurried down the tunnel to join the other hooters...and the Glorious Light.
Throughout Lali's body moved a strange sensation. Her feathers stood on up and fluffed. She felt pliable and elastic. Not wanting to lose sight of the owl woman, Lali rushed to follow her, stumbling along as she learned to use her new clawed feet.
The owl woman was way ahead of Lali now, and ducked into one of the rooms along the corridor. When Lali got to the room, she saw there were many many little owls, just like herself, hooting together in unison. When they saw Lali, they synchronized their stare at her instantly, like a mosaic, over one shoulder, still hooting rhythmically without interruption. Lali felt a strong urge to join them, so she did.
It seemed so natural, so important. As she was hooting with the others, Lali looked around for the owl woman, but couldn't recognize her among the throng of other owls. Quickly she forgot the owl woman, as the sound of the humming filled her head, provoking images, distilling her mind and memories. Memories of other lives. Memories of errors in judgment and willfulness.
On the wall of the cavern appear the images in her mind. She sees a beautiful insect creature, a Queen, sitting poised upon a lovely divan. Humanlike creatures serve her nectar. She sips it with her proboscis tongue.
A beautifully tiled plaza stretches before her. The shining big sea waters stretch beyond the horizon. To one side of the plaza, a huge pyramid stands. Adjacent to it a domed temple and university gleam brilliantly in the sun. The Queen sits in her palace chamber looking out upon her kingdom. She is luminous with a bulbous head. She cleans her gossamer wings in between sips of nectar. A servant approaches with a message. When the Queen receives the message, she gets up quickly and leaves her chamber with the servant.
Lali is amused by what she witnesses, but as she somehow knows the Queen is really herself...she pauses, perplexing on the meaning of such a vision. It makes her wonder how she could be this marvelous insect Queen in her palace, when she still remembers that she's still Lali. "Who am I really?!" she thinks to herself, continuing to hoot instinctively... almost involuntarily.
Lali follows the Queen's movements as the vision continues. The servant leads the Queen to an immense domed room that has an alter prominently situated in the far center of it. A giant crystal hangs over it casting dancing light patterns throughout the room. Lali watches as the Queen goes over to the huge plastic resin compartments that line one side of the temple room. They are frosted over and just beginning to reach room temperature. The Queen looks coldly at her as Lali approaches. The beautiful insect Queen rubs the frosted compartments to peer at the creatures inside.
Lali takes a peak too and falls back gasping as the 15' cyclops hanging within the sealed chamber, stares with vacant eyes at her. It is chained to the wall, and blood is dripping from it's mouth. Lali is considerably shaken by the vision, which awakens her to her surroundings in the underground room of the tunnel of the Pyramid of Lost Owls once again.
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