The following evening a breeze flowed through the village carrying with it a breath of expectation and a flutter of excitement. One by one the village families gathered in the clearing. Some brought food and drink with them, others blankets and pillows, and others still carried musical instruments and strange looking objects. A fire had been lit and its flames sent flickers of light and shadow dancing over the people and surrounding huts.

Lilanthro wandered around the clearing feeling relaxed and at home. She stopped and greeted the families, chatting warmly with each one before moving on to the next. She smiled to herself as she realised that she felt as if she were in Talas’s garden carrying out the morning ritual of tending to the plants. Talas himself was also present, engaged in much the same practice as she. When Lilanthro and Talas met at last in a space between the huddled family groups, they greeted each other as equals whose mutual respect for one another warmed the air around them for all to feel.

Once all the families had arrived, settled themselves on the blankets and shared out the food and drink, the evening began. Onari’s father Enu, who not surprisingly was one of the village leaders, welcomed everyone to the gathering and spoke words of gratitude and gladness for the meal. He thanked the villagers for their generous preparation of the food, he thanked the forest for its bounteous riches of animals and plants, and he thanked the night itself for sharing its wondrous beauty with everyone.

With much talking and laughter the villagers ate their food. Lilanthro and Talas sat together with Enu’s family, enjoying the meal and conversation as much as everyone else. As they ate, Lilanthro became aware of a shift in the feeling of the air and pulsing of the ground. She looked enquiringly at Talas, but he shook his head to indicate that he was not the one creating the magic. Lilanthro continued to eat and listen to the conversation around her, but she also gently sent her inner senses probing outwards into the spaces between people and the silences between words.

An enchantment was taking place which Lilanthro breathed gladly into the core of her being. The ground was full of the presence of people, the air was tingling with the warm words being spoken, the spaces between people were alive and the silences were full of promise. The good will of everyone present was flowing freely out of them, cascading through the space and impacting on every particle of matter around them. Lilanthro could feel a joyousness vibrating in every drop of air and earth. Even the flames of the fire pulsed with renewed vitality. As this exuberance touched lightly upon matter, it was instantly intensified and reflected back. Lilanthro sensed an upward spiralling of energy filling the villagers with waves of happiness and peace. Like drops of rain which become rivers, flow to the sea, evaporate into the sky and fall as rain once more, the energy replenished itself. Lilanthro realised that this was the first time she had experienced such a richly nourishing connection with humans other than Talas. It was so powerful that she felt it unify everyone into one joyful organism pulsing with one heartbeat. She looked at Talas again and smiled with gladness at the decision which she still held inside her.

Once everyone had finished their meal, the music, stories, singing and dancing began. Lilanthro and Talas, along with everyone present, were treated to a magnificent display. Some of the children performed dances inspired by Lilanthro’s first visit to the village. Some of them told stories which were woven into song just as she had done on her second visit. The adults performed a vibrant mixture of storytelling, juggling and music. Laughter, tears, concentration, awe and smiles flowed freely in and out of the audience’s minds and hearts.

Then it was Lilanthro’s turn. She sat in the light of the still flickering fire and told the story of a tiny seed that germinated into a fragile, young plant, which grew slowly but surely into a tall, majestic tree, until it was the tallest and oldest tree in the forest. As it grew it learned to accept the passing of every season and it learned how to be itself without wishing to be something else. It learned that by being itself it could give freely and gladly to others, providing food and shelter for many creatures, and could receive plentiful nourishment in return. It learned how to know its place in the world as well as the place of every other living being in the forest. It learned to feel the connection between it and the other creatures and plants of the forest, the rock and soil beneath its roots and the air and light moving through its branches. It knew that its time on this earth was finite and it also knew that life would continue onwards in an infinitely overflowing dance. It was a simple version of the story which Talas had told Lilanthro on the day they had ventured far into the depths of the forest. When she finished telling it, she looked at Talas, who gave her a knowing and respectful smile.

And then it was the turn of Talas himself. The villagers hushed each other into quiet stillness. Talas had been their guide for many long years. They trusted him, were in awe of him and loved him as a child loves his kindest, wisest grandfather. They wondered what wisdom he may have for them tonight, wrapped up in humour and merriment. Instead, he said only,

“There was once an old, old star shining in the heavens. The star was bright and strong, it burned with love and knew the secrets of existence. Some creatures, who lived on a planet far away, loved this star for it seemed to talk to them in their sleep, whispering stories that helped them live their lives. They were glad of the star and hoped it would never leave them. But, the star was old, and one day it knew its time had come to fade from the sky and travel far away to another place and time. It was sad to leave its place in the heavens but happy to obey the laws of life which told it it must depart. Luckily, its sadness at having to leave the creatures alone was comforted by knowing that a new star had just been born which burned with as much love as it had once down and also held the secrets of existence within it. The old star knew that the new star would continue burning brightly in the sky for many a long year and that the creatures would grow to love it and would one day forget the loss of the old star.” Talas sat back into the shadows as he finished telling his story, leaving an uncertain silence hanging in the air.

Luckily, Enu filled the silence. He thanked everyone for their contributions and at last turned to Lilanthro to ask her the question she had been waiting for all evening. “Lilanthro, we hope you have enjoyed this evening. It is rare that we gather together like this and share so much of ourselves with each other, but I hope from now on it will become a more regular event. We are all so happy that you have become our friend, but we know you have sacrificed another life in order to stay with us and we know you have your own path to follow which may now take you far away from us to distant lands. We would love for you to settle in our village, but we would understand if your visit with us will soon come to an end. We wonder, are you ready to tell us your choice?”

Lilanthro replied, “Whatever I have had to give up to become a part of this village, I have gained threefold from being here with you. I know I could choose to leave and return to my life in the forest or venture onwards to see what lies beyond the most distant mountains. But neither of those choices is the one which I know is my rightful path. So I choose to stay and live my life here with you.”

Instantly, the gathered families erupted into cheers and claps of delight. The children ran to Lilanthro throwing their arms around her and begging her to live with them. The adults waited their turn and then went to her, hugging her warmly and indicating that she could share their home if she so chose.

Lilanthro waited for the excitement to die down and then said, “Thank you all for your generous offers of a home. However, I already have one in mind. You will find me there tomorrow morning. But for now, the night is old and the children are tired. I thank you all for the most wonderful of evenings and I will see you all tomorrow.”

And with that, one by one, the families dispersed and disappeared into the darkness of the night, walking tiredly back to their homes. Lilanthro and Talas were the last to leave. “You are sure of this?” Lilanthro asked Talas with a note of deep sadness in her voice.

Talas nodded silently. “Then I will stay in your garden tonight,” Lilanthro said, “And in the morning we will greet the day, tend to the plants and have breakfast together for one last time before the old star must fade away.”

“Yes,” Talas replied, “I would like that very much.”

And with that they walked together towards the hut and garden on the edge of the village which had been Talas’s beautiful home and sanctuary for many a long year.

TO READ CHAPTER 15 CLICK HERE!

The following days and weeks were a blur of activity for Lilanthro and the villagers. She awoke that first morning and, after having breakfast with Silja’s family, went to visit Onari. He was full of energy and excitement. He asked her many questions about the forest and her life there. He also told her many tales about himself and took great pride in showing her his home and all the things in it which he or his father had made. She ate lunch with the family, who were inquisitive about her life and keen to share their own stories with her. Conversation flowed backwards and forwards, as easy and reciprocal as waves surging in and out upon a beach of warm, golden sand.

This exchange of questions, curiosity and friendship was repeated many times over as Lilanthro made her way around the village visiting all the families and staying each night in a different bed with a different host family. Everyone was energised by the new village guest. Everyone was keen to show their willingness to be her friend and to display the brightest aspects of their characters to her. Lilanthro felt her love for each villager slowly growing. In her previous secret studies of them she had seen both their bright sides and their dark shadow selves. She had witnessed how their veils of anger, jealousy, fear, greed or sadness often tightened around them to hide their compassionate, loving hearts both from themselves and others. But now, just as falling in love can open the heart and dispel the shadows for a grace-given while, so Lilanthro’s presence amongst the villagers lit little candles in their souls which freed them from their shackling veils.

Lilanthro knew this could only be a temporary effect, soon their beings would contract again and the veils would return once more to wrap around their hearts. But she delighted in seeing the true nature of each villager and she had faith in the process which was occurring. She knew that some of the villagers would rejoice and make the most of this period of grace, being already aware of the true nature of their beings. Others would feel curiously invigorated and notice for the first time the veils which clung to their hearts, so beginning the journey of dancing with them. Others still would not yet be ready to make that leap, and after a few days or weeks of this heightened state would relapse back into their world of anger or guilt or other such thoughts or emotions. But still, Lilanthro knew, one day they would be ready and then their eyes would start to open and their hearts begin to shine. Everyone was on the path, they were just at different places along it.

One night after her first week of visiting the village families, Lilanthro lay sleeping and dreaming. She dreamed of paths criss-crossing a wide land of mountains, forests, valleys and rivers. She was following her path, not knowing exactly where it was leading but trusting that the direction was true and enjoying every moment of being in the changing landscapes. Other people were on other paths all around her. Some shared her path with her for a while and then branched off in other directions. Some overtook her and disappeared from view ahead. Some walked slowly so that she overtook them. She conversed with some of the people, others ignored her completely. Those who overtook her sometimes encouraged her to travel onwards with them, but she was not ready for their pace so she stayed where she was. When she overtook anyone who was looking tired from the journey, she would slow down to walk and talk with them, but eventually she would return to her own pace and they would either quicken their steps to continue with her further, veer off onto another path or drop behind. Some she kept meeting at different points along the path, and they became welcome friends who she would walk with for long distances, part from, and then meet again at some other unexpected turn in the path. There were others still who she could see standing on far distant mountain peaks surveying the land around. She could tell they could see farther than her and they inspired her to continue her journey so that one day she too could stand on that distant peak and survey the land anew.

One night after her second week of visiting the village families, Lilanthro lay in bed in a reflective mood. “Everyone contains a light at their core,” she mused to herself, “We were all born out of that, so how could it be otherwise? But, as Talas said, when we are born here we forget what we are and we spend the rest of our lives trying to remember. Unlike the tree which grows with utter certainty as to its place in this world, we develop layers of uncertainty which prevent us seeing ourselves, others and life clearly. How strange it is that we go about our days thinking we are awake, when really we have fallen asleep! How long and winding and challenging is the path to waking up again. And how different each person’s path. I am lucky that my life has given me such encouragement to feel the true nature of things; I have learnt to become me and also to let go of me. I hope my days forward will be long so that I can continue my learning and share the journey with others.”

One night after her third week of visiting the villagers, Lilanthro lay in bed in the home of the last family in the village. She was restless, wondering to herself what might happen from here. Should she stay and live the rest of her life amongst her new family? Should she venture onwards to other new worlds to meet whatever animals, humans or other beings might exist there? Or should she return to her forest home, taking her learning with her but once again becoming a hermit, far from human contact?

The very morning that she awoke with these questions still hanging in her mind, Onari’s father approached her as she wandered comfortably down the now familiar village path. “Tonight we will hold a celebration,” he told her, “A celebration of all that is special here in our village and a celebration that you have come to share it with us. I hope you will be happy to join us…?”

“Of course,” replied Lilanthro, “How could I miss it? You have all shown me such kindness, I would love to share an evening of celebration with you.”

That afternoon Lilanthro went to visit Talas in his garden. He welcomed her with an all embracing smile and invited her to sit with him. “So have you decided young Lilanthro?” He asked her.

“Decided what?” She replied, blushing as she realised he knew exactly what was on her mind.

“Will it be your choice to live your life amongst this small world of humans, with their beauty and their ugliness, their joy and their pains, and your own veils of thoughts and emotions? Will you decide to leave them behind in search of new wonders, imagining you have learnt all you can here and yearning for other adventures to pursue? Or will you return to your life as a feral girl, where your sense of oneness to the world around you is true and clear, and where you will forget about the complex dance of being human and the mysterious connections that can grow between people?”

“Well, my happiness can be greater in the forest, away from all the strife of the human world.” Lilanthro replied. “But the oneness which I feel there is like a child’s experience of life. I think it is our purpose to learn the lessons of being human; to fall asleep and then to attempt to reawaken and become conscious of ourselves. Returning to the forest might be blissful at times but it might also be like running away from school. And besides, I think I might feel lonely now that I have come to enjoy human company. I certainly do feel a tug of wanting to leave here and be free again; free to wander on to new lands and discover what other marvels exist in this world, free to be constantly stimulated by meeting new people. But I also sense how easy it could be to always travel onwards, to always think something greater exists beyond the present place. And I know that this is not necessarily true freedom. If I stay here it would at times be exciting and at times dull. I have made friends here and I have learnt so much. But whether my love for the villagers would grow day by day or dull down to mere fondness, and whether my learning would continue or whether I would be lulled into sleepiness once more by the day to day-ness of life, I am not sure…” She paused with uncertainty for a moment.

“There are many possible outcomes, whichever choice you make and not all of them are within your control.” Talas said. “But, remember the young tree that grew patiently older; it always knew its destiny was to be a tree, it never tried to become anything else. I have no doubt that you know enough about who you are to make this decision and choose a life that is most truly a Lilanthro shaped form on the tapestry.”

“Yes,” Lilanthro replied with a smile, as the clouds of uncertainty passed and the sun shone once more, “I have made my choice. I will tell the villagers tonight.” And she gazed out over Talas’s garden to the edge of the enticingly dark forest.

TO READ CHAPTER 14 CLICK HERE!