TRAVELING TO FABLE'S VEIL - PART 5

This was it, after hours of traveling and contemplating it was time to give Fable their offering.  Levi took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves before finally stretching her paw out and taking the first step forward.  As she approached the statue she found herself taking an even closer look at it.  Noticing little cracks, discolored spots, and areas where it looked like the statue may fall apart.  It reminded her that even Fable was imperfect.

She finally reached the base of the state, below her feet were the previous offerings, but she tried to ignore them.  She didn't want to start comparing her offering to theirs anymore, there was no point in doing that, so she might as well just ignore it.  She closed her eyes, heart pounding in her chest, mouth quivering, she took a deep breath and gently placed her offering in front of the shrine.  

Quietly she prayed, “Ohh great Fable, please accept my gift to you, in exchange for keeping the forest alive.”  She took another deep breath, before raising her head and hesitantly opening her eyes.  The statue towered over them, looking almost ominous she would have started panicking if it wasn't for Sprint, who was leaning up against her leg.u

A second passed, then a minute, then another, but nothing happened.  Levi was a bit disappointed, but also relieved, the fear of the unknown was no longer a concern.  She didn't have to worry about whether or not Fable would accept her offering, because now she had a hard answer to her question.  Or maybe Fable was just not here?  Either way, it no longer mattered.

She turned to look at Sprint, who also seemed to look disappointed at this tern of events.  She smiled shyly, “I know this is not what we wanted to happen, but at least we had a nice day together.”

“Baaarrrkkk”, Sprint exclaimed.

Levi turned to look at the statue one final time, staring right into its intimidating eyes, giving a slight nod.  However, before she could walk away, a cold but whimsical voice whispered into her ear.  “Make a wish.”  “A wish,” she thought.  What kind of wish would she want to make?

She looked out at the forest they had adventured through early, and quietly said, “I wish for the trip back home to be quick, safe, and easy.”  

Almost instantly, a cool breeze buzzed past the Arcanai, toward the Vail.  Then a bright green light appeared.  The trees began to shift positions, while the bushes sunk into the ground.  Swiftly the forest contorted itself creating a path that led right out of the Vail.  There would be lo long walk back, or fearing getting lost just a quick and simple way back home.

To say Levi was shocked would be an understatement.  She turned back at the statue and could have sworn she saw it blink at her.

She then turned back to her fluffy companion, who too looked shocked, but also very excited.  It started jumping up and down and baking happily.

“Well then, are we ready to go?” 

“Baaarrrkkk”, Sprint squealed.

She closed her eyes, thanking Fable one last time, and then the two pranced over to the path that had opened up for them.  Needless to say, the walk back was much easier than the walk there.  It only took about 3 minutes to get from the statue to the end of their magical walkway.  Within moments they were out of the Vail and only a 15 minute walk from home.  As soon as they stepped through the gateway, the magical breeze came back, the green light reappeared,  the trees took their normal position, and the undergrowth reappeared.

The two watched the shifting forest in awe and were quite disappointed when it was over, feeling a heavy pit in her gut once the magic had passed.  Yet, she tried to shake it off and just focus on the marvelous thing that had just occurred.

As the adrenaline ran down, she felt her stomach start to rumble, realizing that she never even stopped to use the book she had gone through so much hassle to bring with her.  She turned to Sprint, “are you hungry”, “Baaarrrkkk”, “I’m going to take that as a yes”.

She giggled, “There is a small diner a few minutes away and I’m pretty sure they allow companions, want to grab a bite?”  “Baaarrrkkk”.  She smiled before hopping back onto the path.

As she skipped over to the eatery, a glee flowed over her.  She did it!  She overcame her anxiety and made the trip through the Vail to Fable’s Shrine.  She did something she never thought she could do, and now that she knew she could do that, she knew she could do anything.  

Most importantly, through the trip, Fable inadvertently gave her what was probably the greatest gift of all.  A best friend.