Visions in Fall Colors

Hecate turned away from Bernie and stood motionless by the door, waiting. Bernice needed no further movement or message. The Goddess' presence alone was enough to fill the young woman with an abrupt and dizzying peace. Bernie stood up, wobbling a bit with the sensation.

Home.

She was going home.

Bernice grinned and started moving forward, half afraid that Hecate would disappear. The other half basked in the feeling of relief that flooded her veins.

Home.

She tried to picture it, but found her mind moving to another place. Bernie had a momentary vision, confusing, disturbing and all too real. An evil faun? Amazons? Then with a sense of being dragged from one world to the next, she was back in the present, opening her eyes.

Dizzy.

She felt...Not quite in place.

Bernice force herself to focus. This was the trick Dr. Gabrielle emphasized. Stay in the now. She breathed in, then out and continued to walk. She kept her attention on Hecate.

The goddess...the woman... appeared to be a biker, dressed in tight black leather pants and a revealing tank top. There was no mistaking that she was female with those pert breasts pushing up the fabric. Her spiky short white hair rustled with the breeze of the still open door. She held it open with one gloved hand, but faced the teller's counter...away from Bernice. Bernice, despite the firmness of the original gaze, couldn't tell if she'd been seen or not. Surely she had..but she felt no caution despite her momentary worry.

It was as if, by being unseen even for a moment, she could watch a miracle happen. She could pretend that it all was real, and this life, the mortal one she was leading now, was the illusion. Bernice exhaled slowly and continued forward. The candy bar remained on the table, forgotten.

The biker, the goddess in biker form, finally let go of the door. She must have felt the push of the woman behind her because she hadn't turned around. Instead, the white hair goddess stepped forward, followed by a darker, fiery spirit. This one was as known to Bernice as the first and the young woman felt her something in her soul stir with both anxiety and recognition. "Velaska," her lips formed. But the word never left her mouth. She was afraid that by saying anything she'd break the whatever spell was in the works.

So, with a touch of an odd dread, but not enough to stop the timid constant bursts of joy, Bernie made her way to them -- As if she'd been waiting for *them* all along.

Slowly and deliberately, Velaska, not quite as lean as her lover, stepped more fully into the convenience store. Unlike Hecate, Velaska's attention covered the whole store. Almost. She looked everywhere but in Bernice's direction and she dedicated such attention to it, that Bernice found herself looking around the store for ...she wasn't quite sure what. The bad satyr perhaps. The desire to see was compelling. Bernice looked around herself cautiously and saw nothing that was out of place.

What was she missing? What was Velaska looking for?

Or was she doing more than looking.

Bernice noticed that the goddess' lips were moving. Softly, as if she were mumbling, words poured out, below the range of Bernice' hearing. The teller, as in the vision, remained unaware through it all.

Bernice understood then. The vision was no dream, but a time. A possibility. She hastened her steps until she was almost flinging herself in Velaska's arms.

The goddess sternly yanked her past the doors and outside. Then, she was being pushed unceremoniously toward a powerful machine. The Harley - Davidson glistened black and reflected florescent sulfer pink from the gas station's lights. She hardly had a chance to notice the softness of the seat, when she heard the sound of breaking glass and a crow of failure behind her. She knew as sure as she was breathing that it wasn't the Amazons who sounded so horrifyingly dissappointed.

Then, with Bernie seated behind her old enemy, and clinging for dear life, they were away.