Adventure: Speak Softly

Day Two Part One

I woke up early the next day, at five, ready for whatever trials the new day had in mind for me. But when I stuck out my head to greet the morning, the day still seemed to be sleeping. There was no wind,  no sound, no motion. Everything was quiet and calm. Seeing it sleeping so sweetly, I did not want to wake it. So I decided to take a walk. I had not been on that island before, I knew nothing about it. So the things I discovered swept me a bit off my feet. I had not gone far when I saw some roof tops hide in the green a few yards away from me. I found a small village, or maybe more of a dwelling- for vikings. The sight tickled my imagination, and I dissolved. Right there, on the spot, I evaporated. 

And like a mist, I felt my presence flood out over this place built to reawaken the past.

As I left it, a new idea took form in my head; the house I am going to build in the future, is going to be built in that style. Heavy with that pleasant idea, the mist sunk a little into the soil where the houses were built and left a piece of me there.

It was still early, the restless stroll continued. I came to a crossroad. Two signs pointed two opposites directions. To the left was "The Black Earth", to the right "The Chapel Of Ansgar". I shrugged my shoulders. It didn't matter, I would have time to see both. I took the track leading to The Black Earth. A shadow rose on the hill as I made my way up. It was the shadow of a cross. It was a cross risen in the honoring memory of Ansgar, the man who first spread the word and preaching of Christianity to our country. A shiver went down my spine. Dark, are my thoughts on medieval christianity... But, turning around, the sight I met took my breath away. A soft green sea of grass, flowers and little tubby dark green bushes billowed away in the distant, starting just by the tip of my toes. A golden cross (in contrast to the shadow behind me) on top of a building that looked like a port gate for giants, seemed to be calling on me from the other side of a field of wheat. I remembered the other sign...

I left The Black Earth without looking back. I found my own path to the chapel alongside fields and old barns. Life lurked behind every thistle, turn and stem. Pheasants and snakes fled into the high grass as they heard my steps approaching, beetles shimmering like pearls of oil and frogs crossed my way more than once, sparrows swung to and from as they landed in fields of oat to feast on insects hiding there. I felt so completely at peace, so warm. I think I wore a constant smile, but who's to know? No one was there to see it. I felt at peace.

I reached the chapel. A sign read "Walk carefully, speak softly". Rows of empty benches were placed out in front of three enormous black gates. Behind them, I guessed, would be the altar. In the middle gate hung a thick rope. It lead to a large bell high above. I pulled it slightly, and saw the bell start to sway. But, I remembered... The day was still asleep, the past still present. Out of respect for ghosts that once were alive and used to come here to praise a God they loved whenever that bell would toll, I let go of the rope, and let the chapel continue its' slumber.