A compass, I learnt when I was surveying, it’ll point you true North from where you’re standing, but it’s got no advice about the swamps and deserts and chasms that you’ll encounter along the way. (Abraham Lincoln)
As Suzy Bell, Alfred the long nosed dog, and Tennis Shoe the cat with no tail, dozed uneasily in the crook of the roots of the purple tree following their scary trip down the River of Tears, Suzy Bell started to dream. She dreamed that a door opened in the tree’s trunk, and a long furry arm reached out and dragged her inside the tree. Surprisingly, she was not alarmed in the dream, and willingly followed the arm, which seemed to be attached to — of all things to find in a tree — a wolf! He (somehow she knew it was a “he”) led her down a long staircase, and at the bottom of the staircase, there was a door. He grasped the knob and opened the door (how strange, she thought, that a wolf can turn a doorknob), and ahead of them, she saw a dirt trail leading through a misty valley of hills. The wolf handed her a lantern, and motioned with his nose that she should go up that trail, heading north. She wasn’t sure how she knew that direction was north, but she did.
Suzy Bell was very reluctant to go, mostly because she was leaving Alfred and Tennis Shoe behind. But when she turned back to voice her objections to the wolf, she found that he, the staircase, the door, the purple tree, and Alfred and Tennis Shoe had disappeared. Another “Uh, oh” experience for Suzy Bell; she was on her own.
And very unhappy. But since she didn’t know what else to do, she started walking north. Now it might have been wiser for Suzy Bell to take a minute, and think this thing through, but she was understandably confused. And besides, this was a dream, and we never behave the way we ordinarily would in a dream.
As we mentioned before, the hills were misty, and a drab brown, and there wasn’t much to see. She trudged on, looking for some sign, some indication of why she had been sent north on this road in this featureless valley. Now Suzy Bell, even at her young age, or maybe because of her young age, was very much a believer in magical thinking — she always watched for “signs” or coincidences or unusual things in her world as answers that would show her what to do. And all of a sudden, one of those “signs” appeared to her — and this time, it was a real sign! A big billboard off to her right by the trail read: Super Sale — North country land for sale, not for wimps! Develop your strongest self, Buy North!!!
While Suzy Bell had zero interest in buying land, she was interested in being her strongest self, and so she went on with somewhat more enthusiasm, or at least less dragging of her feet. It got colder and colder, and soon icy pellets of something wet started to blow. Suzy Bell shivered, wishing she had thought to wear a coat and boots in this dream. Plus it was getting darker and darker. How was she going to survive a night in this harsh place?
She decided to lie down to rest for just a moment because she was so tired. But as she lay there, shivering and sleepy, she felt a hard nudge, and startled, thought she caught a glimpse of the wolf who had started her on this journey.
She struggled to her feet and looked about, but there was no other sign of life in the bleak landscape. Not knowing what else to do, she plodded on and on. The road seemed so long. Soon she wasn’t able to feel her toes anymore, and she felt cold all the way into her heart. She stumbled, and just as she was about to despair . . . .
(to be continued)