Read Online Woman King by Evette Davis - Free Book Online

“Yes. But she will come
back.”
    Very quickly, we found ourselves back in the
land of glowing flowers, strolling through an open meadow, dotted
with pink and purple foxglove. We crossed a road, climbed a dirt
path and after a few minutes of walking, came to stand before Stow
Lake, a man-made lake established in Golden Gate Park in the
1800’s. Half-dressed and disheveled, I paused on the sidewalk,
transfixed by a small island a few hundreds yards inside the
enormous lake from where I stood. The island, shrouded in mist and
almost completely covered by a fallen tree and overgrown flowering
vines, seemed to be calling to my overheated body.
    It didn’t take much for me to oblige.
    “Hot!” I cried out, and waded into the
lake.
    “Olivia, noooo!” came Lily’s frantic cry, as
she jumped in after me.
    We swam to the island, but never made it out
of the water thanks to a ring of thorny blackberry bushes lining
the shore. Rebuffed, we made our way back onto dry land. Standing
on the sidewalk and dripping wet, Lily removed a small towel from
her pack and handed it to me.
    “It’s not much, but it will help dry you a
bit,” she said, rubbing the water off of her arms and legs as she
spoke.
    I sat down on a nearby bench and began to
listen to the world around me. A cacophony of sounds rang in my
ears. I could hear the fish swimming below the surface of the
water. I detected the faint sound of owls in the trees rustling
their wings. Smiling, I took Lily’s hand in my own.
    “This place is alive,” I said with
conviction.
    Lily smiled and squeezed my hand back. “See
what you have been missing,” she said gently. “Now, you are really
alive, too.”
     
     
    ****
     
     

CHAPTER
10

    My first sensation was of something cold and
hard pressing into my lower back. Then the smell of damp, rotting
plants filled my nostrils. I remained motionless, trying to recall
what had happened. Where was I? Then I remembered my adventure in
the park and the tea Elsa had given me that caused me to
hallucinate.
    I lay still, testing my body. From one limb
to the next I wiggled, waiting for injuries and pain. I moved my
head from side to side and slowly opened my eyes. As soon as I
focused I recoiled, for there, not an inch from my face, was an
egret. The small, white bird was studying me. I smiled at him.
“Either you are in the wrong place, or I am sleeping in your bed,”
I said quietly to the bird.
    The egret opened up his wings and flew away
as I sat up to survey my surroundings. I was sleeping on a small
patch of dirt inside a lily pond near the side entrance of the de
Young Museum. Why here, of all places, I wondered, and then I
recalled hearing a man’s voice at the end of the evening. The voice
was insistent, urging me to leave my old life behind to join him. I
had followed the voice, getting as far as the museum, but could not
find its source.
    At some point I must have lost Lily and come
back here to fall asleep, choosing to slumber beside a statute of
Pan with his lute. Now, as the light of day pressed against my
sensitive eyes, the nature of my situation dawned on me. I was a
half-dressed woman trespassing on city property, and I needed to
get up and leave before someone saw me. The good news is that given
the kinds of characters that inhabit San Francisco, I wasn’t too
worried about looking odd as I strolled back to my house. I was
certain my unkempt nature wouldn’t raise so much as an eyebrow.
    I wondered what had happened to Elsa. I
concentrated for a moment and then, one by one, the images of the
night returned. I recalled with clarity that Elsa had disappeared
into the fountain. I remembered the bright light and her attempt to
shield me from it.
    My running shoes were sitting next to me and
I reached over to slide them on to my filthy, bare feet. As soon as
I climbed out of the pond and hopped onto the sidewalk, I spotted
Elsa sitting on a bench nearby. Her eyes shut, and she appeared to
be dozing lightly. I walked