Ramona
and Constance and Thaga, assisted by Maeve had a big job on their hands. What
it amounted to was the planning phase of a wedding to be celebrated in the
BSNF. They really didn’t need any help from Ralph or Ferdy, for that matter.
Thus,
released from those responsibilities, though he was going to be the officer
present afloat when the day came, and he did need to cobble together some words
on the subject, he put that in the back of his mind and decided to go for a run.
Ralph was actually quite an accomplished long distance runner. He liked to do his cross country run after dark. Usually no one noticed him, and he could look at the stars and moon, if it wasn’t cloudy. Most dogs on his route knew not to bark at him. It was a muscular meditation, and he did his really seriously deep thinking while loping lightly down forest paths and then out onto the logging roads and even the state highways. On the highways if he saw a car’s lights coming toward him he could just vanish for a bit.
Thaga had gone home to Ooog. Constance had returned to her mother for the night and Ramona, Twigg and Cherry were settling down for the night in the home cave. It was a beautiful clear night. Rather unusual for the climate there.
Having tucked everybody in, Ralph started out, pacing himself, running as lightly as a wolf doing that floaty thing they do when they trot. He left the clearing, just getting going, past his big log, then headed on down by the noisy river, full of rocks and trout. He ran along the river for a few miles, knowing just where every jog and bend in the trail was. He had very good night vision, as all Forest People do. The essence of flowers was in the air, he sensed life all around him. He knew that small animals were aware of his passage. He passed Mother Fran sleeping beside Cecil. Bears snore. He did not wake them, so light were his steps.
He came at last to the logging road and picked up speed. He felt good and was really enjoying this run. It was nice and cool out too. He felt like he had many miles left in him before he would loop back home. Tall firs crowded in on both sides of the small dirt road. His breathing was heavier and more audible now. His footfalls were heavier too.
Rounding a switchback, Ralph saw something he was not expecting to see. It was a familiar long silver object with blunt ends, resting suspended about chest high from the road surface. Dim lights adorned its sides. The last time he had seen this thing, or one like it was at Cherry’s birth party. Naturally, he slowed down to check it out. Was it the same one? He wasn’t sure. How often do these things visit the forest anyhow, he wondered.
As he neared the object a door slid open on the side facing him. Of course, it was Mak again. He didn’t say why he was in the neighborhood.
“Ralph,” said Mak.
“Mak,” said Ralph. “I sure didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
“I might say the same,” said Mak. “What are you doing out here so far from home?”
“Just running,” said Ralph. “It’s part of how I keep track of things in the forest.”
“Keeping track of things is more or less what I was doing,” said Mak. “You want to hop in? I could drop you off at home later.”
“Well, sure. I took a ride in a big SUV with Millicent Price, nothing can stop me now, except will I fit in there?”
“I can make it work, Ralph. Just act like you’re climbing in and watch what happens,” said Mak, “You’ll see!”
So, taking Mak at his word, Ralph stuck his big leg into the doorway of Mak’s ride. A strange thing happened, which did not make sense. He found that he was in a low ceilinged room with upholstered seating and many dim lights placed around the walls. Mak stood smiling at him as he looked around in amazement.
“Wanna take a ride?” asked Mak. (Could it be that Mak was a fan of Art’s too?)
“Home before morning?” Ralph was getting excited, but he knew his responsibilities too.
“I promise,” said Mak. He waved his hand at one end of the vehicle’s walls, and they became transparent. From a comfy seat, Ralph could see the dark forest outside the ship just as clearly as he normally saw it. Then the forest disappeared, and he found himself gaping at the tops of the trees, and the road and the river and all of his home from a fantastic height.
“This is a good place to pause,” Mak said softly. “I’ll let you look for a bit.”
Ralph stood up and walked to the clear side of the ship and just stared down for a long time. At last, he said, “can we go out further Mak?”
“Yes, we can, but you have to know something before we do. Time, as you know it is like a kind of atmosphere around the earth. It thins out near your moon, it slows to a standstill, and between your sun’s other planets it is even slower, and when you get out among the stars Ralph, there is no time at all,” Mak told him.
“How can that be?” Ralph looked at the odd little man in wonderment.
“Time is home to you. You must have it,” said Mak. “If I take you out among the stars we will be everywhere at once and there will be no passage of time.” He waited to see what Ralph would say.
“Do you want to go?” said Mak. “Home before morning!” He laughed a little.
Ralph nodded, and in the blink of an eye they were out there.
When he got back he couldn’t explain it, not even to himself. When he tried to talk to Ramona about it he felt like he wasn’t making any sense. What he felt like telling her was that he saw billions of stars, and more billions of planets all present with no travel between them. It was impossible. He did remember Mak taking his ship near to a few planets, at which point the other stars would retreat as if they were eons apart again. Then when they went back out, all would be present again. The only way it was possible to think of it was that inside Mak’s ship there was a bubble of time maintained somehow so that they could move around and talk normally.
As promised, Mak’s ship settled down softly near the cave while it was still dark. If you imagine it, it was quite a scene. The beautiful silver vessel with glowing lights all down its sides, so exotic looking in the dim pre-dawn forest, under the great trees.
“You know I’m never going to be able to talk about this Mak,” said Ralph. “I can’t talk without time!”
“I know,” said Mak. “But you will remember in some timeless part of your heart.”
Ralph stepped out of the ship. The door slid back down and sealed, and the ship drifted upward and northward just over the tree tops, and vanished. Then the clearing looked absolutely normal again, and the sun was beginning to lighten the sky. Birds began to wake and talk among themselves. Maeve blew through the clearing sensing that she had missed something noteworthy.
It was a beautiful morning and Ralph was getting sleepy now. So, he slipped silently into his home cave where his family and Berry and Bob slept on. He yawned and shook his head in disbelief. He was already forgetting a little bit, but he knew that it had happened.
He got into bed. Ramona woke for a second and said, “Hi baby. Everything okay?”
“Couldn’t be better, my love, couldn’t be better,” said Ralph, nearly asleep already.
Ralph was actually quite an accomplished long distance runner. He liked to do his cross country run after dark. Usually no one noticed him, and he could look at the stars and moon, if it wasn’t cloudy. Most dogs on his route knew not to bark at him. It was a muscular meditation, and he did his really seriously deep thinking while loping lightly down forest paths and then out onto the logging roads and even the state highways. On the highways if he saw a car’s lights coming toward him he could just vanish for a bit.
Thaga had gone home to Ooog. Constance had returned to her mother for the night and Ramona, Twigg and Cherry were settling down for the night in the home cave. It was a beautiful clear night. Rather unusual for the climate there.
Having tucked everybody in, Ralph started out, pacing himself, running as lightly as a wolf doing that floaty thing they do when they trot. He left the clearing, just getting going, past his big log, then headed on down by the noisy river, full of rocks and trout. He ran along the river for a few miles, knowing just where every jog and bend in the trail was. He had very good night vision, as all Forest People do. The essence of flowers was in the air, he sensed life all around him. He knew that small animals were aware of his passage. He passed Mother Fran sleeping beside Cecil. Bears snore. He did not wake them, so light were his steps.
He came at last to the logging road and picked up speed. He felt good and was really enjoying this run. It was nice and cool out too. He felt like he had many miles left in him before he would loop back home. Tall firs crowded in on both sides of the small dirt road. His breathing was heavier and more audible now. His footfalls were heavier too.
Rounding a switchback, Ralph saw something he was not expecting to see. It was a familiar long silver object with blunt ends, resting suspended about chest high from the road surface. Dim lights adorned its sides. The last time he had seen this thing, or one like it was at Cherry’s birth party. Naturally, he slowed down to check it out. Was it the same one? He wasn’t sure. How often do these things visit the forest anyhow, he wondered.
As he neared the object a door slid open on the side facing him. Of course, it was Mak again. He didn’t say why he was in the neighborhood.
“Ralph,” said Mak.
“Mak,” said Ralph. “I sure didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
“I might say the same,” said Mak. “What are you doing out here so far from home?”
“Just running,” said Ralph. “It’s part of how I keep track of things in the forest.”
“Keeping track of things is more or less what I was doing,” said Mak. “You want to hop in? I could drop you off at home later.”
“Well, sure. I took a ride in a big SUV with Millicent Price, nothing can stop me now, except will I fit in there?”
“I can make it work, Ralph. Just act like you’re climbing in and watch what happens,” said Mak, “You’ll see!”
So, taking Mak at his word, Ralph stuck his big leg into the doorway of Mak’s ride. A strange thing happened, which did not make sense. He found that he was in a low ceilinged room with upholstered seating and many dim lights placed around the walls. Mak stood smiling at him as he looked around in amazement.
“Wanna take a ride?” asked Mak. (Could it be that Mak was a fan of Art’s too?)
“Home before morning?” Ralph was getting excited, but he knew his responsibilities too.
“I promise,” said Mak. He waved his hand at one end of the vehicle’s walls, and they became transparent. From a comfy seat, Ralph could see the dark forest outside the ship just as clearly as he normally saw it. Then the forest disappeared, and he found himself gaping at the tops of the trees, and the road and the river and all of his home from a fantastic height.
“This is a good place to pause,” Mak said softly. “I’ll let you look for a bit.”
Ralph stood up and walked to the clear side of the ship and just stared down for a long time. At last, he said, “can we go out further Mak?”
“Yes, we can, but you have to know something before we do. Time, as you know it is like a kind of atmosphere around the earth. It thins out near your moon, it slows to a standstill, and between your sun’s other planets it is even slower, and when you get out among the stars Ralph, there is no time at all,” Mak told him.
“How can that be?” Ralph looked at the odd little man in wonderment.
“Time is home to you. You must have it,” said Mak. “If I take you out among the stars we will be everywhere at once and there will be no passage of time.” He waited to see what Ralph would say.
“Do you want to go?” said Mak. “Home before morning!” He laughed a little.
Ralph nodded, and in the blink of an eye they were out there.
When he got back he couldn’t explain it, not even to himself. When he tried to talk to Ramona about it he felt like he wasn’t making any sense. What he felt like telling her was that he saw billions of stars, and more billions of planets all present with no travel between them. It was impossible. He did remember Mak taking his ship near to a few planets, at which point the other stars would retreat as if they were eons apart again. Then when they went back out, all would be present again. The only way it was possible to think of it was that inside Mak’s ship there was a bubble of time maintained somehow so that they could move around and talk normally.
As promised, Mak’s ship settled down softly near the cave while it was still dark. If you imagine it, it was quite a scene. The beautiful silver vessel with glowing lights all down its sides, so exotic looking in the dim pre-dawn forest, under the great trees.
“You know I’m never going to be able to talk about this Mak,” said Ralph. “I can’t talk without time!”
“I know,” said Mak. “But you will remember in some timeless part of your heart.”
Ralph stepped out of the ship. The door slid back down and sealed, and the ship drifted upward and northward just over the tree tops, and vanished. Then the clearing looked absolutely normal again, and the sun was beginning to lighten the sky. Birds began to wake and talk among themselves. Maeve blew through the clearing sensing that she had missed something noteworthy.
It was a beautiful morning and Ralph was getting sleepy now. So, he slipped silently into his home cave where his family and Berry and Bob slept on. He yawned and shook his head in disbelief. He was already forgetting a little bit, but he knew that it had happened.
He got into bed. Ramona woke for a second and said, “Hi baby. Everything okay?”
“Couldn’t be better, my love, couldn’t be better,” said Ralph, nearly asleep already.
Photos by Chris Nelson, on Google Earth, of the correct location.
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