Don't Label Me! by Arwen Jayne Page B

friend lost in ancient times. We mean no harm. Let us
enter your passageway. Let us pass and travel to find the one that
rests in stone, deep within this place. We wish to bring her love
and healing. Let us pass as friends, unharmed, into your sacred
space.” This time a warm caress, a tingle of energy flowed over her
skin. “Come on guys. I think they just opened the door for us.”
     
    The jungle on the other side was a stark
contrast. More alive, darker, older. Moss dripped from ancient
trunks. There’d never been any logging or slash and burn
agriculture here. A far greater array of birds in all the colors of
the rainbow danced in the trees, shepherding the newcomers into
their forest, singing a crescendo of song.
    Doc looked almost tearful. “This is what I
always dreamed my homeland should look like. Maybe it did once,
many thousands of years ago.”
    “ It’s like something out of that
Avatar movie.” Melissa mused.
    George and Rob followed, watchful, trying to
look into the depths of the darkness. A twig snapped nearby. Their
hearing went on alert.
    Something stung Melissa’s shoulder and she
swatted it to brush it aside. It wasn’t an insect. “Ah shit guys. I
think they’re using darts.” A moment later her vision blurred and
she crumpled into a heap.”
     
    Melissa woke first and noticed with no small
relief that she wasn’t tied up or anything nasty like hanging
upside down over a cauldron of boiling water or whatever cannibals
did to their prey. Instead they seemed to have been placed inside
some kind of grass covered hut. It was a little dark inside it but
nothing ominous. Okay this wasn’t so bad. She surveyed the other
three bodies stirring on the ground. No harm had come to any of
them.
    The sound of approaching footsteps had her
looking to the entrance. Surprisingly an exceedingly elderly white
caucasian male entered. He wore little; a loincloth and what looked
to be the well worn remains of an army shirt, open at the front and
sleeves rolled up. Ornate tattoos covered most of his legs and
forearms. He extended a hand in greeting. “Private William Stevens,
pleased to meet you dear lady.”
    “ You’re English!” Melissa was a little
embarrassed at being lost for words. She finally remembered her
manners and took his hand. “Um, sorry. Just surprised. I’m very
pleased to meet you too, Private Stevens. My name is Melissa. These
men are my husband Rob, my friend George and our town doctor
I-Wayan Agung but you can call him Doc.”
    William settled on his haunches, native
style, studying the waking males then he turned back to Melissa.
“Quite a collection you have there Melissa. And you can call me
Will since we seem to be already on first names. I guess times have
changed outside.” He appeared to study her clothes. “You must be
hot in those pants. I’ll get one of the girls to bring you a
sarong.”
    “ Oh thank you. To tell the truth we
dressed to cover up our arms and legs because some of the tribes
outside find too much bare skin disrespectful. We didn’t want to
offend.”
    “ Really? Well you won’t offend anyone
that way here. The girls hardly ever even wear tops.”
    “ You don’t get many visitors from
outside then?”
    “ No the portal usually keeps them out.
It must have judged your worthy though. It let me through back in
1944. I was being hunted down by some Japs. Don’t know what
happened to them but they were behind me one minute and then not
the next. When I found the tribe here I couldn’t speak their
language but they made me understand I was welcome and safe for as
long as I wanted to stay. I fell in love. I stayed. My wife still
lives but we’ll be meeting our ancestors soon I guess. I have no
fear of that. The tribe have taught me much about the interaction
of the afterlife with this world.”
    Melissa beamed at the man. She guessed that
other tribes outside must have dealt with his pursuers and that was
who had ended up on the poles at the gate. t