Royally Emma, Lucia Roberts [black female authors TXT] 📗

coat. It did look warm. And I was wearing  a white pirate style shirt with the tight wrists and shoulders but loose around the rest of the arm covered by a brown vest paired with some black skinny jeans and brown and white saddle shoes. Apparently I have good taste in my dreams except for the warmth part. Screw it, I was already late one day. This really can't hurt me that much. I haven't heard anyone so I grab for the jacket before I can change my mind. It was soft and thick. As I unfolded it I found it was the same sort of style as the one he wore yesterday. Double breasted peacoat sort of jacket. I threw it around my self and the heaviness was adorned with a sort of woodsy smell: soft tobacco, vanilla, Cedar, Pine and coffee I think. It looked as though it had huge pockets, which is awesome, 'cause I love pockets so I stuffed my hands in them. My right hand though made a crunching, rustling sound when I buried my hands deep inside. I pulled out a folded sheet of parchment. Manners told me that I should respect the man's privacy but curiosity said he probably wouldn't give me a coat that had something he wouldn't want me to see. So figuring my day was just doomed anyway I unfolded it. The paper was sort of faded in an off white way and crisp in a way that regular paper wasn't. I was sort of nervous as I undid the last fold and spread the strange paper on my rock.

It was a map; and a hand drawn one at that!  There was an 'X' in the center of the paper labeled 'you'. To the right of the 'X' was an clover shaped space labeled Esthra underneath. It seemed to be split into five pieces. A circle in the center labeled 'Market' around which seemed to be four different villages. The one at the top left of the circle had a bunch of small upside down V's which I assumed were houses and a larger one near the back of the section. It was called Govern Royale. There was also a small circle near the bottom of the division. I have no idea what the out of place shapes meant though. The top right held a bunch of V's as well, but there was a large space that stretched out the shape upwards with a bunch of straight lines in different directions and a rectangle in the center labeled 'mills'. That one was called Sun Valley. That portion was bigger than the others. The bottom left section held more V's, but they were arranged around a center of it's own wherein lay a circle labeled 'jail' inside of a dotted area named “hang man's square”. This one was appropriately named Justice. In this section also lay a square labeled 'surgeon doctor', and in the back of that section a square labeled  'witch doctor'. The bottom right section of Esthra had, you guessed it, more V's. Nothing seemed to different about that space except it seemed to be gated off for some reason and it had no special shapes inside. This one was called Avalon.

I looked up from the map towards the stone gate to my right and figured that this must be the entrance to Esthra. It seemed a lot smaller from where I am but the land is very flat and there is a lot of forest so I can't even see the beginning of the place. I shook my head and looked down at the map again. Along the North and around the top of Esthra was a river that wound South-East and off the map named 'Cotton River'. Also to the North of the village, above the Sun Valley and across the river, was a dotted section labeled 'mines'. To the North-West of my 'X' was a dotted area named 'Cascade' with a simple depiction of my waterfall. Way off to the west, the whole left corner of the map had tiny dots over which was written 'ocean'. To the South of my waterfall a ways was another dotted line section named 'New Beginnings'. I wasn't sure how I felt about that name or what it may entail so I decided not to wonder on that one too much.

Aside from the village, the waterfall area and anything that had a label really was a gray colour, so I decided it was probably forest. Which actually was helpful. He described not only the area but the land around me with his simple sketches and cursive notes and somehow I felt safer here. The rest of the paper was blank all along the bottom so I didn't think he'd actually finished it, but it was brilliant all the same. I looked up and around to make sure I was still alone. I was, but my knees and feet were starting to fall asleep from sitting the way that I was. I stood slowly wriggling my ankles and wrists to get my blood moving again and I felt the full weight of the coat again which wasn't quite heavy, but it made me feel small; in a comfortable cozy way. As I did this though, I stared down at the map not so much looking at it but seeing the map as a whole, as a thing, a very thoughtful gift. I wonder why he'd go through the trouble of drawing this for me. It had to be a bit time consuming. It really wasn't any use wondering about it though. I wouldn't know and I doubted I'd see him anytime soon and if I did, would I remember to ask? Somehow I doubted I would. The sky was a bit darker than it was so I guessed I'd used an hour or two by now. I still had ten or so to go. I faintly heard the chirps of the chorus to “World Spins Madly On” that the birds echoed from the woods. They seem to be quite ironic at times and I appreciated their funny irony.

To stay or to wander is now the question. I picked up the map and looked over it again. The ocean seemed like days of a journey on foot which is unfortunate because I love the ocean. I looked over to left at the mess of pines and cedars; I wouldn't mind to see Bubbles again... Ugh, the sleeves were too long! I dropped the map to feet and rolled them over so I could bare my hands enough to hold the map without ripping it accidentally and then stooped to retrieve it again. It can't be that dangerous to venture could it?

Constance made it seem like it was human interaction that messed with the timing of the transfer, so, as long as I didn't talk to anyone I should be alright to wander and I'll just be sure to get back to my rock by transfer time. I glanced at the map and the at the village. I did want to see what it was like but after yesterday's adventures I wouldn't dare risk it. Too much was at stake. 

I needed to figure it out and stop waging this internal war on myself so I would quit standing in the middle of the road like this. Out in the open as I was, I didn't figure anyone would be here. Well, except maybe the Irish Man. Was it bad that I wondered his name? I hoped not. I needed to stop thinking about this, about him, but the gift had shifted something deep within me that even the thought put a stupid, thankful grin on my face. I did a left face and started meandering towards the waterfall and Bubbles with my nose in the map, studying it like Disney's Belle in her books.

I wished there was such a skill as to memorize tinier details than our bodies allow. I keep falling over stumps and fallen tree limbs that I didn't remember until after I tripped over them. Such is life I suppose. Whether or not you can call this a life is rather up to the person inside of it. As for me, well, I don't really know. I haven't thought about it actually. I mean, I 'live' in two different worlds, and in each one what do I do the whole time? Hide and try to do what's best, which normally entails keeping quiet and to myself which makes for a very boring time in this world; eh, these worlds. Emphasis on that last s there. Then again, ow branch, I am breathing and I have thoughts and feelings and I'm doing things (however small and or boring they may be) so this could be called a life too. I guess, for people like me, this is considered more of a dream than a life. A very long and semi-permanent dream. But, it is very much a part of your life because it's still time being spent, it just isn't all in the same dimension... Ugh, I don't know. 

As I was walking through the woods, I headed in the general direction, and somehow I felt like I knew exactly where I was going; though I'd only been there once. Maybe I have subconscious memory or something. I mean everyone does, but I hardly had to look up and yesterday I was tripping over everything as he made all these unexpected turns and everything. What's up with that?  Well, it is my dream after all, maybe I should know it better than I think I do. Maybe I was just scared and my subconscious couldn't get through or something.

I got to where the willows started to thin out the pines and redwoods so I looked up from the map and folded it up and shoved it in one of the Irish Man's pockets so  I could push through the embraces of the willow trees. I went to the same spot I had yesterday and plopped down facing the waterfall as I spread my map out on the ground in front of me. I traced the outline of New Beginnings absent mindedly. Why was I so intrigued with it? I really can't say. But something is still bothering me, it's like tugging at something locked up somewhere deep inside my mind, and I just, I don't know what it is or have any idea how to get to it.  It just seems like somewhere to avoid. I set my mind that it will be somewhere I avoid. For however long I can stand anyways... One could only concentrate so long on such mind boggling things so I folded the map and shoved it back in it's pocket.

I turned my attention to the stream part of the falls and peeked over the sandy edge. There was my ugly little duckling fish. Swimming there hovering with its disgusting eye ball pods or whatever just waggling its little tail like a dog. It almost looked like it was smiling. I couldn't help but smile back. It was just so ugly it was almost adorable. “Hello Bubbles” I whispered and I reached out to draw shapes for him to follow. I touched the surface and drew a circle and he came all the way to the top to rub against my finger. He was an animated thing and wasn't much longer than my middle finger, which may have been part of what made him so cute, but then you noticed his eyes were bigger than my thumb nail each and you just wanted to die laughing at the little guy. I did start laughing and maybe he took it personally or just was hungry or something because he rubbed against my hand again and swam away downstream. I flipped over to my back and looked up in to the darkening sky. The sun was setting and it