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again but couldn’t. Doubts were plaguing me more and more.
    Vìr and I met at his place. It was easier that way, quieter. He prepared some tea and we sat on facing benches in the backyard of his home. A few flowers were blooming. They were in the shape of five-pointed stars, red and pink, nameless to me. Leave it to Vìr to have flowers growing in the fall. It was beautiful and peaceful. Through the branches of tall trees, I could see the dark summits of Ul Darak far to the east.
    “Something changed,” I said, “and I need to tell someone.”
    Vìr took a sip, nodded slightly, encouraging. For a brief moment, his skin was the same colour as the dark rock of the Borders. No wonder some were distrustful of him. In Vi’Alana, there were some Torians, dark skinned, from Toria and the west. But not all of Ta’Énia’s inhabitants have the chance to travel to Vi’Alana. For many, Vìr was the first of his kind they had ever come in contact with. For them, he was not from the west, but from the east, from Ul Darak. No one could convince them otherwise.
    “I previously said that I couldn’t remember anything of my time in the clearing,” I started. “It is now returning. It’s coming to me in my sleep. Dreams, images, so clear, so real. They return every time I close my eyes and lapse into slumber.”
    “Give me a moment,” Vìr requested. He rushed inside, came back out with papers and ink. “To take notes,” he explained.
    “The images are the same, over and over,” I continued. “I am sitting on the object, facing east. Suddenly, I am torn out of my body and thrust toward the Borders. Or so it feels. But I am not moving, not really, just seeing. Or being shown. And I am following a predetermined path, can hardly look sideways.”
    I stopped, noticed that my hands were shaking, that I was about to drop my cup. Vìr took it from my tremulous fingers, deposited it on the bench to my left.
    “Take your time,” he encouraged me.
    I closed my eyes, tried to push the feeling away.
    “I am not alone,” I admitted.
    Vìr scribbled something very quickly, then looked at me.
    “Not alone?” he asked.
    I could but shake my head. The presence was not there at Vìr’s house. It was only present in my dreams. I told him so.
    “The same presence that we felt in the forest?” he asked.
    I nodded. Vìr put a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
    “You are safe here,” he said. “If you can, continue.”
    Curiosity showed in his manners, mixed with genuine worry.
    “I move, closer and closer to the Borders, over deep chasms, in between high plateaus, ravines, cliffs. Always in a straight line, oscillating but slightly. I can feel the air getting colder as I approach Ul Darak. Then there are waterfalls to my right. I can hear them, distant, yet clearer and clearer. I can almost feel the moisture of the falls on my face, cheeks…but not quite.”
    It was liberating to say these words. I had not expected that. And Vìr appeared to believe me.
    “It is so beautiful. There is a lake under me, and then a ledge. And a large opening. Darkness inside.”
    “A passage?” enquired Vìr.
    “Maybe,” I said. “And that is when I wake.”
    A few more notes put down.
    “That is an incredible tale,” said Vìr.
    I couldn’t help but feel proud that my words amazed Vìr. I then realized that I admired him, that I was looking for his support, his approval. Of all those surrounding me, fellow protectors and scholars, I admired the one who wasn’t from Ta’Énia, uncertain why.
    “You are sure about going in a straight line, are you?” he asked.
    “I am.”
    “That is very interesting indeed,” he said. “We will have to investigate.”
    Short silence.
    Longer hesitation.
    “I do not think so,” I said.
    Vìr was surprised.
    “I want to forget about all this,” I added.
    It was not what Vìr had hoped for. Although I wanted so badly to please him, there were boundaries I was not ready to disregard.
    “I apologize,”