Spring ? 6 ? 5 Spinning

  Nan and Josie had packed some food and water in one of her backpacks, the answering machine on the landline phone had been set up, and Josie had let Nan record a new message for her own phone. After putting on some warm coats and sensible footwear - not that they owned anything else, Josie and Nan went outside, accompanied by a very agitated Glubsch. Because he was still new at Veilwood, everything was still unfamiliar to him and had to be inspected in great detail. He flitted about, running from one end to another, exploring everything that grabbed his attention. It seemed there were countless wonders for him to find here.

  Nan guided Josie through the desolate-looking garden towards the pond but didn't stop there, walking up to the area where the brook fed into it instead. Looking around, Nan nodded and addressed a still very perplexed Josie.

  “This will do, I think.”

  The woman shuffled her feet a bit to stand more comfortably on the uneven ground and returned her attention to Josie, the girl expecting something to happen.

  “So. I told you it would be easier to show you by taking you to my home. But you have to understand that it is not just a place, it is more of - no, even that does not fit it very well. You will just have to see. We can reach it on foot, but you will have to trust everything I say and do everything exactly the way I tell you to and when I tell you to do it. Is that clear?”

  “Yes.” Josie frowned but refrained from asking questions, even though she had so many.

  So far, every answer she had got from Nan had just caused more confusion.

  “Good. The first thing you have to do is to spin.”

  “Spin? Like when I'm playing?”

  “Exactly. And you can not stop until you are really dizzy.”

  Josie had to giggle despite herself because Nan was behaving quite funny now.

  “I am serious, Josie. Spin on the spot until you are completely off-balance and disoriented, and when you have reached a certain point, there will be a kind of tugging sensation, like something pulling you in a specific direction. Let yourself be tugged and follow the pull. But now - now comes the really important part. To take me with you, you have to take my hand before you take too many steps in the direction you are pulled. And it has to be before the dizziness passes, before your sight and sense of balance return to normal - otherwise you will go alone, and that would be more than dangerous. You could get lost.”

  The old woman tapped her cane on the ground and looked at Josie.

  “We will have to see if you can manage on the first try. This might take a while to get it right. I am sorry that I can not help with the crossing, but my old bones will not allow me to dance around like I used to.”

  Josie had listened closely, but still couldn't believe that Nan made such nonsensical requests of her. What was even more astounding was the fact that the woman did, indeed, seem to be dead serious about everything she had said.

  Glubsch had taken a break from his inspection of the garden and was sitting on the ground beside Nan's feet. He had blinked at them from time to time, but otherwise appeared to just be waiting for something to happen. The feeling he communicated to Josie was one of indifferent curiosity, as if in his eyes all actions of humans were strange anyway. All a sensible cat could do was to wait and pass the time until his human's new fit of eccentricities passed.

  Josie shook her head, which caused the woman to speak up again.

  “You are going to have to trust me on this. You will understand, I promise.”

  The girl studied Nan for another moment, and after finding no mischief or other indications of shenanigans in the woman's expression, she nodded and complied.

  Josie started to spin on the spot, her arms outstretched, like she would do while playing helicopter in the sun, but other than the familiar feelings she had encountered before, nothing else happened. She stopped and took a moment to get her bearings.

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  “Take your time, Josie. Just try again as soon as are ready.”

  A few of what she guessed to be failed attempts later, because not a single unfamiliar thing had happened, a frustrated Josie flopped down to the moist ground. She looked up at Nan, waving the flyaway hair out of her eyes, and sighed.

  “What am I doing wrong? I don't feel a pull, I just stumble. That can't be right.”

  “I told you, this might take some time. Do not lose hope. We will get there, I am sure of it.”

  “But how? How can you be? What’s even supposed to happen?”

  “Let us attempt something new. I saw that you tried to keep your eyes open. This time, close them. Shut your eyes and do not focus on any thoughts, just let your mind drift. I think that your head is getting in the way. Maybe we can trick it if you keep your eyes closed in the beginning. Only open them when you start to feel woozy.”

  The girl took a few more moments before she got up. With renewed determination, she jumped to her feet, closed her eyes, and started to spin again. This time, she imagined the feeling she had had doing this in the sun, just moving for the joy of it, not wondering about the strange things Nan told her. Only when Josie felt the lightheadedness setting in did she open her eyes. She increased the speed of turning until the world around her was but a blur. Round and round she went, faster and faster - until she felt a sudden pull on her body, with a force that made it unable to resist even if she had wanted to. While Josie took some involuntary steps toward the direction she was being pulled, she desperately held out her hand.

  “Nan!” she called out and stumbled further, trying to arrest her momentum a bit to give Nan the chance to close the distance between them. This time, the spinning had not felt like every time before, and the world around her had undergone a profound change. It resonated deep in her bones, in the core of her being, even though she couldn't see it yet, because everything around her was still a murky haze of smudged colours. Right before panic could tighten its grip around her heart, Glubsch jumped onto her shoulder. The cat's weight should have made her tripping worse, but it steadied Josie, and she was able to control her body a bit better instead. Her sight was still unfocused, but to her great relief, Nan's hand slipped into hers, both tightening their grip instantly. The woman staggered behind Josie until they bumped together.

  “Try to stop, you can stop now - " Nan gasped, and the girl forced her limbs to obey her by sheer power of will. After a few more stumbling steps, they came to a halt at last, and Josie's sight returned, Glubsch swaying gently on her right shoulder.

  “Did I do what you wanted me to do?” Josie looked back at Nan, still light-headed and feeling a vague sensation of nausea in her guts. Her mouth tasted coppery.

  “Yes, you did it, Josie. We are on the right way now, can you not you feel it?”

  Of course she felt it. The sensation of the world being different around her had just increased, even though the surrounding garden looked the same. The air was maybe a bit warmer, but that was about it - and Josie wasn't sure if this wasn't just due to her earlier exertions.

  “Something feels different, but everything's just the way it was before.”

  “It will take you a little while to recognize the variations. Especially in places you know well. We best be on our way now, we must not dawdle here.” Nan nodded and let go of Josie's hand.

  With a jolt of fear, Josie tried to grab it again, because the woman had been so adamant about it before, but Nan calmed her down.

  “We do not need to hold hands any more, this was just important for the passage over. But remember to stay close. Do not stray from my side.”

  “Nan.” Josie frowned at her, getting impatient. Despite having been promised answers, the girl was even more confused now. “Passage to where? We are still in our garden. We are still at Veilwood. We haven't gone anywhere yet.”

  “That is where you are wrong, my dear. You said you felt a difference. Have a closer look at Veilwood House now.” the woman nodded towards the building.

  At first, Josie couldn't tell the disparities, but suddenly her sight - shifted? - and she detected a distortional effect while examining her home. It was almost as if watching it through a lens, or a magnifying glass - but without making it bigger.

  “You’re right,” the girl marvelled at the view, bewildered by how she had missed the irregularity before.

  It was so apparent now! Now that she knew, she couldn't unsee it.

  “Nan?” Josie asked, a slight tone of concern in her quiet voice. “Where exactly are we now?”

  Her brow furrowed, the girl turned towards the woman, neither aware of the small, rectangular paper that gently floated down between the trees to settle on the damp ground. Nan flashed her a brief smile, then her expression turned solemn and her gaze steeled.

  “Welcome to the Fae Wilds, Josie.”