Alanna lay in bed considering what her mamó had discussed. She still couldn't wrap her head around the idea that she was not crazy. Oh, she had thought that her memories were real and belonged to someone else. However, she was the only only who thought that. Even her mother believed she was suffering from a mental disorder. This was technically true in that her mind did not operate conventionally. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep and wondered what great revelation awaited her tomorrow.
A loud rooster call broke Alanna from the dream she had been having. She stretched and looked about the simple room she had. She had a dresser, a night stand with a lamp, the bed she lay on wrapped in a large quilted blanket and a window with thick curtains. It was fairly spartan yet it held a strange comfort in its simplicity. It was quite different from living with her mother. As one of the very few Japanese women that held an executive position she had to live up to a very strange expectation where she both epitomized the ideal of what a woman should be while also showcasing what a strong executive should be. So, there was a beauty and elegance along with a display of wealth and power in the Hotaru household. To Alanna, it was comfortable but it came with so many leashes of expectation that the comfort was eroded by responsibility. This small cottage on the emerald isle was free of expectation. It was free of the shackles of expectation that she had felt growing up. Perhaps that is why the minimalistic style did not bother her. Oh, she would eventually pull out her laptop and phone to check back in to the real world. For now though, she was content.
After the morning ablutions were taken care of, Alanna found her way to table where daideo was sitting with with a sheaf of the the Independent open and perusing an article while sipping his tea. She smiled offered a hug and kiss then made her way to the kitchen where mamó was just finishing breakfast. "Plate the toast and tea A-leanbh and bring them to the table for me." Her grandmother asked. Alanna complied and followed mamó to the table. She set the plate with toast, marmalade, butter and tea down then sat down in anticipation. For any in the know surely understand the blessing that is the full Irish breakfast. She stared intently at the sliced sausage, fried egg with a pristinely held yolk waiting for the bread, the fried tomatoes and beans, and the black pudding. Don't misunderstand. Alanna also enjoyed umami, rice, natto, and tamagoyaki it was a staple of her diet and she liked it all. There was just something more fulfilling with her current breakfast and she couldn't really place why.
They consumed their breakfast in a comfortable silence that good food seemed to demand. Their thoughts each on the mysteries of the world and solutions for all its troubles. They were on the brink of discovery when inevitably the food was consumed and their inspired minds fell back to the reality of their day and the next steps they would take. " We will take a car out toward the lough this morning." Her grandfather said. "It's a bit of a drive from here but it is quite scenic." Alanna smiled. "It will be good to see the land and the lake again. When will we leave?" She asked. Her grandfather rose and headed toward the door. "I'll grab the car while you two clear the table." He said and exited with a smile.
The drive was not really all that long compared to the drives Alanna was used to given the state she lived in was larger that this country. However, for a local it was likely a bit of a hike. They talked through many topics during the ride. Some having to do with things her father had done when he was a lad. Other's about Alanna's future and what she wanted from life. It was rather peaceful even with bringing up the memory of her da. She had not known him all that long but she still remembered him being kind even if he seemed huge compared to her. She was just a child then so perspective being what it was she imagined him a giant. Given how her grandfather was at least a head taller than she was now, she imagined her father was still rather large. She didn't remember all that much and she missed the life they could of had more than she missed him. They drove through Annaghdown and came and parked nearby the cemetery.
The exited the vehicle and the air turned a bit more somber as they took in the view. There were ruins of a cathedral and many tombstones marking the graves of the long departed. "This way." Her mamó stated and headed toward a hill that seemed all to familiar. Alanna looked around in wonder. Time had changed this area as it is wont to do but there was still an air of familiarity. They headed to the top of the hill where the ruins of an abbey lay. The stone surrounded in vines of ivy. The land was slowly taking back what mankind had dominated for so long. Tears came unexpectedly to Alanna's eyes and she felt conflicted feelings bubbling to the surface. Conflicted because they were both hers and not hers. She brushed away the tears and moved mechanically along side her grandparents as they crested the hill and looked out over Lough Corrib. "It is beautiful is it not?" Her grandma asked and laid a comforting hand on Alanna's shoulder. "I've seen this before in the memories." Alanna said dully. Her mamó smiled and gently led her toward the abbey.
They walked into the ruins which were not much more than a few still standing walls. Toward the back wall there was what appeared to be a collapsed staircase covered in ivy and brambles. As they approached the ivy seemed to retract and a clear path down was exposed . Alanna stared in awe and disbelief as they retracted. She felt a slight sting in her palm and yelped. She looked down and saw a bramble retracting with a bit of her blood on the plant but it left behind a small berry. She stared blankly at the tiny drop of blood next to the berry in her palm. Her grandmother smiled. "The land gives and takes." She said mysteriously. "Go on eat it, it is a gift from the land." Alanna stared dubiously at the berry. "A gift?" She asked. "Technically I paid for it in blood." She shrugged and going against all of her better judgement popped the berry in her mouth.
The taste was a bit tart but was still quite good. The seeds added a strange texture but it didn't detract from the experience. She continued following her grandparents down the stairs but her mind started to fade into another lifetime. She was now a young boy wearing some sort of wooden armor on his body. The grounds were frozen and covered in snow and ice but he continued trekking onward. The great bandorai, his maternal grandmother, had claimed the age of ice was at its end and they could once again walk the world above as their ancestors had once. So, they trekked through the thawing ice and made their way toward the land of the open sky. The journey took days and they found little to eat but they continued on the words of the old bandorai.
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They found many strange creatures in this land above. Great cats that took ten men to take down. There were larger beasts that most stayed away from as they could not understand or comprehend them. Great furred beasts with massive bones protruding from their mouth tossed warriors aside as if they were pixies. At one point they had come across a herd of such giant beings and several warriors fell to their mad charge. Then his siblings arrived and with their power they brought death to the creatures. The boy felt pride in his family and listened happily to the cheers. They flew on wings of light over the tuath and eventually landed next to the child who was grinning up at them. "Did you enjoy the show little Nuada?" His sister asked knowingly.
Alanna gasped and shivered as the memory began to fade. It only lasted a few moments but it felt like she had been there. The cold bite of winter against her skin, the feeling of adrenaline pushing through her body triggering her desire to fight, the promise of the bandorai that they would find their home, was all so very real. It caused her to feel deep emotions and it confused her. She shivered again as the sub zero temperature she remembered feeling warmed up to a comfortably cool 10 degrees. She found herself at the end of the staircase which opened up to a large cellar where in the center sat a massive stump with twelve offshoots of new growth coming out of the sides to perfectly encircle it.
The trio stared at the scene for a long moment before her grandfather turned back to the stairs and knelt in front of them. He placed his hands to the ground and whispered softly. "Cosain mé mar a chosnaím tú." The brambles and ivy quickly wove back into the stairwell and blocked off the light from above. The cellar was momentarily thrown into complete darkness but a soft glow emanated from each of the 12 saplings that grew from the old stump. Alanna saw her grandmother turn to face her so she reluctantly pulled her eyes from the ring and turned to face her mamó. There was a soft smile on her gran's face as she inspected every facet of Alanna looking for the micro-cues that would give her insight into Alanna's thoughts. Alanna's eyes flickered all over the place. She wasn't really sure what to think. The revelations just kept coming. There was real magic at work here. The plants were certainly not supposed to grow and move the way they did. The berry she ate shouldn't have triggered a memory but then again weirder things had triggered memories so she was not as surprised by that. The revelation in the memory was surprising. That name was — no it couldn't have been. It was just a coincidence. Yet the time frame was too early wasn't it. The ice age end and the tuath migration were far separated by time. At least they should be based on what is commonly known. She couldn't believe and couldn't comprehend what she was seeing both physically and mentally. So she shut it down.
Her grandmother frowned when she saw this and clasped Alanna around her cheeks. "No child." She said more firmly then Alanna had ever heard. "You will understand. It is time. I have heard the call of the land and so have you." Alanna stared dumbly and soft squeak spilled from her partially open lips. Her grandmother smooshed her cheeks then pinched them lightly before backing up. "As I mentioned yesterday A-leanbh, the memories are not delusions as those doctors would claim. They are part of who you are or more precisely who you were. The druids have long held the belief that the soul is eternal and that it moves from body to body throughout time. The experiences of one life are etched forever into the soul even if the next life cannot remember or know their is a subtle undercurrent of influence directing us." She turned back and smiled warmly. "However, the druid were tied to the land and it gifted them the memories stored within the land. It is why we were the doctors, and scientist and even brought forth a civil authority. We remembered the past and learned from our mistakes and we brought peace to our tribes and for a while we were truly one." She frowned slightly. "Then they came with their new ways and new God. They converted our own and we became both something more and something less. Our tie to the land was stretched and nearly broken. Only a few of us still hold the frayed string together." She looked at Alanna who was intently listening. "Our family has always had the deepest tie to the land. We are all druids whether we care to be or not. We see into the past and understand the old ways. We claimed yesterday we wished we could have had you here to raise you and this is the reason. You spent your life believing there was something wrong with you and we could not force your mother to bring you here to understand that you are not handicapped. You are blessed."
Alanna felt warm tears falling from her eyes. She had been brought to tears quite a few times recently and she was a bit embarrassed by this but the emotional weight of her disability felt lighter and lighter since she landed on this isle. She felt loved and part of something. She was slowly feeling the disbelief she had falling away. In this place with where she witnessed the fall of the druidess, where she witnessed the first steps of Nuada, she felt the wall of what was known crumble before what was real. As she did her emerald eyes took on a soft glow and she began to see the land. Small hand sized beings flitted about the area on translucent wings and played various games and pranks on one another as they spun about the ring of saplings. Ghostly balls of energy shit tiny sparks of energy at passing fairies who retaliated by flinging small blackberries at them then sticking out their tongues and darting away. The most amazing site of all was the massive ghostly tree that extended up from the physical stump and phased through the stone floor above. Alanna could see through the floor and into the bough of the tree where sat a massive spectral corvid, its head cocked so that its large black eye stared directly at her. They eye seemed to be a void that sucked in the light but after a moment Alanna saw a galaxy take shape. She stared in awe and was entranced by the spinning galaxy before she felt a strong yet gentle hand grasp her shoulder. She looked down at her grandmother who had a gentle smile. She saw her hand pointing toward the stump in the center of the ring with her open palm. "It is time A-leanbh. It is time to know yourself." Her grandmother gently pushed her into the ring and the world went white.