Over the Rainbow

November 16, 1983

Copyright © 1997 Property of Deborah K. Fletcher. All rights reserved.

I awoke feeling that I could do anything. Then I looked out of the window. It was raining lightly. Somehow, even that didn't change my mood. As I watched, I saw the sunrise beginning. The rain was lessening, and soon it became mist. Then a rainbow began to blend across the sky. At that moment an unexpected even occurred.

I began to feel that I was flying. I was lifted up, up, up . . . up and over the rainbow.

On the other side of the rainbow everything was glowing. The whole world was clean and bright. I landed on the soft grass of a small clearing. There was a little brook running through the clearing. The sun was high in the sky, fluffy bits of cloud floated in the sky, and there were little people bustling about.

The people were each about two feet tall, they had long, pointed beards, apple-red cheeks, and fiery blue eyes. They were dressed in green jerkins and brown bloomers. They had green hats and hose and brown leather boots.

After a while, more of the little people showed up. These were little girls. They looked like the fairies and gnomes that children are told of in the nursery. They wore short gowns of gossamer, the colours of spring flowers. They all had long, blonde hair. The older ones wore it plaited and pinned around their heads. These tiny people had rosebud complexions, and eyes that mirrored the blue of the sky.

As I watched, these tiny people began gathering the flowers which grew along the banks of the brook. Several of the men searched for feathers, smooth stones, and nuts.

These enterprises occupied the remainder of the afternoon. As the sun wested toward evening, the little folk began to disappear into the woods. I determined to follow them.

As I followed them, I noticed flowers that had been dropped along the way. Without these flowers I would soon have been lost.

After a time, the path led me into another clearing. In this clearing was a city. It was built of crystal, and shimmered with every colour of the spectrum. I followed a path through the grass of the clearing and came to an open gate. I passed through it, and found myself in a courtyard. It was paved with stones that shone like opals. There was a fountain in the centre of the courtyard. The water played over the tiers and lost itself in the pool at the base. There were coloured lights around the base of the fountain. They circled the pond on a kind of carousel and their light was reflected and refracted by the water.

As I stood gazing around the courtyard, three of the little girls ran up to me. Two of them grabbed my hands and the other ran ahead. I was led to a door into a palace. I found that the door was exactly my height. I followed the girls through thedoor and through many corridors. Finally, I found myself in a great, vaulted chamber. Everything in sight was glistening and white. It was a delight to the eye. After a few minutes I noticed a man and a woman sitting on thrones on a dais. They were old - very old! - but they looked very much like their subjects, nevertheless. I stood with my mouth gaping at the thought of being in the presence of royalty. Then, regaining control of my wits, I snapped to ramrod attention and bowed low at the waist.

"Good day, my dear," said the wizened queen.

"Good day, Your Majesties," I said, bowing again.

"Please sit," said the king, gesturing to a cusion at the foot of the throne. "It is not often that we are graced by the presence of humans."

I was hesitant at first, but finally I sat upon the cushion. I held my back straight, my head up, and generally sat at full attention.

When the queen noticed this, she laughed and said, "Please, dear, try to relax. You are very important here you know. Humans are always important to our people."

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I am not accustomed to being in the presence of royalty. I am a bit nervous," I said, by way of apology.

The queen waved aside my apology and began to tell me about the life of her people. She told me that her people - she said we call them elves - had once been human, too. She said that they had lived happily with nature and had never harmed anyone. Then she said that a new race of humans had developed. She said that they (the new people) had destroyed whole forests and polluted the air. The elves had sought refuge from these evils. They had searched long for a place where all was good and beautiful. After years of searching, an elven king found a means of "crossing the line" from one universe to another - in essence, a means of leaving the world of men and finding a simple paradise. This king took his people over the rainbow and they started a new life.

By the time the queen had finished her tale - which I have shortened, as it would take a full volume to relate - I found that I had tears in my eyes. I felt that I was one of her subjects, and that I hated the people who had forced these people, the elves, to leave their home.

I don't know what happened to me for the next few days - although there are foggy images - the only thing I remember is being invited to give up my mortal life and become one of the elves. I was told that I would be given as a wife to the First Prince of the land. I don't remember my response, but I assume that I declined - I'm here, after all!

I don't believe that I will ever return to the other side of the rainbow. I consider it logical that, once I gave up my chance to join the elves, I had given up any chance to go back.

I only hope that no one ever goes over the rainbow and ruins the land with pollution - as men have tried to do to their own world.

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