KIVA AND THE STONE NATION

    Today I would like to share with you excerpts from a children's book I have written called, Kiva and the Stone Nation. Hope you enjoy!

    I shot away from the table. My legs barely skimmed the surface of the floor. They sickened me. I had to get away. I sped through the living room, slammed through the front door, and escaped into the yard. Through tear-streaked eyes, I stomped towards the stream, my entire focus on the entrance to the forbidden land. A haunting voice called to me. "You will be free here." My blood boiled as I crossed the water and disappeared behind the damp, shadowy guards. The massive stones gobbled me up as if they were starving lions biting into a morsel of meat. Without a backward glance my adrenaline fueled limbs sprinted into the cool evening air. "I'll show them!"

    Minutes passed and I ran on. My legs and ankles began to throb, yet I paid little attention. I darted over boulders, deadwood and shrubs like a graceful gazelle in the African grasslands. Stones grazed past me, streams splashed at my feet yet my rage-powered legs plowed through the canyon, attacking dozens of hills as if they had been built by ants. Farther and farther away I ran with no idea of my final destination. Time stood still as my growing anger chased me like a cougar stalking its prey. All I wanted was to leave behind the pain of my miserable life. All my hard work to make Jennifer like me had been ruined by my parents' stubbornness. As tears streaked my face my legs pushed on, increasing the distance between me and the horrible creatures destroying my life.

    I was oblivious to time and blinded to the golden light as it polished the mountainside with soft ambers and gold. The last rays of the evening sun had kissed the rocks, grass and flowers goodnight. Time passed and evening shadows brightened the colors of dusk as the temperature dropped. The sun disappeared behind the Rocky Mountains yet my misery hid the chills that had arrived. I raced on.

Exhaustion outpaced me and soon my legs were screaming for oxygen. I tumbled to the ground as they lost their last ounce of strength. Sobs wracked my body as hot tears scarred my face. My fists pounded into the earth. "No, they have to let me go home. If I don't go to this party my life will be ruined."

A frightened rabbit, witnessing my tantrum, scurried into the blackness, his white cotton tail bobbing swiftly behind. Broad thumping feet drove his tiny form through thick brush as terror fueled his downhill race towards freedom from the mad human.

Aches pounded my muscles. My energy was shot. As my temper tantrum continued, screams echoed deep into the empty spaces of the forest. In time, my voice grew hoarse ending my shrieks. Every muscle screamed for air. My throat gagged. My stomach emptied its contents. Worn-out, laying inches from my dinner's remains, my muscles froze. My lungs begged for air and the lack of oxygen momentarily blinded me. I willed my breathing to slow and my eyes cleared and focused on the area in front of me. I was wrapped in a giant green blanket of long needles gently swaying in the evening breeze. Blinking between the branches, a lone twinkling star hugged a dark grayish sky.

"Oh my God, it's almost dark. I have to go back."

I braced my legs to stand up, then tumbled back, my head slapping hard against the cold ground. Crawling a few feet on hands and knees, I grabbed a nearby stone, balanced myself and shimmied up the side. As the heaviness of my body reached full length, my legs buckled and again I fell forward. My arms kissed the sandpaper surface of the rock. "Ouch!" I slid down its rough side. Luckily, soft brown needles padded my fall. Leaning my back against the hard, chilled surface, my head fell into my hands and my drained tear ducts strained with empty sobs.

"What am I going to do?" The words hung in the cool night air as shivers raced through my body. Dark shadows stirred from the missing sun and I panicked. Goose bumps speckled my arms and legs and my brain swirled out of control until one lone thought fueled my fear.

I was lost.

Lying still, I drew deep breathes to calm the panic rising in my throat. Stomach juices gurgled. Dread pressed at me like a hundred pound weight. Every movement in the trees, every rustle of the wind played tricks on my mind, as bears and mountain lions crept through the brush in search of a tasty human morsel. Visions of my bloodied and half eaten body turned shivers into giant trembles. The cold ground increased the chills. With one last effort I balanced my hand over the stone and pulled with all my might. I was upright.

Holding tight, I glanced left, then right---then behind. I circled around and around wishing the view to change as my panic returned, but no familiar landmarks, buildings or objects magically appeared. Dizziness swallowed me and I sank to the ground.

Shivers raced up and down my back as monsters stared at me from behind every tree. I was confused and terrified and I screamed into the darkness. "So where is that stupid Great Spirit now, Hotta?"

A silent mist suddenly drifted from the outer blackness, swirling and bouncing as it wrapped me in a blanket of yellow shadows. The mysterious bright fog sent my heart racing, yet as it circled my body it calmed me. Then my stomach growled and I wondered if hunger could cause hallucinations.

    "Whoo, whoo ah whoo, whoo ah whoo," stabbed the night's silence. I froze. Every nerve in my body lit up in panic.