Mother-of-Pearl

Mother-of-pearl,

Knight of tender hearts,

In your core there hides

Secret knowledge, a sacred path

To love divine,

To worlds beyond time,

To truth, to wisdom,

To the source sublime.

Mother-of-pearl,

My cloak of light,

Peeling away layers,

Of illusion from my sight.

Alex Spider and Friends Go On A Pilgrimage

Dotty Dormouse gazed in horror at the never-ending climb ahead of her. Her friend Fungus Frog was going through a Buddhist phase and had taken to calling himself a Disco Buddhist. This simply meant that Fungus did not really practice Buddhism but liked to talk about it to sound wise. The end result – a pilgrimage to a monastery in Bhutan called Tiger’s Nest.

(Tiger's Nest - Photograph courtesy of Teena)

Fungus’ fascination and enthusiasm for the beautiful place had rubbed off on Dotty and the rest of their gang. Alex Spider and Mitsy Millipede made up the rest of the gang. The three of them seemed to have missed the bigger picture, a picture that consisted of a never-ending climb up to their final destination.

Dotty mumbled and grumbled in her head as she dragged herself up the slope. Nobody had mentioned the possibility of being trampled to death by horses and people. They even saw a few horses tumble to their death while navigating the narrow pathway. This was to bring them peace? Dotty didn’t think so but Alex did.

“Just look at those lovely pine trees and the beautiful sky. Feel the silence, Dotty. It’s so peaceful.” said Alex. “That’s easy for you to say, Alex. You are riding on my back and I dare not shake you off lest I trip and fall off the path.” muttered a resigned Dotty. Mitsy Millipede remained curled, fast asleep on Dotty's back.

And so they tarried on while Fungus hopped and leaped forward effortlessly. “Dotty, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! You can do it.”  chanted Fungus every five minutes. Dotty’s silence did not echo wisdom, just fatigue. After what felt like lifetimes, they arrived.

Alex and Mitsy crawled off Dotty’s back to stretch their unused legs. Fungus popped his eyes out and gawped in undignified awe. Dotty did a belly-flop and came face to face with the feet of a monk. The kind monk picked her up and spoke to her in a soothing voice. Dotty’s eyelids drooped down only to open wide again at the sound of loud chanting.

That’s when they noticed her. She was cute and cuddly and looked down her hoity-toity nose at them. She wore spectacles and her name was Smitten Kitten. The monk put Dotty down beside Smitten so the others gathered around her too. “Do cats eat dormice, I wonder?” said Alex in a dramatic whisper. Fungus looked at Alex with a frown and Dotty shivered but Smitten did not seem to care.

The monk smiled at them in a reassuring manner and they felt better. Dotty pretended to sleep as she was not sure if Smitten would eat her or not. That rascal Alex had to go and put that thought in her head. So much for peace of mind! Fungus peered down at the book placed in front of their mat and tried to keep up with the chanting. Mitsy Millipede crawled away to explore the new world, which for her was the length and breadth of the mat they sat upon.

Alex couldn’t seem to stay away from Smitten. He tried to spin a web around Smitten’s tail but didn’t get very far. Smitten’s disdainful paw flicked her away without a thought. He then took to chanting. “Momos, momos, momos,” he chanted, trying to get a laugh out of Smitten. What he did not know was that Smitten only laughed at her own jokes. In her mind, nobody was as funny as her so Alex’s efforts to make her smile were in vain.

Alex was determined to win Smitten over and told Dotty so. “Shush, you two,” whispered an annoyed Fungus. Alex disappeared, came back with a pine cone and held it up to Smitten. A pretty yellow butterfly alighted on it just as Smitten glanced down. All hell broke loose as Smitten jumped up in fright, in turn startling the butterfly. It flew up and away and then back onto Smitten’s tail. Alex watched in fascination as Smitten ran around in circles chasing her tail. “I think she loves my gift,” whispered Alex to the gang, “look how excited she is.”

At that moment the butterfly alighted on Alex’s back. The next few seconds were a blur of motion – Smitten swiped at the butterfly but almost killed Alex instead, Mitsy jumped onto Dotty’s back ready for the great escape, Fungus helped a rather dazed Alex up, pine cone and love forgotten as they scrambled out of Smitten’s reach before she killed them all. And all because she was afraid of butterflies!

………

Alex Spider looked into the distance as he relived his death defying brush with love. “Eh,” piped up a small voice, “so that’s the end of the tale?” Lili Ladybug, Alex’s audience of one, looked expectantly at him. “Yes, Lili,” said Alex, “that’s the end of that adventure but there’ll be more and you can join us on the next one if you’d like.” It was Lili’s turn to gaze into the distance, starry dreams in her eyes.

Alex Spider Meets Shadow Monster

Part I

The feathery touch of silk spun with the warm spell of safety is my first memory of this world.

It didn't last very long. I was content and snug in my spider web-bed made of gossamer silk when a shadow passed over me. My life was turned upside down before I could say kaboom! The shadow monster took a giant swipe at our home. There was complete pandemonium as my siblings and I scurried in all directions to escape certain death.

That is how, I, Alex Spider, came to be an orphan and a nomad. I moved all the time. I wanted to be one step ahead of the shadow monster. It was an invisible game of cat and mouse. I seemed to be winning for I never stayed very long in one place.

That was until I met Dotty Dormouse and Fungus Frog. Dotty had just woken up from what Fungus called “her legendary sleep” when I moved into the neighbourhood. Dotty and Fungus were quite the contrary pair and yet were the best of friends. Dotty would watch sleepily as Fungus yodeled away till his eyes popped out. This ritual went on for hours every day and strangely, I was drawn to the monotony. It could be because I had never had friends before. Friendship was the beginning of my downfall. Well, not my friendship with Dotty and Fungus. That felt fuzzy and warm but it was all this fuzziness that made me stay. Staying was my big mistake. Staying is how the shadow monster finally caught up with me.

Part II

Dotty and Fungus were napping beneath the shade of a wise, gnarled tree one magical, sunny afternoon. I was practicing the art of weaving silk to perfection. That’s when we heard it. Fungus leapt out of his slumber and proclaimed, “Moonlight Sonata. It’s so romantic.” “Oh claptrap,” said Dotty, “It’s mournful, like a death march.” I just swung myself upside down and looked down at them with buggy-eyes. “Fence-sitter!” exclaimed a disgruntled Fungus. Before he could launch into one of his Alex lectures the melody changed. What was this lovely melody? I had to get closer to it. It was calling out to me. It was my destiny. “Bach’s Prelude in C Major,” muttered smug ole Fungus as I scurried away as fast as my super-8 legs could carry me.

I just had to get closer to the music. When I finally did, I knew I had found my true home. And what a home it was - big, dark, light, corners, plenty of corners, carpets, tea cups and most importantly, cupboards. The music filled my new home, a home I noticed that Fungus and Dotty refused to enter. Fungus kept hopping around and Dotty looked rather faint. They seemed to be saying something but the music drowned out their words. They could wait, I decided. The magical melody could not.

I felt warm and safe and found myself climbing up a rather tall wooden leg.  It turned out to be the leg of a giant piano and the melody was coming out of it. The rhythm lulled me into semi-sleep. That might explain why I did not sense a change in the air above me. I jumped out of my skin as I heard something whoosh past me.

I did not stop to think. I ran as fast as my super-8 legs could carry me, almost proud of the way I navigated the obstacle race. I say almost, as one minute I was winning, I was free, I was Jesse Owens. The next minute I was face to face with my old nemesis - Shadow. We stared at each other, still as stone, like we were playing “one, two, three – STATUE” to the death. And that’s how, I, Alex Spider hypnotized the shadow monster into becoming my lifelong slave and follower.

Part III

Dotty Dormouse yawned and Fungus Frog rolled his eyes as I narrated the last moments of my almost-death story to Mitsy Millipede. Mitsy was the latest addition to our motley crew. I’d woken up one day in my rainbow-coloured doll house to find Mitsy curled asleep in a dainty china teacup. Having learned kindness from my new best friend, Shadow (Please do not tell her that I thought she was a monster.), I let Mitsy stay. Shadow’s what they call a little girl, she’s 8 years old and likes everything rainbow. I do not like rainbow but don’t complain. After all, I have every comfort I can think of. Comfort that included Mr. C Major Bach Prelude or whatever it is called, playing all day until Dotty, Fungus and Mitsy threw the quaint music box out the door; a door through which I wander whenever I am in need of adventure. Adventures that will captivate you but I’ll leave those stories for another day. For now, it’s simply goodbye, sleep tight and don’t let the shadow monsters bite. 

Yellow Butterflies

Mist swirls around me,

Mist my vision clouds,

Sunshine slips in

Breaks through

The tremble of a cloud.

Hailstone wars surround me,

Hailstones pure and loud,

Rainbow colours

Fight through

The darkness all around.

Sunshine filled with laughter,

Rainbows melting tears,

Yellow butterflies

Gather

Painting patterns, wisps o’cheer.

April Violets

From winter’s slumber

Cold and deep,

From being cocooned

In blissful sleep,

She wakes to sunshine

Melting snow,

Awake to the glimmer

Of hope that grows

Like April violets

Faith renewed

Her colour palette

Springtime hues.