Madam's Given me the Lurgy

Fourth Passage
Elena spent the weeks between her third and fourth passages in a torment of anticipation and doubt. This was mixed with a flurry of obsessive research, poring over ancient texts, talking to local historians, and tracing every whispered myth and legend of the Mên-An-Tol she could find. She was faced with the problem that each conversation, each folklore fragment she unearthed, all seemed to both complicate and clarify her experience. Her academic colleagues were of the opinion that she was losing her mind. Her former mentor even suggested that she take a sabbatical. But Elena knew deep in her bones that something was happening. Something real. She just knew that the fourth passage would be different, it was a deep seated feeling that she could not ignore.

She had made plans that her fourth passage would be around sunset, and arrived a little before. The sky was a riot of colour, burning with deep oranges and purples. The ethereal light seemed to transform the landscape blurring the boundaries between day and night, between what is and what could be. As always she had meticulously prepared, and had come in a lightweight linen jacket, sturdy boots, and with notepad and fully charged digital recorder. But this time she wore a small pendant that her grandmother had given her years ago, a piece of sea-smoothed green glass on a light silver chain. The Mên-An-Tol stood there waiting. Patient. Knowing.

The stone seemed to breathe as she approached. Not literally - but seemed to be a sense of anticipation, an awakening. The hole seemed different this time, deeper, more dimensional, and the edges appeared to have a slight shimmer as if not altogether solid. Elena touched the stone and got the sense of a vibration - a sense so subtle it might have been imagined - flowed through her fingertips. 'Fourth passage' she whispered. Again her body moved differently, not so much a physical act, more of a consultation, as if the stone was questioning her resolve to complete a task. There appeared to be a distinct blurring of the boundaries between her physical body and the stone. This brought a rush of sensation. Not pain. Not comfort. Something completely different. Snatches of sound, like distant music, whispered conversations in an unfamiliar language just at the very limits of hearing. There were flashes of colour that didn't seem to fit into any known spectrum. All accompanied by a sense of movement, even though she remained perfectly still.

Her emergence was into a completely transformed landscape. The stones around her were no longer just stones. They appeared to glow with an inner light, and to cast shadows that seemed to be independent of any visible light source. Looking down the grass was impossibly green, each vibrant blade sharp and distinct. The air seemed thicker, more alive, charged with something ancient. Again something moved at the very edges of her vision, small, quick, definitely not human.She fumbled with her recorder
'Fourth passage' her voice seeming strange and distant 'time, uncertain. Complete perceptual reconstruction. I am definitely no longer alone.'.

Elena was suddenly aware that the boundary between observer and observed had shifted irrevocably.

Four passages complete. Five more to go.