Inside Out: A Pagan Tale for the Child Within

Heather Brunton

Description

When Maisey reluctantly enters a Walkathon she finds herself stepping into another world that ultimately threatens her preconceptions and sets her on a life changing journey.

Guided by an elf named Rendal she must first traverse the dangerous land of Id where she is confronted with the past with all of its tests and trials. How she copes will determine the rest of her journey through both the puzzling land of Thoughts and later, through her Earthly reality.

'Maisey', is every man and woman. She is the teenager we each have within us; that petulant protestor, the 'no' that arises the moment we silently utter the 'yes' to life.

Inside Out, is an allegorical tale that takes the reader on a powerful journey toward their potential and beyond; to the magic that exists within each of us when we assume responsibility over our selves.

New Zealand writer Heather Brunton wrote Inside Out while living in the Bay of Islands. She has a B.A (Lit.) and has spent much of her life exploring various esoteric, philosophical and cultural beliefs.

She spends much of her time writing and is an avid Mental Health campaigner.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Développement personnel
• développement personnel
• Self-help
• Personal Growth

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 03 décembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780646571928
• Langue: English

Extrait

Inside Out
A Pagan Tale For The Child Within

H. A. Brunton
2009 Heather A. Brunton
This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of study, research, criticism, review, or as otherwise permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher.
First edition
For the publisher
Odd Press
ABN 98430486440
www.land-of-odd.com
Printed With the assistance of
www.loveofbooks.com.au
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication
Brunton, Heather A.
Inside Out: a pagan tale for the child within.
ISBN: 978-0-646-52439-9
For my children
Meagan, Sean and Kieran.
INTRODUCTION
The world is undergoing great change at the present time. Old institutions and beliefs are crumbling in order to make way for new, more ethical standards. This process is making way for a new age where one must take responsibility for oneself and in doing so, understand that what one does, affects many.
Inside Out is a book for the brave. It is for those people who see or perceive that the world, their world, is much more than what it appears to be.
In its inception, in my search for truth, I soon understood that first one must rid oneself of the lie. That is, the lie of one’s conditioning and assumptions. Once this lie is shed, then truth appears in its simplicity and glory.
This book is written simply and it is my hope that I have left enough room, right there within the white space, to allow the reader their own experience.
Heather.
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
Maisey rubbed sleep from her eyes. Too early , she thought. I haven’t been up this early on a Saturday in…? Well, she knew it had been quite a while.
The marathon was set to go. She glanced at the other walkers. Only a dozen of her own age. Some of them she recognised from the youth group she used to go to. Nerds, is what she really thought about them. Hell, what am I doing here? I can still drop out and no one will even notice.
Mr. Morton’s voice rang out and the crowd fell silent.
‘I guess most of you know the rules but for those of you who don’t, it’s a lap of the park to make a kilometre and each time you complete one I’ll be here to mark and sign your card. The goal is sixteen laps but for you little ones, just do your best.’ He paused.
I can still sneak off , thought the girl.
‘Good luck!’
Her thoughts were interrupted by the starter’s pistol. Too late . The walkers were off and not to be left behind Maisey hurried into their midst. Oh well, I’ll do a few laps and go , she thought grudgingly as she found her pace.
How the hell did I let old Morton talk me into this? I should be warm in bed now. Jeez it must be only just past nine, if that.
She was carried along in the mass of walkers for half a lap until natural selection placed adults ahead, kids behind and she found herself amid thirty or so teenagers.
‘How are you?’ The voice cut into her thoughts.
Maisey recognised Michael from youth group. His happy, smiling face seemed to add to her already irritable mood.
‘Ok!’ she snapped.
She felt tempted to ask how he was but caught herself. It was enough if her friends saw her talking to him, without her making conversation. Her abruptness told him to butt out and he smiled, picked up his pace and joined the group ahead.
Nerds of a feather , she thought.
With one lap nearly complete and the refreshment trailer in sight, she pushed ahead of the nerds to snatch a drink, then over to old Morton. His lanky frame was waiting and she handed him the sponsorship card.
‘One down. Good on ya girl.’ He ignored her solemn face. ‘It’s a beaut day isn’t it? Gee you’ve gotten a few sponsors here. How did you con old Wright into signing his money away?’
She never answered but just grabbed her card and set off again around the park.
Why can’t old Morton mind his own business? He’s always prying. Maisey felt strange; she remembered all the kindness he’d shown her before and even after she’d gotten in trouble with the law. She quickly shrugged that thought away. Na. He doesn’t care. Just being nosey. Resentment rose like bile. What does he know? His life’s a breeze. How could he know how it feels to be me and have to take over all the work; the shopping, even the bill paying? Shit! She wished her mother hadn’t gotten ill. It was because of that she’d stopped going to youth group. But the lie of that left the girl uneasy. No, she decided. It was just that she had grown up and they were all babies there. Ha! I barely remembered they existed until now. Thank god I’m away from them. Besides, she’d met a new crowd. They’re exciting. I can really be myself.
Looking at the sponsor card, she laughed. Old Wright was her biggest sponsor at a dollar a lap and if Morton thought it was because he saw something in her, he was wrong. Whether she was meant to overhear him or not she was unsure but his opinion of her had been clear. She’d stood at the door while Mrs. Wright took her sponsorship card inside.
‘Give her a dollar a kilometre. At best the lazy goodfornuthin will cost me a couple of dollars.’
His laughter had echoed through the house as Mrs. Wright had returned to the door red faced.
She was surprised to see that she had completed another lap. Grabbing an ice-cream she handed her card to Mr. Morton for him to sign.
‘Good pace lass.’
‘Yeah...’
‘I hear your mum’s out of hospital.’
‘Yeah.’ A lump rose in her throat but she pushed it down and grabbed the card.
‘Say hi to her for me,’ Mr. Morton called. But she never turned.
Ha! Mum’s unlikely to remember who Morton is. Ever since she’d started having fits she’d been like a child. Hell, half the time she doesn’t know who I am. Tears spilled down her cheeks, the saltiness wetting her lips and mingling with the ice-cream. Get real, she chided herself. This would be the last lap. She’d already exceeded old Wright’s wildest expectations besides, her mates would be up by now. The streets that lined the park were their territory. If they saw her, they’d rag her forever. The football club can whistle Dixie if they want more effort from me.
They’d barely miss the dollars from the lost laps. She could see that most of the younger kids had already dropped out and the nerds were ahead and behind. She’d wanted to out-walk them but by the way they were laughing and clowning around they might have gone on forever.
She was midway around the course and veered off now to leave the street and enter the park. Hedges lined the track that led to the toilet block. She paused outside the structure to breathe in the smell of honeysuckle and jasmine which grew in a wild tangle across the building. It was beautiful here. She could turn in any direction and see walkers appearing between the houses that ringed the park. From this aspect, the signs of poverty that were obvious at some of the state houses were hidden behind scrubs and trees. They were a mismatched lot perhaps poverty was their only link, though some houses were neat and clean while others were really run down and in need of paint and a few were missing glass from their windows. Those were the worst to pass, the kids dull eyed and ragged, the parents drunk and uncaring most of the time. The cleanliness of the toilet block was the first thing Maisey noticed as she entered and leaned over the basin to splash water over her face.
Half a lap to go , she thought.
The cold water was great. She let it trickle down her neck as she stood upright and blinked, to focus properly. Light from an overhead skylight flickered creating a strobe effect in the dimness of the room.
Whoa I feel weird, kinda dizzy.
She held onto the bench to steady herself as the room began to spin. It seemed to be getting faster as her legs buckled and she fell to the floor unconscious.
CHAPTER TWO
I must’ve passed out , thought the girl as she reached for the bench to pull herself upright. The sun was a dull glare as she steadied herself and tried to turn the tap. But it was stiffer than she remembered. Finally it gave a screech and sputtered and spewed forth a vile brown mud. The putrid stench of it filled the girl’s nostrils and the ice-cream she’d eaten made a hasty retreat as she gagged over the basin.
When she had emptied her stomach she stood upright trying to regain her balance as a wave of heat washed over her.
‘That’s it! No more!’ she yelled to the emptiness. Not another step will I take for Madcap Morton. I must have been crazy to let him talk me into it. She turned to leave the room, wiping her face with the front of her sweatshirt and stepped outside. But her feet met fresh air and she found herself skidding and sliding down to land a second later on solid rock.
‘What the hell?’
Gathering her wits she sat upright and looked back to where the toilet block stood, wedged at least fifty feet up in the side of a mountain of gravel. Looking around and below, she could see that she was perched on a narrow ledge and that somehow she’d left the park.
What? Where the hell am I? Looks like a... quarry? For that is what it did look like. I must be dreaming. I’ll wake up soon. Must stay calm, just go with it.
On shaky legs Maisey stood to take in her predicament. To her befuddled mind, it seemed she had only two choices, as there was no way to climb back up and no way was she going down. The ledge was only a foot wide and wound around the mountain in either direction.
Taking a few steps to her left, she heard a noise, a voice.
‘Over here.’ It said but no one was in sight. The hair on the back of her neck rose for a second before she decided that, like this whole scene, she’d imagined it. But no sooner did she make that observation than she heard it again, louder now.
‘Take my hand, here!’
Maisey let her eyes drift downward to the gravel wall beside her. A long wizened hand waved at her from out of the hillside. A scream tore from her throat and she turned and bolted in th