INNEREAL ADVENTURES - ONE

THE ENTRANCE

THE ENTRANCE

   “What?” said Byron.

   “You are Byron, correct?” asked the little man.

   “What? How did you… ?” said Byron, confused.

   “I thought you might be a little smaller,” said the little man, as he rubbed his chin and carefully began to size Byron up. “This does indeed pose a bit of a problem.”

   “How did you… what is Jacobis?” asked Byron

   “My name, of course, and… I have been watching you and, well… I thought you would be a little smaller. This is going to require a few quick and, unfortunately, risky adjustments.”

   “I don’t understand,” said Byron.

   “Yes, I know that you do not,” said Jacobis, “but you will. Please listen carefully and do exactly as I say. We really do not have a moment to lose.”

   Jacobis paused and gestured toward the small wooden door at the base of Old Oaken, and then continued, “We are going through that door.”

   “What door?” asked Byron.

   “That is why I told you to listen carefully and do exactly as I say,” said Jacobis. “Please, we may only have one take at this. I just hope that you did not damage the latch too much with your knife. Now, this is the process: first, you must run around and around the tree as fast as you possibly can; then, when you feel like you are going to pass out, I will shout for you to hold your breath, but you must continue to run around and around as fast as you can.”

   Jacobis looked at Byron, and said, “Do you understand?”

   “Yes, I think so,” said Byron.

   Jacobis continued, “Do not worry, you will start to get a feeling like a second wind. You know what that feels like, correct?”

   “Yes,” answered Byron.

   “Great,” confirmed Jacobis. “And then you will begin to feel the strongest burst of energy that you have ever had. You will feel weightless and like you are flying.”

   Jacobis looked Byron in the eyes, and continued, “Are you ready for this? We really do need to do it now before it is too late.”

   “Yes, I guess so, as ready as I’ll ever be,” said Byron. “But what is going on here?”

   “I will have to explain later,” answered Jacobis. “Now, help me up onto your shoulder.”

   So, Byron lifted Jacobis up and put him on his right shoulder.

   Jacobis wrapped his arm around Byron’s neck and said, “When I tell you to hold… ”

   “Yes, yes, I know. Let’s just get this over with,” interrupted Byron. And then he began to run around and around the trunk of Old Oaken as fast as he could.

   Byron became dizzier and dizzier and more and more exhausted with each lap around the tree. “I can’t! I can’t… ” he cried.

   “Now!” shouted Jacobis. “Now!”

   Byron started to falter.

   “Do it now!” shouted Jacobis. “Hold your breath! Hold your breath!”

   But, Byron stumbled and began careening off the trunk of Old Oaken.

   Jacobis was holding on for dear life and then he quickly raised his walking stick and forcefully rapped Byron on the side of his head, and shouted, “Do it now!”

   Finally, Byron took a deep breath and held it in and began to feel a tingling sensation throughout his entire body. Shafts of light started to appear everywhere all around him. A tinkling sound filled his ears and the world around him began to grow bigger and bigger. Faster and faster around he went.

   On the outside, Byron was becoming an invisible blur, but on the inside, everything was sharp and all of his senses were heightened. He felt a strong burst of energy and then, suddenly, everything came to a screeching halt and he found himself standing right in front of the small wooden door.

   Only, it was not so small now. It was the perfect size for him and Jacobis.

   “Wow! That was fantastic! Man! That was amazing! How did that happen? Jacobis, how did you do that?” exclaimed Byron. “How did you… ”

   But, as Byron looked around, Jacobis was nowhere in sight.

   “Jacobis… Jacobis,” Byron called, as he made the, now quite long, journey around Old Oaken.

   “Jacobis… Jac… ”

   He then saw Jacobis, who was now about his same size laying nearly upside down against the trunk of Old Oaken. So, he ran quickly up to him to see what had happened.

   “Jacobis, Jacobis! Are you alright?” Byron exclaimed.

   After a few seconds, which seemed quite longer to Byron, Jacobis blinked a few times and righted his posture, and said, “I told you that it might be a little risky. Whew! That was a doozy!”

   As Jacobis started to get up, he quickly bent over and embraced his left side and winced, and said, “Oww, ooh, that is not good.” Then, he sat back down and leaned against the tree.

   “What’s wrong?” asked Byron, as he sat down next to Jacobis. Byron then noticed that his size was not the only thing that had been magically transformed. His apparel was also now very much like that of Jacobis.

   “We had better hurry,” said Jacobis, wincing. “We must get to the door before it is too late. Help me get up.”

   With some difficulty and Jacobis limping, the two made it back around to the side of the trunk of Old Oaken where the door was. Everything looked fairly intact to Byron.

   “Quickly! Open it, before it is too late!” ordered Jacobis.

   So, Byron rushed to the knob and turned it, but the door was held fast by the root.

   “No, no! Release the bar!” cried Jacobis.

   “What?” cried Byron.

   “The bar, the bar, look! Look for the five finger holes on the right!” yelled Jacobis.

   So, Byron looked and did indeed spy four holes on the top side of the root and one hole on the bottom side.

   “Release it!” shouted Jacobis.

   So, Byron put the five fingers of his left hand into the holes. They fit perfectly. And suddenly, the root bar swung quickly to his left.

   “Open it! Open it!” shouted Jacobis.

   So, Byron turned the knob again and the latch gave way and he pulled open the door.