A Walk on the Water

Alannah sat for some time, trying to consult her own feelings, which have suddenly left her feeling cold and empty. Alannah looked down once again, with tears in her eyes.

"Let me help you," Dominic said gently, reaching under her chin and pulling her face to his and kissing her tenderly. "Do you wish to go back? Would you like to one day, have this as your permanent home?"

Alannah shook her head, and spoke a word, though no sound would come.

"No, I don't want to go back. From the moment I saw you on that horse, I knew but I didn't want to face it." Alannah said, as she hugged Dominic around the neck.

The Señora smiled, wryly. "I will take that as a yes, the only thing I ask Alannah is that you keep to your own room at night."'

"Yes ma'am, I am still pure and I don't want to blow that now. How does one get to Port Lira from here?" Alannah found herself asking. "Where on earth is the road? I certainly couldn't find it."

"Los Anteas is a veritable warren of roads, paths and trails of every sort," Señora Beringer told her. "To navigate them requires that you know them first. As there is no one direct way to Port Lira you could get lost looking on your own.. Any one of us could take you there, and I have no doubt that you will one day be able to manage the journey on your own. But the journey is never the same. The roads on this island come and go with each season, the conditions of weather, and certainly the whims of the inhabitants. Be patient, girl. Listen to your heart, for in the end your heart will guide you to Port Lira , if that is where you truly wish to go."

As Alannah soon discovered for herself, Los Anteas was a complex place when it came to finding one's way around. It was something of a cross between a Chinese garden and a maze at a circus. It was amazing that someone only needed to travel a hundred yards to find that the surroundings have completely changed. There were many country lanes that started in one place winding around from here to nowhere. Most of the trails that were difficult to follow over grown with leaves, and the like, some ending in a bush, and many trails leading to hidden places along the island.