oh my God!” I exclaimed, reaching out to touch the light. “You’re so beautiful.”
“What do you see?” she asked.
“I see colors,” I said. “I hear voices and I see colors.”
“Good,” Elsa said. “Don’t worry, you’re not crazy. The peyote is working. Let’s see what happens next.”
I looked up to see billowing strands of moss hanging from a Monterey pine. A cold wind arrived, carrying in a wicked fog bank that was rolling across the park at a furious speed. I should have been cold, but instead my skin burned as the crisp air enveloped me. On fire, I quickly shrugged out of my fleece and flung it to the ground. Again, I lost track of time, and when I refocused, I found that we were standing in the main concourse of Golden Gate Park, where the de Young Museum and Academy of Sciences are located. I swallowed hard, my tongue feeling too large for my mouth.
The park was bursting with noise. Every living being, it seemed, made some kind of sound as it moved. The night was awash in color. I absorbed all of this information and felt it take root as a young tree establishes itself in new ground. I laughed again, feeling an uncanny sense of new knowledge. I was ruminating on the meaning of the sounds I was hearing when my attention was abruptly drawn to a fountain in the center of the concourse.
The bowl of the fountain was illuminated by lights below it, and in the center of its pedestal stood an enormous stone saber-toothed tiger. Trapped between its massive claws was a serpent that was partially coiled around the cat’s body. Locked in a fierce battle, the massive, muscled arms of the cat, which looked more human than feline, seemed to be moving, wrestling with the snake.
I sat down on a wooden bench nearby, unable to tear my gaze away from the fountain.
“It’s Elsa!” I yelled aloud, surprised at the sound of my voice. “It’s Elsa taking on the devil.”
Now Elsa laughed. “What do you hear, Olivia?”
Responding to her question, I strained to listen. At first I could not detect any sound coming from the fountain. But as I focused, I began to feel a vibration moving through my body and I stood up, unable to sit still.
“Up,” I said. “It’s saying, ‘Get up and come in.’ ”
Elsa preened like a proud mother. “Very good. That’s exactly what it’s saying. One day soon we will go inside, but for now we have to say goodbye to The Guardian.”
“The Guardian,” I whispered to myself. As I murmured the name, I caught sight of a light coming from a large tower in front of us. I also could feel the intense light. “Bright!” I screamed as the light expanded behind my eyes, momentarily blinding me. I pressed my hands to my eye sockets and bent my head in pain.
“What light, Olivia?” Lily asked. “Where is the light coming from?”
I pointed up toward the tower, which belonged to the de Young Museum.
Elsa turned me so that my back was away from the source of the light. “You must breathe deeply and try to push the light out of your mind, Olivia. Focus on the light and push it away.”
The pain from the light roiled my already sensitive stomach. Taking a deep breath, eventually I was able to do what Elsa asked. I inhaled and exhaled, slowly bringing my attention to the center of my forehead where the pain was the strongest.
Meanwhile, Elsa had begun shouting at no one in particular in a language I didn’t understand. While Lily stood nearby looking grim, Elsa walked briskly to the fountain, touched the edge of the cement and disappeared.
Hand outstretched, I screamed for her. Lily was at my side immediately, pulling me away. Quickly we grabbed our things and began to run, setting a brisk pace through the wet foggy night. As we passed through the damp, muddy trails of the park’s forests, I removed more clothing, dropping items along the way. My body temperature continued to climb, despite the fact that I was now wearing nothing but a running bra and bike shorts.
“I need water, Lily,” I said, my throat raw from running in the cold night air.
She opened a backpack and handed me a bottle.
“Drink,” she said. “The effects of the tea will start to wear off in a few hours.”
“Is Elsa coming back?”
“I’m not sure,” Lily said. “She had to go see someone.”
“She disappeared,” I said, distracted by