Mabel sat down on the bench and nodded at the honeymooning couple as they strolled by on the gravel path. She waited until they were out of sight, because it would look silly to call for someone who didn\u2019t seem to be there at all.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cDun,\u201d called Mabel, \u201cwhere did you go?\u201d She scanned the trees along both sides of the path, and waited in silence a few minutes more hoping he would return, then glanced at her watch. She was due to meet her parents at the spring in ten minutes. \tFeeling disappointed, but oddly not surprised by Dun\u2019s disappearance, Mabel hurried along the path toward the edge of the garden, opposite to where she\u2019d come in. The garden\u2019s tall trees gave way to more areas of low growth, lush with greens and flowers until the gravel path emptied into an arid, rock-strewn clearing in the center of the Cochiti Spring basin. <\/p>\n
\n\tMany of the larger boulders were markers, labeling paths to various destinations such as \u201cTemple Grove\u201d and \u201cHerb Garden.\u201d Mabel spotted the beginning of a boardwalk pathway next to a rock labeled \u201cto the spring\u201d and she took off at a sprint until a handful of loose pebbles on the ground sent her into a skid. She landed squarely on her bottom, but softly, as she\u2019d managed to break the fall with the heals of her hands. She stood up and brushed her hands on her shorts. An abrasion on her right hand bled a little, and stung where the rocky ground had rubbed it like sandpaper, but the injury was not as bothersome as the intensive afternoon heat. There was no shade where Mabel presently stood, and the thought of getting wet was enticing.<\/p>\n
\n\t Cochiti Spring itself bubbled out of the cliffside, splashed down between boulders in a huge heap, and landed in a natural pool, half of which was shaded by a thick stand of trees. The surface of the water bubbled, as if boiling, but when Mabel pulled off her shoe and stuck in a toe, the water was deliciously cool.<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel spotted her parents who had approached from the direction of the lodge. Her mother waved a bathing suit at Mabel and pointed toward a cedar cabana where she could change. <\/p>\n
\n\tBy the time Mabel emerged from the cabana in her blue tank suit, Mr. and Mrs. Crockett were in the pool at the base of the spring. Mrs. Crockett had her arms on a rock and was letting her legs float gently to the surface. Mr. Crockett, his face a picture of relaxation, was leaning against another rock with his hands behind his head. <\/p>\n
\n\tMabel took careful aim, and leapt into the water at just the angle necessary to splash her father as much as possible. Mr. Crockett returned fire until Mrs. Crockett\u2019s glare suggested that the battle would not escalate any further.<\/p>\n
\n\tAs soon as Mabel paused to feel the water bubbling up around her, she too felt a truce was in order. In a sparkling pool where the water seemed to extract every ounce of tension from her muscles, it was hard to do more than relax. She leaned against the rocky side of the pool feeling enveloped by wellness.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cDid you have a nice walk?\u201d asked Mrs. Crockett. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI met someone really interesting, named Dun,\u201d said Mabel, suddenly feeling confident that she would encounter that unusual individual again. \u201cAnd I slipped and scratched my hands up, but it was no big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMust be the other one,\u201d said Mrs. Crockett, drawing Mabel\u2019s right hand out of the water to examine it.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNo, I scraped this one pretty…good.\u201d Mabel stopped and stared at the perfectly clear skin on her formerly abraded hand.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s the water,\u201d said Mrs. Crockett.<\/p>\n
*******<\/p>\n
\tDinner at the lodge was the first opportunity Mabel had to see just what kind of guests Cochiti Spring attracted. She and her mother had changed into sundresses after their dip in the spring, and they joined Mr. Crockett at a table for six at six-thirty. Mabel waved at the honeymooners who were being seated across the room and they waved back with vague expressions suggesting that they hadn\u2019t paid much attention to her in the garden.<\/p>\n
\n\tSoon the Crocketts were joined by Margie Haycraft, followed by a gangly university professor. He introduced himself as Niles Lampkin, and as he shook each hand in turn, a smile broke through his bushy yellow whiskers revealing that he did, in fact, have a mouth. The last guest to be seated at their table was a tiny mouse of a lady named Ida Prickles who giggled nervously at each person to whom she was introduced, and tended to peek at the rest of the group over her reading glasses.<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel was grateful to have Margie at their table, as Margie\u2019s natural openness and warmth made conversation easy.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIda,\u201d said Margie, to Miss Prickles, who was fiddling with her napkin. \u201cI understand your work involves plants.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYes, plants,\u201d replied Miss Prickles, nervously, \u201cand associated life-forms. Associated…teehee, with…uh, plants, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThat is so great!\u201d contributed Professor Lampkin, a broad smile once again parting his whiskers. \u201cI myself am particularly interested in the interdependencies of plants and human societies, and I\u2019d LOVE it if we could share notes!\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tNext Margie turned to Mabel. \u201cWhat sounds good to you tonight? I think the dinner choices are baked tempeh strips, a lentil pasta, or veggie stir-fry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cCool,\u201d replied Mabel. \u201cWe should bring Ivy here. She could eat everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYour friend is a vegetarian?\u201d asked Margie.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cNot only that,\u201d explained Mabel, but she\u2019s so sensitive to herbicides and pesticides that she can only eat organic vegetables. Her family runs a botanical center and they grow most of what she eats there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWow,\u201d responded Professor Lampkin, shaking his head in awe. \u201cThat chemical sensitivity thing. It\u2019s spreading, I\u2019m telling you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tA young waiter came by with their drink orders and invited them to help themselves to the buffet table. The Crocketts followed their tablemates, and Mabel somehow ended up with a plate far fuller than she had intended.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cDid everyone get a chance to explore some today?\u201d asked Margie, returning to the table with a more modestly filled plate.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cGoodness yes,\u201d exclaimed Professor Lampkin. \u201cI recommend visiting the excavation site near the Temple Grove. My colleague Professor Ignacio is doing a bang-up job of uncovering some of the artifacts the Anasazi Indians used in their religious rituals.\u201d Professor Lampkin\u2019s head bobbed as he talked, reminding Mabel of a marionette puppet on strings. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI went to the Orange Garden today,\u201d Mabel volunteered. \u201cI liked the fountain.\u201d She paused a moment, considering whether to mention her encounter. \u201cMargie…do you know someone named Dun?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMargie\u2019s eyes lit up, and a smile spread across her face. \u201cYou met Dun?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWell, for a minute,\u201d Mabel replied. \u201cSome people came and he disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cGo back when no-one\u2019s around,\u201d said Margie. \u201cDun doesn\u2019t show up unless he has a good reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMr. Crockett dug into his mashed potatoes. \u201cWho is this Dun, anyway, Mabel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI\u2019m not sure,\u201d she replied. \u201cWe hardly got a chance to talk at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cDun is kind of a reluctant celebrity around here,\u201d explained Margie. \u201cMost of his people have little or nothing to do with humans, but Dun…well, in addition to being a bit of a misfit, he sees himself as a kind of liaison between humans and dryads.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIda Prickles had suddenly begun tearing tiny bits off of her napkin and rolling them into wads between her fingers. She turned to Mabel. \u201cYou met a dryan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cA what?\u201d asked Mabel, turning to Margie. \u201cI thought you said dryad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cA dryan,\u201d said Margie, \u201cis a male dryad. Ida, you must know more about this than I do. Would you like to explain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMiss Prickles shrunk a little smaller into her chair and began building pyramids out of her rolled napkin bits. \u201cWell, alright,\u201d she said with a nervous laugh. \u201cA dryad…for anyone who doesn\u2019t already know, that is…is a sort of a…sort of tree spirit. They live with their trees, you know…they really have too, because they\u2019re very weak away from their trees…and they\u2019re almost all girls.\u201d Ida sat up resolutely in her chair as if the difficult task of speaking was now behind her.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cBut Dun\u2019s a boy?\u201d asked Mabel.<\/p>\n
\n\tMiss Prickles looked startled as if she\u2019d been sure her explanation was adequate and no questions would be necessary. She looked at Mabel with what appeared to be wistful envy. \u201cMales are almost unheard of,\u201d she said shaking her head. \u201cYou should consider yourself very fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWell!\u201d said Professor Lampkin, in a booming bass voice as he pushed his chair away from the table. \u201cAll this talk of mythical creatures has given me an appetite for dessert!\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMargie stood up next. \u201cI\u2019m going to skip dessert tonight,\u201d she said, \u201cI have some work to do upstairs, but I wanted to remind you all to be sure you go for a massage before you leave Cochiti Spring. They\u2019re the best.\u201d Margie set down her water glass and left the room.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cDessert Mabel?\u201d asked Mr. Crockett.<\/p>\n
\n\tMabel thought for a minute. \u201cI\u2019m stuffed,\u201d she said. \u201cMaybe a tiny piece of blueberry tofu cheesecake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBy the time the Crockett\u2019s left the lodge dining room, it was dusk and the air was notably cooler. Full stomachs were more of a deterrent than heat as they hiked up the steps to Zuni, and by the time they entered their room Mabel was feeling downright chilly. That afternoon Mabel could not have imagined why the beds would need quilts at all, but now as she switched on a small lamp, she was glad to see an additional blanket at the foot of the bed. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMabel,\u201d said Mrs. Crockett, as Mabel picked up a book to read, \u201cyou do meet the most interesting people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBreakfast at the lodge was a more casual buffet than dinner had been. Mabel chose a Belgian waffle, topped it with strawberries, and added several dollops of whipped cream. Next to the coffee was a hot chocolate pot. She filled her mug halfway with hot chocolate, then nearly overflowed it with more whipped cream. Behind Mabel, Mrs. Crockett made disapproving noises before plopping a large spoonful of whipped cream onto her own coffee.<\/p>\n
\n\tAfter breakfast Mabel joined her parents in a game of badminton in the center of a grove of tall willows. Even in the shaded grove the desert sun soon made sports unbearable, and the Crocketts retreated once more to the refreshing coolness of the spring.<\/p>\n
\n\tMrs. Crockett retired to Zuni after lunch, to organize her notes for A Different Drum,<\/em> while Mabel worked at convincing her father that what he really wanted was a massage.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLook,\u201d said Mabel, pulling Mr. Crockett toward the site map. \u201cUp staircase three.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou sure this is a good idea?\u201d asked Mr. Crockett. \u201cAfter being in that spring, I\u2019m afraid if I relax any harder I\u2019ll dissolve.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDad,\u201d responded Mabel, tugging him along, \u201cyou always do geeky educational stuff on your trips. It\u2019s time to be pampered.\u201d \n\t\u201cMost people don\u2019t realize how healthful a good massage can be for a young person,\u201d said Lottie, patting the table in the center of the room to indicate that Mabel should hop up. \u201cHow about sandalwood?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSandalwood for what?\u201d asked Mabel, watching as Lottie removed a dropper from a small amber colored bottle and squeezed it into a larger ceramic pot.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAroma!\u201d exclaimed Lottie gleefully, waving the larger pot under Mabel\u2019s nose. \u201cIt will help you relax and dream, and really go inside.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMabel wondered where inside was, and how might she go there, when Lottie gave the massage table another sharp smack.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNow you lie down right here on your belly and we\u2019ll relieve some of those homework blues.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMabel found it hard to believe a person as aged as Lottie could possibly be supplying the pressure she suddenly felt boring into her back and shoulders. The sensation lay somewhere between pain and ecstasy, but Mabel closed her eyes, determined to absorb what she could of the experience.<\/p>\n \n\tThe pot contained an oil which Lottie seemed to be kneading into Mabel\u2019s skin, and as she rubbed the air became infused with a new odor. It reminded Mabel of trees…spicy, exotic, delicious trees. Soon, the scent became the most notable feature of the experience, and Mabel began to feel she was somewhere else, in a floating, cloudy place. She could see the town of Logjam below her, and she drifted over rooftops and trees, finally coming to the roof of Sparkle\u2019s toolshed, where Sig was tumbling playfully in the grass outside. Sig and Sparkle ran first in circles, then took off at a gallop across a green and wild field.<\/p>\n \n\tMabel zoomed along above the pup, whose soft, spiky fur began to grow. It started fast, and grew faster, until it wasn\u2019t Sig running along at all, but a carpet of fur, elongating, greening, growing woody and leafy, until Mabel was drifting above a forest, through which a river snaked. A beautiful, sandalwood smelling river which emanated from a clearing of glowing silver, achingly beautiful light. Mabel wanted the light, it was drawing her in, and she aimed for the silver light in the clearing, until a sharp series of staccato chops brought her back to a wooden massage table in a cliffside room, where a very old woman named Lottie was running a rapid succession of chopping strokes up and down her backbone.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHow\u2019d that feel?\u201d asked Lottie, pulling Mabel gently into a seated position.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI feel like an invigorated noodle,\u201d said Mabel.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOh, come on,\u201d said Mr. Crockett, who had poked his head around the corner. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to feel at least as good as a carrot in a food processor. I know I do.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tLottie gave them each a playful smack on the back and a gentle shove toward the exit. \u201cYou all come back if it fits your schedule. We can try patchouli next time.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cPatchouli,\u201d said Mr. Crockett, as they started down the stairs. \u201cIs that like Chinese water torture?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think it\u2019s a scent, Dad,\u201d said Mabel.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou know,\u201d said Mr. Crockett, \u201cI could be a nice guy and go help your Mom with the article. I mean, now that I\u2019ve been meat tenderized.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou go be a nice guy, Dad,\u201d agreed Mabel. \u201cI\u2019ll meet you guys for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHey Mabes,\u201d said Mr. Crockett as he turned to head for Zuni, \u201cif you\u2019re looking for that tree guy, take some mashed potatoes. In my experience elves like to fall into mashed potatoes.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNot elf,\u201d said Mabel, \u201cdryan.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMabel skipped around the lodge, past the spring, and entered the Orange Garden from the dry and rocky side, where she\u2019d come out yesterday. As the plants became taller, and the trees thicker Mabel examined every bench, around every corner, looking for signs of a tree that wasn\u2019t quite a tree. But the garden seemed disappointingly quiet. Even the birds were scarce, and Mabel began to feel that Margie had been mistaken about Dun having a reason to speak to her. <\/p>\n \n\tThe fountain clearing opened up ahead of her, and Mabel sat down next to the fountain\u2019s bowl, listening to its trickle. She decided to try to remain upbeat about the entire Cochiti Spring trip. All in all, it had been fascinating, and very few people met a dryad at all, whereas she had had a real encounter with one. The best thing to do would be to explore some parts of the resort she hadn\u2019t seen yet, then meet her parents for dinner. <\/p>\n \n\tMabel stood and took a long drink from the sparkling water. The fountain\u2019s spray shot vertically, then landed in a cascade, rippling the water\u2019s surface. It looked like a kaleidoscope where the rippling water fractured the reflection of the trees above in an ever changing palette of greens, orange, and…beige. Moving, smiling beige. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDun!\u201d said Mabel, spinning quickly to face the dryan behind her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mabel sat down on the bench and nodded at the honeymooning couple as they strolled by on the gravel path. She waited until they were out of sight, because it would look silly to call for someone who didn\u2019t seem to be there at all. \u201cDun,\u201d called Mabel, \u201cwhere did you go?\u201d She scanned the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=277"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277\/revisions\/279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.emilygillespieclement.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\tMabel led the way up three flights of stairs to a row of shallow cliffside chambers where several masseuses in peach-colored outfits vigorously rubbed, kneaded, and pummeled towel-clad guests. Within minutes, a young man who introduced himself as Raul led Mr. Crockett into room 1, and a woman named Lottie, who seemed impossibly ancient, escorted Mabel into the second chamber.<\/p>\n