Every one is still sorting out their own part of the Puzzle that is their life. Haven’s Barrier does not alter the fact, real life has never come with a book of instructions,. There is no neatly written signage, or GPS voice telling a person how to. Real life has always been flying by the seat of your pants, navigating by a combination of schooling, your experiences, trusting your gut feelings to fill in the unknown. Regardless whether your age is over two thousand years, or under sixteen, you must play the cards life hands you, being careful what you keep and what you throw away. Phaedrus the Elder

Betty

I was able to strong arm Bear before he went home from the picnic. I am really good at understanding systems if I get some basic information as how things are to be done. Having collected and read every handout sheet from each work station. I had some idea what his vision was concerning product flow.

"Betty, my whole system is devised to get the product smoothly out of the field into a controlled environment. Every half hour in an uncontrolled warm dry environment degrades some of the flavor. The sooner the most of our product is inside a cool damp environment the longer our hang time. We then can bring flats out of the chiller to the trimming tables and if we are quick, things stay good. I prefer that the boxers work in the chilling room to keep things as fresh as we can, here in our process. We have no control of how the shippers handle things from there but if it leaves the chiller room and goes directly onto the truck the receivers do assume responsibility for the product. But the temperature of the product needs to be random sampled by the driver as it is loaded.

Betty, I am curious... I never had any one interested in my system before; why you?”

“Bear, I have worked in a lot of places doing a lot of processes, some of my experiences are from the operations side of food banks. They face a lot of the same restraints you do in that spoiled food does not feed people. If I know how your system is supposed to work I can help in keeping things moving any where I am working. I just need to know what I am looking at to keep it moving along.

Strong Bear, I want to be clear about that. I know this is your circus not mine. I am following your way of doing things, I am a smart cog in your system and I will follow your manner of doing things.

Strong Bear blinked a couple of times before he finally smiled, then chuckled to himself.

“And here I was getting ready for an arm wrestling match with both you and Louise tomorrow, trying to keep control of the process. The one thing I never expected was that you would leave me in charge.”

“Hey Bear Man, you are the commander General of the Veg. I am going to work very hard in being a help not a hindrance. You point I shoot, and there can only be one leader in this pack effort, and you are it.”

“Shit Betty you just killed my best line from my motivational speech tomorrow morning.”

“Not a problem; I will just nod and laugh on cue like a good follower. But go now, you have a good evening. I have to meet with the work crews back at the township hall to be sure everyone is on the same page”

“Betty where are my manners? I have forgotten to say thank you for your help, this is really making a difference.”

“Certainly Bear, thank you for the chance to prove ourselves to you. It is going to take a lot more than just this but you folks are well worth the effort.”

Strong Bear then did something unexpected he hugged me, while there he softly spoke in my ear.

“Betty I already trust you; you are simply good people and I am blessed to have met you.” Breaking the hug” go get some sleep you are going to need it tomorrow.”

Louise

Last night I thought I was going to need to spoon feed some of the people as to how to do their jobs. , But to my total amazement Monday morning everyone remembered our drills on Sunday evening.

After Sunday’s picnic the leads went out to their teams and shared what Betty and I had learned from Strong Bear’s crew earlier in the day. It was a great help that many of the folks in town have done this type of work before. And what they did not remember; Bear's hand outs and some quickly made posters filled in the gaps.

Bear's organization was fantastic, the controlled mayhem required to pull off this complex operation would have stumped a lesser person. Watching him work reminded me of a carnival boss setting up for a show. Not a wasted move or word; everything the model of simplicity and effectiveness. Every step of the way Strong Bear quietly corrected and encouraged people who were making mistakes, and prazing those doing well.

We had set up an operations room in the township building Sunday. Monday Betty and I were working there trying to keep up with the fast paced fluid processes necessary to get the product to the purchasers. I made a few suggestions that would keep the number of questions we had to ask him down to a minimum. Using some simple visual aids it allowed the rest of us to integrate with what Strong Bear wanted done. By ten AM, the first refrigerated trucks were coming in to be loaded, then ushered along their way as the next truck took its place in line.

Spotters in the field had assessed the different fields to their picking order so the most ripened produce was the first picked . Things moved so quickly we were running low on picking flats. We were worried until I remembered that there was an old building near the shipping dock which had a mess of the picking flats, and a supply of their branded shipping boxes left over from some time ago. Problem solved

Betty

One of the great things this effort afforded me was the ability to work with Crystal and Anna. We became a floater team moving from one bottle neck to another. Thursday the child watchers were down with a kid’s virus that was nearly fatal to adults. The younger kids were following Crystal around like she was the mother duck. Several of the little girls were worshiping the ground Crystal walked on.

Anna and a couple of the other older girls sat up a play school for the slightly older kids. We found some random kid safe art supplies. This was a big hit and over the next couple of days several artistic masterpieces were unexpectedly created. The surviving adults supervised and handled hard to do jobs.

Friday, day five, we were out in the field keeping the crews fed and hydrated. Both of the kids teamed up to become excellent as runners, taking energy snacks and water to the picking crews. I floated around the pickers and the loaders pitching in where ever the flow was slowing down. Day six, Saturday, the three of us were at the packing and shipping docks, doing our act in keeping the flow going smoothly.

Sunday of the first week had all of us followed God’s example and we all rested.

Sam

Siting still for me has its problem, I start to remember my bad shit and brood. The chance meeting with that wolf-man really thrown me for a loop. I have never had someone cut through every defense I had; the worst of it was he did it from the inside. From the outside I have known many men in my life. Men I served with, those I took orders from, and the men I hunted down and killed. But not one of them ever touched me on the inside. It has taken me a couple of days just to regain some emotional control . Every day the pull to find him increases, but for now I have my control back. Not knowing how long this control was going to last? I need to do something with it even if it is wrong.

I am understanding there was some stump clearing with demo charges going on near by I think I am going to take the truck out for a run and check it out maybe pick up some easy work. Nothing like blowing things up to get this girl out of a funk.

Patrice Stout

My company had hired some local talent to blow some stumps and boulders for a power line project. The people I got were some local red necks who have done this type of work at home. I had to fire these good old boys by Wednesday, I run a demolitions company not a play ground for over age juvenile delinquents. They parked a twenty ton boulder in my driveway, as a joke. So when Sam first walked up to the office trailer I couldn't figure just what I was looking at, but after checking out her paperwork and a few minutes, of small talk, I found out Sam was a Cracker Jack Demo person. She knew her stuff inside and out and after another twenty minutes of practical demonstration I was sold on Sam's skill. If it exploded she could handle it, Plastic to Black Powder, fuse, to electronic delayed staged type detonators,, She took the company mandatory safety test and aced it cold with no study.

The reason I needed a demo person was to clear a path to install the footings for the power towers up a steep hillside. With boulders the size of small houses and the large old growth tree stumps along the planed path I would need to use a D 8 or D 12 Caterpillar., but it was just too steep to even try. It wasn't rocket science but it was necessary for it to be done properly. The best way to do this involved the frugal use of explosives. Sam proved she was just the person I needed to get the most bang for my buck.

I have been in this business for a long time and had gathered a wide assortment of various products. Sam being skilled enough to use, all of these odd and ends is putting me way ahead in the financial game. She liked using black powder on the smaller stumps and certain types of stone. Tollvek on the larger harder granites. She was able to take a 300 foot long rocky ledge that was twenty feet high and deep and neatly crumble it into ballast size stone used to line the footings for drainage.

There was a film crew who paid me to shoot video of the explosions to be used in some undisclosed movie project. Even with the delays they caused plus Sam just starting on Wed; by Saturday I was on schedule and way under budget. Just by not judging a book by its cover and hiring one good person.

Strong Bear

This harvest is running ahead of schedule and has been the smoothest I have ever experienced. At first I was worried about Betty or Louise from their end trying to micro manage the process, but I haven't had problem one. Their cooperation sent a very clear message to the rest of the crews to cooperate with those of us who have done this before.

The fact was Betty and Louise took the really hard to do floater duties, performing them flawlessly. Betty's kids were a help. Even as young as they are they contributed solid effort making the jobs of everyone easier to do. The kids made pom poms then worked up a group of cheers to play cheer leaders for the crew.

The business end, as well was going so much better than expected. Shipments were accurately prepared. packed and quickly loaded The quality of our products was judged to be excellent so we picked up a couple new clients on the spot market from several up market restauranteurs. Their Chefs came to our fields to inspect the products. The Chefs encountering Betty's kids who openly promote our product by eating the produce fresh out of the field. Those two charmed the sock's off of the Chefs, becoming the single greatest sales team I ever have encountered.

The single most satisfying thing to have experienced is the seamless manner our two communities flowed together for this effort. Betty was joking telling me that the town next door was an American Brigadoon who woke up in time for this years harvest. I just had to laugh because that is what it felt like to me to, we just discovered we had family next door. I had walked alone for so long around the Caucasian promised land, I had forgotten what it was like to be among the people. When Greta found me and brought me to this this reserve I felt like I was in heaven. Now overnight our community grew by thirty percent and those people are just as helpful, friendly and hold the same values as we do, that is truly a thing to celebrate.

Greta

Haven has done the impossible they have in two weeks changed some of the most hardened let them rot in a bad place nay-sayers in our community, to well let’s wait and see people. Many others especially the local talent pickers are raving over the enthusiasm of the Haven helpers this year. Things are going great on all fronts in the harvest with Strong Bear telling me that profits are up over thirty percent from this time last year. He also feels we may be done with the harvest in three weeks rather than the five it took last year.

Both myself and Gretchen have been monitoring how Betty and her family are working during this harvest. Betty's kids are the best indicators either of us could have asked for. Betty is doing so much right with raising them I can’t imagine that her personality is much different from there's. Both kids are individual as a finger print, friendly and outgoing and really engaged with the world around them. Betty and her kids do anything asked of them, free of any complaints or “I am too good for that” attitude. In fact she has followed Strong Bear’s lead totally from the beginning.

Before any person can lead they must be a good follower and everyone who has worked with her has told me that she has followed directions to the letter making suggestions as to how to do things easier when appropriate and when they can be used. The three White Owls have been the grease in our gears allowing things to move smoothly all week long.

The only person I worry about is my son. He has been in the mood for brooding. The better the news about the White Owl's, the deeper his funk gets. But he is the exception, not the rule, I worry he may feel forced to push the river and really test Betty's mettle some how. He is very intelligent plus imaginative, making him impossibly hard to advise in these situations. I need to let him take his lumps. I am not worried about Betty. I am well aware she can take care of herself, it might be a hoot to see just what she does to take him down a notch.

Anna

I am sooo tired from this week, it has been so much fun but being an adult is supper hard. We worked in all sorts of places doing what ever was needed to keep things moving. It was a lot of fun working with all of the new people and making new friends. The first couple of days were awkward with them trying to get to know us. But after diaper duty watching the kids, then Crystal’s inspired us to be cheerleader's while working out in the field, people and we started to thaw.

There is this one guy that still gives me the willies every time he is around. He just looks angry all the time. Our new wolf friend Melissa growled at him when he got too close to Crystal and me yesterday. Then that afternoon there was the noise of something happening in the brush which bordered the field we were working in. Soon Melissa came out of the brush carrying with Cathleen’s baby girl Penney. It looked so cute, with Penny hanging like a wolf cub from the nape of her outfit. Cathleen told us that we were so blessed to have such protective spirits watching over us and that she and the other pickers now knew we were good people. She also told me that the angry young man was her boy friend and Gretchen’s son.

“Don't worry about him the older men took him for a swim in the river to cool off.”

I saw him only once more later on and he had a new patch on the seat of his rump right over his rump, he was walking with a limp and helping with the work, he kept his distance and stayed away from the day care area where Crystal and I were working.

James

The background music in this bar was not really to my taste, I much preferred the Pub scene over the American bar one. There was something about listening to the same song several times that sours things for me.

Six foot six he stood on the ground
He weighed two hundred and thirty-five pounds
But I saw that giant of a man brought down
To his knees by love

Sometimes chance has a way of rubbing ones nerves a wee bit thin. This dam song is really is getting under me skin.

He was the kind of man that would gamble on luck
Look you in the eye and never back up
But I saw him crying like a little whipped pup
Because of love

Please tell me that this song will end soon; please Goddess or I will, need to throw that juke box through the wall!

You can't see it with your eyes, hold it in your hands
But like the wind it covers our land
Strong enough to rule the heart of any man
This thing called love
It can lift you up never let you down
Take your world and turn it around
Ever since time, nothing's ever been found
That's stronger than love

Most men are like me, they struggle and doubt
They trouble their minds day in and day out
Too busy with livin' to worry about
A little word like love

But when I see a mother's tenderness
As she holds her young close to her breast
Then I think god that the world's been blessed
With a thing called …..

I can't believe that I listened to that six times before I pulled the plug.

“Hey mister why did you go and do that, I like that song and it cost me a quarter to hear it. ERCK”

I don't know what possessed me to do this but I had the drunk by the nape of the neck in front of my face growling very low under my breath low enough he felt it deep inside of his bowl.
I stuffed five dollars in his shirt pocket and sat him down in his chair gracefully.

Looking him straight in the eye daring him to say anything.

I took my seat and went back to quietly drinking my beer. Here when people get a wee bit to much drink in them to allow gracefully navigate a dance floor they should stay quietly seated like we Scots. . Regardless how much the deck be pitching and rolling under their feet American country people tend to attempt to dance with each other, with mixed success. The man was soon up dancing to a new song as his wife and friends maneuvered him out the door.

I am looking for a hard headed women.
One who will make me do my best.
If I find my hard headed women.
The rest of my life will be blessed.

Oh Goddess just shoot me!

I Thankful I was sitting in the dark far back in the establishment, waiting for my informant to show. The food here was tolerable and no one gave me a second look eating a very rare prime rib. I just wish that American beer wasn't so thin and wee in taste. I got the information I was looking for and set off to see what my mysterious person looked like.

The next day I was far higher up slope and upwind of Wolf Girl but somehow she knew I was there. I watched for over an hour as she drilled blast holes and set charges. I like her walk ,she was fluid, and. I had to admit I had a soft spot in my heart fort a women who knew how to handle explosives. There was an exceptionally large bolder that she spent time tapping with a rock hammer and marking where and how deep she wanted holes the crew drilled while she took care of a group of stumps. I never seen a demo person have an audience but the rest of the crew watched in fascination as W G set and laded out the wires to the detonator caps, Her lay out was complexity but when she was finished the stone had been reduced to a pile of gravel that could be easily moved by shovel. It went into a system of overlapping flumes which transported the stone to be easily moved down hill to the foundation location for a power tower.

I moved on filled with mixed emotions about this attraction that was daily growing trying to pull us together. I am still wondering what the dunder head was thinking when they included that wrinkle in our genetic mix. I would gladly separate their head from the rest. This was a complication to my already complex life Me didn't need. How would I go about explaining

“Oh darling every now and then me and me friends are going to nick out and have a howling good time, join us if you wish; dress is casual or optional if your are hirsute-ly attired.

Where is Morrigain when I need her I need some one to bitch too

Betty

My becoming younger of body had some extreme benefits especially when doing the lift and tote work. The biggest problem involved with the becoming younger process was that my body was becoming more stolidly female. Having been taking hormones for some time to even out my body’s natural estrogen production. But I think that I may have retained a small amount of my previous strength, because I was losing some strength.

Physically being between genders has always been a pain because of being trapped at being neither fish or foul. I was never the pretty girl of our family, the best that could be said was that I was ruggedly plain. But I never allowed what others think to stop me. I got that trait from my great grandmother who in her later years looked like one of our ancestral chief’s Crow Dog. She never was a classic Indian Princess but she was the glue which held our band together after Black Kettle’s wife passed. She gave the Indian agency heartburn when ever they had to deal with her sweet but relentless manner of twisting the agency knickers in a knot. But being the mother of four she was definitely all woman and that never stopped her from doing man’s work,

I am not going to let this loss of muscle stop me from doing what I needed to do. I just needed to learn how to deal with the loss of muscle mass. The learning process was steep and physically painful; everything hurt head to toe, which made me very thankful for the soak tub in my bathroom suite.

The children were all tuckered out so when they finished their baths it was no problem getting them to bed. Some how we been joined by a second white wolf identical to Melissa who must be the elusive Lilly. Earlier this evening Crystal told me that the wolf was her special friend. Each kid was snuggled up with their corresponding wolf which made for a very cute sight. With all of my motherly chores complete some how I was able to crawl into my bed as I can't remember any thing past my bedroom door.

Phaedrus the Elder

It needs to be stated we the unseen are essential humans with extrema talent's. Our problem has been public relations involving the simple fact people with out talents both fear and loth those who have them. In the past we could hold our own being considered demigods, Goddess, or something just to leave alone. But about two millennia ago ,with the rise of several new religions, we could no longer mix with the normal population as we once did. These groups became sworn to kill us where ever we were found. Not wanting to engage in war on our own kin we withdrew, becoming the unseen and living our lives as quietly as possible.

We also did not quit adding new members to our union, both by normal birth and by assimilation.
Betty is about to find out that this process has its traumas and its rewards. Her work is doubled because of the very short time she has before needing to use her expanded talents. So no time is wasted requiring the use of both her waking and non waking hours. Upon falling asleep Betty finds herself seamlessly experiencing her life's in review with hopes this will prepare her for her future.

Alease / Betty

Our world has changed so much this being the third summer since I met Freida. This year Olaf moved his family south to our winter village on the coast. He now runs trading between our lands and his native Norse lands. There is much both groups have to trade, making this a good move for him. It also has the benefit of allowing his older mother and father to live in warmer climes during the winter.

For me it allowed Freida and me to live like the sisters we felt we have become. Being older. Freida had a lot to teach me in the art of combat. And I had a lot of herbal and crafting off the land to exchange. We would spend hours in the local woods gathering the fruit’s of our lands while practicing ambushes on each other sharpening our skills. We would roam many marks over very large range of heights.. We ran everywhere and took all sorts of leaps and jumps covering a lot of ground like wolves hunting deer.

One evening we came back to our summer cave to find our fathers talking and laughing with each other. It was approaching summers eve and my da had made his honey mead for the celebration. Both of us had the day’s gatherings and some rabbits plus four partridge. We were not even winded from our run back home and had been there some time listening to both of our da's laughing between each other, when our brothers came in winded bruised scraped and really banged up. Seeing this our Da's broke our in a full out roar of merriment at their plight.

It was explained to us that they had seen us traveling across the broken boulder fields running and gathering along the way. Our brothers bet their respective Da's they could catch us or beat us back to the home. The price was enough of the early mead to get drunk for the first time. That night they went to bed sober and sore. That's when we were informed how fast we were running and how much ground we had covered the two of us stood with our mouths open in unbelief. . The two of us became the wolf sisters according to village elders, our name was put to a test just a few days later.

One of the things that had changed was the Romans were increasingly bold in there presence in our lands. They were no better than brutal uncivilized thieves who demanded crippling tribute from every one they encountered. It was pay or die and they killed entire families including children and their mothers. So far the skirmishes between our men and the Romans have been in small numbers but the news this year farther down the coast has been deeply concerning. We had a good harbor that was protected from the winter’s storms so we knew that we would be targets.

Our daily chore parties would go out in numbers large enough to prevent them being overwhelmed if they contacted a Roman patrol. It was late fall and we were setting up for the winter when the two of us were roaming when we heard the sound of Norse war horns blowing in the distance. I have come to understand the signals they could send to a knowledgeable listener. Freida returned then relayed the signal back to our village. Once the village answered the two of us took off running to help if we could.

In a very short time we came over a rise to see a strong Roman force forcing about twenty of our family men into a dead end rock formation. Today all of our mock fighting came to use. Our speed allowed us to move and accurately shoot. My priority were those on horse back shouting orders in there bitter tongue, I could nay shoot the noble beings who bore the beasts who looked human . The horses were serving those who enslaved them. But the plumed silver clad dandies on their backs were born to be my targets. The fanciest became my first target as he swallowed my first shaft loosed. I would nay waste a shaft against their armor but a well placed shot elsewhere performed its duty silencing his tongue.

Freida

Alease has a sense to her that my father called Freya's eye. With out knowing how this sense aimed her strikes at the most venerable place to strike. The first people she struck at were the officers on horse back The first one she struck was the leader in the fancy armor marked him as important and one to be followed. She silenced his mouth from our position above them on the very rocks the Romans were using to trap then hunt our men. A single arrow found his open mouth but he still held on to his mount this high born Roman. By the time the Roman archers could react to our presence; the two of us had thinned the officer ranks by three and the archers by the same.

Then full fury of our volleys found the Roman foot men's backs. And the three remaining archers. We had run down the opposite sides of the narrow alcove the Roman’s footmen were trapping our men in. The Romans having pressed the attack were now trapped in the opening of the alcove themselves. Their backs were to us, and all of their attention was trying to kill our men. They were totally unaware of the fact there back were open to attack Shooting as we continuously moved we crossed each other’s paths. It took just a short time to fell half of the two score foot men. The effect was immediate., our men broke through the foot man's line and the hunters were now the hunted. The remaining two line commanders split one grabbing the reins of the high leader’s horse taking him away from the fight while the second charged Alease.

Alease

Freda and myself had broken the Roman attack on our family men and I just started to calm myself when Freda's horn sounded alerting me to an attack coming towards my back. The surrounding rocks muddled the sound of the approaching horse until they were on top of me. I was just able to swing at the rider with my bow to ruin his sword aim but that cost me my bow. He turned around and with an ease and expertise of a man born in the saddle charged me again.

Now I was at a disadvantage as his momentum on the horse would rip my weapon out of my hand so I tumbled low out of the arc of his swing. Rearing his horse he spun around and in the brief moment he could not see me I bolted to the rocks opposite of his sword arm. Before he could move forward and see me I was up on the rocks swinging my sward at his neck. His response was spooky he responded without seeing me just enough I only took off his ear. Spinning his horse out of my reach he realized I had evened the match by being at his level, that and Freda's arrows just missing him sent him off following his departed compatriot in full gallop.

Suddenly as they attacked the Romans were done with only two officers quitting the field in a rush to save the life of their leader who was choking on his own blood. My father was dumb struck at the sight that two girls broke the Romans attack,. We greeted the now freed men as we immediately gathered our wounded and made for our village.

James.

Following the Legate’s orders I watched a battle at a distance. This was his son’s first action in Brittany and he wanted an unbiased eye analyzing his youngest son’s first command in battle. The boy did everything correctly but Mars was blind to his prayers so not on his side today. The two young women on foot took his men completely by surprise. They fought together as a team moving fluidly over the terrain like flowing water. I was stunned to watch their attacks take out two score and a half men of this patrol. The second in command was correct taking his lordship off the field trying to save him. The fourth harried the attackers almost losing his head in the attempt. But he too saw the better part of valor was fighting tomorrow.

It was time to join them back at the encampment General Hadrian had built for this attempt to suppress the people living in the Pictish uplands. I would be needed to tell the General that his son fought with valor and all of his men were true suns of Rome. I just hope his son survives his wound, and I will speak to the correct actions of the second and the fourth in this fight.

I stood at a distance watching the men gather around the two slight and wee young women. The fight in them was many times their physical size as I witnessed how they fought so fiercely to save their family men. The general did not understand that the upland women knew how to fight and some of them were vicious enough to fight along with the men. In all my campaigns I have fought with Caesar to Hadrian I have never seen such spirit and skill in two young ones. These children will be the death of many legionnaires if they are not stopped before they gather their own following. If these two are cut from the same cloth as Queen Boudica. Hadrian needed to cut his losses now, and just wall off this part Britannia as being unworthy of Roman blood. If not he will bleed the empire white trying to take this land.

I have a funny feeling about these two spranglings, I may only be five hundred years old just a pup to the Elder, but there is a connection between them and some time of my future I just don't want it to be at sward point or arrow tip. I would rather serve them than fight against them, there is an energy they have which joins them as the blade of the same sword; nothing in time or history can separate them, they will always find each other drawn together like iron to a lode stone.

Alease

Part way back the reinforcements coming from the village met us. The head man split the party sending a very strong force to pursue the retreating Romans and leaving some to help bring in the wounded. The two of us had recently enlarged the number of missiles we carried to allow us a benefit if we were forced to fight. Today proved the worth of this preparation. I went to a quiet place away from the noise of celebration and lost my breakfast. On the banks of a nearby creek I washed the blood off my hands and sat down to listen to the soothing water. I have nay killed a man until today so my shaking and unsettled guts were to be expected. I just nay wish to have me brothers and Da see me like this.

Betty

I sputtered awake with the taste of bile in my mouth shaking from this intense dream. The full immersion of my senses was very surprising. I could still recall the feel in my hand when my sword cut off the Romans ear, that is how real this was. I was able to recall just how badly the Romans smelled like rotten fish. Probably from that Garum sauce they ate on everything. That was added to the sour vinegar smell from the wine they always consumed. If there were a more disgusting people in the world than these Romans I nay ever want to make there acquaintance.

I needed to shake off the lingering effects of the dream. I shuffled out to the kitchen for a cup of tea to wash the taste and smell out of my senses. This dream tonight convinced me to follow Greta's sage advice to take a couple of days off.

“Betty: Atlas’ story is a warning, not someone to imitate. Put the world down and rest. I promise I won’t let Zeus won't shoot you with lightning.”