Strange Solace

Follow the stepping stones.

Wherever they lead. but be careful where you tread.

The first one always feels ice cold underfoot, no matter what the weather.

Make sure you jump the second, that’s the vanishing stone.

The third one does strange things with time, don’t linger here if you want to stay in the present. You might step off into the past. Or the future.

Don’t mind the sounds when you step on the fourth, the whispering is just inside your head, honestly. The screaming too.

Keep faith when you step on the fifth, the fog will lift the moment you step off it. You don’t need to see your feet to do that.

Ah now number six. Try not to look down. Or you will see things in the water you would rather forget.

If you make it to the final one…. of course you will dear, it’s just a figure of speech. If you make it to the final one a guardian will appear.

Do you like dancing? 

Good, that’s the right answer. Well in that case follow them, just a few minutes’ walk. To the Italian Garden. 

All you have to do is wait until midnight, and the moon is clear and bright. I’ve been told that the statues come to life and dance!

No, I’ve never seen them, but then I’m not terribly good at dancing.

Copyright: image by Photographer Unknown. Used here for creative, non-commercial purposes. Commercial postcard of Compton Acres, Poole, Dorset. Copyright The Photographic Greeting Card Co.