Zodiac Story

Take Up This Terracotta Armour, For The Hunt Begins Part 1

The waves brushed gently against the smooth water-worn rocks of the shore. The smell of fresh pine wafted into her nose. Above, the sky was mottled with little clouds that Jenny kept pointing out. According to her, they were cumulus clouds. The tall peaks of the Rockies stretched in front of Willa, and the Sun was intent on killing her eyes. In the grass, she smelled rabbit and gopher. Sometimes there was a faint scent of moose, deer, or big-horned sheep nearby.

"Why won't you take a vacation? It would only be for a month or two, and besides, you should have a lot of vacation days saved up over the years." Jenny pointed out.

Willa snapped back to the conversation. "I prefer to work."

"Can't you work remotely?" Jenny smelled like old dirt and metal.

"Yes, but I don't know where I would go if I do this."

"Let's see, you told me that you had gotten an amulet in the middle of the woods. Then, a voice spoke to you saying that you are needed somewhere and gave you vague instructions. What were those instructions again?"

"Go to the wall that divides the land, a testament to willpower." It was vague, and the clearing they were in had a faint scent of something. Maybe she should ask Jenny when she finished working for the day.

"It could be the Great Wall of China. There are already human bones inside, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a hidden treasure. It could be that US-Mexico border wall, but that was unfinished and left to rot, so I don't think so." Jenny put herself in her characteristic 'I'm thinking very hard' pose, her hands on her chin.

"Both are equally far away, and I prefer staying in Canada, thank you very much."

"Your sister left for Italy, and she's younger than you."

"Dana always wanted to leave for Europe. It's been her dream since she was twelve." Willa preferred the familiar comforts: the prairies, the fresh mountain air, driving past the wind farms that never ceased spinning, and her siblings. She wondered how Clara and Liza were doing.

"And you can have that dream too!" Jenny looked at Willa with those wild dark brown eyes that once promised that pranking the principal by dumping a vat of milk wouldn't get them in trouble. It did.

"I'm not following any dreams, I'm perfectly comfortable where I am."

"Well, I'm not pushing you to do anything then." Jenny relaxed onto her red chair. The red chair smelled like mountain air, paint, and plastic. "So how does it feel to smell everything in sight?"

"It's fine." It was as natural as breathing to Willa.

The chairs were made of plastic and were hard. Both Willa and Jenny found them awkward to sit on, but the views the red chairs gave were stunning. The clear view of the Rocky Mountains always awed Willa, along with the view of Waterton Lake.

One time, after her sister's wedding, Willa took a trip past the Canada-US border, where a clear-cut line signalled where Canada ended and the US began. Glacier National Park was a wonderful experience. Although Clara didn't come ashore, she...decided to have a different experience with her groom. The stuff married people do, Willa thought, thinking of when she opened the hatch to the guest cabin. That was something.

A white glove, soothing, caressing Willa's shoulder. A large mirror, and a cracked reflection.

Willa stared into space. That again. Jenny thought it was connected to the amulet, seeing as the visions started appearing when Willa grabbed it. Willa thought it was a trick of her mind, but they felt real. She didn't mention the persistent unnerving feeling, or that she occasionally sniffed out a wrong scent.