Ivory Woman

  I stood alone in a meadow, surrounded only by flowers, grass, and the wind, gently blowing, bending the garden of nature that lay bestowed upon me in the gentle warmth of the spring day. The scent of pollen drifted by, letting me deadweight myself into the tulips I laid on, cushioning me, lovingly caressing my body in a protective wall. I felt safe, comfortable, and most of all, happy.
  I had fallen asleep, and awoke now to the sound of little feet scurrying away. I jolted up in surprise, and found only rabbits, which had been nibbling at the fields around me. They darted away silently as I moved, and ran far into whatever burrows they had arrived from. I stretched, and lazily wondered how long I had been outside. It was then that something else happened. Something which I could not have predicted.
  From the sky, clouds drifted apart, and swirled into the shape of a plump woman. From that cloud, came life. As I bore witness, the face blinked, and the white clouds began to shift in a way as to become one. I could no longer see where one fold ended and another began. I realized I was now gazing at a nude form, who shined a bright white.
  She then began to float down, slowly, drifting like a leaf. She smiled at me, and revealed teeth which looked like platinum, glowing a brilliant, heavenly white. I stood up, and waited as she landed in front of me. I saw that she still held her modesty; as she had fallen, more water vapor had trickled by, and became a thick fog which shrouded her. She appeared impregnated, and I suddenly felt a deep respect for her.
  "What is your name?" Was all I could think to ask.
  "Chasity." She said, in a singsong voice that had me sitting back down without even noticing.
  "Are you real?" I asked. She didn't respond, instead, plucking a flower from the ground, and gently picking the petals apart, in a rhythm which I found all-too-relaxing. She hummed as she did, and when the petals were collected in her palm, she blew them into my face, along with the steam of her breath, and just like that, I was asleep again in the meadow, with a new memory, one that still leaves me wondering, whether it was reality, something in the fresh air, or a strange dream within a strange place.

Salamanders

  I sat by the fire I had sparked in the midst of this clearing. The leaves in the trees nearby were still, and the only movement came from the flickering flames which danced shadowed patterns across the landscape. For a moment, I felt fear, wondering what could be moving amongst those shadows, but then, came peace, as I gazed instead into the combustion happening before my eyes. The fire had just started, but had yet already swallowed whole the tinder I had used to help my lighter provide me with warmth.
  The larger branches crackled as they began to, in turn, dissolve into ash as the fire slowly digested it away. I felt a serenity, a slow calmness even as I watched the flames dance without pattern, with no order to behold. I enjoyed the smoky scent wafting into my lungs, and breathed a deep, content sigh.
  It was only then that I could see something else glowing, too. Just out of reach of the clearing, several bright lights approached. They were too numerous, and too close to be eyes, and they're flickering forms betrayed their identities as miniature fires. Impossible as it was, I was witnessing several bright fires, slowly approaching my camp.
  Once again, I felt fear creep up my spine, tensing my muscles along the way, preparing to flee. Another sensation, however, came from the fire balls, a sensation of joy, freedom, and relaxation. I realized this sensation was formed around them in an invisible fence, and the closer they got, the more I found myself sinking lower into my fold-up chair, greeting the strange creatures with a smile.
  They finally entered my camp, and I was able to gaze finally at the angellic beings who approached. They looked like salamanders, wrapped in a warm glow which looked like fire with no substance. Somehow they floated in the air, propelling themselves with their feet and tails. Their bodies were red, then orange, then yellow, then green, then blue, then violet, before shifting back to red and repeating. This display amazed me, and I wondered, for a moment, if I had somehow fallen asleep.
  It was then they chose to speak, locking eyes with me individually, all seven of them. Only one spoke, and though their lips didn't move, and though the voices spoke into my head, I could somehow track the source of the voice, and locked eyes with him.
"We are happy you have found us here." He said to me, and I could only wonder how I heard him smile.
  "Actually..." I began to correct, then thought better of it, choosing instead to stay for the ride, and question nothing.
  "Yes, we found you." He answered my unspoken question. "But you found us first. In the fire. You spoke to us, and didn't know it. You don't need to be afraid of us, we are the spirits of fire."
  "The... Spirits of fire?" I repeated, understanding little, if at all, of what he meant.
  "Everything has a spirit, and we represent the spirit of fire. All that happens with fire, naturally, comes from us."
  "Okay..." I said, tryinng to sound like I knew what he meant. "What do you want with me, then?"
  "We want to teach you our ways." The creature said, before they all suddenly blinded me with their light, and in a flash, were humans... Almost. They had only four fingers and toes on each appendage, with a suction cup-like protrusion on each end, where fingerprints would be. They had odd ears, sharp, triangular, and lurching back as though to enhance aerodynamics. Their hair was made of fire, which burned a dull red, yet reached a foot or two into the sky. Their eyes had no color to them, and their lips stretched unnaturally wide. To top off their looks, each had a long, pale tale, which matched their skin, which had no melanin or shade to it. Despite their alien look, I felt comfort in their gazes, and in their grins.
  They were dressed in bright reds and yellows, and both the men and women wore baggy two-piece outfits. Their outfits also contained loose-flowing ribbons, which had bells attached. To match their clothing, wrist and ankle bands were also adorned, sporting the same bells and ribbons.
  I can't remember when we started dancing, or laughing, or how they brought drinks for us all to share. I can only remember that campsite, which I now make a note to visit every year. To once again dance with the salamanders.