KUMA: Sanctuary by Rayne 2. Marzett

The night started off like any other night; dark, lonely, and extremely cold. The wind blew with a fierceness that can only be described as Gods wrath. In the distance a figure is barely visible. The wind blows her from one side of the street to another as she desperately searches for something, anything to keep her grounded. In her eyes is the look of someone that has been lost and longing for whatever that might be, and as the cold blinding wind repeatedly whips her beaten body; she is reminded of that lost tenfold. Just as she was about to give up and let the wind carry her wherever it may; a door flings open and she is pushed inside. Almost, as if the wind was guiding her in that very direction along. The sudden change in direction or maybe the force of the wind knocked her to the floor; where she lay in a kneeling submissive position in front of what she thought was obviously a priestess.

The priestess looked down upon her wind whipped, and tattered body with great pity. She leaned forward and helped the woman to her feet. She looked around what seemed to be a great hall, and wondered how come she had never noticed such a splendid building before. The warmth that seemed to be radiating from the candles that light the entire hall lifted her spirits as it eased the chill from her bones. She was reminded of being in the womb, although she couldn’t have really remembered that part of her life at all. The absurd nature of the flashing memory forced her to ask the priestess, “What is this place?” The priestess smiled and turned toward the rear of the hall. “Within these walls is a sanctuary. A place where lost souls come to reclaim their earthly bodies when they are done seeing all there is to see. I am the keeper of this sanctuary for now and all eternity.” The priestess continued to walk, and as if instructed the woman followed. Many more questions loomed over her head, but she decided that all would be answered in due time if she just kept following.

The woman was lead down a long and ancient hallway; into another huge hall that resembled an altar. There she stood in silence as the priestess addressed the spirits and ancestors from times before her own. Afterward, the priestess welcomed the woman with open arms. “In order for you to be received by your soul you must first become pure,” the priestess stated. She then undressed the woman, and led her to a pool of water that mocked a lagoon. They both entered the warm water, the woman naked, and the priestess in full robe. She washed the woman from head to toe with the tenderness of a baby. This feeling was so intense and soothing that the woman began to cry tears of joy. Neither woman spoke during this process of cleansing, but the wailing, and the splashing of the woman’s tears upon the water signified the glory and peace both asked for.

After bathing the woman and drying her, the priestess dress the woman in a robe that looked similar to her own. Silently the woman followed her back to the altar and waited for her next more. Suddenly it became dark, as if an invisible force blew out all the candles that light the hall and kept its warmth. The priestess chanted and guided the woman to lay her body down upon the altar. She felt afraid and wanted to flee, but the chanting of the priestess calmed her almost as soon as the notion entered her mind. She felt the robe slip from her body and become a bed of sorts. The priestess chanted quickly and the candles light themselves once again, but this time it was a softer glow. There was a wind that swam around the altar and over the woman’s body making her feel light headed and venerable. She felt her spirit as the wind and became open to it; fully exposing her everything, and excepting that she was nothing without it. She offered herself to the spirit and all it had to give. All the while the priestess chanted and sang; filling the hall with her great and powerful voice. Urging the spirit of the woman to return to her and make her whole again.

The spirit caressed the woman and excepted the offering she had given, and when this happened her body became wild with passion. She felt her spirit enter her body and she screamed as if she had been taken over by lust. She moaned and thrashed about uncontrollably in what she would later explain and closely relate as pure ecstasy. Sweat pored from her body and cooled her senses as she came down from this most wonderful high. She had been rejoined with her soul and made whole again. That lost and longing look in her eyes had been replaced with one of purpose and contentment. For awhile she lay shaking and weeping on the altar as the priestess held her close. Rocking her and soothing everything back into its place.

As she turned to leave the sanctuary she thanked the priestess as she kissed her gently on both cheeks. Outside on the streets the night was like any other night--calm, peaceful, and raining. She had wondered if she returned to the place would it still be or would this all be just some crazy dream she would think she’d had after some awful night.