by Garry Rondeau

Once upon a time a gentle creature came to visit earth. He was unexpected and slipped in when no-one was looking, so that at first they didn't know he was there.

He was like a gentle forest creature and in order to draw him to you, you needed to be quiet, patient and move slowly.

He had a great sense of wonder, and loved to explore the world around him. He was very attracted to magic, and especially in the magic of discovering new things.

One day, his sister, who was two years younger than him, and therefore more real in her natural way, drew him closer to the herself, by her joy in play.

It was magical to him to see how much fun she was having. So he joined her in it.

He entered more and more fully into the exuberance of the now of the play. He was so happy. Colours and papers were flying in the air. He was running and bouncing and laughing with glee and with the delicious delight of it all.

Suddenly, a huge black crow swooped down on him, and grabbed him with her claw, and croaked harshly and viciously at him. And he was terrified, and so frightened, he ran away and hid deep in the woods, for a long, long time.

Now most people in the world seemed to frighten him, but even so, from time to time, especially when he was alone, he would come out and explore the magic around him.

At other times, he became like a chameleon, putting on different colours, to blend into the surroundings, so people wouldn't really see him.

He felt safer that way.

He'd wear the colours, that he thought they would want him to wear.

He got very good at it.

And became so involved in camouflaging himself, that the camouflage became more real than who he really was.

And he forgot who he really was.

Can you imagine that? Forgetting who you really are.

So he grew older, eventually got married and had children.

One day, as he was wandering along, not really looking for the magic anymore, a series of steps clicked into place in front of him. Just like that...

He was drawn to steps because of the magic of how they had clicked into place...
...just like that.

So he followed those steps, and they took him to a Rainbow Experience and a Yellow Brick Road.

Now these are fairy tales in themselves and someday when its the right time, I will tell them to you.

At the Rainbow Experience, and following the Yellow Brick Road, he discovered so much love and magic that it was overwhelming.

He thought he could come home to his family and take off all the colours he'd been wearing for other people, and then they would know who he really was.

But it was too much, too fast.

A dam had burst into his life and the surge blew all the camouflage apart.

His wife and children, frightened by the sudden changes, ran away.

He wept and cried as he picked through the wreckage, and tried to make sense out of it.

Now he needed to find himself again.

Who was he, really?
And what was camouflage and what was real? He didn't know anymore. It was a confusing time, and he tried to figure it out.

He discovered that he needed to come out of hiding, in order to get the answers.

And as he did, new worlds, that he didn't know existed, began to open to him.

Did you know, he had hidden his gentle nature because he thought it was a defect, and because of this defect, he wasn't good enough and wouldn't be welcome in the world.

Slowly, over time, the gentle creature began to see that his gentleness was truly his greatest gift, and actually the world needed it very much. And as he remembered this, he came more and more out of hiding.

One day another magical set of steps clicked into place in his life. And he was smart enough to follow them where ever they led, because he knew they were taking him into another place of wonder and magic.

And when he followed them, they took him to the most amazing person. She was like the good witch in the Wizard of Oz, and liked magic almost as much as he did.
Maybe even more.

And besides, she made it happen....Well at least for him.

So they joined with one another, and journeyed, worked and played together. Perhaps together, they could better discover what was real and what was camouflage.

And of course, create more magic together.

And do you know, to this day, they are still doing it.