SATURDAY STORY - THE WEIRD PUZZLE ADVENTURE - PART II

 SATURDAY STORY - THE WEIRD PUZZLE ADVENTURE - PART II

Last week, Suzanne Wright was working on a Christmas Puzzle of the Grand Tetons, when she was somehow taken to the actual location of the puzzle picture.  Did it really happen?

Two days after Christmas, her husband Will went back to work, she was alone in the house, the school was still on vacation and she had time to herself as a teacher.  She resolved to see if she could get into the puzzle scene again.  

BUT, this time she was going to be ready - just in case.  She had a bag next to the table that she could quickly grab if she sensed she was going to fly away.  The bag had some snacks and some oats (if she found the elk again).  Her cell phone was in the bag so she could take pictures.  She had a plastic rain poncho and a sweatshirt.  She had solid walking or hiking boots on her feet.  If she dropped into a mountain meadow, she would be prepared.

She had intentionally hadn’t worked on the puzzle until today - when she was alone.  Maybe that magic could work again.

For half-an-hour, nothing had happened.  She was trying to remember - was there a particular place on the puzzle that she had touched before?  Did the adventure begin at a particular time?  (She thought she was being silly and a bit superstitious). 

She tried placing her hands as closely as she could to the locations on the puzzle that had transported her before.  Nope - didn’t work.

After an hour, Suzanne had almost finished the puzzle leaving one piece out.  She hadn’t been transported to the Tetons, “Darn” she said to herself as she put the last piece in and looked at the picture again.  

It was such an inspiring picture - the Grand Tetons in the summer sun, the lush meadow before the mountains, trees (and although she couldn’t see it in this view), a pristine lake (brimming with rainbow trout).  Her mind changed from the anticipation of a magical trip to enjoying the beauty before her.  The world did have beauty in it.  God was still involved in the world.  And she had been lost in her own dreams and just didn’t appreciate the beauty.  

She adjusted the puzzle on the table so it was centered, and pushed back from the table, adjusted her chair, and looked back at the beauty - when it happened again!!!

She reached to grab her bag just as she started to fly through the cold blackness of space.  But, alas, her iPhone dropped out of the bag.  It was too late to reach back and retrieve it - no phone calls, no pictures.  

She had been through this experience twice before on her first trip into the puzzle.  It was maybe just a little easier this time since her brain expected a soft landing in the meadow.  And, soon that was what happened - plop - she landed softly in a grassy meadow. 

Getting up, she dusted herself off.  No bruises, no broken legs or arms.  

It seemed to be the same meadow - and just about the same place she had handed before.  Gauging the angle of the sun, it seemed to be early afternoon. Turning around quickly, she looked for the elk in the meadow - and yes there were there.  She thought she recognized Bufford and Colisa.  Her appearance didn’t seem to surprise the elk at all.  They were contentedly were eating the grass on this beautiful day.

Suzanne, with her bag on her shoulder headed toward the male elk that she thought was Bufford.  Like the rest of the elk, he had deep, gently brown eyes.  She remembered he has a crescent-shaped scar over his right eye.  

She thought it was worth a trip, so she slowly wandered over to Bufford and said “Good Afternoon Bufford, isn’t it a wonderful day?”  

Bufford did look up from the grass and answered “Yes, it is Suzanne” in that glorious sonorous bass voice.  

On a suspicion, she asked, “Are there other people around?”.

Bufford seemed to look thoughtfully and answered “Do you mean like you, little animals that walk on two legs?”  Suzanne thought she could see Bufford’s mind slowly mulling over that question.  

“Not today” was his answer.  

She then looked for Colisa, the older female elk with gray hairs around her mouth.  Maybe a female might be more talkative.

Colisa saw Suzanne coming and walked slowly to great Suzanne.  In her slightly higher, but still deep elk voice Colisa said “Hi.  Are you the Suzanne that came the other day?”

Suzanne was happy to be remembered and was ready to respond quickly - and then decided to be slow and methodical about her speech.  “Yes”.

Then Suzanne thought of a topic (that women would think about).  “Do you have calves or children?”  

Colisa seemed to think that over.  “I have one calf currently, Colinda.  I’ll introduce you soon.  I’ve had six calves but the other five are grown.”

Suzanne nodded and said “I have two calves.  In our world, we call them ‘children’.  They are both grown and on their own”.  

Colisa seemed to understand

“Follow me”, Colisa answered.  Then in what seemed to be small talk, she said “It is a beautiful day here in the meadow.  The grass is so good this year.”  

They meandered through the elk in the field.  Some looked up at Suzanne, but most kept grazing.  It didn’t take too long to find Colinda and other female calves.  It seemed like they were playing and chasing each other.  The bull calves seemed to be separate.  Suzanne suppressed a laugh - like a junior high dance - the girls on one side and the boys on the other.  

Coming up to a calf that seemed similar to the others nearby, Colisa said to the calf “Colinda, this is Suzanne.  She is a visitor today”.

It looked like Colinda was a bit shy as she hid behind her mother.  Trying to identify the differences, it seemed like Colinda had more light spots on her left leg - almost white.  

Shyly, Colinda, regaining her manners said in a slightly higher voice “Hi, I’m Colinda.  These are my friends, Coanna, Coselma, Colucy, and Cobeth.”

Suzanne thought maybe there was a reason for the names starting with ‘co’, so she asked Colisa “Are all the girl calves named with a ‘CO’.

Colisa had a smile and answered “Of course, and all the male calves start with ‘bu’.  

“Ahh” thought Suzanne.  It was a naming system that worked!!  

Colisa stood still as Colinda ducked under her mother and took some milk from Colisa’s breasts.  

Suzane said “I fed my children from my milk sacs too”, and put her hands on her breasts.  Colisa looked at Suzanne strangely, and a little embarrassed pulled up her shirt and bra and showed Colisa her breasts.  

Colisa said, not in a demeaning way, “You don’t have as much milk as we do”.  Suzanne smiled and said, “Our calves are very small and it takes a long time for them to grow.”

Colisa then asked “What do you have over your milk sacs?  Why do you cover them up?”

Suzanne gave a gentle laugh.  “We call them clothes.  Yes, it might be easier to not cover our bodies.” (although Suzanne was sure she was not going to be a nudist)

Suzanne asked, “How many calves have you had in your life?”

That seemed to be difficult for Colisa to answer.

After a while, Colisa answered “I think about twelve” - generally one every year.”

Suzanne asked, “Did you ever have twins?”

Colisa asked, “What are twins?”

Suzanne answered, “When you have two calves at the same time.”

Colisa laughed (or as much as a female elk can laugh).  “Never.  That would be a lot of weight in”, she paused not quite knowing the word in elk language, “my belly and a big strain on my milk supply.”

Suzanne said “I’ve had three children - or calves.  My oldest is Alex, a bull calf.  He is thirty-two years old and he and his wife had a calf named Landon; then Leone, a cow-calf who is twenty-eight and not married, and Sienna, who is a cow-calf at age twenty-five and is expecting her first calf soon.``.  Suzanne didn’t quite like calling her children bulls or cows but thought that might be easier for Colisa to understand.

Colisa smiled and spoke “What a nice family.  I think your calves live longer than ours do”.  (Suzanne’s first idea was that she would Google how long elk live - until she remembered she didn’t have her iPhone).

Looking around, Suzanne decided to let Colisa feed Colinda and she bade her friend have a ‘good day’ and ambled across the meadow.  There were other animals in the meadow, but fairly well separated.  There were bison at the farthest end and a few scattered deer.  

She did have a bit of a plan today.  Since this came from a jigsaw puzzle cover, some human had somehow walked into the area and taken the picture.  She was going to walk away from the mountains and see if she could find a road, or a house, or a ranch.  

She walked about a quarter of a mile, but then she heard a shriek and turned around.  And, she was surprised!!!  Another human had just fallen into the meadow!!!  ANOTHER HUMAN!!! 

To be continued