Anant Remembers

It was years in the future and Anant began to remember how things use to be. He would have a rush of images stream through his head while people were asleep. He was able to observe the dreams of others and to see the woods and the life he used to have long ago. It was easier to record these memories while others were sleeping.

He remembered Samson the bear. Samson had shown up one day seemingly out of nowhere. He came up to Anant while he was picking blueberries and just stared in his eyes, then he followed Anant home. Anant would reach into the beehives and grab a bit of honey for Samson when he would join him to pick the berries. Samson never liked to mess with the bees because they would always sting him. Peter had tried to stick his hand into a beehive once and got stung, so from then on, he simply preferred that Anant do the honey collection. Anant was the only one who had never been stung by the bees. This is because he always sang to them as he stuck his hand to get honey. Samson would playfully lick the honey off Anant's hand and sometimes Anant would even put honey all over Peter's face so that Samson would lick his face too. Samson was very playful and like a big overgrown dog.

Samson became a close friend. He was a beautiful brown bear with a white right paw. He would curl up next to Anant while they all slept on the floor outside on nice nights. Sometimes he would move around in his sleep and crush Anant and Peter. Anant had simply to squeeze Samson's soft body and he would sleepily oblige and scoot over just a bit to keep them from suffocating. Nobody ever had nightmares while they were in the presence of Anant and Peter.

There was also a friendly orange cat that had come from the village one day and stayed. She was Samson's best friend. Samson would catch fish by the river and Anant or Peter would help filet the fish and give a bit to the cat. She would chase Samson and the two of them would play hide and seek and tag. It was really funny to watch them interact with each other, a huge bear and a tiny cat.

They had also befriended a large gray wolf. Anant had been in the woods whistling late one night by the moonlight, and the wolf came up to him. He looked worried and lonely. As soon as Anant touched him, the wolf became attached. He came back home with him and joined the other animals. The wolf's name was Orion. He became quite attached to Peter and most nights, Samson would sleep next to Anant, and the wolf would sleep next to Peter, while the cat slept at their feet or on top of Samson. Sometimes Samson would move too much in his sleep so the cat began to sleep by their feet more and more. Orion could sniff out threats anywhere and was the best physical protector of Peter and Anant's love. With Orion around, nothing could hold their love back.

About a year later, an eagle and snake would sleep at their head too. The eagle was large, and the snake was quite colorful. Anant remembered that they had just showed up one day and the stars had told him that the birds and snakes were gifts from Anant and Peter's ancestors that would always watch over them and keep them safe. The eagle was named Maria, and the snake was named Mirna. Together their names meant "bitter peace," symbolizing that no matter how fierce something appears, every living thing carries peace inside of them.

There was also a nice young lady who would come to visit often. She had dark skin and tight curly hair. She laughed constantly. She was the main wine producer for the area and would constantly bring wine to Anant and Peter. Sometimes she would have sex with the guys her age that helped them tend their garden. In exchange for their work, the guys would hang around and they would all party and be merry. Anant and Peter were known for being the best partiers for miles around. Simply because they could heal the most wary of souls didn't mean they didn't party constantly. In fact, it was this constant stream of laughter that was the most potent medicine and the craft of their trade.

The young lady would always come on a mule that carried two gigantic barrels of wine on either side. They could feel the mule coming, and everyone would get excited when they knew the young lady was on her way. The birds would chirp and the trees would move. Everybody would get excited because they knew a fun party was coming. When the mule would have the barrels taken off, she would run around and play with the other horses. They all quickly became friends, and since they weren't big on drinking the wine, they would use the time together to run off into the woods and have adventures. They also liked to go to the river delta by the sea to go swimming. It was funny to see how playful they were neighing and kicking up their hooves as they swam and charged at each other. The horses loved it when they got to play with their friend the mule.

Peter and Anant and the young lady usually got quite drunk when the wine came. They would laugh and stumble and fall over, dropping things and fallling over from too much wine. Anant and Peter had tried to make love a few times while drunk, but it usually never worked out, so they frequently just passed out under the tree if they had too much to drink. The young lady was quite a trooper though, she would usually drink until she would slur her words and then go make love with one of the guys or other ladies that would help out with the gardens. She liked coming over, partying, and having sex with them, because there was always someone new to meet and interact with. Sex was a wonderful thing that helped unite people in the woods. Anant and Peter would often go to bed too drunk while others were off in the groves kissing and pining for each other. Anant and Peter would simply look at each other in the eyes, laugh about how drunk they were, and pass out next to each other pretty much anywhere they were at at the moment.

The young folks that came to help out Anant and Peter on the gardens were always quite nice. Word about the crazy parties was common among the young folk in the nearby town and village. Some people even traveled long distances to join in these festivities. The young wine lady would even spread the word that she was coming to the surrounding areas sometimes and they would all have a gigantic celebration in the woods. The animals and the plants and the people would have a super fun time. All the forest creatures would come out, and more often than not, the mermaids would come to shore as well and sing for everyone. They would teach Anant and Peter the mermaid songs to call them when they needed help moving their boat across the seas. The whales and dolphins and fish and all the sea creatures also at times needed healing and company from Anant and Peter. There was usually a ton of love making at these huge parties and everyone loved everyone. If the wine lady had spread the word, that meant it would be a big night for all of them.

To feed so many folks, those who came to the parties usually brought a fair amount of food to share. Some brought bread, others cheese, others beer, others slices of meat or vegetables. They would create a few fires for grilling or roasting, and pass the food around. Nobody ever went home hungry when they attended these parties. Most people would stay the night if they had drank too much, and there was plenty of company to cuddle with so nobody slept alone unless they wanted to. Sometimes, they would even keep partying in their dreams. Anant wouldn't sleep until the last fire had dwindled, usually when the stars were at their brightest in the sky. Sometimes Peter would retire earlier, but would always show up for Anant right before the fire burnt out to go to bed together. It was very rare that they ever slept separately. Even if they did, they would always have the same dreams.

When they were together, their dreams were like vacationing. During waking hours, Anant and Peter were always nurturing and healing. It was far from a burden, they enjoyed what they did, but they were never completely alone when awake. Plants, spirits, stars, everything constantly conversed with them, they were known throughout the universe for their warm smiles and happy demeanor. Dreams were usually the only time where they themselves existed without anybody else, it was the least existence could do for them. They used this time to travel across the planets, to other worlds, to other star systems, and meet new beings and learn new things. They knew how to fly, but were limited by the boundaries of the earth, since they could only fly while holding each others hands and only at night when the moon was bright. Dreams were a time for them to explore the universe together, useful information they would need later. They didn't know it at the time, but the stars had always favored them together, and when their time was done on earth, they would travel all over the place. The earth was far from the only place where their company and laughter was admired. They were the same being, and had accepted a mission long long ago to help heal and spread love throughout the whole of existence. It wasn't until they would come back to earth for the last time that they would begin to remember the details of these travels. They were going to retire after their lives on earth again, and they would be able to travel boundlessly to wherever they wanted to throughout any part of existence. They were a ton more important than they had ever known.