Marcella didn't stop to inspect her surroundings until she was sure she wouldn't see Dr. Crenshaw any more. When she finally caught her breath she realized she had no idea where she was, let alone where she was going. The bright colors around her shrunk back towards the trees and bushes from which they emanated, her heart beat slowed and she calmed herself.

She fell to the ground and leaned her back against the rough bark of the nearest tree. She put her head in her hands and cried, and cried. It was all she knew, the sadness and fear which gripped her in that moment. She never thought she'd wish to be back at the hospital, dreaming this whole time.

When, finally, there were no more tears left to cry -- she looked up. As her eyes focused, she heard the gentle song of a nearby bird. She searched for the animal as its beautiful call rang in her ears.

"Oh . . . hi," she said to a little yellow canary that sat not far from her on a low hanging branch. It chirped at her and she smiled, she watched its perky colors and they soothed her. She held out a finger and the bird stared from its perch. It tilted its head from side to side and chirped, then flapped through the air. Its colors trailed behind it as it flew, like the tail of a meteor.

"A shooting star." Marcella smiled as the bird landed gently on her finger. "Will you grant me a wish?"

The tiny eyes that peered up at Marcella blinked. The beak parted and responded with a clean, crisp song which brought a smile to Marcella's face.

"I wish I could feel safe . . . I wish I was home." She chuckled at her wish. Where was home, anyway? That terrible hospital? The house of the parents who put her there?

Her new friend just chirped and whistled but Marcella felt like it had understood her. It leapt off her finger and landed in the nearest tree. With two more notes of its song the bird hopped from its twig to another, then into the air.

"Don't go." Marcella stood up and followed the little yellow bird. She laughed as it sang and lead the way deeper into the forest. "I'm coming, wait for me."

Marcella noticed the trees starting to grow thinner and further apart. Without paying much attention, she followed the bird into a small clearing. It flew in tight circles and she spun around beneath it, the memory of the good doctor so far behind her now that it was nearly forgotten. It was a new day for her, she was free, she was happy.

The canary dove through the air and corkscrewed its way around Marcella's head. Its trail of colorful light left a halo in its wake and she clapped her hands to her mouth. It stopped for a rest on her shoulder and she giggled some more before it took off again. She watched it dance and realized it was flying towards a woman in a powerful looking pantsuit further out into the field.

Marcella watched her friend fly circles around the woman's head. Her brittle gray hair reflected the bright frequency of the canary, even through her own powerful colors. Marcella watched as the lights surrounding them melded into a single aura and the bird perched itself on a stately shoulder.

The woman, whose back had been to Marcella, turned and she felt as though she recognized her from somewhere. The woman held out her arms to Marcella and smiled.

"Marcy!" She called out in a voice nearly as beautiful as the canary's. "I've missed you!"

Marcella took a step back and glanced towards the trees through the corner of her eyes. "Who are you? How do you know me?"

"Marcy, don't you recognize me?"

"I . . . I think I do."

"Come here, come here! I want to get a good look at you." The way the woman annunciation her words made Marcella uncomfortable, but still she took a step forward. There was something in her aura that drew the girl in.

"Oh dear, you're even more beautiful than I'd imagined you. Think what you'll look like with your hair all done up and a nice dress on!"

"I don't like dresses."

The woman's colors shuddered just a little, but the look on her face didn't change. "Well that's just fine. You can wear what ever you like now, I can't believe you're free of that dreadful place. You know I begged your mother not to put you in there, told her you'd just rot in a place like that. A talent like yours, just wasted away so . . . so . . . so wastefully!" She thrust her index finger into the air and the canary on her shoulder rustled its feathers, but didn't move.

"I mean, when I heard the chorus I thought that maybe there had been some terrible mistake, that perhaps I'd dreamt it." She continued. "But here you are, as I live and breathe! I can't believe it's been so long, you're so big!"

"What chorus?" Grabbing hold of one bit of information in the woman's gushing torrent of words was proving difficult for Marcella.

The woman laughed, then stopped abruptly as she realized Marcella wasn't joking. "The chorus, the announcement. You must have heard the tree song as you entered the forest."

Marcella recalled the bright pastel auras of the trees, how they had been so intense they seemed to ring out in a joyful song. "What were they announcing?"

"This particular forest doesn't rejoice often, I believe it's because some damn fool decided to put an insane asylum right in the middle of it."

"It's called a hospital, what decade do you think this is?"

Again a quick flicker of light, while the smile stayed the same. "Like I was saying, this sad little forest does not rejoice often, so I knew it must have been for you. Now you're safe, I've got you and I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Who are you?"

"Oh come now, Marcy, you really haven't figured it out yet?" The woman put her hands on her hips and feigned a frown.

There was a moment of silence during which Marcella waited for the woman to tell her, then she said, "no, who are you?"

"Marcy, I'm your grandmother!"

"My grandmother?"

"Well, not that I was given a chance to be much of one, but yes. The minute I laid eyes on you I knew you had the eye, and it was strong. Comes from my side of the family, you know. Of course, how could you ever assume something as beautiful as the eye came from such an oafish family as your father's? Anyway, I told your mother about your gift and she refused to let me see you! As if I had anything to do with it. All I wanted was what was best for my granddaughter."

"What's 'the eye'?"

"The eye! You truly don't know? It's the ability to see frequencies. Your ability, in fact, is special. An ability like yours would normally develop during puberty, but you've been seeing since day one. You're bound to be a powerful receptor some day."

"Receptor . . . that's what Dr. Crenshaw said. That advanced receptors can change the ways of things."

"Dr. Crenshaw?" The woman's colors danced in a way that told Marcella she was thinking quite critically about something.

"He took me from the hospital, he was a bad man."

The woman who called herself Marcella's grandmother nodded. "And what else did he tell you?"

"That he wanted to hook me up to machines, he wanted to study me I guess."

"Wanted? What's with the past tense, has he given up?"

"He's dead." Marcella looked at her fingers as she spoke.

"Did you . . . ?"

"No! There was this gray wolf, with yellow eyes, and a nasty scar."

"Silva."

"What?"

"Silva, she's the totem of this forest. She must like you if she spared your life."

"Totem?"

The older woman sighed and said, "a totem is a sentient extension of the environment in which it lives," then held out a hand. "You've got a lot to learn, little one. Come with me and I will teach you everything you need to know." She smiled and the canary chirped.

"How can I trust you?"

"You see it in my frequency, don't you? You can feel that we are a part of each other, I wouldn't want to hurt you."

Marcella stared into the colors of the woman, it did seem as though they were welcoming her in a way she'd never experienced before. "I used to wonder if I had a grandmother. I used to wonder what she'd be like."

"Now's your chance to learn." She smiled again and Marcella stepped forward, wrapping her fingers around the old, wrinkled ones which offered her safety and knowledge.

"What's your name, anyway?"

"Rowena," she said with a wink, "but you can call me Granny."