The fact that our spaceship can go under water is something we forget when we're in space, but when we're under water we forget that our submarine can fly. These things are apparently not important enough to lodge firmly into the crew's mind. Perhaps in the Captain's, but not in the crew's. Regardless of whether or not we know how, our craft, the Nauticotta, takes us wherever we need to go in our constant quest to find the fabled Treasure Nest Egg of the ancient Tandy-Dandy Dancers of Mish.
Captain dreams of this a lot and says that the Tandy-Dandy Dancers were famous throughout everywhere and that they built a huge gaping fortune, and that they stuck it in a secret Treasure Nest Egg which is where it is hidden to this very day. An odd dream in my estimation but it has caught our attention. We have been diligently seeking hidden treasure ever since, especially with something like the fabled Treasure Nest Egg of Mish before us. We are, after all, a fine and loyal crew.
We have been everywhere, already we are twenty years into the search, maybe more, and have yet to approach Mish, the alleged home of the ancient Tandy-Dandy Dancers. But now, suddenly, Captain tells us we must go to Mish, and of course we all jumped to obey, pushing the buttons and pulling the levers to make this happen. This was a superlative decision admired by the entire crew since the treasure did, in fact, mention Mish, the place where the ancient Tandy-Dandy Dancers danced and where their treasure is likely hidden.
“Why didn't you go to Mish first?” is what people typically ask. “You know, it is the fabled Treasure Nest Egg of the ancient Tandy-Dandy Dancers of MISH that you are seeking, after all.”
Captain replies something like this, “It ain't how the dreams go,” then refuses to talk anymore about it. We, the loyal crew, also refuse to talk about it and have not questioned him on this, due to loyalty. And also because the pay is good, we have comfortable quarters, great food, an easy workload, and paid vacations. Besides, when all is said and done, the Nauticotta is the Captain's ship. He can take it anywhere he wants, as long as we keep finding lost treasures everywhere or get good paying part time jobs. Now Captain is dreaming us to Mish. We land near the western coast, not far from the famous Rainbow Dragon Hold, Regenbeald.
“We walk from here,” Captain announced and promptly began walking. We, the loyal crew, followed. “We must find the Twisty Lane,” Captain told us, stopping to gaze into the distance. He looked in several directions then, with a determined expression, he pointed, “There.” We were headed into the wilderness.
Captain had a map that he pulled out to show us our route. We could see a big black ex marking the secret hidden treasure and that it was in fact at the end of a twisty lane. There was a red arrow pointing to a small red circle near the map's edge, by the sea, with a legend saying, 'you are here'. This looked good.
We set off in high spirits. Surely it will be great to finally encounter the sacred and holy Treasure Nest Egg of the ancient Tandy-Dandy Dancers, hidden by the dancers themselves before they went extinct millions of years ago and undiscovered, until now.
Slowly we penetrated the impenetrable jungle, inch by inch, taking turns cutting a path with a big, bold machete that Captain happened to have. The deeper we went, the darker it got until we were in pitch black. We all snapped on our Nauticotta issue flashlights and proceeded with confidence, finally coming to an ancient, probably older, lane, put in by those prehistoric people who enjoyed watching the Tandy-Dandy Dancers dance. We gazed in awe and more than a little anticipation at the entrance. We knew the twisty lane led to incomparable treasure, more than anyone could imagine. It was the twisty lane of dreams, of our dreams, of the Captain's dreams and we moved forward as if in a dream.
The twisty lane was clear of underbrush and vines and we were glad when Captain put his big, bold machete away, into an elaborate sheath hanging from his belt. With all our lights on him he looked like a Pirate Captain putting his sword away but we knew he wasn't. Pretty sure. Then he told us to team up and shut off the extra lights, saving their power.
We went further and further down that twisty lane but oddly we felt lighter and lighter. Then slowly unseen lights came on, real dim, at about the same time where we were having trouble staying on the floor. Soon, we were somehow walking on the ceiling which was now brightly lit with a nicely tiled floor. We came to an ornate double doorway with what looked like a cartoon image of a Darnalong hanging above it.
Darnalongs are rare and offensive birds, quite large with stick pole legs and body feathers of wild and crazy colors. Except all the Darnalongs that we knew about delivered bad news in Elvenstead. Why would they have a cartoon drawing of a Darnalong here in the ancient ruins, buried deep in the wilderness jungle, of Mish?
Captain seemed to be gaping and we nudged him along. Beyond the double doors was a ticket taker. We had to go back and find the hidden ticket booth to buy tickets before we could go in. Captain grumbled about how expensive the tickets were so we figured it must be a classy show. First Mate told us once that classy shows were high priced and we entered with eager anticipation.
When the lights went down an amplified voice announced, “Welcome! Jungle creatures of all persuasions! Welcome to the Treasure Nest Egg Theater! Home to the amazing Tandy-Dandy Dancers! And he-ere they are!”
Amid a wild and raucous applause, the stage was quickly filled with poorly drawn Darnalongs, all dancing. I could hear Captain groaning but we stayed for the whole show. All things considered it was pretty good.
The Necessary Stream
Sometimes, at times, I wonder at this constant stream of words,
and at those times when no one's at the wheel, despite
another shade of meaning from each new word the stream affords.
Or perhaps you could say deeper, inward if you like,
this stream of words goes on, no doubt, well into the night.