A bright butterfly on the jaguar's head.

Everything had happened unexpectedly and painlessly. Rina woke up with the certainty that complex nets of connections had been cut off. Gold-digger and Avin discerned it on her face when she was preparing herself for the journey.

“I feel very light.” Rina's eyes were glowing. Her heart turned into the flutter of hundreds of butterflies.

“The bright butterfly spread its wings to fly again.” Avin smiled at Rina.

“The bright butterfly?” Gold-digger repeated after him.

“Yes, it’s the one that causes this sensation of lightness. The bright butterfly lifts us up and takes to the unknown places. On the warrior’s path you keep on coming to the world many times and you die many times as well,” Avin explained.

Rina heard the familiar gust of the wind, announcing the jaguar’s arrival. Its tail moved uneasily; the glowing, mottled eyes told Rina that it was the right time for departure. The bright butterfly landed on the jaguar's head, illuminating slightly its black head.

“I am leaving now,” the girl said, embracing her friends. The silver rhino brought Rina a bouquet of the wild flowers and threw it at her feet.

“My lovely, Sig, thank you,” the warrior said, wiping the tears that trickled down her face. “I can’t take you with me.”

“Don’t worry, Rina. Who knows the course of events? Maybe I will follow you soon.” The rhino’s eyes turned blue, as always when he began longing for something unknown.

The warrior’s golden hair, light-drenched danced around her face. Her eyes reflected the freshness of spring grass while the red lips were like the song of the wild poppies. Rina wore icy blue trousers and a tunic; her hips were wrapped up by an azure shawl woven of the lotus flowers.

The winged feet, instead of rooted

Dealing of the jaguar's blow had happened unexpectedly and painlessly by night. Rina woke up with the refreshing certainty that the complex net of connections, references had been cut off. She was free to move and focus on the unknown. Gold-digger and Avin discerned it on her face when she was preparing herself for the journey.

The eyes of the silent knowledge

Suddenly, Sig began smelling the approaching currents of air with his big nose. A couple of sniffs and he knew something for sure.

“Avin and gold-digger are back from their hike,” he said brightly.

Rina’s face opened up a channel for the light of the stars to shine through it, illuminating the day and others around her. She hadn’t seen her friends for long time and missed them a lot. As the older warrior crossed the wicket of the garden he took to examining the path, leading through the garden to the veranda of the cottage. Avin moved slowly, bent down, kneeling to touch the blades of grass with patience and knowledge. His much younger companion gazed at him in such a way, as if he tried to see into his mind. When Avin got clear about something; he raised himself and approached Rina.

“It must have been the black jaguar,” he declared.

“Where do you know it from?” Rina asked; her curious gaze run through Avin boldly.

“It had left some traces on the path.” Avin’s long, black hair tied up in a pony tail undulated on the wind. His raven-like eyes glowed with their irresistible transcendence. “It’s possible to perceive the traces only with the eyes of the silent knowledge,” he added. “What did it want from you?”

Rina weighed her words.

“I know the habits of these jaguars. They approach humans only if they become their mission to fulfill.”

“What is going on, Rina?” The gold digger came up to the girl and stroked her hand.

“Have you looked into the jaguar’s mirror fur?” Avin went on.

“Yes, I've seen my reflection: strong and stable roots growing out of me feet.” Rina’s face twisted in a grimace. Avin heaved a sigh.

“Rina will leave us soon. Get prepared” the older warrior addressed all his companions. The gold-digger lowered his gaze, fighting with some painful emotions. The girl got to her feet and held his head in her hands.

“Please, I don’t want to hurt you. I must leave; you know it. I’m one of the warriors.” The gold-digger broke free from her hands and rushed to the house. Rina’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Don’t worry; he will understand… he needs time on his own to think everything through.” Avin tried to console Rina patting gently her shoulder.

“Remember, the jaguars are wild beasts; it’s not good to tame them. The wild cat will follow you, hiding in the dark.”

“Where do you know it all from?” Rina wiped out the tears that kept running down her face.

“Experience,” Avin chuckled. “The light is setting, let’s go inside.”

Gold-digger lit some candles, flaring and dancing in the dark, as if some evening guests. The warm, cozy air of the cottage was swathed in the scent of some drying herbs.

“How are you feeling?” Avin addressed Rina.

“I feel the blurred shapes of events that are to be born. Sophia the Geezer says that what happens in the outer world; beforehand grows and moves within us, waiting for the right moment to come out and manifest itself.” The warrior explained. “I am so full of expectation; between something and something,” The girl admitted.

“I know this feeling. Life is the art of change.”

Avin walked away to sleep. Rina and gold-digger stayed alone, enraptured by the left moments of shared intimacy. They had to celebrate the slivers of time while the jaguar was sharpening its fangs, ready to set out on the journey. Rina’s roots trembled at the very thought of blow that was to be given to them by the wild cat.

The Haunted Cottage

The silver rhino was moving slowly and lazily, reveling in every step, as always when he headed home from the nearest meadows, content and invigorated; sure of one thing. Rina was going to await him on the veranda or in the garden. But not this time. His inner light flickered warningly like a dying bulb. Sig didn’t like to speed up, but he felt forced to do it; by nature impatient to wait longer than it was needed.

Rina was sitting by the table, lost in a reverie. Her golden, long hair avalanched a beautiful face. There were a couple of things that might ruin the rhino’s usually elated mood, namely Rina’s thoughtfulness.

“What happened?! Why didn’t you wait for me, as always?” Sig halted at the front door.

All the windows in the cottage had been smashed open, making it unnaturally sunlit. Sig began to tremble at the thought that their home had been haunted by something unfathomable and mysterious.

“Don’t freak out, my friend; it was just the wind” Rina came up with an explanation, emerging for an instance from the bottomless world of her thoughts.

“Are you sure?” Sig’s voice broke with uncertainty. He glanced incredulously at the warrior who leapt to her feet and began to twist them in a weird way as if dancing. The rhino’s naturally narrow eyes turned wider.

“Look at my feet, please. Can you see anything unusual about them?”

The rhino creased its mouth and squinted to become more perceptive.

“Well, they are delicate and shapely.” Sig looked bemused and disoriented.

Smiling fondly, Rina came up to her friend. She gently brushed her fingers across the silver horn, making the rhino produce a grunt of pleasure.

“I have grown too strong and deep roots. It’s the high time to set out for a next journey,” Rina said hotly.

‘A-next-journey’ phrase began burning itself in Sig’s ears.

“We’ve just returned from the Abyss,” the rhino muttered, gazing at Rina. His light dimmed slightly, as always when he encountered a new challenge.

“’Just’ has lasted too long,” the warrior added.

The silver rhino lowered its gaze and heaved a deep sigh.

“Will you take me with you on this journey?” He glanced up at Rina again, hopeful.

“It’s not up to me. You know it, right? We always obey the silent voice.”

“Yes, we do,” the rhino nodded, remembering the journey to the Abyss and how their paths had split and later crossed again, bearing new, fresh meanings.

The Jaguar of Changes

Sitting on the wooden floor and listening for the unsettling, screeching moans of the cottage, Rina anticipated the upcoming events. She was all alone. Suddenly, the strong, nameless wind burst open the front door and intruded into the house. The girl got to her feet like a wild animal in ambush; her heart pounded crazily, ready to crack open the ribs. Crouching in expectation, her vision sharpened to fight off the intrusion. A black, shiny silhouette of the wild cat marched proudly towards Rina, making her blink to drive away the delusion. But, it was a beginning of a new dream. Slender, fast like bolts paws glided through the space to halt not far-away from her. ‘What was the mysterious visitor?' Rina wondered, like always fascinated by the unexpected and the unknown mirages.

“Have you got lost?” she asked; her voice shivered gently, dropping almost to a whisper. The black jaguar perched on the wooden floor, gazing at Rina with its inscrutable, emerald eyes.

“Don’t be afraid of me. I don’t mean any harm to you,” the jaguar answered coolly, not taking its hypnotizing glance off the warrior.

“What do you want from me?” Rina didn’t mean to give up. The jaguar’s tail seemed motionless as if the porcellaneous figurine.

“Get closer to me and see your reflection.” The jaguar’s words resonated in the girl’s ears getting at her curiosity.

“What sort of reflection?” A sudden thought flickered through her mind.

“My fur is like a mirror,” the jaguar said pointedly. As the wild cat was giving the explanation, its pitch black fur began to flow, like a liquid crystal.

Rina, puzzled, made a step forward towards the jaguar.

“My fangs are sharp enough,” the wild cat assured.

“What!” Rina’s voice shot up; she puckered her brows.
The girl got closer to the beast and let her eyes dive into the thick fur, shimmering with some little stars in the light of a day.
She fixed her gaze especially on her feet that seemed to have been the creepiest of the whole body. A branching bouquet of the strong, interwoven roots was growing out of them and making Rina almost unable to move. Her feet felt heavy and woody. She knew it would have meant stagnation to a warrior whose destiny was to remain flexible and flowing on a path.

“You’ll become a tree shortly,” the jaguar warned. “I must bite through your roots.”

“How did I manage to grow them?” The girl was taken aback. She was making efforts to lift one of her feet. But it resisted the movement. “Can you really bite through my roots to set my feet free?” There was a flicker of hope in her voice.

“I can bite through anything that is unimaginable” The wild cat admitted.

“Where do you actually come from? Rina reached out to touch the fluid fur. However, the jaguar was faster than her hand and bounced off the floor to keep the distance.

“I had been wandering for many days. The wind was my guide.”

“You mean the wind that had broken into my house?”

“Sorry for that. I must have commanded the wind to force a door.” The jaguar's jewels of eyes bore into the girl, making her miss something very much. “Come with me, Rina. Don’t resist the calling of the unknown more.” The jaguar’s slender tail brushed the floor delicately.

“You can’t be serious. That’s impossible. I’ve got my friends to take care of.” Rina’s face twisted into a sorrowful grimace.

“Feel it thoroughly. I'm going to visit you tomorrow.” The jaguar got to its paws and walked away silently as if the touch of the feathers.