The House of Mu

It was dawn. The winter chill still lingering in the air welcomed me as I was awoken by a strange sound coming from outside. The sound was indescribable and almost unworldly (but in a good way). Some say it was the sound of angels and others say it was the song of the gong in heaven being played by God himself. I knew this sound was calling me. It was so strong that it reached withinside where my soul resides and yanked me out of my comfy blanket and pillow-filled bed.

I didn’t want to get up but I just knew it was my “calling”. I quickly ran to my dresser, pulled out some socks, threw on my Chucks and out the door I went. Yes, I was still in my PJs when I walked outside. Don’t judge me.

When I went outside it was surprisingly warm to be March; March 3rd to be exact- in Michigan. Hues of cornflower and lilac filled the sky. This was not normal. That’s how I knew it was time. At the time I didn’t know what was going on but my soul did. I decided to let it guide me after the way I was woken up.

Something in my gut said head North, so North we went. And by we, I mean me and my soul. I usually travel alone anyways so this was nothing for me. I set out on foot and used the compass on my phone to follow in the North-est direction possible; making sure I was not too far east neither too far west.

I was led to a park named Belle Isle. Belle Isle is a small island in between Detroit and Canada. It means “pretty island”. I am very familiar with this body of land, however I was still confused as to what this was all about. After crossing the bridge that connects the two bodies of land, a voice called out to me very faintly, “Use your intuition. It’s your greatest gift.”

The voice sounded like my mother’s but gave me chills all throughout my body. The chills turned into fire and then into electricity. I have been spiritually gifted since a small child but never have I felt anything like this. The electric pulse that was now flowing through my body gave me a burst of energy and before I knew it my gentle pace that I was walking at turned into jogging and then eventually running.

These movements were involuntary. I had no clue this was happening. The only indication of faster movement was the wind turbulence blowing against my face and blowing my hair everywhere. I looked down at my feet and they weren’t even touching the ground; That’s how fast I was running. Yellow sparks also floated off of my shoes with each step.

Eventually the pace slowed down and I arrived at the abandoned zoo that still exists on the island. I’ve always wanted to explore it but I’ve always been too scared to break in. The zoo was not open to the general public so that meant it was finally time for me to shine and hop the fence to a world I’ve never known.

Hopping the fence was easier than I thought. Little did I know, the real challenge was just around the bend. A voice called out to me, “Welcome.”

This time the voice was low and manly but inviting. I bowed in respect. I did not know where these voices were coming from but I had a feeling that they were connected to the divine. Anyways, after I hopped the fence there was a big Archway. Over the Archway it said “Welcome to the Detroit Zoo” in red paint. The paint was kinda old and honestly everything there was pretty old.

The zoo closed in 2002. I was only 4 years old then and honestly I can’t remember if my family had ever taken me. There was a strange sense of familiarity in the air though and surprisingly I almost felt at home.

Between the archway was a trail. The trail however, was the only thing that did not look old and raggedy. It looked like it was just paved and painted!! The trail was painted yellow and reminded me of The Wizard of Oz, which was one of my favorite movies as a child.

When I stepped onto the pavement letters started appearing and dancing in a circular motion until they straightened out and read, “Welcome Juliana Unique Mu of the Mu people”

That was my full name but I was left confused because who are the people of Mu? I knew I would find out so I decided to follow the path. The path led me to a creek; one I had never seen before. In the creek laid beautiful stones of colors that do not reside on this planet. They were almost iridescent and changed colors as you gazed into them. I reached in the creek and took one.

And then another voice called out, “You are almost done. Find the Grandma Willow tree and you will reach your destiny.”

Suddenly, a bridge appeared out of nowhere. I followed it, trusting the prophecy that the stone stated. At the end of this new trail was the Grandma Willow. She was purple unlike the typical light green willows we see all the time.

Then it hit me. GRANDMA WILLOW! My grandma was not named Willow but she did have a special affinity with them. That was something we had in common. I loved to sit under the trees in her backyard and count every leaf until it got dark outside.

As I approached the tree a trunk appeared. The trunk was red and antique. On the trunk read, “To the priestess of Mu”. The trunk had a keyhole that looked similar to the key necklace my grandmother gave me long ago right before my family disappeared. I used the key to open the chest and inside was a small black leather book and a small black satchel.

A voice whispered, “Use it wisely”. I looked up and to my surprise there was my grandmas face carved into the tree. “Thank you grandma. I love you so much” I said as I hugged the tree.

The next thing I knew I woke up back in my bed with no recollection of how I got there. For a second I thought it was all a dream until I seen the book and the satchel on the pillow right next to me. The book was opened to page 49. On the page was a drawing in gold ink of a griffin. Underneath the drawing read “Only the worthy will be able to manifest their hearts desires out of the magical satchel”.

Only the worthy. I reached out to the bag and held it. I closed my eyes and asked for the money I needed to start my business and then I reached inside. The bag was a bottomless pit, however I felt something paper-like in there. Paper-like but almost like a brick. I felt around in the bag and more appeared so I decided to dump the bag on my bed to see what it was and out came a total of $20,000.

“Make us proud Juliana” whispered my grandmas voice once more. I had been struggling all year trying to make ends meet. I wanted to open the shop but it felt nearly impossible. I cried tears of joy. I knew this all happened for a reason. Even the disappearance of my family. I knew I had to make them proud so I decided to carry out their legacy and bring back magic to Detroit. That weekend the House of Mu was born and peace and healing was brought to the city once more.