The Journey of the Phoenix

Once upon a time, a great many years ago, there was a man who loved music. He loved making music, he loved listening to old songs and new songs. The man preferred staying home and working on his music rather than going out and being social. "Man, I wish I could go somewhere where I could work on my music and not be bothered so much by time and people." The man said as his phone started ringing, his manager again likely wanting an update on his current work. Hitting the ignore button, the man went to the fridge to get a snack, but the door wasn't the off white fridge door he had opened so many times before. It was an ornate golden door with sapphires, rubies, and diamonds. The knob was made from amethyst. "I must be working too hard," the man said, shaking his head. Opening the door, there was a sudden flash of light and the man found himself standing in a warm pool of water. There were two small waterfalls twice his height leading into the pool, steam rising from the base. Looking at himself, he found that he had become some kind of bird, silver-white.

"Hello there," said a light sky blue Elven dragon with pink undertones. "Welcome to my humble home. How are you Phoenix?" She was lying under a willow tree on the bank of the pool, relaxing.

"Uhhh, are you talking to me?" the man responded, utterly confused.

"Why yes, silly." Dragon said with a chuckle. "Do you see any other handsome silver-white firebirds around here?"

"I'm a Phoenix, the firebird of myth?" Phoenix stared in awe.

"Yes, I am known as "Dragon" to all except my closest friends. Names have power here see, so unless there might be confusion we refer to one another as the form we take here."

"I see" Phoenix responded, completely lost. "And where is here?"

"We are currently in my home, which is a hot spring of course. More generally speaking, the place you have found yourself is known as 'Newood'. It's a peaceful place, a good place to rest, recover, and reflect," Dragon answered. "If you have found yourself here, you are likely seeking something. What the something is I can't say, only you know what lies in your heart."

Standing up with a mighty stretch, Dragon lead Phoenix to a small opening behind one of the waterfalls. "This will lead you to a cherry blossom orchard, follow it and speak to Kumiho. She might give you insight into what you need to do." With that, Dragon went back to her place under the willow tree and watched Phoenix disappear into the mist.

After walking through the small cave, as Dragon had said Phoenix found himself in the cherry blossoms. Staring at him from her stone slab in the center, was a large white fox. Confidence a little shaken, Phoenix cautiously walked towards the fox and he noticed that she never stopped staring at him with her soft brown eyes. "Ummm, hello? Are you Kumiho?" Phoenix asked nervously.

"I am Kumiho, yes." Kumiho raised her nine tails to catch the gentle breeze in her fur. "What might I do for you?"

"I don't know," began Phoenix. "One moment I am at home and the next I am here."

"What were you doing before your arrival?" Kumiho inquired. "Be as specific as possible please"

"I was...I was working on my music, I am a musician" Phoenix responded, thinking hard. "My manager called, I ignored it figuring that he wanted updates but I don't have any. I went to the fridge, but the door was weird. Then I was here."

"I see. Why aren't there any updates to give this 'manager'? Kumiho asked.

"I have run out of ideas, out of inspiration. I'm running out of time, my deadline is next week." Phoenix grumbled.

"Go to the North, you'll find yourself in the cloud realm. There is someone there whom you should meet." Kumiho instructed.

Following Kumiho's instruction, Phoenix found the cloud realm easily. Walking on the clouds was easier than he expected, almost like they were solid. After reaching what seemed to be the middle of the realm, Phoenix looked around in confusion. Where was this being that Kumiho had said he should meet? WHOOSHHHHH! Phoenix almost fell off the cloud as a purple blur raced by him so closely he could feel the wind.

"Hello there!" Greeted the Purple Chinese dragon, coming back around to swim lazily through the air in a slow spiral motion around Phoenix. "I am Purpy, what are you doing here?"

"Kumiho said there was someone here I should meet, I am guessing that is you" Phoenix replied. "This was after I told her I was out of inspiration."

"I see. Close your eyes" Purpy suggested.

"Okay..." Phoenix did as he was told.

"Breathe deeply. Imagine you are floating without any support beneath you except your wings. Spread your wings and simply breathe." Purpy instructed.

Phoenix followed Purpy's instructions and shortly after he felt a gentle wind under his feathers. Snapping his eyes open, he found that he was riding gracefully on Purpy's back. "What? How did I get on your back?" Phoenix asked, bewildered.

"This is the 'cloud realm' and last I checked clouds weren't solid" chuckled Purpy. "How does it feel though, to be soaring through the air with the wind under you?"

"Until I opened my eyes, I thought I was flying for a second," Phoenix replied with a sigh.

"Flying is easy enough though. all you have to do is spread your wings and envision where you want to go and at what speed" Purpy informed him. After several attempts and a few times falling below the clouds where Purpy swiftly caught him, Phoenix was able to fly freely on his own.

"I'm doing it! I'm flying!" cried Phoenix with glee. He had so much inspiration coming to him now, then his heart sank.

"I think it's time for you to return to Kumiho, it was nice meeting you though." Purpy said, returning to her racing practice.

Upon returning to the cherry blossoms, Phoenix was once more greeted by Kumiho. "I assume you met Purpy and she helped you regain inspiration?" Kumiho inquired. "Then tell me, why do you look so blue?"

"Purpy taught me to fly, which created so much inspiration I could write music for years. I would have to return home to do that though, where I may lose my inspiration again. Deadlines and people are bothersome too. I have a life there, I almost wish I didn't have to go back." Phoenix sighed.

"You do have the option of staying if you wanted," Kumiho said. "You wouldn't be the first and I know you wouldn't be the last. However, as you said you had a life in your world, I can offer you a third option."

"What is the third option?" Phoenix asked, highly interested.

"You could live your life in your world returning here any time you wish. You would be yourself there and a phoenix here. The flow of time here works much differently here so you can spend months here and return to your home seconds or minutes later. The only conditions required are that you can not tell a soul about this place or its inhabitants and you must keep your heart full of love." Kumiho fell silent, allowing Phoenix to think about his decision.

"I would like to have the ability to return anytime," Phoenix said. "Where would I stay here if I return though?"

"Every inhabitant gets their own space, a mirror of their heart's desires. It doesn't matter if you are only here for part of the time, Newood makes room for everyone." Kumiho answered.

"How do I get between the worlds then? I have made up my mind, I would like to go between the worlds." Phoenix said.

Standing up, Kumiho started walking towards phoenix, her form shifting and changing in a bright golden glow until she stood before him as a beautiful human woman with long platinum white hair wearing shining white silk robes with gold trim. "It's simple enough," Kumiho said with a smile. Reaching into her robes, Kumiho produced a small golden key with a phoenix on the handle. "This key will turn any door into a gateway to this place. You can't lose it, it's part of you once you accept it. You have to want to come here, then you will be here. No one can see the gateway except you, no one can pass through except you. Do you accept this key and the responsibility to use it wisely?"

"I do," Phoenix said without hesitation. He extended his hand to accept the key. Kumiho placed the key into his hand gently and as she let go the key sank into his hand. "What's going on?"

"It's part of you, as I said," Kumiho explained. "Not all doors have locks but all doors have handles. The key is in your hand, all you have to do is envision your space and you'll be there. To return to your home, think of the door that brought you here."

The door appeared suddenly, opened slightly. Phoenix thanked Kumiho for her help and guidance and returned home to work on his music. He returned to Newood quite often, he found that his space was a living thing, it changed to reflect his innermost desires.