From Cambodia to the Amazon, the pieces of
the puzzel begin to come together.
Southeast Asia - August 2007 The first time I felt things were not normal
in Toryville was
in Bangkok during a fashion
photo shoot at the
beginning of our Orient
Express Vacation
- the first vacation we
took into the real
world as Avatars. As my journal entry showed from last year: "While the group chatted about lighting and
angles with Mela,
I had the most odd feeling
of being watched.
I scanned the crowded streets,
but they were a blur
of movement and noise
and light. Once I
did catch a glimpse of
a shadowy figure
glide behind a parked truck
and got a blurry
picture of them with my
phone, but the hustle
of the city blended with the imaginary threat and the
feeling of danger
passed. But as I found out later, the danger had
not passed. It had
simply blended into the
dark corners of Real
- watching us and waiting. We departed the noise and lights of Bangkok
aboard the Eastern
& Oriental at dusk
after our "Hospitality
Crew" checked
to make sure all
of our Moove guests had
arrived safely.
As we pulled away
from the bright lights
of Bangkok, I felt
a wave of excitement
come
over me.
Although our next
stop would be yet
another
city, Singapore,
there was a feeling
of entering
a dark and forbidden
place...a place of
deep
secrets and unknown
adventures. Mela and I found our compartment and began
to unpack. As I lifted
my head to hang up
a sweater, my eyes
looked into the reflection
of the window and
I JUMPED back. For a twinkle of an eye, I saw a face looking
at me in the reflection,
and it was not mine.
"Mela, did you
see that?",
I asked
with my voice shaking.
"What?",
she answered as she
poked her head around
the closet door.
"Nothing",
I answered
as the goose bumbs
began to form on
my arms
and I fought the
feeling of danger
which
hung thick in the
room. We skipped heading to the Bar Car for a drink
with our fellow Moove
guests (although I
really wanted to listen to the Thai singer and
band that were performing
that night), and
decided instead to
go to sleep early and
try to catch the
sunrise on the Observation
Deck. I laid awake
in my bed and listened
to the clickity clack
of the railroad tracks
mixed with the sounds
of revelers in the
Bar Car, and tried
to make some sense of
the odd feelings
and fleeting shadows that
had plagued me since
our first day in Bangkok.
I fell asleep still
unable to sort through
the confusion, Mela and I awoke before dawn the next morning
and headed to the
Observation Deck
for our
morning coffee. Most
of the riders on
the
train were still
asleep - and with
the exception
of Ky and Auntie
JoJo, the deck was
deserted.
It was obvious that
the two love birds
wanted
to watch the sunrise
together, so Mela
and
I went to the other
end of the deck. The warm morning breeze felt wonderful as
we exited the darkness
of our first night
on the E&O and
the steward, who
brought
our delicious coffee,
spoke in hushed tones
as the sun peeked
up over the horizon
- as
if we all sharing
a secret. It was
a very
special moment and
I forgot the concerns
that had filled my
thoughts the previous
night. It wasn't long before the Observation Deck
began to fill with
our family and friends
from Moove - Auntie
Nymph, MysteryMan,
The
Rayden Clan, Mickey
Blade, Dark Embrace,
JoddieHottie and
Smartest Blond all
made
their way to the
deck. Before long,
Bloody
Marys were being
sipped (Livid was
the only
one actually drinking
a TRUE BLOODY Mary)
and the deck became
a party.
Del and Stacia were
talking in the corner
and pointing over
the edge - looking
at a
map and giggling.
I was just about
to go
over and see what
they were talking
about
when the Steward
came up to me and
handed
me a note. I opened it but could not read it - it was
written in some sort
of Chinese or Japanese
alphabet. I grabbed the Steward as he was leaving and
asked him if he could
translate it, which
he could not. He
explained that the characters
were not Chinese,
Malaysian or even Japanese,
but Tibetan The Steward took my hand and led me to the
dining car, saying
softly, "I know
who
can help you".
He introduced me
to Saljey
Rinpoche, a Tibetan
Monk who also spoke
English
quite well. I sat
down at the linen
covered
table with the finest
crystal, silver and
china and looked
at the quiet Holy
man across
from me. After introducing myself and explaining I
was an Angel and
a representative
from the
community of Moove,
he peered deep in
to
my eyes and asked,
"What troubles
you
my child?".
I handed him the
note I
could not read and
he spent like forever
reading it. As his eyes raised up from the letter and
met mine, he took
my tiny hand in his
worn
palm, and a look
of concern came over
his
face. "My child,
you and those you
love
are in danger - this
note is a warning
from
someone who is concerend....as
am I". "These words tell you, that you are
never alone, that
the shadows are everywhere
and the eyes of darkness
watch you...waiting..learning...for
that time in which
it all will be revealed."
He then picked up
his quill, dipped
it in
his ink and wrote
something on the
note.
"You will need this in time", he
said very seriously.
"You will know
when it will guide
you", and he
handed
me back the note.
Just as I was about
to
ask a billion questions,
Mela came up to
the table and I introduced
her to my new
friend. I do not
think Mela knew what
to
think of me sitting
with a stranger in
a
red robe in the Dining
Car. When she asked
later, I just told
her we were talking
about
Nirvana. I did not
want to worry her.
We
excused ourselves
and Mela told me
that Del,
Stacia and Angie
wanted to meet with
us in
our compartment,
so we headed down
to the
next car to our Presidential
Suite. I turned around just as we were exiting the
dining car to give
a smile to the Monk and
I stopped in my tracks.
He was gone. I know
we poof alot in Moove,
but poofing does not
come natural to those that live in Real...I may be a blond, but
I know that much.
And then I saw it again. A shadow moving
to the other end
of the car...gliding as
if on air a few inches
from the ground. I
grabbed my phone
and took a quick pic and
then it was gone
again. For the first time
in Real, I was pretty
creeped out, maybe
even scared. We arrived at our compartment just as the
goosebumps on my
arms were dissapearing
and
met with our Hostesses.
"Change into
your shorts and get
your waterproof wings
on Tory", Angie
told me laughing,
"we
are going swimming".
I was still a bit
disoriented from
the odd conversation
in
the Dining Car and
the appearance of
the
"Shadow Walker"
(no connection
to our dear friend
ShadowWalker in Moove),
so it did not even
dawn on me that trains
do not have swimming
pools. After changing into a pair of cutoffs, we
headed back up to
the Observation Deck
where
I was told the plan
which my CRAZY friends
had come up with.
Del and Stacia had
studied
the map and found
a bridge near the
first
stop at the River
Kwai - near enough
to hike
to the next stop.
Acting like some
Army General,
Del used a pencil
to show the exact
place
where we were going
to jump off the Observation
Deck in the River
Kwai. "Now if you hesitate and jump too late,
you will probably
get squished on the
rocks
or bounce off the
trellis", she
warned
us. "So when
I say JUMP!, you
better
jump." UH...okay".
As the train chugged
towards the Thailand
/ Malaysia border
and we all acted
like we
were just having
the most relaxing
time,
I looked over the
edge and saw the
blur of
the ground zooming
by. "I leaned
over
and whispered to
Mela, "this
is about
the dumbest thing
ever, you know?"
Mela
just smiled that
smile she has and
said,
"Yep, but WTF?"
We both started
laughing.
As Brett, Del, Stacia,
Angie, Mela and I
sat and held hands
waiting for the bridge
for our "dumb"
jump, I heard Del
say, "30 seconds...get
ready".
My heart started
to beat really hard and
I decided I would
not look when I jumped
but try to do a swan
dive and just pray all
the way down that
the water was more than 6 inches deep. JUMP! The five us left the safety of the
train and a scream
of YEEHAWWWWWWWWW
and
OHHHHHHH SH*T filled
the air. It was too
kewl floating like
that and then a SPLASH
as each of us hit
the water. We watched
the
train rumble down
the tracks as we
laughed
and bobbed in the
water. We floated
on our
backs to a nice spot
to get back on dry
land
and hiked the few
miles to the next
stop,
cracking up laughing
the whole way. After sneaking back on the train and showering
and changing, we
caught up with the
group
for a view of the
amazing rice paddies
of
Malaysia. Rice is
a staple for billions
of
people across the
globe and grows very
well
in the fertile lowlands
of Southeast Asia. As our final night aboard the train came
upon us and the sounds
of the jungle filled
the air, I was happy
to see that no wierdness
of shadows, mystery
monks or cryptic
message
had occured and for
the first time on
the
train from Bangkok
to Singapore, I slept
without a worry in
my head, not waking
until
the next morning
as we entered the
outskirts
of Singapore. Little
did I know that once
we reached the city,
our lives would be
changed
forever. Click Here to Continue with the Orient Express
Adventure Click Here to Continue to the Kidnapping
of Mela
The first time I felt things were not normal
in Toryville was
in Bangkok during a fashion
photo shoot at the
beginning of our Orient
Express Vacation
- the first vacation we
took into the real
world as Avatars.
blended with the imaginary threat and the
feeling of danger
passed. But as I found out later, the danger had
not passed. It had
simply blended into the
dark corners of Real
- watching us and waiting.
wanted to listen to the Thai singer and
band that were performing
that night), and
decided instead to
go to sleep early and
try to catch the
sunrise on the Observation
Deck. I laid awake
in my bed and listened
to the clickity clack
of the railroad tracks
mixed with the sounds
of revelers in the
Bar Car, and tried
to make some sense of
the odd feelings
and fleeting shadows that
had plagued me since
our first day in Bangkok.
I fell asleep still
unable to sort through
the confusion,
grabbed the Steward as he was leaving and
asked him if he could
translate it, which
he could not. He
explained that the characters
were not Chinese,
Malaysian or even Japanese,
but Tibetan 
that live in Real...I may be a blond, but
I know that much.
than 6 inches deep.
