Jonah was remembering a dream he had when he was very young. It involved a large diamond kite flying near power lines, a raven smoking a cigarette and a little blond girl in a pink dress riding on a skateboard. It had nothing whatsoever to do with what was happening here, now, whenever this was. But that’s what happens in time travel. Time…travels. Right out of your hands. The memory was a nice break from reality especially since the reality that Jonah perceived at this moment involved hundreds of people coming slowly towards Jonah and Marlin the cat sitting on his shoulder. They were all here together inside this semi-dark, smokey, large, stone walled room participating in some special ritual.
A feathered priest (priest?) was walking towards them through the crowd. Jonah assumed it was the priest or shaman who had been leading the people in the ritual. The priest was shorter than most of the other people but Jonah could still see the progress of the priest by watching the moving brightly colored feathers adorning the priest’s head. Part of a costume apparently. Through the slowly parting crowd Jonah saw parts of a pale white robe wrapped around the priest figure. It reminded him of kachinas, or katsinas, manifestations of Native American spiritual entities, that he had seen at the Heard Museum in Phoenix when he was little. He knew that priests, or holy men, in a tribe dressed up as these beings for festivals and special celebrations within the tribe. Sort of a God made manifest.
Jonah made a quick assessment of the situation. Everything had been going along nicely until Marlin opened his big mouth. The crowd might have put up with the appearance of a domesticated striped, gray ,tabby cat, even one so small as compared to the bobcats and pumas that might live around these parts. But a talking cat? Sitting on Jonah’s shoulder? Blabbering on in a language that was total nonsense to their ears? Even the bravest among them would have to wonder just what was going on. Was this an evil spirit in their midst? Or a good spirit or a new deity to worship? Whatever, the ceremony had quickly ceased as more and more of the people noticed Jonah and the cat.
Come to think of it besides Marlin, Jonah must have a looked a little strange to these folks as well. He was considerably taller than most people here. He wore Levis and a brightly striped soccer jersey. He had a currently fashionable, bushy beard and what might be described as a typical boy’s haircut with the sides buzzed. In short he looked like a lot of guys from his own time. But here, now, he looked absolutely like no one else in this room. He doubted if he looked like anyone in this part of the world. In this time.
Torches flickered sending shadows undulating on the high walls around them. These were the shadows of the people, the forms of their bodies converted into shades and shifting animated shapes that seem to echo the spirituality of this place. Jonah held his breath. He sensed something was about to happen. Something important. Perhaps something like a life or death situation. Maybe their own life or death situation. Marlin was oddly quiet. But Jonah knew the cat was taking it all in. And thinking. Thinking.
Now the circle of people stop moving and enclosed them. Their eyes staring at Jonah and Marlin. They didn’t seem to be afraid as much as they seemed very, very curious. Now people in the part of the circle in front of them slowly parted. Now here was the feathered priest stepping out of the crowd towards them. Here was the white robe, the bright feathered headdress. The soft beautiful face of the priest smiling at them. Correction the soft beautiful face of the priestess smiling at them. Wow. A good looking priestess too. Still smiling at Jonah and Marlin she raised here right hand heavenward. Her hand stopped gracefully in midair and then she snapped her fingers. A this signal the people in the room all let out a soft sigh and it seemed as if all the sighs now joined together and that sound was like the wind blowing through the low branches of a thousand ponderosa pines in the forest. And the sound was a voice and that voice said Yehowah.
Sign Language for Clowns 