by Lori Gloyd
Inspired by the Tholos Dreaming prompt
Selene skillfully navigated her silver Camry around a hairpin on San Pablo Pass Road, gliding in and out of the shadows cast by the sycamores and cottonwoods. The road rose out of Santa Theresa and curled through the coastal range. As Selene rounded the curve, she slowed for a moment and gazed towards the Pacific, sparkling in the mid- morning sun. Already she felt some of the tension release from her neck and shoulders.
Selene’s week had been difficult. As the admissions director at the university in Santa Theresa, she had scrambled from one emotion-charged meeting to another, endured the harpings of several unhappy program chairs and administrators, and had every computer workstation in her department go offline from some unknown glitch. The week had been typical, but for some reason she felt that she was butting heads with all her constituents. To top off the week, the members of the recruitment and retention committee panned her proposal for an innovative marketing strategy to attract and retain more students. So unhappy were the members that the committee chair insisted that she re-write her entire proposal to make in “more in line with the current university systems”. Whatever that’s supposed to mean, she thought.
Selene had gone home last night, drained and de-moralized, and had awakened Friday morning with a pounding headache. As she stood in front of the bathroom mirror putting on her make-up, she was astonished at the haggard face staring back at her. “Honey,” she said to herself, “you look like you’ve been ridden hard and put away wet.” Then, in a rare moment of spontaneity, she called her office and told them she was sick and would not be in that day. A short while later, Selene threw her overnight bag and laptop case into the trunk of her car and took off.
She did not have a destination in mind and simply headed up into the mountains, away from the city, the university, and her headaches. She felt a pang of guilt. She had never played hooky in her life, not even as a schoolgirl, and now she was driving away from all her responsibilities.
As she accelerated around the curve away from the ocean view, she saw a small sign, partially obscured by brush: La Casa de los Arboles. Selene braked. The House of the Trees. Hmmm. Okay. As good a place as any. Selene turned onto the gravel road next to the sign. About a quarter-mile down the road she came to a low-slung adobe style structure tucked within a grove of oak trees with a number of small cottages behind it. The sign in front of the building read, Los Arboles Hot Springs and Spa. Selene brightened. She could not remember the last time she had a nice visit to a spa and immediately decided this would be her refuge for the weekend.
She quickly checked in and was directed to one of the cottages in the back, a small structure embraced by the limbs of two of the biggest oak trees she had ever seen. She entered the cottage and tossed her bags on the bed. When she had checked in, the desk clerk noticed her laptop bag and informed her that they did not have an internet connection here and that her cell phone would not work. “The goal of Los Arboles is to help our guests get away from it all,” he said. Selene had a brief moment of hesitation, but when the desk clerk slipped a brochure in front of her that listed all the spa services, her misgivings evaporated.
Not wasting any time, Selene slipped into her bathing suit and went looking for the hot springs. She wandered through the oak trees following the guide signs. She came to a embankment overlooking a ravine. There were stairs carved into the slope.
“Here!”, a voice called, “Are you looking for the springs?” A young blonde woman waved at Selene from the bottom of the stairs.
“Yes, I am!”
“Great, you’re in the right place. C’mon down.”
Selene made her way down the stairs. She felt like she was entering some subterranean labyrinth. A pool of steaming water bubbled up in a grotto at the head of the rocky ravine, with a creek issuing from the opposite end siphoning off the pool’s excess water downstream. The natural spring had been partially tamed with a metal railing and seating carved into one end of the pool.
“Hi, my name is Sunnie and I’m the spa attendant. Anything you need, just let me know. Can I get you something to drink to start?”
“Yes, that would be nice. May I have some water please?”
“Sure, coming up.”
Sunnie scampered off. Selene eased herself into the hot water. She groaned. The water felt so good. It had a slight sulfur odor but it was not bad at all. She glanced upward and noticed a rocky overhang giving her the sensation of being in a cocoon. The hot water enveloped her like embryonic fluid. She felt very safe and secure.
“Here you are, ma’am,” Sunnie set a plastic cup of sparkling water on the edge of the pool next to Selene. “How does that water feel?” she chirped.
“Oh, it’s wonderful.” Selene sipped her water. “Makes you want to forget about everything.”
“Tough week, huh?”
“Oh, you got that right. I couldn’t say or do anything to please people this week.” Selene had not meant to reveal that to a stranger but she felt oddly at ease with Sunnie.
“Why?”
“Don’t get me wrong— I like my co-workers. They’re just not very receptive to new ideas.”
“Hmm, I hear that happens. Why? What happened? ”
“I worked for weeks on this proposal at their request, then, they shot it down, just like that!”
“Why?”
“Well, that’s a good question. First they said my idea was impractical, but when I presented my data, my supporting research, then they switched and said my plan would change the existing systems.”
“Isn’t that the idea?”
“Precisely. But it gets worse—when I stood my ground and pointed to the data, some of them actually got annoyed—said I was being too ‘inflexible’ with my plan, too narrow-minded in my thinking. I wasn’t taking into account THEIR points of view. I had considered their points of view and it is clear their systems are flawed. Mine is better. But here’s the thing that gripes me: since when did having confidence in yourself, believing in your own ideas and sticking to your convictions become a character flaw? Standing on principle used to be considered a virtue even when you disagreed!”
“Hmmm, I see your point. Why do you suppose that is?”
“I think our society has gotten to a place where we are so concerned about maintaining the status quo, not disrupting the complacency of the group, that new ideas are considered a threat. ”
“I see.”
“And if anyone takes a stand for their idea, that person is considered ‘hurtful and divisive’! Selene shook her head. “But I just don’t know what I can do about it, though.”
“Why?”
“’Why?’ Because nobody wants to be an outsider, that’s why!” Selene looked up at Sunnie and realized that she was ranting to a complete stranger which embarrassed her a bit. “Well, I think I’m done stewing now.”
“Okay” Sunnie handed her a towel and bathrobe and Selene quickly made her way out of the ravine and back to her cottage.
After showering and dressing, Selene settled herself on the bed with her laptop. Although she did not have an internet connection, she could still work on the re-draft of the proposal. She’d show them. She’d come back with a proposal that would work for all of them. God forbid anyone’s toes gets stepped on and they actually have to change their thinking. Selene stabbed at her keyboard. She drafted several proposals, tweaking the data, running new scenarios. Each time she deleted the draft and started all over.
“What do these people expect?” she muttered. “And don’t tell me that I’M inflexible and narrow-minded.”
Suddenly, a revelation hit her. I AM inflexible. I am inflexible because my plan IS the right way to proceed and I’m NOT going to change one word of it!
Selene glanced at her watch and grabbed her cell phone. The committee chair should still be in the office. No cell reception. If I hustle I can make it back to campus in an hour. Selene would march right into the chair’s office and talk to him again. She would stand her ground.
“Damn the status quo!” she said as she packed her bags. “This is a matter of principle!”
Selene grabbed her bags and headed to the office to drop off her keys. She intercepted Sunnie on the way.
“You’re leaving already? Didn’t you like it here?”
“I loved it here! This place is wonderful. You’re wonderful. Thank you so much. I feel like a new person. And I have you to thank for it?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Why?”
“Exactly! You know all the right questions to ask. Have a good day.”
Selene walked away with a look of determination in her eyes.
Lori Gloyd © 2006
Island of the Temple People 
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