An early morning, May 2057...
The first ray of early morning sun crosses the window, goes up along the bed and spotlights Isabelle's face.
She smiles at the caress, the sun inviting her to join the world of solid things.
With last playful glance at her dreamlike friends, she collects her ideas, impressions, and prepares her passage.
Like all children, she loves this moment when the universe changes texture, when she dresses in a solid body to play with life.
This passage is one of her favorite games, a slide between dimensions. She lets go, the slide begins. And ends in a bed - with a burst of crystal laughter.
She stretches, enjoys the soft touch of the sheets over her body, and stands up.
She opens the door, takes a few steps in the grass bordering the house, and gorges on the impressions of the day.
The breeze brings news of the night: the mother fox had her young, the first narcissus broke through, rain on the side of the mountain.
A few more steps, and the dew rolling on her feet finishes to wake her up.
She walks back into the house, crosses the sunny hall and jumps in the shower, the contact of water on her skin always pleasure.
She bends, wiggles and offers the whole surface of her body to the caress of the liquid element.
She plays with the water, it encourages her and thanks her for being here.
After, she dries herself, gets dressed, goes to the kitchen, hugs her mother and asks: "Are you going to school this morning?"
A smile, a nod: "Yes, of course! See you later!”
Isabelle picks up an apple and returns a smile: “OK, see you later!”
She walks away into the fields.
Arriving at the edge of the woods, she stops and listens.
Her gaze jumps from bush to bush, passes over a heap of leaves and roots, suddenly comes to a standstill: "I saw you! Get out of here!”
She runs to the heap of leaves, and a silhouette the size of Isabelle appears.
A little green being, surrounded by soft light, also green.
They fall into each other’s arms, laughing, collapsing in the pile of leaves, both get up, giggling, and start walking with a determined air.
Along the way, they tell each other the latest news: village life, gossip from the life of the woods, the recent disputes between the owl and the big oak squirrels.
Finally, they arrive at the big oak tree, and settle comfortably on a bed of moss, between its roots.
"Hello, great oak tree, what are you going to teach us today?"
“This morning," the great oak tree replies, "I'm going to tell you how dragonflies dreamt of their existence so well that they became alive".
The story of the big oak tree finished, Isabelle leaves her friends in the forest and continues on her way.
A morning detour to the pond, to greet the dragonflies and congratulate them on their success.
At the edge, she wades into the water, having fun feeling the mud slide between her toes.
Then she cuts through the meadow for a moment, plays hide and seek with the hare, and finally arrives at the entrance of a clearing, shaded by chestnut trees: the school.
“Everyone is already in class," she notes. While jumping on imaginary images, she enters the clearing.
In the grass, people between the ages of eighteen and eighty-two chat cheerfully, read or draw, a welcome concert to Isabelle.
She sits in front of the audience, gives everyone a smile, and invites the class to meditate for a few minutes.
Gradually, the atmosphere becomes serene and vibrant.
Delicately, Isabelle breaks the silence: “This morning, we will continue to explore the nature of reality. I would ask you to not rely on what you have learned.
As you know, few decades ago, education was still about stuffing people with ready-made ideas about the world, trapping their conscience in senseless and unhealthy dogma.
People were trained to be useful, productive and obedient. The oldest of you have gone through this terrible experience, and all of us still bear traces of it.
That’s why I want each of us to awaken the child within now.
This afternoon, we will go dancing with otters and badgers. But for now, I would like everyone to tell their adventures of the night..."
The class started...
Most parts of the story have been shot in wonderful Elvion, in Second Life
My heartful thanks to: Saphir Zenovka, Dea Aurelia, Jade, Alucha Niekerk, Bo and Uma Zano, Dixmix, Emmie, Hilaire Beaumont, Marq, Nicole.
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