After a mile or so, she came suddenly into a clearing, surrounded by homemade wooden cabins peaking out into it from under the protection of a grove of huge oak trees. The houses were all fairly small, except for one building that stood out from the others and had a long front porch built out from it, covered by a shingled roof. There didn't seem to be many people about, though Ann did see a couple of naked children playing around one of the houses in a carefree game of kick-the-can, and two woman dressed in calico sitting in the shade of a large tree, mending what looked like handmade shirts. She drove up to the main building, which she took to be some kind of meeting hall, and stopped her car in front.
As she slid her slender body from behind the wheel, she saw a man walk out on the porch in front of her, and gaze down at her with curiosity. His eyes peered out from behind a massive, tangled growth of beard and hair, that practically hid his face from view. His hands rested lazily in the pockets of his faded, patched coveralls.
"Good afternoon," Ann ventured timorously. "My name is Ann Walker."
Ann could feel the bearded man's eyes taking her in, and suddenly she felt very out of place in this almost 19th century community, dressed as she was in her modern, brightly colored, light summer dress. She waited for the man to give some response to her introduction, but he simply continued staring at her, impassively.
"My daughter lives here in this… place," Ann continued bravely. "Her name is Lani Walker."
The silent man descended the stairs slowly, and walked over to where Ann was standing. Her nervousness grew as he approached her, but then he stuck out his hand and smiled.
"Of course… Lani. I'm afraid we don't know very many last names around here. How do you do?"
Ann shook his hand gratefully, suddenly put completely at ease by the graciousness and ease of his manner.
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr…?"
The man smiled again, quietly, and put his hands back into his pockets.
"… Moses," he said simply.
"Well, I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Moses."
Ann was surprised to hear him laugh out loud, and then questioned him with a smile.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh," the man beamed at her, "but I'm afraid I'm not a mister. My name is just Moses. And while you're here in the Village, I hope you don't mind if we call you Ann."
Ann returned his laugh, comfortable somehow with this seemingly gentle man.
"Oh, I'm sorry… Moses then. And I'd love you to call me Ann."
"Well that's fine. Good. Now I suppose you're looking for Lani?"
"Yes, I am," Ann answered, "can you tell me where I might find her?"
"The last I saw her she was walking up toward the Chapel."
"The Chapel?" Ann echoed.
"Oh, sorry, that's what we call the hillside where we sometimes meditate and have group… gatherings," Moses said with a sly smile. "For us, it's a kind of church, so…"
"I think that's lovely," Ann laughed, "that Chapel! That's wonderful! Could you tell me how to get there? You see, I'm very anxious to see my daughter."
"Well, she's with Bob right now…"
"Oh, is that a friend of hers?" Ann asked hesitantly.
The man looked at her with a strange expression playing about his eyes.
"We're all friends here, Ann. You'll soon find that out."
"Of course, I forgot," she laughed. "After all, isn't that what a commune's for?"
"You're very right, Ann, that is exactly what a commune is for." The same strange smile formed on his lips, making Ann vaguely uneasy somehow, but she quickly dismissed it.
They chatted for a few moments more, and then Ann asked again how she could get to the Chapel. Moses indicated a path rising steeply from the Village, as he had told her the area where they were now standing was called, and said that it came out right above the Chapel. Ann thanked him and turned to make her way across the clearing.
"Oh Ann?" he called after her.
"Yes?" she answered, turning back toward him.
"You're welcome to stay and share our dinner with us."
"That would be lovely," she called to him. "In fact, I was hoping to stay the whole weekend. Would that be all right?"
"That would be fine! We'd love to have you. And you'll enjoy it."
"You know," she said smiling, "I think I will, Moses."
He watched as she waved happily to him, and turned to climb the steep path. His eyes devoured her perfectly formed hips as they swung sensuously, enticingly from side to side.
"I know you will, Ann," he whispered under his breath, an almost leering grin twisting his face under his huge beard, "I know you will!"
It was a hard climb up the narrow, rock-filled path, and Ann had to stop two or three times to catch her breath. Whew, I'm really out of shape! she panted to herself silently, standing about fifty feet below the crest of the hill. Well, one last pull… and she started again, slowly, forcing one foot ahead of the other.
She had been pleasantly surprised at the reception Moses had given her back at the meeting house. She could admit to herself now just how frightened she had been to come to the commune, frightened of people who seemed so very much different from herself. But Moses, despite his long hair and strange ways, had seemed genuinely friendly, and Ann had been pleased. She had also been impressed with the cleanliness and order of the commune. There was nothing in it that was new, of course, and all the buildings seemed to be hanging together only with chewing gum and rubber bands, but despite its very makedo character, it was clean. Most of the houses sported a fairly new coat of dark green or brown paint, the yards around them were raked clean, and Ann could see absolutely no litter or trash cluttering the place up at all. She didn't really know what she'd expected, perhaps a rural slum of tarpaper shacks with garbage and junked cars providing occasional touches of impoverished color, but the rustic beauty of "The Zodiac" as the commune was called, quickly dissolved all her preconceptions.
And now, walking breathlessly toward the crest of the hill, the pretty secretary breathed in the smokeless air, smelled the healthy scent of dusty oak trees and sun-toasted grass, and decided that Lani might just be right. If one could choose between the exhilaration of a summertime hillside under a cloudless sky, and the stench and filth of a modern city, who in his right mind would be anywhere but where she was right at this very moment, panting uncontrollably as she forced her lungs to accept more oxygen than they'd had in years.
At last, Ann reached the top, and paused again to catch her breath. She looked back over the climb she'd just made, and could just make out through the trees the tops of a few of the buildings down in the Village. Then she turned, and began to make her way through the small line of trees that separated her from the meadow on the other side of the hill. Her eyes sparkled with the exertions of her climb, and her unaccustomed ears happily caught the sound of birds talking to her from their hidden perches in the oaks around her, the wind rustling softly through the branches, the healthy sound of her own heavy breathing.
She suddenly stopped, hearing another sound she couldn't identify. It was off to her left, and sounded like small animals digging hastily into the ground. Silently, like some kind of novice big-game hunter, she moved to her left, crouched over, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it was. She was soon surprised to hear what sounded like muffled voices as well, coming from somewhere at the edge of the line of trees, just at the top of the meadow. She crept closer, and the sounds became more distinct. They were voices, she decided, and involved in a fairly intense discussion it seemed. If she just got a little closer she could perhaps just… Ann's hand suddenly flew to her mouth, and she stifled a horrified shriek which threatened to burst from her constricting throat. Her eyes grew wide with disbelieving shock and revulsion, and she groped frantically for the tree beside her to keep from falling.