As soon as I got out of the car she was already rushing toward me, arms open. Her coppery curls bounced with each step, looking shampoo-commercial perfect…until you looked closer and saw the odd twig poking out. Her wide grin sparked equal parts of annoyance and relief. Before I could protest, she crashed into me, and enveloped me in a hug that smelled like campfire smoke and patchouli.
“You came!” she beamed.
“Against my better judgment.”
She took me in—my sleek, all-weather hiking jacket, my very expensive eco-friendly boots that had never touched actual dirt—and snorted. “You look like a Patagonia ad. Were you expecting to summit Everest?”
“You tease me now,” I shot back. “But at least I won’t need you to pull off any ticks.”
Callie just laughed. “Come on, I have so much to show you!”
She grabbed my arm and started pulling me into the camp. I dug my heels in. “Not so fast. Where’s your phone? Why haven’t you answered any of my texts?”
Callie waved a dismissive hand. “Signal’s bad out here. And I’ve just been…present, you know?”
I did not know.
Before I could press further, a new voice interrupted.
“You must be Samantha.”
I turned, and my first impression was…bathrobe.
The man before me was wearing a long, earth-toned linen robe, belted at the waist with what I assumed was a repurposed curtain tie. Maybe it was the facial hair that made him look like he’d just rolled out of bed. He hadn’t shaved for weeks. So either his electric shaver was on the fritz, or he was trying to cultivate a beard. And he was worse at facial hair than I was at houseplants.
“This,” Callie said proudly, “is Randy. One of our elders.”
Elder? The guy looked maybe forty.
Randy spread his arms in welcome. “Callie has told me all about you. We’re honored you’ve come to experience the energy of the equinox.”
“I’m actually just here for Callie,” I corrected.
Randy nodded, oblivious to my tone. “Understandable. Many who come do not yet realize the pull of the earth. But rest assured, nature always calls us home.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
Callie elbowed me. “At least pretend to be polite.”
Fine. I held out a hand. “Nice to meet you, Randy.”
Randy grasped it between both of his own and squeezed meaningfully. “May the roots of your journey grow deep.”
“Uh…thanks? Same to you?”
Randy didn’t let go right away, holding my hands like he was waiting for some deeper acknowledgment. When I finally pulled free, he beamed, completely unbothered.
“Come.” He gestured toward a nearby path. “The others are gathered in The Sacred Grove. You’ll feel its energy the moment you step inside.”
No doubt that’s what they all said before asking you to hand over your worldly possessions and join a commune.
The forest thickened around us and the trees pressed in tighter. The air carried the scent of something earthy and herbal, like burning sage mixed with damp moss. I braced for the moment we’d step into something truly bizarre. And then the undergrowth parted before us.
The Sacred Grove was not what I expected.
I’d envisioned ritual fires, ominous chanting, maybe a few unsettling symbols carved into trees. Instead, it looked more like…a potluck.
Long wooden tables were covered with mismatched ceramic dishes—salads, fruit, steaming pots of stew. A woman in a crocheted vest was refilling pitchers of lemonade. A guy was strumming an acoustic guitar.
