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August 01, 2001

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The Adventures of Koala Man: Chapter 4
        * WaterFalls *

    The Adventures of Koala Man and his never ending quest for a spell to
transform him back to his less attractive, human self.
    (For those of you not yet familiar with the Koala Man saga please ask
and I will send you the previous chapters.)

    We last recall Koala Man at the Oregon Coast when the sweet and
beautiful old Sea Hag had told him to go to the Silver Falls National Park
where he would find what he was looking for. And yes, that was right before
she went nuts, turned into a hideous monster and threatened to kill him.

    Our story continues;

    Angry, confused, and just plain stupid, our hero eventually finds his
way to the Silver Falls National park. He hikes the whole seven miles of
trails along the park all the way from the South Falls, stopping at all
seven falls, searching for an answer until he finally reached the end of the
park at the North end and the last waterfall.
    Thoroughly disappointed and tired from his walk he stops to look at this
new place. The roar from the water seemed very loud and annoyed to him as it
came crashing down on the rocks and it created a drenching, wet mist in the
air. He could feel his clothes getting all wet and it was so very
uncomfortable. The rocks below his feet bothered him as he tried to walk
across the slippery moss covered stones. This place seemed horrible as it
had the stench of fungus and rotten wood.
    It was just like something out of some awful, creepy story with strange
creatures and spells and......... (Oh, yeah, sorry, kind of like this one.)

    He decides to take a rest and sit down for a brief moment to catch his
breath before he left this terrible place. Then just as he was about to
leave he heard a noise. It started out very faint and distant as if it came
from the inside of some deep cavernous tunnel somewhere. It sounded like
tiny bells at first and then he could hear what sounded like a child
giggling and laughing far off in the distance somewhere. As the sounds got
louder they appeared to be coming from the waterfall itself. They echoed all
through the woods around him as they grew increasingly louder. Then all at
once the waterfall lit up as if a bright light was shimmering from behind
the water somehow. Sparkles, like fireworks shot out into the air from the
water. He stood there in awe as he watched the light grow stronger and
brighter to the point where the water coming from the bottom of the fall lit
up the whole pool around in front of him. It shimmered and danced as if it
were alive. The glow reflected from the water and on the woods and trees
around him.
    Then as if somebody had flipped a light switch, a bright star emerged
from behind the waterfall and the water abruptly returned back to normal.
The star floated around the waterfall for a moment and then came towards
Koala Man. Positioning itself directly in the air in front of Koala Man as
he shouted, "WHAT   THE   @%#&   IS   THAT?!?!"
    Frightened at first, Koala Man then suddenly felt relaxed, and at peace
and very safe. The air around him changed from the cold, damp, clammy
feeling to a soft warm, soothing breeze. He felt calm and comfortable.
    The star then spoke in broken sentences to him. He could hardly hear the
words, faintly and whispered like the echoing through the tunnel as the
sound shifted back and forth through itself, and he couldn't really
comprehend them by sound but for some strange reason he understood every
word very clearly as if they were coming from the inside of his very own
head.
    "-I have watch you,- -Koala Man.-" the words rang out and then meshed
together as the echo continued and faded.
    With the soft, feminine, youthful voice it continued, " -You be
troubled. - Rest thoughts and worries - as I make promise -you once again
will be you - and be free from suffer. -"
    It paused for a moment and with a short giggled said, "- Follow me. - I
want play more. -"
    The bright apparition moved past him and down the trail a short distance
to a very small waterfall where it swooped in and under the water and began
to appear to melt in the water. The light remained the same brightness and
intensity at the core but spewed down into the water below as the artist's
strokes smeared them down the.............(Oops, sorry. You get the point.
Just look at the picture)

    As the liquid apparition laughed and danced in the water for a moment it
spoke to him again, "- I can help you, - eventually, - you to be what you
wish to be. - For now you to be happy with life. - Learn you, - no matter
what shape, - form or appearance you be, - happy you to be with life -
itself. -" It continued, "- You have more to you than many. - Enjoy simple
things you take for granted. - Breath you. -"
    It paused for a while and then continued, "- I no eyes, yet I see. - I
no ears, yet I hear. - I no touch, yet I feel. - I no legs, yet I free. -
You have much. -"
    Puzzled for a moment, Koala Man looks down into the reflection in the
water at his face as he thinks. He looks at his hands, they are still very
human and useful, and still with opposable thumbs. He looks at his legs that
he is standing upon and then to his feet. He is not hungry, he is in no
pain, he can see, hear and touch.
    A tear runs down his furry face as he stands there pondering this new
revelation. He suddenly felt immense shame in the fact that all he had been
worried about this whole time was only himself.

    After a long pause he turned to the apparition and asked, "What am I to
do?"
    The apparition replied, "- I offer for you I have. - Life will guide
you. - When time comes. - I speak to your heart. - You will hear. -"
    "I will hear what? When?" the puzzled Koala Man asked.
    The apparition turned many different colors as it said even more
faintly, "- You will know. - First come now. -"
    Before Koala Man could think about what the apparition said with a flash
and a blink of an eye the apparition plunged from beneath the trickling
water and struck Koala Man directly in the chest almost knocking him to the
ground. As he staggered slightly a soft wet feeling suddenly engulfed him as
the colors surrounded and encompassed his whole body. As the wet feeling
dissipated an amazing electrical charge saturated him until he was
completely stunned and could not move. He could not breath for a moment as
his whole body tingled. It wasn't a painful tingle but more like a
refreshing charge of energy going through every part of his being. Then as
he began to regain control of himself he let out a grunting yell as he was
again able to breath. He dropped to his knees and then to the ground as he
wept for a moment regaining control of himself. After several minutes the
glow of the electrical charge gradually faded away and it appeared that
Koala Man was back to his normal self.
    After things settled down he felt so much more alive than he ever had
before. He suddenly felt like he had been reborn in a totally new world.
    He rose to his feet, turned and walked back to the large waterfall. He
took his shoes off so he could feel the soft moss on his feet and toes. It
was smooth and cool. He began to admire the wonder and beauty of this
surreal place. The roar of the water as it came crashing down on the rocks
and the drenching mist in the air seemed so refreshing now. The fresh smell
of the pine and fir trees and the cool wind in his hair.
    He had always enjoyed and cherished life before but now it seemed that
everything was much more clear and he had a totally new perspective on life
and his current situation.
    As he regained his composure he began to smile.
    He then heard small laughter from somewhere behind him. Only this time
it sounded like human laughter. He turned and looked down the trail when he
noticed a small boy in a wheelchair being pushed by an older woman. She
seemed to be struggling as she tried to get the wheelchair to roll on the
rough, dirt and rocky trail.
    Koala Man quickly rushed down the trail to them. The old woman, startled
by this strange creature stopped and stood back. Koala Man knelt down to the
boy's side as the boy began to laugh at the funny face he saw before him.
With his feeble, puny arms he reached out and held Koala Man's Large ear and
said, "Grandma, look at the funny rat head."
    Startled, the grandmother said, "Oh, dear, that's not a nice thing to
say!"
    "That's okay." Koala Man laughed with him and said, "Actually its more
like a Koala head but if you think that its more enjoyable as a Rat then
that's just fine with me too."
    As Koala Man raised back up he looked at the grandmother and said as he
reached for the handles of the chair, "Please allow me."

    * Stay connected for the continuing adventures of Koala Man. *
                Coming to a PC near you.


    "Liquid Apparition" is one of my favorite pieces. The much larger
version is quite impressive if I do say so myself. Please ask me to send it
to you.
    I have a large poster-size of Liquid Apparition on my wall. I feel that
it represents my inner peace and tranquility. It is a constant reminder that
no matter what life throws at me I will always be okay. Because, no matter
how bad things may be and how bad things may seem, they could always be
worse.