I remember driving down a lone dirt road in Colorado. The surrounding land was arid and bare with scrubby brush scattered sparsely in grey green dots that followed along the dry riverbeds.
 
Rounding a sharp curve and looking straight ahead, I saw on top of a summit, far above the hill in solitude, The House. From my vantage point I could tell The House was huge. There wasn’t a tree in sight. I searched for an access road but couldn’t find one.
 
On each of my visits to the area I made an effort to drive down the remote dirt road to look at The House. It remained vacant and unchanged through several years. There was no apparent decay or wear and tear from what I could see.  It always looked inviting, warm and comforting, but empty.
 
I have a writer’s curious mind. The House drew me in, captivating me.  I decided to explore the history of The House and resolve its puzzle.
 
Research took me to libraries, city halls, county records, newspapers, and bookstores.  I began to visit neighboring communities and, of course, the popular old cafes, where stories, local myths, legends and gossip are as common as the stale coffee.
 
The records took me into an unexpected discovery of timelessness.  And so it begins…………
 
 
 
 
Atop a lonely hill stands a large hermitage, its grandeur impressive.   A covered wrap around deck accents The House.   Lace curtains peek through large paned glass windows both upstairs and down.   The green roof offsets the light beige color of The House that carries the theme of green in trimmings around the windows.
 
Two people using walking sticks trudge across the landscape.  The male carries a bow and arrows, while the female has a small basket and a baby held on her back by a long cloth wrapped around her.  They walk slowly, worn out.  A small child plods behind.
 
The man is the first to notice The House.  “Oocha,” he points, stops and stares at the unusual sight.  He has no idea what it is.  At first he is unsure whether to run away or investigate.  He moves closer.  His mate hides behind him, peeking around his shoulder at the unbelievable edifice that springs from the earth in colorful beauty.  “Hooba,” he says, as he gently lays a hand on his mate’s shoulder, patting her for reassurance.  She looks into his face, trusting his decision, knowing he will keep her and the children safe.  
 
Deciding to look closer, Gug-Gug takes a big breath to ease tension.  He has no idea what lies ahead.  He points palm up then points to the ground, “Ummba, auch,” asking her to stay with their children.
 
Descriptions of a place like this have never been told in his presence by storytellers in his wanderings, nor shown on painted cave walls or rocks.  This is unlike anything he has experienced before.
 
Approaching the huge dwelling, he steps tentatively onto the first rise, looking in every direction before making another move.  He jumps up to the second step and decides being noisy now will give him an advantage.  Yelling as loud as possible, he waves his hands to frighten any presence.  Prepared for trouble, he studies the area and waits for some reaction.  Nothing happens.  Gug-Gug jumps onto the third step pounding his feet to create a cacophony of sound. He screams and waves his arms.  Again, nothing happens.  He begins to believe there is no danger. He keeps alert. 
 
Ummba watches him and laughs at the loud sounds and strange movements, finding them funny.  She calms down and becomes quiet as she thinks about the danger her brave mate could face.  Worry replaces her laughter.
 
Close to the entrance he becomes quiet and tiptoes across the veranda, looking for signs of habitation.  He reaches the carved door, gazes in awe upon seeing the cut, clear, firm material on the upper half.  Gug-Gug looks through it and backs up.  Unrecognizable items fill some of the space inside.  He does not see anyone in there.  He looks at the intricately decorated knob, slowly reaches out and with one-finger touches it and finds it is cold.  He puts his hand against it, again touches it trying to figure out what it is and how it works, next he fits his palm around it, grasps it, tightens his grip, and pulls on it.  Nothing happens.  He pushes it.  Nothing happens.  When he turns it, the door swings open as if inviting him inside.
 
Standing in the doorway, with clammy hands and body sweating, he attempts to ignore his dry throat and parched mouth.  He takes a long breath, shakes both arms and hands and enters the house on legs that feel heavy as stones.  Before him are shiny wood floors partially covered in a soft material with beautiful designs and colors that weave into swirls, pictures of flowers, and leaves.  He touches them and is amazed at the craftsmanship. He believes the material on the floor would take many seasons to create and, until now, has only seen animal skins to walk on. It is soft on his weathered calloused feet.  Other various sized pieces grace the large rooms.  Now his focus goes to the floor that is surrounded by the soft material.  This is the first time he has seen wood floors and it lightens his heart to see them worked smooth.  He is aware there are no trees nearby and thinking about the difficulty and time involved in bringing them here, cutting them and make them smooth makes his head hurt.  He has only seen a few people able to make planks with wood, but never has seen the wood become this smooth. 
 
Inside the room beyond the smaller one he saw first, on top of a small carefully made wooden box opened on two sides and the bottom,  is a two piece hard rectangle as long as the length of his fore arm and more than half as wide. It is filled between with many pieces much thinner than deer hide. He walks over and lifts the top piece, finding one end is secure.  He understands the pictures meanings.  Many appear to be about this place.  And show food and shelter his family can use.  Shocked, he keeps looking at the pictures.  Has he discovered good fortune beyond anything he ever imagined?  He is both stunned and thrilled.   He looks at many of the images shown on the thin neat pieces. pictogragh.
 
             He turns a page and sees a picture that shows a colorful replica of the big unknown structure he is in right now.  It is tiny but appears real, even on the thin page before him.  When his hand touches the flat miniature likeness, it pops up from the page as if alive and looks exactly like the edifice he is in, but small.  He hears a voice speaking to him in his own language and saying:  Unga din kaapa rhoo bew gaa-faa wan. Dara kinno fot hoom.
 
“You are invited to live here, in The House. To you and those living with you, there is one condition that all must follow:  Do good deeds for others.”
 
He freezes in place and stares at the odd apparition. He is frightened, yet curious. There is no other person in the room and knows the voice came from the picture in front of him.  Magic?  Miracle?   He cannot fathom this. He believes it is good.  Are the gods speaking to him?  He is so confused he cannot gather his thoughts but believes what the voice said.
 
Gug-Gug doesn’t know the reasons The House is here or why. At least he knows what it is called from the voice in the gift of the gods, pictrograph.  He is anxious to share all he is discovering with his mate.  He goes to the door and hollers, “Ummba, Ummba, akak.”  Then bolts off the porch and runs toward her.
 
She responds with a big smile and calls out, “Gug-Gug mala,” and runs to meet up with her mate.  She understands he is in a good mood and something wonderful has just happened.  He likes to share everything with Ummba.  She feels pride and joy as they hurry toward each other.
 
In a warm loving way, Gug-Gug nuzzles his nose into her throat and whispers an endearment.  Gently he takes her hand and together, the family walks toward The House.  She holds tightly to Gug-Gug.  With the other hand she holds her older child, Bahab.  Her eyes are big as she looks with wonder. Bahab clings to Ummba.  She bends down sensing his fear, looks him level in the eye and gently says to him, “Bahab, eede,” stands up and takes a moment to pat Reemee who is fussing.  This calms the baby down.  Then they go together into The House.
 
The door closed quietly behind them.  They enter a space with light colored designs repeated on the surrounding four walls as though delicately painted.  Gug-Gug shows Ummba how the floor is soft and made from a configuration of cloth   new to them. Their heads swivel back and forth.  Gug-Gug now takes the time to look carefully around the space.  Stunned by these unusual items and holding onto each other, Gug-Gug and Ummba, with their children, walk into another room.  This area is bigger than the first, with bright colored, smooth walls. The top of this room extends many man lengths high.  Bahab pulls away from Ummba, runs over to the big soft colorful material that is a few hands up from the floor, and climbs onto it, stands up, jumps twice then plops down onto it.  They look at him then at each other, and laugh at not knowing what the soft cloth rectangles are meant for, and then sit down next to Bahab.  Gug-Gug reaches toward the gift of the gods holder, pictrograph, in front of them.
 
Eagerly, the two adults study the images before them. Ummba understands them. She leaves and goes into the room of food, finding it full of unfamiliar objects.  She follows the pictures’ advice and moves in front of a little door that has many small life-like pictures flashing across the front.  She watches them.  Then sees one she likes, and pokes her finger on it.  A small purring sound startles her.  The door slowly opens and food slides out.  The food looks like the picture she touched.  It smells enticing but the steam makes her jump a step back.   Because it is hot, she tentatively touches it and decides it is good enough to eat.  Ummba smiles at her success in using the new gadget and proudly prepares to serve her first meal in this new place, to Gug-Gug and the children.
 
She is puzzled by the five pieces of four legged flat-topped structures. They are colored like her favorite, brightest wild flower in the morning sunshine.  Ummba shrugs as she sets the food on the floor where they all sit and eat. Finishing this first filling and tasty meal, contented and relaxed, they burst into laughter.  The merriment removes their tension.  Both feel honored by the gods at their good fortune.
 
They venture upstairs consumed with curiosity and begin a tour of many rooms, seeing fancy wood and thick cloth items.  Remembering the pictures, they peek into the first room and recognize the big covered rectangular box and know it is to sleep in.
 
They enter another room and jump in surprise.  There are people on the wall looking right at them!   Then Ummba recognizes Gug-Gug and the children just as Gug-Gug recognizes Ummba and the children.  Excited, they wave their arms, wiggle and watch the same motion from the wall-to-wall reflection.  Bahab dances and Ummba and Gug-Gug make faces.  They have a great time watching their expressions and movements.  One by one they walk over to touch the shiny surface.  They have seen their images in water, where waves move and make their likeness blur. There will be no harm come from the dry still water reflection

 (continued)