Find an old country cottage, magic, mysterious

Dust motes dancing in sunbeams

Tread hidden paths through ancient forests

Hold the steady heartbeat of the world

Find a Catbus after dark, wild and wilful

Watch the world rush by in muted shades

Search liminal lanes and secret spaces

With spirit guides and faceless friends

Find the courage, blood-streaked from battle

Chasing castles in the sky, to breathe

Protect gentle souls from raindrops

A smile is everything if you listen

Find someone who borrows books before you

A song only you can understand 

Witch-cursed, young-old, or feather-flown

Love rekindles the flames of forgotten dreams 

What you seek was always inside you

Your own mysterious, magic heart

Find yourself

In the place where Totoro dances

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Helena O’Connor is an Australian writer with short fiction published in various anthologies and magazines including Andromeda Spaceways, Kaleidotrope, and Nature: Futures. She likes video games and soot sprites. Twitter: @HelenaFiction