Todd sighed and rose from under the glorious shade of one of the nine Giant Sequoias that encircled the small oasis in the middle of the outer realms. He shook his head, contemplating, giving voice to frustrated utterances under his breath. He banged his hand a few times gently on the edge of the receiver, hoping to resolve any dodgy loose wires that might be causing the issue.

You would have thought they'd perfected the darn things by now. Good communication was so essential...and yet... hm!

He huffed... just a little. He wasn't supposed to be on duty, but Angel was busy, yet again, and he had been summoned at short notice to cover the graveyard watch. Not that he minded helping out in the least, in fact, it was always his pleasure to be of service, it was just that he had never performed this particular duty before and, given the time constraints, there had not been much in the way of instruction.

It will be easy...

Dave had said. The tourists never arrived in their droves and most were sojourners, just passing through, in transit for the briefest of time... His job? To ensure their experience went smoothly! Kind of like a tour guide, but without the tour, and... without the guide... that part was already taken care of... The Guardians just had to ensure that nothing broke the sense of peace and connection. So, keep the fires burning with the hope that a little of that light would ignite within each visitor and guide them to return in time.

The plan was simple. Dave would message him on the radio when someone was arriving. All he had to do was check in on them and make sure they were ok. If everything looked good, leave well alone. If things looked like they were going pear-shaped, call it in for an intervention. But, he pondered, what was the norm and how would he know if it was being transcended; if a deviation was indeed in progress?

You'll know,

Dave had assured him,

you'll just know... and if you get stuck... there's always the manual!

Being the new guy, wasn't always easy, but he had a tender spirit and wanted to share himself with others. If he could just create the type of meaningful connections that he had failed at, most of his natural life, he would be happy. His journey had taken many twists and turns and he wasn't entirely certain after all this time, how he had managed to arrive in such an incredibly beautiful place, where the community worked as one, with such tireless energy and devotion. Being assigned to the Water Guardians had been a blessing. It was one of the most important roles in the establishment and he was determined to play his part to perfection.

He reached for the manual, a thick leather dossier that lay pristine on the small table beneath the largest of the trees, and ran his fingers gently over its spine, the pages between its covers seemingly untouched, a testament perhaps to how well-oiled the machinery was and how smoothly things actually did run. Next to the manual was a large red button and a sign that simply read: Use Only In Case of Emergency.

He released the hardcover back onto the table, strode to the water's edge, and peered in, eager to see if his intervention was required. Beyond his own reflection, he passed the time watching human beings emerging momentarily, creating ripples across the surface as their souls delighted in the pure joy of the moment, before disappearing once again into the still quiet waters that resided below. The Guardians worked in 24-hour cycles to ensure they matched the pattern of life on Earth... catching every possible visitor; not leaving a single one behind. It was quite the otherworldly experience to behold.

Dave had been right. The day had passed by seemingly with little disturbance to the fabric of time. He gazed down at the little gilded carriage clock that adorned the table next to the manual and the big red button. Fifteen minutes left. His shift would soon be over and then things would quieten down for a while. It wasn't as necessary to have personal attendance at the oasis all the time and it was during this downtime that the Water Guardians celebrated the fruits of their labour.

Todd considered that he might as well take a quick walk amongst the trees, and make sure everything was ready for when the next Guardian took over.

Staring up into the far reaches of the towering canopies above him he marveled at their sheer magnitude. These nine were definitely the finest specimens he had ever come across outside of the western slopes of the Sierra Nevadas. They weren't perfect in the traditional sense. They were battle-scarred, ravaged by fire, and marked by the trials and tribulations endured over millennia. It always amazed him how counter-intuitive life could be: that the Giant Sequoia needed fire to strip away from its trunk and branches, to sustain damage, and suffer a period of death and rebirth in order to release new life. The fires would burn a clearing around the trees for the next generation of seeds to take root, and have space to grow and flourish. He bent down and picked up a few small cones from the ground, cracked open by the heat from the recent fires, to reveal mature seeds ripe for germination. The wonders of creation never ceased to amaze him.

---

Sarah opened her eyes, but instead of seeing Pastor Mike at her side, she saw the sky, an iridescent burst of Bahamian blue, shimmering, sparkling in the incandescent sunlight, not a cloud in sight. She moved gently feeling the soft ground giving way beneath her... Delicate emerald blades tickled her bare shoulders as she turned over in the grass and inhaled the sweet scent of lavender and petunias, lilacs, and cornflower, singing in endless fields of scattered beauty. She sat up... leaning back on her hands and looked around... the flowers turned in unison towards her, silencing their voices. The cool breeze that had been tenderly brushing against her delicate skin, quickly hushed, as if suddenly becoming aware of her presence. In that moment, a monarch butterfly alighted on her hand and simply watched.

She stood up, not in the least perturbed by the unfolding dreamlike events, and walked towards the gorgeous copse of trees nearby, nine giants seemingly inviting her in. She swept through the long grass leaving wet footprints behind her, constantly fed by the water running down from her drenched attire.

---

Hello? Can you help me, please?

In his quiet reverie, the question startled him somewhat, so much so that the cones fell involuntarily from his hands to his feet as he looked up in the direction of the softly spoken voice.

Todd froze. He looked around him... slightly perplexed... he had not expected to see a human being carving a path between the conifers, let alone one as beautiful as the one immediately before him. How had she managed to stumble into his space unannounced?

And then it hit him... damn those dodgy radio sets! The oasis... of course! The water... and anxious he turned heel and ran back to the table where the large manual still sat, taunting him with its virgin appearance.

He grappled with the leather binding and flung it open, wide-eyed, searching frantically within its pages for a solution to what was clearly a deviation from the plan! Then he panicked... for the pages were empty... one after the other... blank... except for one handwritten note on the first one which read:

Warning:
Whatever happens, NEVER EVER press the big red button!