Maya woke before dawn with Ouray's medallion still warm in her palm and the taste of his kiss lingering on her lips. The dream had been so vivid, so intensely physical, that she found herself touching her mouth in wonder, half-expecting to find evidence of his presence. Outside her hotel window, the mountains stood silhouetted against the lightning sky, their peaks touched with the first hints of sunrise.
Today was the day Grace would take her to visit the sacred lake in person.
She dressed carefully, choosing practical clothing that would be suitable for hiking—sturdy boots, comfortable jeans, and layers that she could adjust as the mountain temperature changed throughout the day. The medallion went into her jacket pocket, where she could feel its warmth against her chest.
Downstairs in the Pine Lodge's small dining room, Maya found Grace already waiting with coffee and what appeared to be a packed lunch.
"I thought we'd get an early start," Grace said, her expression serious but kind. "The lake is most... receptive... in the morning hours, when the energy is clearest and the spiritual boundaries are thinnest."
Maya accepted the coffee gratefully, noting that Grace's word choice—"receptive"—suggested this wasn't going to be an ordinary sightseeing trip. "Grace, yesterday Rose and Thomas both hinted that visiting the lake might be... significant. What should I expect?"
Grace studied Maya's face over her coffee cup, as if weighing how much to reveal. "That depends entirely on how open you are to experiences that can't be explained through conventional understanding. The lake has a way of showing people exactly what they need to see, but not everyone is prepared for that kind of truth."
"What kind of truth?"
"The kind that changes everything you thought you knew about the boundaries between past and present, between the living and the spirits, between what's possible and what's impossible." Grace's voice carried the weight of personal experience. "Maya, I'm going to ask you something important, and I need you to answer honestly. Are you prepared to trust in things that your rational mind will tell you can't be real?"
Maya thought about the dreams that had been consuming her sleep, the visions triggered by touching Thomas's artifacts, the growing sense that her connection to this place went far deeper than family genealogy research.
"I think I've already started trusting in impossible things," she said quietly. "The dreams, the spiritual experiences I've been having—if I'm being honest, they feel more real than my ordinary life back in Chicago."
Grace nodded as if this confirmed something she'd already suspected. "Then you're ready for what the lake might show you. But Maya, I need you to understand something crucial before we go. No matter what you see, no matter what you experience, no matter how strange or frightening or wonderful it might be—you must not be afraid. Fear will break the spiritual connection and could leave you lost between worlds."
"Lost between worlds?"
"The lake exists at an intersection between different realities, different times. When you're there, especially if you're spiritually sensitive as I believe you are, you might find yourself experiencing more than one time period simultaneously. The key is to remain calm, to trust in the process, and to remember that love is stronger than any force that might try to separate you from where you belong."
Maya felt a shiver of anticipation mixed with nervousness. "Have you experienced these... time overlaps... yourself?"
"Many times. It's how I know that the stories passed down through our families aren't just folklore—they're documentation of real spiritual phenomena that continues to this day." Grace finished her coffee and stood up. "Are you ready?"
The drive to the sacred lake took them higher into the mountains than Maya had been before, following roads that grew progressively narrower and more winding as they climbed. Grace drove with the confidence of someone who had made this journey countless times, navigating switchbacks and steep grades that offered increasingly spectacular views of the valleys below.
"The lake is on private property," Grace explained as they drove. "It's been protected by the same family for generations—people who understand its spiritual significance and who've dedicated themselves to preserving it from development or exploitation. They allow access only to those who come with respectful intentions."
"How did you arrange for us to visit?"
"Because they know me, and because I told them about your family connection. Maya, the people who protect this land aren't just caretakers—they're descendants of some of the families who witnessed the spiritual events that made this place sacred. They have their own stories about what happened here, their own understanding of why the lake calls to certain people."
As they climbed higher, Maya felt the familiar stirring in her chest that she'd experienced at every significant location since arriving in Colorado. But today it was stronger, more urgent, as if something was pulling her toward their destination with increasing intensity.
"Grace, what exactly happened at this lake that makes it so spiritually significant?"
Grace was quiet for several minutes, negotiating a particularly challenging section of road before answering. "According to the stories passed down through multiple families, the lake has always been a place where the boundaries between different worlds are thin. But in 1869, something extraordinary happened there—something that proved the spiritual forces were real and that love could transcend any obstacle."
"What happened?"
"Chief Ouray disappeared from the mountain refuge where his people were caring for him after the great battle. One morning, the women went to bring him his meal and found his shelter empty - no tracks, no signs of struggle, he had simply vanished like morning mist. Both his people and the military forces searching the area reported the same thing: they found his personal items floating on the surface of this lake, but no trace of him anywhere. The area was heavily patrolled by soldiers at the time, making it impossible for anyone to have helped him escape undetected."
Maya felt her heart rate increase. "You think he crossed into another time?"
"I think he followed his spiritual calling to wherever his heart belonged, regardless of the physical laws that should have made such a journey impossible." Grace glanced at Maya meaningfully. "And I think the lake is still capable of facilitating such crossings, for people who have the courage to trust in forces greater than ordinary understanding."
They reached the end of the road at a small parking area surrounded by towering pine trees. Beyond the trees, Maya could see glimpses of impossibly blue water that seemed to glow with its own inner light.
"We walk from here," Grace said, shouldering a small backpack. "It's about a ten-minute hike, but Maya—once we reach the lake, I want you to take your time. Don't rush any experiences you might have. Let yourself feel whatever the place wants to show you, and remember what I said about not being afraid."
The trail through the forest was well-maintained but felt ancient, as if countless generations had walked this same path for purposes that went far beyond casual recreation. The trees grew larger and more majestic as they approached the lake, their massive trunks speaking of centuries of growth and the timeless patience of the natural world.
Maya could feel the energy building with each step, a tingling sensation that seemed to emanate from the ground itself and travel up through her body. The medallion in her pocket grew noticeably warmer, and she found herself walking faster despite Grace's advice to take their time.
"Do you feel it?" Grace asked, noticing Maya's quickened pace.
"Like electricity in the air. Like the whole forest is alive and aware of our presence."
"That's the spiritual energy of the lake. It recognizes you, Maya. It knows you're connected to the events that made this place sacred."
They emerged from the forest into a clearing that took Maya's breath away. The sacred lake spread before them like a mirror reflecting the sky, surrounded by red rock formations and pine forests that created a natural amphitheater of incredible beauty. The water was so clear she could see the bottom even in the deepest areas, and the silence was so complete it felt sacred in itself.
But it was more than the visual beauty that affected Maya. Standing at the edge of this water, she felt a sense of recognition so profound it made her knees weak. This was the lake from her dreams, exactly as she had seen it night after night, down to the smallest details of shoreline and surrounding landscape.
"I've been here before," she whispered, her voice filled with wonder.
"In dreams?"
"In dreams, yes, but more than that. I feel like... like I've lived here. Like this place is home in a way that Chicago never has been."
Grace smiled, but there was sadness in her expression as well. "That's because part of your spirit has always belonged here, Maya. The connection you feel isn't just to the physical place—it's to the time when your ancestor lived in harmony with this land, and to the spiritual forces that continue to call to you across the generations."
Maya walked closer to the water's edge, drawn by a compulsion she couldn't resist. The lake seemed to pulse with energy, and she could swear she heard voices carried on the wind—not words she could understand, but sounds that felt like welcome, like recognition, like a long-awaited reunion.
Grace watched her carefully, noting the way Maya moved toward the water as if being pulled by invisible forces. "Maya, I can see the lake is calling to you. Are you ready to experience whatever it wants to show you?"
Grace was quiet for several minutes, studying Maya's face as if weighing a decision of enormous importance. When she spoke, her voice was gentle but serious.
"Maya, what I'm about to tell you isn't documented in any official historical record. It's knowledge that has been preserved in our families through oral tradition, stories passed down through generations of people who witnessed events that challenged everything they thought they knew about reality."
Maya felt her pulse quicken. "What kind of events?"
"The kind that prove love is stronger than time, stronger than the boundaries that separate different eras. The kind that show us that some connections transcend every obstacle, including death itself."
Grace gestured toward the water. "According to our family stories, Chief Ouray didn't die in 1869. He crossed into what our ancestors called 'the time between times'—a spiritual realm that allows movement between different periods and realities. He did this because he believed it was the only way to reach someone who was calling to him from another time."
"Someone who was calling to him?"
"A woman whose spirit he recognized as his true mate, but who existed in a time he couldn't reach through ordinary means. Our elders say he spent months preparing for this crossing, undergoing spiritual practices that tested the limits of human endurance. When he finally entered this lake, he wasn't dying—he was traveling."
Maya felt the blood drain from her face. The implications of what Grace was suggesting went far beyond family history or spiritual metaphor. "Grace, are you saying that Chief Ouray somehow traveled through time? That he's waiting somewhere for... for someone?"
"I'm saying that love has powers we don't fully understand, and that some places—like this lake—can facilitate connections that seem impossible according to conventional reality." Grace's expression was serious but kind. "Maya, the reason you recognize this place, the reason you dream of a man who calls you Numa, the reason you feel more at home here than in your own time—it's because your spirit has been calling to his across more than a century of separation."
Maya stared at the water, her mind struggling to process what Grace was suggesting. Everything she'd experienced since arriving in Colorado—the dreams, the spiritual connections, the overwhelming sense of belonging—suddenly took on new meaning.
"What am I supposed to do with that knowledge?"
"You're supposed to trust it. You're supposed to stand by this water and let yourself feel whatever the lake wants to show you. And Maya?" Grace's voice grew more urgent. "You're supposed to not be afraid, no matter what you see or experience. The spiritual forces here are powerful, but they're guided by love, not malice."
Maya walked to the very edge of the lake, feeling the energy intensify with each step. The water was perfectly still, reflecting the mountains and sky like a mirror between worlds. As she stood there, she became aware of a presence—not visible, but felt, as if someone was watching her with intense focus.
"I can feel something," she whispered to Grace. "Like someone is here with us, but not quite in the same world."
"Then let yourself see what needs to be seen. Don't fight it, don't analyze it, just trust."
Maya closed her eyes and tried to quiet her rational mind, to open herself to whatever the lake wanted to reveal. The medallion in her pocket grew almost uncomfortably warm, and she could hear her heartbeat echoing in her ears like a drum.
When she opened her eyes, everything had changed.
The lake looked the same, but the quality of light was different—softer, more golden, as if filtered through a different atmosphere. And there, at the tree line where the forest met the shore, stood a massive bear.
Maya's breath caught in her throat, but she felt no fear. The bear was beautiful, its fur shimmering with an otherworldly quality that made it seem more spirit than flesh. It watched her with intelligent eyes that held depths of ancient wisdom, and Maya felt a sense of recognition that went beyond ordinary understanding.
The bear began walking toward the water, its powerful form moving with a grace that seemed to transcend the laws of physics. As it approached, its shape began to shift and change, the massive shoulders broadening into human form, the bear's wise eyes becoming darker, more complex.
Maya watched in amazement as the bear's spiritual form transformed into that of a man—a Native American man whose face she recognized from dreams and photographs, whose presence she had been sensing for weeks without understanding what it meant.
"Maya," he said, his voice carrying clearly across the still water.
She felt tears streaming down her cheeks at the sound of her name spoken by lips she had only touched in dreams. "I can hear you. You're really here."
"I'm here, Numa. Not in body, but in spirit. I've crossed time itself to speak with you."
The joy on her face was so intense it made her tremble with emotion. "How is this possible? How are you reaching me?"
"Through love, through spiritual practices my people have preserved for generations, through the same force that has been pulling us toward each other in dreams." He moved closer in the spiritual realm, wishing he could touch her but settling for the profound intimacy of sharing consciousness. "Maya, you're standing at the sacred lake. Do you feel its power?"
"I feel... something. Like the water is alive, like it's calling to me." She looked around, taking in the landscape with new awareness. "This is where you are? In your time?"
"This is where our spirits meet, in a place that exists between times. Maya, I need you to understand—what we share is real. I am real, you are real, and the love between us transcends every boundary that should separate us."
She felt overwhelmed by the proof that everything she had been experiencing was genuine. Her legs grew weak, and she sank to her knees at the water's edge.
"I will always be here when you need me, Numa. But tonight is only the beginning. I will continue to reach across time to you, to speak with you, to prepare you for the choices that lie ahead."
"What choices?"
"The choice of whether to remain in your time as an observer of our love, or to trust the sacred lake enough to cross into mine. The choice of whether to be content with spiritual connection, or to risk everything for physical reunion."
Maya's expression grew thoughtful and slightly fearful. "What would happen if I chose to cross into your time?"
"We would be together as we were meant to be. But that choice would separate you from your own time, and I'm not sure you would be able to return. This has never happened before that I know of—no one has ever crossed between times like this and then tried to go back."
"And if I chose to stay in my time?"
"Then I would continue to reach you in spirit for as long as my strength allows. But eventually, the effort of crossing between times would consume me, and our connection would fade until only dreams remained."
They stood together by the spiritual lake, sharing consciousness in a way that was more intimate than physical touch. Maya could feel his thoughts, his emotions, his growing understanding of the impossible choice that lay ahead of them.
"How long do we have before I must decide?"
"Time moves differently in the spiritual realm. But in your world, you will need to choose soon. The sacred lake is calling to you, Maya. I can feel its pull even from here. When that call becomes irresistible, when your spirit demands reunion more than your mind demands safety, you'll know it's time to trust in our love."
The connection began to waver as his spiritual strength reached its limits. Maya could see him growing fainter, less solid, as if the effort of maintaining his presence in her time was becoming too much to sustain.
"I have to return to my time now," he told her, his spiritual voice growing fainter. "But I will come to you again, as often as I can, until you're ready to make your choice."
"Wait," Maya called out, reaching toward his fading spiritual form. "In my dreams, you never tell me your name."
Understanding dawned in his eyes, and he smiled with such tenderness it made her chest ache. "My name is Ouray," he said, his voice carrying the weight of absolute truth. "In my time, in my language, among my people, I am called Ouray. But when I speak to you, when I call to your spirit across the distances that separate us, I call you Numa—because you are my soul, the part of me that has been missing for more than a century."
Maya felt overwhelming relief and certainty wash over her. She needed to hear it in his voice, from his lips, to be absolutely certain that she was speaking with Chief Ouray and not just projecting her own wishes onto a spiritual experience.
"Ouray," she whispered, testing the sound of his name on her lips.
"Until we meet again, carry my heart with yours, Numa."
Ouray's spiritual presence dissolved like morning mist, leaving Maya alone at the water's edge with tears streaming down her face and her hand clutched over the medallion that had somehow connected them across impossible distances.
For several minutes, she remained kneeling by the lake, processing everything that had just occurred. The rational part of her mind insisted that she had experienced a hallucination, a psychological projection of her research and dreams. But her heart knew better. Every word, every look, every moment of connection had been absolutely real.
"Maya?" Grace's voice seemed to come from very far away, though she was standing only a few feet behind her. "Are you all right?"
Maya turned, surprised to find Grace watching her with deep concern. "How long was I... how long have I been sitting here?"
"Nearly two hours. You've been completely motionless, completely unresponsive. I was beginning to worry that you were lost in whatever you were experiencing."
"Two hours?" Maya looked at the sun, realizing it had moved significantly across the sky while she had been speaking with Ouray. "It felt like maybe thirty minutes."
"Time moves differently when you're connected to the spiritual realm." Grace helped Maya to her feet, studying her face carefully. "What did you see? What did you experience?"
Maya struggled to find words for something that felt too sacred, too personal to share, even with someone as understanding as Grace. "I saw him. I spoke with Chief Ouray. He's real, Grace. He's really there, in some kind of spiritual existence between times."
"What did he tell you?"
"That love is stronger than time. That the choice exists to cross into his world, but that it would mean leaving everything in mine behind forever." Maya felt fresh tears starting. "And that he loves me just as much as I love him."
Grace nodded as if this confirmed things she had already known or suspected. "And how do you feel about that knowledge?"
"Overwhelmed. Terrified. Grateful. In love." Maya laughed shakily. "How am I supposed to process the fact that I've just had a conversation with someone who lived and died more than 150 years ago? Someone I've never met a day in my life except in dreams?"
"By trusting that some experiences transcend ordinary understanding, and that some loves are powerful enough to overcome any obstacle." Grace's expression was gentle but serious. "Maya, what you experienced today changes everything about your life moving forward. You can't go back to Chicago and pretend this never happened."
"I know. I can feel it already—the idea of returning to my ordinary life feels impossible now." Maya looked out at the lake, which had returned to its normal appearance but still pulsed with subtle energy. "Grace, what am I supposed to do with this knowledge?"
"Whatever your heart tells you to do. But Maya, remember that some decisions can't be rushed. The choice Ouray described—crossing between times—is not something to approach lightly. You need time to process what you've learned, to understand what you would be gaining and what you would be losing."
"How do I even begin to make a decision like that?"
"By living with the knowledge for a while. By seeing how it feels to know that this love exists, that this possibility is real. By talking to the people who matter to you about what you've discovered." Grace began gathering their things. "And by trusting that when the time comes to choose, you'll know in your heart what's right."
The hike back to the car felt surreal, as if Maya was walking through two worlds simultaneously. Part of her remained anchored to her conversation with Ouray, replaying every word, every look, every moment of connection. But another part was already grappling with the practical implications of what she had learned.
How could she explain this to Anya? How could she tell her publisher that her research had taken a direction that challenged the fundamental nature of reality? How could she return to Chicago and continue living as if nothing had changed, when everything had changed?
"Grace," she said as they reached the car, "the people who protect this land—do they know about the spiritual crossings? Do they understand what really happens here?"
"They understand that this is a sacred place where impossible things become possible, where love proves itself stronger than every force that tries to separate true mates." Grace started the engine and began the careful drive back down the mountain. "Maya, you're not alone in this experience. There are people who will understand what you're going through, who can offer guidance as you process what you've learned."
"What kind of guidance?"
"The kind that comes from generations of preserving stories about spiritual connections that transcend ordinary understanding. And also practical guidance - Maya, you have something that's directly tied to him. That medallion you're carrying. You can use it to call to him, to pull his consciousness to you."
Maya's hand went instinctively to her pocket where the medallion rested. "How?"
"You'll need specific candles - white for purity, blue for spiritual communication. And there are herbs you'll need to burn - sage for cleansing, sweetgrass for calling spirits, cedar for protection. With the medallion as your anchor and these tools to focus your energy, you can pull him to you, call his consciousness into your time without him risking his life to reach you. He wouldn't be in pure spirit form like today - it would be his consciousness, aware and present, but safer than the dangerous spirit walking he's been doing." Grace's expression grew thoughtful. "Maya, there was a reason we reached out to you for this research. I might not be able to share everything with you all at once - some things have to fall into place first. But we want to help you navigate this connection safely."
As they descended from the sacred lake back toward Willow Springs, Maya felt as if she was returning from a journey to another planet. The landscape looked the same, but her perception of everything had fundamentally altered. She was no longer a historian researching family connections—she was a woman who had discovered that love could transcend time itself, and that the choice existed to act on that discovery.
The medallion in her pocket remained warm against her chest, a tangible reminder that what she had experienced was real. Ouray was real. Their love was real. And somewhere in the spiritual realm between times, he was waiting for her to decide whether that love was worth risking everything she had ever known.
That evening, back in her hotel room, Maya sat by the window looking out at the mountains and trying to process the day's events. She had one day left in Colorado before her scheduled return to Chicago, one day to figure out what she was going to do with the knowledge that had just fundamentally altered her understanding of reality.
Her phone rang, and Anya's name appeared on the screen. Maya answered, grateful for the familiar sound of her sister's voice.
"Maya?" Anya answered immediately, as if she'd been waiting for the call.
Maya almost laughed at how inadequate words seemed now. Yesterday's excitement about family history and spiritual connections seemed insignificant compared to what she was feeling now. "Anya, something extraordinary happened today. Something that I'm not sure I can explain, but that changes everything about my life moving forward."
"What kind of something?"
Maya looked out at the darkening mountains, where stars were beginning to appear in numbers she had never seen from her Chicago apartment. "The kind that proves love is real, that some connections transcend every boundary we think separates us from what we're meant to have."
"Maya, you're scaring me a little. Are you okay?"
"I'm more okay than I've ever been in my life. But I'm also facing a choice that I never imagined I would have to make." Maya felt tears starting again. "Anya, what would you say if I told you that I might not be coming back to Chicago as planned?"
"I'd say you need to tell me everything that's happened, because this sounds even more significant than what you shared yesterday."
Maya spent the next hour sharing as much as she could about her experiences—the spiritual connections, the conversation with Ouray, the impossible choice that lay ahead of her. Anya listened without interruption, occasionally asking clarifying questions but never dismissing or minimizing what Maya was describing.
"So let me understand this correctly," Anya said when Maya finished. "You believe you've been communicating with Chief Ouray's spirit, and that he's offered you the possibility of crossing into his time period to be with him permanently?"
"I know how it sounds, but Anya, it was real. More real than any experience I've ever had. When he said his name - when I heard 'Ouray' in his own voice - I knew beyond any doubt that I was speaking with the actual Chief Ouray, not my imagination."
"And the choice you're facing?"
"Stay in our time and continue building the life I've established, or trust in love enough to cross into his world and be with him in a way that would mean leaving everyone and everything I've ever known."
Anya was quiet for several minutes, and Maya could practically hear her processing the implications of what she'd shared.
"Wait a minute," Anya said suddenly. "Love? Maya, don't act like you just didn't say you love him. You're talking about being in love with someone you've never actually met, and now you're considering leaving your entire life - leaving me, your career, everything you've built - to be with someone you've only seen in dreams and had one spiritual encounter with?"
Anya's voice grew more urgent. "Maya, I need you to hear how this sounds. This is not a normal relationship progression. You don't abandon your whole life for someone based on dreams and one mystical experience. That's not love - that's obsession, or maybe something psychological you need to work through with a professional."
"Maya, I need to ask you something, and I need you to answer honestly. Do you believe, in your heart, that this love is real? That what you're feeling for this man is genuine enough to build a life on?"
Maya thought about Ouray's eyes, about the sound of his voice speaking her name, about the way her entire spirit had responded to his presence. "Yes. I believe it's the most real thing I've ever experienced."
"Then you have to trust that. But Maya, you also have to be absolutely certain about what you'd be giving up and what you'd be gaining. This isn't a decision you can make based on emotion alone—it has to be based on a complete understanding of both paths."
"How do I gain that understanding?"
"By taking the time you need to explore both possibilities fully. By talking to people who can help you understand what life in 1869 would really mean. By figuring out if there are ways to maintain some connection to our time even if you choose to cross." Anya's voice grew more urgent. "And Maya, by talking to me about all of it. Whatever you decide, you're not making this choice alone."
After hanging up, Maya prepared for bed with her mind spinning with questions and possibilities. Tomorrow she would have one more day in Colorado before her scheduled departure, one more day to explore what she had learned and begin processing the choice that lay ahead of her.
As she drifted off to sleep, the medallion warm in her palm, Maya found herself hoping that her dreams would bring more clarity about the path she was meant to follow. She had discovered that love could transcend time itself—now she had to decide whether she had the courage to act on that discovery.
In her dreams that night, she stood again by the sacred lake, but this time she wasn't alone. Ouray was there beside her, solid and real, his hand warm in hers as they watched the stars reflect on the still water.
"Whatever you choose, Numa," he said, his voice filled with love and understanding, "know that you are loved beyond measure, in this time or any other."
Maya woke with his words echoing in her heart and the absolute certainty that whatever decision lay ahead of her, it would be made from a foundation of love stronger than any force that had ever tried to keep them apart.