Liza Coffin walked along the shoreline deep in thought. She loved this island. She knew and loved every blueberry covered hill, every sandy beach, and every rock and pebble of this place, the only home she ever knew.

Why couldn't it be enough for her? She was the wild child of the island. The shore-birds and land mammals were her friends and constant companions. The salty sea-air nourished her body and her spirit. She was happy here. This island was her whole world. But there was something missing. She didn't know what it was, but she knew it was an important something.

Her trip to New York City with Gladys was when she found out. There, in a little street vendor's booth, she saw the old man. He was tiny and wrinkled. He sat cross-legged on a cushion, wrapped in a fraying robe that was embroidered with strange symbols and designs unlike anything she had ever seen before. He was hunched over a bowl of something hot. But it was his eyes that riveted her attention to him. One eye was milky with cataracts. The other eye wandered about as if it had a mind of its own. He was difficult to look at, and she was just about to turn away from him when, in one strange and unsettling moment, the clear eye with the mind of its own fixed itself upon her, and met her gaze. She wanted to turn away, but she couldn't. Her eyes were locked in place. She couldn't even move her head to free herself from the penetrating gaze of the old man's eye.
Then, she felt the tingle in her spine. It started at the base of the spine, and gradually moved up toward the top of her head. It was a warm tingle, and somewhat pleasant, but it was also overwhelming. She was afraid she would be lost in the sensation, like she would lose her sense of herself if she allowed it to continue. But she had no choice. When it reached the top of her head, it burst out the top like water out of a fountain. She felt a rushing sensation going up her spine and out the top of her head, and as she felt this, she also felt like she was getting bigger. Like she was expanding and becoming more spacious, and she breathed more deeply, and more fully. And her senses became sharper. And she became aware that she could feel everything around her as though she were touching it, even though she was not touching anything except the ground upon which she stood. More than just touching, even. She felt the edges of herself merging with the edges of everything else.

Just when she felt she could take no more of it, that she would surely be obliterated, the old man looked away. He carried on eating from his bowl as if she wasn't even there.

Liza stood, stunned, not knowing what to do when Gladys said, "Liza! Come on. Mother's waiting."

Nothing in her world was the same after that...