Ethiopia is a country that still fills my heart to this day. I took a memorable eight-day trip to Ethiopia with G-Adventures, the National Geographic tour operator that teaches what exploration with purpose means, in August 2019.
11. Rising After All Resurrection is the climax when the hero must have her ultimate and most perilous encounter with death. The ultimate battle also is a metaphor beyond the hero’s own existence, and its outcome has greater implications for her Ordinary World and the lives of those who live with her or the lives […]
The needs of the hero when she meets her guide or mentor can be small or large. The guide can give an object, like a ring, or just simple insight, like the way the canary’s presence gives Doris an idea and the courage to see it through. This help can also come in the form of wise advice, practical training, or even just a kind word that can give the character some self-confidence. The guide’s advice always takes away the hero’s fears and doubts and brings her strength and courage to begin her quest.
Doris dies to herself here in the silence of her lair and the uncertainty about the future. She has faced this ordeal with all the powers she has––hospitality, baking and a positive outlook on life and the belief in the power of peace to build community. But will her love in action be enough? She feeds the bats when the sweetest sound you’ve ever heard, shrill and sweet. In the laughter of both the bats and the fairies, Doris faces and overcomes her deep inner conflict of wanting to fit in as a duck-sized fairy in a bat-infested world.
Doris’s innermost cave is how her hospitality will work to create peace for the bats and the fairies that have inhabited her home. There is a pause in the action here for the reader to feel the stakes. Will the bats be angry that the honey caused them to stay silent? How would the bats react to laughter of the fairies? Would the bats have a sense of humor? Would her “perfect” canary-inspired idea of baking honey cakes for the bats with the crunchy centers turn into a nightmare? Would Doris be more of an outcast than ever if the bats AND the fairies looked down on her silly ways and ideas? She thought she had it bad just being a duck-sized fairy, but now the stakes are higher.
Doris receives adulation from fairies and bats through their laughter. This is her reward. Her honey cakes worked to bring joy and peace. Doris’s reward lies in helping the fairies see the fruits of their folly-filled labor––the witness of their first joke. This gives the fairies wisdom, and they can use it to give them courage to not fly away and be brave.
