Travels rewarded: re-entering the kingdom

After a few days of travel and many new experiences, I made it back to my home and found my people. Since my lost kingdom is always moving I was worried I couldn't find it. As my tribe moved forward it was hard to locate the city gates. Fortunately, I had someone on the inside. As I moved to find them I stayed in communication with my friend. I had a long journey and I was eager to reunite with him. He tells me he stopped for rest at the home of the twelve tribes. I have heard of this group and even interacted with their members before but I was concerned about the stories I have heard. Regardless I was still eager to visit my friend and hopefully be accepted back into the community I had left. I arrived at the twelve tribes. I looked at their emasculate hand-crafted yellow door not knowing what would be on the other side. I pull on the artisan iron handle hoping to see a bear but was very surprised and then immediately excited to find it was a Kat. Kat was another dear friend from before my self-imposed exile. We both screamed out of excitement and embraced each other. Bear, my friend who I stayed in contact with was there as well. We set plans to spend time together but if I was to stay at the twelve tribs with them I had abide by their customs and introduce myself. I found a prominent member who at the time I did not realize would become a close friend. As I wasn't sure about them yet I was still pretty guarded. I posed as just another hiker as they were expecting hikers and I knew the lingo. I signed their log and was walked through the rules of their home. After all the pleasantries I was free to go with my old friends and find something to do. After more excited greetings we all agreed to cook our own food. Since I wasn't actually a hiker I had the liberty to carry better cooking equipment. We bought burgers and brats to cook on my grill. the recent rain made our plans difficult but we found a dry parking lot of a closed market, We cooked and talked about our separate journeys. I let them know about my new road life. They filled me in about the parts of the trail that I had missed. I felt happy to be with them again. We really are a different breed. Our community is separated from the expectations and judgment of regular society. But I still felt like I wasn't really home. Two members do not make an approving counsel and proximity does not equal admittance. I had to do something for the community, luckily I had something that the kingdom didn't have. Transportation is something that is both desperately needed and also lacking in the community. And I had a car. The following day my friend Bear decided to help me perform magic for the hikers. So we dropped Kat back on her path and then bear and I grabbed some beers and pizza as a token for my readmittance. I would have bought my way in but the kingdom has only one currency and that is kindness. Sometimes in the form of money but food and alcohol carried more weight, both literally and figuratively. We sat at a location we thought hikers would pass through but the region was quiet and still. We sat there watching the sky change over us. When we arrived the sun greeted us but then over time she retreated behind the cover of grey clouds.  I was beginning to think I was too far behind, and the community had already passed this area. This only meant that I would have to move ahead of the populace. Since I now knew where the hidden city is and roughly where it was going it wasn't so bad. But it was still an inconvenience. As I began to make plans to move on forward a small group of hikers arrived. I recognized the uniformity of appearance all hikers had. the stains, the tattered clothes, and gear, the wonderfully pungent stench of not showering. Excited to truly be a part of my family again I insisted they take my offering. Out of politeness they first refused but eventually, they accepted my gift. The pizza and beer were a good offering but another need was made apparent. They needed to find a way into town. I had a car so I eagerly offered to take them to the house of the twelve tribes. It really was a popular destination for those in the kingdom. Although they both had some stark differences they did share in the practice of kindness, generosity, and acceptance. So I performed trail magic in the form of a shuttle from the twelve tribes to the trail and back. As I stopped at one location there was more waiting for me. This kept me busy for hours. I found this to be an easy way to make friends. Although I insisted that the shuttles were free some decided to express gratitude with money but everyone was happy to express gratitude with love. The trips back and forth through the town of Rutland were fulfilling in and of themselves. I felt accomplished. I have definitely arrived at the kingdom. I was home.