Earthly Tales & Other Adventures: A Visitor from Ether

"A Visitor from Ether", Marie Boyd’s first story under the Earthly Tales and Other Adventures banner, brings a collection of compelling pre-Civil War short stories that allow glimpses into the life and psyche of a woman who loved freedom beyond all else; who gained and used special talents and abilities that sanctioned her survival of the unsurvivable; and who learned, as a result of setting herself free, the true powers of freedom, nature, and love.
The story begins mysteriously. As Natalie is engaged in the mundane task of cleaning her bathroom sinks on a cold January day, a mysterious voice (clearly of African ascent) speaks to her in such insistent and assertive tones that she can do nothing else other than rush to her computer and take dictation. The tales that emerge carry us back to the Old South and provide forceful glimpses into the life and adventures of a woman, born slave, who loved claimed her own freedon: the perils of her quest; the lessons she learned, and the wisdom she gained that is timeless, and still relevant today.

Through compelling vignettes, the nameless heroine gives face and form to African and Native peoples who have been ignored generally by the conventional four-hundred-year history of slavery in this country—those innately and fiercely independent men and women who refused to accept their bonds of servitude; but who, instead, acted bravely to free not only themselves, but others along the way. These are stories that provide insight into the operating principles of a person focused unrelentingly upon the pursuit of freedom.

What is the mind-set of a Liberator, who is female, and set upon embarking on dangerous undertakings in unknown and unwelcoming worlds; and what can we learn from her stories? As our current national and global discussions often center around ideas of "freedom" and "liberty", these parables suggest that right actions are, in fact, timeless; and always rooted in love—even in face of the most imminent danger.

In one particular vignette, entitled Taking Liberties, the heroine introduces a perspective on these concepts of freedom and liberty, which provide clues to the mysteries of true self-liberation:

"I took lots of liberties. Like taking time to study the trees, plants, flowers, brush, water, animals, and people I saw and met along every journey. I had the freedom to take this liberty of mind and make it my business! ... If you’re free, you get to choose—every thought, every prayer, every word, every deed, every step of all of the steps you take—and, Love is a choice and that is another liberty I took, so I never wished harm to anyone."