Destiny calls, p.4
Destiny Calls, page 4
We laid out our sleeping bags and put the picnic basket in the corner to reach for some chow when we got hungry. I gave Millie the candy. It was still bright out so; we didn’t need the lamp yet as I read my prophecy from the scroll.
“So, I’m not getting it.” Millie’s lip curled upward. She put a piece of hard candy in her mouth. “How is any of that a prophecy? A prophecy is supposed to tell you what your talents are and what kind of occupation you will have. It’s supposed to help you plan your future.
This is bull.”
I nodded my head enthusiastically. “Can you see why I’m freaking out? And yet the gray ghost told me—.”
“Tell me about the ghost,” she interrupted while putting a handful of red candies in her mouth.
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“I was just about to. The gray ghost told me I was to be on a boat that leaves tomorrow. Did you hear me? Tomorrow. That’s how much time I get to plan for this.”
“Pal, I feel so sorry for you. It’s like boom, here’s your prophecy, and then you have to leave. You are going to the unknown, and it sounds like a big deal. I mean, how could it not be a big deal?”
“Someone is supposed to meet me at Port Argus. I have no idea who that is, but my ma and pa arranged for my dizzy old aunt to be there too. This is crazy; it’s like my life is turning upside-down.”
Millie finally swallowed the candy and stretched out on her sleeping bag with her arms folded under her head. “I know what’d be nice.
Why don’t we go for a swim at that spring?” She grabbed the jug of hairy berry juice and glugged a few down. “I mean, you’re leaving, we’re both freaking out, and we could use some relaxation.”
“Brilliant. Swimming sounds excellent.” Millie knew exactly what to do to make us both feel better when things got stressful. We had that kind of harmony that only best friends have.
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We grabbed some towels from the bathroom and headed to the living room.
“Going swimming. Is that okay?” I called out to Ma and Pa.
“Sure. Go ahead,” Ma said, leaning closer to the radiogram.
Millie and I hit the trail that wound around the front of the house. We went down to the valley where lush red bushes surrounded a freshwater spring. Bright yellow and purple wildflowers grew all around the clear blue pond.
Within a few moments, Millie and I stripped to our underwear and jumped in the water. We swam out to the middle of the pond.
I dipped my head back in the cool, fresh water. “This feels divine.”
I floated on my back while Millie dove under the water for a bit and came up for a breath.
My eye landed on the dirt shore of the pond.
“Something moved over there.” I pointed toward the shore. “There. Look.”
“Quit kidding.” Millie dipped down in the water and then came up. “Are you trying to scare me? I know you come down here all the 54
time; there’s nothing down here to be afraid of.”
Millie went under again.
I saw the soil ripple and fold on the shore. It was a vertical fold, like a wrinkle in the soil, that traveled sideways along the bank. I kept my eyes on the mud as I saw it change from a small mound to a large one. Suddenly, roots sprung up from the ground. Leaves and twigs sprouted from the heap of mud and soil. A head pushed out on top—the face of an old hag formed from the clay. Roots and long vines stretched down from its head with small white flowers popping out one by one. My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open. “Look! Millie, look!”
Millie turned to see what I was staring at.
“What the dickens…holy smoke!”
“Ugh…” I moaned. “It’s disgusting, muddy, dirty.”
It had branches for arms and a mouth filled with brown leaves. “Come over here. You—the one with black hair,” said the earth witch. Her voice sounded croaky, wet, and gurgly.
“No way!” I yelled. “I’m not coming close!
Gross.”
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I whispered to Millie, “It’s like she’s made of turds or something.” Certainly, this thing was odd, but I was more disgusted by it than scared.
“Young man I mean girl, I am here for you,”
snarled the earth witch.
“What are you?” I said trying not to rouse her even more.
“I am a gorgon who has been sent to give you a message,” she gurgled.
“You’re not going to hurt me?” I asked.
“I am not here to hurt you!” growled the earth witch. “Come closer!”
“You’d better go. She’s serious,” whispered Millie. “And what’s with her getting your gender wrong?”
“Hush. Here I come,” I said reluctantly as I approached the craggy, gnarly witch.
“I’ll be right behind you,” Millie said. “Ready to run.”
“Thanks a load.”
I slowly swam over to the thing. The water became shallow enough to stand. Every one of her movements caused mud to squeeze out from between her vines and branches. “Yes?” I 56
relented. Inside I shook with fear and wanted to bolt. I didn’t dare, because she looked like she meant business.
“Listen, because I don’t have much time for this messenger work! The Parcae chose you, before the beginning of time, to be the Daughter of the Wind. Around your fourteenth birthday, you will receive the power to control the air.” The gorgon twitched as it spoke. “Learning how to use that power in a brief time is essential. You’ll travel to Mount Morwa on Thanos where you’ll meet your two brothers and sister. The rest of the prophecy shall be explained to you at that time. You must be on the ship that leaves tomorrow, just as the ghost said. The Parcae enlisted the gray ghost and me.”
“So, who are the Parcae? Who are my brothers and sister? I don’t have any siblings.”
“The Parcae are the fates. You will find out the rest when you get there,” gurgled the Gorgon.
“That’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen,” Millie whispered.
The gorgon glared at Millie. “You think I am ugly, do you? What if I turned you into a pile of mud!”
“Millie, don’t say anything,” I whispered.
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The gorgon turned back to me. “It’s essential that you follow the ghost’s instructions.” Its head twitched a few times as she melted into the ground. Ripples of soil rumbled through the ground as she disappeared.
“Okay, that was weird and terrifying. So many weird creatures are suddenly coming into my life. This is some prophecy,” I said.
“No kidding. That thing was gross and all that mud. I couldn’t believe it threatened me.”
“Did you hear all of that? Daughter of the Wind—my ma and pa were right. I’m going to have powers.” I paddled around on my back to the middle of the pond.
“You’ve always had the power to cut the wind,”
Millie snickered. “Phew.”
“Funny. I wonder if I will be able to start a tornado if I want to. Or stop one. That would be cool.”
Millie started floating on her back too. “Aside from that gross witch, this is turning out to be a very cool day. See if you can blow anything with your hands.”
I waved my hand in the air, but nothing happened. “I think I’ll have to wait until I can do 58
anything like that.” I flipped over and went under the water.
Millie and I swam awhile longer, talking about the prophecy, the ghost, and the trip. When the sun started to set, we headed back home. We looped through the living room to check in with Ma and Pa before going back to the tent. They had finished listening to the play.
“We’re back,” Millie announced.
“Did you have an enjoyable time?” Ma asked while pushing a needle through a piece of cloth.
“Sort of,” Millie said. “Terrifying, really.”
“What? What happened” Pa asked.
“A gorgon came to us when we were at the pond,” I reported.
Pa stood up. “Are you okay?”
“They don’t hurt people,” Ma said flatly.
“They could, if you get in their way,” Pa replied.
“She said that the Parcae chose me to be the Daughter of the Wind,” I said.
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Pa winced. “That’s exactly what that Buzzletrap said. He didn’t tell us what that meant though.”
“The gorgon said that I would be able to command the wind.”
Ma let out a loud exhale. “Goodness. All these things happening at once. It’s almost too much for a person!”
“Think about me. I’m the one it’s all happening to!”
Ma scowled. “I am proud and worried at the same time. Goodness. I’m going to write a letter complaining to that elf Buzzletrap.”
“On the bright side, your ma and I decided to give you your birthday basket tonight since we won’t be around to celebrate with you on your actual birthday.”
“Thanks! Where is it?”
Ma continued with her embroidery. “I already put it in your tent.”
Millie and I ran out of the room and out the back door of the kitchen. Inside the tent was a large basket with a bow wrapped around it.
Inside were jams, jellies, candy, two shirts, a sweater, and four new beautiful wooden horses 60
for my collection. That evening, Millie and I told stories, ate, and talked about the prophecy. I forgot for a short time that I was about to take a trip away from the only home I’d ever known.
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CHAPTER 5
With the restaurant closed for a couple of days, we focused on the trip before me. Mind you, most of me was simply terrified at the prospect of leaving home. The fact that I was taking a sailing ship across the Llyr Sea left me awestruck and numb. Siblings that I never knew I had. It was as if part of my life was missing, and I didn’t know about it. I had no way to fathom what that would be like. Someone might as well have told me that I was going to fly to the red moon and back by flapping my arms.
That evening in the tent, Millie and I laughed, cried, and fell asleep when we could no longer stay awake. The next morning, we ate breakfast together with Ma and Pa, who tried to cover up their gloom with half-smiles and lame jokes.
Later on, it was time to say farewell to my friend. We promised that when this was all over, 62
we’d celebrate. When her pa came to get her, it felt incredibly sad.
I moped to my room to begin packing. Clothes went in the first trunk and in the second, I packed pictures of Toqi, Millie, my parents, and my paint set with my wooden horses.
When all the packing was done, Pa moved my trunks onto the hoverboard. I picked up a carry-on bag and went to the kitchen to see what Ma was doing. “Ma, you take good care of Toqi.”
She stroked out a tangled spot in my hair. “I don’t know how that little goat is going to get along without you.”
“It’ll be hard on both of us,” I said while walking over to the window.
“Are you all right?” asked Ma. “Your cheeks sure are flushed. Why don’t you go out to give Toqi a hug or two? Spend some time with him.”
“I wish I had a prophecy like yours; that is, to stay where you were.”
“I was lucky,” Ma said. “Yours is exciting.
Think of it that way.”
I went out the back door, sat on the ground in Toqi’s pen, and waited for him to come over.
He rubbed up against my hand. “You be good, 63
okay?” It seemed to me that he knew something was amiss.
Pa stood at the back door watching me. “It’s all ready. Everything is going to be fine. Your goat will be well cared for.” He smiled. “We need to get going soon, Elise.”
I went to my room to see if there was anything I forgot. I searched through the dresser drawers, in my closet, and under the bed. Not finding anything, I joined Ma on the hoverboard. She and I sat in the two chairs nailed down behind Pa. As soon as Pa jiggled the steering wire, the flat board came to life. It lifted higher above the ground, dipping in the front and then the back.
With a tap of his foot, it floated down the road.
A patch of wild fames alongside the road barked as we went by. In the distance, I saw my elementary school; it was an old building that leaned so far to the left that Mr. Froken bolstered it with a tall metal pole. I wondered how many other of my classmates would be meeting up with their prophecies this summer.
In the fall, there would be lots of talk about their adventures. I’d have a story to tell—one of wind and evil. I thought of the sailing ship. “Say, Pa, can you tell me what it’s like to be on a ship?”
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He perked up. “Oh, it’s exciting, Elise. The waves move the ship up and down, kind of like this hoverboard. The sea moves like an endless churning pond. You’ll love the salty air on your face.”
Ma took out her embroidery. “I read the other day they are using sound waves to travel.
Personally, I would rather fly than be on an old rickety ship. The sound waves are supposed to carry you anywhere you want overnight, and you can even fly up there with the clouds.”
“I prefer a ship,” I said. I had seen pictures of sailing ships and read stories of great sea expeditions. The only boat I had been on before was a lug-boat at the fair with a glass bottom for peering into the water. What sea beasts would I see on my trip? In school, we studied about ships that had gone down near Thanos. In the old days, many early travelers did not survive the violent storms. The southern coast of Thanos had creeping Esurian seaweed who were reputed to capture their prey from the coastline.
Some boarded ships at night only to drag their victim to a watery grave. I shuddered at the thought of seeing one.
“When you get to Thanos, you’ll see how different it is from Ourania,” said Pa. “Thanos 65
has big cities. It’s the continent of the modern age, everyone says. Ourania is the home of the old ways,” he added.
“I know Pa, I studied it in school—a lot.”
Ma patted my knee. “Aunty Gertie will take good care of you. She will keep you safe. You remember that she’s old. You stay with her.
She’ll be there in Port Argus waiting for you.”
Pa sped up the hoverboard, and before long, we arrived at the coast of Ourania in Polonka.
We glided down the main street, passing shops and street vendors, until we arrived at the dock.
Nerean sailors rolled cargo and luggage up wooden ramps to a sailing vessel with Ascension written on its bow. The hull loomed high above the dock, and the foremast had a giant crow’s nest. The figurehead was a bearded human with kind blue eyes, flowing golden hair, and a scepter held high in his right hand.
“That’s your ship,” Ma said, putting her arm around me. “It's crossed the Llyr Sea hundreds of times, I bet.”
“It’s majestic. Who is that bearded guy carved into the boat?”
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“That’s Morgoto. Many people on Thanos worship him,” said Pa, who seemed very impressed with the ship. “Look at that artwork.
Some good carving. That foremast must be made of pure budgwood. The strongest there is.”
“Oh, Pa, you're so obsessed with wood.”
“Yeah, well, I read a little bit about your sailing ship. It's got a big electric motor at the bottom of it, and those three masts are original to when it was first made. That ship has been afloat for many years. Sailed by the very best, the brochure said.”
“Let's go look around, shall we?” interjected Ma.
We passed an elegant black carriage drawn by a winged, white flossbug. When the carriage door opened, I saw the blue velvet-covered seats and pillows. A girl and a woman in her twenties stepped out. Their chains and bracelets, made of gold and silver, sat in striking contrast to their olive skin. Each wore an orange, yellow, and blue flowered dress, tied at the waist with a sash. Their hair, wrapped in a tight, pointed coil, had various feathers and beads, as if to prevent a single strand from getting loose. The girl was pretty even though the tattoo of a feline’s head covered her face: a bastet cat. The 67
bright black and gray lines around her eyes reminded me of the magnificent felines of northern Ourania. The girl’s eyes were exactly where the cat’s eyes would be.
“Step aside! Step aside!” yelled the sailor with a clipboard. “These two need to board the ship!”
Another sailor bowed as the girl and her friend went up the ramp. A woman in a dark blue dress met them on the deck and escorted them out of sight.
Behind the bastet carriage, a red-faced boy with grass for hair got out of a wagon drawn by a black and brown spotted horse. The furry animal twitched its pointy ears as it sat on its back haunches.
“All baggage for the Ascension goes next to the white line!” yelled the sailor with the clipboard.
Pa grabbed me by the elbow. “Why don’t you two go walk around in Polonka while I unload the trunks and get the ticket? When I’m done, I’ll meet you at the Cibus Café.”
“Yum,” Ma said, smiling. “I seem to remember that we can get some manions from the cafe.”
Pa picked up one of the trunks. “See you in a little bit.”
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Ma and I headed for the village. “I wish Millie could’ve come today,” I said.
“My baby is growing up.” A tear dropped from Ma’s eye. She took out a hanky and wiped it away. We passed by other people dressed in travel wear: coats, scarves, sturdy shoes, and carrying bags.
With bags strapped to their triangular backs, two mouri that looked like flying stingrays, flew above us. They glided elegantly through the air on surging wind currents until they swooped in for a landing. Their small legs seemed hardly big enough to hold their large bodies as they came to a running stop. I turned to Ma, noticing that a few more teardrops escaped down her cheek.
“Ma, you can’t cry.” I wiped her cheek with my hand. “Let’s see what the vendors have for sale.”
The first street vendor we passed sold sour sticks. The sign said they were made from crushed roots and insect saliva. Blecht. The next vendor had yellow hay squares, sweet friscuits, and bark logs for fires.
