Keeper and the firefly, p.11
Keeper and the Firefly, page 11
"I remember that!" Windy shrieked. "Tell me more!"
"He did something called juggling." Breeze was warming up and enjoying herself.
"Juggling?" Ariel repeated. "What's that?"
"He'd throw three pebbles up and keep them in the air without dropping them."
Ariel couldn't imagine Keeper juggling. "Sounds weird," she admitted.
"Yeah, but it was funny to see. Windy, you would laugh every time he did it. And he was pretty good at it, too!"
Windy giggled. She did remember!
"And he never wore shoes!" she added. "Not even in winter!"
"That's right!" Breeze was elated. She could remember that clearly.
Ariel's heart skipped a beat. Keeper had been barefooted when she saw him! She remembered his feet had been oddly red, almost leathery.
"Why didn't he wear shoes?" the youngest sister ventured.
Breeze considered. "I’m not sure. I think he burnt his feet a long time ago: on a cigarette or something. I don't really remember."
"What else do you remember about him?" Windy begged. "Tell us more!"
Breeze thought hard. The memories came flooding back to her. "The colony called him Healer." She told them.
"Really?" Windy and Ariel were awed. "Why was that?"
"Because it seemed he could heal any sickness there was. I remember he cured a hornet sting once. No one had ever lived through one before. Or since, for that matter. And he could heal a broken bone. He had a strange way of wrapping it in skins so it couldn't be moved, and when the skins were removed a few weeks later, that bone would be good again. No one could do what he did. The other medicine men were so jealous of him!"
Ariel remembered Basil's spider bite and the magical powders - antidote - he'd treated it with. And the way he'd fixed her hand. Keeper had been his teacher and must have taught him his magic. He must be very wise, Ariel forced herself to admit.
"And something else..." Windy tried to remember.
"What?"
"Well, I never knew for sure, but..." Windy leaned forward and her sisters leaned in to hear her whisper. "I think he could read!"
Breeze gasped. Ariel blinked.
"You made that up!" Breeze retorted angrily.
"No, I didn't! I remember seeing him once. He had this thing called a book and was looking at it, but he didn't know I saw him! It was full of pictures and squiggles!"
"A book?" Breeze didn't want to believe it. "Here? Inside the colony?"
"No, that time he took us to the creek, remember? The time with Mama. It was just a few days before..." But she didn't finish. Her and her older sister exchanged looks. Breeze knew what she was talking about.
"A few days before what?" Ariel wanted to know.
"Nothing." The older sister didn't want to go on.
"But I know he had a book!" Windy continued to argue. "I remember him showing it to Mama."
Breeze lashed out and slapped her sister.
"He didn't!” the elder retorted angrily. “There was never any book! There wasn't!"
"What are you talking about? What book?"
The three sisters jumped at the booming angry voice and looked up. Standing over them was Thorn, Breeze's husband. The sisters stared at him in horror. He'd heard them! The young mothers gathered their babies to them.
"What book?" he repeated, lashing out to strike his wife. Breeze cried out at the blow and the baby in her arms wailed in fear. Breeze's young daughter began crying.
"Shut that brat up!" Thorn demanded, pointing an accusing finger at his daughter. Terrified, 2-year-old Sky hid behind her aunt Windy.
"What are you talking about?" He barked at them, and rose his hand to strike his wife again, but Ariel jumped to her feet.
"Thunder's book!" she spat. "It was a long time ago. I asked Breeze about it."
For a moment, Thorn looked as if he was going to take his anger out on Ariel for a change of pace, but his hand stopped before it had a chance to hit her. He knew Ariel was still under SkyKing's protection and would be until she married. SkyKing may not appreciate her being slapped around, even by a son-in-law. He let his arm drop but balled his hand into an angry fist.
"Don't you ever let me hear you say that name in this colony!" he threatened.
It was an empty threat though, and Ariel knew it.
"Why, Thorn?" she asked him mockingly. "Are you jealous of him? Was Thunder smarter than your daddy? That wouldn't be hard. Your dad's nothing but an old windbag."
Thorn's eyes flashed red, but he knew better than to put his anger into actions. He could only use words against her.
"Thunder was evil!" he nearly shouted at her. "My father says all he ever did was tell lies and brain wash people. He was a murderer, or didn't my wife tell you about that? He killed your mother, Ariel. Beat her up bad and pushed her off a cliff. Didn't you know that about him?"
No, Ariel hadn't. The revelation caught her off guard.
"Who knows," Thorn continued. "Maybe you would have been next if they hadn't caught him and killed him. Pretty little thing like you, maybe he would have cut out your heart."
"Leave her be, Thorn!" Breeze stood up beside her little sister, trying to stop her husband's verbal assault, but Thorn's large hand caught her cheek again and nearly fell her to the ground. The children wailed in terror.
"Shut up, woman!" he demanded.
Ariel had enough. She brought her knee up hard and caught her brother-in-law in a tender area. The large man fell to the ground at her feet, groaning in pain.
"You leave my sister alone, you filthy slug!" she shouted at him.
Her sisters were horrified.
“Ariel!” they admonished, gasping.
The youngest sister looked up at them and then noticed, despite Thorn’s moaning, how quiet it was. She looked around. She and Thorn had been yelling at each other. Everyone in the barn was staring at them. The women looked terrified. The men were indignant. The colony were pointing at her, whispering in urgent tones.
Someone called out for their leader to come.
“Get SkyKing!” they demanded.
Some of the young men ran off to find him.
Ariel’s heart sank. She, a mere girl, had struck a man. It was unheard of in their colony. Who knew what the punishment would be? Ariel didn’t know, but she was sure it would be severe.
As SkyKing came, the rest of the colony also drew in closer to see and hear what would happen to this rebellious princess. The elders urgently explained what the girl had done as Ariel stood there, her face burning.
“She struck Thorn!” she heard a colonist whisper loudly to another.
“I saw it! Do you think SkyKing will have her killed?” was the reply.
“What punishment would be appropriate? This is unheard of!” someone on the other side of the throng wondered.
“She didn’t have any right to do that! She isn’t even part of his family!”
“Ha! She’s a girl! She doesn’t have any rights period!”
Ariel didn’t dare look at her father as he stood there, the elders pointing out her wickedness. Thorn lay on the ground, reveling in the attention, moaning at the harm and insult to his manhood that this foolish girl had inflicted on him. SkyKing stood there, arms folded, taking it all in, silently turning the information over in his mind.
“So, Sire,” Thorn’s father entreated. “What should be done to this girl?” He snarled the last word with loathing.
The colony fell silent as their king considered. When he finally spoke, his words were amused and unexpected.
“You were beaten by a girl?” he asked his son-in-law.
The other men suddenly realized the absurdity of the statement and looked at each other. They started grinning. Some tried to hide their mirth and failed. Others laughed aloud. Thorn lay there, stunned, looking up at his father-in-law in shock. He quickly came to his senses and sprang to his feet, despite his obvious discomfort.
“She struck me!” he insisted.
SkyKing nodded. “And quite well too, I see.”
That brought another round of hoots from the men. The women stood by, knowing they dare not laugh, but soaking in every word of the exchange.
“Aren’t you going to do anything about it?” Thorn wanted to know.
SkyKing shook his head. “I’m not fighting your battles for you.”
“Then maybe I should just punch her a few times to make it even!”
SkyKing didn’t say anything. He glared at his son-in-law and raised an eyebrow in challenge. That was all that was needed. Flustered and angry, Thorn spun on his heels, grabbed his wife by the arm, and stormed away. Little Sky hid behind her aunt Windy, hoping her dad would not notice she hadn’t followed her family.
Ariel cringed. Now Breeze is going to get punished because of what I did. Sure enough, a moment later she heard the tell-tale sound of the hard slap, Breeze’s attempt to stifle a cry, and baby Storm shrieking in fear.
“SHUT THAT KID UP!” Thorn demanded, and he struck his wife again. Sky winced for her mother as a sob escaped her. She clung to her aunt with trembling little fists.
SkyKing grimaced as he watched his daughter and eldest son-in-law.
Oh, why don’t you do something? Ariel silently demanded, scowling at her inactive father. She’s your daughter! Do something! But wife beating was common in a society where women were property.
Still, he watched and grimaced. Ariel watched him and scowled.
Do something! Do something! She silently implored.
And, unexpectedly, he did.
“If you keep hitting her like that, she’s not going to be able to give you any more children,” SkyKing called out.
Thorn paused and looked over at his father-in-law, his fist poised to deliver another blow. But he stopped and blinked, considering what his elder had told him. He looked down at his sobbing wife and the sickly child she held protectively against her. The king had a point. Slowly, Thorn lowered his fist. He cast one last hateful glare at Ariel and walked over to where his friends were gathered, leaving Breeze in a trembling, crying heap.
Windy touched Ariel’s shoulder.
“Don’t ever mention Thunder again,” she warned in a harsh whisper. She shifted her baby Moon on her hip, took her niece’s hand and walked over to tend to her bleeding sister.
Ariel sat down against the wall of the barn, leaned back and sighed. She’d totally forgotten they’d been talking about him when all the trouble started. Thunder, Keeper, Healer. Who was he? To Daddy and Thorn, he was evil. To the Rapha he was a mentor, and, to her sisters, he was an incredible healer and someone who had made Mama laugh. The profiles clashed horribly. Which one was the real person?
She had no idea.
15
What Happened at the Point
The Point was an outcrop of rock overlooking the Elk river. It was a favorite place for young elves to hang out on a pleasant Friday night. The expected crowd of twenty-somethings were there and when Dill decided to stop by that evening, they sent up a cheer the moment they saw him. He was offered a sandwich, and a glass of beer. Dill was never one to pass up free food.
“So, what’s up with the flyer girl?” they asked as soon as Dill was seated by the fire pit. He’d been keeping them all updated on Ariel’s adventures, but covering both his rounds and Basil’s had left him little time for hanging out with the local young adults. All eyes turned to him, waiting for the next chapter in this ongoing tale.
The hopper took a huge bite of his sandwich. “We had to rescue her from a swarm of bees last week,” he said between chews. The crowd stared at him, agog. Dill was never one to tell a dull story. Everyone hushed down so they could catch all the details.
“Yeah,” the tale spinner continued, “a worker bee had snuck up behind her and was going to sting, so the silly girl took it on and tried to beat some sense into the beast. Next thing we know, the whole colony came out to give her what for. Basil and I were fighting them off right and left and we had a ferocious time outrunning them. But we’re clever, we are, you know? We outsmarted them by grabbing the girl and diving into a mud hole. The bees were swarming around, still trying to get to her, but a bee can’t outsmart a hopper. We just sat there in that mud hole, laughing, and making faces at those ol’ bees, but they finally had no choice but to give up and go home. The hoppers won again.”
They sat there silent, looking at the story teller.
“So, is that what Basil’s going to tell us when we ask him?” one of them inquired.
Dill shrugged. “Close enough.”
“Where is Basil?” one of the girls wanted to know. It was Ginger. Sometimes, Ginger acted like Dill was her boyfriend and would want to sit close to him and bat her eyes. Other times, she thought someone else was her date and acted like he was no one special. Tonight, was one of those other times. She was sitting by Tad – one of the water nymphs - and holding his hand tight. Man, that girl’s fickle, Dill thought for not the first time.
The surgeon hopper shook his head. “He messed up his leg again. Outrunning bees can do that to a fella.”
The group moaned their sentiment.
“Geez, Dill. When’s he gonna come join us??”
“He ain’t 21 yet,” Dill reminded them.
“We’re not doing anything awful,” a fellow adult complained. But there was alcohol, and a fair amount of smooching happened. The kissing might be acceptable, but until the restrictive age of 21, drinking alcohol was definitely frowned on by the community.
“For the next four months, ‘til he’s of age,” Dill continued, “Basil’s evenings are already spoken for.”
The hush immediately returned. All eyes focused on Dill, and ears tuned into his voice.
“Our friend Basil,” Dill confessed in a low voice, “is reading Moby Dick.”
There were exclamations all around: some laughing, some disappointed the news wasn’t juicier, others decrying the hopper’s bad choice.
“Oh, I read that book!” a girl defended. “I loved it!”
“I read it too,” Dill replied. “It took me two months and it pains me that I will never get those two months back.”
“Jonah’s a much better fish story,” Tad interjected. “And a lot shorter.”
“I liked the Old Man and the Sea,” another added.
“I heard Keeper read Moby Dick in two days,” one of the boys said.
“He did,” Dill confirmed. “He said it was a pretty good book, so I decided I’d read it.” He shook his head. “Worst advice I ever followed.”
“If it was so awful, why did you finish it?” Ginger wanted to know.
Dill thought about that for a moment and shrugged.
“So, I could say I actually read it.”
Someone else laughed at that. “I know what you mean! I started it twice and never got to the end.”
“Spoiler alert: the fish wins.”
“When did this become a book club?” Tad asked. Everyone thought for a moment and then pointed at Dill. He put up his hands in self-defense.
“All I said is that Basil’s reading Moby Dick.”
“Well, good for him!” the first girl said. “I hope he finishes it.”
Others nodded agreement, whether because they did hope he was successful or just to move on to other topics, and the group turned its attention to better discussion points.
“That’s Orion’s Belt. That star making Orion’s right shoulder is Betelgeuse and the left one is Bellatrix.”
“Oh, Dill! How do you know so much?” Ginger gushed.
They were both lying on their backs at The Point, but now, it was past midnight. Dill and Ginger were the only two left. Oh, Dill was sure some of the couples were nearby, smooching in the grass, or doing other things. He and Ginger were the only ones still up on the rock, staring at the stars. The fickle red head had decided they were friends again and had sent the disgruntled Tad away in a huff.
Dill shrugged. “I like learning about the stars,” he explained. “Keeper and I built a couple of telescopes. His is pretty big and stays at his place. Mine’s smaller. I should have brought it. You can see the stars clearer with it. See the tip of Orion’s sword? It’s actually a nebula – that’s like a giant cloud in space.”
“Dill, why don’t we get married?”
The male had to chuckle at that. “Ain’t happening, Ginger. Now those stars that make Orion’s feet are Salph and Rigel.”
“We should run off and get married.”
Sigh. “Your dad hates me, Ginger. If I even thought of marrying you, he’d come after me with his crossbow.”
“He’s just saying that. If we actually got married, he’d learn to like you.”
“Uh, huh. Now, that cluster over there is Cassiopeia.”
“Do you want another beer?”
“No.”
“There’s still some in the keg.”
Dill shook his head. “I’ve already had two glasses. That’s my limit.”
“Do you want to smooch?”
“I should be getting you home. It’s late. Your dad ain’t gonna be happy.”
“Matthew Dill Rapha!” Ginger huffed. “I am twenty-one years old! I can stay out late on a Friday night if I want to!”
“But you’re not the one who’s going to get scalped when I get you home.”
“Oh, let’s just stay a while longer!” the girl pleaded. “Tell me about that cluster there!”
“Wouldn’t you rather be with Tad? You were smooching with him earlier.”
“Well, you were with Sarah Jane.”
“We were only star gazing.”
“That’s all me and Tad were doing.”
Dill doubted it, but he sat down again anyway.
“That up there’s the constellation Taurus, the bull,” he explained. “Its stars are Aldebaran, Beta Tauri, Zeta Tauri, Gamma Tauri….”
16
Ariel's Lamentation
The men were preparing for their hunting party. Ariel sat watching them, scowling. It had been six days since she’d last seen Basil and his friends, and she felt weighed down with her depression at being stuck there in the shabby falling down barn. She wanted laughter and cooked food! Books, music, friends. None of that was here in her dismal world.
