"It seems that fate
has made the decision for you Yasuo."
Kakari was pleased. Why?
"Rest now, there is
much to be done once you have fully recovered."
My throat was dry and
ached. My pulsed drummed in my ears, and there was a dull pain at
my temples. My eyelids were so heavy I could not open them. It
took much energy for my chest to rise and fall with each breath I
took.
By Althena, what had
happened to me?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"His Majesty?"
"Sleeping, Himistu. I
would like to keep him this way as long as possible. It will make
returning to Lunar that much more difficult."
"What of the cave
in?"
"It will be only a
matter of hours before that body has perished; once that happens
he will live on here. Then we will truly be reunited; he will not
be taken from me again."
"I see you have
thought this out extensively."
"Yes, it is only a
matter of waiting now. Once that prison of a body in Lunar dies,
he will regain full strength here, and we will once again be
happy."
"What if the body in
Lunar does not die?"
"How can it survive
after being crushed by tons of earth? He will live here Himistu.
You may not like that thought but he will, and he will take the
throne aside me."
"Fate is an
unpredictable thing Kakari, you should be prepared for some
setbacks."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"By the Goddess!
Look!"
"Where?"
"Over there by the
mining tools!"
"Stay back Rei! The
Vile Tribe was stationed here, this could be one of them!"
"Posh! Hurry Kazuki!
Whoever it is might still be alive!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Slowly, my eyes focused...
by the-
At once I was attacked with
slobbery kisses! With a weak hand I tried to fend off the
confounded dog.
"Zev! Down boy,
down!" commanded a young giggling girl. She could not have
been more than ten years of age. "How are you mister? You
look a lot better, you should have seen what you looked like when
we found you!"
"Rei! That will be
enough! Where are your manners little girl?" A tall, auburn
haired woman appeared beside the youth, seemingly out of nowhere.
She touched the little girl's shoulder and with a pouting lower
lip the little girl scurried off with her dog. I looked back to
the woman whose attention was now focused on me. "I am truly
sorry about that. My daughter can get a little rowdy at
times," She paused as though unsure of what to say. "Oh
speaking of manners, where are mine? My name is Yakira, Rei's
mother. Her friend Kazuki found you under a pile of rubble. You
are very lucky you survived the cave in."
That was something of an
understatement, I was lucky to draw my next breath. It was sad
how much of a task breathing itself had become. How was I to face
Ghaleon and find the goddess in this condition?
"Thank you." Was
all my cracked lips would allow me to utter.
"It was no problem
really. Just relax, a few days bed rest will do you good."
As I fell back into my deep
sleep I missed the fear that crept into Yakira's eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You really think he
is scary Kazuki? You are such a child!"
I recognized the cute,
petite voice as Rei's. She was daring Kazuki to touch my hand. I
would have smiled if I had had the strength... come to think of
it, that would no doubt scare the wits out of both of them even
more.
"Fine! I shall just
have to do it myself! Chicken!"
I could hear the hint of
uncertainty in Rei's voice, then her hushed footsteps as she
tiptoed closer.
"Rei! By all that is
good in this world what do you think you are doing!"
Yakira's voice snapped in a fierce, yet soft tone.
Even with my eyes closed I
could still envision Rei's little jump of surprise.
"Nothing mama, I was
just making sure he was ok."
"He is just fine, let
him sleep! By the goddess child, are your chores done?"
"Yes mama."
"Did you go into town
for the chicken feed?"
"Yes mama."
"Were you and Kazuki
playing by the mines again?"
"No mama."
"Very well, give me a
hug and run along."
I opened my eyes to see Rei
giggle and run into her mother's open arms. My heart felt heavy
then, and emotion welled up in my chest. Yakira did not take that
loving gesture for granted at all...
Why was I denied even the
simplest pleasures in life?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I slept for the better part
of seventy two hours, only waking for food, drink and to relieve
myself. I felt my strength all but pouring back into my body! It
was truly amazing!
Now I was finally back on
my feet, and standing on the front porch of Yakira's small home.
"Why do you have to go
so soon? You just got here!"
I pulled on my new hood and
smiled at Rei as I knelt in front of her.
"There are important
things that I must attend to now little Rei."
"Will you ever come
back to visit? Zev will miss you!"
Oh how this girl knew how
to pull at my heartstrings, but she was the most darling child I
had ever met.
"I promise that when I
have everything taken care of, I will come back and visit
Zev." Zev drooled all over my hand before I was able to pat
his head. "And you," I added and Rei's round face lit
up as she handed me a cloth.
"I always carry this
around cuz Zev is always drooling everywhere. Mama gets upset if
I don't keep up after him."
"Your mama loves you
very much sugai'yar gamal, she wants what's best for you... and
Zev."
"I know."
There did not seem to be
anything left to say. How was it that I became so attached to
her? I knew next to nothing about her! Bah! Better to not think
about it too much, it will just make the goodbye even harder.
I wiped away the dog
saliva, folded the cloth, and handed it back to Rei.
"I will be counting on
you to do as your mama says till I come to visit, ok?"
"Yes Yasuo, I
promise." Fearlessly she threw her arms around my neck and
squeezed with all her strength. "What does it mean?"
"What my little Rei?" I knew all too well what she meant. Out of nowhere I had spoken in a foreign tongue, one that seemed all too familiar... one that scared the hell out of me.
§ Chapter 15 § Tear Main § Chapter 17 §
