Untitled Document
I drearily looked up into the faces of two Zafaras. They
had finely, but foreign boned faces, and their eyes were, strangely enough, a
deep violet. They had necklaces and rings made of foreign material, and their
pelts were a deep green. They were peering down at me and whispering excitedly.
I groaned and they started, not realizing I was awake.
Waves, rhythmic and steady, gently soothed the
red-hot pain in my head. With each exhalation of the majestic ocean, salt water
pooled around me and receded. Wind whispered its secrets into my ears. As my
eyes opened, I realized where I was and what had happened.
The ocean... the dragon's tail... my shock as
I tumbled into the sea... it was all coming back to me. The amulet had kept
me alive because it had wanted me to live. It needed me; I was its Bearer.
A pounding headache resounded throughout my
skull - side affects of using the magic of the amulet. My wind-whipped fur was
sticky with dried salt, and I slowly lifted myself up and shook myself.
A quick glance around showed I was on a beach;
fine white sand filled in between my toes when I took steps. Palm trees waved
calmly, without a care in the world. Trees, except for a small trail leading
into the forest, surrounded me. I looked curiously at the Zafara children and
they looked at me. I could see that they had no fear of me hurting them. My
voice came unrecognizable to even me, cracked with dryness and pain.
"Hello. Who are you? Where am I?"
They looked blankly at me, and the fact that
they could not understand me came crashing around my head. I was more tired
than ever, and the creeping despair of the amulet was back. I locked it inside
myself again, not wanting it to affect two innocent children.
After staring at one another, the children grabbed
at my forepaw, and tugged, gesturing for me to follow.
The trail they took me on was generally clear,
though the occasional bramble caught me, and they chuckled at my carelessness
when they thought I couldn't see them. I smiled, liking these two more and more.
When we finally arrived, we came to a scant
little village. Sand was still getting stuck between my toes, and remnants of
palm leaves littered the ground. The houses were nothing but huts, topped with
grass.
They must have quite a time with rain!
I thought, and promptly restrained a hysterical laugh. The Zafaras looked to
me and chattered excitedly. I frowned and without a thought reached for the
power of the amulet to translate this.
The gibberish melted into Neopian. "You're just
what the elder was expecting! I can't believe this is really happening! Quick,
we have to take you to him!"
I frowned again. The elder? What was this?
And even more - he was expecting me. What did this mean? Could I trust him?
I shook these thoughts away like pesky insects, deciding to go the simple route
and get a feel for him before I decided on things such as trust.
I hardly even noticed the little Zafaras dragging
me, before I said, "What are your names, little ones?" (Of course I had the
amulet translate it to the children's ears)
They stopped and stared wide-eyed at me. "You
can speak our language?" the boy demanded. The girl gave the first a patronizing
look, and spoke.
"My name is Wahre, and my brother here is Sohra.
We're twins!"
I smiled at them and said calmly, "My name is
Amita. So, where is this elder you speak so much about?" Sohra grinned carelessly
and tugged at me again.
I followed them until we arrived at a humble
house at the outskirts of the village. The twins left me at the door and left,
waving and grinning. They sure were trusting... too bad they would eventually
learn that many aspects of the world were not to be trusted. I nodded and smiled
back as they scrambled away.
Facing the door, the wind blowing gently into
my face, I flicked my ears and flattened them. The weather here was much more
humid and tropical than at Neopia, the insects and birds cawed and hummed and
screeched relentlessly. When I breathed in, I could taste spring on my tongue,
and pawing the ground gently yielded layers of tawny sand instead of soil. For
a second, the pain that the amulet caused lessened and I rejoiced in it's receding
before it bounced back with full fury and I shuddered terribly.
When I walked slowly up the stairs, sand bits
grinding into my soft paws, the door opened a crack and a deep voice resounded
from inside. "Come in." My foreboding increased as I gingerly opened the door
and noiselessly stepped in.
"I'll be out in a second..." And a moment later,
"Oh dear, I've burned the cookies again! Oh drat it all..." Several things I
can't mention here preceded this. A tall Techo came out of the kitchen, whipping
off mitts. Seeing my brow, furrowed in confusion, he chuckled. "Sorry bout that,
I'm no good at cooking." I grinned, despite myself, and this broke the ice.
I liked this fellow!
"Oh sit down, sit down!" he exclaimed, and pointed
to a ratty looking sofa. As I sat, he opened the window and the ocean breeze
washed the burnt smell of charcoal away.
I was immediately reminded of a large lizard,
though I knew what a Techo was. He was tall and graceful, his tail keeping but
an inch off the dusty floor. When he turned, I noticed that his eyes were a
majestic, deep green, and he had chartreuse scales. Studying his face, I realized
that there was no way to tell how old he was. His eyes were bursting with timeless,
ageless wisdom, and upon seeing my gaze, he chuckled deep in his throat.
"You sure know how to stare down a old man,
lad."
I grinned. "You are not an old man." With a
shock, I realized that I hadn't needed the amulet to translate the elder's words,
nor to make mine clear to him!
Chuckling again, he noted my shock. "Yes, I
am one of the only ones here who speak Neopian. You don't need that amulet here."
Dropping any facial expression, I turned my
face into a blank mask. "What do you know of the amulet?"
His face adopted a kind expression. "I know
that you have been lugging that burden around since birth. I'm sorry."
I relaxed and shrugged, "Not your problem. How
did you know about the amulet?"
"There have been several prophecies about you,
my boy! Quite famous indeed you are..."
I stared, and he said, "Of course if you wish,
you could find those in the libraries I suspect. Oh! And you are on Mystery
Island; sorry I forgot to mention it to you before. The people here are very
friendly, I think that you will find yourself having a good stay here." He winked
and I nodded my thanks.
I got up to leave, and the Techo drew closer
and murmured, "Good luck, my lad."
* * *
Exiting the hut, I saw that the sun was setting, turning the blue skies to
red and orange hues. Turning my head south, I realized that Sohra and Wahre
were running toward me, laughing. I waved, laughing myself and ran down to greet
them. I liked these two, there was something roughly innocent in them.
"Hi!" Wahre exclaimed. "We told our mom about
you, and guess what!"
"What?" I said, not even bothering to guess,
but I couldn't help but smile at the exuberant joy of Wahre.
"She said you could stay with us! We have an
extra little room attached to our main house, and seeing that you have no place
to go..." she stopped and looked worried. "You do have no place to go, right?"
"Right," I agreed.
"Oh okay, anyway, come with us! We'll make sure
you're comfy!" Following them, they brought me to a little house nearer to the
beach. The sun was finished setting, and the sky was melting into a deep purple.
I hesitated, but at their welcoming tugs, I stepped in.
A small but comfortable kitchen greeted me,
where a tired-looking but cheery Zafara bustled in and said, "Hi! I'm Firne,
Sohra and Wahre's mother. They've told us all about you of course, and you can
stay in the room near our house."
"Thank you," I said sincerely.
She smiled and said, "Think nothing of it. The
twins will show you where your room is."
Exiting the main hut and turning left, the twins
left me at an extension on the house, and entering it, I saw a small but cozy
bed and a desk with a rickety chair. Several empty shelves lined the wall. Smiling
at this family's generosity, but somewhat bothered that they would be so giving
to a complete stranger; I rested on the bed and without even meaning to, was
sucked inside restless dreams.
* * *
Waking at early morning, I bolted straight up in my bed. Nightmares had haunted
my sleep last night. Once I calmed down, I padded outside for a breath of fresh
air. Noting with surprise that the sun wasn't up yet, I breathed in deeply the
scent of morning mist. The ocean was still breathing rhythmically, and after
listening to its soothing waves for a few minutes, I walked into the forest
on whim.
Remembering my old mentor's teachings, I collected
healing herbs, some common to most countries, and others that were very rare
where I came from, but were common among this island. Around 6 am, the sky turned
a deep orange hue, and I returned to my home with my findings. After setting
up the herbs and plants on the shelves, Sohra burst into my room, and I jumped.
"Good morning! Would you like breakfast?"
Still trying to catch my breath, I gently chided
him, "What if I was still asleep? I would have had a heart attack!" When he
giggled, I replied, as if reminded of hunger, "And yes, I would love some food,
if you would be so willing to spare it."
He nodded, and then turned toward my shelves
of herbs. "What're those? Why'd you collect plants?"
"Those are the plants on this island that have
healing properties. I collected them because… well, someday I might need them."
He looked fascinated. "What's that?" he said
pointing to a purple plant.
"Oh, that's good for headaches when you drink
it in your tea."
He proceeded by pointing to several more and
asking about them, until he finally left and returned with a few eggs and juice.
Bolting down my breakfast, I thanked him. When he didn't leave however, scuffing
his feet on the dirty ground, I turned curiously to him.
"I have something for you. I… I thought you
might like it, I had one when I moved someplace new."
I almost told him that I wasn't staying, but
I stopped. Perhaps I did want to stay - I was certainly beginning to grow on
the little village, it's people, and the ocean waves.
I cocked my head at him. "What is it Sohra?"
He handed a small book to me. At least I thought
it was a book until I opened it, and found it was blank. Peering closer, I realized
it was a journal. I smiled at the little Zafara's kindness.
"Thank you," I said sincerely.
"Welcome!" he grinned. "See ya!" and with that
he darted out.
To be continued...
|