Star Spark

by Day Leitao

  Star Spark

  Day Leitao

  Sparkly Wave

  Copyright © 2020 by Day Leitao

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Paperback ISBN: 978-1-9992427-3-2

  Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-9992427-5-6

  Cover illustration by Natalya Sorokin (J Witless)

  Contents

  1. Stubborn Flames

  2. Before the Storm

  3. Cheers for the Brokenhearted

  4. New Paths

  5. Mainland

  6. Imminent Danger

  7. Trying to Escape

  8. New Lives

  9. New Reality

  10. Friends

  11. Changes

  12. Goodbye

  13. Firewater

  14. Cliffbound

  15. Intruders

  16. Enemies

  17. Keep Walking

  18. In Search of a Way Out

  19. Back to the Beach

  20. New Resolutions

  21. Trip

  22. The City

  23. Finding Out More

  24. What Now?

  25. Calling Into Nothingness

  26. Enemies and Allies

  27. Through the Gates

  28. New Moon

  29. Dead Garden

  30. Revelations

  31. Message

  32. Night

  33. Decisions

  34. Death

  35. Meeting

  About the Author

  1

  Stubborn Flames

  The flickering flames of eleven lamps illuminated Saytera’s face. Legs crossed, sitting on the floor, she was focused on the tiny fire in front of her. Or at least she should be. Her task was to quench only one flame and leave the others alone. Control like that was still challenging, but the real problem was her mind. Wandering mind, fast-beating heart, with the anticipation of what the night would bring.

  Instead of fire, a face occupied her mind; Cayo’s. He’d left her island over six months before. Lately, her letters to him went unanswered. Her insides twisted with the possibility that he’d forgotten her, but her mind told her that perhaps he was just too busy. Too busy for her. Yes, she knew what it meant, and still… She had to see him, and in three days she would, at the great summer celebration. For good or bad, Saytera would have her answer.

  She sighed, then almost regretted it, as some flames moved. She wasn’t supposed to use wind or any physical means to quench the fire—or to think about a friend in that way either, especially a friend who’d been away for so long and hadn’t answered her. Perhaps he was an ex-friend. The idea hurt.

  Focus, Saytera. On the flame, the flame. Doing poorly in her lessons would gain her no favors. Her lousy performance was the very reason she hadn’t seen Cayo and his sister Kilmara, as they had moved to Blaze Island to study and advance their matterweaving. They all knew how to make fire. Saytera was still only quenching it, and not that well. And still on Ken island—left behind. Thinking about her yearning to move wouldn’t help her. Doing well in her lesson would.

  Matterweaving was weird. There wasn’t one technique that worked at all times. But then, perhaps it was Saytera who still hadn’t mastered the right way to do it and was getting her results by accident. She stared at the flame and imagined the black in the middle getting bigger, swallowing the orange and yellow.

  It got bigger—and so did the rest of the flame. No good.

  Her body tense from hours of sitting on the floor of that dark cabin, she lay on the ground. The flames cast dancing forms on the ceiling. She relaxed and appreciated the beauty of them, ignoring her exercise. Struggling never accomplished any result. She knew it. Sure. And yet. All of this because of her stupid obsession with a guy who couldn’t take five minutes to write her a note. Wonderful. If only her heart were that logical, if only she could quench its flame like she quenched real flames. Haha, as if she had an easy time quenching flames. Pathetic.

  Lying on her back, she closed her eyes. There was no cabin, no task, no matterweaving, no upcoming celebration. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the darkness of her closed eyelids, her breath in and out, the soothing comfort of the soft earth on her back. Stars in the Universe, stars within; one body, one soul.

  And then she was walking under the stars, heading to the Blue Beach, where there was a fire. Yansin, Kerely, and some other people were performing a passing ritual, celebrating a loved one’s release from the physical body. Kilmara was there. Yansin’s eyes were swollen from crying. Crying? What would make Saytera’s powerful, wise master so sad?

  “Death was part of life and shouldn’t be mourned,” she always said. Her eyes and her expression told a different story, though. Kerely held Yansin’s arm and patted her back as if consoling her. This was so strange. Saytera got close to the scene when they were about to burn a cloth with the person’s name on it. Whoever had passed had lost their body, perhaps in the belly of a sea serpent or in the bottom of the sea. The cloth was a replacement.

  There was an S in the beginning of the name. Saytera ran the names of masters and apprentices in her mind. A few started with S, but none of them important or close enough to Yansin. Her insides were starting to cool with a dreadful feeling. Then the cloth turned, allowing her to get a better look. Her breath got caught in her throat. The name was Saytera.

  She gasped and sat up. What had that been? A vision? Everything was dark and she didn’t know where she was. Hang on. She remembered. And she had screwed up. All the lamps had been put out.

  The heavy old-fashioned iron gate and fences did little to keep Dess out of the Staralloy mansion’s grounds. He knew that place better than anyone, having run through these trees for so many years, chasing dreams that had been as real to him as the artificial atmosphere he breathed. He also knew its security system, having once imagined that there were monsters chasing him. Good times. Now the monsters rarely left him—they were in his mind.

  He found the point where the fence could be bent, allowing a gap between it and the floor, through which he slid inside. If caught, he’d be arrested, taken for a thief or even an assassin. If caught—which was unlikely.

  That garden with those trees and that grass calmed him, grounding him in the memory of who he was, even if the splendor of its flowers was long gone. What once had been a house now headquartered the mining company on his moon.

  Dess clutched the doll in his hand—a reminder. Like the sight of the mansion, so that he wouldn’t forget the reason he had to focus, study, and become the best initiate he could.

  The test tomorrow would seal his destiny. He was by far the best in his class, but that didn’t put him at ease, as the appointments were rigged. Deemed a nobody, he would need to do three times as well as the others—which he already did. Still, grounding himself wouldn’t hurt. His classmates were partying. Who in their right mind partied before such an important test? Oh, silly question. Those who knew they had a secure place, and the dumb ones who didn’t realize they didn’t.

  Dess stared at the lit windows from the mansion, remembering nights reading stories, a happy time that had been stolen from him. An entire life. Coming here was not only for grounding. Anger was his fuel. If the Starfire had chosen to keep him alive, it had been for a reason. Find and crush each and every one of his enemies—that was what kept him going.

  Saytera didn’t remain long in darkness. The door opened, bringing so much brightness that she could barely see who was coming in except for a flicker of light on silver hair. Of course it was Yansin.

 
; The old woman’s voice confirmed it. “Well done.”

  Really? After she’d botched her task and quenched all lamps instead of just one? Perhaps she’d forgotten what the assignment was. Well, Saytera wasn’t going to be the one to remind her. Still squinting and somewhat dizzy, she got up, her mind trying to understand what had just happened, what that vision had been.

  Yansin then added, “Go, or there won’t be any lunch left. I’m not coming, I have a meeting.”

  For the first time in her life, Saytera heard a hint of apprehension in Yansin’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

  “Wrong?” Yansin seemed startled. “Nothing’s wrong, just a visitor.”

  They always had visitors, people who came from all the other islands to learn with Yansin. They usually stayed for a few months, some stayed for a year or two. There were also other island leaders who often came by. Yansin had never sounded like that.

  “Who is it?” Saytera asked.

  “Not an apprentice. Not an island leader.” She had a faint smile. “But you knew that already. It’s just someone from the continent. Nothing for you to worry about. Go. I’d better get going as well.”

  The old woman turned around and took the path to the meeting house. Saytera kept looking at her master, wondering what the wrong “nothing” was. It had something to do with this mysterious visitor. Perhaps it was nothing indeed, just more meetings, apprentices, other islands. Or not. It was something different. It had to be. She stood there for a moment, trying to think, until her stomach reminded her to get moving.

  When the walls of the dining house were within view, a person came out of the trees surrounding the path and stood before Saytera. It was a strange woman, unlike anyone she had ever seen. Her hair was dark brown and quite short, cut above her shoulders, and her skirt was wrapped around both legs. That had to be the mysterious visitor. Everyone in the islands had long hair; the men sometimes just below their shoulders, while women had them longer. Saytera’s was light brown and down to her waist.

  The woman’s eyes locked on Saytera. She was used to people staring at her due to her mismatched eyes; one green and one brown. But this newcomer’s stare was different, as if she were looking at something inside Saytera, not just checking if her eyes had different colors.

  She said, “Hello Saytera. I must look funny to you, right?”

  Definitely. And how did she know her name?

  The woman didn’t seem to expect any answer and continued, “I’m Vivian. You were a baby when I last saw you, more than fifteen years years ago. I’m really happy to see you again.”

  Saytera wondered if the woman meant universal years or Mainland years, not that the difference was that great.

  The woman likely noticed her puzzled look, and said, “You must have so many questions.”

  She didn’t seem to imply the difference between universal standard and Mainland years, but something much deeper, more important. Why was the woman saying that? Before Saytera said anything, asked anything, another woman’s voice came from behind her.

  “Vivian!” Kerely ran towards them. “There you are. We were wondering…” Kerely noticed Saytera and seemed uneasy, but continued to address the weird woman. “Were you…lost?”

  “Yes,” Vivian replied. “I’m so sorry. The paths are different but they all look the same. Strange how I could have forgotten. I’m glad you found me.”

  Kerely looked at Saytera as if to confirm if the woman was saying the truth. Saytera shook her head slightly, because the woman didn’t seem lost at all. It was more as if she’d been wanting to talk to Saytera. Kerely noticed it, but didn’t say anything. All Vivian did was wink at Saytera before following the other woman to the meeting house.

  If only Saytera could follow them, but she wasn’t allowed, and she was hungry anyway. She had indeed spent too long doing her exercise.

  There were only leftovers at the main table. Some apprentices were already putting the food away, while others sat and drank tea. Saytera made a plate and ate quickly, not paying much attention to the food, rather wondering who that woman was and what she wanted with her. She seemed to know something about Saytera, or at least wanted to tell her something. And now she was talking to Yansin. About what? Perhaps she should push her curiosity away. But then, what if it was something important?

  After finishing quickly, she ran outside, meaning to find her friend Nowla. She first tried the Deep Lake, then she went to the Yellow Beach, where her friend was sitting on a rock surrounded by yellow petals from the tree above it.

  “Hey.” Saytera greeted her friend then sat at her side, breathless from running, wondering how to mention the strange woman and what she wanted them to do.

  “Where were you?” Nowla asked. “You didn’t eat.”

  “I just did. I was training this morning.”

  “The whole morning? Were you trying to levitate something?”

  Saytera wasn’t sure if the question was serious or a joke. “No. I had put out a lamp.”

  She then wished she could pull her words back in her mouth, because Yansin had forbidden her to tell anyone about her exercises.

  Nowla laughed. “You spent the whole morning trying to put out a lamp?”

  “I had to do it with my mind.”

  The girl shrugged as if that did not make any sense.

  Saytera knew she should stop talking, but she couldn’t. “I mean no blowing, no touching, no fanning.”

  Nowla had a puzzled face. “But if you blow it, aren’t you still using your mind to do it?”

  Saytera crossed her arms. “Uh, I’m not supposed to talk about the exercises.”

  “You’re the one who started.”

  Indeed. Saytera looked down at her footprints on the rough brown sand. She shouldn’t have said anything. Nowla was an outsider. Her family’s shuttle had crashed in the ocean just a couple years before. Nowla had been the only survivor, and she quickly became Saytera’s friend, telling her about the world outside the islands, how life was on the continent, and the war against the planet’s moon. But she would never understand, she wasn’t even supposed to understand. Still, now that Kilmara and Cayo were gone, Nowla was her only friend left, and Saytera sometimes forgot how different she was. Oh, no, Saytera had been doing so well. She’d spent the last fifteen minutes without thinking about him.

  Nowla got up and smiled, as if to end the subject. “Anyway, I have good news. There’s this woman, her name’s Vivian, she’s from the Continent and… you have to meet her, she’ll tell you all about the real world. ”

  That was exactly what Saytera wanted to talk about. Not the real world, but the woman. “I saw her. Don’t you think she’s weird?”

  Nowla frowned. “No. Not at all. Why?”

  “She was wearing a weird skirt. Like, around her legs.”

  “Weird skirt?” Nowla paused, trying to understand something, then she cracked up. “You’re so funny. Those are pants, that’s what normal people usually wear. You really need to meet someone normal, other than me.”

  Right. Yeah. She’d seen pictures. Saytera ignored the teasing. “When did you meet her?”

  “This morning. She said…” Nowla hesitated. “She could take me home. And also bring you. For a visit. Or…”

  “She mentioned me?”

  “No, she just… she lives there and can take me home. I’m the one who mentioned you. I think. I’m actually waiting for her, she’s coming to talk to me.”

  Saytera shook her head. “She’s with the island leaders. Or at least with Yansin and Kerely. Leader meetings. Or something. And…” Saytera was getting to the important part. Her heartbeats reverberated through her body. “Do you want to come with me and help me listen?”

  “I thought you were afraid of getting caught.”

  More than afraid. The prospect of eavesdropping on Yansin in plain daylight gave Saytera chills. But she had to know.

  “I thought about it. One of us watches, the other listens.”

  Nowla g
ot up and shrugged. “I don’t mind. Let’s go.”

  Her friend actually seemed excited. Saytera was surprised. She thought she’d need more convincing. In fact, perhaps she had almost hoped Nowla would dissuade her from listening. But no, her friend was already several steps into the path. It was too late to change her mind.

  The meeting house was built differently than the others. It was underground, accessible from three separate small entrances. Saytera had been there before because it was the only house with electricity and communication devices, and she had learned a little about them. In theory, the house—or hole—should block all sound, but Cayo had found a rock on the floor from where it was possible to hear a little, or at least he said so, because Saytera had never tried it herself. Let alone trying it in daylight.

  At least Nowla offered to go first. Saytera watched as her friend knelt and put her ear on the right spot, half expecting the girl to get up and say there was nobody inside. Instead, the girl waved for Saytera to come closer.

  Saytera’s ears touched the rock before she had time to consider if it was appropriate or not.

  Yansin’s voice was soft and muffled. “Do you want everyone to know about her secret?”

  “Of course not. You know I care about her safety. But it’s a bigger issue.” At first Saytera didn’t recognize who was speaking, but then she realized it was the woman, Vivian, who continued, “It could affect the entire Human Universe. Why don’t you tell her about her destiny?”