by DB Jones
the waters, at least not in front of the children. They kept their worries to themselves.
Life in the village seemed back to normal, and it was nearly time for the festival. Most everything was finished for the special dish the family would bring, but there was the dress to complete. All the scarves were laid out on the table in order. Each one would be sewn on to overlap the other under the bodice. Willow stood on a stool for what seemed to be hours as her mother attached each scarf. Each one was more beautiful than the one before. When she was finished, the dress shimmered in the sunlight. Willow had never seen such beauty in any of the dresses her mother had made before.
The scarves were woven with materials she had never seen before. When she asked her mother where they had come from, her mother smiled and said, "They came from your maternal side of the family, going back as far as I can remember, and someday you will make your daughter's dress from this dress and add your own scarf." That was all that her mother would say.
Willow's friends came by to help her with the decorating. It was the responsibility of the women and their daughters to decorate the festival site where the girls would choose their future mates. The site was in a clearing on top of a knoll, high above the water's edge in an area protected from the harsh winds off the waters. It was traditional for the festival to end on the knoll on the evening of the full moon.
The boys and their families would go in first. Each boy's family would sit behind their young man. Each family took the same spot as their father's family had taken. Music was played on flutes made from the stands of bamboo near the marshlands. The shorter the bamboo flutes, the more joyous the tunes played on it. As the night progressed, the longer bamboo flutes were brought out for playing the more melodic and serene music.
Then there would be silence, and everyone would take their places with their families. The young girls would enter the knoll with their mothers following. Then each girl would enter the circle alone, according to her age. The oldest went first and made her choice, and then the next in line would enter and make her choice. One by one they would circle to choose their mate. As the girls circled the gathering, they would take their place in front of the family of the boy they had chosen. The boys not chosen would be eligible the next year, as there were more boys than girls.
Willow's friends Alia and Spring were very excited. It was all they could talk about. Of course, they shared their choice with each other, but Willow said nothing. The girls thought it strange that Willow never shared her secrets with them. Now that they were coming of age, Willow seemed more distant. They appeared to have less in common than when they were small children.
Alia and Spring talked about the kind of house they would have, how wonderful their husbands would be, the fishing boats they would have, how great their husbands' catches would be, their status in the village, and how many children they would have. They went on and on as if they had seen the future, but of course they had not. Willow tried to sound happy for them and show some signs of looking forward to the festival, but her heart was not in it. She was happy to see the sun dipping and the sky starting to darken, for she knew she would not have to endure any more of their discussion.
Audra called to her, and they strolled down the path toward the house. She looked into Willow's eyes and asked her if she was OK. Willow said she was just exhausted after all that had happened with her father and her brother and the festival. Willow knew her mother sensed there was something else going on with her, but her mother did not pressure her any further. It was time to get the family settled in for the evening. Each would need rest, for the next day was the day before the festival, and everything had to be perfect.
Willow climbed into her sleeping loft. Audra came in and asked to speak to her. She was afraid her mother would ask whom she had chosen for the festival, and when she had no answer, her mother would be insistent. What could she tell her? She loved her mother dearly and did not want to disappoint her.
As Audra sat on the edge of the sleeping loft, she stroked Willow's golden hair. "You are very much like your great-great-grandmother. She had eyes as blue as the endless waters and long, golden hair like yours. You have a part of her soul in you that longs for something else. I have known this for a long time, my sweet daughter. Know that I am always here for you and love you with all my heart." With that, she stroked her hair and kissed her forehead and left the sleeping loft.
Willow could still feel the warmth of her mother's kiss on her forehead as she drifted into a deep sleep. Even in her sleep, the beautiful face of the woman in the water haunted her. She could see the long, silver hair glistening in the moonlight as it was swirling in the water. There was something very familiar about the look of her hair. She had seen it before. She could hear the whispering voice of the woman calling for her. The voice was pulling at her to return to the water's edge that night. She tossed and turned in her sleeping loft.
Willow awoke and sat up, still twisted in her bed coverings. Surely she had awakened someone. She looked into her sisters' lofts. The twins, who were nestled together, and Raven, who was one year younger than her brother, were all in a deep sleep.
Willow could still hear the woman from the water calling her. There was no way to ignore the whisper. She knew she should not go that night, but the impulse was too strong. Once more, she slipped out of her loft, crossed the kitchen to the back door with the movements of a cat, and made her way down to the water's edge and out to her rock.
The fireflies began to circle in front of her, casting a glow on the still water. She could see herself reflected against the water in the moonlight. The moon was nearly full, and the next evening, it would reach its fullness. Willow came closer to her reflection and then set her gaze beneath the stillness. A breeze began to swirl her golden hair across the water.
In an instant, the woman of the water arose and sat next to her on the rock. Willow froze, not in fear, but in amazement at the ease in which this being from the endless waters emerged. She spoke nothing to Willow, but her ice-blue eyes said much. She reached up and took from her neck a pearled shell on a braided strand of silver threads and put in on Willow. Then she kissed her forehead and vanished into the endless waters. The kiss was just the way her mother had kissed her that evening.
Willow had been feeling a change within her since she had first encountered the woman from the endless waters, but never more than that very moment. She held onto the pearl shell and ran her fingers along the silver strands. She knew the strands were made from the woman's silver hair. Thoughts filled her mind. Why did she give this to me? What part in my life does this water woman play? Has anyone else in the village ever experienced this? Willow knew she could tell no one of what had happened. Besides, no one would ever believe her. They thought she was strange enough without adding this to it. The moon was again dipping into the water. She had to return home, but she knew her life would never be the same.
7
There was one day left to finalize everything for the festival. There was so much excitement in the village. The very young children ran in and out of their homes, playing with things. Normally, they would be scolded, but their parents were too busy making last-minute arrangements to even notice what they were doing.
It wasn't any different at Willow's house. Raven, the middle child, named for her coal-black eyes and hair, was in charge of watching the twins, Nara and Ciara. She wasn't that much older than the twins, which made it difficult for her to keep them from getting into trouble. One thing was for sure: Audra did not want them running in and out of the house during all the last-minute preparation. There was enough for them to play with outside. Ciara was the firstborn of the twins; moments later, and much to everyone's surprise, came Nara. She was given the name Nara, meaning "joyous and near one," because no one knew there would be another child coming after Ciara.
Audra always knew there were two souls who had entered her vessel. Often she felt two hearts beating in the stillness but did not reveal this, even to Nyle. H
e would have feared for her life and the safety of their babies.
There was enough worry for him each time he ventured out in the depths of the endless waters to fish. She did not want him to worry about her too. Fishing required his full attention; he couldn't for a moment let his mind drift and worry about his family on the shore. The endless waters could rear up at any moment, and if a fisherman was not alert to the movement of the clouds or the increasing intensity of the wind, he not only could lose his catch, but the water could reclaim him. So Audra chose to hold this secret alone.
Audra wanted her to bring the dress into the kitchen to try it on one more time before it would be laid on the table in the other room for the evening of the festival. Willow went to her mother's sleeping room and picked up the dress. There was something strange yet very familiar about it. It seemed different from when she helped her mother sew on the scarves. She brought the dress into the kitchen, put it on, and stood on the stool in front of the open window as the sun's rays came through.
A slight breeze blew into the room and caught the scarves. They started to swirl and swish as though they were caught in a gentle current of