by K. Lew
Chapter 6: Family Bond
Suyzi could hear the sound of the waterfall crashing down nearby. She was wearing a one-piece swimming suit. It was her grandmother’s passed down to her mother and now to her. Her white swimming suit had two straps tied around her neck like a ribbon. She had a black belt with a gold medallion in the center of her waist. She looked over the edge of the river and saw an unrecognizable face staring back at her. Her black hair was tangled messily and her face was smudged with sand and grime. She dived into the water as the water washed away her impurities and making her feel human again. After so many days in the desert, this was paradise.
A few moments later, she emerged from the water surface feeling content and refreshed. She swam through the cool water, kicking her legs up and down in the water while making smooth strokes with her arms. Finally she stopped swimming and floated on her back. She looked out at the ceiling of millions of glowing mushrooms. Not a sun or moon in sight. It feels like time stands still here. But her moment of peace was broken when her thoughts again dwelled back to Kelan. His emerald eyes haunted her in her dreams.
“Suyzi. Your father says we’ll be leaving in a few hours.” She opened her eyes and saw Laoi.
Suyzi spoke. “Okay. I will be right out. How is my father?
Laoi spoke. “Exhausted. He came back in hour ago. He asked for water and bread. He devoured the food in seconds and went to sleep.”
Suyzi replied. “Okay. I will be right out.” Laoi nodded and left.
Out of her sworn brothers and sister, she felt closest to him. He was like a younger brother that she never had. She always looked out for him. And in turn, he respected her like an older sister.
Suyzi still remember the first day she meet Laoi. It was after a successful battle raid against the Yitties, a rival tribe. The remaining Yittie captives, mostly women and children were hunched together in fear. Suyzi and her sworns held every Yittie captives at spear point. She expected a normal raid day when a Yittie lad with a black crew-cut hair stood up. Immediately Suyzi and her sworns aimed their spear points at the skinny lad. As soon as Suyzi did, she regretted it. Any threat he posed to them was thrown out the window as soon as she laid eyes on him. The Yittie lad was skinny and underfed. His eyes were hollow and his cheeks were gaunt. He stuttered as he spoke. “P-p-please. Sacrifice m-me but p-please let m-my people go.” A calm voice answered him. Suyzi turned around. It was her father. “Tell me your story and there might be a happy ending for you.” The skinny Yittie lad told them his name and his story. He was an orphan who wanted revenge because his parent were tortured and murdered by the Troshi war raiders while he was forced to watch. He wanted to join them because he heard stories of Itipio tribes fending off Troshi war raiders from their lands. She remembered asking him if he could even lift a sword. Laoi told her to give him a sword and he will show her. Her father thought it was a splendid idea for them to battle and gave them both wooden swords. Her sworns surrounded the two of them, chanting and hooting. They were rooting for her because in the art of swords, they knew there was no one who could best her except for her father. From the first day she could hold a sword, her father trained her day and night. Facing the skinny lad, she was surprised to see determination behind his eyes. He held the wooden sword tightly in front of him. The wooden sword shook uncontrollably in his hands. She tested his defense, jabbing her wooden sword towards him, but everytime missed him by inches on purpose. Every time she jabbed, he would step back and readjust his grip on the wooden sword. Then she feigned right before quickly swinging to her left with her entire weight. When he realized he fell for the bait, it was too late. Her wooden sword hit him on the side of his face, making him lose his balance. She watched him as he fell to the ground. He was dazzled and bleeding from the side of his head. A few of her sworns hooted in triumph. He struggled to get up and a few moments later, got back up. She remembered she was frowning at the lack of challenge. But much to her surprise, he ran at her wildly. She waited for the last second and sidestepped to her right, ducking over his sword. Now behind him, she pushed him with her wooden sword to make him lose his balance again. He fell back down, rolling in the mud. This time, he was much slower getting back up. He faced her again, pointing his wooden sword at her. She remembered her sworns were now chanting for her to end it. He looked much worse with scrapes and cuts on his arms. She turned to her father and said that she would not fight anymore. Then a shout from her sworns and she quickly turned around. He swung his wooden sword at her face, but because of her lightning quick reaction, she dodged it by a hair. He then swung back at her again. But her sword met his. Then she swung around and brought her wooden sword down on his, breaking the wooden sword in half. He bent to one right knee and made a capital X with his arms to surrender. Her father clapped his hands and said what a good fight it was, telling Laoi that he had determination and a warrior spirit. But she held her tongue. Laoi pleaded with her father to join. But before her father could speak, she interrupted to stop the madness. She explained to her father that they needed warriors to fight with them, not sheeps to be slaughtered. But her father disagreed with her and allowed Laoi to join. For that, she didn’t speak to her father for a week. Years went by, battles after battles, she saw many of her sworn brothers and sisters dying by her side. After the many battles, she watched how bravely Laoi fought, never retreating until all of his sworn brothers and sisters were safely away. Through it all, Laoi was still here, proving that her misgivings about him might have been wrong. She knew Laoi would never be a great fighter, but he didn’t have to be. Laoi was loyal to those who earned his trust with an unbreakable will.
Suyzi swam towards the bank and got out of the water. Suyzi saw a white towel was folded where her backpack and her sword were. She dried herself and finally wrapped the towel around herself. Oh goodness, it will take awhile for my wet hair to dry. But my father can wait especially after the things he said about Kelan. There were a few groves of trees nearby. She went over to the grove of trees to change. As she changed into her white robe, she heard a rustle. Hurriedly, she changed into her white robe. Then she heard the rustle again. She grabbed her sword. She turned around. There was nobody...only the trees, river, and the waterfall around her. Then something hard and small hit her head. She looked down. It was a small, brown cone. She looked up, scanning the green pines and brown cones; she saw a monkey-like animal smiling at her. The little animal was out of her reach. The little animal smiled its white fanged teeth at her.
Then she realized why it was smiling. The little animal had another cone in its little fingers. She frowned and wagged her index finger. Disregarding the warning, the little animal threw the cone at her. She dodged the cone, side stepping to the left.
She ran to her backpack. She opened her backpack. Then she rummaged through and until she found what she was searching for. It was a dried biscuit that she carried around in case there was no food around. She crumbled half of the dried biscuit into crumbs. She ran over to the spot where the little animal was. She looked up and saw the little animal was still there. She stretched out her open palm of crumbs of dried biscuit. She spoke. “Hey little fella, are you hungry?” The little animal leaped down, branch by branch. Until finally, the little animal was holding on to the last branch. The little animal sniffed at the crumbs. But the little animal didn’t move.
She dropped the crumbs to the floor and walked a few paces back. The little animal cautiously leaped to the ground. The little animal got on his hind feet and wobbled to the crumbs. She saw its orange eyes shifting glances at her and the crumb. Its large and round eyes were full of curiosity and hunger. It has long fur that grew around its face. Its fur was light brown and had small, round ears. It had a pink nose. She realized it looked more like a bear than a monkey. The little animal pounced on the crumbs and devoured the biscuit crumbs in seconds with its human-like fingers. After the little animal finished, it licked its lips. The little animal looked up at her with large, sad eyes.
She spoke. “Don’t look at me with those eyes. If I give you more, I won’t have enough for myself.” The little animal chattered back to her noisily like a squirrel. Then the little animal crawled to her and leaped onto her, crawling to her shoulder. The little animal was incredibly light. The little animal perched on her left shoulder. The little animal rubbed its face against her neck. It was soft and felt like cotton against her face.
She spoke. “I can’t let you stay with me. My father will forbid it.” The little animal looked at her again with its large, sad eyes. But what my father doesn’t see won’t hurt him. I let you stay, but you have to promise to stay hidden inside my backpack.” She pointed at her backpack, motioning for the little animal to go to her backpack. The little animal shook its furry head.
She went over to where her backpack was, bent down and pulled out the other half of the dried biscuit. The little animal was on her shoulder, tried to snatch the dried biscuit from her. She moved it out the little animal’s reach.
She spoke. “If you want it, you have to stay in there.”
Then she heard the footsteps of a person. The little animal heard it too. The little animal leaped off and jumped into her backpack. It was Laoi who emerged out of the trees. He was in his white robe. He had his sword strapped on his belt. He had a calm expression on his face. He spoke. “Suyzi, who were you talking to? I heard your voice.”
She spoke. “I was talking to myself. Just wrapping up my morning ritual.” She went over to reach for her backpack and dropped the remaining dried biscuit inside her backpack. Please don’t make a sound in there. She held the backpack and carefully strapped the backpack over her shoulders. Laoi was watching his surrounding carefully. Suyzi walked over to him and patted his back. Suyzi spoke. “You got to relax. Your back is stiff as a plank.”
Laoi spoke. “Very funny. Your father is awake now. He wants everyone at camp now.”
She replied. “Let’s go back then.”
As they walked side-by-side, Suyzi noticed Laoi was favoring his left leg as he walked.
Laoi spoke. “I’ve never been to the city of Basahar. I’m curious to see it for myself.”
Suyzi spoke. “My father said he’s been there once.”
Laoi asked eagerly. “What did he say about it?”
Suyzi replied. “Tiny bits here and there. But what he did tell me was that they are very secretive about their city. He was even forced to swear to a chained vow before he left.
Laoi spoke. “That’s very strange. It as if they have something to hide.”
Suyzi nodded. “I know right. Laoi, is something wrong with your right leg?”
Laoi spoke. “N-No. Nothing is wrong. Why?” Laoi began to put weight on his right leg. Within moments, his right leg limped right up and he clenched in pain.
Laoi cried. “I have a bum ankle. I got it from tripping over a root. Please Suzyi, don’t tell your father. You know what he will do.” Suyzi looked around before promising. “Of course I won’t. We find a stick for you to lean on.” After they found a long branch for Laoi, they walked towards their camp following the river. Everyone was there. There camp was almost bare, except for a burning fire, as everyone was already packed up to leave. Her father turned to her and Laoi, giving them a stern look.
Her father spoke. “Now that everyone is here, listen carefully. These few days, I have been going back and forth negotiating with the leaders of Basahar to allow us in. They are wary and guarded with strangers in their city and are protective with their secrets. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I was able to negotiate our admission to enter. The bad news is that only three of us can enter.”
Suyzi spoke. “What! No. What if it is a trap, to divide and conquer us?”
Her father spoke. “This is their law. All strangers who enter the city of Basahar must abide to their laws and surrender their weapons. While Basahar is shrouded in mystery, they will not dare attack us. I have good friends in the city. Shu, you will come...” Her father looked around while everyone else was staring at Suyzi. “And Laoi, come along. Everyone else will stay here and protect the camp. Ri, you are in charge while I’m gone.”
Suyzi stared into her father’s eye with defiance, protested. “No. I want to come with you. You will need a steady sword by your side Father.”
Her father flared in anger, spoke harshly. “I am not only your father, I’m also your chief and I said you will stay.”
Suyzi stood her ground. “I’m going whether or not you say so.”
Her father sighed and turned to Leto and Ri. He spoke. “Restraint my daughter and keep her restraint until I’m gone. It seems my daughter is having a temper tantrum.”
Suyzi immediately jumped her backpack and pulled out her sword.
Leto and Ri turned to her father who spoke. “Suyzi, are you really going to hurt your sworn brothers and sisters who have protected and fought by your side for many years.”
Suyzi spoke. “No. But will not let anyone put their hands on me without my permission.”
Her father spoke to Ri and Leto. “I’ll handle her.” Ri and Leto nodded and backed down.
Her father pulled his sword out. It was silver, long and double bladed.
Suyzi spoke. “I won’t hurt you father, but I will fight until you allow me to go.”
Her father held his sword loosely. The blade was pointed downwards by his side. She fought her father before, but this time seemed different. It seemed real. She seen him in battle and he was a whirlwind, attacking in so many different directions and angles and though he has aged, his reactions were still quick as a viper.
She waited for him to make the first move. She did not have to wait long. He moved in swiftly, letting his blade drag in the ground behind him. Quickly, he swung his blade upwards at her. His blade was going fast, but not as fast as usual. She could see the blade. She parried his blade, pushing his sword back. He’s holding back. She looked at his calm face that seemed to be at ease. I have to give it my all or he won’t take me seriously. She swung her sword to the left. His sword met hers. She tried to put some weight on her sword. No use. His defense is impenetrable. I can only defend myself and hope he tires before I do. She backed off, knowing he would follow. She waited as her father walked towards her. She dropped down to her knees and aimed her sword to her father. Then with two hands she thrust her sword forward. She saw surprise in her father’s face. But he recovered quickly and stepped back. Then he sprung into action. He used the flat of his blade to hit the tip of her blade and flipped the sword from her grip into the air. When her sword fell back down, he caught the handle of her sword effortlessly. He then pointed the two swords at her. “It’s over.”
Suyzi shook her head before bowing her head in defeat.
Her father handed her back her sword. He looked at her and whispered to her. “You remind me of your mother when you are fighting.”
She nodded and spoke. “I miss her too. You know I almost won.”
Her father nodded. “One day you will my daughter. But not today.”
Her father turned around to speak to all. “Ri is in charge while I’m gone. May your blades stay sharp.”
All her frustration and anger at her father disappeared after the fight. She watched as her father walked away, flanked by Laoi and Shu on either side.
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