by C J Benjamin
I tried combing my fingers through my hair, but it was no use. The best I could do was a quick messy braid that I tied with a fraying scrap of string I tore from my shoulder bag.
Well here goes nothing, I thought as I engaged my hunter skills, courtesy of Journey. I steadied my mind and slowed my breathing and focused in on the sounds surrounding me. The soft percussion of tribal music floated pleasantly to my ears, but I listened past it. Past the quiet campfire conversations, past the rustling of the forest leaves, past the gentle cooing of the night birds, all the way down to the march of the insects that dwelled on the forest floor. That would be what interested Niv. He was always on the hunt for something to eat. I listened carefully, but no matter how I strained I didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary.
“This is going to be more difficult than I thought,” I said out loud with a sigh.
I suspiciously eyed the hammock, but set out to conquer it, so I would have somewhere to sit and think. It was surprisingly cooperative this time and I settled in to come up with a plan. I didn’t know if I should try to telepath to my friends or Niv because the Beto tribes were known to be home to Truiets; enlightened people with magical powers, like myself. If I could telepath, maybe they could too and I would end up giving myself away.
“How am I going to get out of here? I’ve got to get out of this tent and find Niv and my friends.”
I started thinking about each of them and what they would be doing if they were trapped inside a tent in a Beto tribal camp. Journey would be pacing and probably want to just fight his way out. Sparrow would be scolding him for his destructive ways and giving us all a pep talk on how to befriend the Betos. Nova would take charge with some risky scheme that I would tell him would never work, while Remi sat silently in the corner looking nervous and like he wished he could just disappear.
“That’s it! Disappear! Thank you, Remi!” I said as I swung out of the hammock.
I grabbed my bag and concentrated on the new power I acquired from Remi. Soon, I felt light and knew it must be working. It was always a tricky power to navigate, because other than a feeling of lightness, nothing really changed to indicate that you were actually invisible. I could still see myself. I waved my hands in front of my face. They were still there, just as true as they’d been a minute ago. I walked over to the cluster of candles that were almost entirely melted now. I smiled when I noticed my shadow was missing from the wall. I breathed a sigh of relief and slipped out of the tent, into unknown territory.
The Beto camp was the most wonderful place I’d ever encountered. Barefoot children were merrily running about, filling the warm air with their carefree laughter. My stomach growled as I passed by tribe members preparing delicious smelling meals over fires and conversing with their families. It was so simple, yet so perfect. I was in awe as I slowly made my way unnoticed through their camp. The glowing ashes from the fires danced like lava pixies on the barely present breeze and guided my way, winding deeper into the forest. The sights and sounds of camp life lifted my spirits and I felt a familiar longing to be a part of something like this. A cheerful melody caught my attention and I felt drawn toward it. I followed the sound to the source.
I came upon a small group gathered around a fire at the edge of camp. I stood mesmerized by the beautiful music being strummed expertly on the strings of a gourd guitar. I was spellbound as I stood behind the musician, his silhouette framed by glowing orange firelight. The song he sang was so soft and sweet and it spoke to my heart in a way I’d never felt before.
“ . . . you are the light that guides me, you are my dream’s sweetest delight . . .”
The words disarmed me. I didn’t feel my invisibility slip away, but it must have, because the beautiful ballad ended abruptly, leaving me desperate for more. I looked around to see what had stolen the song from me and was shocked to see everyone around the fire staring back at me. They were all suddenly on their feet and I held my breath, finally realizing I must have let my invisibility slip. I was frozen with fear, not knowing what to do next. The musician turned around to stare at me as well.
“Geneva?” said his familiar voice.
Everyone simultaneously kneeled and bowed their heads. Everyone except for the boy who had been playing the gourd guitar. He put it down and rushed over to me.
“Tippy! You’re awake!” he said cheerfully as he hugged me.
“Nova?” I whispered. How did he never cease to amaze me?
“Oh, you better bow to them,” he said gesturing over his shoulder to the Betos who were still kneeling.
“What?”
“You’re their Eva,” he said with a smile. “Get used to it.”
I gave an awkward curtsy and they all rose.
“That was weird,” I whispered to Nova. “What do we do now?”
He laughed and then addressed the crowd of spellbound Betos.
“We’ll have time for formal introductions later, but right now I have a pressing matter for our Eva.”
They all nodded.
“Come on Tippy, I’ve got something to show you.”
Nova grabbed my hand and slung his arm over my shoulder. My body involuntarily flinched and I cursed my wimpy muscles when Nova retracted his arm.
“Tippy, I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
“No,” I said trying to shrug it off. “Just a little sore from my fall I guess.”
“I’ll bet. Are you okay walking?” he asked, pausing next to me.
“Why? Are you going to carry me?” I asked half joking, half wishing he actually would, so I could be in his arms again.
“Do you want me to, Tippy?” he asked softly.
My attempt at being funny seemed lost on him, as he stared deep into my eyes. I felt like he was searching my mind for something and my cheeks burned red at the feelings that instantly crept up to the surface. I didn’t want him reading these embarrassing thoughts!
Ugh, why did I always feel so nervous and flustered around Nova?
I was squirming in my skin so I laughed, and started walking again. The laugh was forced and came out too shrill and almost sounded like a snort.
Smooth, Geneva! I scolded myself.
In an effort to change the subject I said, “I didn’t know you played the guitar. Where did you learn?”
He just smiled and winked at me. “I’m full of secrets, Tippy.”
I was about to challenge him, when I heard someone calling me. I turned toward the familiar voice, unable to place it at first and I barely caught sight of her long, raven mane before I was engulfed by her arms, choking on her long black hair.
“Eva! I’m so glad to see you’re all right,” gushed Jemma. It was no wonder I couldn’t place her voice. I’d never heard her sound happy before. I balked at first, but my mother’s words floated in my ears, like they were being whispered on the wind. ‘Give Jemma a chance.’
“Okay,” I sighed reluctantly.
“What? Were you saying something, Eva?” Jemma asked releasing me from her awkward embrace.
“Uh, I was just saying I’m okay, is all,” I said as she stepped back to examine me.
“I’m so glad,” she said, pulling me into another hug. “I’ve just found you. I’m not ready to lose you again,” she said, her voice threatening to crack.
It was so strange to see Jemma this way. She seemed so genuine and vulnerable. Not at all like the mean older girl that spent years bullying me at the orphanage. I was struggling with my own emotions as my newly found sister continued to hug me. I felt an undeniable connection to her. It felt so comforting, like pulling on a familiar shirt—yet so strange at the same time. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but being this close to Jemma made me feel like there was an electric pulse running through my veins. My mind told me to pull away, but my mother’s plea persuaded me to give my sister a chance.
I couldn’t help thinking that a few weeks ago I would have been beyond excited to find out that I had a loving sister who would hug me close and worry for my sa
fety. I just never could have imagined that Jemma would be that sister. If only she’d been nice to me, decent even, this would be so much easier. It was going to take some time to erase all of the spiteful thoughts I had of her. I vowed to try though. I had promised my mother I would.
“I hate to break this up, you two, but I think you might be smothering our Eva,” Nova said to Jemma.
“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. It’s hard not to get carried away I guess,” she said shyly.
“Remember what we talked about?” Nova asked Jemma.
She nodded obediently. “That’s right, I remember. Small steps.”
I shot Nova a questioning look, wondering when they’d been talking about me. He just smiled and changed the subject.
“Is everyone still playing?” he asked Jemma.
She nodded mischievously.
“Good,” he said before returning his gaze to me. “Do you still want to see what I was on my way to show you?”
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s a secret.”
I nodded but didn’t have time to ask any more questions before Nova gave me a playful grin and jogged away. I looked at Jemma, who just shrugged. So with a sigh, I jogged after Nova. I was beginning to hate secrets I thought to myself as I chased him into the twilight.
11
A short distance ahead of me, I heard Nova give a whistle. I shook myself, thinking my eyes deceived me, because I saw Nova running toward a gigantic Bellamorf tree. I’d never seen one in person, but had read about them in our Plants and Poisons lessons. They were very rare and extremely poisonous. Even our teacher, Miss Banna, hadn’t seen one before. She said she thought they were extinct and in her opinion, we were all better off that way on account of how dangerous they were. According to her, one nick from a Bellamorf leaf and you’d have horrible hallucinations. The delusions wouldn’t quit until they drove you completely mad. The worst part was, that there was no known cure for the delirium the Bellamorf poison induced. Death was the only way to end it.
But here it was, looming in front of me, larger than I’d ever imagined it could be. It had to be fifty yards wide and twice that in height. The thick winding trunk seemed to be shimmering, which was odd, because I didn’t remember reading anything about that in lessons. And there was Nova, steadily running toward it.
“Nova?” I called.
What is he doing? Surely he knows this is a Bellamorf tree, right?
“Nova! Stop!” I shouted, but I was too late.
Nova leapt onto the trunk and up into the boughs of thick branches. The leaves swallowed him whole, blocking him from my view.
“Nova!” I screamed as I reached the trunk breathlessly.
There was all kinds of commotion coming from the tree. It seemed to be humming with life. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, impatiently trying to get a glimpse of Nova and whatever was causing all the noise above my head.
“Nova!” I called again. “Nova, are you okay? This is a Bellamorf tree! Please answer me!”
Nothing.
Jemma caught up to me and saw the panic in my eyes. She grabbed my hand and tried to tell me it was all right, but I was beyond reason, staring into the tree, calling for Nova.
“It’s okay, Eva. Eva! He’s okay I promise.”
“No he’s not! This is a Bellamorf tree! Did none of you pay any attention to Miss Banna?”
The tree suddenly went still and silent.
“Ahhh!” I shrieked and jumped backwards, tripping over the large protruding roots behind me.
Something furry had jumped out of the tree and knocked me to the ground. I was shielding my face and shrieking, when I heard giggles above me.
I opened my eyes to more eyes peering out of the tree limbs, grinning down at me.
“Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?” I yelled.
“This tree isn’t dangerous,” Jemma said crouching next to me. “And, I think someone is excited to see you,” she said pointing to the base of the thick trunk.
I spotted Niv, peeking around the bark at me. He must have been the fur ball that launched out of the tree at me. He crept toward my feet, looking up apologetically at me. I couldn’t help but smile at him. That was all the encouragement Niv needed. He raced into my arms and showered me with wiggly, tickly kisses.
“I missed you too, buddy,” I crooned into Niv’s scraggly fur. I hugged him tightly, burying my face into his coat as he nuzzled my neck. I drank in his familiar scent of sweet hay. Oddly enough that smell always conjured up a fond memory, reminding me of walking through the fields to Flood work at the Troian Center. Holding Niv in my arms always felt like the closest thing to home I’d ever known.
“I love you, Niv,” I whispered to him. “I knew you’d find the others and tell them Remi and I needed help. You saved us didn’t you little buddy? You’re the best marmouse in the whole wide world.”
Niv chattered with delight and twitched his whiskers in agreement.
“Hey, we helped too,” called Journey from above.
“Hi, Geneva! Welcome back!” Sparrow said, swinging down a few branches until she could gracefully drop out of the Bellamorf tree. She ran over and gave me a big hug. “I missed you!” she beamed.
“We all did,” said another voice. I looked up to see Eja smiling at me.
“Thanks,” I called, “but what are you all doing in that tree? Isn’t it a Bellamorf tree? Aren’t they poisonous?”
“Ha-ha-ha.” Giggles rained from above.
“Yes, it is a Bellamorf tree and we’re playing morf tag,” called a voice I didn’t recognize, “and you’re IT!”
I strained to look up and see who the voice belonged to, but a strong gust of wind picked up and the tree instantly shook to life, sending leaves spiraling down around us. I flinched as one grazed my arm.
“It’s okay,” Sparrow called to me over the falling leaves. “I guess the whole poisonous tree thing was a bit of a legend that the Betos cooked up to keep locals and citizens away from the Bellamorf trees.”
“Why would they need to protect a tree?” I asked.
“Well it may not be poisonous, but it’s still pretty special,” Sparrow said. “Come see.”
Sparrow caught my hand and pulled me with her toward the massive shimmering tree trunk. We picked up our pace and stepped up and onto the solid bark, propelling ourselves upwards, just as she had taught me to when we first started coming to the forest to practice using our powers.
It felt great to be soaring up among the branches, reunited with my friends again. It let me forget about the burden of my role as the Eva for a moment and I lost myself in the fun of being young and carefree. I was giggling and breathless when Sparrow and I came to a stop on a sturdy branch in the center of the tree.
“So how does morf tag work?” I asked.
“It’s an ingenious game really! Jovi taught us how to play.”
“Jovi?”
“Yes, she’s Eja’s friend. She’s the one who told you that you were ‘it.’ She’s a Truiet like us and she can control the tree, which is what makes the game possible!”
“Okay . . .” I said taking in all of what Sparrow was saying. “So how do we play?”
“Well, it’s simple. When Jovi says ‘launch’ the person who’s ‘it’ has to count to 10 while everyone else hides. Then Jovi will get the wind going in the tree and whoever’s ‘it’ has to come find us!”
“That just sounds like hide and seek in a windy old tree,” I said.
“Wait, I’m not done yet,” Sparrow reprimanded.
“All right, all right,” I sighed, “get on with it! I want to play!”
The laughter and calls from my friends above were making me itch to join them. I loved games, especially hide and seek!
“So it is like hide and seek, but the Bellamorf tree along with Jovi’s powers adds a twist. “
I nodded for her to continue.
“If you can catch a falling leaf from the Bellam
orf tree, you can morf away!”
“Morf away?”
“You just have to see it to believe it,” she smiled.
“Are you Janes ready yet?” Journey called clearly impatient.
“Bring it on, Journey!” I called back to him.
“This is going to be fun!” Sparrow squealed, her excitement infectious.
“Remember, you’re ‘it’,” called a bright-eyed girl from above me.
Something about her looked familiar to me, like maybe we had met before. She had the biggest smile I’d ever seen. It lit up her whole, heart-shaped face and it was impossible not to smile back at her. Jovi, what an appropriate name I thought, remembering it meant joy in Beto.
“You’re on!” I called.
“LAUNCH!” Jovi yelled and the tree exploded to life once more.
My friends all took off, bounding from branch to branch as I closed my eyes and counted to ten. I couldn’t help cheating. With my eyes closed, my hunter powers kicked into overdrive as I listened intently to their footsteps, trying to pinpoint their positions around me. Just as I smirked to myself, thinking, this is going to be a piece of cake, the wind picked up and howled in my ears, drowning out the sounds of my friends. Next, the air around me was filled with the powerful rustling of falling leaves.
“10!” I yelled. “Here I come!”
I opened my eyes and was amazed at the breathtaking sights surrounding me. There were millions of leaves, spinning like pinwheels in the wind. As they were cascading down, they rapidly reflected the light bouncing off the moon, making them shimmer and light up, the way bellies of silver fish did in the ocean. It was beautiful. I was caught up in the majestic view, when someone whizzed past me.
“You have to chase us you know?” the tiny, brown-eyed girl called from a branch above my head.
“Oh, Jovi, right?” I asked coyly, as I poised myself to pounce at her when she paused to answer me.
She just smiled back at me, white teeth lighting up her face. “That’s right!” she said as I made my move. Just as I was about to land on her branch she reached out and closed her tiny palm around a rotating leaf and poof, she vanished!