The Threshold Child

by Callie Kanno

  At the end of the interview they excused themselves and left the room to discuss their decision. The young Shimat sat motionless for more than a half hour, her mind going over several contingency plans. When the door opened to readmit the first man she had met, she had a number of ideas on how to get into the city if this course of action failed.

  The old man gave her a grandfatherly smile. “Well, I think we can find accommodations for you here in the High City, young woman. We have been looking for carpenters for quite a while. We have only one in the city now, and he is quite overworked. You will begin as his apprentice. When he feels you are ready, there will be other options available to you.”

  He handed her a book of laws and social mores to study. “We are contacting your host family right now, and it will probably be settled by morning. You may read this while you wait.”

  Adesina took the book and followed him out of the room, with Ravi close behind. The man showed her to one of the small huts just outside the city in which she could stay the night. He offered his services, if needed, and bowed out of the room.

  The young woman was unable to think of anything else to do, so she curled up on the simple cot and began reading. Ravi laid down on the ground and went to sleep.

  There were many rules associated with living in the High City, but Adesina was certain that it would not be a problem. Being raised as a Shimat definitely had its advantages when it came to following outside rules, for there was no society more stringent.

  When she finished reading the book, Adesina closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She found it strangely difficult and could not understand the reason. Perhaps it was her nerves. Perhaps it was the unusual silence. After all, she had grown accustomed to Ravi singing her to sleep.

  In spite of these struggles, Adesina was finally able to get the much needed rest. Morning arrived far too quickly, but she skillfully pushed her exhaustion to the very back of her mind. A timid knock announced the arrival of her aged guide.

  “Come,” he beckoned.

  The old man led her and Ravi back through the gate and through the room with the tables and chairs. He opened the door to the city and stepped back, motioning Adesina through. She walked past him and into the busy main square of the High City.

  The city was bright and clean, but everything from the buildings to the streets was in strict, straight lines. Every building was whitewashed and uniform, and every street was paved with cobblestones that were also painted a dull white. There were neat rows of well-behaved flowers that lined the streets, walkways and houses. As she was led through the main square, her eyes darted around her, taking in as much information as possible.

  The merchants were all dressed in the same simple uniform as the guards and the Entrance Council, only their uniforms were green in color. They all stood by orderly kiosks, assisting customers in reserved voices. At predictable intervals a brown-uniformed guard with a red sash would stroll through the square, nodding amiably to the citizens he passed.

  Everyone walked in an unhurried fashion, stiff with dignity. There was not one surprise to be found in sight, and Adesina practically stared in disbelief. She could have overthrown the city single-handedly and no one would think to object. She glanced at Ravi in the hope of finding similar dismay on his face, but he walked along as sedately as the citizens, as if such sights were common to him.

  She was led through the business section of the city and into the residential. Each home was white, but the shingled roofs were various pastel colors. Women in light brown dresses worked industriously in their yards, occasionally accompanied by a small child. Adesina tried to ignore the curious stares that she was getting, but it became more and more difficult the farther into the city they went.

  When they arrived at the cottage that was to be her home, her guide turned her over to the small family waiting at the gate. The house was white, of course, and the roof was a pale green. The front of the house was lined with flowers, as was the path that led to the street. The man looked to be in his early forties and the woman was only slightly younger.

  The man wore a dark blue uniform with a white sash, and his graying brown hair was neatly cropped. He had a full beard, also neatly trimmed, and jovial black eyes. The woman wore a simple light brown dress with white flowers embroidered on the bodice. Her white-blonde hair was pulled back in a simple bun, but a few stray hairs escaped to curl pleasantly around her plump face. Their daughter, a girl of nine or ten, hid shyly behind her mother. Her honey hair was plaited into an orderly braid, and her brown eyes sparkled with excitement.

  The man extended a large, calloused hand. “Welcome to our home, Adrie. I am Hass.”

  She looked at his hand with an air of uncertainty. Adesina was familiar with the custom of shaking hands, but Adrie was not.

  Hass smiled kindly. “Do they not shake hands in the Northern Tribes? Well, no matter. It is just a little custom we have here.”

  He presented his wife and daughter. “This is Jelana, and our child, Fia.”

  Adesina smiled hesitantly at them while Hass approached her. He took her two bags and beckoned to her. “Follow me and I will show you to your room.”

  Jelana, followed closely by Fia, made way for them to pass. Hass heaved the bags over his shoulder and walked up the path towards the house. The white door stood open, and upon closer inspection Adesina could see that there were no locks.

  The front room was bright and cheerful. Pale yellow curtains hung from the windows and potted flowers stood on each sill. A conservative fire danced in the stone fireplace on the left side of the room, not far from another wooden door. A table and four chairs sat opposite of the fireplace, and a loom was set up against the far wall. Opposite the loom were a couple of chairs, a small stringed instrument, and a shelf with a small stack of parchment.

  In the center of the far wall was a doorway that led to a set of stairs. Hass led Adesina up these stairs to a narrow hallway. There were three doors along this hallway. Hass gestured to the first as he passed it.

  “This is Fia’s bedroom.”

  He did the same for the second door. “This is a storage room, of sorts.”

  Hass stopped at the third door and opened it wide to reveal a sunny, meticulous room. It was easily twice the size of her room back in the Shimat fortress, but that still wasn’t saying much. The window, shielded by the same type of curtains as the main room, faced the street. A small desk sat near the window, directly across from the door. A bed occupied the far left corner of the room, which had a patchwork quilt laid over it and a trunk at its foot. The near left corner of the room had a mirror and a washstand, and a screen with birds and flowers painted on it.

  Adrie sucked in her breath and drew her hands up to her face. “It is so beautiful!” she exclaimed.

  Behind the act, however, Adesina was taking careful mental notes as they had walked through the house. She spotted good places to hide things in her room, quick escape routes, possible places for ambushes, which floorboards and stairs made noise when stepped on, and so forth. Adesina was genuinely pleased with her arrangements.

  Ravi, who had been following them silently, settled himself at the far end of her new bedroom and looked at her expectantly. She returned the look and then turned her back on him.

  Hass set down her bags on the floor near the bed, a bit flustered by her compliment. “It is not much, but we hoped you would like it. I suppose you want to get settled in. Come downstairs when you are finished, and Jelana will see to you. I need to get to work.”

  He gave her a brusque nod and shut the door behind him. Adesina took a deep breath and let it out audibly. She turned to the window and opened it to let in some fresh air. There was a small group of girls huddled across the street whispering to each other and pointing to the house. Adesina ignored the instinctive suspicion that rose in her mind and turned her back on the window, letting the curtains fall back into place.

  She began unpacking her things. She first pulled everything out and l
aid it on the bed. The things she needed to put away first were the items hidden in the bottom of her bags. Her weapons, the medical kit, a store of ingredients for various concoctions, private documents, and so forth. All of these she put underneath her mattress for now. She would find a better hiding place later that night.

  All the while, her mind turned over all she had seen and heard, trying to figure out how she would be of the most use to the Shimat order during her stay in the High City.

  Chapter Eight: Lives Without Color

  Adesina had just finished unpacking when she heard a knock on the door below. She moved closer to the window, out of sight but within hearing range. Jelana’s voice was recognizable.

  “Hello, girls. How are you today?”

  Now a younger voice. “Oh, we are fine-”

  She was cut off by another young voice. “We saw the girl come here. Are you hosting her?”

  A slightly more mature voice reprimanded the second. “Gainor!”

  Jelana brought order back to the conversation. “Yes, we are hosting a girl. She is from the Northern Tribes. I will introduce you, if you wish, but you cannot stay long. She needs to settle in.”

  Adesina did a quick check of her things, making sure nothing incriminating was in sight. Ravi casually moved so he was sitting in a corner out of the way. Her sharp hearing followed their step as they crossed the main room, climbed the stairs and walked down the hall.

  There was a soft knock at her door and Jelana entered with three girls about Adesina’s age. In a split second, Adesina’s eyes took in various details about each of her visitors and could see the dynamics between them.

  The foremost girl was clearly the leader. She had light blonde hair and laughing blue eyes, a heart-shaped face and a slightly stubborn set to her jaw. She stood stiffly upright, eager to be noticed and admired. The second girl was tall, with dark curls framing her round face. She had intelligent hazel eyes and a hint of humor around her mouth. Her dusky complexion was clear and smooth, touched only by a healthy glow on her cheeks. Adesina could see that she was a calming influence over the high-strung leader. The third girl seemed to be hiding in the background. This was the follower. She had honey-colored hair and an uncertain expression in her brown eyes, and her button nose was lightly sprinkled with freckles. All three girls were dressed in the same light brown dress with a darker brown apron covering the front.

  “Adrie, these girls would like to meet you.” Jelana gestured to them in the exact order that Adesina had noticed them. “This is Gainor, Deasa and Rina.”

  Each of them nodded politely when their name was said. Gainor looked as if she was dying of curiosity, but Jelana continued with the introductions at her own leisurely pace.

  “Girls, this is Adrie of the Northern Tribes.”

  Adesina reminded herself to smile shyly. “I am pleased to meet you.”

  Jelana looked quite satisfied as she walked out of the room. “I will leave the four of you to get better acquainted.”

  Gainor let out a dramatic sigh of relief as soon as the door was closed. She threw herself on the bed, paying no mind to Adesina’s possessions that were spread there. “I am always glad when the adults leave! Now we can talk without having to mind our manners!”

  Deasa frowned slightly as she gracefully knelt on the floor next to Adesina. “Gainor,” she said with a rebuke in her voice.

  Adesina absently noted that Deasa smelled faintly of the most pleasant mixture of spices. It was an exotic and invigorating sort of scent. Adesina wondered what it was that gave off the fragrance.

  Rina looked as if she couldn’t make up her mind where to be seated. She hovered for several uncomfortable moments before collapsing next to Deasa. “Yes, Gainor,” she chided in a timid voice. “What an impression you will give Adrie about the High City!”

  Gainor surveyed them with a superior expression on her face. “Who cares? She shall see for herself soon enough. Besides, being shockingly honest is quite fashionable right now.”

  Deasa rolled her eyes and gave Adesina a sympathetic smile. “Please forgive Gainor. She is often caught up in the winds of ‘fashion.’ She would walk around in boys’ clothing if someone told her it was fashionable.”

  Rina giggled nervously at the idea. Adesina assumed an expression of polite incredulity, all the while wondering what kind of a world she had entered.

  Gainor tossed her hair contemptuously. “Do not be ridiculous, Deasa. Only Outsiders permit those kinds of fashions.”

  Rina glanced at Adesina with an alarmed look in her eyes. “Not that we would think such things about you, Adrie. We are pleased to see that you have a proper sense of decorum.”

  Deasa decided it was time for a change of subject. “Where in the north do you come from, Adrie?”

  Adesina shrugged casually. “Our tribe was nomadic, so we traveled quite a bit. Have you always lived in the High City?” she asked, shifting the focus away from herself.

  Gainor snorted in disgust. “Goodness, yes! The same old city for sixteen years. My parents would have a stroke at the very idea of leaving the city walls!”

  Adesina smiled softly as Gainor continued to chatter. She had no problem carrying the conversation by herself, but she was occasionally aided by Deasa. Rina said very little and Adesina said even less. When questioned, the young Shimat found that a simple vague comment would turn the conversation back over to Gainor. For this reason, Adesina could tell that Gainor would be a valuable companion in the coming months.

  Near the close of an hour, there was a quiet knock at the door and Jelana entered the room. Gainor hastily sat up and smoothed the skirt of her dress.

  “All right, girls, that is enough visiting. Adrie still needs to finish unpacking, and she could also use some rest after her long journey.”

  The girls seemed reluctant to go, but they all stood and straightened their clothing primly. Rina looked at Adesina with a hopeful expression on her face. “Will you be attending school?”

  Gainor gave her a condescending glare. “Of course she will be attending school! It is the city requirement, Rina.”

  Rina flushed in embarrassment. “Oh.”

  Inexplicably, Adesina felt the urge to comfort this painfully shy girl. “I have never attended a formal school before. Will you show me around tomorrow?”

  Rina smiled gratefully as Gainor launched into raptures over the idea.

  “Oh, yes! What fun it will be! You will love our school. We have the best teachers in the city, and everyone is so friendly. We will be quite the center of attention, you know. We have not had a new student in ages!”

  Deasa smiled in genuine pleasure. “We will meet you on the street tomorrow morning and we can walk together. We are all neighbors, you know.”

  Adesina nodded and waved as the girls walked out of the room. Instead of getting back to her unpacking, she stood at the window to eavesdrop on what they were saying as they walked away.

  Deasa was the first to speak. “Well, she seems very nice.”

  Gainor broke over her with an enthusiastic objection. “Nice? Why, she is absolutely adorable! And so pretty as well! She will make a nice addition to our group. How shocking to be friends with an Outsider! Everyone will be talking about us, and quite jealous that they were not friends with her first!”

  Adesina could see them making their way down the path and into the street. Their voices were starting to fade.

  Deasa sighed. “You know, Gainor, sometimes I think that you view your friends as nothing more than fashion accessories.”

  Gainor’s indignant response was lost as they walked down the street. Ravi chuckled in amusement over her first encounter with girls her own age, but said nothing. Adesina ignored him and thoughtfully turned back to her belongings to finish putting them away. She was surprised to see that her room looked like it belonged to someone. It had a strangely human quality to it.

  Some of the decorations she had added herself were merely props. A small statue of a northern deity st
ood on the desk. An elaborate braid of material was attached to the doorframe, supposedly lending protection from evil spirits. A bunch of feathers hung over her bed to protect her dreams. A thin, silver chain filled with charms and talismans dangled from her windowsill.

  All of the things that were truly hers were hidden from sight. Adesina had discovered a highly useful loose floorboard under the trunk. Inside the small compartment she created, she stashed all evidence of her true identity.

  Just as she was double checking her room to make sure everything was in place, there was a soft knock at the door. Adesina’s eyes flashed over her surroundings before answering.

  “Come in.”

  Jelana appeared. She surveyed the room and looked pleased with what she saw. “I see you are all settled.”

  Adesina nodded meekly. Jelana regarded the young woman before her with a maternal expression. “We need to go to the Square to get some things for you tomorrow. Is now a good time?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Adesina and Ravi followed Jelana down the stairs and out the front door. The sun was past its peak and the beginnings of change were in the air. They walked down the same way that Adesina arrived. Occasionally the curtains in the windows of houses would twitch, revealing curious neighbors. More often than not, people would actually come to their doors to watch the two women pass. Jelana would greet them all by name, unfailingly polite even though her expression was rueful.

  Their residential area was in the southern section of the city. The Square was located against the western wall, almost directly north of the cottage. The business section of the city was separated from the residential by a large garden, almost a park. Adesina followed Jelana through the tidy garden, paying greater attention to her surroundings than she had previously.