by Andrew Elgin
"Another planet? Strange indeed." She raised her eyebrows and gave a grudging nod. "Well, now we've welcomed each other, I would like to eat and drink. We started very early. Well before dawn, and I'm hungry."
"Why so early?"
Meldren wrinkled her brow. "The truth? I'm not really sure. For the past two days, I've had this urge to keep moving, more than most days. and this morning, I just could not keep asleep. Felt irritable almost. Irritable, that is, until we got started and then it was just a matter of keeping going until we got here. I was headed here anyway, but it seemed, or felt, more urgent this time. No idea why, though." She looked around as if the answer was just out of sight. "And now we are here, it feels... comfortable. Peaceful, I suppose." She smiled, dismissing her thoughtful mood. "And now, some food and drink. You're welcome to share and then you can tell me why you are here." She smiled and went to her wagon.
She shared some cold meat, still juicy, fruit and bread with Javin. He was grateful for the variety, having long since finished the dried meats that Torrint and Banith had left him. The fruits and berries he had found had been surprisingly filling. Nevertheless, the change was most welcome and the bread, in particular, tasted wonderful.
"Have you been here before?" asked Javin.
"Mmmhmm," Meldren nodded, her mouth full. She swallowed. "It's the only good place in here to rest and camp that I've found."
Pointing to his cave, Javin asked, "Have you noticed that cave before?"
Meldren studied it for a moment. The mouth was just in shadow, meaning, Javin knew, that it was past midday now. "I don't think so. But it's been a while since I was here. I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"
"It's where I've been living. Traders brought me here."
"You mean Torrint and Banith?"
"You know them?"
"I know of them. They're pretty much the only ones in this area. So why did they bring you here?"
Javin was unsure how much to say. "I had a dream. A really clear dream. It seemed very real at the time but I didn't know what it was about. Torrint said that it was about me meeting with Harmony and that I needed to be here. At least, he said that he felt he was drawn to this place and that meant that was where I should stay until..."
"Until what?"
"That's the thing. I don't really know. It was about me getting closer to Harmony, but I don't know what that is or what it means really. I don't know how long I've been here. I do know that it's relaxing and I've mostly enjoyed it in a strange way. But as for the real reason, or what's meant to happen..." He shrugged.
Meldren considered this for a moment, stifling a yawn. "So you don't know much about Harmony and us and everything? About talents and so on?" Javin shook his head. "How long have you been here? On Harmony, that is."
"I don't know. I don't know how to tell the time here. It's seemed long. But how long? I don't know that."
Meldren yawned again. "I'm sorry, but that food after the walk here... I'm tired. I need to sleep. Can we talk later? I promise I'll listen better then. I want to hear about you and Harmony and Haven, and about your dream." She ran her fingers through her hair and smiled drowsily at Javin. "Once I get some sleep, I'll be fine. Until this evening?" And she got up and clambered up into her wagon. Javin could hear some rearranging going on and then silence.
He sat for a while trying to come to terms with the fact that the person he had seen in his dreams was here. But, unless she knew it, or was somehow in on the secret, he could not see what difference it was making. It seemed more like something was teasing him. If he told her, and she rejected the idea, the fact that she had been in his dreams, then what? Exactly the same if she accepted it. What happens next? He could not see anything which made sense in either response.
As he climbed, quietly, back up to his cave, he vowed that he would simply wait and see what happened. Either he would feel it was the right thing to tell her or he wouldn't. It was going to be up to her and how she reacted to him that would matter. That, at least, is what he told himself.
He found himself feeling sleepy and settled down to make himself comfortable.
He woke up, confused as to the time of day, to the sound of water splashing in the space below. Peering out, he saw by the shadows that it was early evening or late afternoon and the reason for the splashing sounds was that Meldren was washing her hair in the pool. The suds came from her applying some sort of mixture from a small pot.
He watched her for a moment, his body unwilling to move into action. She was industriously rinsing the last of the suds when he decided he really ought to be down there. He couldn't put it off. Not fully awake, he was clambering down when he slipped and slid the last section, grazing his elbows as he did so. Wincing, he made his way to the pool, intending to rinse out any dirt and inspect the damage. Instead, Meldren, who by then had rubbed and squeezed most of the water out of her hair which fell past her shoulders, stopped him to take a look. Holding up first one elbow and then the other to her, her eyes took on a distant look as she placed a hand over each injury. Javin felt a warmth as she did so. She smiled at him and indicated he could put his arms down. Straining to examine them, he was amazed to see nothing more than a few pinkish-red dots and some clean skin. And there was no pain at all, not even an itch!
"How did you...? I mean, what did you do?"
Her smile widened. "I forget. You're not from here." She gestured at his arms. "That? That's something everyone can do, more or less. You could, I'm quite sure, if you tried. It's nothing. That's about all I can do, though. Small cuts and scrapes; they are the things I can heal. It's good you didn't break a leg!" She went back to vigorously rubbing her hair. "I feel so much better for that sleep. And being able to wash my hair? Wonderful! How about you?"
She was definitely more lively now than when she had arrived, and Javin realized that he was feeling better as well. Perhaps sleeping in the day was the trick!
"I'm going to make a fire," she declared. "It's perfect in here, plus it'll help dry my hair quicker. And you can tell me about your dream."
She was quickly efficient at creating a warm fire, more glowing than leaping flames. Her two dogs were drawn to it and lay down opposite Javin, their eyes on him reflecting the glow. She sat next to Javin but with her back to the fire to help dry her hair. "So you met Harmony? What was it like? What did you see? What happened in it?"
Javin was not completely at ease. Sitting by a female near his age was new. And, he had to admit, it made him feel good in a way he hadn't experienced since his arrival. It was, he also admitted, tempered somewhat by the steady attentions of the dogs. And then there was the problem of how to tell it. "I really didn't know it was a dream. I thought I'd been away for a day and couldn't understand why nobody had missed me." He smiled ruefully. "It was... I don't really know how to describe it. I never actually met Her, met Harmony, only had this sensation that She was close. Like really close. It was Torrint who said that's who it was and that I should come here. If he hadn't said anything..." He shrugged. "I've had a sort of dream about Her since then, but nothing like that first one." He gazed into the fire, as if searching for the right words in its glow. "I feel out of place. I mean, it's peaceful here and as long as I can find some food and keep warm, it's fine. But the winter is going to arrive at some point and then what? I suppose I'll leave and go somewhere warmer. But where that is, I don't know."
Meldren tested her hair with one hand and then scooted around to face the fire. She bowed her head and brushed her hair forward to expose more to it. From beneath it, she said, "I've never met anyone who had Harmony come to them in dreams. Only heard stories. And, yes, I believe Torrint. He knows the truth of things. I'm just surprised you haven't got a talent. I mean, dreaming with Harmony and everything. Ooph!" She sat up, her hair falling behind her. "I can't stay like that for long. Besides, it's dry enough. It'll do." She started combing it through with her fingers as she talked. "You say you don't know where you're going or what you're going to do, but I think
you won't have to worry about that. I think Harmony is going to look after you. I think She always will. Me? I go where I want. Sometimes I feel drawn to one place more than another. I look after myself and there's always Skort and Fallack to look out for me as well." She indicated the dogs, now dozing opposite.
"That reminds me," said Javin. "Why are you on your own with those... bird things over there." He felt relief at having the conversation not be about him.
"Gorries. They're gorries." He could see her teeth in the firelight as she grinned. "You are most definitely not from here. Gorries are useful for the price their feathers bring. But, you can't keep many of them in one place for long, because, quite frankly, they stink the place out. Their droppings will kill off plants if there's too much of it. So, I got myself a small flock and I take them around and sell the feathers and the meat."
"But why. That is," he added hurriedly, " if you don't mind me asking?"
"No." She was silent a moment. "It's because I have a talent, but it's one I can't switch off very easily. It's always 'there'," she said, emphasizing its presence with her hands. "And it's not easy being amongst people. Because what I see are the colors people are. In fact, I see the colors of everything, all the time." She sensed Javin's question. "Everything, every living thing, at least for me, is surrounded by colors, by a shifting cloak of colors. Sometimes, those colors are more real than the things they surround. And, with people, if there are three or four of them together, it gets really hard for me to make them out. All I see is this rippling of colors. But it's not just that. Those colors, they tell me what's happening with people: how they feel, that sort of thing. It just gets too confusing, so I decided to be on my own, moving around, not being overloaded." She shrugged a little. "I actually quite like it. I can go where I want, when I want. Stay or not stay. It can get a little lonely at times, but..."
She brightened a little. "Anyway, as I was saying, sometimes, I can tell if there is an injury from the way the colors move, or don't move, as the case may be. Old injuries show up like scars a lot of the time. And, I'm not really sure, but I think that I see something like that on your head." She pointed to the left of his head. "There looks like something old, or maybe not old, but an injury, I think. Have you hit your head recently? That might be it." When Javin shook his head, she shrugged. "Sometimes it's hard to tell for sure, especially with someone new. It's like I have to learn the colors they have. That's another reason I don't like having too many people around at once. It's too confusing.
"One of the ways I've found to learn a person is to ask them something. Do you mind?" She flashed a smile when he nodded. "Telling a lie and telling a truth, when they are told together, one after the other, makes it easier for me to, how do I explain it? understand a person better. So," and here she shifted to face Javin. "I want you to tell me two things about yourself. One of them should be true and one of them should be a lie. And I'll tell you which is which just by looking at the colors as they change around you."
Javin thought about this for a moment. "So you can tell if I'm lying? If anyone is lying to you? Even when there's not much daylight?"
"It's not quite that simple. I can see colors changing, but what those changes are about, that's not so easy. Things like anger and joy, the strong emotions, they're quite easy. But the other emotions, the things that people are feeling, well, they are harder. I have to be with someone for a while before I can understand their colors. That's why I asked you to deliberately tell me a lie as well as a truth. And daylight doesn't matter. You don't have to if you don't want to."
"You said everything has these colors? Does that mean that each of the gorries has them?"
"Of course. They are alive."
"And does each gorry have different colors?"
"They are the same in lots of ways. People have big differences in colors. Skort and Fallack, they are different also."
"What about trees and plants? Do they have them? Can you see your own colors?"
"Trees and plants; yes. But they're smaller, fainter." A slight impatience entered her voice. "And no. I don't know if I can see my own. Like I said, you don't have to if you don't want to."
Javin stopped himself from asking the next question he had. "I'm sorry. I've never heard of this, so... yes, of course, I will do that. Let me think... Two things... I'm ready." He turned to face her more squarely. "If I sit like this, is it better or not?"
"Makes no difference to me."
"First thing then is that I was born on Haven, not Harmony." He paused. "Do I wait, or what?"
"Go on."
"Right. So the second thing is that I have a powerful talent, but not like any of the people have who were born here." He waited.
Her voice, when she answered, was hesitant. "One was the truth and one was a lie? I didn't see any difference. At least, not enough to matter. Was the second one meant to be a lie?"
He nodded, and then realized the shadows made that redundant, so he added, "Yes. The second one is a lie. I've no talent that I know of, despite people trying to teach me."
She considered this. "So, if you think you have no talent, but you haven't yet found what it is, I suppose that could account for it. Do you mind trying again? After all, it could be my talent is no good for some reason. Perhaps it's deserted me." She gave a short, nervous laugh
"Give me a moment to think. It's harder than I thought it would be, making up deliberate lies to tell you." He thought for a moment. "Ready? Try these two instead and see what you get. First one. I have no memories of my early life at all. Can't remember a thing about it and don't know why. Second one. After I arrived here, I was with a family of farmers and I managed, on my own, to move a whole herd of gomars to new pasture. It was much easier than I thought it would be."
He could hear her draw breath and felt her eyes on him. "The second one... Or maybe the first...? What is going on? Both of those look the same to me. You either have memories and you moved the gomars by yourself, which I doubt, or you have no memories and you didn't move them." A note of exasperation entered her voice. "I can't believe I am losing my talent. That just doesn't feel right. I can still see the colors around the dogs and I know where the gorries are because I can see their colors. But you? I can see the colors around you, but I can't tell which is the truth and which is a lie." Her hand smacked on the ground beside her in frustration. "This is just plain silly. Can I ask you one favor, please? Just for me, to help me, can you please tell me your name and then tell me you are someone else?" There was a note of pleading entering her voice.
Javin was just as confused as Meldren. "Of course, if it will help. Ready? Fine. My name is Javin. Javin Sarnum. And now, my name is Torrint. Torrint the trader. How was that?"
"Now, those I could tell apart." Relief was evident in her reply. "There's a sort of flicker and spout of a different color, blue-ish, by the side of your head, when you lied about being Torrint. It's really plain for me to see. And I didn't see it the other two times. Maybe just a tiny, tiny difference. But not like it should be."
Javin was even more perplexed now. "What does that mean? That I am lying about lying? That I really do have a talent or that I have my memories? But that's crazy! I really don't have any memories. Does it mean I do have memories, but I can't remember them? But that doesn't make any sense either."
When Meldren broke the silence, her voice was lower and somehow more musical. It was as if she was humming beneath her breath as she spoke. "I saw a herb growing by the pool. It's really good for making a drink. I'm going to make us some. If you can get some of those hot stones?"
While Javin was prodding out two small stones from beside the fire, she returned with a handful of leaves in one hand and a large wooden bowl half-full of water in the other. Placing it on the ground, she dropped the leaves in and picked up the stones, blew the ash from them and plopped them in as well. It was done so quickly, that Javin could not be sure whether she actually handled them or protected her hands with the cloth of her sleev
e. Leaving Javin to stir, she went to her wagon, returning with two wooden mugs and a ladle.
She offered one to Javin saying, in that still fluid voice which sounded different, more musical somehow, "I think you'll like what this does. I've always liked it myself."
"What's it called?"
She shrugged, her face hidden in the shadows, the fire slowly dying away into embers. "Just drink it. You'll see," and she lifted her mug to drink.
As he did so, he heard, very faintly, the strains of the music that had teased him in the past. It almost seemed to match how Meldren had been speaking. The taste of the drink was very satisfying and he made noises of enjoyment to let Meldren know. There was an earthen taste in there, but also something richer, greener almost. Something very complex, evoking ideas of both vitality as well as calmness. Drinking it, he felt it spread through his body, leaving him feeling charged, yet at the same time aware of a lethargy holding him, making him think of himself as an observer in his own body, watching with interest what was happening. The mug slipped from his hands and it meant nothing. His vision sharpened as he took in each separate glowing ember, each leaf left in the wooden bowl, the individual fibers of his clothes, everything.
Without fear, without concern of any kind, he took it all in. As he looked at Meldren, he suddenly realized in a visceral way which brooked no doubt, that she was something far greater than she appeared. Different. Majestic, even. As he gazed at her, unable to move his focus, so he knew that she was more than just her body, she, no, She, was electrifying. Her presence, just Her simply being there, was enough to almost overwhelm him. It was magnificent. But he was not frightened. He did not worry. This was as it should be. He closed his eyes to keep that feeling inside.