Journey to Water's Heart

by Lea Ben Shlomo

  The voices fell silent. Everyone looked at the young man standing in the middle of the hall.

  “Know your place, Tanti.” Tarkian scolded him. He rushed forward and grabbed Tanti’s arm, wishing to pull him away.

  Nevian raised his hand, gesturing that Tarkian leave his son be.

  “What was it you wanted to tell us, Tanti?”

  “Our brother thinks you can cure the land with spores,” Blaind said.

  “Or worms,” said Sinbar.

  Tanti flinched and yearned to escape the mocking eyes surrounding him. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Tell us what’s in your heart,” said Nevian. “And have no fear. What about these spores that cure the land?”

  “Spores have their own life force. They send rays of invisible intelligence beneath stones in the depths of rivers and the earth. They feed on the earth’s abundance and grow strong from the life intelligence within them.”

  “And how do these characteristics heal?”

  “They attack whatever threatens their existence and destroy it. It’s like a war, I think.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “I just sense things. I see pictures; I hear. Then, I know.”

  “It’s strange hearing such things from a man as young as yourself,” said the president.

  “My son was blessed with intelligence and a deep sense of observation,” Tarkian said. “Sometimes, his senses lead us to hidden crystal deposits. In fact, he’s the one who found the last one.”

  “Indeed?”

  “I just finished what my father and brothers started. They’re the experts on earth and rock characteristics.”

  “Who was the one who found the topaz deposit?” Efronit asked.

  “We all did. I followed them. It was only at the last stretch that I started feeling and guessing the place.”

  “This is the skill I’m talking about,” said Tarkian. “A precious quality that we need now, more than ever.” He addressed the president. “I’m sorry I tried to prevent him from talking. Sometimes, I forget the boy has grown. I think we should listen to him.”

  Tanti’s heart swelled when he heard his father.

  “Your words aren’t illogical,” said Nevian. “You should know, my boy, that several days ago I spoke with Aklivor, the water scientist, and I heard from him similar things. He says there’s a rare plant that can cure our diseased soil. He asked me to find the right man to locate it.”

  “Well then, everything’s fine. There’s a cure for this disease.”

  “Listen, Tanti,” his father said. “It isn’t that simple. The plant is very rare.”

  “So are minerals, yet we find them,” said Tanti. “We’re four. Each of us is experienced in a different field. Together, we’ll certainly find where this precious plant grows.”

  “Slow down, Tanti,” Sinbar said. “You’re forgetting that we’ve been recruited to establish the security guards and that our father has been recruited to find mines. We don’t have time to search for an extinct plant.”

  “I appreciate your willingness to help, Tanti,” said President Nevian. “But the plant we’re talking about isn’t in the mountains you’re familiar with, but in the northern lands, beyond the Basalt River.”

  “Beyond the Basalt River?” Tanti asked, aghast.

  The Basalt River was the name of a wall of mountains formed as a result of a volcanic eruption, which looked like a river that froze on the way to a deep, narrow canyon. Almost nothing grew on the listing, black mountain, which was rocky, smooth, and steep. The place wasn’t inhabitable, with its remoteness, gloominess, and steep slopes. No one had passed through since an earthquake had swallowed the narrow ridge between two cliffs, blocking the passage to the northern countries.

  Tanti didn’t dare lift his head. Had his arrogance failed him again? He stood in the hall of the Izmerandi government, stated his educated opinion about things he didn’t know enough about, and announced his willingness to embark on an impossible mission. His father’s praise had made him prideful. Now, the only thing he wished for was for the earth to swallow him right this moment, but even then, he’d be unable to escape the shame.

  Nevian looked straight at Tanti. “You may be the man we need after all,” he said. “Despite your young age. You have rare navigational skills, courage, generosity, and strong senses attuned to the invisible. These are the required traits for the mission. If your father grants his permission, we’ll send you first to the Water Farm, where Aklivor himself will give you all the information you’ll need.”

  Tanti looked at his father.

  “We’d better return home right now,” Tarkian said. “Rest and relax. We have many things to think about.”

  “I understand,” said the president.

  “I’ll go,” said Tanti.

  “What?”

  “I’ll go. North, south, anywhere you send me.”

  “Tanti, think before you decide.”

  “I’ve already decided,” said Tanti.

  “Are you sure?” asked Nevian.

  Tanti nodded. He knew that he had just taken a step from which there was no return.

  The president smiled.

  The councilmen whispered among themselves. Some of them didn’t look happy at sending a young man, not yet twenty, on such an important mission, which could be groundless, as far as they knew.

  He found himself wrapped in his father’s arms. “Oh, my. What am I going to tell your mother?”

  “What will you tell her?” Tanti asked.

  “That her son chose well,” his father said. His brothers shoved closer to embrace him as well. The councilmen rose to leave and say their farewells to the Marins.

  “We won’t delay you any longer,” said Nevian. “Go home. Rest. In the next few days, each of you will receive instructions on how to begin. You, Tanti, will train at Aklivor’s Water Farm, where you’ll receive all the information you need.”

  They left the people of the place after kisses on the cheek and handshakes.

  Finally, they could ride home. In the falling darkness, no one came to greet them. And besides, all four of them were thinking of their future.

  The village lights glittered like diamonds. As they crossed the bridge over the river, they noticed that the door to their house was wide open. In the rectangle of light, they made out Andama’s image, watching them approach, as she eagerly awaited their arrival.

  Chapter 5

  The Water Farm

  Tanti woke up early. He rushed out to the yard in order to spend the quiet hours in his mother’s herbal garden, to collect the eggs from the yard, and to feel the day rise slowly and come to life in the village. The vegetable garden stood abandoned. Tanti turned his gaze from it. He didn’t want to ruin the tranquility of the hour beneath the dawning sky. He heard someone approaching. A girl ran toward him, holding her dress in both hands. She was barefoot, wild, and scowling.

  “I’m looking for Tanti Marin,” she said as she came closer.

  “That’s me,” said Tanti, thinking she would’ve been cute had she bothered to wash her face. “And who are you?”

  “I’m Manin. I’ve come to take you to my great-great-great-grandfather Aklivor’s Water Farm, even though I have no idea why they woke me up so early. People are becoming stressed and pressed lately. Are you ready, Tanti Marin?”

  “Ready for what?”

  “They should’ve warned me I was going to meet a dummy. Didn’t you hear a word I said?”

  “I did. I mean, I understand I’m supposed to go to the Water Farm. I’ll come as soon as I can. Right after breakfast. Just explain to me how to get there and where it is.”

  “Just explain how.” She mimicked his voice, sneering. “Do you think I ran all the way here to explain stuff to you? Do you see this?” She pointed at the abandoned garden.
“And you think we have time to waste?” Her sentence ended with a shout.

  “Ready for what?” Andama asked, after hearing their voices and coming to the yard.

  “I have to go with the girl,” Tanti said. “To Aklivor’s Water Farm.”

  “I knew this moment would arrive,” Andama said. “I just hoped it wouldn’t arrive so quickly.” She put her hand on his shoulder and addressed Manin.

  “Child, you’re better off coming in a few days. The Water Farm is ancient. It will wait for Tanti, who needs to rest after his long journey.”

  “I need to go,” Tanti said.

  “He needs to go,” said Manin. This time her voice was soft and polite. “Aklivor is waiting for him.”

  “First come in and eat with us,” Tanti’s mother said. “I just finished making nut bread and put it in the oven.”

  The girl refused to come in. “We have to leave immediately,” she said, and wouldn’t budge from the doorway.

  “I’m sorry, Mother. I really must go.”

  Tanti didn’t want to seem like a weakling in the girl’s eyes. He hurried to wash his face, get dressed, and put on his shoes. Before his mother had time to hand him a sack with bread and fruit, he left the house and joined Manin. She was already on her way, taking wide strides, and Tanti tried not to lag behind.

  There were many rumors about Aklivor’s Water Farm, about the strange creatures that wandered there, about singing water and blinking ferns. Tanti knew that his countrymen liked to spread tall tales; for example, that Aklivor was the oldest man in Izmeran, perhaps one hundred and fifty years old, and maybe even more, and that he talked with animals and plants.

  Tanti was short of breath. He was used to walking and climbing, but Manin, with her bare feet, was faster than him, and as agile as a rabbit.

  The farm was located on the shores of a lake, by a forested hill, surrounded by tangled vegetation. Manin, who wanted to take a shortcut, pulled aside a tangle of shrubs and revealed a hidden entrance to the farm. She and Tanti went through the entrance she’d revealed, and then she put the bushes back in place. “Don’t try to get in or out from this place, because this is Niney’s, Ninay’s, and my secret entrance. Even if you search your entire life, you’ll never find it yourself.”

  “Whose entrance?”

  “Oh, what do you know?”

  She grasped Tanti’s hand and pulled him after her. Tanti looked over his shoulder. There was nothing to indicate they’d just passed through the brambles. Now he lagged after her through an avenue of ancient Shernan trees, until they arrived at a cabin made of black wood. In the front yard stood a large stone table, surrounded by stone chairs. On one of those chairs, someone or something sat, hunched over and withdrawn, with long, tangled hair that merged with a knotted beard. Manin approached the pile of hair and touched it with a gentleness that surprised Tanti.

  “Great-grandfather,” she said. “Wake up. The emissary is here.”

  All at once, the old man straightened, and gleaming blue eyes peeked from out of his face.

  “Tanti Marin,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  Tanti wanted to return the greeting but couldn’t. He was still short of breath.

  “Sit, boy,” the old man said. “I see you’re as handsome and flamboyant as your father was when he was young. Short of breath and short of patience but sees to the distance. These contrasts will get you far yet.”

  “Short of patience. As if!” Manin said. “I had to wait at the entrance to his house for an hour before he put on his fancy, tasseled belt, and then drag the spoiled brat all the way here, so we’d make it before nightfall.” With that, she whirled toward the cabin.

  Tanti opened his mouth to answer. That wasn’t what happened, he wanted to say.

  “Don’t pay attention to what she says,” said Aklivor. “That’s just how Manin is. Her tongue is sharp when she likes someone or doesn’t like someone. Or when you wake her up early in the morning. Manin.” He called after her. “Call your grandmother. Tell her to serve breakfast here, in the yard.”

  Manin didn’t answer. She went into the cabin, slamming the door behind her. After several minutes, a handsome woman came out, carrying a tray laden with food and drinks. She introduced herself as Avona, smiled, and went back inside.

  “Listen to me, boy,” Aklivor said as they ate. “The Water Farm is different from anything else you’ve ever met in your short life. Here, my family, assistants, and I created a natural habitat for endless realities, in order to study them, get to know them, and understand our world, and of course, in order to know how to make the most of them. Water has the abilities to soak up insights, to connect to the wisdom of the wandering spirits and cultivate them into a new power.

  “During your short stay here, I won’t be able to teach you the language of water, because I must prepare you for your sole mission: to bring the healing mushroom to the barren land of Izmeran as quickly as possible. I’ll teach you what you’ll need to know in order to discern between water and water, between fauna and stone.”

  “My brother, Blaind, claims that the land isn’t like a person, who can swallow a pill that can cure his disease.”

  “In a way, he’s right,” said Aklivor. “People and animals have blood, digestive systems, respiratory systems, and more. And those familiar with the effect of medicine know the route the medicine will take and how the body is supposed to respond. But the land is different. The way it nourishes itself, heals itself, and assimilates the water and the sun is a big riddle. People plant and sow and fertilize without understanding the secret of life. We have feelings, realizations, and revelations that help us enjoy the goods and products of the earth, without understanding the processes that lead to growth. Sometimes, that’s all we need.”

  Aklivor fell silent and began to eat. Tanti thought of the things he’d heard, which he thought sounded complicated.

  After a while, Aklivor pushed his plate away, and continued. “For more than one hundred years, I’ve been researching the ways of the water, which hide many secrets and enormous, multifaceted active powers. Over here, we have over one hundred natural habitats that are like tiny puddles, each one a kind of research lab. We allow very few people to visit and witness our work.”

  “Can I see the place?”

  “Of course. We brought you here, after all. You won’t be able to see it all. There are things that one knows deep in one’s heart, and they’re revealed with time. You may go and wander the grounds, look around, and learn. Listen carefully, Tanti, and learn my words by heart until they’re imprinted on your heart: Don’t touch the water or anything else on the estate grounds. Every healing center has a destructive center. Remember, things are not always as they seem. Know that there are things that we still don’t understand, either. We respect what we don’t know through observation and caution. Am I clear?”

  “I think so…”

  “That’s good,” Aklivor said. “If you think, you’re in the right place. Just don’t forget to share with your heart. Thoughts of the mind without thoughts of the heart hold no realization. Do you understand me, Tanti Marin?” Before Tanti had time to answer, Aklivor continued. “And return at noon so we can begin with the first lesson. I imagine that until then, you’ll have many more questions to ask. In fact, you can go and explore right now. Or you can join Manin and feed the lab reptiles.”

  Of course Tanti preferred to explore the estate instead of joining the scowling Manin and her reptiles. Later on, he would ask himself if he hadn’t made the wrong choice.

  He left Aklivor and walked down the twisting paths winding through the grove. Gradually, the landscape changed and the vegetation became a tangle of shrubs. A narrow stream meandered slowly, and Tanti decided to walk along it and see where it led. He started noticing little cisterns. Some were covered with moss and seaweed, and if you looked carefully, you could notice tiny w
ater creatures lounging in plots of colorful water—red and yellow, purple and green. In many places, he saw sieves at the ends of long, thin poles, hanging from wood poles with hooks at the end, and other tools that looked like equipment to gather and classify.

  After a while, the vegetation became sparser, and there were more puddles scattered around. He had to walk carefully in order not to sink in them. The sun burst from among the clouds, and the colors around became clean and bright. Dragonflies and tiny insects floated above the waterholes. Tiny frogs hid among the ferns. Tanti noticed the most magnificent waterhole—a precise green circle with glowing waters, some of it as smooth and glittery as a mirror, while other parts were covered with lumps. At the edge of the circle, pointy fern fronds emerged, stroking the water and mixing with it until they looked like part of it.

  Tanti reached out to touch the velvety lumps in the plot of water collecting rays of sun.

  Just then, he felt something hit his neck. Something moist and sticky clung to him from behind. Tanti shuddered in revulsion, reached back, and plucked off the creature, which was wriggling now between his fingers. It looked like a multi-armed shellfish, almost transparent, and extremely disgusting. He flung the mollusk far away and turned to look around, without understanding where it had come from. He felt his neck burn, and then, to his horror, something hit his forehead, and he realized that a similar creature was stuck there. “What is this?” he said, as he pulled it off quickly and threw it into the puddle.

  “It’s a tentapop.” He heard a high voice and then a giggle.

  “It’s a popping tentapop.” Another voice joined the first one, and they both laughed, pleased with themselves.

  Tanti turned and saw two pale, skinny children, their heads as round as balls. They looked almost identical, but one was a bit taller than the other, and in his hand, he held another mollusk, which he threw at Tanti, while he laughed. This time, Tanti ducked, and the tentapop sailed over his head and landed in the grass, huffing irately.

  Now both children were rolling around, holding their stomachs, their laughter high and annoying. Tanti wanted to bang their heads together.