Journey to Water's Heart

by Lea Ben Shlomo

  Clumsy Yoven and tiny, agile Zeek fought about everything. More than once, Tanti was forced to separate them and serve as the mediator, before the argument became a fistfight.

  They made sure he was comfortable and ensured that the bed of leaves or branches on which he slept was soft. They took care of his horse and his clothes, and they found easy riding routes, which ignited their raging, endless arguments: Who would bring Tanti water? Who would wash his clothes? Who was more experienced in taking care of the horses’ hooves…? It was a situation that was both annoying and amusing. Tanti would step away when he grew tired of listening to them argue. Every so often, he tried to help them reach a compromise and calm them down.

  Yoven and Zeek knew the area well, and knew they had to lead him to the hidden passageway in the Anurian border, which would spare him from climbing the high, snowy mountains, which might take weeks or even months.

  The three were riding up a moderate incline, which frequently necessitated that they dismount their horses and walk, something that Tanti was used to since the days of his youth. Vegetation was sparse, until it disappeared altogether among the rocks covering the ground. They still had enough food and water, and his agile companions managed to hunt hyraxes and voles, which he’d never noticed before, by climbing the rocky walls and sliding down easily, thus justifying their name as Lizards.

  Zeek’s habit of suddenly vanishing and then emerging unexpectedly before, behind, or on a branch of a tree above him, made Tanti uneasy.

  They stopped one evening at the side of the road, where trees with half-dry foliage created a sort of small grove. Yoven and Zeek set up the tent and built a fire to cook on, while Tanti wandered away quietly and opened his scarf. It took him time to locate his whereabouts. Based on the sun’s location—east, with a slight tendency south—they were heading in the right direction. He could still see the familiar sign of the pear-shaped stain, which he’d have to reach after crossing the border, when the faintest rustling stopped him from what he was doing. He hurried to wrap the scarf around his neck and pretended that he was collecting wood for the fire. A shadow passed before him and disappeared behind the trees. Had Zeek noticed what he’d been doing?

  When he approached the camp, he saw Zeek busily preparing dinner.

  The next morning, just as they left, they saw a heavy cloud hovering on the ground before them. When they entered the cloud, they noticed that it was especially heavy and dense. They made slow progress, examining their way cautiously, and hoping the sun would scatter the fog quickly. Until noon, the cloud didn’t dissipate and remained as heavy as before. They wandered without knowing what they’d meet next. The air was heavy and oppressive. Yoven suggested that they turn back. “There’s never been fog here,” he said. “Maybe we took a wrong turn?”

  “We didn’t,” Zeek said. “We’re close to the passageway. The cloud will scatter soon. If we change course now, we’ll lose our way. Let’s continue walking straight ahead and keep our direction.”

  “It’s easy to lose your direction when you can’t see the horizon,” Yoven said. An argument ensued. Zeek suggested they climb the mountain and bypass the cloud. Yoven claimed they should climb down and escape it. Tanti was forced to interfere and decide that, for now, they’d continue forward, because any other option would just lengthen the way.

  Walking through the fog was discouraging and unsafe. Their feet grew heavy. Humidity surrounded them, making it hard to breath. They had to pull the horses, who refused to walk, by using force and coaxing.

  In the end, the horses stood in place and refused to budge. The three men stopped and sat down, exhausted. Tanti didn’t know how much longer they’d wander aimlessly in the mountains. He felt as though the earth was pulling him to it, and his body refused to get up. The bright light signaled that it was already noon, and the cloud still blocked their way stubbornly and refused to scatter under the heat of the sun.

  Zeek handed him a cup of herbal tea he’d made. Tanti refused to drink in spite of being extremely thirsty. The smell of the tea repulsed him. Zeek claimed he had to get stronger. He grabbed Tanti’s chin and forced him to drink, like one might force a sick man to drink. The bitter beverage burned his throat, yet made him feel better for several minutes. Eventually, Tanti became dizzy. His tongue grew heavy. The words of the gardener from the Blue Palace echoed in his head. “There will always be a light guiding you, if you know where to search for it. Go to it. It’s tiny, yet still leaves you no place. It’s transparent, yet contains all the colors inside of it. It’s soft and unyielding. Don’t go to it.”

  “I’m going to it,” Tanti mumbled to himself. “Even if it steals the light and air from within me.”

  The mushroom was close. He could feel its existence. It was speaking to him. It noticed him, walking toward it.

  His eyes started closing. Yoven and Zeek sprawled next to him, leaning on each other. It was the first time he had seen the Lizards when they weren’t active and energetic in the middle of the day.

  The fog crouched on his chest like a heavy blanket. Resting would be good for him, he thought, and it felt as though someone else was thinking that instead of him. The ground softened beneath his body.

  “Hold it for a moment, and it will hold you forever,” he mumbled, repeating the gardener’s words. He recalled those wide eyes with their gleam of madness. “The tree’s roots will open before you and immediately close, like a fool’s trap on your heart. They’ll clean your secrets. The earth will suck you up. Its fury will rip your flesh. Envy and greed will pursue you, Izmerandi. The days of innocence are over.”

  Suddenly, he saw Zeek before him, leaning over him, his ear turned toward his mouth. Tanti wanted to say, “What are you doing here, Zeek?” But his lips wouldn’t obey him. His legs were pulled into the earth, like roots. Stones started tightening and gathering around his body. He felt calm.

  “I’ll just sleep a bit and recharge,” he said to himself. He reached out. Zeek wasn’t there. Someone shook his shoulder.

  “Sir, Tanti, I’m feeling uncomfortable here. There’s something strange about the fog. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Soon, Yoven,” Tanti said. “First, we’ll rest a bit.”

  “Why are you digging yourself into the ground?”

  “I’m not digging anything,” Tanti said. “The ground is soft. It will suck you; its fury will rip your flesh, Izmerandi.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I didn’t. I’m just trying to sleep,” Tanti said impatiently.

  “Your feet are in the ground, sir.”

  Tanti woke up terrified. “What did you say?” He looked at his legs. They were covered with earth. His body was squeezed between rows of stones. He tried to get up. The stones closed in on him and prevented him from moving his body. “Help me, Yoven!”

  Yoven grabbed his arm and pulled him toward him. The stones scattered. His body broke free. Tanti was relieved to see that his feet weren’t damaged.

  The two of them went to call Zeek and get out of there.

  Zeek slept peacefully, wrapped in rows of stones, his legs submerged in the ground up to his knees. Tanti and Yoven hurried to him and grabbed his arms to pull him out. The moment they touched him, the stones scattered from above him. The earth, light and brittle, dispersed. Zeek, who woke up, smacked Yoven’s shoulder. “What’s wrong with you? What’s the sudden urgency? You couldn’t let me rest a bit?” He collected his possessions, which lay by his side, and started walking, still complaining.

  “You were in the ground,” Yoven said.

  “I was in the ground, but at least I wasn’t in that disgusting cloud.”

  Zeek disappeared before them into the fog. Tanti and Yoven grabbed the horses’ reins and pulled them after them, shuffling after Zeek. The cloud started to disperse. After several minutes, the air cleared. The road opened before them and climbed slightly up the edge of
the mountain. Zeek waited for them on the side of the road.

  ***

  A wide valley welcomed them. A stream crossed the valley. The vegetation along its banks was a complete, refreshing contrast to the barren surroundings.

  “That’s odd,” Tanti said. “The vegetation closer to our side is green and blue, while on the other side of the stream the grass is pale, almost white, like in Anura.”

  Yoven and Zeek burst into laughter.

  “Now you know where the real border passes between the Whites and Blues,” Yoven said. “This is Cord Creek, the natural border between the Blue and the White. The Whites don’t come here, because the high mountains block the way.”

  “At times of war, we should beware of isolated places,” Zeek said. “Stay alert.”

  They walked down to the canyon, where they sat to rest, washing themselves and the horses in the water. They ate, filled their waterskins, and continued on their way, full and refreshed.

  Two more days passed, during which they walked along the canyon, trying to keep close to the vegetation and stay inconspicuous. The stream ended in a small pool in a crevice. They bypassed an accumulation of rocks and continued for a while, close to the margins of the mountain, walking on colorful rocks. Thorny bushes grew along the way, full of red, spicy-sweet fruit. Yoven and Zeek picked handfuls. It seemed as though these fruits were their favorite, even though the thorns pricked and scratched their hands.

  Yoven stopped walking suddenly. His hand was still raised to his mouth, but his eyes looked forward. Zeek looked at him questioningly. Yoven nodded.

  “What’s happening now?” Tanti asked.

  “We’ve arrived at the passageway,” Zeek said. “Yoven, check that there’s no one in the area.”

  Yoven surveyed the area. “You can begin,” he said.

  Zeek went to his horse, took a strip of leather out of his bags, as well as one of his shirts, which he wrapped around his right hand. He approached one of the thorny fruit bushes, which didn’t look any different than the others, and shoved his hand into the bush. He fumbled for a moment, tying the leather strip to one of the main bushes, and gave Yoven the other end of the strap. The two of them pulled the strap, and the bush moved, exposing a round entrance hewn into the rock.

  “Hurry, get in,” Yoven said to Tanti. Zeek led the way, and the two of them followed him. The tunnel twisted and turned in various directions. The path was long and tiresome. The air was stuffy and heavy. They walked in the tunnel for a long time, until they saw a faint light before them.

  “Wait. I’m going out to check,” Zeek said.

  He wore a white cloak and disappeared beyond the bush blocking the entrance. After several minutes, he returned. He signaled them to follow him. There was no doubt they were in Anura. The view looked different, pale and pure. A white mountain rose behind them, and before them was a narrow path descending from the mountain.

  Tanti exhaled in relief. He had passed the high, snowy mountains, and the way was open before him.

  “I have no words to thank you,” he said. “I’ll miss your argumentative company.”

  Yoven hugged him wordlessly.

  “It’s still early to thank us,” Zeek said. “We’re continuing with you.”

  Yoven stepped back and looked at Zeek in surprise. “We have to return. We have a long way ahead of us, and the war is close.”

  Zeek lifted his chin. “Those are the commander’s orders. We continue escorting Tanti until he returns safely to Nautilin.”

  “There’s no need for you to escort me any further,” Tanti said. “From here, I’ll continue alone.”

  “Dionun gave me an order.” Zeek insisted.

  It seemed as though Yoven was happy with the turnabout. For the first time, he was in complete agreement with his friend.

  “There’s logic in what Zeek says,” he said. “We can be of great help to you.”

  Tanti didn’t say a thing. They’d received orders from Dionun to stay with him. He feared that if he insisted on continuing alone, they’d follow him furtively, and he preferred their obvious company. He held the reins of his horse and started walking down the path. Without looking back, he knew they were following him.

  The next day, they got up early as usual and faced a magical, pale sunrise.

  After walking for several hours, they reached a wide plain. In the heart of the plain was a flawlessly straight plateau, its color a pinkish white.

  “Table Mountain,” Yoven said.

  “They say you can walk on it all day long, or even more, without seeing the end,” Zeek said.

  They walked down to the plain and started climbing toward the Table. Now, they noticed that the white color was soft, waist-high grass that smelled like jasmine. The plateau sprawled beyond the horizon.

  “What do you think, Zeek? Can you eat this grass or make tea out of it?” Tanti asked, while stroking the tips of the weeds and walking through them happily.

  Zeek didn’t answer. He examined the grass, smelling and tasting it.

  “Interesting. The grass looks and smells like Hayatulaum grass,” he finally said.

  Yoven jumped as though bitten by a snake. “What?”

  Zeek burst into laughter. “You’re afraid of creatures that became extinct thousands of years ago? Maybe we’ll find remains of bones and teeth. And of course, we’ll find a lot of remains of the terror they enforced.”

  “Who are the Hayatulaum?” Tanti asked.

  “Huge, disgusting creatures you wouldn’t want to meet,” Yoven said. “They eat mostly leaves and weeds, but they also eat meat. They have this magnificent thorny tail. The problem is that if they sting you with one of their thorns, it fills your body with poison and agonizing pain.”

  “Stop scaring the commander with horror stories,” Zeek said. He bent down and examined the ground.

  “Where should we go?” Yoven asked. “It’ll take us days to circumvent the Table, and if we return to the path, it’ll take us back to that disgusting cloud.”

  “We’ll continue straight ahead,” Zeek said. “We won’t stray from our course because of ancient legends.”

  “Zeek, Hayatulaum have been sighted in the prairies, east of the Bonook swamps.”

  “And we’re far away, south of them. And the grass here is whole. It doesn’t look as though it’s been grazed.”

  “Are the Hayatulaum extinct or not?” Tanti asked, sensing an impending argument.

  Tanti looked around. Apart from the grass that stretched to the horizon, he didn’t see a thing there. “Are there other signs marking the existence of these creatures, apart from the grass?” he asked Zeek.

  “Like every other animal, it leaves trampled and grazed grass, feces, and the tracks of its tail dragging on the ground.” Zeek jumped on his horse. He surveyed the area around him. “We’re at the edge of the field. We have to walk into it, if we want to see any signs. The most obvious sign of their existence is seeing them with your own two eyes.”

  “The problem is,” Yoven said, “that when you see them, they see you.”

  “Why don’t we get out of here?” Tanti asked.

  “Because it’s too late,” Zeek said. “I see them. Or at least, something that may be them.” He hurried to slide off his horse and signaled to the others to do the same.

  “What do we do now?” Yoven asked.

  “We’ll turn back,” Tanti said and started to retreat, pulling his horse.

  “Let’s go down to the canyon. We’ll be able to hide there.”

  “I suggest we gallop forward, to the Table. They won’t be able to catch us, and it’s a straight path,” Zeek said.

  “We’d better decide quickly. North of the plateau is the swamp and prairie area. In the south, the road is relatively easy, but desolate and dry. What are your orders, Commander?”

  “Let
’s get away from here,” Tanti said. “And turn south. We have no other choice at the moment. Let’s hope we haven’t been noticed yet.”

  They rode down the green plateau and started the long, desolate route in the dry canyon. Once again, vegetation disappeared entirely. They didn’t see any water sources. To their right, a straight wall rose, which was the edge of the Table, and hid them. The mountain wall was colorful and filled with different layers of rock. They were too distracted to admire the multicolored rocks, which painted huge, mysterious pictures on the steep walls. Every so often, they looked toward the Table’s edges, to see if a horned head was emerging from the pale, pinkish weeds.

  The only tree in the desolate landscape was close to the wall of the steep mountain, blocking their way. The tree had a huge, ancient trunk, which had survived from the days that the canyon was the canyon of a perennial stream. The tree’s trunk was twisted, with thick veins winding around each other endlessly, the memory of a long, desperate demise. Among the twists were cracks and dark spaces. Despite its thick trunk, its treetop didn’t spread. A few branches protruded to the sides, from which cascades of yellowish-white fibers fell, which looked like thick hair and gave the tree a gloomy look. On the branches perched gray birds with hooked beaks, looking at the approaching people with curious hostility.

  Tanti looked back. A gray blur appeared on the white plateau. Another image joined it. Zeek signaled them to stop.

  “The Yenook. The pups of the Hayatulaum,” he said.

  “We’re conspicuous here,” Yoven whispered. “Don’t move. Those pups would love to play with us.”

  None of them moved. The odd creatures standing there and staring at them were joined by others.

  “We’ll climb the incline ahead. They won’t be able to reach us,” Zeek said.

  “And the horses?” Tanti asked.

  “We’ll leave them in the canyon. We have no choice.”

  “No, by no means,” Tanti said. A familiar fear seized him. He remembered the furroids who had chased him in the canyon when he had just begun his journey. There, there had been an entrance through which he had managed to escape. Here, the canyon was blocked by the large tree.