by J. Naomi Ay
"Let us hope the Crown Prince wants you." Her mother sniffed as she finished washing all the pots in the sink. "Your cousins are beautiful too, yet he refused them as if they were yesterday's meat. When he comes to visit next week, you shall have to charm him any way you can."
"He is coming next week?" Minka and I shrieked at the exact same time.
"Indeed. Garinka has said all the boys have gone off on a tour."
"All of them?" I begged. Would Pori finally be returning for me?
"I believe the MaKennah is being accompanied by several of his friends. It shall be interesting to see him now that he is fully grown. Why Cinda, you are turning red. Are you afraid he will look with disfavor upon you? I am sure your father's treason while not prejudice his thoughts. You are so beautiful now; perhaps he will want you both."
"He's mine," Minka growled later that night. "You are not to entice him in any way." She was standing in my room, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "We have been the best of friends for years. You are closer than my own sister to my heart. If you steal him from me, Cinda, I shall never forgive you."
"Don't worry," I insisted. "He is not the one I want. My heart belongs to Pori, son of the warrior Torim."
"Oh." Minka raised her head. "You have never before spoken to me of this boy. Well, good then. I hope it shall all come to pass. When I am Queen, I will bless your sons."
"Thank you, Minka." I blew out the candle and made to sleep.
The next few days, all the unmarried girls who had come of age were very busy. We had to sew new dresses to show off our figures. We washed our hair and cleaned our teeth until both were shiny and fresh. We scrubbed our skin and perfumed ourselves with rose petals crushed in oil. During the banquet, we would dance to the rhythm of the ceremonial drums. Minka would sing because she had a voice like a canary. We practiced the entire day before, and when the boys arrived in the village, we helped the older women make the meal. The first time we saw any of them was during the banquet when we paraded before them carrying the trenchers of meat. Minka set hers before the MaKennah while I placed mine before Pori, son of Torim, and then I was allowed to look up into his face.
"Cinda," he said, catching my hand.
"Pori," I gasped and stared into his clear blue eyes.
"I've come for you this time. Tonight, when the ceremony is done, meet me by the hot springs pool up in the canyon."
The rest of the evening, my heart fluttered in my chest. My hands shook as I collected the trenchers and my knees wobbled when it was my turn to dance. I glanced once or twice at Pori who was huddled next to the MaKennah whispering secrets in his ear. Pori waved his hands about, and they laughed as if they shared a joke. It warmed my heart that my future husband was held in such high regard. Perhaps, Minka and I would raise our children together, and they would be great friends. My daughters would marry her sons, and we would be family as now we almost were. I raised my head and smiled with happiness, and I danced so the whole village would see.
Later that night, after the banquet had concluded, when only the stars were lit in the dark summer sky, I made my way up to the hot springs pond by the lake expecting to find only my love waiting for me. Instead, I discovered Minka and two other girls giggling and teasing three boys.
"Ay yah, Cinda is here," Pori cried, climbing from the pool to my side. "We've been waiting for you to begin our party." He grabbed my hand and bent down to kiss my lips although my eyes were fastened on the pool. The scent of the drug Barkuti hung heavily over the crowd, and Pori's breath smelled like stale beer.
"Pori? I thought we were to be alone."
"Later, Cinda." He pulled my arm. "We're having a celebration before the MaKennah leaves for the University of Mishnah next week. As a belated birthday gift and as homage to my future king, I have a special present to share with him this night." Now, he pushed me to the pool where the MaKennah was sitting with Minka upon his lap. She was stroking his face and running her hands through his hair. Pori's friend, Karim held the other two girls in his arms, and though he had his eyes on them, they were both watching the MaKennah as if waiting their turn.
"Come on," Minka was whispering to him. "Let's go back in the woods, just you and I, Sir. I have been waiting for this moment for as long as I can recall."
"Cinda, first," Pori said and pushed me forward even more. "My gift to you, Senya is my future wife."
"Cinda?" Minka shrieked.
"Pori?" I gasped, as well.
"Alright." The MaKennah smiled, and his silver eyes flashed in my face. He rose out of the pool sending Minka to the side, and then waved for me to follow him into the forest.
"Go," Pori urged and smiled as if this was his greatest pleasure. So, I followed the Crown Prince, and I lay for him among the moss. I offered him the last part of me that had been only mine; that I had kept to grant only to my husband.
"I won't force you." He stood above me, the two moons shadowing him in golden light, his strange silver eyes shining into my own. "Go back to Pori, if you desire. His gift is regarded with gratitude."
"No. If Pori wishes, then let it be so."
He was not harsh, nor cruel, but gentle with me. His mind seemed far away, even as mine drifted among the stars. When it was done, he thanked me. I knelt and thanked him as well for having being given the opportunity to serve our future king. Then, I returned to the hot springs pool whereupon Minka spat and called me Diridan's whore before she disappeared into the trees to collect her due.
"Come now, Cinda," Pori said and guided me away. We found a small cave behind the waterfall and lay there although the ground was hard. "You're not angry with me? I would do anything for my lord. I wanted him to know how strongly I felt."
"I understand." I put my hands upon his face. "And, he understood that too. However, from hence forth, it shall just be you and me."
"Agreed." My true love took me in his arms, and I stayed there until the morning light when the men of Kudisha began their venture back home.
****
I would follow them, it was decided after I packed my things and said goodbye. Within two days, I would have my pony readied. Pori and I would marry as soon as I arrived. We would live in the house in which I had been raised. As my father was still missing, by rights, it belonged to me. We would fill it with love and raise our family there. Once again, those walls would know peace and joy. The garden would be filled with flowers that I would plant. In the kitchen, I would bake and make my jam for my husband who would come home each night to be loved.
"I'm going with you," Minka declared, which was the first words she had spoken to me since that night. "I will journey to Kudisha to live with my sister." I didn't object as I welcomed the traveling companion. There was no room for jealousy in my heart, only in hers.
Before we departed, Minka's mother gave me a gift. "You have been as a daughter to me," she cried and wiped her eyes. "Take these with you and record your journey. Send me pictures of your house and beautiful babes. I will look forward to your visits from time to time." Then, she kissed me on the cheek and bid me go. That night, while Minka and I camped by a fire, I opened the packaged and looked inside. I cried my own tears for it was as if she had read my mind. My gift was pots of paint in every color. There were pencils, charcoal and chalk to sketch and draw. There were books of paper in every size and brushes of every width. I immediately took a pencil and sketched the forest, the fire, and the summer night filling it with colors of blue, purple, gold and green. Overhead, a great black eagle soared. He screeched a song I mistook for love. I drew him into the picture, as a magnificent commanding figure for I knew nothing about which his presence forebode. When I was finished, it was nearly morning, but I wasn't tired. In fact, I was filled with elation as if my life was newly born.
"You're crazy," Minka scoffed, tired and aching from the days of sitting on her horse.
"I'm happy," I replied for in truth, I was.
We continued our journey for two days more. I chronicled e
verything, every bird, every flower that we passed by. I was lost in my sketches when we came to the steppes above Kudisha. I didn't notice the acrid, burning scent rising from the village of my birth. Minka gasped and pulled her pony sharply to a stop.
"Cinda!" She cried and pointed at the streets below. I dropped my pencils and books as once again, my heart ceased to beat. Never, ever again would I pick them up. Never again would I attempt to paint. My world forever after was cold and dark devoid of color.
****
Now, I am an old woman with long gray hair. My waist is no longer tiny, and my hips are broad. The face in my mirror shows only shadows of the girl I once had been through blurry eyes that see only shades of gray. I dress myself in an old fashion tunics and leggings while the young people of this empire prefer much fancier clothes. I put my hand sewn shoes upon my feet and then I ready myself to depart as I do every morning from this house where I was born.
"Good morning, Cinda," a voice calls from the porch next door.
"Good morning, Minka," I reply and wave my hand at the old woman who sits alone in the rocking chair on her sister's porch. I have a few shiny stones from the river in my left pocket. I shall pick fresh dandelions and daisies on the way there. I have never desired a flower to grow in my garden. Instead, I have filled it with garlics and onions, beets, carrots, cabbages, and kale; ugly bitter vegetables that feed me during the dark of winter.
The walk uphill takes me a long time, as my legs are old and ache with pains in the joints. I have nothing more to do with my day, so I pass slowly to appreciate the view of the river below the steppes and the distant Blue Mountains behind the hills.
When I arrive, I go first to my mother's grave. Since yesterday, only a single weed has grown. I dispose of this vile intruder and then choosing a pink stone from the collection in my pocket, I place it on the marble plaque commemorating her. Next, I go to the site where Prince Pedah is buried. He lies at the feet of his father, the old king. A blue stone is already there. It sheds light in every direction. Even night, Prince Pedah's grave is always lit. Now I visit Karim, and next to him, Padim, who was only fifteen years when the massacred occurred. For my beloved's friend and brother, I leave two shiny red rocks. There is a dandelion sprouting between them which I dispose. As a wind sweeps across the hill, bringing a hint of the autumn about to come, I kneel before the grave of my almost-husband, Pori.
"You should go home now, Old Cinda," a young man's voice tells me. He is one of Garinka's many grandsons that tend to the graves. "It's getting cold, and you should be sitting by your warm fire in your house." I rise to my feet and steady myself as I prepare to walk back down the hill. I have spent nearly half the day here, and my knees will complain in the morning when once again, I will rise from my bed and trek back up. "Goodnight," the boy calls and wishes me well. Little does he know how his wishes fall flat like autumn leaves upon the dirt. Instead, I shall do as he says and start my fire to cook my humble meal. Then, I shall sit down in my chair and read this day's news of the MaKennah.
####
A Preview of
The Boy who Lit up the Sky
Book 1 in The Two Moons of Rehnor Series
Chapter 1
Meri
"What have you got there?" I asked Sister Moon.
"A pot of gold," she cackled holding up a little purse and shaking it. It jingled with heavy coins.
"No," I said reaching for the baby in her arms. "Who is this?"
"A Karut." She easily relinquished him to me. I peeled back the blanket and looked at the little face.
"Aren't you pretty?" I stroked the soft cheek. "You're sure he's a Karut? He's so pale."
"Maybe he's a half-breed," she replied already counting the coins. "So many good Mishnese girls giving themselves to Karut men after poor Lydia was forced to do it. I suspect we'll be getting a lot more just like him."
"Maybe," I agreed stroking the baby's tuff of silky black hair. "He's sweet all the same. Does he have a name?"
"Senya."
"Senya," I repeated.
"Now don't you go taking special heart to this little rat," Sister Moon scolded me as she tossed the coins back in the purse. "The same will happen to him as the rest of them."
"Maybe he'll get adopted by a nice family," I said wistfully. "Look what long eyelashes he has."
"Nobody will want a Karut," she snorted. "He'll be here with the rest of the nasties until he runs off and gets himself killed on the street. Get yourself back to work now. Put the baby in the baby room and go check the one year olds' buckets."
"Yes Ma'am." The baby put his little fist in his mouth. "Can I give him a bottle first? He's hungry."
Sister Moon shrugged. "Be quick about it."
"Thank you Ma'am," I curtseyed and hurried the baby to the baby room where I could get a bottle out of the warmer and sit for a moment before I had to dump all the potty buckets. Twice daily I must circle through the one year olds' room here in the Old Mishnah Orphan Home where twenty babies sat naked in chairs, eating, sleeping and pooping at will. I spent about two minutes with each of them, wiping them hopefully before they broke out in rash, putting ointment on their rashes and hugging them all for just a moment before I must put them back down and move on to the next. By the time they graduated on to the two year old room, they were allowed to wear pants and shirts, sleep on cots and eat at small tables. If they messed their pants for whatever reason, they were sent back to the one year old room for a day which was such a punishment that rarely would they mess again.
The baby room was my favorite place though. It was quiet and warm in there and I could sit in rocker and cuddle as many little bundles as I had time for. The older ones stood in their cribs and waved to me as I came in. Some babbled out a few nonsense sounds and some smiled showing me two or four tiny teeth.
"Hello babies," I called to them.
"Hello Meri," Sister Lena called back. She was in a rocker with one of the few little girls we had. Most of our children were boys. I don't know why they were abandoned more often than girls. Girls could be put to work, I supposed. Certainly our girls unless they were rescued before age seven or eight, would be put to work earning their keep.
"Who have you got there?" Lena asked.
"A new one," I replied grabbing a bottle and settling down next to her. "This is Senya."
"A Karut," she gasped with surprise. The baby she was holding stopped sucking and looked at her for a moment.
"Yes, but he's pretty isn't he," I said offering him the bottle. He sucked it greedily and patted it with his hand.
"I wonder why the Karuts didn’t take him." Lena peered at him through her bottle thick glasses.
"Sister Moon thinks his mum was Mishnese. Was your mum Mishnese, Senya?" I teased. The baby smiled with the nipple still in his mouth.
"He says yes." I laughed as he sucked fiercely once again.
"He is beautiful," Lena agreed. "What color are his eyes?"
'I don't know. Open your eyes, baby. Let me see your pretty eyes."
The baby opened his eyes as if he understood me and Blessed Saint, I nearly dropped him. His eyes were silver, like swirly specks of silver light.
"Blessed Saint," Lena cried upsetting her baby who howled in protest.
Senya closed his eyes again as if he knew this is what caused us fright. He finished his bottle and sucked air until I wrestled the bottle from his mouth and held him against my shoulder.
"He is possessed." Lena calmed her baby and then quickly put her back in a crib. "Do you think this is why the Karuts didn’t want him?"
"He's not possessed," I insisted, burping my little friend. "He's sweet." He patted my face with his hand while looking out across my back.
Lena looked at me warily. "It is strange though."
"It is," I agreed. "But they are kind of beautiful too." Surely if he was possessed, we would know that somehow. I might have to ask the Father about that but I hated speaking with the Father. He always wanted favors and
his breath was bad and his old skin was wrinkled and made my own skin crawl.
I changed Senya and put him in one of our shirts. I was about to put socks on his little feet when I was stopped short.
"Lena, can you come here?"
She approached with narrow eyes. I held up a little foot. Senya reached for it too.
"Look at his nails," I said. "Why are they like this?" Gingerly, Lena touched them. She visibly shivered. Senya played with his toes. He put one in his mouth and sucked on the long curled nail.
"We should dispose of him," she said.
"Dispose?" I cried.
"Throw him out in the gutter before …before..."
"Before what? You mean to kill him?"
"No, no," she walked away. "Maybe send him to the Karuts. I have a bad feeling about him."
"Will you tell the Father?"
Lena turned and looked into my eyes. She nodded slowly.
"Don't hurt this baby," I begged. "Let me take care of him."
"I have a very bad feeling about him," she repeated and her wimple nearly fell off as she shook her head. "Something is wrong about him."
"I promise, Sister. Please let me care for him. If he turns out to be bad, then I'll help you get rid of him. Don't turn him out now and don't tell the Father."
"What will you do for me if I agree?" she asked, lifting her head haughtily.
"What do you want?"
"All the diapers," she said. "All the time."
I looked down at Senya. He smiled at me and when he opened his eyes they sparkled. "Okay," I agreed, falling in love with this strange little fellow. "I will do anything to save little Senya."
I was strange too. My back was crooked and my face was scarred. I was ugly even though I wasn't always. Once I was a beautiful young girl who nice boys would ask to dance and nice girls would chat up. Once I went to school and got high marks in Mishnese and literature and fair marks in math and science. Then my step father wanted me and when I refused he pushed me down the stairs and broke my back. As I lay crumpled, he set my clothes on fire. The Saint saved me and after I was healed, I came here to love other children who no one wanted anymore.