Chapter 8: Finding Tia
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Sarana's GiftChapter 8: Finding Tia(Available here until 4/13/2016)
The rushing sound of water grew louder as I approached the edge of the trees. Pushing through the tangled vines and undergrowth, I discovered a blush-red stream cascading over boulders and made my way along the river, climbing over the pale rocks and wading through pink pools. A steep, honeycombed bank formed the far side of the river and the sky had turned dull brown by the time I found a crevice deep enough to be a cavern.
Clouds of bats flying around the opening made me think this was the right cave. I dreaded walking through those bats into that dark place but thought it might be the only way to find the lost blue. I took one last look at the hideous oranges, reds and yellows behind me.
“I miss blue,” I thought and tried to imagine blue: the neon blue butterfly, the endless ocean, a summer sky broken by billowing white clouds. I struggled as blue grew dimmer, even in my own mind.
Bats swooped around the entrance and sweat poured down my face as I forced my legs to run into that cave, sweeping my arms over my head to keep the bats from landing on me.
Dark. And wet. Colorless. However, it did offer a cool respite from that harsh, hot world of orange. Except for the bats, which continued to fly around me, the cavern calmed me. The barely visible path wound through dark tunnels, occasionally lit by shafts of light that dropped glints of gold onto the stream that glided silently through the darkness. Splashes startled me even though I never saw the fish or creatures that made the sounds. Once again I found myself in a shadowy place with no choice except to keep moving forward.
The path twisted and turned, this way and that until I rounded a corner and wound up in a large grotto. “Food! I smell food.” My voice cracked as hunger overcame me and I peered into the shadows of the dim room until I spotted the pale flames of a fire and someone sitting beyond it.
“Long enough.” A raspy, ancient voice commanded, “Come. Sit. Eat.”
I went toward the light where a woman bent over the fire. She seemed tiny, but it was hard to tell. Something about her loomed large, huge even, like a giantess disguised as a gnome. She handed me a bowl of soup and a chunk of bread. I grabbed the bowl and forgot about her looks and her until she spoke again.
“Work now?” she grunted even before I finished the soup. Her voice grated and her gaze flitted nervously about the darkened room.
“Time wasted already,” she said, sounding fearful and cross.
I looked down at my soup, feeling like a child being scolded for being late. “Are you Tia?”
“Certly. Think I am other?” she asked in an impatient voice.
“Eat now. We go.”
“Go where?” I asked.
“Find blue, certly. Why else?”
“I’m, ... I’m not sure.”
“Not sure?” She narrowed her eyes as she stared at me. “You walk through pain?
I nodded, assuming she referred to the ghastly, orange world.
“You see fever in trees?”
Again, I nodded.
“Your eyes shut?” She practically spat out these last words.
“No ... no. I just don’t understand. What happened to the blue?”
Tia drew a deep breath. “Melek. Great god. Blue Peacock god. Jealous. Suck blue from world.”
I stopped eating long enough to listen as the broken pieces of the story came together.
“So you’re saying that Melek is a god so jealous and evil, and powerful enough that he could steal a whole color and withhold it from the world?”
She continued, “Blue belong Melek only. Not people.”
“Astonishing. How are you supposed to get it back?” I asked, sopping up the last of the soup with a bit of bread.
“Pluck feather.”
I jerked to attention at that preposterous idea. “You’re going to pluck a feather from a powerful god?”
“No,” she said and paused, looking at me. “You!”
“Me!” I shouted and stood up. Crazy! How could I pluck a feather from a god? Especially a jealous and evil god. I spun around to leave this mad woman.
“Stop!” the old woman commanded and my feet froze to the floor. I tried to pull free but couldn’t budge.
“Only you.” She poked her finger at my chest. “Wear blue.”
I looked down and grasped the amulet. No other color could be seen in the low light of the cave, but my amulet glowed turquoise blue. I shook my head, confused, “I ... I didn’t know.”
Tia came close to me, the deep wrinkles of her face softening. She touched the amulet and said, “Power of Ix Chel.”
Ix Chel, again. Who or what is this Ix Chel?
Before I could ask, Tia jabbed my chest and said, “You. Fearless. Courageous. Return blue.”
“What? How am I supposed to return blue? I don’t even know what that means.”
“You know. Must remember. We go. Now.”
“Where are we going? What am I supposed to remember?”
Tia pushed me toward a tunnel on the side of the grotto. “Go. Den of Blue Peacock god. Get feather.”
“I’m just supposed to walk up to him and pull a feather out of his backside?” I asked, stumbling along as she pushed me.
Tia shook her head and howled. “No! Danger!”
“Wake angry. Thunderbolts.” Her eyes bulged and her voice sounded strangled, scared as she continued. “Ground shake. Walls fall. All die.”
“Are you saying if I wake him up, everyone will die?”
“Every one. Every thing. Even time.”
I shuddered. “It’s impossible. I can’t just pluck a feather from a god without waking him.”
“You know. Remember.” Tia grabbed my arm and yanked me toward the stream where we stepped into a wooden canoe. She sat in the back and held a long, carved oar. A tan robe covered her from her neck to her ankles and a brown scarf wound around her head. She matched the colorless room.
Tia paddled without sound through the quiet water. My mind and body had gone numb. I had no more questions. The task was impossible. We would all die. The world would end. Time was going to be extinguished just because I couldn’t do something that couldn’t be done. An angry, jealous god who wanted to hoard blue was going to destroy the world and I couldn’t stop him.
Tia paddled for a long time without speaking until I saw a faint glow in the distance. She motioned for me to be quiet as we glided to the bank, stepped out and entered an opening where I could hear the rumble of snoring that shook the air.
Tia took a deep breath and pushed me into the sleeping room, the sleeping room of a god. Not just any god. The Blue Peacock god.
The room where I had to do the impossible or the world would end.
Sarana's GiftChapter 8: Finding Tia(Available here until 4/13/2016)
The rushing sound of water grew louder as I approached the edge of the trees. Pushing through the tangled vines and undergrowth, I discovered a blush-red stream cascading over boulders and made my way along the river, climbing over the pale rocks and wading through pink pools. A steep, honeycombed bank formed the far side of the river and the sky had turned dull brown by the time I found a crevice deep enough to be a cavern.
Clouds of bats flying around the opening made me think this was the right cave. I dreaded walking through those bats into that dark place but thought it might be the only way to find the lost blue. I took one last look at the hideous oranges, reds and yellows behind me.
“I miss blue,” I thought and tried to imagine blue: the neon blue butterfly, the endless ocean, a summer sky broken by billowing white clouds. I struggled as blue grew dimmer, even in my own mind.
Bats swooped around the entrance and sweat poured down my face as I forced my legs to run into that cave, sweeping my arms over my head to keep the bats from landing on me.
Dark. And wet. Colorless. However, it did offer a cool respite from that harsh, hot world of orange. Except for the bats, which continued to fly around me, the cavern calmed me. The barely visible path wound through dark tunnels, occasionally lit by shafts of light that dropped glints of gold onto the stream that glided silently through the darkness. Splashes startled me even though I never saw the fish or creatures that made the sounds. Once again I found myself in a shadowy place with no choice except to keep moving forward.
The path twisted and turned, this way and that until I rounded a corner and wound up in a large grotto. “Food! I smell food.” My voice cracked as hunger overcame me and I peered into the shadows of the dim room until I spotted the pale flames of a fire and someone sitting beyond it.
“Long enough.” A raspy, ancient voice commanded, “Come. Sit. Eat.”
I went toward the light where a woman bent over the fire. She seemed tiny, but it was hard to tell. Something about her loomed large, huge even, like a giantess disguised as a gnome. She handed me a bowl of soup and a chunk of bread. I grabbed the bowl and forgot about her looks and her until she spoke again.
“Work now?” she grunted even before I finished the soup. Her voice grated and her gaze flitted nervously about the darkened room.
“Time wasted already,” she said, sounding fearful and cross.
I looked down at my soup, feeling like a child being scolded for being late. “Are you Tia?”
“Certly. Think I am other?” she asked in an impatient voice.
“Eat now. We go.”
“Go where?” I asked.
“Find blue, certly. Why else?”
“I’m, ... I’m not sure.”
“Not sure?” She narrowed her eyes as she stared at me. “You walk through pain?
I nodded, assuming she referred to the ghastly, orange world.
“You see fever in trees?”
Again, I nodded.
“Your eyes shut?” She practically spat out these last words.
“No ... no. I just don’t understand. What happened to the blue?”
Tia drew a deep breath. “Melek. Great god. Blue Peacock god. Jealous. Suck blue from world.”
I stopped eating long enough to listen as the broken pieces of the story came together.
“So you’re saying that Melek is a god so jealous and evil, and powerful enough that he could steal a whole color and withhold it from the world?”
She continued, “Blue belong Melek only. Not people.”
“Astonishing. How are you supposed to get it back?” I asked, sopping up the last of the soup with a bit of bread.
“Pluck feather.”
I jerked to attention at that preposterous idea. “You’re going to pluck a feather from a powerful god?”
“No,” she said and paused, looking at me. “You!”
“Me!” I shouted and stood up. Crazy! How could I pluck a feather from a god? Especially a jealous and evil god. I spun around to leave this mad woman.
“Stop!” the old woman commanded and my feet froze to the floor. I tried to pull free but couldn’t budge.
“Only you.” She poked her finger at my chest. “Wear blue.”
I looked down and grasped the amulet. No other color could be seen in the low light of the cave, but my amulet glowed turquoise blue. I shook my head, confused, “I ... I didn’t know.”
Tia came close to me, the deep wrinkles of her face softening. She touched the amulet and said, “Power of Ix Chel.”
Ix Chel, again. Who or what is this Ix Chel?
Before I could ask, Tia jabbed my chest and said, “You. Fearless. Courageous. Return blue.”
“What? How am I supposed to return blue? I don’t even know what that means.”
“You know. Must remember. We go. Now.”
“Where are we going? What am I supposed to remember?”
Tia pushed me toward a tunnel on the side of the grotto. “Go. Den of Blue Peacock god. Get feather.”
“I’m just supposed to walk up to him and pull a feather out of his backside?” I asked, stumbling along as she pushed me.
Tia shook her head and howled. “No! Danger!”
“Wake angry. Thunderbolts.” Her eyes bulged and her voice sounded strangled, scared as she continued. “Ground shake. Walls fall. All die.”
“Are you saying if I wake him up, everyone will die?”
“Every one. Every thing. Even time.”
I shuddered. “It’s impossible. I can’t just pluck a feather from a god without waking him.”
“You know. Remember.” Tia grabbed my arm and yanked me toward the stream where we stepped into a wooden canoe. She sat in the back and held a long, carved oar. A tan robe covered her from her neck to her ankles and a brown scarf wound around her head. She matched the colorless room.
Tia paddled without sound through the quiet water. My mind and body had gone numb. I had no more questions. The task was impossible. We would all die. The world would end. Time was going to be extinguished just because I couldn’t do something that couldn’t be done. An angry, jealous god who wanted to hoard blue was going to destroy the world and I couldn’t stop him.
Tia paddled for a long time without speaking until I saw a faint glow in the distance. She motioned for me to be quiet as we glided to the bank, stepped out and entered an opening where I could hear the rumble of snoring that shook the air.
Tia took a deep breath and pushed me into the sleeping room, the sleeping room of a god. Not just any god. The Blue Peacock god.
The room where I had to do the impossible or the world would end.
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