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Sinesu waits, the home planet of the Jiku.
Makish and I watch it on the viewer as Keesha’s ship completes its first orbit.
I’ve never been there, but I can feel its soft dirt beneath my feet, and taste its sweet air.
How?
I can’t explain it, but the memories are mine.
Geyfal’s Children
“Identical twins, born thousands of years apart?!”
“I asked Sindar the same question,” he says.
“He answered me with a gift of memories, taken from his father, and himself.”
“It’s the story of how the brothers were born, in a universe that you and I have never seen.”
“I don’t have Sindar’s ability to transfer memories to your mind, but I can summarize it for you.”
“If you let me,” I tell him, “I can view the memory, and even share it with Makish and B’tzel.”
Botzar turns to Makish.
“Do you trust him?” he asks her.… Read more
Illusions
“I became the king that Benzu always wanted to be,” says Botzar, as the memories end.
“Why did you leave Makish behind when you became king?” I ask him.
Botzar glares at me.
“The memory is finished, but the story isn’t complete.”
“When I left the silver falls, I didn’t know what to tell my father.”
“If Sindar’s memory and story were true, I had no right to the throne.”
“I decided to tell my father part of the truth.”
The Curse of Visions
Botzar sits, emotionally exhausted by reliving the memory.
“I faithfully followed my vision,” says Botzar, “and it destroyed my life.”
“Why was I given that vision?”
“Why did my life move that way?”
“Fate has cursed me,” he says.
“It led me to abandon Makish, and destroy the world.”
“Fate?” asks B’tzel.
“No one, and nothing forced you to do it.”
Orphans
Wisten and I walk together, while Makish and the others move among the crowd.
On Siksa, we no longer celebrate Sindar’s day, but here, on Sinesu, it’s the happiest day of the year.
The town square is filled with every type of food and entertainment.
We wander from place to place, enjoying the dance, song, and storytelling.
The clothing and the buildings surround us with a rich sea of color, too bright for everyday life.
On Sindar’s day, no one would dare dress their buildings in white, black, or grey.
The Jiku wear new jewelry and clothing, and … Read more
A New Vision
I have no flesh, but I still taste the sweet light of the sun.
The sun’s energy fills me with great waves of color, and the rhythms of the energy’s ebb and flow come to me as music.
The sparks of my strength rise into a great fire, and the Feldin glow grows brighter and brighter, until the last of the energy venom burns away.
The Heelu bathe in my glow, their bodies dancing in the air.
Bursts of color stream between us, and the Heelu shine.
An image calls to me.
An endless space filled … Read more
Dream Hunter
Dilasa sleeps in a green guesthouse near Wisten’s home.
The bed and the room are round, and the house is full of windows.
A gentle breeze blows through Dilasa’s long, black hair, and across the dark red sheets.
She sleeps for hours after the fire that took her guardians.
I can do nothing for her while she sleeps, but still, I watch over her, through the open doorway to the next room.
Her body is healed, but her dreams are troubled, and her energy is strange.
Balance and Love
The ground near us is covered with a colorful, living layer that is softer than moss.
We sit together, almost floating, on this ocean of red, green, orange, and blue.
And listen.
The forest around us is quiet, except for the wind, as it moves the thick canopy of leaves above us.
I spread my healing body far along the web, and wait for the calm to fill me.
Then I send healing energy to Dilasa and Sindar, and let the calm gently cover them.
A Small Child
The forest is too quiet with Sindar gone.
Dilasa and I sit together on the soft ground, holding hands, surrounded by a thick, grey fog.
I hear the light rain, far above us, as it falls on the forest’s dense canopy of trees.
The quiet is broken by a gentle sobbing, near me.
“What’s wrong, little one?”
“We just met him, but he’s gone, and I miss him.”
I look in her eyes, and realize that I feel the same way.
Sindar passed through our lives like a falling star.
Will we ever see him again?… Read more
No Return
Makish, Dilasa, and I stand naked in the transition chamber as it fills with warm seawater.
The only sounds we hear are the movement of the water, and our breathing.
The three of us seem helpless as we stand here, but we can all bend the energy web to our will.
Even little Dilasa is more powerful than the greatest Fiklow binder, and she is well-protected.
As we flew here in Botzar’s ship, I taught her to raise an energy shield, and I helped her build a wintzal that will guard her mind against any attack.
