Impossible Dreamers

Chapter 5 (fay): A World Beyond

       Liana always enjoyed the learning sessions with Piacho. Especially if they were talking about the thing he really knew most about – how things worked in the world. He knew other stuff, of course, but it was the way things worked that he really knew about. Liana and her friends were lucky to have him as their learning guide. He not only guided their learning, but also helped all Seren-ilians with making new things.

Today they had sat in the book-room at the House of the Green Jewel, listening while Piacho spoke about forces. Forces around us, and even inside us, which we can't see. Piacho explained about gravity pulling people down to the ground, about air pressure, which was something to do with how the flying machines worked in ancient times, and the forces in our bodies which made wrist-flyers work. Every now and then, Piacho pulled a dusty book off the shelf and read something from it. He would look at the book and shake his head, as though it said something that he couldn't agree with. He would point to a passage and say 'ha!', like he was greeting a friend.

Piacho had explained how the old flying machines, if they worked the way he thought, would have been very wasteful and harmful. Wrist-flyers were much more efficient and useful, though they couldn't take anybody over the long distances that flying machines might have managed. But did anybody need to travel those distances?

As she listened to Piacho, Liana wondered. Was he so sure of that? He sat in front of those books, his dark skin – not quite as dark as Liana's, but dark nevertheless – gleaming in the sun. She noticed the twisted little finger on his left hand. People said it was the result of an accident that happened when he was around the age Liana was now. Jumping off a tall rock, thinking that he might be able to fly. That wasn't so wise, Liana thought. But he did go on to invent the wrist-flyers that Liana's mother used. Did he really only want to fly around Seren-ila? Was that the limit of his ambition? Didn't he want to be able to go further? As far as the old flying machines could go?

'Ha!' said Piacho, pointing to the book he was holding. Liana looked at Piacho's beard, and suddenly remembered her dream.

'What do you think, then?' Piacho was looking at her, waiting for an answer. Liana hadn't been listening for a little while, but she thought they must have been talking about flying.

'I'd like to go long distances,' Liana said. 'I'd like to travel all over the world. Maybe even further.' Piacho smiled. Silmoa frowned. Herago laughed.

'Actually, Liana, I just asked what you were planning for your showing,' Piacho said. 'Maybe you were telling us that you would like to do a showing where you travel the world. I'm sure that would be interesting.' There was no hint of reprimand in Piacho's voice, but Liana felt embarrassed.

Liana was quiet for the rest of the session. She kept thinking about that dream about Ralkino. Where had he gone to? Did Piacho know? He was the person nearest to him when he disappeared, after all.

When the others went outside, Liana stayed behind to talk to Piacho.

'Ha, Liana. I noticed you were quiet. Is something troubling you?'

She told him about the dream. She thought that he might say something to help her stop feeling so bad, but he just went very quiet. He said maybe she should talk to one of the other wise ones about it – perhaps Selentaya would be able to help her. But he could give no reassurance about where Ralkino might be, or what had happened to him. 'There are things that even wise people can't explain,' Piacho said, uneasily. Then he told her to go out and spend some time with her friends, and reminded her about the showing.

Liana stepped out into the courtyard, where Herago was playing with small stones, passing them from one hand to the other and looking very hard at them. Silmoa was drawing with thick charcoal on an enormous piece of paper. Liana watched her friends' dark shadows moving against the white walls in the late afternoon sunshine.