The Oak Hotel - Watty Awards 2013 Finalist

Chapter Ten - Home

Chapter Ten

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For days, Lincoln wandered the silent shell of Kana Hove.

In a small courtyard behind the Tower of Quercus, he discovered a garden. There were vegetables—tomatoes, carrots, string beans as well as other unidentifiable varieties. There were also smaller plants with dark leaves that may have been herbs used for cooking or medicinal purposes. The oasis probably belonged to Emil, Lincoln thought. He took only small portions of the food he found there and ate only when his hunger would not relent. Water came from a small well less than a hundred feet from the garden. Lincoln could not imagine how the old man kept his sanity. The silence was unbearable. He tried talking to himself now and then, but this only made things worse. Once, he tried talking aloud to Kayleigh, apologizing for not being able to save her, but broke down in tears.

Each evening, he walked back to where Kayleigh had been stolen away. Standing beside the sorry remains of the tree, his failure felt complete. His most unrealistic thoughts imagined Kayleigh reappearing there on the hill, deposited by a familiar rush of light. This, of course, did not happen.

At the end of the third day, Lincoln recalled Emil speaking of a ship that had brought him to Te’hæra Thorn, from there to Earth and then back again. Was that same ship was still in Kana Hove? A small part of him warmed quickly to this idea. Still… how would he fly such a machine? In which direction would he pilot the craft if he did manage to start it? He wondered if there might be a way to learn all of this. Oddly, there wasn’t a single book in the entire city. At least, none that he could find. In his mind, he heard Kayleigh’s rational voice chide him: “Think about it, Lincoln. This is an advanced society. Information is probably stored electronically. And don’t forget that books are made from paper. I don’t think they’d cut down a de’Malange for paper.”

Lincoln smiled. Though she was gone, the imagined sound of her voice calmed him. Dozing in and out of similar thoughts, he fell restlessly asleep. In the morning, the same question that haunted him throughout each day lifted him quickly through the shredded remains of sleep:

“How will I ever leave this place?”

It was strange hearing his own voice, which echoed flatly against the tower walls around him. He had been sleeping on the lowest floor of the Tower of Quercus. Of all Kana Hove, he had explored this tower the most. Still, he could uncover nothing more than the broken telescope at the top and the pool of beads below. Why wasn’t there more stuff? His stomach begged for something to eat, but he pushed the cramped feeling aside. Walking over to the tiny glass beads, he knelt before the recessed circle in the same manner Emil had only days before. He set both hands palm-side up on his knees and closed his eyes.

In a sleepy daze, he formed words in his mind and tried to sound as serious as possible. Great spheres of glass, please show me where Kayleigh has been taken.

As he expected, nothing happened. It wasn’t, after all, a crystal ball.

He pushed harder and concentrated.

Create a picture of the place where Kayleigh is.

Again, nothing.

Deciding on something most straightforward, he projected the following request:

Show me a picture of the de’Malange.

Lincoln jumped. The beads shot into the air with raspy excitement. Agitated, they performed various acrobatics before settling into an organized dance.

Opening his eyes, making sure to keep his body still and relaxed, Lincoln watched as the spheres went from transparent to opaque and presented him with a moving image of the Valley of the Oaks. It was breathtaking.