A mysterious past, an unrequited love, and a desperate need to find himself, fifteen-year-old Kalyn has enough to occupy him without being on the verge of a massive societal upheaval. Join Kalyn and his friends as they explore what it means to come...
It feels like the echo of a memory. Tonight, however, the forest is less frightful than what I leave behind me. Teak's voice comes as a welcome (albeit fitting) surprise to complete the sense of deja vu.
"Here we are again," he says. I don't know how he can laugh at a time like this, but I don't hold it against him. Whatever it takes to stay sane... His raccoon chitters as I embrace Teak in a desperate hug.
"Please tell me you brought food."
At this, his smile fades. Teak turns out his pockets with a defeated sigh. This time we are on equal footing. I don't know whether or not that is comforting.
"I barely had time to get dressed," he tells me.
In spite of the ominous trend, none of the villagers ever expected themselves to be next. At least, as an outsider, I was prepared for the eventuality of this betrayal. Many of the tribesmen had been there for generations. They never would have thought that their neighbors' backs would be turned on them. It took this to teach them what those less fortunate already knew: fear and hunger are often the death of loyalty.
"Tiva is great at foraging, though," he continues on a note of empty hopefulness. "He always knows where to find edible mushrooms and berries." This is hardly a complete diet, but I have no right to complain. It is more than Wart and I have to offer. Fortunately, Teak doesn't seem to mind our unequal friendship.
"We should find shelter," I tell him.
"There is a camp nearby." Having been allowed outside to collect food for the village, Teak is more familiar with our surroundings. I follow, already obsessing over ways I can repay him.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The camp is overflowing with waylaid travelers and village outcasts. Some have been forced to sleep under the open sky. What little food is available is shared. Teak and I make our way to a fire and try to identify what faces we can. The feat is made all the harder by the fact that most of these faces are downcast and dirty. A water skin is passed, and I drink gratefully.
"There is a stream about a mile that direction with clean drinking water."
"You'll want to find something to carry it. There isn't another for some time."
Many discuss where they are headed next. This is no place to stay. Those stranded Balaiins who do not know enough about their surroundings to choose wisely ask for guidance from those more experienced wanderers. How anyone could make a life of this, I don't know. I want nothing more than my own bed, my own cramped home.
A stranger stumbles toward me, collapsing onto the log that I have claimed as my temporary residence. He tries to make eye contact, but I pointedly ignore him. Teak notices the intrusion with wary interest.
"You're from Inte, aren't you," he tells more than asks me. I shake my head. The stench coming off of him is unbearable.
"No. I just came from Balai." I try not to open my mouth any more than absolutely necessary, fretful that the noxious smells emanating off of him might cling to my tongue and make me gag.
"Ahh, that accent." It seems to offend him. He winces.
"You may have come from Balai, but you are Intean. I would recognize one anywhere." The man gestures at my eyes, reflected in his own familiar green ones. Immediately, my reservations are dropped.
"Inte?" I repeat. I have never heard of it. Then again, though, I know little of the world beyond Balai's borders. All the more unfortunate that I have been thrust into it.
The man breaks into a grin at my ignorance, revealing an array of chipped teeth. I do my best not to recoil. He seems more interested in educating me.
"Inte is the most beautiful place I've ever seen on this damaged rock we call home," he raptures. "But I might be biased... You'll be headed back there, I assume." Again, not a question.
I don't get into the semantics of not being able to go back to some place I've never been. He doesn't seem to be interested in the debating. Neither does he seem to have any doubts about my path from here. At least someone has made up their mind regarding my future. I certainly have not.
Regardless of my interest in what he has to say, the smell is overpowering. I make my excuses and leave. I will need my rest for whatever is to come. Teak follows, and we make our best intimation of camp under a dense copse. At least its closeness feels like security, like comfort, like home, though we have to admit that it is none of those things.
"Inte," Teak repeats, mystified, as if trying out the taste of it. "I guess we should go."
"What about Balai?"
"What about it?"
"Well... shouldn't we..." The sentence is cut short as my throat constricts. What is there to do? We can't go back there, and we can't stay here. The only way through is forward. Inte is a destination as good as any other. I nod slowly.
"Let's talk more in the morning," I answer, non-committal. Wart huddles close to me as I curl up on a bed of moss, his scaley body wedged into the crook of my arm. Tomorrow is, for the first time in my life, undecided. The prospect both thrills and terrifies me.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
