Born to Fly

Part 10

Two days after the death of Mory's father, Marlon visited Mory at his home. Mory's mother and sister went to see his grandparents, so Mory was alone at home. It was mid-afternoon when Marlon came by. They sat in the yard, resting on chairs the Mory's father had handcrafted from cedarwood. Mory soon realized that Marlon had a special gift for cheering people up. For a few hours, they joked and laughed and talked. Mory was grateful to have a friend like Marlon. He was the remedy that was needed for his sickened soul. Eventually, Mory remembered that there was something that he needed to do and he let Marlon know.

"I appreciate you coming by. I wish we could hang here longer, but I have to go take care of something."

"No problem. Come by my place if you ever need anything, and tell your mom and Ariel I said what's up."

Mory nodded and they bumped fists. Soon Marlon was gone. Mory grabbed the sheathed janpakuto sword that his father had given him and attached it to his waist with some twine. The double edged blade was nearly a meter long. The janpakuto was known for its hilt that was crafted into the shape of crow wings. Once the sword was secured to him, he headed out.

It was a rather quiet afternoon as he walked past many of the village huts. He made his way to the Stork River, which was quite narrow, allowing him to leap across it with a running start. Then he hiked up some hills on the western side of the village, followed by him passing over a brief plateau which led him to his destination.

Avian Falls.

Two waterfalls that flowed from adjacent cliffs poured an endless supply of water to the plunge basin below. In Stork, they were referred to as big sister and little sister. The reason for their names was because big sister was just a little bit thicker. The roar of the crashing water was loud enough for Mory to hear when he was passing through the hills on the way there. The sister waterfalls were tall, about eighty meters or so.

Mory descended from the plateau and wrapped around the reservoir of fallen water to reach the random boulder that Sannis had mentioned. There were many stories in the village about how it got there but none were proven true. None the less, Mory marveled at the sight of it. For a moment he tried to figure out how such a massive rock was isolated from the cliffs or other rocks. He decided to ponder the explanation later and do as Sannis had told him.

He stepped up to the boulder that was about twice his height and placed a hand on it. Then he said, "The lone wolf has sent me."

He waited for something to happen. Nothing changed. At that moment, he thought about how he should have asked Sannis what was supposed to happen after speaking to the boulder.

"The lone wolf has sent me," he repeated. Still nothing. He was annoyed and took his hand off the boulder. "I should've known this would just be a waste of-"

As Mory turned around, he saw that a short, stocky man was standing right behind him. Mory instinctively jumped back.

"So, Sannis sent you here, huh?"

"Y-yeah."

"Great. Then you can follow me. But before we go, I gotta ask, why were you talking to that rock?"

"Wasn't I supposed to? Sannis told me to do it?"

For a short man, he sure could let out a boisterous laugh. He was so tickled by Mory's response, his eyes filled with tears as he laughed.

"Oh that Sannis. Whatta guy. He actually told you to speak to the rock!"

"I don't have time for jokes. Can you please take me to Sannis?"

The man wiped the tears away with his forearm.

"Yes. Right this way."

Mory followed the man as they looped around the nearby hills just off to the side of Avian Falls. Naturally, Mory had some suspicion about his mysterious new guide, but he seemed to know where he was going. It didn't take long for them to reach the opening of a cave. Mory was in awe at the sight of the cave's large entrance. They walked in and kept going for about thirty meters until they reached the back wall. Mory soon discovered that the cave path continued off to the right and they resumed their walk.