The Journey of Mee’na - Chapter Four

02.08.2008 | Author: Chark | Posted in Novels, Writing

The excited chatter of the various birds that had taken up residence in the trees scattered throughout the garden and the first warm rays of the sun that touched Mee’na on the face woke her from her first solid night of peaceful sleep. She wished her adopted family could have been there to celebrate in the beauty of such a place and with that though she gave into the heartache she had pushed to the back and weeped openly once more.
She laid on her side and stared sightlessly at the colorful flowers, while tears poured down her face. Instead all she saw were the beloved faces of Ja’man, Ne’man and Jel’man; along with those of her closest neighbors. She had not gone into their homes to check to see who had been taken and who had been killed, her heart could not have taken much more if their fate had been the same.

She thought again of that morning when the dare had first been issued.

———————–
“Come on, Mee’na. Don’t be a cheeker! Go to the well and bring back the infamous Ariminta flower and if you do it, I’ll do your tasks for a day,” Ja’man spoke as he ate his usual breakfast of grains and honey, cooked into a thick warm porridge.

“Why should I be the one to go on a fool’s errand? We all know that the flower is a myth.” Mee’na was tempted to throw her napkin at her friend and brother.

Jel’man was sitting across from both of them and spoke up, “Most of what we’ve heard has always been from travelers and their stories. They say it grows by the well that is have a day’s journey away. We would all go, but father has promised Ja’man’s and my help to Ne’mac and Hor’mac with the shelling of the parma bean.”

“That’s what I don’t understand. Why offer just your help and not that of all three of us? It would make the work go faster.”

Ne’man had come from the back area of their home on those words and he stood behind his adoptive daughter and place his hands on her shoulders. “Dearest daughter, you helped me yesterday with picking the parma beans and the day before with looking after the ‘mac family’s youngest children while the others enjoyed a day of merriment and partying in celebration for the harvest. This is a small way of showing our thanks by giving you this day for yourself.”

Mee’na turned her head up to look at her adored father, the smile in her eyes over shadowed by the frown that pulled at her lips. “Then why not let me have this day to stay in and rest, instead of journeying all day on foot?”

It was a reasonable question and Mee’na could see consternation cross Ne’man’s face before it was chased away by a smile. “Think of it as a learning experience, to see if those who travel through Kasana are truth-sayers or just regular story tellers who only come to liven our lives with myths and tales of their imagination.”

Mee’na was still not convinced and was set to question and argue futher, when there was a knock at the door.

——————-
Mee’na hadn’t been given a chance to finish her protest and had set out to follow the marked ‘road’ to the well and the supposed flower planted by the goddess, Ariminta. The day overall had been mild and her journey not too tiring. She had found the journeymen’s well without incident and had indeed found flowers growing around the well, but not the fabled Ariminta. Instead, it had been the Scorpion Califly — a common enough plant that Mee’na had felt dissatisfied and frustrated, especially with her family; for they had sent her on a wild peela chase.

Her footsteps back to the settlement had been a bit slower and then flashes of her home crossed her mind in erratic images. She hadn’t really absorbed what she has seen in her shock, only knowing that devastation had swept through Kasana. Now she could process it all and what she recalled seeing made her heart break even more. Scattered about her family in their home has been partially wrapped gifts torn apart by the invades, decorations and a fruit case lying mangled on the floor by the overturned eating table. The day had been like any other to Mee’na that morning, as she hadn’t really paid attention to the lunar calendar Ne’man kept in the kitchen. Now she knew that it has been a day to celebrate Mee’na, for it would have been her fifteenth year of being found and taken in. They had sent her away to prepare for the party in secret, as a surprise.

Tears feel all the harder down her face as sorrow wrapped her in its arms. She knew it would not leave her anytime soon.

The chatter of the birds and the breeze that stirred the branches leaves, making the patches of sunshine shift and blink in and out of existence, brought her to awareness. WIth the return of her attention to her surrounds, she heard the vague sound of thunder and yet the sky was clean and clear above her.

The sound grew progressively louder and more distinct to the point that Mee’na knew it was horses heading towards the garden paradise. She was turn between being thrilled to find another human alive after her days of traveling, but scared and unsure as well. What if those that approached were the sample people who had attacked her community? She hurriedly gathered her belongings and tried to find a place to hide and spy on those that were coming — learn and see who or what they wanted.

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