It was unbelievable, but it had a ring of truth. Who am I?
“Please don’t cry, Alora. I’m so sorry. We never meant to hurt you; we were only trying to protect you.”
Alora touched her face with her fingers, surprised to find her face was wet. I don’t feel hurt… I feel lost.
“Why didn’t you tell me before? Why now?” She asked the question of Uncle Charles, but kept her eyes glued to her hands in her lap.
“Your mom gave us two warnings before she disappeared: don’t try to take the jewel out of your navel, and don’t tell you the true story until your sixteenth birthday.” He pushed his hands through his short burred hair. “When I heard your imaginary boy had spoken your mother’s name, it was like seeing a ghost. I guess I should’ve kept my mouth shut and waited until you turned sixteen.”
“No, I’m glad you told me.” Her voice sounded as cold and flat as she felt. It was just too much to process all at once.
“I’ve thought about this for fifteen years, and I’m no closer to understanding it.” He took both her hands in his, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “The only thing I understand is you’re special. Very special. I love you, and I hope you can forgive me—forgive us—for lying to you.”
She glanced up to his red-rimmed, pleading eyes, and the ice melted from her heart. She lunged into his lap and hugged his neck, wetting his shirt with her tears. She was warm and safe in her uncle’s arms. Maybe she could stay out on the ranch and ignore everything that had happened. She could simply pretend she was a normal fifteen-year-old girl. A fifteen-year-old girl with a jewel in her belly button and an occasional handsome male visitor to her bathroom.
*****
Kaevin’s knees were shaking. Why was he so nervous? He hadn’t done anything wrong—he was simply telling his story to a group of men and women who’d watched him grow up his entire life. But he felt like he was being sized up as the future clan leader, even though he was thirteen years away from taking that position unless his father died prematurely. He glanced around the circle, trying to judge the mood of the members.
Laethan, the chief healer, was sitting calmly with his eyes closed. He was probably meditating, although he almost appeared to be sleeping. With the rash of illness that had been spreading through the clan, claiming the lives of the very young and the very old, he might be exhausted enough to have fallen asleep sitting up. He didn’t move or flinch even when Graely began to address the council.
“My son is here to give testimony of an experience which could be immensely important to our future in Stone Clan. I was dubious when I first heard the tale, but after questioning both Kaevin and his friend Jireo, I’ve come to believe him. I’ll let you judge for yourselves when you hear him speak.”
Darielle was listening intently to the clan leader’s introduction, subconsciously testing the edge of her knife on a piece of grass. In the past, council members had left their weapons at the door during called meetings. But a surprise attack from Water Clan during one fateful assembly h
ad ended the tradition. Two council members were killed during that assault, including Darielle’s father. As a result, she was the youngest council member, only twenty-six years of age and already chief of farsight. The other council member who died along with Darielle’s father was Valor, chief of discernment. The loss was devastating, as there was no other Stone clansman with the gift. They could only pray a child would be born to someday take the empty council position.
“Perhaps you should hurry.” Darielle spoke in a light voice. She looked pointedly toward Laethan’s unmoving form. “It seems some of our older council members may be hard put to stay awake for the proceedings.” The laughter of the other council members did nothing to rouse Laethan. Graely smiled, leaving him undisturbed.
“I will take your advice, Darielle, and let my son speak without further preamble.”
Wiping his perspiring palms on his leather breeches, Kaevin made his way to the center of the circle.
His father patted him on the back. “Simply tell the story, from the beginning. Don’t leave anything out.”
Kaevin cleared his throat. “Well, I... uhmm.... A few weeks ago I started seeing visions. I could only see a girl’s face—her head—with water flowing over it, like a small waterfall.”
“What color were her eyes?” asked Chaleah. The chief judge sat forward, narrowing her eyes as she concentrated on Kaevin’s response. Her gift included detecting truth and falsehood, and she watched closely to assure the accuracy of Kaevin’s report.
“Her eyes were always closed during the visions. She disappeared every time she opened her eyes. The visions came on seven different occasions. And the last time it happened, Jireo was with me.”
“And you’ve never seen this girl before? Perhaps you met her at one of the clan gatherings?” Chaleah suggested.
“No, I don’t remember seeing her.”
Darielle sat forward. “If you describe her, I might be able to draw a sketch. We can see if anyone recognizes her.”
“Go on with the story, Kaevin,” Graely interrupted. “This is the unbelievable part.”
He swallowed hard, noting his tongue seemed to be sticking to his teeth. “Yesterday, shortly after I had a vision, something different happened. I was transported to her.”
The council members let out a collective gasp, followed by exclamations and arguments.
“How do you know you actually traveled?” asked Raelene, the oldest council member.
Kaevin tried in vain to meet her eyes, uncomfortably aware how strongly she would be affected by his story. After all, Wendelle had been her only daughter. Her official title was bearer, although her stone no longer held a spark. As an active bearer for thirty-five years, she still had valuable knowledge and wisdom to give, but the clan was crippled without a true bearer.
Kaevin remembered the story of Wendelle’s kidnapping and subsequent death, told almost as legend in the clan as a warning against complacency. Even in the face of Raelene’s obvious disbelief, Kaevin knew he must share his story. He might have been convinced the experience with the girl was entirely his imagination but for the testimony of his best friend.