A Division of Souls - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe

by Jon Chaisson

  *

  The sun began to set when Nehalé and Mancka reached the edge of the larger field where they had arrived earlier. The sky had begun to glow in the many shades of dusk, from the rich oranges and reds of the clouded horizon to the deep navy blue of twilight, the first of thousands of stars making their presence known. Nehalé gazed up at them, wondering where in this universe the great and wondrous Gharra spun silently and serenely, despite the tensions on its surface.

  Answering his unspoken question, Mancka looked up herself, squinted in deep thought as her eyes skimmed over starpoints, and eventually landed on a milky-white smudge in the south-eastern sky, halfway towards the horizon. “Gharra System,” she said, her voice no more than a murmur. “Hiding somewhere in the Milky Way…right about…there.”

  He looked up and stared at that smudge for a good few minutes. There, in that corner of the sky, was his physical home, where his family and friends were. Where all the souls he’d known resided. He felt…not exactly humbled, but a little less alone now.

  She smiled at him and tugged at his sleeve. “Come, Nehalé. We must get back to the warehouse.”

  Nehalé nodded and followed her to the Trisandi duality symbol in the center of the field. He found the sigil more symbolic than serendipitous as he stepped into it, closed his eyes with a satisfied grin, as all became Light.