The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky

by David Litwack

  He waited for her response.

  Sunshine filtering through the window flickered across her face, highlighting the intensity in her eyes. Dark shadows beneath them made the sockets seem sunken, as if she hadn’t slept in weeks.

  “How can you be sure,” she said “that they’ll do her no harm?”

  “I’ll know when I meet him.”

  “How?”

  “I just will.”

  Her intensity eased into a smile. “You’re making it up, aren’t you, going on how you feel?”

  “Sometimes, it’s the best you can do.”

  “Jason Adams, mythmaker.”

  He smiled back. “I must’ve learned it from you.”

  She touched his cheek and gave him a kiss. “Then I hope you’re right.”

  Next, Carlson led him out the gate to where an unmarked black vehicle awaited. Two armed guards stood nearby, along with a man in a blue suit, who Carlson introduced as a protocol officer from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

  One guard opened the back door and prompted Jason to enter. The protocol officer slid in beside him and closed the door, while the guards took up posts on either side.

  The officer delivered the briefing in rapid fire; Jason’s role was to listen and nod.

  “You’ll be driven to a trailer on the far side of the land bridge, where you’ll meet the Minister of Commerce from the Blessed Lands. Always, always refer to his home as the Blessed Lands. Never use the words zealot or mythmaker.

  “Before entering, you’ll be subjected to a search. Agents from the Republic will scan you for metal objects, and guardsmen from the Blessed Lands will pat you down. Come with pockets empty, no wallet, no watch, no keys.

  “Once inside the trailer, I’ll introduce you to the minister. You should bow to him as a sign of respect.” The protocol officer demonstrated, squaring his shoulders and pressing both palms together, then dipping his head. “Always keep your eyes on the other man. When you bend, observe the minister’s bow. You are of lower station and younger, so you must bow more deeply than him. Never, ever turn your back on him, and refer to him only as Excellency.

  “Never speak first. Answer only when spoken to. Allow the minister to initiate every topic.”

  Then the biggest surprise.

  “Per the request of the minister, you and he are to be left alone—no guards, no Carlson, no protocol officer.

  “Do you understand?”

  Jason nodded, expecting to sign a form at the end, but instead the officer rapped on the window and the two guards entered the front.

  The driver started the engine, and the car began rolling along so slowly that only the bumps in the road made Jason aware they were moving.

  Three minutes later, they parked. In front of them, guarded by a dozen men with automatic weapons, stood a large blue and white trailer.

  ***

  Jason sat with his hands folded and his eyes fixed on the zealot minister. With the curtains pulled tight, the light in the trailer was muted, but he could still take stock of the man. Most noticeable was his size—a bear of a man, as tall as Jason but broader in every aspect, big shoulders and a barrel chest with thick forearms and hands. The sort of man who might move two governments to retrieve a single child.

  Why did he want her so much?

  The minister remained silent, sizing him up, and Jason waited as he’d been instructed.

  When the minister finally spoke, his voice was hardly official and barely under control. “I’ve been told... that you are the one who rescued Kailani from drowning.”

  Jason nodded.

  “In that case, I’m in your debt. May Lord Kanakunai be gracious unto you for your act of kindness.” He followed with a small bow, more a dip of the head, and waited, a clear indication that he expected a response.

  All the protocols rattled through Jason’s mind, and he made a deeper bow back. “I did what anyone would’ve done in my place, Excellency.”

  “Nevertheless, it was you who saved her. We are grateful. You know Kailani well, I’m told. Such a special child.” He reached for a glass of water and took a sip, then withdrew a large handkerchief and wiped his mouth. “I don’t understand why there’s been such a delay. I don’t know why all these armed men are necessary. I don’t care. All I want is to have her back. Now, Mister... Jason, I’ve been informed that you’ll return her to me by the end of the day, but you’ve requested this meeting first. What is it you wish from me? A reward?”

  Jason blinked and struggled to temper his response. “No, nothing. Nothing at all, Excellency. Anything I... we have done was for Kailani’s sake.”

  The minister looked puzzled. “Then why this meeting?”

  Jason recalled the admonitions of the protocol officer, but this was his moment. He drew in a breath and released it, aware he was surrounded by guardsmen with weapons. “We want to know your intentions. Her happiness is of utmost importance to us.”

  “Ah.” The minister paused as if buying time to reorient his thoughts. “That’s a sentiment that seems more appropriate in the Blessed Lands, not the land of profit and loss. I’m moved by your concern, but I assure you, she’ll be treated well.”

  If only that were true. “If I may ask, sir... Excellency....”

  For the first time, the minister smiled. “I see you’ve been briefed by the protocol officer. Please, you saved Kailani and we are in your debt. You’ve earned the right to ask anything you wish.”

  “If I may, Excellency, excuse me for saying this but... why does this girl matter so much to the people of the Blessed Lands?”

  The minister stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. “Now I understand why you asked for this meeting. You’re worried there may be some deception, some zealot subterfuge.”

  Jason blanched, but retained his poise. “As you said, she’s a special child. We’d like to be more comfortable before turning her over.”

  The minister pressed his thick hands on the desktop. “You would withhold her from me?”

  “Only if—”

  “You fear I would do her harm?” His voice was rising.

  Jason pictured Kailani sobbing at the reflection shelter, and held his ground. “Excellency, I don’t know what you’d do. I don’t understand you or your people or the way you live in the Blessed Lands, or how you might use a child. Here’s what I do know: Kailani is dear to us, and we’ll fight to our last breath to keep her safe.”

  Jason readied for rage, but instead, the man from the Blessed Lands closed his eyes and became still—deeply still, the way Jason imagined someone devout would appear in prayer.

  Finally, the minister opened his eyes and said, “Lord, forgive me.”

  Jason’s mouth opened, but no words came out. He gaped at the minister, waiting for more.

  “I made a promise to my leader,” the minister said, “to save face for my people, and so, for the sake of national pride, I hid the truth from the soulless. The result of my folly? You’ve made up myths of your own. It’s time for both of us to set myths aside. Why do I seek Kailani? Not for my people or my country. I seek her for my wife, and for the love of a father for his child.”

  Jason studied the minister anew. His hair was black, his skin olive. His eyes were almond-shaped, deep and brown, more the color of the earth than the ocean.

  “But how can she be your daughter? You look nothing like her and... you seem too old to be the father of a nine-year-old.”

  The minister touched two fingers to his heart in the same way Kailani did.

  “I’m moved by your concern and will explain. I married late in life, only after I found someone whose spirit I could share. She was from your land, a transmigrant, younger than me and fair. She has porcelain skin and golden hair with eyes the color of the ocean. She gave birth to an angel in her own image.”

  Jason watched as the powerful minister’s face melted into tenderness at the thought of his wife and child. It sounded plausible, but plausible wasn’t good enough. “Can
you tell me, Excellency, how she refers to herself?”

  The minister looked taken aback, then laughed, a laughter as deep as the stillness had been. “I see you still doubt me, but I know everything a father should know. Kailani never stops asking questions, loves sweets, and she calls herself the daughter of the sea and the sky.”

  Jason held his gaze. “And why, Excellency, does she call herself that?”

  He braced for another outburst, but the minister was strangely composed.

  “My beautiful, willful daughter. She’d inherited her mother’s appearance and my stubborn disposition, even as a newborn. We named her after the both of us, a melding of spirits. My given name is Kai, which in our language means the sea. When her mother transmigrated, she took on a name more appropriate to our land, calling herself Lani, which means the sky. From the time Kailani was an infant, we called her the daughter of the sea and the sky. As she got older, she realized she was different from the other children and began using that name to show she was special.”

  Sebastian had been wrong: things strongly felt could be known for sure. Now he felt sure this was Kailani’s father. But still.... “Then why, Excellency, if she was so loved, did she run away?”

  The minister finally flared. “Don’t you know that with a single word, I could have those armed men take her and bring her to me?”

  Jason stared, unflinching. “Is that what you want?”

  The minister’s deep-set eyes began to glisten. “Forgive me. It’s been such a long search, such a painful time.”

  He took another sip of water. “A few years after Kailani was born, my wife conceived again, this time a daughter who looked more like my people, and we became a family of four. In the next few years, demands on my time increased. The more I accomplished, the less time I had with my family. Still, I tried to be with them every moment I could—my two daughters, my greatest joy.”

  His words softened now. “Life was too good. Perhaps I’d been guilty of vanity or of not appreciating my lot. Our youngest daughter was lost nine months ago in an accident at our island home, a drowning. Kailani was alone with her on the beach. I’d been away on business and arrived barely in time to see her placed in the ground. My wife was distraught, afraid the ocean might take Kailani as well, and insisted we move to the mainland, inland and far from the sea. Kailani thought we were punishing her, no matter how much we reassured her. I believe she went to her mother’s homeland as a misguided attempt to do penance.”

  A reason at last, though not absolute proof. Helena would have to take his word. Time to thank the minister for his patience, to back away, bowing as he went, never taking his eyes off the man until he was out the door.

  But one last thought gnawed at Jason. “Excellency, if I may ask, what was your other daughter’s name?”

  The minister went pale. “The lost one? The one whose name I’ve been unable to utter since her death?”

  Jason shook his head, appalled at what he’d done. Enough. The man before him loved Kailani more than any of them, the love only a father could have. “I’m sorry, Excellency. I didn’t mean to—”

  The high-ranking official from the Blessed Lands waved him off. The name emerged weak and hoarse—the voice of a man in pain. “Makani.”

  “And,” Jason said, “what does that mean in your language?”

  “It means,” he replied, “the wind.”

  Chapter 46 – The Apocalypse at Hand

  Helena sat on the cot in the commander’s quarters, trying to pay attention as Jason warmed her hands between his and told the story. The commander had lent them this room so they could have a place to rest after their ordeal and talk in private, out of ear shot of the nearby office where Carlson and Sebastian were keeping Kailani occupied.

  The quarters were military stark, furnished only with the cot, a chair, and a plain wooden bureau. On the bureau sat a picture of the commander’s family, his wife sporting an officer’s cap worn askew with his two daughters at her side. Opposite the cot, a single window hung open to let in the fresh air from what had become a mild spring day.

  Jason explained why Kailani had sailed across the ocean, how at last she could be returned to the family she’d left behind. He told her how the minister was grateful for what they’d done and how, if they still wished to transmigrate, he’d facilitate their request, even find jobs for them in the Ministry of Commerce. But if not, he’d understand and ensure all charges against them were dropped.

  All good news.

  The breeze blowing through the window kept distracting her. She stared out past the barren landscape surrounding the barracks to the forest beyond, mesmerized by the swaying of the treetops, all so different—cedars and firs, spruces and pines—but moving together in harmony. The rustling of their branches carried on the breeze like a song.

  Jason finished and waited for her reaction.

  She nodded and smiled, her mood lightening with each breath. She knew the reason why.

  Kailani’s wind had been set free and was singing to her.

  ***

  Helena watched Kailani closely. While Jason told about his meeting with her father, the child covered her mouth with one hand as if to keep the words from spilling out.

  Finally, the hand dropped away, and she let out a squeal. “He’s here? At the land bridge?”

  Jason nodded.

  Her brows crinkled into a knot. “Then why hasn’t he come to see me?”

  “If it were up to him,” Jason said, “he’d have come the instant you arrived, but your father’s an important man. With so much at stake between our peoples, they want to return you to him in an official ceremony, a peace offering for the whole world to see.”

  Kailani wandered over to the cot and sat so lightly, the mattress barely sagged. “What do you think I should do, Helena?”

  Seeing her there made Helena recall the cot in the department cell. Then the images flowed: Kailani newly dredged from the sea; sipping tea at Molly’s; sobbing at the Reflection shelter; summoning the wind on the Spirit Hill; and believing she’d been blessed by the Northern Lights.

  Much less than the Daughter of the Sea and the Sky. And so much more.

  “My father’s gone,” Helena said, “but yours is here, and he’s not unfathomable like the sea or unreachable like the sky. He’s real and he wants to take you home.”

  “But what if my penance wasn’t enough?”

  Helena settled on the bed and wrapped an arm around her. “We have lots in common, you and I, more than I knew when we first met by the cliffs. I lost a father at nearly the same time you lost a sister. We both tried so hard to save them, even after they were gone. When we failed, we blamed ourselves. We were wrong.”

  Kailani stared up at her, the ocean-blue eyes hungering for more.

  “Now I have Jason and you have your parents. I don’t know whether the Spirit exists or not, but I’m sure of one thing: the best we can do for those who are gone is to pass our love on to the living.”

  Kailani’s tension eased, and she buried her face in Helena’s breast.

  Jason checked his watch. “It’s getting to be time.”

  “Give her a minute.” Helena grasped Kailani by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Are you ready?”

  Kailani considered no more than a second, and then reached inside her pillowcase to pull out the white dress with the red ribbon. “Is it okay if I wear this to the ceremony?”

  “Of course.”

  “And one more thing.” She delved deeper into the makeshift pack. When she withdrew her hand, her tiny fist was clenched as if hiding a secret. “Will you help me with these?”

  Her fingers uncurled to reveal the aquamarine stars.

  ***

  At Helena’s request, Jason went ahead to check out the arrangements. Everything appeared to be in order, as negotiated with the minister, the protocol officer, the commander, and a representative of the media.

  Most of the troops had returned to the barracks but staye
d mustered by the doorway at the ready. Two dozen others had been selected to participate in the ceremony. They were fitted out in dress uniforms with lots of polished brass, but unarmed, deployed as an honor guard on either side of the path to the steel hut.

  Media members were allowed to observe from behind.

  The transfer would occur at five o’clock, late enough to give the press time to arrive but leaving enough daylight to get good pictures for the news.

  Jason checked his watch: five minutes to go.

  He scanned the area and studied the faces around him before signaling to fetch Kailani. A few seconds later, she emerged from the barracks.

  The honor guard snapped to attention, and cameras flashed.

  She looked radiant in her white dress, with the red bow in front and the aquamarine stars in her hair.

  While most of the onlookers were fixed on Kailani, Jason watched Helena, who walked alongside holding her hand, but lightly now. At the gate, they embraced and said their goodbyes.

  Kailani began the walk up the hill, her eyes focused on the hut where her father waited, but when she passed Jason, she strayed from the path and stepped toward him. She crooked her finger and gestured for him to bend low. Then she draped her arms around his neck in a hug.

  As she did so, she whispered in his ear. “Mr. Benjamin was wrong. My soul will be saved, and my penance will end today.”

  Jason smiled, nodded, and then grimaced as a thought struck him. “When did you last speak to Benjamin?”

  “By the stream near our campsite this morning.”

  Jason spun toward the tree line and was instantly blinded by the low afternoon sun. As he looked away, letting his eyes readjust, he calculated: accurate at eight hundred yards. The woods were no more than fifty.

  Benjamin could be hiding anywhere.

  He thought of a squirrel scampering across the lawn in front of the great house and heard Benjamin’s high-pitched whine.

  I’d hit it every time.

  Instead of letting Kailani go, he scooped her up by the waist so he was between her and the trees, and began running toward the shelter of the barracks.