by Rachel Angel
As I found myself becoming increasingly short of breath, I realized when we reached a rocky opening, that we had climbed high above the sea.
“Where are we?” I said to Ollie and Reggie. “Do you guys recognize this part of the island?”
They both shrugged as they looked down to the sea that was now so far away. The rocky peninsula that we’d been on only a short time ago was but barely a finger sticking out into the sea.
“No,” Ollie said. “I’ve never even heard of this part of the island.”
“But, more importantly,” Reggie said. “Where are we going? What do these creatures want from us?”
As we climbed higher, the forest grew increasingly sparse until we were surrounded by slabs of black rocks dotted with only a very few spots of greenery.
“I don’t like this,” Ollie said, shaking his head.
“Do you know where they’re bringing us?” I asked him, hopeful that he finally recognized something about our surroundings.
“Not specifically, but by looking around, I’d have to say it doesn’t look good.” He then looked up to the summit of the mountain that came into view. “Look up there. That is not your average mountaintop.”
The leader of the clan ran between us, shouting for Reggie to move ahead with Ollie a fair distance behind him and me a little further back.
It seemed that the little man didn’t enjoy the sound of our chatter, nor did he appreciate how we were looking around.
As we climbed higher, the mountaintop became clearer. The slopes were relatively sharp on all sides of the mountain, but the top of the mountain appeared completely flat. It almost looked as if someone had cut off the top of the mountain.
“So,” I finally said when I had a brief moment to catch up to Ollie again. “What do you make of that mountaintop? Why is it so flat?”
“I think they are leading us into the crater of a volcano,” he said, his gaze fixed on the flat line of the mountaintop.
I looked up to the summit and had to agree with him. “I’ve heard about a few distant volcanoes on the island.”
“Yes,” he said. “So have I. I know a few of them still rumble with occasional activity. Let’s hope this one is long dead.”
I nodded in agreement.
A mere twenty minutes later, Ollie’s assessment was proven true. We reached the top edge of the crater which offered us a view of the village that was set up within the shallow crater.
As black and grim as the outer side of the mountain was, the inner realm of the crater itself was bursting with life. Small, bright green trees grew everywhere, many with red, blue and yellow berries. Bright and colorful flowers filled the landscape with yellow and orange and red and pink.
It was a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors that instantly had me smiling.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful,” I said to no one in particular.
The small leader of the creatures looked up at me and smiled proudly. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. Despite my fear of the unknown as we descended into the crater, there was something bright and gay, happy and alive about the inside of this volcano.
The brightly colored fields were dotted with tiny houses, all painted in colors that contrasted with the fields around them.
In a yellow field of wheat, the house was painted bright blue and in a field of dark green corn, the house was painted bright purple.
“This is so enchanting.”
“Don’t be fooled by the whimsical appeal of the village,” Reggie warned. “It may hide something sinister.”
“I won’t,” I said. “But I can still appreciate the visual appeal of such beauty.” In the back of my mind, however, I couldn’t help but wonder how a society that enjoyed such beauty could be evil or malicious. In my heart, I felt certain they were good beings.
As we approached the village, the clusters of houses became tighter and closer. Most had a small garden in the front of the house surrounded by brightly painted wooden fences.
Dozens upon dozens of slightly larger homes dotted the village, each seeming to house a prominent member of the society. While they didn’t have vegetable gardens, they were surrounded by colorful blossoms, brightly tinted wooden fences that were a little taller than the more modest homes, and an odd array of colorful animals.
In the village center was a small grassy park that was surrounded with flowers of blue, deep purples and the most brilliant crimson I’d ever seen.
We passed before a small, bright yellow building and felt the sudden and intense heat. Gazing inside, I saw a small row of kilns burning brightly while several men and women worked at hammering out various weapons.
Beyond that was a small bakery with dozens of workers sitting on the ground, pounding out flour.
Reggie glanced back at me with a small surprised grin while Ollie simply looked at his surroundings with open awe.
“Who would have thought…?” I said as I continued to take in the beauty of the small village.
The architecture of each small building was completely unique with no two buildings alike. Most of the buildings seemed to scorn straight lines and right angles. Everything seemed rounded off, with gentle waves and sensual curves.
Brightly colored tiles adorned some of the larger homes while modest but still colorful wooden shutters adorned others.
Most of the small men who had surrounded us throughout the journey dispersed and went their own way, returning to their homes or other places to rest, eat or meet up with their loved ones.
Our leader continued on and led us to a bright red home that was extremely narrow, but very tall; the only tall structure in the entire village. A strange curve in the middle of the building made it look like it was about to topple over, but somehow, the structure remained upright.
The small man turned to me, put his hand up to stop my progress, then turned to knock on the small rounded door of the red home.
A round-faced woman with a bright red nose and big black eyes opened the door and briefly spoke to the little man. She glanced up at Ollie and Reggie then looked at me. A faint smile curved her thin lips before she closed the door again.
The small leader waited a moment before the door opened once again. This time it was a taller and much older man who stood in the doorway. He wore a fur pelt across his shoulders and a very short leather skirt clasped at his hip with an iron medallion. While he had slightly more human features than the man who’d led us to the volcano’s crater, there was still something wild and untamed about him.
His eyebrows were dense and bushy, and his hair seemed to stand on end, giving him almost the appearance of a lion with its wild mane.
Chapter 6
Violet
The old man came to stand right in front of me. “Awk naaw mai oh taw,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said, responding to his warm welcome.
Reggie and Ollie both looked at me with curious glances.
“Malo mai en ah mohato.”
“No,” I said. “I assure you that we did not come out here seeking you.”
“You understand him?” Reggie said, still gawking at me.
I glanced up at him. “Of course, I do.” But even as the words came out, I wondered; how was it that I understood this strange tongue? I had never heard the language before.”
“Ah ton imatillo u imatalla, con e kontigo en oso.”
“What is he saying?” Ollie said.
“The king and queen wanted a civilization,” I told him, translating as best as I could as I kept my eyes on the older wise man.
“Ah ton mas oso mai papadotima e cala.”
“A pact was made assuring peace and harmony.”
“Ah ton cala e misotomi u kimuto. Cama u ima con islatano.”
“They were promised that they would never be exposed. They were promised that they would never be disturbed. That their location would never be divulged to anyone.”
“Do they think that we deliberately came out here to
cause them trouble?” Reggie said.
“I think so,” I said. “I think that’s why they were so infuriated when they found us.”
“Ton e mito, ton e lamo, u ton e colato, fodu u fodu u fodu. Mi en ima.”
“They wish to preserve their way of life. A way of life that spans thousands and thousands of years… well before any settlers ever arrived.”
I looked at the old man who seemed torn between wanting to warmly welcome us, but fearful of our intent. I longed desperately to calm his worries and reassure him, but I could understand his concern.
It was such a far off and desolate portion of the island. One had to truly go out of their way in order to find it.
“Po ito mai, Kito Waikana,” I said. Once again, I found myself wondering not only how I understood the language, but how it was that I knew his name. I glanced back at Ollie and Reggie. “He is known here as Chief Waikana.”
The chief nodded and seemed happy that I knew his name.
“Imatalla, ki en mai aladomo. Mi eto con odotami deta en cada,” I said, bringing my hand to my heart. “I told him that the queen was my mother and that she had died some time ago.”
“Mo eto mietto,” the chief said solemnly, offering me his condolences. “Perfado imatalla, en su mato.”
“Imatillo en mi cada u e colato.” I said. “I want to promise him that we’ll keep my mother’s promise. While he is saddened by my mother’s death, he is pleased to meet me, her daughter.”
“Perfado, perfado, en oh maicoto u gato u cudimitu.”
I smiled and nodded as I took in the man’s kind words. “He says that the queen’s daughter has the beauty, wits and kindness of her mother.”
“Well, then,” Reggie said, straightening his shoulders and looking off into the distance. “That settles it. All is good. All is in place. Now, can we get out of here and go back to what we were doing.”
“I don’t think so,” I said as Chief Waikana glared at Reggie. “I think he expects us to stay here a while.”
I looked at the small, but clearly strong man with the strange face. There was fierce pride in his eyes and a clear desire to maintain control of his small part of the world.
It was admirable.
As I looked around us, I noticed, up high in the thin, tall home, the face of the woman who’d first opened the door. She smiled down at us and seemed very taken with Ollie and Reggie.
I smiled up at her and she waved.
Chief Waikana caught my gaze and looked up behind him. “Mi oh cala en sobonitu,” he called up to her. “Cama imatilla u crimutilo.”
She nodded and disappeared from the window only to emerge from the front door moments later with another small woman at her side.
Smiling and nodding agreeably, the women came to Ollie, Reggie and me.
“What do they want?” Ollie said.
“The chief has asked them to bring us to our sleeping quarters.” I smiled at the women. “He wants them to ensure that we are comfortable.”
“Sleeping quarters?” Reggie said with a grimace. “They expect us to sleep here?”
“It would appear so,” I said. Trying to remain optimistic, I glanced back at him. “Maybe it’ll be fun.”
“Somehow, I doubt it,” Reggie said under his breath. “Have you seen the size of the homes here? The chances of ever finding a way of being comfortable here are considerably slim.”
The chief muttered more orders and requests to the women.
One of the women took me by the hand while the other one waved for Ollie and Reggie to follow her. I nodded briefly to the chief as we walked off to head to a small cottage far behind the home of the chief.
The women gestured to the small home, smiled, nodded and bowed before leaving us.
“Home, sweet home,” Ollie said with a wry grin.
“Are we really supposed to squeeze into that tiny building?” Reggie griped.
“Oh,” I called back to him.
He had stopped several yards away, petulantly refusing to get any closer.
“Will you stop being so pessimistic,” I said. “This could turn out to be a fun adventure. It could be a way of getting to know the distant inhabitants of this island.”
He forced a grin and came to my side. “All right then. I’ll let you take the lead.”
Grinning, I opened the small door that was no more than four feet high. I peered inside and was happy to see a relatively high ceiling considering the height of the villagers.
“This will be nice and cozy,” I said to the guys. “The ceiling is about five and a half feet high.”
“Cozy?” Ollie said, pulling back his shoulders. “Just the thought of squeezing my six foot two frame into a five foot six house is enough to give me a sore back.”
“If that is the case, I will have to rub your back to compensate.”
“Deal,” Ollie said with a grin.
I bent over and squeezed into the doorway to enter the tiny home. While the ceiling was too low to walk upright in, the room was otherwise quite large. The far corner of the room was covered with a mat of soft leaves, colorful feathers and several brightly colored cushions. At first glance, there didn’t appear to be any other rooms.
Reggie breathed down my neck as he squeezed in behind me with Ollie behind him. They both quickly went to the mat of leaves and feathers to sit down instead of remaining hunched over.
Like children in a fantasy world, they looked at their surroundings, analyzing everything.
While the room was mostly stark and bare, there were several ornamental vases, baskets and earthenware that decorated the small home.
A pitcher of water was set on a small table and one of the larger baskets was filled with ripe, luscious fruits.
At the back of the house was another small door and, hunched over, I walked to it and pushed it open to find a pool that, for us, could serve as a bath.
“Looks refreshing, doesn’t it?” Ollie said as he came up behind me and looked over my shoulder.
“If you don’t mind, I think I will freshen up before heading out to meet with the chief for the feast.”
“Feast?” Ollie said, his brow arched in surprise. “What feast?”
“Oh,” I said. “Did I forget to mention that we are to be his guests for a huge feast in our honor?”
“You sure did forget.” Ollie glared at me.
I crossed the threshold and grinned at him as I slowly closed the door in his face. “Well, now you know.”
I quickly shunned my tunic and sank into the cool waters of the shallow pool. It was just enough to rid me of the morning dust and sweat that had accumulated, but it was more the relaxing sensation of the water that I sought.
It had been a long and strained day, and while for the most part I anticipated a pleasant evening with the chief and his villagers, there was a degree of uncertainty that plagued me.
Did the chief believe me when I told him we had not sought out his little village? Did he fear more people would discover their crater if he allowed us to return to our homes?
After twenty minutes of soaking and thinking everything over, I emerged from the cool water, slipped my tunic back on and headed back into the main portion of the house. Ollie and Reggie were both reclined on the mat of leaves and feathers, their eyes closed as they gently snored.
They, too, had had a long and tiresome day. I knew that staying as the chief’s guest was not what they had in mind, but I hoped that they would find some enjoyment in the evening to come.
I tapped the tip of their boots with my foot to gently wake them. “I wouldn’t want to keep the chief waiting,” I said in a gentle tone.
“Huh?” Reggie said, opening his eyes with much difficulty.
“Time for a feast,” I said. “After all that we’ve been through, it’ll be nice to fully fill our bellies.”
“You can say that again,” Reggie said, suddenly awakened by the thought of food. He quickly got to his feet, only to bump his head on the low ceiling. “Damn.�
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I couldn’t help but giggle as I headed to the front door. “Come on. We’ll get out of here before you guys injure yourselves.”
They followed me out into the blinding late day sun. I looked up to find that the sun was almost setting behind the rim of the volcano, but the sky was still a brilliant shade of blue.
Up ahead, beside the tall thin house, the Chief Waikana stood waiting with many of the citizens of his village.
With a curt nod, he greeted us and led us to a huge outdoor shelter where a veritable feast awaited us. Dozens of villagers sat at small tables set under the shade of the leafy roof, while Reggie, Ollie and I were invited to sit on the floor where three bright red cushions had been set before a low table facing the throne where the chief sat.
Lively conversations filled the air as everyone settled in and awaited the arrival of the food.
“What do you derive from the conversations of the people so far?” Ollie whispered to me. “Friend or foe?”
“They seem excited and happy to have us here,” I said, picking up on bits of conversation here and there. “There’s a lot of curiosity regarding us, but no animosity at all.”
A series of servers began entering the large shelter with platters of food. Several wild baby boars were set on the various tables, then pheasant and quail followed by luscious fruits and a surprising assortment of seafood. Everything smelled delicious and I heard my stomach cry out for a taste.
Pitchers of deep red fruit juice were set out our table and we were invited to pour generous amounts into out goblets.
The chief, his goblet filled with a bright yellow liquid, raised his glass and told everyone of his eagerness to please us.
We raised our glasses and took a sip of the sweet fruity drink.
And with that, the party was under way. Everyone cheered, drank and dug into the feast.
Ollie, Reggie and I filled our plates with the tantalizing food, and when we’d emptied our plates, we filled them again, and again.
The villagers certainly had a way of seasoning their meals that made everything delicious. It was hard to believe they were so detached from any other civilization, and yet their culinary abilities were so elevated.
