“Yes, I am sure it does feel strange to you. It is water—what we call water, that is—but I know it is quite unlike your water on Earth. I assure you, however, that the results are the same. See?” She made a mark on her palm with a tube of something resembling lipstick and then placed her hand in the sink. When the ‘water’ gushed out, she began rubbing at the spot. It disappeared in seconds.
“Un…be…lievable,” Annie said weakly. She put her hand in the liquid again and kept it there. The stuff felt warm and had the consistency of partially set Jell-O. “This stuff is…well…amazing…”
Aeldorah laughed and gave Annie a hug. “Wash up, Sweet One. Change into something clean and comfortable. We will sit down for our evening meal in one hour. You know the way back to the living area?”
“Yes, I think I do. Thank you Mrs.—I mean, Aeldorah—you’re being awfully nice to me.”
“We are thrilled to have you as our guest. Imagine. I am hosting a person from the planet, Earth. Now that is amazing.”
Annie stripped out of her rumpled jeans, T-shirt, and underwear. Hesitating for a moment, she put one foot into the shower but left the other one out. Scrunching her eyes closed, she brought the other leg in and stood under the spigot. The purplish liquid cascaded over her and the sensation was one of the strangest yet. It was warm, not hot, but the most curious thing of all was that it didn’t make her feel wet. Impossible as it seemed, she was getting clean without getting wet.
So that’s why she didn’t show me where the towels were, Annie thought in astonishment. I don’t need a towel. I’m clean, I’m fresh, but I’m not wet. Unbelieve… She caught what she was thinking and laughed out loud.
From the closet, she chose a mauve colored one-piece suit that felt like chamois. For several seconds, she ran her fingers over the soft as butter fabric. Oh, wow…this is amazing stuff… She stepped into the garment, buttoned it, and admired her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror attached to one wall of the bedroom. It fit like a glove, was lightweight and extremely comfortable. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. I’m pretty, she thought with a dawning awareness of blossoming curves. I’ve never thought I was pretty before…but I am…I really am…for an Earther, anyway…I’m not as pretty as Haelee…but…I am pretty…
She joined the others in the living area, where she found plenty of comfortable chairs piled high with an incredible array of soft cushions and pillows. Both Aeldorah and Haelee wore long flowing dresses made of a material so filmy and gauzelike that Annie drew in a sharp breath. They were the most beautiful dresses she’d ever seen. As diaphanous as they appeared, one couldn’t see through them.
Annie fingered the skirt of Haelee’s garment. “This is the most amazing stuff,” she said, shaking her head. “I love it.”
“Then we will make sure you have a dress just like it,” Aeldorah replied graciously. “But, I am afraid, you will not be able to take it with you. I am certain you would have a very difficult time explaining it on Earth.”
“Yeah, you’re sure right there. They’d lock me up if I even hinted at the wonders I’ve seen, so far.”
Aeldorah passed around glasses of a shimmering, pale amber liquid and smiled as Annie hesitated. “Try it, Annie. It is made from fruit from the pikkah tree and is quite refreshing.”
Annie accepted a glass, took a sip then grinned. “I’m discovering that I have quite an appetite here. I hope I don’t start gaining weight.”
“Ha. That would be hilarious.” Halig guffawed. “Come here skinny, go home, fat.”
“My, how chivalrous of you.” Annie simpered.
Haelee burst into peals of laughter. Her twin wrinkled his nose and grinned then ducked his head. “I fear that having two women to hound me is going to be enervating.” He looked at his father and winked. “How does one lone male survive, Father? I am outnumbered.”
Craddohk’s face broke into a wide smile. “I am afraid, son, that I am at a loss to give you advice. Your mother has been in control since the day we married.”
“Oh, Craddohk. Do not tease.”
“Tease? Who is teasing? I speak the truth, woman.”
Aeldorah laughed and shook her head. Her long blue hair washed around her ankles like a curtain of rain. A surge of something she couldn’t define swept through Annie and she sighed. She’d been here only a matter of hours and already felt quite at home. She loved these people. She loved their way of life, their way of looking at things.
Glancing over at Halig, Annie was surprised to see the intent look puckering his wide forehead. He was looking at her as though seeing her for the first time. And for the first time, Annie realized that the fifteen year-old Ahrmoiran was quite good-looking. In fact, he was one of the handsomest boys she’d ever seen. Her heart did a curious flip in her chest, and she had to look away.
Warmth filled her face and neck. Annie wanted to jump up and dash outside before she betrayed her thoughts to these people. Gulping down a third of her drink, Annie glanced over at Halig to see if he still stared. He did.
Oh, damn.
FIFTEEN
They sat at a round table that could have comfortably entertained twelve. The evening meal was delicious—consisting of dishes so foreign to Annie that she tired of asking about them. She cleaned her plate and even had seconds of a vegetable called tohsh, which tasted much like squash back home but with a hint of apple flavor.
“This was very good, Aeldorah. Thank you.”
“My pleasure, Annie. I will bake a batch of crunchies tomorrow. Haelee thinks you will like them.”
“From what she’s told me, I probably will.” Annie leaned back in her chair and grinned. “Don’t forget I want to keep my girlish figure.”
“Do not let that worry you. You will be getting enough exercise, I am sure. The twins have so many plans for keeping you amused. There are toohr feathers to collect and the wahshhahi to swim in and—oh, so many delightful things to do on our Ter Draeh Hahi.”
“Gosh, I have so much to learn in so short a time. I know you’ve been speaking English and all, but there have been words now and then that are totally weird. You called this squash stuff, tohsh. You mentioned collecting feathers from a-a toohr, and your word for ocean is…wishi-washi-something—”
“Wahshhahi,” Craddohk corrected, a decided twinkle in his eyes.
“Oh, yeah, wahshhahi…and the yummy sandwiches we ate this afternoon were kosh?”
Haelee giggled. “Close. They were called khahsh.”
Annie sighed in defeat. “I guess I’ll never learn your language.”
“Quite the contrary, Little One,” Craddohk disagreed. “Mahrah Tahn, the physician on board Spectrum, told me that you are doing exceptionally well, considering everything you have been through. Relax and enjoy your time with us. Do not fret about learning our old and very difficult language.”
Aeldorah pushed back her chair and stood up. “We must clear the dishes before it is time for hahlmahnahtah,” she said in her musical voice. She turned toward Annie. “Hahlmahnahtah is something we do every evening after moonrise. To you it would most resemble prayer or worship. You will join us?”
Annie nodded. “Y-yes, I’ll join you. What do I have to do?”
“Only listen,” Craddohk informed her with a smile.
The girls cleared the table in record time and helped Aeldorah wash the dishes—in the same purplish “heavy” water as the bath—while Craddohk and Halig made preparations for the prayer service, which was to be held outside in the garden.
Annie followed the Draehl family out of the house and into a grassy area that had three curving benches made out of the same glassy sand substance as the house. Surrounding this tiny park was a small coppice of the strange “palm” trees. She was surprised to see that Craddohk and Halig had brought out several musical instruments—at least, Annie thought they were musical instruments. One looked suspiciously like a guitar.
“Are you going to play some music?” she asked, idly strumming
the strings on the guitar.
“Yes, Annie, that is what hahlmahnahtah is all about,” Haelee said.
“You see, Little One, music to us is prayer,” Craddohk explained further. “It is…how do I explain this…it is the very essence of who we are. Our thoughts, our emotions, are all tied to the rhythm and form—the texture, if you will—of music. It is how we express ourselves to the Infinite One.” He paused for a moment in thought. “Con brio, animato, when we are excited or happy; largo, diminuendo, when we are sad or soulful. You understand this?”
Annie cocked her head then shrugged. “I recognize those terms as music terminology I had to learn in music, but…”
“But?” The man prompted, leaning forward.
“I thought they were in Italian or something. How is it that you use them, too?”
Craddohk sighed. “Oh, Little One, there is so much to explain. So much, in fact, that I am not certain you could absorb it all. Suffice it to say, we Ahrmoirans have been interacting with Earth for quite some time. You have not been aware of this, but we have.”
“Yes.” Halig interjected with unbridled enthusiasm. “Just like I told you. We have done a trillion things with Earthers. Some of your people did recognize us, which amused us, I can tell you. But nobody took them seriously. I laugh when I see those stories on your audio-visual screen about man traveling in space. Oh, how stupid you make outworlders to be, sometimes.”
“Audio-visual screen? You mean, TV—uh, television?”
“No, I mean audio-visual, like I said,” The boy returned with a toss of his blue hair.
“Yes, he means television,” Craddohk countered as he shook a warning finger at his son.
Halig only laughed and reached out to tousle Annie’s short curls with one hand. His grin stretched from ear to ear. “I think, Little Miss Earther, you’ll discover soon enough that we are quite within the boundaries of pure genius—at least, in your puny eyes.” He winked and picked up his instrument.
Annie felt her cheeks redden but returned his grin. “Pure mischief is more like it, if you ask me.”
“All right, everyone. Enough play. It is time for us to begin. The night falls. The moons are rising. It is the time of chihmmerh,” Aeldorah’s voice was feather-soft. “You can feel the whissharrah.”
“Chihmmerh? Whissharrah?” Annie mouthed.
“Yes. Chihmmerh is the time of magic that hovers just between day and night, and whissharrah is the light wind, the breeze. It is most pleasant when whissharrah accompanies hahlmahnahtah.”
“Ohhh,” Annie breathed in wonder. Am I really here…really seeing all this? She pinched her thigh just to make sure. The whole thing made her light-headed.
Each of the Draehls picked up his or her instrument. Haelee, of course, had her muhlahtahtoh and little Adorie had a smaller version, which she was only now learning to play. Craddohk and Halig played what they called a zhern, which, as Annie had thought, was very close to Earth’s guitar but having a deeper tone. Aeldorah played the chahl—an instrument made of wood, something like a flute that produced mellow lower tones and brightly spirited upper ones. When all three instruments were played in unison, the result was both haunting and exquisite.
Annie sat beside Haelee during the hahlmahnahtah. After only a few minutes, she had to close her eyes from pure ecstasy. The harmony—the intricate intertwining of each instrument’s chords and notes—took the breath away. All thoughts of trouble and turmoil, fear and fatigue faded away like a warm breath on an icy-cold January morning in Maine.
For over an hour, the Draehls played their enchanting, up-lifting music. Annie was so relaxed that, when it ended, the last note fading into the infinite nothingness, she had to be nudged twice by Haelee before realizing the session was over.
The soft, fragrant breeze stroked her face, and Annie breathed in deeply. She didn’t want it to stop. Stretching in one languid motion, she opened her eyes. What she saw caused her to gasp in rapturous delight. The sun had set and darkness had leaked into the sky only to be blotted up by three glorious moons. Their illuminated faces were so magnificent that Annie brought her hands up to her mouth and exhaled.
“The moons. They’re-they’re too beautiful. The colors. Oh, the colors. Blue, rose, and green. I can’t believe it. Oh, my gosh. Three moons. Three moons. You have three wonderfully glorious moons. Oh.” Her voice had risen an octave and she was trembling so much she almost toppled over.
Aeldorah rushed over to the girl and gathered her up in her arms. Annie buried her face in the soft fabric of the woman’s dress and moaned. Craddohk came over and ran his hand over Annie’s curly hair. The twins remained where they were, watching their new friend in fascination. Little Adorie was the only one who was not concerned with the Earther’s behavior—she was fast asleep at the foot of her mother’s bench.
The three moons cast an ethereal, unworldly light on everything below. Even though it was night, one could see well enough to read in the ghostly continuum of spectral, prismatic colors. The world around them was surreal—at least, to Annie’s impressionable eyes. The blue moon’s light mingled with the red moon’s glow and the two blended with the green moon’s glimmer. The scene was too much for Annie. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. She could only cling to Aeldorah and moan.
Craddohk, after a silent signal from his wife, pried Annie’s fingers from their death-grip on the folds of the woman’s dress. He lifted her up like he’d done with Adorie, and carried her into the house. In less than a minute, Annie was lying on top of her bed in the comfortable room they’d given her. It was dark and she couldn’t tell what color the walls were now, but she didn’t care. Burrowing deeper into the large pillow, she closed her eyes. Exhausted, she let sleep wrap her in its cocoon.
SIXTEEN
A curious chirping awakened Annie. For one heartbeat, she had no idea where she was. And then she remembered. The planet Ahrmoira, orbiting a sun in the Alpha Centauri System, 4.35 light-years from Earth’s sun, Sol, on an island, in a house made from glass, with a family named Draehl. No way.
Turning to her other side, Annie drew the covers up around her and listened. A strange whistling now joined the curious chirping. Were they birds? She opened one eye and peered over the edge of the soft blanket. Bright light streamed through the circular window. Morning. Her first morning on this strange, new world.
She rolled out of bed and ran to the washroom. Removing the clothes she’d slept in—the same ones she’d been wearing last night, she noticed—she stepped into the shower and let the warm “water” flow over her. The shower felt good—warm and relaxing and yet rejuvenating at the same time.
Choosing another one-piece suit—this time the color of a fresh lime—she dressed then ran fingers through her tousled hair. Marveling again how one could stand under the shower and not get wet, she left her room in search of the others.
The family was already up, dressed, and sitting in the kitchen of the sprawling house. A single story, it spread out like a living thing, supine in the glorious sunshine. Aeldorah was the first to notice Annie. Her smile widened.
“Good morning, Annie. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you. I didn’t stir once. And, I didn’t have any nightmares,” she said as an incongruous afterthought.
“Well, that is good. We do not want you to have a troubled sleep.”
Craddohk poured her a cup of fragrant, steaming liquid, which she accepted gratefully. “You had yet another shock last night, one for which I should have prepared you. Please accept my apology,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Thanks, but you can’t be expected to explain everything to me, especially when to you it doesn’t seem odd. I’ll be okay…I think. From now on, I’ll just expect to be surprised out of my skin. So. What’s on the agenda for today?”
Halig chuckled as he helped himself to something vaguely resembling a doughnut and took a huge bite out of it. Haelee wiggled in her chair with excitement. Little Adorie sat still, a
“doughnut” in each plump hand, and stared at their guest with big solemn eyes. She’d not yet assimilated seeing this strange girl with the untidy curly hair.
Aeldorah laughed. “Well, I think Haelee would like to take you out on the wahshhahi in her little boat…”
“And go swimming.” Haelee interrupted.
“Yes, and go swimming,” her mother amended. “The twins are certain you will find swimming in our ocean an—what did they say? —Oh, an unbelievable treat. How does that sound to you, Annie?”
“It sounds sweet. I love swimming in the ocean at home, so I know I’ll love it here, too.”
“Do Earthers even know how to swim?” Halig sneered. “I cannot wait to see how much thrashing you will do.”
Annie bit. “Oh, pooh to you. I’ve swum practically my whole life. Bet I’m better at doing the crawl than you are, you horrid boy, you.”
They ate their breakfast amid chatter and laughter, and when everyone had finished, the girls helped Aeldorah wash up. Annie watched Haelee and her mother interact and thought of her own mother. She couldn’t remember even one time when they’d done dishes together. In fact, she couldn’t recall ever laughing with her mother over something as silly as a soap bubble landing on Aeldorah’s nose.
Annie’s fingers tightened on the dishtowel she held. Her nose prickled in that way it did when she was about to cry. Oh, God…I can’t cry in front of these people…I can’t. She concentrated on stacking the glass dishes in the cupboard and willed the tears away.
Craddohk was taking a day off from his work on the main island, resting up from his sojourn in space. When not leading an off-world mission, his job was to teach at the prestigious naval academy. He also gave lectures at the university on the near-by island, Ter Chyfahrwyhd. Today, he would run errands for his wife and enjoy being home with his family.
Halig had disappeared and Annie chuckled at how similar boys were here as on her own world. Just like Danny Fellows in Charleston…ducking out when there’s work to be done…
Centauri Serenade Page 9
