by Andrew Elgin
He was used to sitting and feeling the silence around him. He was learning to live in that silence.
And then Bellis broke into it.
"Before I have to go back and finish the meal, tell me something about your life. Anything at all."
Javin, unprepared, thought for a moment. He still couldn't think clearly about the time when he was younger. "I don't know, Bellis. There's stuff that's missing in my head. It's all a bit jumbled up. I suppose it's the drug they used on me. And the things I do remember, they wouldn't make much sense to you. In fact, I don't think much of my life would make much sense here. There's nothing here to compare it with." He dismissed the idea with a shake of his head.
"Do you miss it? That life back then?"
Javin had never really thought about it in that way. He considered for a moment. 'Yes. Maybe. But not as much as I thought."
Bellis flashed one of her smiles at him. "Well, maybe you'll like Harmony better."
Lisick found him a little while later, sitting again, feeling the warmth and happiness of a full stomach. She folded herself down easily, as if her body was a collapsible, jointed thing, In her usual (or so it seemed to him) brisk fashion, she said, "It's about time you started finding out what your talent is, Javin."
Javin turned on his side, the better to look at her, not really looking forward to what was to come. He had no idea what it would be, but with Lisick, everything was urgent or needed doing now or was so complicated that he had no idea what she was talking about. If Lisick noticed his lack of enthusiasm, she ignored it and went straight to the issue. "Everybody has a talent, Javin. That's what we call it. A talent. It could be anything. You have to find out what yours is, that's all."
"I don't know what you mean." Javin was hesitant to speak, fearing Lisick would just shout and make it more confusing.
She had pushed back her hair, a habit of hers, and fixed him with her steady grey eyes. "You know what I do? What Gerant does?"
"Not really. Something to do with listening to the planet." He couldn't hide the nervous smile as he said it because it still didn't make any sense to him. Speaking it aloud had made it sound slightly ridiculous.
"Laugh if you like, boy. But it's the truth. I'm good at it. So's Gerant. But what are you good at? That's the point."
"I found my special place. Bellis helped me understand that was me and Harmony together."
Lisick sniffed dismissively. "Hmm. A start, I grant you. But there's much more than that. Did you ever get a feeling that something was wrong about a situation, or a person? You knew they were telling you something that was a lie, but you couldn't say why, you just knew it? That sort of thing. Has that happened to you?"
Javin thought a moment. "I'm not sure. Maybe. There was the time when Marrit had been trying to sell me a pile of... of stuff," he had said, catching himself before blurting the truth. "But I never could trust him or anything he said."
Lisick waved him quiet. "What about knowing what people were thinking? Did that happen to you?"
Javin shook his head.
"What about healing people? Or hearing someone speak inside your head?"
"No." His eyes widened at the thought. "Why?"
"Because you're now on a planet where everyone can do something like that. Those things I just mentioned? They're the common ones. Everyone can do something. Sometimes very well, like me and Gerant, or not so good, like many others. But we all can do something. And the one thing we can all do is hear Harmony."
"What, like a song, you mean?"
"Bug me, boy! No! Not like a real song!" She considered this a moment. "Although maybe some do hear it like that, I suppose." Her focus returned to him. "Here. Try this. Close your eyes and listen."
"Listen to what?"
"To Harmony, boy! Harmony! The planet you're sitting on. Now close your eyes."
Javin closed them.
"Now, what do you hear?"
"The wind... you... my breathing."
"Behind those things. What do you hear behind them? What's underneath them all?"
Javin squeezed his eyes tighter as if that would enhance his hearing. "I can't hear anything. Nothing."
He opened them to see Lisick staring at him, her head tilted to one side. "Everyone hears Harmony. Maybe it's too soon for you. Maybe She won't speak loudly to you." Javin fancied he could almost hear pity in her voice. "Maybe you'll never hear Her as She truly is." Then she straightened up again. "But that should never stop you from trying to hear Her. Always listen. Always." And with that, she had stood up easily and swiftly, unfolding upwards, and walked away a distance before stopping and turning to face him. She crooked her head to one side and narrowed her eyes. But whether she was looking at him or listening to something he couldn't hear, he did not know.
"There's something more to you, boy. Something more. But I can't tell what it might be." And then she turned and left for good.
Javin had presumed the lesson was over.
The next day, Gerant told him he was nearly ready.
"Ready for what?" was Javin's immediate question.
"Ready to live here. Not this place. But with a family. This family says they'll be happy to take you in and have you help them on their farm."
"A farm? But I know nothing about farming!"
"Well, I'm sorry that we don't have much in the way of anything else here. But farming's what we do have lots of and that's going to teach you a whole new set of skills. Besides, it'll be good for you."
"Really?" Javin was highly dubious. He didn't want to ask why, because he doubted he'd like the answer.
"Really. And we don't have the time to spend with you here. We've our own jobs to do. You need to see more of Harmony than this."
"I don't suppose there's much I can say about this, is there?" asked Javin.
"Not really. Torrint's going to be coming in a few days."
"Torrint?"
"The trader. He'll be taking you there. You'll see, it will be fine."
Javin wasn't so sure.
Chapter Three
Five days later, Javin found himself bundling his few possessions together; a change of clothing, a fresh knife (courtesy of Bellis) and very little else. Bellis stood beside him outside the Hall as he waited for his ride to his new home. From his vantage point on the top of the hill, he could see two wooden wagons; solid, rectangular things, slowly rumbling up the curving trackway, still some distance away, being pulled by two large beasts.
"Are they both really listening to Harmony?" he asked her, for neither Lisick nor Gerant had been seen since he had woken.
"Yes. Really. That's what they do. I keep telling you, but it's true. They are listening to Her. And they're telling others what they hear. I'm sure they would come if they could." Bellis smiled encouragingly at him.
Javin wasn't as sure. Lisick, he felt, would be happy never to see him again. And as for Gerant, well, he wasn't sure how much of the time he had spent with Javin was out of duty or because he wanted to.
Javin realized that he felt nervous. "Where is it I'm going?" he asked.
Bellis shook her head, her face expressing her ignorance on this subject. "I'm not sure. I only know it's over the mountains, that way," pointing to the distant hills away to her left. "Probably a few days away."
Javin nodded, feeling lonelier than he had ever felt before.
"And this trader...?"
"Torrint. His name's Torrint. He travels over a large area. Knows a lot of people. He's a good man. Oh! Here's Gerant come to see you off!" Bellis spoke brightly, but she looked relieved that she wasn't going to have to deal with all Javin's questions herself.
"Here, Javin, you're going to need this, more likely." And Gerant flung a large coat which Javin fought with to make it into something he could add to his bundle.
"Who are these people again I'm going to see?" Javin continued to wrestle with the coat.
"They are Hanlar and Paysa. They have a daughter. And they live in a place called Mark. And
you're not going to see them. You're going to live with them. Help them."
"I can barely help myself, Gerant. What makes you think I can help them?"
"An extra pair of hands is always useful on a farm. You'll see."
Javin had finally made the coat small enough to wedge under the strap with his other pitifully few belongings. His legs felt weak and he sat on his bundle, not wanting to say anything for fear his voice would tremble.
Gerant didn't help by ruffling his hair and saying, "It will be alright, Javin. You'll come to love this place as much as we do."
"I don't have much choice, do I? After all, I can't ever leave it, you say."
There was an awkward silence for a while.
"Oh! I forgot! I have some food for you to take and share with Torrint. I'll fetch it!" And away Bellis went as the first of the two wagons breasted the rise. It slowly creaked and rolled to where Javin and Gerant waited.
The driver, Javin saw, was a tall, thin man. He had a long, glum-looking face, made thinner by his receding hairline, and a yellowish cast to his skin. The wagon came to a halt and the driver climbed down, pausing to spit out a wad of something by the wheel and wipe his mouth with his sleeve. His coat, which came to mid-thigh, ending in a ragged hem, was patched here and there and was a faded blue in color. Beneath it, he wore a loose shirt. There were short trousers or leggings which ended just below his knees. From there down, the skin was bare. He wore moccasins on his feet that at least looked sturdy if not matching in color.
By this time, Bellis had returned. "Here," she said, thrusting a bulging package into Javin's arms as he stood up. "There's dried fruit and meat and some bread in there. Oh! Hello, Torrint. Good to see you again. Are you well?" This all came out as one breathless sentence.
Torrint nodded slowly and smiled at her, showing teeth which were light blue. He pointed at Javin. "Is this the package to deliver?"
Javin felt annoyance at being labelled thus and was about to say something when Lisick's voice cut through.
"Ah! Not gone yet! Good! I need to say something to the boy before he goes off."
Javin didn't know whether to be more offended at being called 'boy' or 'a package'.
Lisick bustled towards them in her angular, awkwardly energetic way, hooking vainly at her hair to try to keep it behind her ears and away from her face. "So, did you hear Harmony yet?"
Javin shook his head.
Lisick pointed a bony finger at him. "Don't stop trying, boy. Never! There's something about you. I sense it. Don't stop trying. You'll hear Her one day. I know it."
Javin had no idea how to react to this.
"One day, boy. You hear me? But you have to find out what your talent is. You have one. Find it! And start remembering. There have to be things in your head you can't see now. But you will, boy. You will!" She looked around as if seeing the others for the first time, "Good day to you, Torrint." And with that, she walked off, elbows and knees and flying hair and awkwardness, back to her work, her mysterious connection with Harmony.
Another, shorter, awkward silence following her leaving was broken by Gerant thanking Torrint and making sure he knew where to take Javin, with unfathomable references to landmarks which obviously meant something to the trader. Quickly then, Javin found himself being helped up on the seat beside Torrint. There was a small doorway just behind it leading, Javin supposed, to the interior of the wagon. Torrint glanced at Javin and then the wagon was lurching into motion and Gerant and Bellis were waving him goodbye.
And that was it! Javin did feel rather too much like a package.
Torrint seemed content with silence, wedging a small bunch of leaves in his mouth and chewing on them. Every now and then, he would lean to the side and spit. Javin felt very much alone as they traveled, wordlessly, back down the hill and out across the land until the wooden hall was barely visible in the distance. Then, as the sun was approaching the horizon, Torrint eased the wagon to a halt. Climbing down, Torrint removed the harness from the huge beast which had hauled them this far and turned it loose after hobbling it. By that time, the second wagon had arrived and pulled up parallel, leaving a space of about five paces between the two. The other driver hopped down easily and dealt with his beast in the same way as Torrint. He looked younger than Torrint, slim but with broad shoulders, and his long, dark hair was tied back with a piece of cloth. His clothes were a similar mix of materials and patches. Javin stayed on his seat, not knowing what to do. That was quickly resolved by Torrint.
"Make yourself useful, lad. Get the fire going. There's plenty of kindling around and more than enough to make one. And the sparks you need are in the back of the wagon here. Banith and me'll get the food ready. We'll eat what Bellis gave tomorrow as a snack as we travel."
Collecting wood was easy enough. But lighting it was another thing. He looked in the back of the wagon where Torrint had indicated there were 'sparks' but couldn't see anything like that. In the fading light, he could make out some small barrels lashed to the inside. Around them were what looked like skins or maybe cloth. And there were tubes and boxes in abundance and some things which looked like feathers and other things which looked like dried meat hanging from the roof. There might have been a place for a bed in there, but he wasn't sure. It looked crowded and jumbled.
Torrint came to find him. "Not been introduced to sparks, have you?" It was more a statement than a question. "'Bout time to learn, then." So saying, he took a small clay pot from inside another, larger one, scooped up a small leather bag from beside the first pot and stalked back to the front of the wagon, holding it by the strap attached to it. Removing the top, and taking a few long, dried leaves from the bag, Torrint dipped them into the pot and gently breathed on them. Smoke began to curl upwards. He placed the smoking leaves at the base of the kindling and blew again. Soon, flames rose up and Torrint replaced the lid on the pot.
He handed it back to Javin by the strap. "Always put embers back in and seal it up. It'll keep well enough, because fires can be hard to start. You can do it, but it's easier to keep the embers glowing. I'll show you how to collect the warmings when we get to a pond. They keep the sparks safe." Then he motioned with his head and Javin took the pot back and nestled it back in its original place and replaced the bag. He then wandered over to the hobbled animals. They were called mandria apparently and he went to them just because he wanted to take a closer look and there was nothing else to do. Although they were tall and muscular, he felt safe being near them. He spent some time simply watching them and, occasionally, reaching out to give them a tentative stroke or two. Soon, he turned back to the wagons and the fire.
By this time, Banith had placed three packages made of large leaves on a round piece of clay resting on the fire. A clay bowl was placed carefully to one side to warm the contents. As Javin watched, Banith kept the packages moving and fed the fire with small pieces of wood to keep it hot. Using a stick with a charred end, he prodded the packets around, turned them over and also kept moving the bowl. It took time and careful attention. Torrint just sat, chewing his leaves and staring off into the distance.
"What's cooking?" Javin asked.
"Some meat, some leaves and some fruit. And that's simesh," Banith added, nodding at the bowl.
That appeared to be the end of that conversation. Neither trader was garrulous, to say the least, both seemingly quite content to be silent. Javin wondered if this was normal for them, and feared that it was.
Finally, Banith was satisfied everything was ready. He used another thick piece of wood and hooked one package at a time from the clay skillet and placed them each on a close woven platter, before handing them around. He sprinkled some ground herbs into the wooden bowl before pouring the contents, with the aid of some thick cloths, into three wooden mugs, which he also passed around. Javin unwrapped his meal, nodding his thanks to Banith. The whole process was unlike anything he had ever encountered. It took so much effort to make such a simple meal! But it tasted good, whatever it was. Th
e meat was juicy and flavored with whatever Banith had wrapped up with it. It had definitely been worth the wait. He realized he was hungry.
After the meal both traders were content to sit and watch the fire. Javin drained his drink which had a surprisingly pleasant, minty tang to it and finally gained courage to break the silence.
"Where is it we're going?"
Torrint spat to one side before answering. He was back to chewing his leaves again, although still holding on to his now empty mug. "A place called Mark. Taking you to a family there."
"Do you do this sort of thing often?," asked Javin.
Torrint shook his head slowly. He did everything slowly, Javin had noticed. "No. People like you, from Haven? There aren't many of you here. One in the last twenty years?" Banith confirmed this with a nod of his head.
"Why did those others come here?"
Torrint shrugged as if it was none of his business. As if he didn't care. "Who knows? They upset someone and it was easiest to send them here? Although I can't think why." He was silent a moment as he moved the wad from one side of his mouth to the other. "Maybe it was a punishment."
"Do you know where any of them are now?" Javin was hopeful he could meet up with any of them.
Torrint shook his head. "I know where they were. But not now. They move on. Same as you will."
"What do you mean?"
"This family we're going to. They have enough to feed you and you'll get to work there. But, you won't stay. You'll move on. Because you'll want to do more than work on a farm. It will get to you, this place, and you'll want to do more. You'll move on." There was a smug certainty in his words.
Javin thought this over but couldn't feel how he felt about it. "Do you know this family well, then?"
"We trade. They buy. There's three of them. One girl. Plenty of work to do."
In the silence following, Banith asked Javin, "So what did you do that got you sent here? It must be difficult for you. I suppose this is nothing like you were used to?" The words came slowly, as if he were not used to talking freely. Or, maybe, Javin thought, he was not used to having a conversation.
