Songs Of Harmony

by Andrew Elgin

  "I think it's a sweet idea. Can I come?"

  "Of course! We're together, remember? Come on."

  The arrangement was very similar to Sweetwater's. A knee high wall with a roof held up by pillars, stone in this case, and the central pole with the two discs. There was no boy in sight to persuade him it couldn't be done. "I won't be long. I am not even sure whether I need to use these now, after Harmony got so friendly with us. But I know they work, so I'll use them. Ready?"

  He didn't bother to sit this time, but simply bowed his head and thought, as carefully and directly as he could, about Lisick and about Harmony and about Meldren. No song this time, just a clear and steady focus, which he found was much easier to do than previously.

  After a moment, he looked up and smiled at Meldren. "There. I think I've done it. How do you feel? Any headache?"

  "No. I was watching your colors as you did it. They fascinate me. There was a sort of tickle at the back of my head, almost like a song, but it wasn't."

  Just then, one of the villagers, on his way somewhere, stopped and said, "You do know that it doesn't work anymore, don't you? It stopped some time ago. Haven't heard or sent for many days now. Hope it wasn't important. " And continued on his way.

  "Well, that would explain why there was nobody here on duty," said Javin. "But I'm sure I managed to do something, anyway."

  Malden agreed. "Those colors showed me something was definitely happening." She thought a moment more. "Do you realize that I have had no problems with the people here and their colors? At least, not yet. I thought I would get some sort of reaction, but maybe I can filter things out now. Doesn't mean I want to live in a big place, lots of people, animals and so on. I don't plan on staying here long enough to see if people affect me anymore. But I think perhaps I could, without feeling terrible." She gazed off into the distance. "Life is very strange right now. Very strange indeed."

  "Really? I hadn't noticed, what with the sprites, Harmony, songs and so on." He swayed away from her playful attempt to punch his arm and swayed back in to hug her tightly. "Let's find ourselves somewhere to sleep and eat. We can afford to. Probably," he added, "we could stay anywhere for as long as we wanted using only our stories as payment. They're so unbelievable."

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Bellis had carefully scraped the silkie's hide clean and placed it in a large pot of water, after measuring and throwing in the herbs and earths to dissolve the hair. She planned on taking it with her and working it after she had prepared the silkie's meat for Lisick. She went back out to check on the drying racks and to make sure that the green fronds in the smoke hut were not burning too hot.

  Both she and Gerant had been unable to turn their backs on both Lisick and Landing. They felt that they had to do something to mark the last Group, but didn't really know what to do.

  Bellis had decided that, as Lisick was completely useless in the kitchen, she had to at least provide easy and nourishing food for her to eat. That meant preserves and smoked and dried meats as well as some dried fruits. Bread would be useless in the long term but there would be water to drink.

  "I can't just walk away from here, knowing that Lisick will run out of food in just a few days."

  "But you also can't know how much to make for her," Gerant had replied. Implicit in what he said was the death of Lisick in the not too distant future. They had both watched her become more and more despondent, more and more lethargic. Even the slightest hint of her being asked to leave with them was met with stony silence and a long, uncomfortable stare. She had nothing left in her life except her duty to Harmony and that was denied to her by her inability to be close to the One she had willingly served for so long. Being held apart from Harmony, only hearing what anyone else could hear, was draining Lisick of all vitality and hope, gently wiping out any future she might have conceived for herself.

  "I can make enough for her to eat well for a long time. I can do that for her." Bellis had tiredly brushed a strand of hair from her face. "All I know is that I cannot walk away and leave her to starve. She is my responsibility still."

  Gerant had nodded gloomily. "You are right, of course. But me? What do I do? I have nothing left to do here, nothing to hold me. Except you, of course." He had reached for her hand. "You have a goal to complete. Lisick has dreams she cannot fulfill, and I... I have nothing left to give." He shivered. "This place now, it feels cold and empty of everything, even of the past. And there is no future here." He looked around. "To think that here, this very place, was where our ancestors first lived, first came into contact with Harmony. All those years ago. Many, many years ago. And we're the last. The very last. It will soon be swallowed by Harmony and nothing will be left for anyone to see."

  Bellis had placed her hand on his and gave a tired smile. "Maybe so. But, that is not now." She patted him. "I have an idea. Listen. This old place has seen many people. It has lots of secrets it will never give up. But it is the first place on this wonderful, frustrating planet. And you are the last of the people using it. All the initials on the walls? They are the memories of this place. My idea is that you help honor it. Lisick is doing it in her way. I am doing it in my way in this ancient kitchen. And you? You can make it like it used to be."

  She had smiled at his puzzlement. "Repair it, Gerant! Bring it back to how it was. Polish it, patch it, look after it. That's one thing you can do. That's your goal. Put your touch, your heart in it."

  In the five days since then, Gerant had worked with a newfound energy. He had seen the truth in Bellis's suggestion. Now he was methodically working through each of the many rooms. Doors needed re-hanging. Furniture needed new legs and armrests. Tables needed polishing, beds needed making, linen needed folding and floors needed sweeping. When he ate with Bellis (Lisick refused their company) he was more fulfilled than he thought could have been possible. He found pride in the results and sometimes came and dragged Bellis with him to see his latest accomplishment.

  And now, Bellis was preparing the last of the food that was available. She had added some sprinkles of water to hold back the fronds from burning and turned all the strips of meat, checking them for mold or insect infestation.

  She paused to take a mug and sip at some water. This kitchen had served everyone at Landing since it was first built. It was huge. Too big now. Briefly she wondered what it must have been like, filled with people. All the steam and the smoke and the smells. And so much food being prepared! Ever since she had first started here, she had kept to one corner, one end of the kitchen, almost intimidated by the size of it and the history it contained. Three-quarters of it she had never used except for some occasional storage. She saw, in her mind's eye, all her ancestors working here. And now, it was an empty shell. It left a lot of cleaning to do. She had decided that this one end, nearest the corridor, the end where she and Lisick had shared occasional meals, was where everything would be left. She took a deep breath as she surveyed the work still remaining. She would not let her special empire, small though it was in comparison with the building, let her down by being untidy, unkempt, poorly cared for. She put down the mug, picked up a rag and set about making it something she could be proud of.

  Several days later, Gerant had done all he could. Those things he could not repair or make look better he had stored outside; an offering of human history to Harmony, where She would more easily embrace them with Her weather and soil and plants.

  Bellis had lined up pots full of preserved fruits and vegetables on one wall. On the bench before them, wrapped in cloth, the smoked and dried meats. The last of the nuts she could find were in open dishes and a clean-scrubbed mug sat ready on the table by the door next to a plate.

  She and Gerant stood, hand in hand, in silence. These were their final moments here and there was too much pressing in on them for words. They turned their heads as if trying to memorize every single item, see the past and burn it all into their heads, where it would live a little longer. At last, a gentle squeeze from Gerant, and they tur
ned away. He grabbed his bundle from the floor. Bellis opened and re-rolled and tied the skin as tightly as she could, slung it over her shoulder and balanced her small bundle of belongings on her hip. A brief, fleeting smile passed between them and they turned their backs and stepped away from this, the home that had meant the most to them.

  Lisick knew they had left. She felt it at some level; felt the emptiness become more empty still. She had been grateful for Gerant's work, although she did not think she could have told him. It would have been too painful to speak. In the same way, she missed Bellis and all that she had done to feed her. She wandered down the corridor to the kitchen and took in everything that had been done for her. She was not sure, but she thought she could still glimpse them in the far distance. She raised a hand in farewell and then sat down.

  She was numb. She had been numb for too long. She was empty, like the building. Her home was empty even with her in it, because she was empty herself. Harmony had always filled her, always been part of her life. And without Her, Lisick was a husk. She would have done anything to re-connect and had tried everything she could think of, and still there was only the background noise in her head, worse than silence, and an emptiness in her heart and soul.

  She looked once more at the food and half-heartedly began to calculate how long it would last. She did not know. Did not really want to know. She had nothing to do. She could go anywhere she wanted and nothing waited for her anymore. A life without purpose, without hope.

  She was turning the mug over and over in her hands, a blank look on her face, when she suddenly felt something. It was a familiar feeling. One which she thought never to have again.

  It was Harmony! Harmony distant and dim, but Harmony nevertheless! Normally, she would have been in the communication room, amongst the strange relics of the past which still, somehow, functioned. It had always been like that. But, now? Now she was connecting again. Harmony was strong in her head again. And without anything to help her!

  Slowly, the connection grew in strength. And, as it did so, so it became richer and more nuanced, more detailed than anything she had ever known. Instead of sitting and listening with one part of her while the other sifted the information and decided what to do, how to act, what to say, this was too full, too loud, too immersive for that.

  She was transfixed with delight. Her old reactions were suppressed by the strength of the flow. At first, she thought she caught a glimpse of that boy, Javin. She thought there was something about him in there. Before she could wonder what that might mean, she was engulfed by something much greater. All the time she had bemoaned the loss of hearing Harmony was made up now in this one contact. Harmony was fully with her now. Lisick heard Her in a way she had not thought possible. Instead of a gentle, rolling noise, the constant background to her life before, now there was a symphony of sounds. But more than that, she now knew her value, her worth to Harmony. And then she was subsumed within it all, immersed in a roiling overwhelm of words, sounds, scenes, images, people; a cacophony of sensations which bowled her over, tumbled her around inside her head.

  She saw, or, rather, heard Harmony fully at last. The animals, the planet, the rocks, the people, everything. She knew she was in there somewhere because she felt her place there, heard it in the music. And that was beauty enough for her. She couldn't comprehend the message, the contact, in its entirety, but she understood enough to know that Harmony was safe and well. But the biggest, the best, the most euphoric aspect was that, finally, Lisick was in full and total contact with the planet she had served for so much of her life. And Harmony knew her and recognized her and saw her as she was.

  Her faith in Harmony, her love for it, they were both there. Harmony knew of her, and loved her! Tears brimmed and flowed unchecked. She did not care what else might be in the message. Harmony had spoken with her and loved her and knew her and let her know that she had lived her life well. She had lived it for Harmony, not for herself and now, this moment, this everlasting moment, she knew herself to have lived properly, lived a life to be proud of. Lisick, the scraggy little girl with no friends and too much energy, had lived a life few would have chosen. And she had lived it fully. Devotion, love, constancy and truth were her hallmarks. And now Harmony called to her, to her directly and, for the first time ever, she felt truly at peace, fulfilled, welcomed. And that was all she had ever wanted: completion. She smiled as the tears flowed and she gave herself completely to her one love who had finally embraced her totally in return.

  She did not see, could not see, that Gerant and Bellis, hearing the same call, had rushed back. They both knew that something vital, something final, was happening and they wanted to be there. Unlike Lisick, they were not given the same volume or intensity. They, in comparison, heard only that Harmony was thanking them: a feeling of gratitude, which Bellis later described as what true love feels like. It flowed into them, around them and it uplifted them. As they arrived at the door, they were just in time to see Lisick slowly, with more grace than had ever been given to her before, fold forward gently onto the table. And her hair, seemingly aware at last of its responsibility, flowed around her head and face, veiling her in her final ecstasy.

  And so, the last Group came to an end.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Javin and Meldren had headed south, fording the river further downstream, following their feet rather than any plan. It had taken some time for both of them to begin to admit that they were together and alone and without anyone or anything else to consider but themselves. Meldren's sadness at leaving her beautiful dogs behind had softened into a gentle tenderness where before it had been raw. They were adjusting to this new life, but all the time they were aware that, lurking in the future, Harmony was waiting with all the attendant uncertainty that created. It cast a shadow over their delight in each other and the freedom they had created for themselves.

  The weather had changed completely. Each day was warmer than the one before. It seemed that they were back into summer again. Cloudless skies and a little breeze made for hot hiking and they were grateful for the cool of the evenings.

  On the fifth day out from Arlen, they labored up a hill and saw, spread out before them, a vast plain. Away to their right, they could make out tall cliffs rising sheer from the plain, sparkling white and red in the sun. Ahead of them, the view faded into the smoky blue of distance without any major landmark to break the monotony. A vague trackway led down into the plain where they thought they could see herds of some kinds of animals and smaller clumps of trees scattered about in a haphazard fashion. The glint of sun on water in the middle distance picked out a river, curving and twisting lazily.

  "Perhaps there will be some sheltered places down there. I don't really want to sleep out in such open country." Javin had stopped to readjust his satchel, changing shoulders to ease the strain.

  Meldren put hers down and rummaged around in it, eventually finding a leather tie for her hair. Bunching her hair, she wrapped the tie around it and secured it, all the time taking in the scenery before them. "I have to admit, this is not what I was thinking of. Not how I thought it would be. How long do you think it will take to cross it?"

  Javin scratched his nose as he estimated distances. "It's not so much how many days it will take as how much food we have left. I can't see any evidence of people down there. Let me see if I can hear anything that could help." He shut his eyes and bowed his head, turning it first one way, then the other. Opening them again, he said, "No. Nothing that I can hear anyway."

  Meldren was sitting down, leaning back on her arms, face lifted to the sun, eyes closed, her sprite coiled loosely around her neck. "Maybe," she said, without opening her eyes, "we could sing whatever we needed."

  "I suppose..." The doubt was evident in his voice. "Can we really eat and drink a song?" He shook his head. "Yes, I know that we know it's all a song. But it's not us singing it, is it? Does it seem right to sing something and then eat it? Why not just sing us with full stomachs?"

&nb
sp; "Why not indeed?" Meldren opened her eyes and shaded them with one hand as she looked at him. "Me? I'd love to actually cook something for a change. Something hot. But that singing? It's worth a try, isn't it?"

  Javin made a 'who knows?' face. "Well, we don't need to find that out for a few days at least." He sat down beside her and poked at the ground with a finger. "The thing is, I think I'm not really very trusting of Harmony. At least, I change between being willing to trust Her, to actually trusting Her and then to not trusting Her. Right now, I'm in the middle of a 'not fully trusting Her' period. Yes, I know She's meant to look after us and all that. But, the truth of it is that we don't know that for sure and, if She was going to look after us, then it would be because we were useful to Her. But, how do we even know that? Like I said, we could be just one couple out of hundreds She's been speaking to. It could be that there's another pair out there somewhere who are better in some way. More able to do whatever it is She wants." He nodded at the plains before them. "Once we start across that, we will run out of food. And the water? That's unlikely to be good to drink with all those animals there. It's not fast flowing." He rubbed his eyes as if tired. "I really thought that being with you, everything would work out easily. And it is. Being with you is wonderful. It's just that...." His voice tailed off.

  "I know. I feel the same way too." She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. "We don't even know why Harmony came to us, what She wants, or anything. I do know one thing for certain, though. And that is, whatever the reason, it brought us two together. And that has to be important." She screwed her face up against the sun as she turned to look at Javin. "I've never come this way before. I've always followed the river, not crossed it. And I've not heard anyone speak about that out there ahead of us. It looks huge. And, perhaps, it's meant to. Perhaps it's meant to challenge us, make us trust Her or turn back. Maybe, if we turn back and find a safer, easier route, we'll have lost somehow." She paused. "Why do you think we're together?"