The Shards

by Gary Alan Wassner

  “You are a wise woman,” Etuah said. “It is no wonder you were chosen.”

  Tamara looked at her askew once again, but her use of the word ‘chosen’ was ambiguous enough this time that she did not reply directly to it.

  “Do you know the truth, Etuah?” she asked.

  “You ask me that as if ‘the truth’ was something tangible; a fact that we need only discover. I know what I know. We were advised of your arrival by the trees. I cannot tell you when they determined you were in danger,” she said.

  “If they wanted us to come here, then why did they not just instruct us so?” Angeline asked. “You told me that Liam and Oleander were forthright with you before. And they knew that evil woman was after you. Why play these games with our fate and the fate of so many others?”

  “I cannot answer that. I only hope that if what we suspect is true, there is a greater purpose here that we do not comprehend now. It is not our fate that is the issue, sister. Surely the fabric weaves of its own will, but the yam is set and the loom still must be warped somehow. I believe that the cloth is the result of both free will and determination, not one or the other alone,” Tamara said.

  “We must hurry now,” Etuah interrupted. “We are almost there. Time grows short. Perhaps one day you will learn what you call ‘the truth’ about this. Now though, there are other things to be concerned with.”

  Etuah grabbed both of the girls’ hands and pulled them forward. Her fingertips adhered to their skin in a way that was not distasteful at all, but rather, quite compelling. Her long legs moved fast, though it seemed as if she was merely gliding along at a leisurely pace. Tamara and Angeline rushed to keep up with her. They were crossing this large, open space that was now illuminated by the countless torches that hung upon the far walls. The floor was flat and hard and when they looked up, they could not see a ceiling above, however it could have been lost in the darkness.

  A large arched opening appeared before them after a short while and Etuah headed directly for it. Once inside, the path sloped downward steeply.

  “Come,” the Drue urged.

  She sat down abruptly and pulled them along with her. They immediately began to slide down the passage. It was honed smooth by someone or something, and they moved easily and quickly through it. It grew wider as they moved further on, and every now and then, smaller tunnels split off from it, but these other passageways all seemed to head in the opposite direction. The three women veered right and left somewhat, but they appeared to be heading straight ahead for the most part. Etuah’s body glowed again in the absence of any other light sources, and it illuminated the area as they made their way deeper into depths of the earth.

  “What is this that we are in?” Angeline asked as they glided along.

  “It is where a root once was,” the Drue replied.

  “A root?” Tamara questioned.

  “Yes. We are nearing the heart. The roots were larger here.”

  “The heart of the tree?” Tamara asked.

  “Yes. Though the Lalas is no more, the space remains intact,” Etuah said. “You must prepare yourselves now. You have felt it already, though you may not know it. But it is far more difficult to enter this space. Do not allow your feelings to overcome you. Be strong,” she warned them.

  Nothing could have prepared either Tamara or Angeline for the shock that they felt the moment the passage ended and they found themselves standing once again beside the Drue woman in this massive, new space. Angeline gasped and Tamara reached out to her to comfort her. She too wanted to cry, but she fought the impulse as hard as she could. Neither of them could explain the profound feeling of sadness that suddenly engulfed them. It was so deep and so total that they could barely keep their heads upright. The weight of their emotions was almost unbearable, and they sought out each other for solace, though even that did not help. Angeline fell to her knees and wrapped her head in her arms.

  “You will grow accustomed to the feeling,” Etuah said with compassion in her voice. “It will never leave you whilst you remain in the heart, but it will ease.”

  “This is the saddest thing I have ever experienced,” Angeline sobbed. “The feeling of loss is overwhelming. It seems so tragic, and I cannot stop myself from crying, yet I do not know why!”

  “It is tragic, sister,” Tamara said, as she stared at her friend through her own tear streaked eyes. “What could be more tragic than this? It feels as if life itself has been stilled.”

  “A part of life has been taken from the whole. What you are experiencing is the absence. As well, you are reliving the passing. Thus, you suffer twice,” Etuah explained. “I told you that the hollows are the closest a living thing can come to the void. And you two have the great misfortune of being alive here. Your living spirits are imbued with the same essence that the Lalas who resided here personified. Thus, you can sense what once was and what is no more. That is why the pain of sadness is so intense. You feel the change; you recognize just how much has been obliterated. The lost ones see in this only a chance to end their anguish. They see the nothingness that remains and no more. That is what they crave.”

  “I cannot bear this any longer. You must help me, Tamara,” Angeline pleaded. “My heart is breaking. I have never felt such sorrow,” she said, and she laid her head down upon the hard ground.

  “Take my hand, sister,” Tamara said.

  She reached out and grasped her friend’s fingers and assisted her to her feet once more. Though she too was suffering more intensely than she could ever have imagined, she found the inner strength to calm herself, and she thereby attained a place of peace within the turmoil of her spirit. With confidence and tremendous self-control, she shared that place with her friend, as she coaxed Angeline gently though forcefully, into the same shelter that she found. She breathed a relaxing breath and opened herself to the tormented sister fully and selflessly until Angeline too gained solace from her efforts, and until she too achieved a spiritual equilibrium once more. But oddly, something was no longer the same with her. Tamara perceived a subtle difference in Angeline that she could not fully understand.

  “Abide with me until it passes,” Tamara said to her, never releasing her hand. She simultaneously tried to determine what it was that had changed in her friend.

  “Thank you, sister. Thank you so much. I could not have withstood that anguish much longer,” she acknowledged.

  Etuah looked on approvingly, and she nodded her head back and forth upon her long, thin neck.

  “You are all that they said you were,” she commented.

  Tamara looked at her askew yet again, confused by the Drue’s words.

  “Me? Are you referring to me?” she asked, distracted still by the disturbing difference she sensed in her friend.

  “Yes. I was advised of your strength,” Etuah replied.

  “Advised?” she questioned. “My strength?”

  “Few others could have recovered so quickly from the effects of this place while assisting another concurrently. Yes, they have chosen well.”

  Before Tamara had an opportunity to ask another question, four other Drue emerged from behind a tall, black obelisk that stood in the middle of the chamber. They looked very much like Etuah, but slightly different in height. Two were considerably taller and two were a bit shorter than she was. The two taller of the group had long hair, or what appeared to be hair, streaming down their backs. It was almost translucent, much like their skin, but it gleamed and glinted in the semi-darkness, and added to what was already an altogether otherworldly appearance. Etuah walked toward them and extended one of her long arms. The others did the same until the suctions on the ends of their fingers touched one another. All of their lips colored slightly and stood out starkly against their pale skin, and both Angeline and Tamara felt the tenderness between the group of Drue as they reunited.

  They spoke to each other in a language that neither of the sisters could understand. Shortly, they all walked up to the women and formed a circle aro
und them. There was no threat implied by this action, and the sisters stood quite still while they waited for the Drue to introduce themselves. A moment later, each extended one long arm toward Tamara and Angeline, who continued to hold each other’s hands the entire time, until the suctions adhered to their skin.

  A rush of feeling swept over them, and they could hear the Drue speaking through their touch. By the time they removed their fingers from the girls, both Tamara and Angeline knew their names, their sexes, and much more about them than they had ever expected to learn or be told. History, family relationships, births, deaths, their fears and hopes, loves and hates, and even their most personal of concerns were communicated. Suddenly, their sorrow was easier to bear. Though it did not abate entirely, it settled into its own place in their psyches, and there was once again room for other emotions. They both found themselves sighing audibly with relief.

  “My kindred shared with you as the Lalas do with us,” Etuah explained. “We will be with you and you with us now forever, for good or for evil, as we are with all the Chosen who have visited with us in the hollows.”

  By this time, Tamara decided to ignore the references to the Chosen that Etuah kept making. She was obviously not going to stop from speaking so, and there were certainly more important issues to contend with at the moment.

  “Welcome,” one of the group said in a deeper voice than Etuah’s. “Though you already know now, I am Petuah. This is Hewlo,” he said as he pointed to the tallest of the four.

  “My name is Behani,” the third Drue spoke out in a melodious tone.

  “And I am Uhani,” the remaining figure said while smiling. “It is not often that we have guests. Usually, the Chosen are here before us. It is a rare occasion when one comes after the shards have been removed.”

  “You are strong of character,” the one called Petuah said directly to Tamara. “It did not tax us greatly to shelter your spirit from the pain.”

  Tamara and Angeline had barely a moment to rest in the last few hours. Everything was happening so quickly. It seemed like days ago that they were sitting on the hilltop somewhere far above where they currently stood. They listened intently to the Drue’s words, but they had some practical concerns as well.

  “Forgive me if I say anything inappropriate, but would it be possible for us to sit down somewhere and rest for at least a few moments?” Angeline asked. “I do not think that I can continue to stand here for much longer. I am so tired.”

  “Of course,” Etuah replied immediately. “Follow me,” she said, and she began to walk toward an alcove in the wall.

  The other Drue followed behind the sisters while chatting amongst themselves in their odd sounding tongue, which both women now surprisingly understood as if they had spoken it their entire lives. There was no question that the language was one they had never heard before today, but as they listened, they comprehended everything. Tamara and Angeline felt entirely comfortable with them.

  “You learn faster than some of the others have,” Hewlo said.

  “They are more receptive,” Behani noted.

  “And less defensive,” Etuah said.

  They all crossed under a smooth archway and then emerged into another chamber that was smaller and lined with long, spongelike cushions. One of the walls was carved into shelves and laden with canisters and cartons.

  “We are not so different as you might expect,” Behani said as she noticed the sister’s reaction to what they saw. “We too eat.”

  “And we sleep as well,” Hewlo said.

  “I hope I did not offend any of you,” Angeline said after she realized that her expression must have betrayed her surprise.

  “Offend? You have been most gracious,” Hewlo replied. “Many from above find our appearance difficult to look upon. You seem to find only our eating habits noteworthy,” he smiled. “Please. Sit. They are most comfortable,” he said, as he pointed to one of the sponge cushions.

  Angeline and Tamara both accepted the offer quickly, and they reclined upon the nearest of the seats. They were extremely pliant and they found themselves sinking deep into the soft seats.

  “I do not have the same feeling here as I did before. Is that due to your influence or the fact that we left that other room?” Tamara asked.

  “A bit of both,” Etuah replied. “Though having left the heart is the primary reason. Unfortunately, you must return there as soon as possible.”

  “And you must prepare to leave here as quickly as you can,” Petuah said. “It is not safe for you, despite the fact that you seem to be more resistant than most to this space.”

  “We are not immune,” Angeline said. “Maybe Tamara here is dealing with it better than I am, but for me it was quite difficult. It still is,” she conceded. “But I must confess that the sensation is now more strange than it is frightening or sad.”

  “I am not as disturbed as you, sister,” Tamara said. “Though the feelings are not pleasant, certainly.”

  “You cannot understand just how awful they were then, sister, if you characterize them that way. You are fortunate indeed,” Angeline shuddered.

  The Drue began to open some of the canisters on the shelves with their suctioned fingers, and they prepared something that looked as if it was to be eaten. Sure enough, within moments, Uhani removed some thin, platter shaped stones from one of the crevices, which adhered to the tips of her long fingers. She reached them out to Hewlo who poured the contents of one jar onto each and then another and another. Behani stretched her arms upward, extended her fingers and grabbed a number of translucent goblets from another shelf. She then poured a liquid into each of them from a long tube that protruded from a hole in the wall.

  After handing a full plate and a goblet to each of the women, the Drue all sat upon the floor with their thin legs wrapped impossibly around themselves. Using their fingertips once again, they began to eat, lifting the food from the plates and sucking it into their pursed lips.

  “We have utensils for you if you so require,” Hewlo said. “I imagine it would be rather messy if you tried to eat with fingers that terminate the way yours do,” he commented as he handed them each a small ladle carved from a white colored stone.

  “Thank you,” Tamara said, never the shy one, and she began to eat almost immediately.

  Angeline was a bit more reluctant to taste the odd looking food, but Tamara seemed to find it so pleasing that she too shortly began to eat.

  “Is it far to Odelot?” Tamara asked, wiping a drop of the sweet substance from her chin and licking her finger.

  “Distances are measured differently in the hollows than above. It is difficult to answer that question,” Etuah replied.

  “It will take you a good deal of time to get there,” Petuah said.

  “Odelot was abandoned many tiels ago. Our brethren protect the parts of it that they can. The blackness is not approachable however. But, you must pass through other areas that are not as well sustained in order to get there. One such place will only soon come under our protection,” Uhani said.

  “Another tree has died?” Tamara asked. “Do you know its name?”

  “No. Not yet, but soon. It is one of medium stature. It calls itself Mintar and its Chosen is Carlisle. The heart is not so great as this one, but there is no one to remove the shard,” Petuah said matter-of-factly. “We cannot enter as yet.”

  “It is the eleventh,” Etuah said, as if that was meaningful, and the others all nodded solemnly.

  “The Lalas has been wavering for a while. It is not a surprise to us,” Behani said. “Yet, we are helpless.”

  “The world does not yet know. Neither does its Chosen,” Hewlo said sadly.

  “Is there nothing to be done?” Tamara asked.

  “Done?” Etuah asked. “Why would one want to do anything? The tree has made this decision. We can only protect the space afterward, once the shard has been secured.”

  “Shard!” Angeline said. “The tree’s essence?” she asked, having learned abo
ut these things only recently.

  Etuah nodded to Angeline, but her eyes were upon Tamara as if she had only just realized something, and her recognition was mirrored by the other Drue.

  “You have not been informed, of course. You could not have known,” she then said to Tamara. “We are unaccustomed to this order of events. The Chosen always arrive before we do.”

  “And always just after the Lalas departs,” Uhani said.

  “It is fortuitous nevertheless,” Hewlo said immediately.

  “Most definitely,” Behani agreed.

  “I believe that she has the strength,” Uhani said.

  “There is no doubt,” Petuah affirmed.

  “I knew that she was exceptional immediately. But this is most irregular!” Etuah said.

  “Did they suspect?” Petuah asked.

  “No. I do not think that they did. It is quite remarkable!” Etuah replied.

  “I am sure that they could not have known,” Hewlo agreed. “When one of their own departs, they must keep their distance. It would be too dangerous otherwise.”

  “Yet she is here. Who then is responsible?” Uhani asked.

  “A combination of freewill and determination, I surmise,” Etuah said, and she winked in Tamara’s direction.

  “This changes everything. When will you leave?” Petuah asked.

  “Soon, though I had not thought the moment was yet upon us,” Etuah said, more contemplatively than before.

  Until a second ago, they were all talking about Tamara as if she was not present, and it took her until then to realize even that she was the subject of their conversation.

  “I will accompany you as far as I am able to,” Etuah began to explain. “I cannot enter however until you have gathered the shard. Once that is done, you may pass, and then the others can approach and begin their work,” she said to Tamara whose jaw had dropped almost to her chest.

  “Me? You want me to gather the shard from a dying Lalas?” she asked, exasperated.

  “Of course,” Petuah replied. “That is surely one of the reasons why you are here.”