by Sharon Sant
Jacob stood for a few moments, staring into the distance. Finally, certain that Makash had really gone, he dropped down onto the grass, gathered his knees to his chest, and sat gazing out over the lake. The undulating black surface was starred with tiny dancing reflections from the lamps that stood sentry on the footpaths at the edges of the water. The air had grown colder and he shivered a little, hugging his knees tighter. It was hard to imagine right now, but soon it would be summer, warm all night, a time of festivals for the tourists. The park would ring with laughter and music late into the evening; the sweet aroma of sugar-doughnuts trailing on the mild breeze. Glass lanterns would go up around the lake and laughing children would come with their parents to light them. They would be strung around the trees like huge multicoloured fireflies and the lake would dazzle, alive with the glitter of their countless lights. Jacob reflected on all these scenes with a growing melancholy. Would he be around to see it? There is another like me. Whatever it takes, I have to make certain I get to them first.
Twenty-One: Lights on the Horizon
Jacob was so absorbed in his thoughts he almost forgot his friends and the reason they had come to the lake in the first place. It wasn’t until he had been sitting in quiet contemplation for a few minutes that he felt a tentative hand on his shoulder.
‘Jacob… has he gone?’
He looked round at Ellen’s shadowed face and nodded. ‘He’s gone.’
She glanced at Luca and they both took a seat either side of Jacob on the grass. The three sat looking out over the lake together, each processing the night’s events in their own way. In the distance, a dog yapped, setting off a chorus of other dogs with different tones in answer. The waves of the lake whispered as they tickled the shore. The grass was stirred in the breeze. And they simply listened, not knowing what to say to each other about the things they had just seen.
‘Can you do that fading thing?’ Luca asked eventually, still looking over the lake.
‘No.’
Luca fell silent again. The shortness of his reply warned him that Jacob was in no mood to talk about it. Ellen hadn’t noticed the rebuff. She had calmed now, her earlier agitation lessened. Quiet and pensive, she leaned her head on Jacob’s shoulder without speaking, lost in her own thoughts, while Luca ripped up grass by the roots and tore it into strips.
Finally Luca spoke again. ‘What now?’
‘I’m waiting. You can wait with me or go if you don’t want to. It’s up to you.’ Jacob didn’t look at him. The alien, purposeful, emotionless part of him had taken control, the new side to his personality that Ellen didn’t like. She began to take note of their exchange.
Luca checked his watch. ‘It’s half past ten.’
‘So?’ Jacob kept his eyes ahead.
‘So…’ cut in Ellen, suddenly fired by a rush of anger on Luca’s behalf. ‘Luca doesn’t have the ability to plant memories into his parents’ heads and doesn’t have a date with destiny…’ She moved her head from Jacob’s shoulder and fixed him with a haughty stare. ‘So while the universe does revolve around you, he still has to be home at a reasonable hour!’
‘He can go. I’m not stopping him.’
‘That’s not what we’re saying.’ Even in the half-light the colour rising to Ellen’s cheeks was visible. ‘He’s come to say goodbye, and we’ll both wait with you however long it takes but…’
‘But what?’ Jacob interrupted, snapping out of his reverie and now regarding Ellen with barely disguised amusement.
‘Don’t patronise me, Jacob. Luca is already in loads of trouble, and is going to get into even more trouble, and it may seem a small sacrifice to you, saviour of the universe, but to him it’s still a sacrifice and he’s making it because he’s your friend. At least show a bit of gratitude or sympathy or something!’ Ellen was breathing heavily, her expression one of defiance.
Jacob suddenly smiled, his old smile, and pulled her by the shoulders, planting a kiss on her lips. She wrenched away and smacked him on the arm. It only made him kiss her again.
‘God, you can be so infuriating. You’re worse than Luca!’
‘Hey, that’s a bit out of order! What happened to Luca and his great sacrifice?’ Luca cried.
‘Shut it!’ Ellen fired back.
‘Charming!’
‘God, I’m going to miss you two,’ Jacob laughed. ‘Let’s have a night of pointless bickering for old time’s sake.’
‘How about I dunk you in the lake?’ Luca shouted.
‘Even better! Try it, tough guy!’ Jacob put up a fist in mock challenge.
Ellen giggled, her anger dissipated, ‘You’re such an idiot, Jacob. How on earth are you going to watch anything?’ Ellen’s face froze; she instantly regretted her quip.
‘That’s just what I’ve been wondering,’ Jacob replied.
He fell to brooding again.
‘You’ll be ok.’ Ellen put a reassuring hand on his arm.
‘Let’s get chips!’ Luca said on a sudden impulse.
‘I don’t think so…’ Jacob began.
‘Go on! Last chips of the condemned man. Bet they don’t do chips in Space like they do at The Codfather.’
Jacob couldn’t help smiling; Luca’s good moods had always been infectious. ‘I suppose we could. The Council has waited for fifteen years; they can wait a little longer.’
They returned to the same spot with warm paper parcels of chips, the sharp odour of vinegar wafting into the night air. Jacob had wrapped himself in another layer of clothing from his rucksack; Ellen was also wearing one of his spare sweatshirts as they sat on the damp ground, trying their best to ignore the chill.
‘So, Luca,’ Jacob began, spearing a chip on a tiny plastic fork. ‘This hankering you have to be a doctor…’
‘Not a doctor,’ Luca cut in quickly, ‘just, y’know, something medical…’
Jacob became serious. ‘You don’t think you’re clever enough to be a doctor?’ Luca shrugged. ‘You are,’ Jacob pressed. ‘You proved it today.’
Ellen joined in. ‘Where did it come from? What made you want to do that? You never mentioned it to me before.’
‘When Jacob was in hospital, I got pretty friendly with this nurse… and I just got interested, that’s all.’
Ellen pursed her lips. ‘I might have known there’d be a woman involved.’
‘Not like that…’ Luca replied quickly. ‘I just talked to her, she was nice – and before you say anything, not that kind of nice. I just thought… well, y’know, when I saw him there, so ill, it made me realise, I thought maybe I’d like to help people… people like Jake…’ He threw his friend a quick sideways glance before stuffing a handful of chips into his mouth to hide his discomfort.
Jacob understood the need to spare him any further embarrassment. For Luca it had been a huge admission, saying out loud that he actually wanted to do something serious with his life. The revelation was one that pushed new boundaries, tested all he believed himself to be. It would take some coming to terms with, this new Luca.
‘I know it sounds corny,’ Jacob said, changing the subject tactfully. ‘But I think these might be the best chips I’ve ever had.’ He crammed another forkful into his mouth in appreciation.
‘They are particularly good, even by The Codfather’s high standards,’ Luca agreed with obvious relief in his voice.
Ellen rolled her eyes. ‘You two are more alike than you realise. For all your brains, Jacob, and your grand intergalactic destiny,’ Ellen couldn’t help a slight snigger on the words: intergalactic destiny; she suddenly felt ludicrous speaking them, like she was reading a Star Trek script, ‘you’re just like Luca, still just a boy who thinks only of chips and…’ She stopped and blushed, though no one saw it in the dark.
‘And?’ Jacob grinned. ‘What’s the other thing that boys think about?’
‘Football,’ Ellen replied.
Ellen was the last to finish her chips. Luca was already leaning lazily back on the grass as she did so, havin
g virtually taken in his portion by osmosis a good half an hour previously. Jacob, surprising himself by the fact that he was actually very hungry, had finished shortly afterwards. Ellen collected their wrappers, which, she observed with some exasperation, they had been too lazy to do, leaving them lying on the grass at their sides. She screwed the papers up together. ‘I’ll take these over to the bin.’
‘Hang on,’ Luca replied with a mischievous wink. ‘Jake, just for me, will you do a trick with these; make them fly into the bin or something?’
Jacob frowned. ‘Haven’t you seen enough for one night?’
‘Oh, go on.’
‘No.’
‘Go on.’
‘Give them to me. I’ll show you a great way to make them go in the bin.’
‘Yes!’ Luca rubbed his hands in delight.
Jacob proceeded to walk off with the papers in his hands towards the rubbish bin on the path.
‘Spoilsport!’ Luca called. He watched Jacob deposit the papery ball and make his way back grinning.
Jacob sat back down. Ellen shivered and he put an arm around her. ‘What time is it, Luca?’
‘Almost twelve. My mum is gonna kill me. I’ve got five missed calls,’ he observed as he checked his phone.
‘Nearly time,’ Jacob murmured to himself. He pulled Ellen closer.
‘You know,’ began Luca, ‘when you think about it you’re quite lucky really.’
‘Who, me?’ Jacob replied giving his friend a sideways look.
‘Yeah. There’s loads of people who dream of going to Space, who’d give anything to get there. Just think about that. In fact, I’d love to go into Space. Furthest I’ve ever been is Naples.’
‘Well, I wish you didn’t have to go,’ Ellen said.
‘I’d swap for Naples right now. All those other people, they want to go into Space, but if they really knew what was out there…’ Jacob shivered slightly before collecting himself. ‘But if I can find the other, the one Makash is looking for, it might just all work out and I can come back. I have to try. There’s one good thing about it...’ He gently squeezed Ellen’s shoulder. ‘At least Makash will be busy and he’ll leave you alone while I’m gone.’
‘I don’t care about that,’ Ellen replied. ‘How long do you think it will take?’
‘I’ve no idea. I don’t even know where to start. Whoever it is, there’s a chance they don’t even know themselves who they are; after all, I didn’t.’ He suddenly leaned back and gave Ellen a curious look. ‘Ellen, you’re not adopted, are you?’
Ellen laughed out loud. ‘Who would let my mum adopt?’
‘Just a thought. You seem to be tuned in and it would certainly make life easier if it was you.’
‘Sorry, Earth born and bred. Thanks for the compliment though... I think.’ She leaned over and kissed him before resting her head back against his shoulder.
Luca turned away, seemingly doing his best to keep the inner demons at bay.
Jacob closed his eyes for a moment and searched in his dark place for a clue, a sense of who or what he was dealing with. He found nothing. There was no getting around the fact that he was going to have to search physically for the other. But at least Makash would meet the same problem. Maybe the other had different protection than his, some way to stay hidden that Jacob hadn’t encountered yet. The Universe was a big place to search. And then, was he even looking at the same universe?
‘You know you don’t have to wait for me,’ Jacob said carefully.
‘What made you think I would?’ Ellen replied, laughing in an affected way.
‘I’m being serious. I might be gone a long time.’
Ellen’s laughter died and she looked steadily at Jacob. ‘I know. We’ll see how it goes.’
Jacob appreciated her honesty; he didn’t want false sentiments and promises. His gaze flicked briefly to Luca who was very deliberately staring straight ahead across the oily surface of the lake. He could guess the way things might go in his absence. And though the idea pained him, he could think of no one better to take care of Ellen.
‘I think your lift is here, Jake,’ Luca interrupted, scrambling to his feet in a sudden state of excitement and gazing intently up at the clear night sky.
Jacob and Ellen stood up and scanned the great arena of stars. The light pollution from the park lamps made it difficult at first to see what was out there. Slowly their eyes adjusted. For a split second as he watched and waited, Jacob was reminded of the night it all began, the night he found out who he was, when he had studied the same sky from his bedroom window, counting the stars and wondering at their new significance. Even facing impending trials and responsibilities, as he did now, he still felt like a child in their presence; even though, as Ioh, he had knowledge that far outstripped anything that any human possessed, he still felt he knew nothing. The idea unnerved him, made him question his chance of success, made him apprehensive about what was waiting out there. Instinctively, his hand crept down to his chest, feeling for the bulge of his amulet beneath layers of clothing, his only link to an unknown mother, infused with her love and faith in him. He held a hand over it and took a deep steadying breath, gaining reassurance from the sensation of the warm, smooth metal next to his skin.
Ellen gripped Jacob’s wrist. Her heart was thumping so that it sounded as though it was outside her chest. Jacob could hear it plainly, he could feel her every emotion, her fear and sadness and doubt for him, a tinge of anger at being left to clear up the mess. He couldn’t look at her. He didn’t need to.
‘Up there.’ Jacob saw the black outline of Ellen’s other arm, outstretched towards a point low in the heavens. ‘There,’ she repeated.
Suddenly he was calm; all doubt flew from him as he watched three slow moving pinpricks of light glide across the horizon in perfect linear formation. They grew near and began to descend.
Sky Song © Sharon Sant
E-edition published worldwide 2013
Kindle edition copyright Sharon Sant
All characters and events featured in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are entirely fictitious and any resemblance to any person, organisation, place or thing, living or dead, or event or place, is purely coincidental and completely unintentional.
The Young Moon
Book Two of the Sky Song Trilogy
Sharon Sant
THE YOUNG MOON
Sharon Sant
Kindle Edition Copyright 2013 © Sharon Sant
All rights reserved
No part of this e-book may be reproduced in any form other than that in which it was purchased and without the written permission of the author.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
www.sharonsant.com
One: The Prodigal Son
With the warmth of an alien sun on his back, Jacob took a deep breath at the door and knocked. From within he heard the heavy tread of feet on a parquet floor, then the rattling of a chain. Finally, the door creaked open. He was greeted by familiar smells - newly waxed wood and home baking - transporting him back to the night he left. Before he had time to savour the welcome assault on his senses, he found himself dragged into a warm embrace by his father.
‘You should have told me your flight was in, I was waiting for a phone call to come get you!’ Phil cried as he let go.
Jacob grinned broadly, relief and joy flooding in. Not for a moment did he doubt the reception he would get, but the anxiety was there all the same.
‘It was easy enough to get a taxi, Dad.’ Dropping his bags he glanced past his father, down the hallway. It looked the same as always, an eclectic blend of old and new, elegantly cluttered without being untidy. ‘Where’s Mum?’
Phil waved his hand vaguely. ‘Somewhere or other. Stressing that she didn’t have enough food in for your return. As soon as she heard you’d booked flights for today she dashed off.’ He chuckled. ‘Probably hunting down a woolly mammoth in Sainsbury’s. She’ll go mad when she f
inds out she missed you walking in the door, I think she wanted to do streamers or bunting or whatnot.’
‘Sorry, it was a bit short notice, I suppose,’ Jacob replied, silently relieved that there was nothing remotely resembling streamers or bunting hanging around the house to mark his return.
His dad grabbed him again in an affectionate hug. ‘Who cares? We’re just happy to have you back.’
Phil let go, shut the front door, and then stepped back to observe his son. Two years had passed since he had last seen him. Two years had brought a great deal of change: Jacob was a good three or four inches taller now, broader shouldered - though still slim - his cheekbones more pronounced and his blonde hair a fraction darker.
‘You look well,’ Phil said. ‘New Zealand must have suited you.’
Jacob winced at the stab of guilt, still raw, over the lies that it had been necessary to tell his mother and father. ‘I missed home every day, though.’
‘Yes, a likely story.’ Phil’s eyes twinkled and he nudged Jacob playfully. ‘And was there a girl in every town?’
Jacob’s thoughts turned to Ellen. Two years ago there hadn’t even been time for a proper goodbye.
‘No girls. I was too busy seeing the sights.’ He wondered whether he dared ask about Ellen, if he could keep his emotions in check if the answer wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Besides, it would be unfair to breeze in and pick up where he left off, he reasoned, after all, he would have to leave again soon...
His dad seemed to read his thoughts. ‘We see Ellen every week, you know. Rather, Maggie does. They’ve become firm friends since you left.’ Jacob raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise at this news. ‘Surrogate daughter…’ Phil whispered and gave an exaggerated wink.
Jacob ignored the quip. ‘And Luca?’
‘Hardly see him,’ Phil replied.
‘Oh.’ Jacob’s eyes changed to an anxious grey-green. Phil noted it, immediately reacquainting himself with the physical marker of his son’s moods.
