by Arthur C.
“What are you doing?” Vivien asked gently.
“I must go to the East Village,” Johann said. “If by any chance Maria is still alive, I must return this necklace.”
HE KNEW WHEN he reached the edge of Black Rock Promontory and gazed down at where the village had once been that there was no chance anyone had been left alive. Nevertheless, clutching the amulet and necklace in his hand, Johann descended into the area and spent several hours searching through the debris.
Just as at their village, the brankers had removed almost everything. But Johann did find one of Maria’s handmade skirts, and an outfit for Stephanie. Under a large rock in the middle of the path through the village, he also found a piece of bark on which a note had been hastily scribbled.
“You were right, Johann. Thanks for saving Stephanie. I have always loved you.”
THE
BRANKERS
ONE
JOHANN WAS DREAMING about Beatrice. She was wearing her bishop’s robe but they were walking along a beach at night, holding hands. They waded out into the calm, tepid water. She turned to him and he gazed at her magnificent blue eyes. He leaned down to kiss her lips.
“Uncle Johann,” he heard a vibrant young girl’s voice say “Wake up, Uncle Johann, the sun is about to rise.”
Johann tried to stay in his dream and savor his kiss with Beatrice. But it was too late. The waking world had already intruded and he could not recapture the intensity of his dream image. He opened his eyes.
“Good morning, Franzi,” he said. She had the same blue eyes as her great-grandmother. “Is it already time for our swim?”
“Yes, Uncle Johann,” she said eagerly. She shook her long hair out of her face. “Siegfried and Rowen are waiting down by the creek.”
Johann sat up slowly on his mat. He winced at the pain in his back and again, when he stood up, at the ache in his right knee. Old age is shit, he thought to himself But as far as I know it’s better than the alternative.
Franzi had left the hut to join the others. Methodically, Johann placed one more sand pebble in the rightmost of the shells lined up against the opposite wall. He didn’t stop to count the pebbles as he had each day during the earlier years. The number of days he had been on this new planet now numbered over ten thousand, and he was well aware that another double full moon night was fast approaching. After putting on his trunks, he stumbled outside toward the outhouse, a place he now visited at least once every night during the middle of his sleep.
It was a gray, dreary morning with low clouds and a fine mist. The dampness made Johann feel cold. He shivered involuntarily. Another wonderful attribute of being old, he said to himself. Undue sensitivity to thermal variations.
“Good morning, Father,” Siegfried said when Johann came out of the outhouse and joined them beside the creek. “Did you sleep all right?”
“As well as can be expected,” Johann replied. He then smiled. “At least I had a couple of good dreams.”
The four of them walked along the creek toward the switchbacks. Franzi was in front, her long hair cascading down her back, slipping gaily along and whistling to herself. Johann’s grandson, Rowen, a quiet, contemplative young man in his early twenties, was second in the line. Siegfried, whose hair was now completely gray, walked alongside his father.
“The rocks will be slippery this morning,” Siegfried said, “so be careful while we’re climbing.”
Johann chose not to utter the grumpy retort that immediately formed in his mind. Lately it seemed that Siegfried had been treating him more and more like an invalid. True, Johann could no longer work for long stretches in the fields and orchards, but his brain and his hearing were still intact, and his eyesight had not noticeably worsened since their arrival at their new planetary home thirty years ago.
Franzi had already started up the switchbacks, with Rowen not far behind. “I’ll bring up the rear,” Siegfried said, motioning for Johann to begin the climb. Johann shot his son an angry glance. I won’t slip and fall, Johann thought but did not say. I have been climbing up this path for almost thirty years.
Halfway up the switchbacks, Johann’s heart was pumping fiercely and he was feeling a little light-headed. He stopped to rest. “Are you all right?” Siegfried asked.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” Johann said. “I’ve just been climbing too fast, trying to keep pace with those youngsters ahead of us.”
Siegfried stopped, solicitous. “Is there anything I can do?”
Johann wheeled around. “Yes, you can stop treating me as if I’m helpless. Go on, keep walking, catch up with your son. I’m certain the two of you must have plenty to talk about now that we have a nubile female in our group again.”
Siegfried’s eyes flashed. “That comment is uncalled for, Father,” he said. “You know I have told Rowen that I will not interfere if she chooses him as her first sexual partner.”
“That’s what you say,” Johann replied. “But your actions do not support your statements. Your eyes are always following every movement of her body. She sees it. Rowen sees it. That’s not exactly the best way to make her feel comfortable.”
Instead of answering, Siegfried climbed higher on the path. Johann watched him go and then stretched his right knee, hoping that the ache would go away. I have become crotchety and sententious, he told himself as he began climbing again. Just like most old people.
IN SPITE OF his age, Johann was still the best swimmer among the four of them. Siegfried had more stamina, and Rowen could beat his grandfather in a sprint, but Johann’s effortless stroke and rhythm were still absolutely beautiful to watch.
“I wish I could swim like you, Uncle Johann,” the perky Franzi said when they had finished their workout. She was sitting beside him on the grass, her fingers absentmindedly twirling the wood amulet at the bottom of her twine necklace.
“You will someday, if you keep practicing,” Johann replied with a smile. He liked this young girl of fourteen. She had her great-grandmother’s positive attitude about everything. And she never treated him as if he were old and decrepit.
“You must have been amazing when you were young, Franzi continued. “Uncle Siegfried told me that you were one of the fastest swimmers on Earth.”
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration,” Johann said, nevertheless feeling pride in the girl’s admiration. “But I was certainly better than most.”
Johann’s mind drifted back in time, to a period sixty years earlier in his biological life. He was remembering being the anchor swimmer for Germany in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay in the European Championships. Johann had barely touched out the Italian swimmer to win the gold medal and there had been a jubilant celebration immediately afterward. For fifteen or twenty seconds he was totally absorbed in his memory, and oblivious to what was occurring around him. When Johann returned to reality, he realized that Franzi was looking at him with a puzzled expression on her face.
“I’m sorry,” he said lightly, touching her on the shoulder. “I was just thinking about something that happened a long time ago… We old people do that sometimes. Too many stored memories, I guess… Did you ask me a question?”
“Yes, Uncle Johann,” she said. “I asked if I could go with you to collect the ackyong slime. I’ve never had a chance to go much beyond this lake, and I’ve always wanted to see the geysers, the mudpots, the ackyongs, and the nepps for myself. Uncle Siegfried said that it won’t be much longer until—”
“Of course you can go with me,” Johann interrupted. “What a delightful idea. I can’t imagine a greater pleasure than spending a couple of days showing you some of the more interesting sights of our world.”
BOTH SIEGFRIED AND Rowen were against the idea. “Father,” Siegfried said, “what has happened to your judgment? You know your trip could be dangerous. What if you encounter a group of the quilled creatures, as we did sixteen years ago? What if the nepps are not willing to give you processed slime, and you must harvest the ackyong eggs yourself? Franzi has no experi
ence with that kind of situation.”
“I’m not stupid, Siegfried,” Johann said. “I would certainly take no chances that would endanger the girl. If we encounter something untoward, we will simply return to the village… Besides, Franzi wants to go. Our existence here is hardly what a fourteen-year-old girl would call exciting. She deserves a bit of adventure in her life.”
“Then I’ll take her,” Siegfried said. He glanced over at his son. “And if that makes you nervous, Rowen, you can come along too.”
Johann scoffed. “You two are ridiculous sometimes.” He turned to Siegfried. “Son, you have never established the relationship with the nepps that I have. Four years ago when we went together it was obvious that the nepp leader was not comfortable with you. I am still healthy enough to make the trip, so I should definitely go… As for Franzi, I think the nepps will love her. She’ll be unafraid, and play with all the cubs. She’ll be an excellent ambassador.”
“And what if something happens to you?” Siegfried asked. “Suppose you pass out, as you did two years ago up behind Black Rock Promontory. What will happen to Franzi then? Or worse, suppose you have a heart attack or a stroke? You are a very old man, Father. Franzi would be in an impossible situation if you were incapacitated.”
“I will make certain before we go that we have very detailed maps,” Johann said in a pained voice. “And Franzi will know them by heart before we depart. She will be told that if something serious happens to me, she is to return immediately to the village.”
Johann stood up. “This discussion is over,” he announced. “Sometime next week Franzi and I will visit neppland and, if we are lucky we will bring back the ackyong slime”
JOHANN AND FRANZI ate their first lunch sitting on a rock only a couple of meters away from the periodic geyser. Her enthusiasm for everything was infectious. Although he was tired from the climb, Johann felt great. He had just explained to Franzi how water pressure builds up underground, when the geyser suddenly erupted; spraying a jet of water sixty meters into the air.
Franzi jumped up and clasped her hands in excitement. “Oh, Uncle Johann,” she exclaimed, watching the water rise to its peak far above her head. “I had no idea that it was so beautiful. None of the descriptions have been adequate.”
When the geyser had concluded its eruption, the place from which the water had burst forth had become nothing but an unusual hole in the ground. Gathering all her hair in her hands and holding it behind her head, Franzi lay down and stared into the vent. “This is fascinating,” she said.
She came back, sat down next to Johann on the rock, and bit vigorously into a piece of fruit. “I want to stay here and see it again,” she declared.
“But that will be another hour or so,” Johann said.
“Fine,” Franzi said. “We’ll just eat our lunch slowly and talk.”
Johann laughed and shrugged. “As you wish,” he said, “but what would you like to talk about?”
Franzi’s face suddenly became serious. “Uncle Johann,” she said, “I’ve never been told the whole story about my parents’ death, just bits and pieces here and there. You promised me once, when I was ten or so, that when I was old enough, you would tell me the entire story. Am I old enough now?”
Johann reflected for a moment. “I guess so, Franzi,” he said. “But it’s not a happy tale. Are you sure you want to spoil such a superb day by—”
“Nothing will be spoiled, Uncle Johann,” the girl interrupted. “I really want to know. Besides, you have always told me that the truth can free us from our unreasonable fears.”
Johann finished chewing the piece of fruit that was in his mouth. “All right, young lady, if that’s what you want.” He gazed off in the general direction of the ocean, thinking about that terrible, painful day so many years before. Out of his memory came the indelible images that always remain with us when we experience a life-altering tragedy.
“They died on the sixth double full moon night after our arrival here. You were two years old at the time, and your mother was eight months pregnant.” Johann heaved a sigh. “I had told both Stephanie and Kwame how important it was that she not be seriously pregnant on a double full moon night, but they ignored my warnings.”
He glanced over at Franzi. “Your mother was as headstrong as your grandmother Maria. Fortunately, you seem to have inherited more of the temperament of your great-grandmother.”
Franzi leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “I know, Uncle Johann,” she said. “You’ve told me that before.”
“Anyway,” Johann continued, “soon after we went into swimming training it became obvious that there was no way that Stephanie, who was a mediocre swimmer at best, would be able to make it out to the island and back. Vivien was also concerned that too much vigorous exercise in the last trimester might cause a premature birth or other complications… I couldn’t tow your mother out and back either, for I had started losing some of my strength, and everyone agreed that I would have my hands full taking care of you.
“The brankers had not come the previous two double full moon nights and your father, Kwame, had convinced himself that we would be spared on this cycle as well. I pointed out to him that we knew absolutely nothing about what caused the brankers to come, or not to come, and neither did the nepps. The little guys always prepared for the brankers, and it seemed prudent for us to do the same thing.
“Prior to the fifth double fall moon night, we had discovered a cave complex, actually not too far from here, in the hills on the other side of the volcanic rock. Vivien was unable to swim that time, for she had seriously injured her hip while running from a pursuing ackyong. After great deliberation, we concluded that it would be best if she spent the fifth double full moon night down in one of the caves. Since the brankers did not come at all that cycle, we had no way of knowing if it was a safe haven or not.”
Johann stopped and remained silent for a long time. “When the sixth double full moon night arrived, Vivien decided to spend the night in the caves with your mother. The plan might have worked. We just don’t know because…”
Johann’s thoughts began to drift again. In his mind’s eye he was again swimming in the turbulent ocean, with Franzi in a papoose strapped to his neck, leading what was left of his family out toward the offshore island that represented safety from the brankers. He could still remember Siegfried’s shouts, turning around in the water, and discovering, to his horror, that Kwame was no longer behind them and had swum back toward the mainland.
After a long pause he looked at Franzi and heaved a deep sigh. “I’m sorry” he said, struggling with his feelings. “This is hard for me.”
“I understand, Uncle Johann,” the girl said softly.
“Kwame and I had accompanied your mother and Vivien,” Johann eventually continued, “to the cave area and helped them pick out a place to hide. We had left them maps carved on wood that they could read with their fingertips in case they needed to find their way out in the dark. Then the rest of us returned to the village and ate a small lunch before we began our swim.
“It was a stormy day. The waves were much higher than usual. Several groups of nepps and a formation of the quilled creatures were already in the water before us. As planned, I was in the lead with you in a papoose, followed by Siegfried, Rowen, who was only eleven at the time, and then your father.
“You know, of course, that somewhere during the swim your father, without saying anything to the rest of us, turned around and headed back toward shore. When I heard Siegfried’s shout and swam over next to him in the water, he was furious. He kept pointing at the Sun, and telling me that Kwame was going to lead the brankers to your mother and Vivien. To this day he believes that both his mother and yours would still be alive if Kwame had not returned to the mainland.”
Johann sighed again. “What actually happened in and around those caves that night is complete speculation. The brankers did come, again reducing our village to rubble. When Vivien, Stephanie, and Kwame were n
owhere to be seen after we returned from the island, I left Siegfried in the village with Rowen and you and went to search the caves. Where they had been hiding I found only two objects, Vivien’s little hat that she sometimes wore as a joke, and that amulet now around your neck, which your mother had placed on a rock ledge.
“So what happened? Did the brankers find your mother and Vivien on their own? Or did your father inadvertently lead them to where the women were hidden? We’ll never know. Siegfried, who was very close to his mother, is convinced that your father was responsible for Vivien’s death. But there’s no way we can ever learn the truth.”
AFTER WATCHING THE second geyser eruption, Franzi asked Johann if it might be possible for her to see an ackyong. “I have heard about them all my life,” she said, “and I have these wonderful pictures in my mind. I’d like to know if what my imagination has created is anything like reality.”
Johann glanced up at the sky. “Well,” he said, “they love cloudless days. And I know there’s a large colony of ackyongs living right over there, underneath that cliff face. Maybe, if we’re patient, we might—”
“Oh, could we please, Uncle Johann?” the girl said, interrupting him. “It would mean a lot to me.”
Again, Franzi’s enthusiasm made him smile. There was so much of Beatrice in her nature. He felt rejuvenated when he was around her. “I suppose we’re not in that big a hurry;” he said. “But you may have to help an old man climb these boulders. I don’t do as well scrambling over rocks as I did years ago… And you must promise me that under no circumstances will you take any chances—the ackyongs can be very dangerous.”
“I promise, Uncle Johann,” she said. Franzi came over and kissed him on the cheek. “I hope we see an entire dance,” she said excitedly.
