Chapter 4
Elah stood in front of Talib’s bookshelf and read each of the titles carefully. Some were old and hard to read and she felt too worried about damaging them to even touch them. As she stood in front of the bookshelf she realised that nothing was catching her attention so she looked around the boys bedroom as Talib did not often put his books away.
As she scanned the room, she spotted a book sitting on Talib’s bed and picked it up. The leather cover was dyed green with beautiful gold writing on the front reading ‘The Gifts of the Fae’. Placing a bookmark into the open page she took the book to bed with her.
As Elah flipped through the pages of the book she saw information about different gifts and how they worked, like the ability to hear what others were thinking or the ability to cast a shadow so no one could see you or anyone near you. She flipped until she found a section that had information about healers.
There were three different types of healers, earth healers who could repair the elements of the earth, fauna healers who could heal living animals and flora healers who could heal plants and trees. Of the three different types of healers flora were the most rare, while earth were the most common but Elah was most interested in the fauna healers.
As she read she found there were many things fauna healers could do, not only could they heal injuries but diseases as well and most importantly they could heal other hears but could not heal themselves. Only flora healers could heal fauna healers, however, they could use medicines and other traditional methods. ‘Great, I’m stuck with mothers herbal remedies’, Elah thought to herself, remembering the horrible taste most left in her mouth.
When she got to the end of the healers section she noticed a couple of blank pages that followed. She looked them over a few times before giving up on what they were for or if there was secret writing somewhere on the page. If there was secret writing, she had no idea how to get it to show. She then read through some of the other gift descriptions, like how some fae could cast a shadow that would hide them and others nearby that also wanted to be hidden, she then read through how some could use mind control.
There was very little written about the gift of foresight. The book only gave information about the existence and potential risks and benefits of having this gift. Elah felt disappointed, as she wanted to know more about her grandmother and her gift.
She didn’t know much about gifts and her people as she had lived in the forest her whole life and rarely went to town. She did know that everyone was born with a gift, some did not show until later in life, while others showed at birth. Elah didn’t even know what her fathers gift was but she did know her mother had a heightened sense of hearing or something like that. No matter what the gift was, it was precious.
“So, what have you learnt?” Elah heard someone say, causing her to jump and looked up to the doorway to see Talib standing with his arm resting on the doorframe.
“Do you know why there are two blank pages?” Elah asked the question she couldn’t hold on to.
“I don’t think the book is complete. Did you look at the gift of foresight, you know the seer’s section?” Talib asked, opening the closed book to that particular section.
“There was not much information but no blank pages either.”
“Something’s must remain secret, a seer can be both beneficial and dangerous.”
“Why would they be dangerous?”
“Would you want to know your future?”
“Yes, I would want to know where I would live when I’m grown up”.
Talib laughed knowing how innocent she was. “Would you want someone else to know your future, perhaps someone who wants to hurt you?” Talib asked, trying to get her to understand his point.
“I guess that would make it easier for them, so I guess I wouldn’t want others to know my future” Elah answered but Talib was still not sure she really understood.
“Well mother is back and wants to see you” Talib said getting up.
Elah watched her brother leave and put the book on her nightstand before heading down stairs. As she walked into the kitchen she noticed her mother sorting through a basket of freshly picked herbs and some spices. Elah silently watched her as she placed piles on the table and was surprised when her mother finally spoke. “How are you feeling, honey?” Ebele asked, wiping her hands on her skirt.
“I’m fine” she answered not sure if she was in trouble or not.
“I’m glad to hear dear. Come sit with me” Ebele said, rubbing her hand on the seat next to her.
Elah slowly walked over and sat down, the smell of the fresh herbs and spices was strong and overwhelmed any other smell in the room but it reminded her of her mothers warmth and enjoyed the smell. Elah loved the smell of all the different types of herbs and spices and would smell them each individually. Some of the herbs were pulled out with their roots still in tact, so her mother could plant them in her garden that sat on the west side of the house to catch the afternoon sun. Ebele handed Elah a bunch of herbs and they both sat silently, placing the individual pieces in piles.
“How long have you known about your gift, Elah?” Ebele finally asked, breaking the silence.
Elah dropped her head to look at her lap knowing her mother would have wanted to know earlier. “About two years” she answered softly.
“When did your brothers find out?”
“Yesterday”
“So you are good at keeping secrets then”
Elah’s head popped straight up in surprise to look at her smiling mother. “So your not mad?” Elah asked.
“No, why would you think I would be mad?” Ebele answered with her own question.
“I thought you would want to have known earlier”
“Oh Elah, no. Your gift is precious to you and it is up to you to share it or not” Ebele said with a sweet smile. “Well, I guess we will need to continue with your medicinal lessons.”
“Thanks mum, that makes me feel better, especially since what happened yesterday with River”.
Her mother smiled and started telling her about the different healing properties of the herbs and spices in front of them. Elah figured this information would come in handy since she could not heal herself and felt it unlikely that she would meet a flora healer in her lifetime, not many would know if they meet one anyway.
After hours of sorting and learning about the medicinal values of the herbs and spices, Elah and her mother went out and planted the rooted herbs before heading back inside to start dinner. “I healed Talib today” Elah confessed, feeling she should say something before he did.
“Oh, is he okay?” Ebele asked, looking worried.
“Yes, he just had sore muscles and it helps me”.
“What do you mean?”
Elah explained how healing the small animals strengthened her over time and felt it would help if she worked on her family. Her mother agreed and told her she could only work on one family member a day until she was stronger.
The meal must have smelt inviting as the boys started showing up one at a time. Varg was first and as usual offered to help, followed by Lavi who found himself setting the table. Finally, Talib walked in with a basket full of eggs from the chickens kept in a large fenced off area to protect them from predators.
After setting up the meal they all sat down and started to eat. Talib updated his mother on the day’s events but left out the fact that Elah had healed his muscles. Ebele knew Talib was just trying to protect Elah but she knew she had to talk to them all about Elah’s gift. After listening to the events of the day she finally had the opportunity. “I wanted to talk to you all about Elah’s gift” Ebele started, knowing they all probably knew something by now.
“It’s okay mum we all talked about it today and everyone here agrees that her secret is safe and will not be discussed outside our group” Talib said, interrupting his mother.
“That is wonderful to know but you have to understand why” Ebele paused before continu
ing, allowing everyone to start thinking about what it might mean. “Everyone’s gift is their own and no one should tell you who to share it with. Elah’s gift is rare and many would want to tell her what to do with it and this is not want we want. I hope you all want the same for your own gifts.”
All the boys nodded in agreement and started cleaning up. They all shared the clean up duties and ensured there was a plate left for both Jabin and River. This was followed by an evening of sitting around telling stories and singing in the family room.
All the children had gone to bed by the time Jabin and River returned with a roo. “I’m gathering your day was successful” Ebele said, as Jabin was getting ready for bed.
“Yes my parents would be glad to take Elah if the need arises and we found a roo, we will eat well tomorrow” Jabin answered smiling but looked exhausted.
Once Jabin got into bed Ebele told him about Elah’s plans to strengthen her healing gift and how all the boys agreed to keep her gift a secret. Jabin agreed with the plan to strengthen Elah’s gift, knowing it would not only help others but her as well. He was not sure about how everyone could keep this a secret, since he had no control over who the others told but knew there was nothing he could do, except keep a close eye on his daughter.
A Healer's Destiny Page 4
