A figure stirred next to Kasumi. “What was that?” Mel mumbled sleepily.
“I had …” Kasumi’s crest fluttered. “I had that dream again.”
“The temple?” Mel asked. Kasumi made a sound of agreement. Mel sat up. “So what happened this time?”
“The old monk …” Kasumi chirped a giggle. “The old monk reminds me a lot of one of my teachers and a lot of Germy,” she said. “The old monk said that seeing my home may be all I do.”
Mel pursed her lips. “Interesting,” she said. “Was I still there?” she asked.
“Yes … well, the faceless companion was there,” Kasumi said. “I just think it’s supposed to be you.”
“It probably is,” Mel replied. “Seeing home is all you may do, huh?” Mel leaned against the headboard. “Makes sense,” she added after a minute.
“It does?” Kasumi asked in surprise.
“Well, yeah,” Mel replied. “You’ve told me that we’re the fourth technological civilization you’ve discovered. And it’s quite possible that Rynn and humans may …” Mel giggled. “Scratch that, Rynn and humans do get along.” She smiled when Kasumi leaned against her. “We’re certainly not going to be unique, you and I, you know.” After a moment, Kasumi nodded. “So what happens when Rynn suddenly find they have an ally in a dangerous universe?” she asked. “An ally that is as mean and as tough as anything the universe could throw at you.”
“We’re not allies yet,” began Kasumi. She paused and her crest rose to its fullest as the realization hit her. “Oh spirits, we’d … we’d be able to face down … everyone.”
“In one,” agreed Mel. “Humans like to fight,” she pointed out. “And we’re good at it.” She laughed. “Plus, we have this instinct to protect children, or basically anything that looks like a child.” She reached over and ran her hand through Kasumi’s crest. “And baby, you look enough like a human child that we’ll be very protective.”
“I’m not sure the Rynn will appreciate being compared to children,” Kasumi complained. “Okay, even if that’s true, why do you think it makes sense that I may only see home?”
“Because, baby, you’re going to be very, very busy,” Mel replied. “Ooh, so that’s why Gramps made that deal with you,” Mel said suddenly. “Looks like we’re both gonna be very, very busy for some time.”
7
LEAP OF FAITH
Mel and Kasumi got out of the truck. Kasumi looked around curiously. “It doesn’t look much different than the land around the cabin,” Kasumi said.
Mel chuckled. “For now,” she said. Mel pointed toward the hills rising up before them. “Wait until we start climbing.” So saying, she shrugged on her backpack. She waited until Kasumi did the same. “Okay, let’s go.”
Mel and Kasumi had left the cabin earlier in the day. It had taken several hours to reach the entrance of the park. Jeremy had already made the reservations for camping, and all Mel had to do was sign in.
Kasumi was initially afraid that she’d be quickly discovered, but except for a few curious looks, no one seemed to pay her much mind. At the beginning of their hike, they’d pass small groups and single hikers, but after a couple hours they encountered fewer and fewer people. By the time they stopped for lunch, they hadn’t seen any other hikers for over an hour.
Kasumi leaned against a tree and nibbled on a carrot stick with a blissful smile. Birds were calling from the surrounding trees, and Kasumi amused herself by imitating some of the more interesting sounds. “Sometimes I feel like I can almost understand them,” she said. Kasumi made a few chirps and was answered almost immediately. She laughed.
“What did you say?” Mel asked in curious tones.
Kasumi laughed again. “Something Germy says whenever the … oh, he never told me its name.” Kasumi made a low hooting sound.
“Owl,” supplied Mel.
“Owl,” repeated Kasumi.
“‘Why me, of course’?” Mel guessed. Kasumi nodded. “You sound like a bird to me,” Mel said in tentative tones. “But what, um, what do we sound like to you?”
“A shir-chirr,” Kasumi replied. A glowing globe appeared in front of the two girls, and a figure formed.
“That’s a shir-chirr?” Mel asked. Kasumi nodded in agreement. Mel examined the image. “Looks sort of like a feathered iguana,” she said after a while. “Well, something lizard-like.” The image moved, and the creature hooted and barked. Mel shook her head. “It does sorta sound like a person, doesn’t it?” she said. “Weird.”
Kasumi reached over and touched a lock of Mel’s red hair. “From my point of view, this is a human’s weirdest feature.” She chirped a laugh. “Even weirder than that oversized lump you call a nose.”
Mel covered her nose with a hand. “Oversized?” she exclaimed in outrage. “I’ll have you know I have a tiny nose.”
Kasumi touched the slight bump that represented her own nose. “Not compared to me,” she replied. “Though I will admit, your nose is much, much smaller than Germy’s.”
“He does have a schnoz on him, doesn’t he?” giggled Mel. “Funny, but I kind of considered your crest as, um, almost normal,” Mel laughed. “I’ve seen humans with crests that would put yours to shame,” she laughed. “And theirs don’t even move.”
Kasumi chirped in amusement. “Well, if it’s not my crest, then what is a Rynn’s weirdest feature?” she asked. The translation seemed to make it seem teasing in tone.
Mel looked Kasumi up and down and settled on her face. “The fact that you look like some kind of bird thing from the neck up and the knees down, and in between is … is a girl,” she said in slightly confused tones. “And who the hell would have thought that a bird thing would be cute?” she exclaimed.
“Who would have thought some fuzzy … fuzzy … spirits, there’s nothing like you on Nest.” Kasumi replied. “Nothing on Nest has hair.” Her crest flared in annoyance. “And somehow this giant, fuzzy, lumpy creature,” Kasumi’s almost human mouth curved into a smile, “is cute.”
“Never thought I’d be considered a giant,” Mel said with a laugh.
Kasumi chirped. “Mel, I’m tall for a Rynn. Only Sun-Warm … Rocky is taller,” she smiled at the self-correction and then up at Mel. Her smile turned ironic.
“Point made,” Mel replied. She shook her head. “I take it back—the fact that I’m considered a giant is the weirdest thing about Rynn.”
Kasumi chirped a laugh in response. Kasumi looked at the sky. “The sun will soon seek its rest.”
“If that means it’s getting late,” Mel said, standing, “You’re right.” She shrugged on her pack and waited for Kasumi to do the same. “We’ve got a good hour of walking before we make camp,” she said.
Later, after the hour of walking, the setting up of the camp, and the cooking of dinner, Kasumi and Mel lay in their bedrolls watching the fire slowly burn down. Mel had already lit one propane lantern for illumination.
Kasumi rolled over and looked at the starlit sky. “I should sleep,” she said. “I suspect tomorrow will be … testing.”
The princess walked along the winding path. Walking just behind her were her two companions—one nothing more than a Rynn-shaped mist, the other fully formed but without a face.
“Mist,” the princess said in a commanding voice. “Go on ahead and see where this path leads. Let us know if there is danger ahead.”
The mist-like figure nodded. “I go,” she said and flew into the air and along the path.
To the princess’s surprise, the mist soon returned. “Trouble already?” she asked.
“Not exactly,” the mist replied. “You will see; it’s just around that next bend.” Mist said no more until after they reached the bend. Mist gestured and said, “Just to the top of the rise.”
A short walk, and the nature of the trouble was revealed. The rise had hidden a rift in the eart
h. The princess could see the path continue on the far side of the rift. She looked down. The rift seemed bottomless. “How do we get across?”
“How do we get across?” Kasumi asked.
“Usually people say ‘Good morning,’” Mel said with a groan.
“Did I say something?” asked Kasumi.
“Yeah,” Mel replied. “You said, ‘How do we get across?’ … Across what?”
“A chasm,” Kasumi replied quietly. “My dream. For a moment … never mind.” Kasumi sat up in her bedroll. “Mist, the faceless one, and the princess were faced with a chasm that blocked the path,” she said. “And in my dream, the princess asked …”
“‘How do we get across?’” Mel finished. She shrugged. “Answer is simple enough,” she replied. “You leap.” She smiled at the puzzled look on Kasumi’s face. “Haven’t you ever heard the phrase ‘leap of faith’?” Kasumi shook her head. “Well, if I had that dream, that’s what I’d think it was.”
“But Mel, why would I dream using a metaphor that does not exist in my culture?” Kasumi asked. “What is a ‘leap of faith’?”
“It’s where you do something—something profound—because someone or something you trust above all else told you to,” Mel explained. “Even leaping across an impossible gap.”
“Strange,” commented Kasumi. “Well, it is a dream, after all.” She stretched. “Good morning.”
After a quick breakfast, the two women continued their hike further up the mountain path. As strenuous as the hike was, Kasumi was beginning to think that the trip was going to be a lot easier than described and was just starting to feel disappointed when the first true obstacle was reached.
Kasumi stared in dismay at the vine-covered sheer wall that loomed in front of her. “How do we get around that?” She had to tilt her head back to see the top.
“We don’t,” Mel replied with a grim smile. “We climb.”
“Climb? That?” Kasumi’s crest flattened. She was just about to declare the feat as impossible when Mel grabbed a vine and started climbing.
“Come on, girlfriend,” Mel shouted as she climbed.
Kasumi stared at the retreating form of Mel for several long seconds. Her crest flared, and then she grabbed a vine and started to climb. At first the ascent was difficult but not impossible. The vines were thick enough to support her weight and seemed to reach to the top of the cliff. But when she was a little more than halfway up, she realized that was an illusion. Oh, there were vines covering the cliff’s face, but most seemed to end at a narrow ledge, and the ones that reached to the top of the cliff were either out of reach or too flimsy to carry even Kasumi’s light weight. It was at that ledge that Mel and Kasumi stopped.
Mel sat down on the edge of the ledge. “Might as well take a short rest,” she said to the air. She looked at Kasumi with a wry smile. “Bet you thought it was going to be easy.”
Kasumi’s crest fluttered along with her sigh. “I was beginning to think that,” she admitted. Kasumi looked around and then looked up. “There seem to be a few handholds,” she said doubtfully.
“Good girl,” Mel said in encouragement. “Keep talking.”
Kasumi’s crest half closed as she squinted at the rock wall. The dangling roots were thicker off to the left, and she walked toward them. She looked at the cliff wall again. “Someone’s been here before,” she said and pointed. A metal spike had been jammed into the rock just over her head. “It looks like it was designed to hold something.”
“It’s called a piton,” Mel said. “And we can clip a rope to it.”
Kasumi nodded as she took in the information. She walked back to Mel. “I’d like to try going first,” she said simply. Mel raised an eyebrow in response. Kasumi chirped a laugh. “I love how you humans can do that,” she said. Her expression became serious. “That’s the whole point of this, isn’t it?” she said and waved a hand toward the rock face. “I either can do it or I can’t,” she declared. “But I must try.”
“Gramps was right about you,” Mel said cheerfully. “Not that I didn’t think the same thing,” she added. She pulled a clip from her belt, walked over to the piton, and attached it. Then she threaded a strong nylon rope through it. “Attach this to your belt,” she ordered. She waited until Kasumi had complied, and then she checked it anyway. “Okay, you’re set.”
Mel started playing out some rope and then handed Kasumi a handful of clips. “There should be a set of these going up the face. Free-climb until you reach one, attach the clip, then run the rope through it,” she instructed. “Do not continue on until you are sure it’s set.” Kasumi nodded. “And don’t rush. We have plenty of sunlight left.”
Kasumi nodded again. She looked at the rock face, selected her first handhold, and began her ascent. She found the second piton quickly and continued on her way. She reached the third.
“Don’t look down,” Mel yelled up. “Look up or at the face.”
Kasumi nodded and continued up the face. After a while, all Kasumi could see was the rock face, and all she could think about was finding the next handhold and foothold. Time itself seemed to lose all meaning. She found another piton, attached the clip, and threaded the rope. Up and up she went.
Kasumi had both booted feet balanced precariously on thin projections. Her left hand, claws extended, was jammed into a crack, while her right hand searched for another handhold. “There should be another piton,” she chirped quietly. She continued to search for several minutes more. “It’s not here,” she shouted. “I can’t find another piton.”
“That’s because you’re almost to the top,” came a cheerful voice to her left. Kasumi turned her head. There, just slightly below her, was Mel. “Look up,” Mel said.
Kasumi looked up. There, barely a pedin above her right hand, the cliff-face just ended. “How do I get there?” she chirped. “It’s too far.”
“No, it isn’t,” Mel said. “Think,” she ordered. “Come on, baby, you can do it.”
Kasumi looked at Mel and then turned her attention back to the cliff edge that was both so close and yet seemingly out of reach. “I can’t …” she gasped.
“Yes, you can,” Mel said firmly. “Think,” she said again.
Kasumi looked at the cliff edge again. “There’s nothing to grab on to,” she said. “It’s too far to …” Kasumi trailed off. Her crest rose higher as she looked at the cliff edge. A leap of faith, she thought giddily.
She didn’t hear Mel’s “That’s it, baby, you got it.” She concentrated until all she could see was the cliff edge. She flexed her legs and her left arm and then, with a hawklike scream, she jumped. Her right arm swung to its fullest, her vestigial claws extended. For one brief terrifying moment, she thought she was short, and then her claws bit into the cliff edge.
“That’s my girl!” shouted Mel. “Now you just hang there and I’ll come up and …”
“No,” Kasumi shouted back. “I can do this,” she half-screamed. “I will do this.” Her left arm joined her right, and then with another scream—this one of triumph—she pulled herself to the top of the cliff. A quick scramble, and she was over.
Kasumi was still on her back, panting with both exertion and exhilaration, when Mel came and sat down next to her. She didn’t say anything, just pulled out a canteen and handed it to the little alien. Kasumi took the canteen and sat up. She took a long swallow before handing the canteen back to Mel.
“I thought I was going to die,” chirped Kasumi. “And then I thought that I’d rather die than fail.” Her crest opened and closed several times. “And then when I thought that …” She fell silent.
“You stopped being afraid?” Mel said into the silence.
“Yes!” Kasumi exclaimed. She climbed to her feet and stared at the sky. “You can’t scare me anymore, Sun-Warmed Boulder. You can’t scare me anymore,” she screamed. “I want my ship back.” Kasumi starte
d to dance around. “What’s next?” she demanded. “I don’t care what it is,” she declared. “I feel like I can do … anything.”
“Yeah?” Mel said. “I hate to tell you, but compared to the next challenge, what you just did is nothing.”
“I don’t care,” repeated Kasumi fiercely. “What’s next?” She pointed toward a tall tree. “I’ll climb that,” she said. She pointed toward a waterfall. “I’ll swim up that if I have to.” Her crest flared to its fullest. “Tell me,” she demanded. “What’s next?”
“We go back to the truck and then go visit the nearest town,” Mel replied.
Kasumi’s crest immediately flattened. “Town?” she chirped. “With other people?”
“Scared?” Mel asked.
Kasumi was silent for a long moment. “Terrified,” she admitted. Then her crest slowly rose again. She looked into Mel’s eyes. “What did Germy have you do?” she asked.
“Compete in another tournament,” Mel said quietly. Her mouth curled up on one side. “Gramps later told me he was afraid I would seriously hurt my opponent.”
“Your face is turning red,” Kasumi observed. “Are you ill?”
“No,” Mel replied. “I’ll explain another time,” she said quickly. “Gramps was right to worry, but I got control before it got out of hand.” She walked over to Kasumi and put her hand on the little alien’s shoulder. “Remember to keep your temper under control,” she cautioned. “You have a right to be angry, but … not in a fight.”
“As Germy said, ‘Anger, like fear, makes you stupid,’” agreed Kasumi. She briefly covered her eyes with her hands. “I will try not to be angry.”
“Good,” Mel replied. “Ready to go?”
Mel and Kasumi climbed back down the cliff face and then started the hike back toward the park entrance. It took the rest of the day and part of the next, but by the following afternoon, they were back in the truck and heading back. When they had headed toward the park, Kasumi had kept her face hidden under the hood of the sweatshirt she wore. Now, on the way back, the hood was pushed back.
Redemption Song Page 8
