Water (11 page)
Micah chose three books and held them out to me. "Here, start with the basics."
I looked at the titles.
Guide to Biology
.
Essentials of Oceanography
.
Introduction to Astronomy
.
"Will there be a test later?" I suddenly felt like I was in college, a fate I tried my best to avoid in life.
He moved closer, towering over me with his hands on his hips. "You can do the quizzes at the end of each chapter. Take this seriously, Kaitlyn, you need to know about the world if you are going to do anything to help it."
Micah turned to leave me alone with the massive pile of books. I suddenly panicked. "Where are you going?"
He paused, looking over his shoulder. "I have something I have to do tonight."
"You’re not going to leave me alone are you?" I jumped up, dropping the books on the cushion next to me. "Is it more important than me?"
"I honestly don’t know anymore, Kaitlyn. I don’t know." He left the room.
Unsure of what else to do, I sat down with a ‘hmph’. The books stared at me from the other cushion. I sighed and picked up the oceanography book, flipping to the table of contents. Plate tectonics, wave dynamics, circulation, marine environment, tides.
"Boring!" I said aloud, hoping someone was around to respond. No such luck. Dead silence answered back. Sighing again, I stood, putting the book down on my way to the kitchen. I was going to need something alcoholic, and hopefully strong, to get me through this. I opened the fridge and reached for a beer. Before opening the cap using the molding of the kitchen doorway, my one and only party trick – had I ever gone to parties - I thought better of it and made coffee instead. I was going to need the whole pot to keep myself awake. I returned to the living room looking at the couch with hope. No good. The blasted book was still there. Armed with coffee, I began to plow through it.
Quite a Sight
Six hours and two entire pots of coffee later, I was halfway through the oceanography book. Not that much was being retained. Attempting to stay awake, I moved from the living to the dining room, to the back porch, then finally to Micah’s room. The changes of scenery did little to help. A loud bang at Micah's door interrupted me halfway through my lousy attempt at an end of chapter quiz. Without giving me the chance to answer, Shawn swung the door open. Once again, his looks were disarming. With bright blue eyes and smooth, light skin, his face appeared almost angelic. I had hope, that is, until he opened his mouth. He snorted, voice gruff. "Get your shoes on; it is time to see Cato."
I sighed, making sure to follow orders as slowly as possible. "What’s the matter, Shawn? My mark keeping you up at night?"
Shawn just smiled. "An eye for an eye."
I narrowed my eyes, wondering if he meant tonight or some other time. Not that he would have answered if I asked.
So, Shawn, when do you plan on exacting your revenge? If you can give me as much notice as possible, that would be great.
Shawn barely waited for me to finish tying my shoes before walking out of the room. I ran to catch up, following him out the back door. The night was lit by a full moon. I breathed in the spicy-orange scent of flowering plants.
Shawn ruined it. "Follow me and try to keep up." He took off, avoiding both the gardens and the large open field. Instead, he disappeared into a dense grove of trees that blocked out the helpful moonlight. The path we had started on thinned, then vanished entirely, leaving us at the mercy of the trees. More often than not, I lost sight of Shawn and had to depend on my hearing to follow in the right direction. He was doing his damndest to lose me, but he was having as much trouble with nature as I was. The shrubs and tree branches seemed to claw at his stocky body more so than mine.
Shawn kept looking over his shoulder, purposely causing branches to whip back into my face. A few caught me, stinging my forehead and cheeks. I had the urge to break off one of the sharper sticks and jam it in his back, but I had enough trouble keeping my footing around the protruding tree roots. Although hanging on to a stick lodged in someone’s back could have help me there.
I was rudely awakened from my daydream by another branch to the face – this one drew blood.
"Having trouble back there?" Shawn called, sounding winded.
"Holding my own! Sounds like you can use a break."
Shawn stopped abruptly, turned, and put his hands around my throat, squeezing. "Make no mistake; your time here is short. But keep that up and you aren’t going to last the week."
My eyes began to water. I briefly considered calling for energy but my mind was in a panic. Feebly pulling and scratching at his hands did nothing; the edge of my vision began to blur. Finally, I forced my right hand around his waist and up, giving him a hard slap on the back. He immediately let go of my throat, giving a painful cry and arching his back. The look in his eyes chilled me, but not enough to keep my mouth shut.
Before he could do anything else, I ran past and looked over my shoulder at him yelling, "Follow me and try to keep up." I ran as fast as I could, dodging the branches when I saw them in time. Twigs snapping right behind me told me he was close. Fear didn't kick in until I felt his breath on the back of my neck, just like the dragon during the avalanche. Maybe I pushed him too far this time. A break in the trees appeared ahead and I picked up the pace, hoping our destination, and Cato, was near.
A tree root caught my foot, and I stumbled. Attempting a quick step to stay on my feet, I might have recovered if it weren’t for the jolt from behind, pushing my upper body forward. I don’t know if Shawn just ran into me, or if he had chosen that moment to begin training for the NFL, but we both went down in a football-style tackle worthy of any Monday night game.
It must have been quite a sight, the pair of us rolling out of the woods, tumbling over one another and coming to a rest right at Cato’s feet. Shawn and I slowly untangled, picking ourselves off of the ground, and dusting off dirt and leaves. My throat burned, as if his fingers left imprints that were beginning to bruise. I rubbed at it and glared at Shawn, who was too busy nursing his back. Hopefully his back hurt as much as my throat did.
Cato looked at Shawn. "As much as I enjoy a dramatic entrance, I believe Kaitlyn could’ve done without the physical exertion right before this task."
Shawn didn’t respond, keeping his eyes downcast.
With a wave of his hand, Cato dismissed him, and Shawn obediently shrunk back into the woods.
Cato already had my arm and was escorting me away from the trees. "It isn’t often Shawn finds his match in a running partner." I risked a glance over my shoulder, attempting to see how Shawn took the parting shot. He hesitated, seeming to debate if he should respond. He decided against it, and continued into the woods, never turning his back on us. As he slipped into the shadows, the moonlight glinted off his cold blue eyes so they were the last to fade from view.
Cato waved his hand ahead of us, directing my attention away from Shawn to the lake. There was no evidence it had been frozen over the day before, not even floating ice chunks.
"Do you know what today is?" Cato asked.
"Um, Christmas?" I joked.
Cato smiled. "I suppose in a way, for us, it is a lot like Christmas. It is the first day of spring, known by many names; the vernal equinox, Ostara, Eostre, or the Goddess of Dawn, after whom Easter is named. It is a time when day and night become equal in length, a true balance of light and dark."
"Fun," I said. "Do we get to open presents?"
"Kaitlyn, this is much better than any material gift. Many of us feel reborn after a long winter. It is a time of triumphant return of life to Earth. And for you, it is quite significant as well. It is the acceptance of your new life as Gaia, if you choose to do so."
My eyebrows rose. "You mean I have a choice?"
"You were taken against your will, but to continue on this path, you must do so freely." Cato held out his hands, both closed tight, holding something. "In my right hand I have a gift, choose this hand if you want to stay. In my left hand is a key to that lockbox over there." He pointed to a small box sitting near the shore of the lake. "It contains directions out of here, money, and your passport. If you choose this hand, you are free to go."
Cato looked at me intently, trying to read my face.
It was hard not to burst out laughing at the dramatics. "Hmm, blue pill, red pill."
Cato furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"
"You don’t watch many movies, do you?"
Now he was frowning. "And you don’t take anything seriously, do you?"
With a valiant attempt to sober, I made my choice without much thought. His right hand; I was too curious now not to stay, despite Shawn’s malintent, and possibly, in spite of it. Cato smiled and opened his hand. There was nothing in it.
It was my turn to frown.
"I told you, Kaitlyn. This day is more important than any material gift." He took my hand in his and led me to the edge of the water. "Now, to cast away your old life." He handed me the key. "Throw it out as far as you can."
I did so, hitting the lake dead center.
"Well done! Deepest part." Cato congratulated me. "Now, do the same with the box."
I paused. "Are you serious? Don’t you want to get the money out first - maybe buy some decent bread?"
Cato laughed. "It isn’t about the money, and the significance of the task is well worth the cost."
I shrugged my shoulders and did as I was told. The box didn’t make it nearly as far, but sank quickly. I watched it slip from view and my stomach turned. More than anything, I was disturbed at how indifferent I felt as the chance to have my old life back dissapeared.
Cato clapped his hands once. "Good, good. Now we can begin." He took my hand in his and began to chant. "Oh lady of the starry heavens, wise all-father, behold our child Kaitlyn. Hail Earth, mother of all. This is our Gaia, our love, and our jewel." Cato bent down and grabbed a pinch of dirt, smearing it across my forehead.
"Hey!" I backed away in protest.
"Stay still!" He hissed, then went on with his prayer, "Bless her and protect her, earth of the north." He bent down.
My toes grew warm.
"Bless her and protect her, fire of the south." He stood back up, this time with fingers wet from the lake. He laid his wet hand on my right shoulder while at the same time the wind picked up and a strong gust hit my left. "Bless her and protect her, water of the west and air of the east. I call upon the elements – grant our Gaia your enduring and eternal strength, and steadfastness. May she ever have a spirit that seeks the stars, and roots deep within your loving breast."
Cato took my hand again and faced us both so we looked out over the lake.
"Now what?" I whispered, trying not to ruin his reverent mood.
"I am looking for a sign," he whispered back.
I followed his gaze into the woods across the lake, squinting my eyes into the shadows. I didn’t need to try nearly so hard. A few seconds later, a butterfly came at us from across the lake. It may have been a trick of the moonlight or water, but the tiny insect seemed to shimmer and sparkle as it flew. It made a few circles around my head, its wings glittering like fireworks. It was the most brilliant and beautiful fanfare I’d ever seen, all held within a few inches on the wings of a butterfly. It was more than a welcome to this new world of magic, it was an acceptance. Not only did I make a conscience decision to stay, but nature itself gave her approval. The butterfly finished its parade and danced back across the lake, fluttering carefree. I smiled with delight, almost sad to see the thing go.
"Well, Kaitlyn. I think you’ve officially been–" Our simultaneous gasp of horror cut Cato off. An owl, camouflaged until the last second by the shadows of the trees, dived toward the butterfly. The butterfly, light-hearted and blissfully unaware, had no chance. The owl’s talons snatched the magical insect. As he passed us, still squeezing the life from the butterfly, the owl turned his head and screeched. It's screams echoed across the lake, dying out as soon as the owl disappeared into the trees once again.
I shook my head, looking for words. "What does that mean?"
"I’ve, I’ve never… I don’t know."
It was the first time I’d seen Cato speechless.
Fishing
After gathering his thoughts, Cato finally responded, "Let’s start with the butterfly. A butterfly represents transformation; highly appropriate in this situation, as you have just accepted a new lifestyle. A butterfly also represents faith; in this case perhaps the earth is communicating her faith in you as the new Gaia."
"And the owl?" I encouraged; he had an irritating habit of speaking slowly.
"In mythology, if an owl flew over an army before battle, victory was imminent. However to some, the owl is a bird of ill omen". He paused, scouring the encyclopedia of a mind he had. "Also, locals to this island consider the owl to be a very wise animal. Before a long journey, they listen to the owls. The owls make two different sounds; the first means it is safe to go, and the second means it's better to stay at home." Cato paused, seemingly lost in thought.