Growing Pains
Katran added some sliced potatoes to the casserole. "Daddy told me that he's very pleased with your progress, Yeesha," she said while stirring the pot. Behind her, Sirrus was arranging the spoons on the table.
"Thank you, mommy," Sirrus answered with a grin. "I want to learn lots about the D'ni, and it's so nice that you and daddy know so much about their language... and their Books." He held a bowl to her, and she poured some of the stew inside.
"Your dad and I have talked about it," Katran continued, "and we also asked some teachers in Releeshahn. We'll talk about it when daddy gets home, but we think that you can start learning how Books are Written if you'd like that."
Sirrus brimmed with satisfaction; that had, after all, been his goal from the very beginning. "That is great, mother... mom! I hope I'll be as good with Books as you and dad are!" he said aloud, feigning childish exhilaration.
Katran patted him on the head. "All in good time, my desert bird." She set the last bowl on the table. "I'm going to call daddy for lunch. Don't start eating without us, all right?"
Sirrus nodded gravely. "I'll wait for you," he said.
As soon as Katran took the elevator, Sirrus took a small phial out of his breast pocket; it contained a diaphanous green fluid. Gingerly, he uncorked it and added two drops on each of his parents' bowls. He melanged the contents with a devious grin, then sat still and waited.
~*~
Sirrus found himself unable to sleep. His nightgown felt too stifling, and the never-ending sound of rushing water was jabbing at his mind. Restless, he got on his feet and paced to the balcony.
Tomahna was very beautiful at night, although Sirrus felt that its beauty did not reach his standards of appreciation. He placed his forehead on the cool railing of the balcony, looking down at the churning waters below. After decades of living in a world of rocks and echoes, a water current would take some time to get used to. "I'll need to make some earplugs for the time being," he said aloud.
Atrus appeared at the kitchen door, squinting at the darkness. "Yeesha?" he asked. "I thought I heard your voice. Are you still awake?"
"I obviously am," Sirrus replied. "...daddy," he added in a mellow voice, as an afterthought. "I wanted to look at the moon," he said, pointing to the thin crescent. "Isn't it pretty?"
Atrus knelt next to him. He looked concerned. "Yeesha, it has been one week since we returned from Serenia. If you want to talk to us about
anything..." he let the sentence trail off.
Sirrus assumed as sullen a composure as his inner laughted would allow. "I'll be alright, dad," he said in a low voice. "I just... want to forget all the mean things that Sirrus did to me. I hope that the Ancients will punish his bad mind for ever!
Atrus looked at him doubtfully, and Sirrus wondered if he had overperformed. "Yeesha," he started, "as mommy and I have told you, it is not nice to wish bad to anybody. Sirrus did some very... weird things; he brought tears to this cheerful girl, and daddy did not like that." He caressed her cheek and smiled meekly. "But it's not only his fault that he did those things," he continued. "It's also daddy's fault for not teaching him better. Sirrus just wanted to be like you, free and innocent with your mom and dad to teach you and love you. Don't you like all those things?"
Sirrus nodded. "I like being me," he said non-commitantly.
Atrus smiled and hugged him. "You're a very smart and brave girl, Yeesha. And I promise that we'll be better parents to you than we were to your brothers" He lifted himself up. "I'm going to bed now. You'd better go to sleep yourself. Sweet dreams, honey."
"Goodnight, daddy."
As he headed to the parents' bedroom, Atrus had a fit of cough. Sirrus immediately reached to the phial in his pocket. He took it out, and peered at it under the moonlight.
~*~
Atrus carefully took the leather-bound Book in his hands. "Are you sure that it is finished?" he asked. "It can't be more than two weeks since you began Writing in it..."
"I've been... inspired," Yeesha replied. "I have nothing more to add to it, at least for the time being. If I think of something, I'll just add some more pages in." She winked at her own joke.
Atrus turned to the page bearing the Linking Panel. The Gateway Image was still filled with static. "You haven't forged the first Link?" he inquired.
"I want you to be first to see it," she said, caressing his writing hand. "I think that it will seem somewhat familiar to you."
He nodded and smiled. If he thought of anything in particular, he did not say it aloud at that time.
As he reached to the Panel, he made a last question. "So, what is the name of the Age?"
"I'll name it 'Relto'," Yeesha proclaimed. "'The high place'."
SBS