The Children of Calm (9 page)

He wondered now whether he would ever experience that same kind of emotion again.

The bell rang. Five o’clock. Rylek was ushered back to the present and decided he needed to break the silence. “We’re supposed to go to your place now,” he said.

Tresten looked as though he shivered. He closed his eyes and said, “Okay.”

Together they walked off to Penephoni’s house, still comfortable in each other’s silence.

***

It had started to cool off rather quickly. Rylek did not notice how chilled he was until he stepped into his Aunt Penephoni’s house. There was a merry little fire crackling in the fireplace, and the kitchen was warm from the old wood stove. He and Tresten were greeted with generous hugs from Penephoni and the girls, and warm mugs of peppernut tea were placed into their hands. Rylek could smell her famous Tannen Stew cooking – the same potato and cabbage stew she had prepared for the councilman from Arcenoth nearly fifteen years earlier. The tale of it restoring the man’s vigor made it an instant must-have recipe among all of the women in the village. Naturally Penephoni named it after Tannen in honor of his ever-eager willingness to have another helping.

Supper was exactly how Rylek wanted it: tasty, with plenty of helpings. In addition to the stew there was a loaf of fresh baked bread (with lots of butter) and some Jubilee Cakes (small pastries made with honey and golden apples) for dessert. The conversation was light, although Tresten did not engage in any. But since this was not wholly unusual, Rylek suspected Penephoni would not think twice about his silence.

After the meal was over, and the food and dishes were put away, Penephoni brought the children into the living room and had them sit down in front of the fireplace. She then had them wait while she went off to her bedroom, emerging a few moments later with four identical packages. After she had given one to each of them, she said, “I know it’s not technically your birthday yet, but I couldn’t wait any longer. These are things that Kelni and I have been working on and developing for a long time – things that I believe will come in very handy during your Findings. And, I have to admit, I think we have literally outdone ourselves. Go on now, open them!”

Rylek smiled at her infectious bubbly excitement, and opened his package along with the others. Inside the box was a silvery-red fabric that was neatly folded. He saw that Tresten’s was a silvery-black, Selenor’s a silvery-purple, and Lana’s a silvery-green. The fabric was thin and stretchy. Rylek lifted it out of the package, unfolded it, and discovered it was a full-bodied fitted tunic.

“Wow,” Tresten said. “Thanks for the long underwear, Mom.” It was the first thing he had said all night.

Penephoni smiled. “It’s more than just plain old simple ‘long underwear,’” she said. “It’s made of a special fabric that Kelni and I have developed. It insulates in colder temperatures, yet keeps you cool in warmer temperatures. It’s also water-proof and lightweight.”

Lana looked impressed. “This is amazing!” she said. “What’s it made of?”

“It’s actually a blend of cotton and dried starpod skin,” Penephoni said. Lana and Selenor both giggled. “Looks like another point for starpods,” Lana said. They looked at Tresten.

He groaned. “I never said they were worthless. The point I was making was they have no
medicinal
value, if you can trouble yourselves to remember correctly.”

Rylek jumped up and hugged Penephoni. “Thank you so much, Aunt Penni!” he said. “I’m sure these will be much appreciated when we’re on our Finding.”

Selenor and Lana agreed, hugging and thanking her also.

“I still don’t understand why we all have to do our Findings together,” Tresten said as he hugged his mother. “I was rather looking forward to the time in isolation.”

Penephoni looked surprised. “Who said you have to do them together?” she asked as she sat down between her two children.

“You mean you didn’t tell her?” Tresten asked Selenor.

She shook her head. “I figured I’d wait until you got home.”

“Who told you to do them together?” Penephoni asked again.

“Elder Caenar,” Selenor said. “He talked with us all this afternoon, implying there was somewhere north by the sea that is important for us all to be. He spoke very mysteriously, don’t you think, Lana?

“Yes,” Lana agreed. “He was insistent on all of us going north together to experience the sea. I wonder why.”

Penephoni looked troubled. “Could it be?” she said, almost to herself. “He hasn’t said anything to me…”

“What?” Tresten asked.

She sat silently for a few moments. “Nothing,” she said finally. “It’s nothing. Sorry, I’m just a bit distracted by the surprising news, that’s all.”

“I certainly don’t want to go north,” Tresten said. “I was thinking of heading east, to try to find Celek.”

Penephoni looked surprised at this too. “Celek? Is he missing?”

‘No,” Selenor said. “He just left.”

Penephoni shook her head. “That’s unusual,” she said. “It’s almost New Year and he wouldn’t normally want to miss your birthday.”

“Yeah, and there’s that,” Tresten said. “So is he our father or not?”

“Your father?” she asked, taken aback. “Tresten, of course not! Well, at least I’ve never heard anyone say that before. What is all this? What are you talking about anyway?”

Selenor sighed. “Celek talked to Tresten and me privately this afternoon. He said he couldn’t live anymore in the place he was denied the ability to raise the two children that were rightfully his.”

“Rightfully his?” Penephoni asked. “No one’s ever said anything about him being your natural father. But…” she trailed off into silence for a few moments. “No, you see, your…your real mother certainly didn’t seem to know him when she was here; though I do remember him taking it awfully hard when she died. And come to think of it, he acted as though he were extremely upset when I was chosen to raise the two of you. But, no, that can’t be it. I think there’s something else he means.”

She stopped and cleared her throat. “I’ve never told you this before, partly because I never thought it important, and partly because it seemed like idle gossip. But not long after the two of you were born, Celek did ask me to marry him.”

There were four audible exclamations in the room.

“Yes,” she continued. “And as you can plainly see, I didn’t agree to it. He had never before shown any interest in me, so the offer was completely surprising and unexpected. And in all honesty ever since my husband died nearly twenty years ago I haven’t had any desire to remarry. That, as far as I know for certain, is the only real link between Celek and yourselves. If I would have married him, he would be your legal father.”

They all sat in silence for awhile. The wood was crackling on the fire, and the shadows fidgeted nervously about the room. Rylek imagined them to be little secrets, teasing him of their existence but impossible to grasp. He felt there was something just beyond his reach in the logic of the story, but it kept eluding him.

Tresten finally spoke again. “So he’s gone for good.” He paused for just a moment. “He did say if Selenor or I wanted to find him, he would be in Maeon Plenneth.”

Rylek looked up. “I thought you said he didn’t tell you where he was going.”

Selenor glanced at Tresten, who said nothing.

“Maeon,” Penephoni said. “I wonder what in the world is there for him. He was born and raised there, of course, and attended the Imperial Academy. In fact, we were there at the University together for a couple of years. But he was orphaned as a boy, and doesn’t have any other family as far as I know. He was stationed in Corr Alfin for a short time before being discharged. But then he simply decided to move here; I never found out the reason why.”

“Well, when we go down to the University this summer, I’m going to find him and ask what this all means,” Tresten said. “He can’t just say something like that and expect us to do nothing.”

Selenor mumbled an affirmative.

Rylek felt it was time for him and Lana to go. They were sitting in on something that probably was not their business at the moment, so he stood up and gave Lana a look. “We need to go,” he said. “Thanks again for the gift, Aunt Penni.”

Lana also thanked her, and they took their body tunics with them out the front door. As they were preparing to round the corner, they heard Tresten call out “Rylek!” Lana walked on as Rylek turned around and met him halfway.

“What is it?” Rylek asked.

“I want you to know how much I appreciated you sitting with me this afternoon. It really meant a lot.”

“No problem. It’s what friends do,” Rylek replied.

Tresten shuffled his feet. “No, you’re not just a friend. We’re brothers. It’s good to know that there is neither person nor thing out there that can come between us. Do you have any idea how comforting it is for me to know that I can trust you with anything?”

Rylek was shocked. He had never before heard Tresten speak like this. “Wow. Thanks.”

“Well, I mean it,” Tresten said. “And I can only hope that likewise I can show you I’m trustworthy in the same way. I guess I’m just trying to say that I’m really thankful for you.”

“Wow again,” Rylek said. “You’re in rare form tonight. I really don’t know what to say, except ‘thanks.’ Again. And that I think you’re right: we are definitely brothers.”

Tresten almost smiled. “Thanks,” he said. “I suppose I needed to hear that tonight. I will see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Rylek said. He watched as Tresten walked back to his house. Then as he started walking back to his own house, he thought to himself how he had not really trusted Tresten with everything. He most certainly had never told him about Selenor. How could he?
There are some things you just never test a friendship with
, he thought to himself.
He doesn’t need to know.

At least not yet
.

He walked up the steps to his house and thought again of the shadows he had fancied were secrets, and wondered how many secrets Tresten was keeping from him.

Chapter Five:

Two Days of Festivities

The news of Celek’s sudden departure
spread very quickly throughout the village the following day. Everyone seemed shocked at the news of his decision, since he apparently had not discussed his plans with anyone beside Tresten and Selenor. When Rylek happened to mention it at breakfast, his father abruptly wiped his mouth, stood up from the table, excused himself, and mumbled something about needing to “talk to Caenar.”

After finishing both his meal and his father’s, Rylek also hurried outside, but for a different reason: it was a beautiful morning, with a crystal clear blue sky. As he walked down the street he breathed in deeply. The wind was coming from the southeast, and it carried the scent of the pine trees that rose from the eastern shore. He felt invigorated. There were birds chirping as they were returning from their winter migration. Striking out with no particular place in mind, he eventually realized he was wandering down to the lakefront. As he rounded the corner of the Hall of Knowledge, he found himself being drawn to the spot where he had overheard the late night conversation between Celek and the scarred man. But then he found Tresten and Selenor standing at the base of the front stairs, talking in low whispers. He walked up to them and said, “Good wonderful morning to you both!”

They both turned to face him. Selenor smiled and replied, “Well, good wonderful morning to you!”

Rylek’s arm tingled again, as though from a reflex. “What are you doing here so early?” he asked.

Selenor sat on one of the stairs. “Your dad came by our place not long ago and told us to meet him here. He then went off to fetch Elder Caenar. I’m guessing they want to talk to us about Celek.”

Rylek nodded. He still felt unsure about including the others on what he had seen and heard. “Yeah, he seemed pretty surprised when I told him at breakfast,” he said. “All I know is he left in a hurry; he didn’t even finish eating. There must be something going on that we don’t know about.”

“Obviously,” Tresten said. “The forecast for today is rumors with a slight chance of muddied factual basis. Unless of course I can pry something out of either your father or Elder Caenar.”

“Good luck with that!” Rylek said, laughing. “As though they’d ever indulge you in things that aren’t any of your business.”

“A man’s got to try anyway, doesn’t he?” Tresten asked.

“So who’s the man we’re sending in?” Selenor jokingly asked as she elbowed her brother.

Tresten glanced at her. “You hang around Lana too much,” he said. “You sound just like her.”

“Sorry, little brother,” she said as Rylek chuckled.

A very loud sigh came from Tresten. For the space of a moment he looked torn between making a pithy retort and ignoring her slight dig. He chose to ignore her. “Look, we’re entitled to know something,” he continued. “Celek claimed he had the right to raise us. We’re involved. I want to know what is going on.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that,” Rylek said. “Did he definitely say it was the two of you he supposedly had the right to raise?”

“What do you mean?” Tresten asked. “We told you what he told us. He implied…”

Rylek interrupted him. “Did he imply, or did you assume he meant the two of you?”

Tresten and Selenor grew quiet for a moment. “Well,” Selenor finally said, “I guess we assumed he meant us since it was us he told. But technically speaking, he didn’t specify that he meant us. However, if he didn’t mean us, why would he tell me? I mean, I’ve never been close to him.” She nodded to Rylek. “You’re a lot closer to him than I have ever been. Why would he tell me and not you?”

“I don’t know, maybe he figures it’s not my business,” Rylek said. “But I hesitate to jump to conclusions about anything. Maybe there’s a chance you can get some kind of answers from my dad and Elder Caenar.”

“Isn’t that what I just said?” Tresten mumbled.

As though on cue, Faltir and Caenar turned the corner together and approached them. Caenar smiled and said, “My dear children, the most blessed of mornings to you! Come, let us step inside and talk.” He walked past the golden statue of Kael and stopped. “This was a great man,” he said proudly, pointing at the figure. “Because of our founding father we are able to live peacefully here in our wonderful home. To think that all of the villagers melted down their gold coins to erect this lasting monument, this beacon of hope that reminds us of the equality of all peoples. Let greed and malice forever be vanquished from us!”

Tresten caught Rylek’s eye, then made a face that almost had Rylek laughing out loud. But then something began to buzz in the back of Rylek’s head.

“Now, Tresten, Selenor, please follow me and we will discuss some important matters,” Caenar said, and started towards the stairs.

Tresten leaned in close to Rylek’s ear. “He is so random!” he whispered softly, then followed Caenar and Selenor up to the Hall of Knowledge’s door.

Faltir turned to Rylek and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you wait down by the Old Sentinel,” he said. It was not a question.

Rylek obeyed his father and walked the block down to the lakefront and sat under the ancient tree, with his back against the old gnarled trunk and his eyes towards the lake. The giant oak shaded his eyes from the morning sun shining on his left. No one was out on the lake. In fact no one was around at all. He heard nothing but the breeze in the branches and a few birds singing. It was too perfect a morning to worry about things he could not piece together, so he decided to empty his mind of all its questions, close his eyes, and soak in the sounds and smells.

After some time he heard footsteps behind him. He kept his eyes closed as someone sat by his side. There was a loud exhalation of breath, and then the other person said, “Well, that was very one-sided.” It was Tresten.

Rylek did not open his eyes. “How long were you in there?” he asked. “It didn’t seem very long.”

“About twenty minutes, I guess,” Tresten said. “They went over our conversation with Celek several times, checking and rechecking certain points. And for all of the answers we gave for their questions, they sure didn’t offer any answers for our questions. They seemed to be rather anxious of the fact Celek told us to find him in Maeon.”

Rylek glanced at him.
He said it again,
he thought to himself.
Maybe Selenor didn’t catch Celek saying that. Odd…

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Tresten continued. “If someone wants to leave Calm of their own accord, shouldn’t they be allowed to?”

“As long as they’re fifteen,” Rylek said.

“Yeah,” Tresten said, “and then there’s that. I’ve never understood the real purpose of that rule. Why isn’t anyone under the age of fifteen allowed out of the village proper?”

Rylek shrugged. “I guess to protect the children.”

“From what?” Tresten asked incredulously.

An uncomfortable feeling arose in Rylek’s stomach. This was something he had wondered himself for a long time, but had been too afraid to discuss with anyone. Why was this rule so important? What was in the Outside that could pose such a hazardous threat to children? “I honestly have no idea,” he said after a pause. He finally opened his eyes to look at Tresten. Tresten was looking out at the lake, and his face was a mixture of several emotions. At that moment Rylek felt a sudden unexplainable fear, as though something were about to be revealed to him that he did not want to know.

Tresten reached down and pulled some grass out of the ground. “I need to leave,” he said in a low voice. “I have to get out of here.”

The unease in Rylek grew. “We’re leaving on our Finding in just a few days,” he said. “Then we’ll be on our way to the University in a couple more months.”

Tresten shook his head and then looked at Rylek. “Yeah,” he mumbled. He stood up and after a moment walked away. Rylek watched him and knew that what he had said was not what Tresten had meant.

***

Things were relatively quiet over the next couple of days. Nothing else was discovered of Celek or of his purposes. However there were plenty of rumors that ran rampant throughout the village. It was whispered by some that he had left to rekindle a secret relationship with an old lover from his University days in Maeon. Others claimed the military needed his skills for some confidential mission and had discreetly asked him to reenlist. Still others said he had a falling out with Caenar and was actually told to leave Calm. But in the end it was all speculation, as his house was searched by Faltir and Ronas and yielded no answers or clues.

Tresten spent a lot of time by himself, often wandering along the lakefront, meandering through the grain fields, or sitting atop The Balcony. Rylek knew his mood would change once they actually left the village for The Finding.

The rest of the village was meanwhile finishing the preparations for New Year and the children’s birthday. The final touches were put on the decorations; cakes, cookies, and all sorts of confections were baked; gifts were wrapped; celebratory candles were handed out. The little children of the village were giddy with excitement, and could hardly sleep the night before New Year’s Eve.

Finally it dawned the last day of the year. As the morning progressed, the village air was filled with the scents of all types of food roasting and baking: corn, potatoes, fish, nuts, and bread. Vegetables were prepared, some fresh and some cooked. The aromas of stews and soups wafted along the breeze, and the little ones found their mouths watering as they ran and played in the streets. Caenar had declared a two-day festival of community gaming and feasting, and had tables and chairs set up on the lakefront to serve as a large outdoor dining room, for the weather was immaculate. Lanterns were hung in the branches of the Old Sentinel in anticipation of the night. Some were even talking of sleeping there by the water.

When evening arrived, and the children felt they could not possibly wait any longer for the feast to begin, the tables were set with all the food. The lanterns were lit and the people feasted, toasting each other with blessings for the coming year. Old stories were swapped, old jokes were retold, and much merriment transpired. After awhile it was announced that Selenor would sing and play for everyone, so nearly three hundred people quieted down to hear her strum her lyre and sing several songs. Some were old standards that she asked the village to sing along with her, others she sang by herself. The ones she sang alone were especially mesmerizing and spell-inducing, and Rylek found chills constantly running up and down his spine and the back of his head.

Then the village clock informed the villagers it was somehow already midnight and New Year had come. Shouts of “Happy New Year!” and “Happy birthday!” echoed in the valley, along with some blasts from horns several boys were blowing and the barking of the village dogs. Faltir then led Ronas and a few other men in carrying crates of starpods to the shore, where they then handed them out to each person.

Once everyone had a starpod, Caenar stood between the lake and the people. “Friends and family, it is now time for the Ceremony of First Lights,” he said. “I trust each of us has our own starpod. Now we shall observe a few moments of silence as we offer our prayers to The One for this New Year.”

After awhile Caenar lifted his starpod above his head and spoke:

“
Out of darkness came light,

From the spoken word came truth.

For all that has been given we now freely return:

Blessing for blessing,

Trust for providence.

Grant us grace for this new year.”

Then the people replied, “May it be so,” and one by one placed their starpods on the water’s surface. Instantly they lit, and slowly the lakefront became ablaze with warm yellow light. Families huddled close and shared hushed whispers.

“May The One receive our prayers and bless the people,” Caenar said.

Then slowly the crowd of people began to trickle away as they left for their homes – with the exception of the ones who had decided to sleep under the stars.

Rylek had stood with Lana, Tresten, and Selenor throughout the events of the night, and as the others who stayed on the lakefront prepared their blankets and pillows, the four of them nestled down under the Old Sentinel, parallel to the lakefront. Rylek lay down next to Selenor, so that he was facing the old tree and she was facing the lake. There he watched her as she slept, her face lit by the starpods. At some point during the night she woke briefly and looked into Rylek’s eyes. She smiled silently and fell back asleep. The warm shivers erupted all over Rylek again, and he thought to himself that he could not have asked for a more perfect ending to the night.

As he was finally falling asleep, he was overwhelmed with a feeling of déjà vu: the exhilaration of contented peace settling on him like a soft blanket, just as it had five years previously on The Balcony.

***

After waking the next morning, they left the lakefront and the shelter of the Old Sentinel to go to Lana and Rylek’s house. The plan was for them to have breakfast there, then to have lunch at Penephoni’s. Supper was a community event again, like it had been the night before. So there was much eating, gift-receiving, and ceremonial activity to experience. Rylek could hardly stand himself because he was so excited about the food. As he devoured breakfast like a man who had not eaten for several days, his mother watched him in wonder.