The Orchard of Hope (8 page)

“Does he?
”
she asked him. He nodded in
response. Kelsey turned to Maggie and responded to her
question.
“
Yes,
the king sees him as a fox also.
”

“And does he
walk on two legs or four?
”

Kelsey was getting tired of the
questions. It seemed silly to be explaining what was standing right
in front of them, but she tried to remain patient. After all, she
was talking with Maggie as Roland had requested earlier. This was a
conversation.

“He walks on
two legs, but he
’
s carrying a wooden staff that he sometimes brings on
journeys. He
’
s
about the same height as me and wearing a cloak, a hat with a
plume, and sunglasses. He always wears sunglasses when
he
’
s out in
public because a lot of people go crazy or freak out when they look
directly into the eyes of Death. I
’
ve seen them do
it.
”

“But he
doesn
’
t bother
you, and you can look into his eyes without fear.
”
Maggie spoke in a
reflective
manner as she tried to
understand the traveling companion that she
couldn
’
t
see.

“I
’
m a hunter and a soldier. Death
doesn
’
t scare me.
”
Kelsey explained.
“
Besides,
we
’
re
friends.
”

Maggie turned to
look at an area to Kelsey
’
s right.

“Mr. Roland, It
’
s very nice to meet
you.
”
She spoke
loudly and slowly, as if to a deaf or mentally impaired individual.
Roland let out something that resembled a chuckle. It wasn’t
exactly a laugh. It was more of an amused grunt.

“He
’
s not deaf and
he
’
s standing
to my left,
”
Kelsey replied with irritation. Then, just to spite Maggie
she added,
“
And he
’
s laughing at
you!
”

“You
shouldn
’
t have
told her that,
”
Roland said quietly.

“Maybe you
shouldn
’
t have
laughed,
”
Kelsey retorted.

“True,
”
he agreed.
“
But that was barely a chuckle.
When I laugh in earnest, you’ll know it. And you’ll never forget
it, either.
”

“That
’
s OK,
”
Maggie said
dismissively.
“
He can laugh whenever he wants. I would always rather make
people laugh than cry, so it doesn
’
t bother me. I just wanted to
say hello and that I
’
m sorry I didn
’
t believe he was real. But he must be real if you keep
talking to him and these strange people are following him like they
worship him.
”

“Tell her that
she
’
s forgiven
and that I
’
m
very pleased to meet her,
”
Roland said quickly before Kelsey could
instigate any more trouble
.

“He forgives
you and says that he
’
s pleased to meet you,
”
Kelsey said to Maggie.
“
So now we can move
on.
”

“Not just yet,
”
said Roland.

“Shouldn
’
t we get moving with these freaks right behind us?” Kelsey
said. “They may be harmless, but they could still compromise the
mission.
”

“There
’
s a message from the king,
”
he answered. Kelsey looked
around. She didn
’
t see anything out of the ordinary. All she saw were the
same old birds that were there all the time. She glanced all around
and tried to find one that looked regal, but none stood out among
the others.

“Where?
”
she asked.

“Listen.
”

Kelsey tried.
She stood very still and closed her eyes, but all she could hear
were sounds like
“
chirp, chirp
twirp!
”

“I
don’
t hear anything
special,
”
she
replied.

“Focus.
”
Roland replied.

So Kelsey tried again. She closed
her eyes and felt the breeze against her face. She thought she
heard a few faint whispers from the reapers, the wind blowing
through the leaves of the trees behind them, and a few birds making
cawing sounds.

“Nothing,
”
she said.

“What are we
doing?
”
Maggie
asked apprehensively. Kelsey had already forgotten that Maggie
couldn't hear Roland.

“I
’
m trying to hear a message from
the king,
”
Kelsey replied.
“
But I don’
t know where to listen. There are little noises
everywhere.
”

“There will
always be noises. Your job is to discern the message amid the
confusion. It
’
s
good practice for resisting the sorcerer,
”
Roland said with
encouragement.

“How so?
”

“Noise and
confusion both distract and distort perceptions. Once you learn to
focus and tune out the noise, you have developed some of the
discipline needed to tune out the confusing messages that distort
perception.
”

“How do I focus? I
’
m not very good at being
quiet.
”

“You
’
ll get better with practice.
Start by taking a deep breath and closing your
eyes.
”
Kelsey
did as she was told. Roland didn
’
t speak again, so she took
another deep breath, feeling the warm afternoon air filling her
lungs.

“Now focus your
ears in different directions and identify the individual sounds
coming from each source. Cover your left ear with your left hand,
and cup your right hand to your right ear. Slowly turn around as
you focus on what you hear with your right ear. It takes patience.
Eventually, one of the sounds will begin to make sense to
you.
”

Kelsey tried again to listen.
Mostly, she could hear the wind. She concentrated and then turned
her body slowly as she identified different noises. She could hear
birds, but the sounds they were making were normal and
unintelligible bird songs. After she had turned in a complete
circle, she stood still and spoke quietly to Roland.

“I
don’
t hear anything that sounds like
language. None of the birds is saying anything
important,
”
Kelsey said with her eyes still shut tight and her hand
cupped to her ear. “It’s all gibberish.”

“What about the
one calling your name?
”
Maggie asked. Kelsey
’
s eyes popped open, and she
stared at Maggie, who had been engaged in the same
exercise.

“What
the
—
?!
”
Kelsey exclaimed in anger. Just when she was
warming up to her, Maggie had to show off like
this.

“Relax,
”
Roland said calmly.
“
There is no reason why Maggie
can
’
t learn
along with you. She may be able to help you.
”

“I thought this
was
my
lesson,
”
Kelsey said in protest.

“Knowledge does
not belong to anyone. It simply exists for those who choose to see
it. Like wisdom and beauty. When you attempt to cage these things,
you only wind up putting yourself in bondage.
”

“One lesson at
a time,
”
Kelsey
retorte
d
sharply. So far this quest had gone nothing like
the way she had hoped it would. In fact, it was making her feel
embarrassed and inadequate. She inhaled the warm afternoon air
again to help calm her nerves, and then she addressed
Maggie.
“
Where
’
s
the bird you heard calling my name?
”

“Over
there,
”
Maggie
pointed.
“
That
raven.
”

“That
one?
”
Kelsey
asked with confusion in her voice. She turned to Roland.
“
Doesn't that bird
belong to the sorcerer?
”

“No,
”
he answered.
“
That may be why you
couldn
’
t hear
it. Be very careful with your assumptions.
”

“But I saw a
bird turn into a crow when it changed sides and left the king to
join the sorcerer in the battle.
”

“Birds and
people may change their appearances, especially when they make
changes in their beliefs. But never assume that you can tell which
side anyone is on by simply looking at them. Many of the most
depraved characters have a beautiful and clean outer appearance.
And some of the most beautiful creatures appear dark on the
outside. Look past what you see with your eyes and listen. Focus on
the voice of the raven and listen.
”

Kelsey looked up at the raven
sitting on a low branch a short distance away. She could see the
bird clearly against the blue sky as she watched its beak open and
close.

“Caw caw ... caw caw ... caw caw
...,
”
the bird called.
Kelsey closed her eyes and cupped her right hand to her ear to
listen more closely.
“
Caw caw ...
caw caw ... caw caw ...
”
the bird continued to speak in rhythmic couplets. Kelsey
covered her left ear with her left hand and tried to block out all
other noises.
“
Caw
-key …
caw
-see
...
Kel-sey,
”
the bird
called. Kelsey continued to listen until every couplet sounded like
her name and less like a caw.

“I can hear
it!
”
she
exclaimed. She opened her eyes and smiled at Roland. He nodded back
affirmatively. She looked over at Maggie who was also
grinn
ing
back
at her.

“I knew you
could do it,
”
Maggie said with encouragement. As she finished speaking,
the raven flew down and landed on the path in front of them. The
bird
’
s head
bobbed as it strutted a few steps closer.

“Caaaaaaaw. Caw caw ... caw caw
caw caw ... caw caw,
”
said the raven.

“I
didn
’
t
understand a word,
”
Kelsey said shaking her head. The raven repeated the
message more slowly and Kelsey shook her head
again.

“He said
something about meatballs and spaghetti,
”
Maggie said in a helpful
tone.

“Not
quite,
”
Roland
replied.
“
Keep
listening.
”

Kelsey crouched
down on one knee to get closer to the raven
’
s height. The bird turned its
head to one side and Kelsey gazed into its eye as it
spoke.

“Reapings.
Meatball is spanking in care of your soul,
”
Kelsey
translated.

“Closer,
”
Roland said.

“I told you it
was something about meatballs,
”
Maggie said proudly.