Zahrah the Windseeker (23 page)

There was a knock at the door. It startled me and I dropped to the floor.

"Good morning," Misty said, coming in with a chuckle. "Good. You've finally gotten the nerve to do it."

"Well, see why I don't? I've improved but I'm still pretty bad. I've been floating like this for some time. I don't know if I can actually fly."

"Oh yes, you do," Misty said, sucking her teeth and rubbing at the fur on her cheek. She stepped over to the window and looked outside.

I sighed. I was going to miss her. She had been like a second mother in so many ways. She was sometimes gruff but deep down really nice. She'd shown me how to cook several traditional Greeny Gorilla dishes, chastised me for staying out too late with the other kids, and carefully sewn clothes that fit me perfectly.

"How does it feel to float?" Misty asked, turning around. She wore a necklace and earrings made of white clamshells. They clinked the way the mirrors on my mother's clothing did.

I paused, scratching at the nightshirt Misty had sewn for me. The material was a little rough. "It feels very natural. Easy ... except when I lose—"

"Zahrah, stop making excuses. You will fly soon."

"Maybe," I said quietly.

Misty turned back to the window.

"Do you know how many people, human or gorilla, would love to be able to jump from high up and instead of hitting the ground soar to the skies? Or who would love to fly away from danger? If I were you, no matter how scared I was, I'd keep trying," she said. She walked over, took my hands, and sternly looked me in the eye. "What a gift you have. Why not
unwrap
it!"

I only gazed back at her, not knowing what to say. I wasn't sure of myself, and I was scared, scared of falling, scared of going too high, scared of being in a place where I only had me to support myself. What kind of gift required so much courage? Misty let go of my hands and stepped back.

"One is never given a task that one can't handle," she said. She paused, cocking her head. Then she said, "Now, go wash and get dressed. Then come sit and talk with me for a bit."

After taking a long, soothing bath and dressing, I walked down the hall to her bedroom. I hesitated at the entrance.

"Come," Misty said, motioning for me to sit across from her in a chair.

Her bedroom was spacious and spotless, the walls painted red. The cushions on her chairs and the pillows on her bed were red. The room smelled as if incense had been burning recently. I smoothed out my new green pants as I sat down. She pulled up another chair and sat in front of me. For a moment, she just watched me, and soon I grew uncomfortable.

She leaned forward and patted me on the knee.

"So," she said, her dark brown eyes steady and calm. "You're thinking of leaving soon?"

I paused, raising my eyebrows.

"Yes," I simply said.

"Today?"

I nodded.

Misty sighed, rubbing her furry neck, and said, "To purposely seek out an elgort." She paused, looking extremely troubled. "Doyou know anything about elgorts?"

"Well, my book—"

"No, I didn't ask about that piece of ... technology you carry around," she said, pronouncing the word
technology
as if it tasted bitter. She got up and walked to her window. The sun shone on her white fur, making her look like an ancient spirit. "I mean, do
you
personally know anything about them?" she asked, her back still turned to me.

I thought about that. I didn't, and for the first time I realized how close I was to executing my mission.

"No," I said, looking at my sandaled feet. I knew nothing more than what I had heard back home. More rumor than anything of substance.

"Well, consider yourself lucky," she said. "Chief Obax and I are the only living people left in this village who
have
seen an elgort. Obax encountered one face to face."

I held my breath, my eyes wide.

"And let me tell you," she continued, one hand now clutching the windowsill. She lifted her head to the sun. "They are living death. We were here when this happy place was turned upside down and pillaged by
three
elgorts. They came, and in a matter of minutes, this place was rubble, half the population missing, devoured by those monsters. I saw my family eaten. My mother shoved me into the closet just before they tore our home open. That's the only reason I lived.

"Obax looked one straight in the eye. He, too, was small, only a baby, and there were larger prey around him, his parents and uncle, so he was passed over when they attacked. But from that day on, his body has been shaky.

"Now all the others who lived through the elgort massacre are dead. No one around here knows the depth of the destruction. They have only read about it in their history books. All they really know about are good times. But Obax and I know. It is only a matter of time. We must be ready for the next attack. I tell you this so that you understand what you seek. Do you still seek it?"

I paused. Once again I was faced with a tale of horror about something I sought contact with. First the farmers' tale and now this. But Misty's story was 100 percent true. That I was sure of.

The gorilla village seemed so peaceful, settled, content, happy, as if it had always existed this way. And what of the gorilla warriors? The elgorts must have devoured them without a thought. I couldn't imagine such blood and murder and terror happening there. But it had happened, and it had been done by one of the very beasts whose egg I wanted to steal. But I'd come far. By this time I had traveled over three hundred miles. And my best friend was lying in a bed, one foot in life, stepping closer and closer to death each day.

"Yes," I whispered. "I still seek it."

Misty nodded.

"You are a strong little girl," she said. "Very strong. I admire you, but I also fear for you."

I said nothing.

"There is only one way to actually find an elgort nest on purpose," she said. "You do not want to find one by accident."

"How?" I asked.

"Ask the Speculating Speckled Frog."

"The what?"

"The Speculating Speckled Frog," she repeated. "It's the most intelligent being in the jungle. More of spirit than of flesh and blood. Sometimes it appears as a male, other times a female. It makes no difference. It uses the art of speculation and pondering to answer one's question correctly."

I frowned.
Wait a minute,
I thought.
Could it have been ... maybe?

"What does it look like?"

"A large pink frog," Misty said.

My belly flipped.

"With gold spots?" I asked.

"Yes."

"I've seen it! Sometime in my first days in the jungle and later on! It was rude and irritating, but it kept asking me what I wanted and I said nothing. It was just a strange frog. I didn't think it was important." I paused, annoyed with myself. How could I have been so judgmental? Just like people back home who looked at me and made their stupid judgments based on my appearance. I should have paid more attention and asked what it meant by its questions, even if it was a little impolite. Still, I wasn't psychic. "How could I have known I would want some information from it back then?! Have I missed my chance?!"

Misty laughed.

"That frog is tricky. It lives on a higher plane of consciousness, within the past, present, and future. It knows all before and after it happens."

"I don't understand," I said.

"You don't have to. All you need to know is that it can correctly answer any question you ask it and, no, you haven't missed your chance. It was just toying with you," she said. "But it can be quite fickle. Some days it'll allow you to ask only one question, other days you may ask as many as you like."

"Have you ever ... asked it a question?" I asked.

"Only once." She paused, looking at the ceiling. Then she said, "How to protect the village from further elgort attacks."

"And..."

"It said we must ... learn to climb trees and build technology," she said with a disgusted look. She paused and shook her head. "We will do
no such thing.
"

For a moment, there was a long silence between us. I felt sad for Misty's dilemma. To build technologies and climb trees were against the Greeny Gorilla way, against their culture. But how else could the gorillas protect their village from certain disaster? It was a tough situation.

"Well," I finally said. "H-how do I find it again?"

"It will find you now," Misty said. "Just keep doing what you are doing. Keep searching for the egg. It helps only those who are helping themselves."

I left that very afternoon, despite Misty's request that I wait until the next morning.

"You will have more daylight," Misty said as I packed my things. She handed me a sack of food she'd prepared. She must have known that I wouldn't be persuaded to stay. I put it in my satchel.

"I know, but I have to go
now,
" I replied. I'd stayed in the village long enough. Outside Misty's home, a small crowd was gathering to see me off.

"I will light a candle and wish that the other Windseeker finds you," Misty said. "She seemed like she could handle an elgort."

I smiled.

"Nsibidi could handle anything," I said. "But I doubt she'll find me. It's a big jungle, and she's already been here."

When I went outside, followed by a sad-looking Misty, I looked ahead, at the trail, into the trees. The village was comfort. Out there, beyond the village, was not. Two of the girls I'd spent many hours finding evil weevils and playing games with ran up and threw their arms around me. I laughed and sighed, enjoying their tight furry hug.

"Stay safe, OK?" the taller one named Jos said.

"I will," I said.

Chika, who was smaller but the same age, was too upset to speak. She was really scared for me, and my assurances didn't convince her. For a while, I was hugged and wished good luck by many people. Then Obax came, walking with his red cane. I smiled broadly the moment I saw him. Everyone stepped back and quieted down as he approached.

"I still cannot believe that I am letting you leave, traveling girl," Obax said.

"I have to do this," I said.

"I know, my dear, I know," Obax said with a sigh. "And thus I let you go. Come forward and kneel before me."

I knelt at Obax's furry feet. Tufts of gray hair covered his neatly cut black toenails. I glanced to the side and saw Misty. She smiled back at me and nodded.

"This is a destiny necklace," he said as he placed a green glass necklace around my neck. It was cool and smooth on my skin. "It will help bring you what you need. I wish you success on your journey, and we all hope to see you again someday." He paused, glancing at Misty. Then he said, "Now, it's time for you to turn and go."

When I stood up, Obax gave me a hug.

"Beware of what comes next," Obax said into my ear. Then Misty gave me a long hug. She said nothing as she stepped back and walked away.

And so I set out again, wearing a new pair of silky green pants and a long shirt. They were different from Dari's clothes not only in style but in the material, which was thinner and sleeker, making the clothes easier to move about in. I also carried another pair of pants, a shirt, and a nightshirt in my bundle.

I didn't know how to go about finding the elgort cave and wondered what I'd do when I did. To my compass's relief, I started moving north again. And to my slight annoyance, my compass blurted out that I was exactly 310 miles north from home.

"Didn't I tell you not to tell me the distance?" I said.

"Forgive me, Zahrah," the compass said. "I got a little excited when I checked. I am programmed better than that and will act accordingly from now on. "

I shook my head. "No, no, it's OK, compass. It's not that big of a deal to me anymore, anyway."

I was comfortable in the jungle now. And I didn't allow myself to think about how I would get back home. One thing at a time.

For the next two days, I traveled using one of the gorillas' old trails. I knew I was close. I just had a feeling. The jungle felt different, more alive and strange. The soil was so fragrant that it had an almost sweet smell. Along the way I buried the seeds of the mangoes I ate, knowing that soon a tree would grow there. And of course I encountered more strange creatures. I witnessed a pack of meat-eating hummingbirds set upon a wild boar, devouring it within two minutes. When I was sure the birds were gone, I took one of the boar's sharp tusks. I thought it would make a good weapon.

A day later, I ended up throwing the tusk at a large, violent rodent that chased and tried to bite me when I stepped too close to its hole in the ground. The tusk hit it on the rump and scared it away quite nicely.

On the third day after leaving the gorilla village, by the time dusk came, it was still warm and humid, and I was eagerly looking for a good tree to cool down and rest in. All day, as I'd walked, I'd been feeling extremely anxious. I had been in the jungle for close to three weeks and my time was almost up ...
if
it wasn't already. The book said that anyone bitten by a war snake had three to four weeks before the coma became permanent. Was I too late? I wasn't even close to finding the egg, let alone close to home. I was looking up at a sizable baobab tree thinking about this when I heard my name.