Zahrah the Windseeker

  "I'm going to draw you a bath," Misty said. "You need a good cleaning. Then you will eat."

  I wiggled out of my clothes, carefully folding and putting them on the bed. I put my underwear next to the folded clothes. Then I brought out my seven other pairs of underwear and made a pile next to my clothes. I paused for a moment, thinking. My menses were due soon. If they came. I didn't feel a hint of them at all. I remember the teacher in school saying that one's menses may not come for a month if one is stressed. And I certainly had been stressed. I was prepared, but I knew that finding places to wash would be difficult. I shrugged and shook my head. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, I thought.

  "Humans," Misty said with a chuckle when she saw the small pile of flowery underwear on the bed.

  I smiled, embarrassed.

  "Don't worry, we'll get those washed," Misty said. "Come on. Don't worry about the salve. You can reapply it when you finish. And just wash around the pain sticks in your forehead; they can get wet."

  It was like no other bath I'd ever had.

  A very wide tree must have lived next to the palm tree Misty's house was built around, for its stump was what the bath was carved into, on the opposite side of the house. It was deep enough for me to fully submerge myself in, and the wood smelled sweet.

  The unique thing about it was that I wasn't going to bathe in water. I was to bathe in a sweet oil that the stump produced. The stump produced so much oil that it had to be emptied daily through an opening in the bottom. The oil drained into the soil, nourishing the palm tree.

  At first, having never bathed in oil, I was cautious. The oil was clear and very light. But still, I wondered how it would wash the dirt off. One thing I was sure about was that it would be good for my hair.

  "Misty, I've never bathed in this ... stuff before," I said. "We usually bathe in water."

  "Go on in, it won't hurt you," Misty said. "The Windseeker who came here looking for you liked it just fine."

  Well, if Nsibidi was OK with it, I thought, then it should be all right. At least now I know that it won't eat my skin or make me break out in hives or something. But then again, Nsibidi's a tough lady and I'm not.

  "Just call if you need anything," Misty said, turning to leave. She was cooking something that smelled delicious.

  I bit my lip, unwrapped my cloth, and hung it on the wooden bar next to the bath. The floor was grooved with tiny lines to prevent slipping. I cautiously dipped a toe in the oil, fearing that it would start sizzling or burning. The oil was warm and soft. I dipped my foot further in, and within moments I was in all the way to my neck and grinning with pleasure.

  "Oh yeah," I whispered.

  It felt better than water. Misty told me to just rub and the dirt would come off. For the moment, I just sat with my eyes closed. I hadn't felt so relaxed since before the day I woke up floating. I felt as if I were floating in the oil, more buoyant than if I were in water, similar to when I floated in the air. After a while, I started rubbing myself. The dirty skin sloughed off easily.

  "Ew," I said as I rubbed all over my body. I dunked my head in with my eyes closed and shook out my locks as I massaged them. Then I massaged my scalp. When I emerged, I rubbed my face, careful to avoid the sticks. I didn't even want my hand to brush against them. Misty said they wouldn't hurt, but they were sticks in my forehead! The mere thought of them gave me the shivers. But I couldn't question the fact that they were doing their job. I felt no pain at all in my hip.

  I stayed in the oil for a half-hour, letting my swollen hip soak. Now I knew why the gorillas had such shiny, healthy fur. As I toweled off, I smiled. I felt rejuvenated. My injury no longer even hurt! My skin was soft and looked radiant. Just as I finished wrapping myself up, Misty came in.

  "That was great," I said. "Thank you! Thank you for everything!"

  Misty nodded, making the same gesture that Ododo and Elu had made when I thanked them. She gave me the bowl full of minty-smelling salve, and I applied it to my hip. It was cool to the touch, like ice. Misty had already set up dinner. She pointed out what was in each of the wooden bowls.

  "These are sun leaves glazed with honey, this is sliced udara fruit, this is egusi soup, these are lentils, and this is a mango that has been soaked in lemon oil. It's very tasty."

  The gorillas were vegetarian. I wasn't surprised. Nevertheless, I ate every dish, licking the plates when Misty's back was turned. Everything tasted so delicious, especially the sun leaves with honey and the lemon-oil mango. I sat back and patted my full belly. Misty, who had been washing dishes, turned around and smiled when she saw the empty plates.

  "Finished?"

  "That was delicious!" I said.

  Misty only smiled.

  "Time for sleep," she said.

  I lay on my back, mindful of the sticks in my forehead. I couldn't help but feel anxious. It was night and I wasn't in a tree. Even if I was in a nice hut within the gorilla village, I was still in the Greeny Jungle. I felt a little vulnerable.

  "So do animals ever ... attack the village?" I asked as I helped Misty put a clean sheet on my bed, which she found amusing, since gorillas didn't sleep with sheets.

  Misty glanced at me and then looked away.

  "No need to worry tonight," she said. "We gorillas have lived in this jungle since time began. Though we are a peaceful people, we have learned to defend ourselves. All of our young men and women are trained warriors who defend the village when need be. Only when we grow old do we pass into the age of wisdom, when we are relieved of such duties and take on new ones. Gorilla warriors are very good at what they do. Few beasts are foolish enough to attack us."

  She didn't say that no beast had attacked them; she said a few. I nodded, my eyes closing. As she advised, I wasn't going to worry myself. In my mind, I saw brave armored gorillas, their fur puffed with loyalty and bravery. It was the perfect image to fall asleep to. When I awoke the next morning, the three sticks were on my pillow and the pain in my hip was almost gone.

  Chapter 22

  Third Day

  On my third day in the gorilla village, I woke up feeling relaxed, clearheaded, and clean. I savored the bright patches of sun that shone through the trees and into the window, making the room brilliant. In the jungle, this much sunshine was rare. Still, the first thing I thought was, Today I must Leave. I looked around the small room feeling a little sad.

  I really liked that room. It must have been all the yellow; yellow sunlight, yellow wood, yellow wicker chairs with yellow cushions. Still, I knew I had just spent my last night in it. My hip felt almost normal.

  The day before, when my sprained hip was painful but diminished, I'd played with the gorilla children who were my age. They played games with different-colored dried leaves and looked in the bushes for strange, ill-tempered bugs called evil weevils. The other children and I loved how angry the insects got when they were caught. The red bugs would buzz viciously and stamp their many feet with rage.

  I didn't even mind the name-calling that several of the girls taunted me with. They made fun of my lack of fur, my dada hair, how I walked on two legs instead of on all four, and how skinny and tall I was. It was nothing new, really.

  The gorillas treated me like any other odd-looking youth. But people did stop me several times to ask about my lone adventures in the jungle, too. I was surprised at how well I recounted things. Even I liked to hear myself tell stories! But most of the gorillas, adults and children, were annoyed by my digi-book and compass. They didn't think very highly of human technology.

  "What is this chattering thing?" one man asked me on the street one day as I tried to get my compass to quiet down.

  "When will we return to our normal schedule?" the compass was asking. "I programmed myself for only a day off course. I do not like being off schedule. It's a waste of time. And I always know what time it is. You do not have time to waste, I tell you!"

  The compass's last words made me shiver a bit. It was right.

  "It helps me know
where I am," I told the man.

  "But you're right here," the man said, looking confused. "Can you not tell where you are without that noisy piece of metal?"

  "I beg your pardon?!" the compass said. "I am the most sophisticated, state-of-the-art compass on the market! I can do things you can only dream of! Do you know where you are? I can tell you!"

  "Well, it's more complicated than that," I said to the man.

  "So it sounds," the gorilla said. "Can't you shut it up? Its voice is most annoying."

  I only laughed. "Yes, I can, but it often turns itself back on."

  "You should learn to use what you have in your mind," the gorilla said. "It's much more reliable and far less irritating. "

  I read the field guide only when I was alone. I'd spent several hours the night before poring through it as I lay in bed. Misty loudly sucked her teeth when she peeked in.

  "Why can't your people just make normal books?" she asked. "Made of paper."

  "This way, they can fit lots of stuff into this little thing," I said. "This digi-book is equal to many many books of paper. "

  Misty only humphed.

  But even without all the technology I was used to and with people who looked nothing like me, I felt completely at home with the gorillas. The idea of spending a few more days in the village sounded good to me. But those would be a few more days of Dari lying in a coma. I was running out of time. It was always in the back of my mind, making it impossible for me to really enjoy the village. I couldn't afford to be comfortable and lose the hardened shell I'd grown by traveling alone and living in the wild. My injury was healed. I could run and jump and survive. And even Misty could do nothing about the condition I suffered from with the whip-scorpion poison. Plus, on top of all this, I was deep into the jungle, and that meant that elgorts couldn't be too far off.

  Yes, I'll Leave today, I thought, still in bed.

  I pushed my covers off and closed my eyes, seeing red as the sunlight shone through my eyelids. I easily relaxed and floated several inches off the bed, then several feet, until I was close to the ceiling. I glanced at the bed below me and held my breath, trying to not get scared.

  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 on
e 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."