A hard knock on the door wakes me from a light nap. My chaotic, short dreams revolved around the Didelians, the Arena and Deeri, the elderly lady who always stands next to the stage. She stood tall and composed, but while looking at her I felt a sadness that was beyond belief, and she spoke words I couldn’t understand.
Disoriented from my nap, I sit up in my bed. Who knocked? Semi-nervous and dizzy, I walk to the door. Before I open it, I take a quick look in the mirror. I adjust my hair, slap my cheeks and jump quickly to the conclusion that there’s not a lot one can do in this situation.
I open the door slightly, peek around the corner… and there he stands. The man who invited me. The greatest performer I’ve ever seen.
“Fire is my favorite element,” he says, as if it explains the whole thing.
“Right…” All this must be normal in the Didelian world... I’m still trying my best to act relaxed. Breathe…
With swift movements Kai places my things on shelves and into drawers. He even unpacks Luna’s bag. He does everything with elegance and ease, just like Swaying Swenron.
“We have been nomads for decades,” Kai says when he notices me staring.
“Oh…” For a moment I’m overwhelmed with admiration. Kai is beyond beautiful. The lines in his face are smooth, his lips are full and soft and the intense radiation from his eyes is intimidating. And his hair… it’s just… so thick.
Kai smiles and I notice I’m staring. Quickly I direct myself to the water that is by now boiling. Clumsily, I fill the cups and hand one to Kai.
“Let’s take it with us,” Kai proposes. “I want to show you the camp.”
Before I can answer he walks toward me, leans forward, and puts his forehead against mine. There he stays, breathing slowly in and out while locking his eyes with mine. I can smell his body scent: sandalwood, cedar, fire, and warmth. I see the perfect pores on his nose and the eyelashes on his eyelids. I am not sure what to do. Is this a Didelian custom? Does he do this with everyone? What about Idum? Would she like her man’s forehead on mine? Is it like the Hawaiian nose rub?
Then he leans back and looks at me.
“So many questions,” he says. “We’ll have to do something about that.” He turns around and walks out of the cabin.
I’m speechless. I don’t even want to conceal my awkwardness anymore. I feel that I’m fully entitled to it now. Who does such a thing?
I grab my winter jacket, warm boots, and woolen hat. It’s very cold for this time of the year. The weather predictions are snow, and it’s only the beginning of November. Luna, who magically slept through Kai’s entrance, now wakes with the sound of her leash. She looks ready to explore. While rushing to catch up with Kai, I still feel the tingling sensation in my body and the warmth of his forehead on mine.
He’s waiting for me beside one of the bungalows. When I approach him, he takes my hand and guides me through the camp. We are walking toward the smoke that rises from the back of the little Didelian village. Kai tells me it comes from the central gathering place they call the Oblong. They use it for meals, stories, dancing, and meetings.
Chapter 10
Flambeau River State Forest, Wisconsin
October 27th 2014
A Silver Bowl and a Torch
As a submissive dog that surrenders to avoid a fight, I move my eyes to the ground.
“Enough!!” Kai roars. “Control your emotions, Idum! You are better than this. Jealousy is taking a hold of you. Please go! Go to Deeri and I don’t want to see you again until you have regained your senses. Don’t face Naran until you do.” Kai’s voice is deep and demanding. Idum steps back but doesn’t take her eyes off mine.
“Here are the attributes you requested, Kai.” She shoves the silver bowl and torch into his hands.
“Last cabinet on the right,” Kai says without looking.
He’s right. The cabinet is stacked with jars of dried herbs. Meanwhile the Didelian performer circles around my bags and opens the dresser.
I pull a few jars from the cupboard and try to identify the contents by sniffing them. I assess them quickly. Licorice root, fennel, mint, and something that smells like cinnamon rolls.
“I’ll have that last one,” Kai says, again without looking. How does he even know which one I’m holding? I turn toward the tea and pretend to be awfully busy. I take the kettle and fill it with water, which is not easy using the fountain.
“It gets easier when you learn to direct the water,” Kai says.
“Oh… yes.” I blush again while I wonder what he means by that.
I put the kettle into the indent on the stove with the right fit. It’s like doing a puzzle. Kai whispers a foreign word and with a loud bang, the oven explodes into a fiercely burning fire. Startled I jump back and stare at the flames. Kai turns to smile at me.
“Hi.” His voice is friendly.
“Hi…” Mine is insecure.
His eyes, accentuated by dark eyebrows, are piercingly bright. I have the feeling that he is looking straight through me.
“I thought I might introduce myself after inviting you to our home.”
“OK.”
“My name is Kai.” His voice is deep and breaks lightly at the end of his sentence. His posture is straight and solid, his shoulders are broad and pulled back in a relaxed manner. I realize I am standing here with the most popular man of the northern hemisphere. Women all over the world dream about him, and here he stands, right in front of me. My hands shake lightly, and I hold them behind my back. Kai smiles, indicating it’s my turn to speak. I don’t know what to say and for a moment we just stare at each other.
“So… I’m happy you are here,” he finally continues when he realizes I will not open my mouth.
What does he mean? He is happy I am here? Does he know me? All I did was walk into the camp and follow his cat. Is this a trap?
“Me too,” I say with a tiny squeaky voice. It’s the only answer I am able to formulate. I’m awkwardly shifting my weight from one foot to the other while I try to straighten down my I-just-woke-up hairdo. I feel like an idiot. Here I am, insecure, my eyes half-closed with sleep and my brain in freak-out mode with no idea what to say or do.
“Let me ask you to introduce yourself,” Kai suggests since I won’t do this freely.
“Oh, yes. Sorry… I’m Naran Stalwart.” My face flushes and the statement from Unraveling Didelis that Didelians read minds makes me extra tense. Is he communicating with me now, you know, below the surface? Suddenly I feel trapped. What if he notices that I have a huge crush on him? I mean, he must know by now.
“I watched Unraveling Didelis, so I already knew your name.”
“I see.”
“They say you can read minds.”
Kai looks at me amused.
“So, you do read minds!”
“No, not exactly. We will discuss that later.” Kai moves around me and tries to look into the cabin.
“How is the cabin? Do you enjoy it?”
“Oh, yes, very much.” I’m glad the attention shifts toward the cabin.
Kai continues to look entertained. “May I?” He asks, indicating he would like to enter.
“Of course,” I try to be nonchalant but a tremble in my voice betrays me. I’m anything but relaxed with this world-famous mystery man walking into my house. Well, technically their house, but mine to use.
“Tea?” I ask but quickly realize I have no idea how the stove works. I don’t even know if there is any tea in this kitchen.
“Sure. So, other than having too little dresser space, is everything good?” Kai walks toward my bags. “May I assist with unpacking?” he asks.
“Eh… OK,” I stammer. What a strange thing to ask. I’m uncomfortable with the idea of the Didelian main performer touching my chaotic rhapsody of things. Maybe handling someone’s luggage is a Didelian courtesy, since Svenron offered it as well.
“I won’t stare at your undergarments,” Kai smiles.
“Oh!” I blush and quickly open a few cabinets to hide my embarrassment inside. I find glasses, cups, mugs, plates, bowls, vegetables that look unfamiliar, fruits that look exotic and strange orange sticks, but no tea.
When we pass the last cabin, we enter an open space, the Oblong, and in the middle a large fire burns. Seven people are gathered around a large round tub of water and are washing grains, greens, and roots. When we walk toward them, everybody looks up. For a moment, I feel really anxious. Do they know who I am and that I’ve been invited by Kai? I am afraid these people might see me as an intruder. Unless they know more than me…
Even though the young woman is smaller, she looks more domineering than the other women. In her arms she is holding a large silver bowl and a torch. While she approaches, I notice a tiara, made from various hues of silver and gold, woven through her wavy blond hair of which the tips are braided and laced with white and purple feathers.
Her skin is beautiful and fair and contrasts with Kai’s natural tan. The combination of her white-blond hair and pale skin give the woman an ethereal and delicate appearance, but when I look into her eyes, I see nothing of this delicacy. They are thunderous and discharge a light blue storm that travels over the field toward me. Every bit of confidence I built upon meeting the Didelians disappears with each step Idum takes in my direction. She walks gracefully as if she were drifting across the ground. The sun suddenly appears from behind a thick, dark cloud and sets the Oblong on fire. The sunrays reflect in the woman’s tiara and silver bowl and I close my eyes. When I open them again, Idum is standing right in front of me.
“Hi Naran!” The woman closest to me chuckles with warm and welcoming eyes. “Hi little Luna,” another person says to the dog. Luna happily jumps up to a few people in the group.
“Down Luna!” I shout at the overexcited young dog.
“Sorry…. I was planning to take her to puppy training, but I got too busy, and it just didn’t happen. Luna is an unguided, uneducated, happiness projectile.”
“We’ll fix that.” Kai says with a smile, probably happy to hear me speak full sentences.
The people don’t look at all surprised with my presence. They are all smiling, and everyone knows my name even though I had only just introduced myself a minute ago to Kai. They must read his mind! I look at Kai and I see how he and one of the women exchange a strange glance.
The people look elegant in their colored animal skins, furs, and feathers. A slender woman steps forth and introduces herself as Samila. She has a long skinny nose, large dark brown eyes, long curly hair, and an enchanting smile. Samila is having bright strings and golden ornaments braided into her hair. She gives me a warm hug and laughs. She welcomes me and is extremely friendly. Never had I expected such warm and welcoming people. The media portray Didelians as harsh, distant, and introverted. But I find nothing of that here.
In the distance, from behind the lodges appears another woman. Effortlessly, she glides over the grass and approaches the group. She is smaller than the others. She is wearing a long, light blue dress and a warm white coat. I recognize her, she is the flautist from the show! It’s Idum, and according to Unraveling Didelis, Kai’s partner.
Then they look at each other as if the conversation continues through their eyes. “Thank you,” he says after the silence, but now with a softer tone while he bows lightly. “We will connect later.” Idum looks visibly calmer now. She turns and walks away from our group while ignoring me.
I feel uncomfortable. What just happened? Why is she angry with me? When Idum is out of sight, Kai turns to me.
“Sorry, Naran. Later you might understand Idum’s intense reaction.”
The other Didelians stare at each other in silence, but not for too long. When they regain their conversations and their work, all seems forgotten. I am, however, not feeling great. Kai puts an arm around me and gives me an encouraging squeeze.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get to know Idum in the future, she’s a really wonderful person. Very intelligent, talented, and normally extremely empathetic. I’m sorry you had to deal with her other side. Few people have seen her like this. We need to remember that we all have this inside of us. Anger is as much a part of us as laughter. However, I don’t excuse her actions. Her anger projected at you without any previous knowledge of the situation, is not desirable and is not fair on you. Trust that you will understand more within the next days. But let’s not dwell on this now. We have important things to do.”
Within the next days… I’d rather be told everything right now. I have no idea what I’m doing here, why I just received an explosive rage from Idum; everything is so vague and it’s frustrating. But I suppress my thoughts, realizing there is not much I can do. I am a guest. What I will know will be decided for me.
Kai smiles at me.
“Patience, young woman,” he laughs. “I know the mind can be a trap. Yearning for information can be torturous. But you have to trust the process, and you’ll have to trust me.”
He turns around.
“Now it is time for you to explore your new territory,” he says while he walks away with the silver bowl and the torch in his hands. He moves in the direction of the large Arena without looking back.
“Meet me at the Arena right before dark.”
“Welcome.” She smiles broadly but her voice is ice cold. With her blue dress, her ghostly white look, and the dark clouds in the background, she looks like an intoxicating and hostile ice queen of exceptional beauty. I am speechless. Everything about her is contradictory, her soft beauty and her cold voice, her small slender figure, and her dominant pose.
“Thank you,” I answer. My voice trembles lightly and I feel small in her presence, even though I am taller. Kai quickly steps in between us. His mood has changed, and he looks piercingly at Idum. Their eyes speak unspoken words and I can only imagine what the messages are. Then Kai speaks up:
“Idum, you know Naran is here upon our request. She is family now. You will treat her as such, I will see to it.”
I’m surprised to hear these words.
“Naran will have enough to deal with, her journey is unexpected, and we do not have to make it any harder than it is.”
The young woman takes a small step back. I can feel an almost unbearable tension between the two. I feel warm inside; Kai is standing up for me. Thankful, I look in his direction, which seems to ignite another spark of Idum’s anger.
“Naran, do not fool yourself!” Her words are clothed in fire. “Whatever people here will tell you, they are only speculating. They don’t know you. The truth is, you are no different from the world you were born in. You grew up with them. You are a copy of them, and your entire presence is as destructive as your world. I do not doubt we will get to know each other, and I will make you see how lost your case is.”