The Oak Hotel - Watty Awards 2013 Finalist

Chapter Seventeen - Grande Okami

Chapter Seventeen

Grande Okami

It was odd waking to near darkness, but the clouds above were heavy and the air smelled of rain. After a hurried breakfast, they were off again, following David as he conferred often with his compass. Sometime before noon, they came into a clearing and David stopped.

“This isn’t good,” he said.

“What’s wrong?” Kayleigh asked.

“She’s supposed to be here.”

They all looked around, but the clearing was empty.

“I don’t remember Kafír being in a clearing like this,” Lincoln said.

“That’s right,” Kayleigh added, “She was at the end of path.”

Checking the compass again, David spoke impatiently, “I’m not talking about the tree.”

Lincoln and Kayleigh exchanged a look of bewilderment, then jumped as a voice spoke from the other side of the clearing.

“He’s talking about me,” said Sheenie, emerging from a dense cluster of bushes.

For a while, no one said anything. Sheenie walked over to David and stood before him. Neither spoke, though information seemed to pass between them. After a pause, the mysterious woman moved past him and walked toward Lincoln.

Smiling, she said, “I did not anticipate seeing you again so soon, but I am glad of it. Greetings to you as well, Kayleigh.”

Kayleigh nodded, eyebrows furrowed. It was Lincoln who asked the unavoidable question:

“What are you doing here? And how do you and David know each other?”

“David and I haven’t met until just now. We communicated for the first time a day ago.”

Lincoln’s eyes widened, “The computer! That sound we heard the last time we were in the school… that was you trying to communicate with David!”

“In a way,” Sheenie said, “Rather, it was my ship. Truman modified both our ships to search continually for any new signals emerging over the Eastern Sea or in the planet’s atmosphere. He didn’t want a single clue to pass him by. When you and David activated that computer, my ship picked up its broadcast and alerted me. Through the computer, David told me briefly what was happening and I explained the part I’ve been playing all these long years.”

“So what do you think we should do?” Kayleigh asked. She wanted to believe that this woman was on their side, but found trust difficult.

“Well…” Sheenie began.

“I think we should wait until we speak with the tree,” David interrupted.

All three turned to him as he backed slowly toward the northern edge of the meadow.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Sheenie said, taking Kayleigh’s hand and leading her toward David. Lincoln followed as their party (now four) reentered the thick woods.

Kayleigh’s heart sank at the thought of traveling deeper into the forest, but an hour later when they reached their destination. Moving past Lincoln, Sheenie and David, Kayleigh walked up to the silent form of the last de’Malange oak. She reached out, intending to set her open palm against the trunk, but stopped.

Something was wrong.

She turned to Lincoln.

“I feel it, too,” he said.