Seer's Hope (Book 1 of The Seer Trilogy)

Seer's Hope (Chapter 26)

Hope flopped back on the mattress and pulled the covers over her head. Her small, quiet, intimate Joining ceremony was turning into the Dayamari equivalent of a three-ring circus.

~*~

Hope couldn't help feeling the teeniest bit smug about insisting the celebration take place outdoors because in the end, the extra guests had barely caused a ripple. About the only thing she wished could be different was her ability to see. She'd been told over and over she looked radiant in the full-length bronze-colored dress with glittering beadwork at the hem, but a girl liked to see the evidence for herself on her Joining day. And using someone else's eyes at a time like this seemed rude and a little frivolous.

Now, all that remained before the formal part of the ceremony concluded was the exchange of gifts.

The man Hope loved stepped forward to hand her a small but heavy package. She heard Blayne exhale, long and deep, before he spoke. "I wanted to give you something to show how much you mean to me, how much I love you and am humbled you would choose to spend your life with me. But finding the right gift was more difficult than I imagined, so I enlisted help from some friends. I know you're saddened you can't see me, and all our family and friends at our Joining. This gift will make it possible for you to see us all whenever you want."

Hope unwrapped the package and turned the heavy ball-shaped thing over in her hands. "I'm sure it's beautiful, Blayne. How does it work?"

"We need someone to 'set' the picture first. Then it'll be inserted into this globe. Whenever you think about it, the picture will be transferred into your mind and you'll be able to see it, just as if you were sighted and were viewing at a painting of us. Now, who do you want in the picture?"

She nibbled her lip, still uncertain how the gift was supposed to work. "Us of course, and my family, too. And anyone else you'd like to include."

"My friends are already part of your family," he said. And Hope's smile faltered a little when she thought of Dayamar, and the family she'd lost back on her home-world.

Blayne gathered everyone together. "Ready?"

"But who's going to set the picture?" Hope asked.

"Me!" a voice said.

"Kunnandi?"

"In the flesh." He kissed her cheek. "Wisa, stop primping and get down here or you won't be in the picture."

Hope felt the warmth of the goddess's presence surround her. "As if I would miss my daughter's Joining," Wisa said.

"You cut it fine," came Shikari's deep rumbling voice.

"Blayne, step closer to Hope and put your arm around her," Kunnandi ordered. "You're grinning like an idiot, by the way. You might want to tone it down a bit. Cayl, shift over slightly, you're blocking your lovely life-partner's face. Good, that looks perfect. Now, everyone say 'please'. Oooh, perfect! There, it's done. And a very good picture, too, if I do say so myself."

"Not bad for an amateur," Shikari said.

"Here you are, Hope." The god handed her the globe. "What do you think?" She could sense him dancing around her, eagerly awaiting her verdict.

She cradled the globe in her hands and concentrated. It warmed slightly and after a few seconds, a picture formed in her mind. She gasped. They were all perfectly portrayed—as though captured in a camera snapshot. And there was someone else in the shot, too. Dayamar's dear face smiled proudly out at her.

"Thank you, Kunnandi," she whispered, overcome by the precious gift.

"You're most welcome, my sweet. But it was all Blayne's idea."