The Journal of Dreams (The Tales of Tahana - Book One)

Chapter 29: Back to the Suraya

Alyana felt both sorrow and peace as the voices of the children filled the air. After a minute, the lakanini started to hum in a different melody, harmonising with the babinini. It was so hauntingly beautiful, that Alyana felt goose pimples erupt on her arms. She didn't know what to feel. She felt a steady stream of tears falling down her cheeks, but at the same time, she wanted to smile. She took a deep breath and wiped her tears with the sleeves of her dress. She noticed that most of the people around her were also in tears but Jesi remained stone-faced, unmoving. After a few minutes, the Pembaji and the Shembava raised their torches with both hands and spoke once again as the children continued to sing.

"Oh Amai, most loving, your humble creatures implore you. We ask for the aide of your most holy guardians of fire and wind. By the power of fire, may the bodies of our brothers and sisters become one with Tahana. May they nourish the earth as many others who came before them had done. With the guidance of the wind, may their spirits find their way back into your loving embrace in the Eternal Universe of the Suraya. By your grace, may they find peace and rest until they come back to us again."

Then, Alyana heard something coming from the north. It was faint at first, but it grew louder with every second. It was a lakadu's voice, clear and high, humming with the song of the lakanini. It was coming closer but she couldn't see who was singing. Suddenly, a soundless burst of blinding light appeared at the centre of the pyres. The light was so intense that she had to shield her eyes with her right hand. Others did the same, including the Jesi. As sudden as the light came, it was gone. It took some time for her vision to adjust to the sudden absence of the light. She tried to focus her eyes towards the centre of the pyres and saw something peculiar. A dancing flame? The lakadu's singing voice appeared to be emanating from it. The flame slowly transformed into the shape of a lakadu in fiery robes. She couldn't see the features of the fiery figure's face, but she could clearly see a pair of bright white flames on its face where the eyes should have been. As it danced around shrouded bodies, it continued to sing with the children. To her amazement, the children seemed unperturbed. It was the first time that she saw an evaradu, a glorious fire guardian.

As the evaradu continued to dance and sing around the pyres, the Shembava and the Pembaji walked towards the centre. The Shembava continued to walk until she was standing beside the Pembaji at the northern part of the circle. Then as one, they lit the first pyre before them, then walked to the west, lighting the next pyre and then the next, until all five pyres were burning high. She expected the air to be filled with the smell of smoke and burning flesh, but she only perceived a sweet indistinguishable scent in the air. The evaradu continued to dance merrily around the burning pyres as the Pembaji and the Shembava walked back to their former positions.

After a minute, Alyana heard another faint voice in the air, this time coming from west. It was distinctly a babidu's high voice, but it was humming a melody, which complemented with the song of the babinini. Like the evaradu's voice, the second disembodied voice came closer and closer. Finally, she saw a thin wisp of cloud against the darkening sky, flying towards the burning pyres. The cloud slowly coalesced into the form of a babidu in flowing robes. She had long hair and a pair of eyes that twinkled like stars.

"Ariari..." Dari whispered.

Alyana looked towards Dari, feeling her brows come together in wonder.

Upon seeing the unspoken question in her eyes, he answered in an undertone, "She is Ariari. The hanginaradu I met in Arang."

"Oh..." Alyana nodded slowly as remembered Dari's story of that afternoon when he discovered that he was a bayaharadu. She turned her gaze towards the pyres and saw that the evaradu and hanginaradu were dancing together as they sang with the children. It was as if they were holding hands while they danced in the flames of the burning corpses. The voices of the children and the diwani filled the air as the sky grew darker with the coming of the night.