For One Nen (19 page)

“Anyway, Pijin said they weren’t allowed to talk about it or they could be banished from the city to live in the outer region near the Hoth and the others that have befriended them. Somehow I think he knows even more than what he’s told me. I only got that much out of him by almost begging him to tell me. He seems to speak freely about the tribes but not much of the underground, and nothing of the many caves and tunnels. I mean he’s described the underground a little but not really told me about the underground.”

“What do you mean?” Chris asked.

“Well, it would be like me saying, ‘Vincent has black hair and comes from Earth’. That’s just a description. If I wanted someone to know about him I might say, ‘He’s tall and hard working. He came from Earth on a ship called the Eden with a bunch of his cousins but he had to leave his sister behind, which makes him very sad’.” With her last words her volume faded and the room grew very still.

“I see,” said Chris after a long silent moment. “This Pijin only tells you some facts about these people without showing you their life and emotions and such. Right?”

Lena, still feeling the heaviness of the moment she had conjured glared at the floor.

“Yes,” she said at last.

They had been on Reen for almost a year now. Each one of the cousins had made significant friendships with the others in the colony as well as many natives who lived near the mountains of Peekwa. The natives called their world San-s-po though its meaning had been lost long ago.

“Why for Pete’s sake, didn’t the Het just overthrow those tiny little freaks?’ Shane questioned as he raised his eyebrows.

All the cousins looked at one another but no one had an answer.

Then Irene spoke up, “Maybe Vincent could ask Pitle.” She always tried to keep things light and cheery.

“Okay! Okay,” Vincent said with his cheeks reddening.

Scout furrowed his brow, “Does seem strange. If the Het were what you say, then why would such tiny creatures like these Hoth even be a threat? Were the Het dim or just cowardly? I want to check out these Hoth. Maybe they have some answers we’re not getting from anyone else.”

“Yes, I do as well,” Chris said.

They contemplated these thoughts long into the evening hours. Even after they had retired to Lena’s front porch to watch the suns set
, they were asking why the Het giants couldn’t stop the Hoth from kidnapping the children. They voiced some theories but when they were all prepared to leave for the evening no one was any closer to having an answer.

“Now, wait,” Vincent said. “What are the facts we have so far?”

Chris began, “Well first off, the Hoth are considered the bad guys and they stole the children, there were killings and the Hoth perpetrated the killings, and the people outside of the city believe Hrilla was a hero and that she saved her people and brought them to the surface, but the Hoth revere her as a god so she must have had some power over the Hoth.”

Chris breathed a deep sigh as several cousins shook their heads at the information, which seemed like more of a riddle than historical fact.

They each gave Lena a hug as they thanked her for hosting their time together. As Vincent bent to hug Lena good-bye, she whispered, “We may be able to find the answer easier than the rest.” Vincent knew what she meant. They could find out more information through their friends Pitle and Pijin.

The cousins’ new colony had been established without hardship. Everyone knew their job
s and what was expected of them, which gave most of the cousins a great deal of time for things like exploring. This was Scout’s main interest ever since he and Irene had found the cave and wall carvings. He was anxious to investigate further. While the cousins went about their daily lives, to which they had grown accustomed, they still felt a stirring of curiosity about the mystery. “Why were the Hoth still feared?”

“When we were told about the coming colony I was hoping there would be someone like you,” Pijin said as he and L
ena sat together one evening.

Lena had wavy blonde hair that fell over her shoulders. The freckles that sprinkled across her nose had grown in number since their arrival. Her arms even had freckles from being in the rays of the bright suns.

However, her cousin Vincent, though he was cotton topped as a youngster and his nose had been dotted with freckles, had hair that was turning almost black since their arrival. His freckles had all but disappeared. His once fair skin had turned the shade of coffee with light much crème. Scout and Stella, though, had always been fair and blonde. Even on this sun filled planet they only burned in the light of the suns while their hair grew only lighter. Their blue eyes shone bright and reminded the cousins of the oceans back on Earth. Chris, the oldest cousin, had always had black hair. He was of average build. Not tall. Not short. Not stout or thin. When the others either darkened or burned from the suns, Chris stayed the same. It coincided with his role in this group of cousins; even tempered, peace maker, solid, and reliable. He made his father proud, but the cousins didn’t speak of their family left behind on Earth; their parents, a few siblings, their grandparents, and even close friends. It was part of their pact. They would not speak of the lost past, only their hope-filled future. This is why Lena had sought out a companion from the natives. She longed to be completely herself. Her past was still alive in her. Her dearest cousin Darcy was there, on Earth, still living in the past. Missing her was an ache she bore daily, and she had no one to talk to about this sorrow she had carried for so long.

Most mornings
, as she crossed from dream into reality, her nerves would pinch, a lump would choke her throat and she would crush her eyelids shut. She wanted to hold the dream a little longer; the dream of her childhood before being pulled away from her dear cousins.

Her friend Pijin was a good listener. They enjoyed each other’s companionship. He thought her beautiful and she thought him kind. They adored each other. They would talk for hours upon hours but when silence filled their space Pijin would welcome it like an added table guest and wait for it to consume its fill. Knowing all the while
, Lena needed this silent visitor before she could whisper about her past.

“I was so little back then
, but Grandpa had already died. Darcy was the last to remember him. But Grannie was around. I know she was but I can’t remember her as well. I remember them all; all of them.”

Pijin assumed she spoke of her whole family though he didn’t ask. He n
ever asked. He just listened.

“That time when my mom,” she didn’t finish. Lena would often begin as though she were going into a detailed story and then just fade off and never comp
lete her thought. She would simply sit transfixed for a time and when she came back to being verbal again she would be somewhere else in the story.

“They were the first to leave,” She picked up toward the end. “Then Scout and Stella left, Irene and her brothers…” Off into the silence she would go again and then, “but we all got a graduation invitation from Darcy. I was so excited. It had been eleven years since I had seen her. That was about the time Grannie got sick and we didn’t…” off into silence she traveled.

Very soft were her next whispers, “I never knew what I did wrong for her not to want to come around. Even when we all got back together not long before we came here, she never came. I don’t know why she didn’t want to see me. I don’t think I’ll ever know. At our first meeting, reunion really, we all decided not to talk about anyone that wasn’t there; mainly because Scout and Shane got so hot and angry talking about it all.” Pijin moved slightly in his chair and it creaked loudly. Lena jumped to her feet before realizing where she was. Very quickly she remembered that she was on a planet called Reen – so far from home – so far from her beloved cousin.

“I’m sorry Frel,” Pijin said. It was a nickname he called Lena. It meant lovely flower. She craved his tenderness and attention. She let it console her emptiness
, and some moments she felt so very empty. Their time wasn’t always spent with Lena’s reminiscence.

On this evening Pijin took Lena’s hand and lead her on a casual walk while they continued to talk. Lena told Pijin of the underground lake and the wall pictures the cousins had found.

“You mustn’t go there. Never go there,” Pijin said.

Lena was taken aback. Why was he so adamant and almost paranoid by mentioning the underground? Hadn’t many of these tribes come from there? Was there something in his past that he feared? Maybe it was time for Pijin to share and for Lena to listen.

“Frel,” Pijin slightly pleaded. “Please don’t.”

Lena loved hearing the nickname Pijin had given to her but she wasn’t at all pleased with his domineering attitude toward her and the cousins on this single matter of exploring the underground.

The city of Reen was fast becoming a technological society but dealing with the underground still remained an archaic taboo. Pijin wouldn’t divulge his reasons for his apprehensions about the underground and its history. She hoped some of her cousins were having better luck with learning more about the many fears this planet held.

After dinner one evening Vincent tried to find answers from his new girlfriend, Pitle.

“Pitle,” Vincent said with unusual seriousness. “Will you tell me more about the underground?”

Pitle who had been clearing dishes from the table stopped in mid step.
             

“You’re suddenly curious?” Pitle said.

“Suddenly? No! I mean, I made my home on a far off planet. So I must be a bit curious. But not suddenly.”

Pitle explained, “Your cousins; they’ve been asking all through the city, wanting to hear about the tellings of times long ago. And you as well; asking of the underground. What are you venturing at?”

“Well first of all, why are we getting very little answers?” Pitle grew quiet and began to stack dishes in the sink. The silence lasted for several minutes.

Vincent finished clearing
the table quickly and together they washed. Yet after a substantial amount of time Vincent was about to go crazy from the awkwardness. He filled their silence.

“I miss dishwashers,” Vincent said as he rinsed the dishes.

“Am I not good enough?” Pitle said with her continued irritation.

“Back home, we have a thing called a dishwasher. It's kind of a big box thing. And you put the dishes in it and then push a button and it cleans the dishes.” Pitle looked up at Vincent as if he were making a joke.

“Sounds alien, I know,” said Vincent with a chuckle.

“You are,” Pitle reminded him plainly then let the corners of her mouth turn upward while she gazed at her new love.

Vincent laughed at her comment and continued, “But you practically had to wash them first before you put them in the dishwasher.”

“Then what was the point of the dishwasher?”

“I've always wondered that myself,” Vincent said with a laugh.

“You do wonder about a lot of things. Don't you?” Pitle asked letting her smile fade into seriousness once again.

Vincent answered with a story.

“When I was little our family moved away from all of my cous
ins and our little town, to a place we called 'the woods' because there were so many trees. My dad took my dog, Grace into those woods and shot her.”

Pitle gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth before rea
lizing her hand was full of soap bubbles. She grabbed a rag and dried her mouth quietly as she let Vincent continue his story.

“Dad didn't tell me anything. Mom just said, 'Dad knows best.' I've always wondered if he really did. And if he did why couldn't he tell me?”

“Then when my sister's cat was gone and my parents said, 'don't tell you sister her cat died.' Why did I have to know? And what were they protecting her from? The truth? Well I think not knowing hurts worse. ‘Cause my sister did find out that the cat was dead. She missed the cat and she didn't trust our parents anymore. So don't try to keep things from me to protect me.”

“But Vincent, I want to protect more than your feelings.” Pitle drained the dishwater and dried her hands then left the kitchen.

Vincent followed. “Why the big mystery?” Vincent asked. “What are your people afraid of?”

“Being afraid has nothing to do with it. We are just not allowed to talk about some things,” Pitle explained. “We could get into trouble.”

“Not allowed? Well that would never fly in a democracy. Who's this tyrant who made this rule?” Vincent said.

Pitle felt defensive. “We have no tyrants. We have Master Roffin. And he's kind and holds to the old ways.”

“And what are these old ways?” Vincent pressed with his question.

“Very long ago the city made a law. ‘Thou shalt not speak of the underground empire or thou shalt be banished from the city to live with the rebels, the Hoth’.”

“And these Hoth are bad?” Vincent asked.

“They are a dangerous people. The city is forbidden to mingle with the outcasts. The city stays on the narrow path. Not like some today who are making their own path.”

“Like us?” Vincent asked.

“When Master Roffin allowed the Denizen to come here they agreed to respect our rules - our way of life. When your people came the first thing you did was argue over the place where you were told to live.” Pitle said. “The Plateau at the outskirts of the city would have been just fine for all of you. It was the largest area near the city. You could have been a powerful people; living as part
of the city dwellers but instead, you settled in the lower grasslands where you can actually see the water’s edge. Too close to the rebels.”