War in an age of innocence: 5

Link to Chapter 1

Kiri wandered around for a while. As usual, he did not feel like playing with the other boys. Most of them were younger, and the few older boys were always busy with other things and did not share his interests anyway. He went to the shore and helped the Danai with some of the loading and then went back to see if his Aunt had finished talking with Urho. Now they were both talking with his parents. He did not approach them for he saw that they all kept glancing his way as they spoke. He thought that they were either saying things that they did not want him to hear, or were talking about him. Either way, he thought it better to stay at a respectful distance, out of earshot.

At length, Boro called out to him.

“Come here Kiri, there is something we have to discuss”

His father’s voice sounded stern and his mother’s eyes were downcast. She was biting her lower lip. She looked worried. Kiri wondered if he was in trouble for something, but he could not think of what it could be. Both his Aunt Vara and Urho looked very cheerful, and this added to his confusion. He walked slowly over to them and stood very still. Kiri’s father glanced at his mother with a concerned look on his face and then looked at Kiri.

“Your Aunt Vara has decided to go back to Urho’s land with him. She feels that it is her place to be your tutor, and we all have known for some time that you are not happy with your life here, or with the idea of following my trade. Your mother, of course, is very worried about you leaving, even though Urho has promised to bring you back on his next voyage in the spring. Vara holds her duties here in high regard, and while there are many others who study her craft and know much of the wisdom of the Oneness, she feels that you are destined to eventually take her place”.

A flood of thoughts passed through Kiri’s mind. He thought of the long night voyage; he thought of seeing the wooden houses of Urho’s home; and then he remembered the questions he had wanted to ask his Aunt Vara, but now they all seemed silly and childish to him. He felt very small and he wondered if he would ever be wise. He looked at his mother. There were tears in her eyes. He flew into his mother’s arms and buried his face in her dress, hoping that his own tears would not be noticed. He waited for a few moments in order to compose himself, put on his most confident-sounding voice and said:

“Don’t worry Mother, I will be safe with Aunt Vara and Urho. It will be an adventure for me and I will see you next year.”

“I know you will” she replied, “it’s just that you have never been away that long and I will miss you so much.”

Boro put his arms around the both of them.

“You are growing up, Kiri. I will miss you too, but I’m very proud of you. It is a great thing to follow your destiny instead of being swept along as if by the tides. Now, gather what you would like to bring with you. The Danai have to set sail very soon.”

Kiri released his grip on Mara and looked up at her and his father. They were both smiling at him.

“I’m proud of you, too,” Mara said, “Mothers just get silly at these times, so don’t you fret about me. Learn lots of things and enjoy your adventure.”

“I will.”

Kiri ran back to the house, thinking of the things that he would take. Most important would be some of the things that his parents had made for him. He wanted to keep his parents close, in his heart. His initial fears were fading and were being replaced with a feeling of excitement for what was ahead of him. He thought about the night journey across the sea. He felt that when the sun came up after that night, it would be like being born again. It would be the start of a new life.

As the boat pulled away from the village, Kiri stood at the stern waving to his parents. The sea was a bit choppy, but he held on to the tall stern and kept waving until his parents became too small in the distance. Danai boats had very tall bows and sterns to battle with the high waves nearer their home. The choppiness of the rocky coast gave way to the swells of the deep, open sea as the land vanished from sight. The boat found its own rhythm with the sea and Kiri could feel himself becoming one with it. Vara and Urho were engaged in conversation, but she glanced back to Kiri every now and again, and smiled. Kiri was lost in his thoughts and in the rhythm of the sea and the boat.

The air grew colder as the sun started to melt into the sea. There were almost no clouds in the sky and Kiri kept watch for the first star to appear. He knew that the Danai followed the stars, at night and he wondered how the Danai navigated when it was too cloudy to see them. It was the time of the New Moon, and he remembered that his Aunt Vara had told him that this was a good time to start things. He wondered if his aunt would have gone with Urho if it were not a New Moon. By the time that the sea had completely swallowed the sun and no trace was left of its light, the sky was full of stars. Kiri lay down on a sheepskin-covered cushion and gazed up at them. Vara came over to him and covered him with a blanket.

“Go to sleep Kiri. Tomorrow you will see many wonderful things, and meet many new friends.”

The motion of the sea worked its magic on Kiri and his eyes grew heavy and he fell asleep. Then strange visions came to him: on the horizon was a darkness that moved toward him. As it came closer the stars began to vanish. It was not the darkness of an approaching storm, for he could still see the colour of the night sky. It was something else. He had never been afraid of the dark. To him the darkness at night was but part of the Oneness, he even found comfort in it, like a warm blanket when it was cold outside. This darkness was different to that. He felt an overwhelming sense of danger, like nothing he had experienced before. One thought kept coming to him, over and over again: “It is the Other, It is the Other.” He did not understand: no one had ever mentioned anything about an Other to him. He felt the danger as repulsion. Every fibre of his being was screaming: “No! It can’t be, it can’t be.”

He had seen animals hunt other animals and watched the dance between the predator and the prey. There was always something of a game about it, and the prey, at some point, would come to an understanding with their hunter and allow themselves to be caught. It was all part of the Oneness, and the Great Serpent who kept the rhythm for all to follow conducted the dance. The bodies would come and go, but the life was always there. This was not like that in any way.

As the darkness approached closer, the form of the Great Serpent become visible. It was fleeing from the darkness, and every once in a while it would stop, coil, and strike at the darkness. But its fangs found nothing to make contact with, and it would resume its flight away from that darkness yet again. The darkness had a weight, but no substance. It pushed down on Kiri as he slept. He screamed.

Kiri opened his eyes and sat up. The first light of morning illuminated the concerned face of his Aunt Vara who was crouched at his side.

“You must have had a very bad dream, to scream like this. Some of the Danai are sleeping; it’s a wonder you did not wake everyone up. You certainly surprised those who are sailing the boat!”

“Oh it was horrible, Aunt Vara, I saw…”

“Shhh! Kiri. We do not talk of such things when we are at sea. It is a custom of the Danai to leave such discussion for when land is safely reached.”

Kiri lowered his voice to a whisper.

“Aunt Vara, is there an Other that is separate from the Oneness?”

“Don’t be silly. If there was something other than the Oneness, then there could not be a Oneness, could there?”

“Is there something that has weight but no substance?”

Vara thought about this for a few moments.

“I suppose there is. When people became unaware of some aspect of the Oneness, they feel it as weight upon them. They become bowed down from it as if they are carrying a heavy load. That is part of what we do for them, we show them how what they are upset about is still part of the Oneness. When we do that, it is as if they have put down their load. They see that whatever it was is just another aspect of the Oneness that they were unfamiliar with. Whatever it was that was bothering them ceases to do so and they become happy again. When they are aware of the Oneness again, it smiles on them and their lives improve. They see how everything is connected and that they are part of it all. So that weight without substance that you speak of can be nothing more than ignorance. The Oneness can always overcome that.”

Kiri lowered his voice even more.

“But Aunt Vara, I saw the Great Serpent running from it. It kept stopping to strike at the darkness that chased it, but there was nothing there for it to bite, and it had to keep running.”

Kiri saw a fleeting expression of sadness cross his aunt’s face. It was the same look that he saw when he had asked her about the meaning of the circle, and she had told him that there were those that could not find the quietness at the centre.

“ I think that you have had an omen, Kiri. I knew from all of your questions in the past that you were capable of such things. I get them too, but not as vividly, and they lack details. There is something important that you must do one day. I have known it for a long time. When I said that you would eventually take my place, I meant that it would be me that would begin to learn things from you. It seems that this time has already started. We will discuss this more when we have landed and explored our new home.”

Kiri became aware of the sound made by a large number of white sea birds that were wheeling around above them, and he saw the shape of hills in the distance with smoke rising up from fires here and there. Urho suddenly blocked Kiri's view of all of that and looked down at them, impatiently.

“We’re home, you two! Get busy and gather up all of your stuff. There will be plenty of time for talk when we are feasting around the home fire”.

[The next episode will appear on Monday: Kiri marvels at his new home and meets a very special girl. Also, I have decided to preview twelve chapters instead of the originally planned ten. The main reasons being that one of the sub-plots will be resolved and the main theme of the novel will be introduced. Have an adventurous weekend!]


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