Sta.sh
A scatter of wispy clouds hung about the bluebell sky. They glided along windy pathways much too high for the occupants of the desert below to feel. The scrubby trees did not move; the layer of dust on the hard, cracked ground did not spin about. Other than the waves of heat signaling to the sweltering day, the only movement came from the even breathing of a figure laying in the spars shade of one of the scrubby desert trees.
Maeliana's baby blue sundress clashed with the sunburn rising on her exposed arms and face. She had wandered away from her friends during their weekend camping trip, and was now lost. The intense summer heat had exhausted her quickly, causing her to feel nauseous. There was little to nothing she could do to remedy this. She had no water, and didn't know how to locate any. In the desert it would be rare to find any water that survived the sun's rays.
She was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her eyes open. The stifling heat was lulling her into a deadly sleep. Needing something to keep her mind busy, Maeliana turned her sapphire eyes up to the wisps peppering the sky. That was what she saw, wisps, and wisps were not entertaining. With a little focus and imagination she was starting to see objects. A cactus, or maybe just a funny rock. A leaf…or just a cloud. Did clouds count when cloud-watching?
Her eyes crossed for a moment as she tried to force them to stay open. That wispy bit of cloud could've been a horse. No, a dog. Or a wolf. A wolf was more exciting. The longer she looked at it the more she was sure it was a wolf. She wasn't sure how she ever thought it was a horse. She blamed her lack of pets.
She watched the cloud-wolf walk about the sky. Her eyes were now half-closed, mesmerized by the cloud-wolf rushing towards the horizon. She remembered that falling asleep could be deadly as her eyes closed. It surely was harmless to rest her eyes. As long as she was aware she was resting she was fine. She forced her eyes open, and was suddenly jolted awake.
Before her stood a boy, no, young man who couldn't have been much older than herself. He wore pants made of hide, and his plan to combat the heat appeared to involve leaving his shoes and shirt home. His head was shaved except for the top third. Most of his long jet-black hair was pulled back, and the locks not pulled into the ponytail were braided and framed his face. Complementing this, a beaded headband with a distinct pattern that Maeliana didn't know the meaning of. A heavy necklace made of silver and turquoise hung around his neck with the upside-down crescent center piece coming to a rest on his chest. When Maeliana realized she'd been staring at the necklace, or that would be her story if asked, she changed her gaze to the young man's face. His eyes were a striking copper-hazel sort of color that she'd never seen before.
Maeliana dragged herself into a sitting position, patting the hem of her sundress down and shaking the dust from her braid of hair too light to be ginger orange but not quite blond. He had appeared so suddenly, and so quietly. She wondered if he was part of the local Navajo. Going by his appearance he was probably taking part in a powwow. Elijah and Halian had taken her to powwows before, and she could honestly say this young man's outfit was the best she'd seen. He looked as if time forgot him.
"I am Cani S. Latrans, and this is my territory." He held out his hand. "Stand, Maeliana F. Hughes."
"You…you know my name," Maeliana said. "Did Elijah and Halian send you?"
"Stand."
With minimal hesitation, Maeliana grasped his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Her face became warm independently of her sunburn when she realized how close they were standing. He flashed a mischievous grin.
"Wanderers avoid my territory. This shall be entertaining."
"…Entertaining," Maeliana asked.
"I have the chance to show what potential is arid land has. You see, Maeliana F. Hughes, I am a magician. You will be impressed."
Maeliana frowned. She didn't care how attractive he was, blurting out he was a magician so early into their meeting was a poor decision. Even she knew that and she was ignorant to the dating game. Then she remembered how others saw her. She was practically a boy in the eyes of her town, a boy in a baby blue sundress. She must've had no femininity left if this strange young man so openly admitting to something as quirky as being a magician.
"To see my tricks you must answer this first riddle. If you are incorrect I will go, and you will sleep forever."
"Lay it on me," Maeliana said with challenge.
"Look out in the distance, and at me you look. You move towards me, but I move away. You will never catch me. What am I?"
"The horizon," Maeliana murmured, staring into the distance.
She nearly fell and she was forced to brace against the ground. The patch of desert she was standing on rose up quickly, forming a small plateau. She was shaking slightly as she regained her footing. She was met with another mischievous grin.
"I'm good, aren't I?"
"That may be the biggest understatement of the day," Maeliana said, regaining her composure.
"Tell me, Maeliana F. Hughes, what are you doing here? Why did you run away from your camp? From your friends? Was this about them bringing along their female counterparts without notifying you? Why hide that from you?"
She didn't ask how he knew Halian and Elijah invited Jane and Clara without warning. With a little thought, she decided that while they should've informed her of the added company the fact they hadn't didn't bother her too much. If she had a boyfriend she probably would've brought him along without warning. She, Halian, and Elijah just didn't discuss things like that, assuming it wouldn't be a big deal. The presence of Jane and Clara had nothing to do with her wandering off without a word.
"Your friends confirmed an insecurity in you."
"I am not insecure," Maeliana said bluntly.
"You have no moments of self-doubt? You are comfortable with everything, everyone, and yourself at all times for all times? Not a person exists in nature capable of such a feat. You and I both know why you abandoned your camping outing."
She wasn't pretty. Wasn't that why she wandered aimlessly into the desert without warning? It was over something as stupid and shallow as her appearance. She knew she was a little rowdier than other girls, and that she wasn't as pretty as other girls. She couldn't fathom doing more than a simple braid when it came to her hair, and putting on make-up was outside her skillset. As such, she was perceived as a dirty little tomboy by the town. By her friends. Even they didn't stand up and say she looked nice when she randomly wore a dress or skirt. It was because it didn't look nice. It looked out of place, strange, ugly.
"I have another riddle for you. I am stronger and quicker than anyone you know. I have a single eye, but am blind. When I walk I leave devastation in my wake. What am I?"
The wind was picking up, and getting stronger. Maeliana was a little preoccupied with her dress, wishing she had shorts on. The wind came so suddenly that she was suspecting it was all his doing. It must've been a hint.
"A tornado," Maeliana said.
Clouds rolled in, dark and thick. Twisters sprouted, roaring loudly and circling the plateau like sharks. Maeliana looked over at her companion. He was grinning wickedly, and with a simple nod the tornadoes closed in on the plateau.
"Quick game before I continue. I placed you upon this pedestal, and I will rip you off. It's a long way to the bottom."
Maeliana inched to the edge of the plateau, staring down at the ground below. She looked over her shoulder, gave a grin, and stepped off. The dark clouds and twisters vanished, as did the plateau. She was standing on the ground next to the tree she had laid under not long ago. He was still there, grinning mischievously.
"What next," Maeliana asked pertly.
"Yes! That is what I want to see. Confidence. How can you so confidently step from my platform but then allow others to make you waver? Why hesitate over something as petty as appearance? Maeliana F. Hughes, does this really have anything to do with how you look or does this insecurity stem from something more?"
"I'm sixteen and female," Maeliana said. "Does there really need to be something more to it? Girls are always having moments of doubts where their looks are concerned. I'm sure eventually I'll get over it. It isn't a big deal to start with."
"But we both know the lie in that. Deep down you believe everyone should have a moment where they feel beautiful, and you do not have that moment. You haven't had such a moment in months, perhaps years. Next riddle."
The bluebell sky suddenly went black. From the horizon shot forth orbs of light, colliding and scattering about to form billions of smaller lights that twinkled about. Maeliana stared up in amazement, and then over at her companion. Starlight glinted off the pendant hanging around his neck.
"At dusk I come. At dawn I disappear. I am a hope. A dream. A wish. What am I?"
"A star," Maeliana said, smirking. "You created a very easy hint."
"This chip, this hint of self-loathing, it has much to do with those scars on your left knee."
She was startled a little by such an accusation. Maeliana took a small step back, bending slightly to touch her left knee defensively. People in Gallup knew she received her scars as the result of multiple surgeries on her knee. She was extremely lucky to keep her kneecap after the trauma it endured. The trauma, the scars, and the context of the situation were not talked about. It wasn't so much as whispered about anymore. Three years earlier, during a trip to the northeast, Maeliana had taken a beating to that knee. She got off lucky.
"Your sister lost her life that night. You lost nothing."
"Except my big sister," Maeliana said coolly. "I'd give both legs if it meant Jo would've lived."
"If you found yourself legless and your sister alive, would you be able to have a moment where you felt pretty? Or would you still deprive yourself out of some sort of guilt? That is the underlying factor in this insecurity. There is a part of you, a tiny part, which wonders if there was a chance you could've saved her. What if you didn't incite the race back to your motel? What if you turned back to find her sooner? Would your sister be alive, or would you both be dead?"
It would've been a lie to say she hadn't thought of what she could've done differently that night. Whether it was a brief nightmare about her sister lying lifeless, or a thought out plan that would ultimately fail, that night was never too far from her thoughts. There was nothing she could've done to save Jonuela. Maybe she didn't want to let go? Maybe she was afraid that accepting this was just a terrible moment of hard luck would cause her to forget her sister? What if guilt was the only way she could hold on?"
"It isn't," Maeliana murmured.
"I dance without legs. I breathe without lungs. I feed and I grow, and without life I live and I die. What am I?"
"Breathe…feed…," Maeliana mused. "…Fire?"
She jumped as all the scrubby trees burst into flames. The fire started leaping about, from tree to tree, from trees to the hands of the young man. He tossed the balls of fire around playfully in almost a juggling sort of motion.
"When you were a little girl you and your sister once stumbled upon old photographs of your mother. To you, this mysterious woman who gave you life was gorgeous. She and your sister shared a few similar traits, you noticed. But you saw none of her in you. The closest trait would be your hair was nearly the same shade, but that near trait was shadowed by all you didn't share. It was then you first felt shaken in your appearance. Am I getting this correct, Maeliana F. Hughes?"
Was that correct? It was true that she felt she didn't share any qualities with her mother. Her father had even said, proudly, that she resembled him while her sister had more resembled their mother. But, she had been so young when she first stumbled upon her mother's pictures. She has been so eager to find out who the woman hidden away in the shoebox was. Her mother was intangible, and it had stung a bit to see nothing of her when faced with a mirror.
"By the light of the moon I sing a mournful tune. Who am I?"
"Coyote," Maeliana said quietly.
The fire vanished leaving no scorches or other scars. Night changed back to day, and the desert summer heat returned with it. Very abruptly, shoots of green burst from the hard dirt and spanned as far as she could see. Vibrant hues of yellows, reds, pinks, purples, and whites exploded among the green creating a massive field of tulips. Maeliana spun around slowly, in awe of the spectacle she was seeing. When she turned back to Coyote she found him standing incredibly close, staring down at her with his strangely hazel eyes.
"I see your mother in you. It may be true that you did not inherit her nose or lips. It may also be true that these minuet features played a role in her appearance. But what you inherited is deeper than that. You inherited her confidence, and confidence is what really determines beauty. Like the tulip, you may not be flashy or elegant, but you are undoubtedly beautiful. This I know. Now, Maeliana F. Hughes, close your eyes. It is time for this magician's greatest trick."
Maeliana closed her sapphire eyes, a smile creeping onto her face. She felt as if she would be able to focus more on the fact her sister lived than on her death. She would be able to do more good if she wasn't constantly beating herself up over Jonuela's murder. And it felt nice to have someone other than her father and step-mother say she was pretty. It was nice to know both she and Jonuela had taken something from their mother. If she stayed confident she would go far.
Confidence she definitely had. It was her patience that could've used a little more work. She cracked open an eye, and then opened both fully. The field of tulips had gone. Coyote was gone. She wasn't even standing, but lying beneath a scrubby desert tree. Sunburn was rising on her exposed arms and face, clashing with her baby blue sundress. She was feeling sick from the heat, and now had her attention turned to the fact she was without water. She stared up at the shapeless wisps of clouds that peppered the bluebell sky.
Cracking and shuffling alerted her, and she sat up. Her friends and their girlfriends were only a few yards away. They undoubtedly had come away from camp to find her. As she rose to meet them she paused, her fingers brushing against something crisp and alive. Next to her lay a fresh cut, light pink tulip.
"Mae, thank God you're alright! We were calling for you. Why didn't you answer?"
Maeliana carried the tulip up with her as she stood. She touched the soft petals gently, smiling.
"I was caught up in this daydream. It's a girl thing. Come on, I'll race you back. Last one to camp has to cook."
| Deviant Login | Shop |
 | Join deviantART for FREE  |
Take the Tour  |
Tired 
