“Arthur had been permitted by Bobby to hold him in his arms so his goodbye hugs were awkward. When he hugged Cherine, Bobby transferred to her arms and she let him slide to the ground to stand on his own. They promised to meet Arthur the next night and with their guides and Birshima, they strode off into the unknown.
PART 14
Because they’d made a decision not to use remains of roads or highways so that the land could be healed by them as they walked, even though the walking would have sometimes been easier, they passed Grants Pass without realising it and found themselves on a fairly steep ascent that was complicated by deep slashes from erosion. At one point the erosion had undermined the slope above and they could still see the results of the collapse. Cherine was heartened by the fact that on rare occasions they found some hardy plant species still surviving. When they reached the point where they could see the other side and land stretching out, the guides stopped and thanked them for allowing them to travel with them. Robert had noticed their interest in his knife and had brought two extras for this moment. He presented them as if they were doing him a favour by accepting the knives and they shared a last meal and parted company.
“Birshima, do you like Cherine?” She hesitated, not certain how she should respond. “Do you like me, what about Bobby?”
“Be fair to her Robert, I don’t think she is used to people discussing such things openly. Birshima, among our people, we show our feelings. If we do not like someone we try to avoid spending time with them, but if we have to, we remain polite and act friendly. With those we like we feel more comfortable and enjoy being with them. Robert is asking whether you enjoy being with us.”
“It is good, I am learning new ideas.”
Robert grinned. “Birshima, pretend Cherine did not interrupt me and answer me, do you like any of us?”
“Yes, all of you.” It did not sound right to her so she explained. “It is good to hate those who wish to harm your tribe? Then those who do not wish death for us, they are not to be hated so they are friends?”
“Among the children of your age in the village, did you like all of them the same or did you prefer any of them to others?”
“You speak of favour? Yes, I have one I favour.”
“Do you favour any of us?”
“Favour is not to be granted easily, it needs time and knowledge of the other. Is it not the same with you?”
“If you had to favour one person not of your tribe, who would you choose?”
“The white hair, Arthur.” She saw she’d hit a raw nerve, without understanding what was wrong. “I would like to favour you if I were not to be the Fire Woman and if I were bleeding.”
“What do you mean?”
“An elder is not a man, it is allowed. To favour you I would have to bear your children. I cannot, my father waits for me to bear his Fire Woman daughter.”
“Is a woman of your tribe allowed to favour more than one man?”
She nodded. “It is best that way. It is not good for a man to know if he cannot father a child, they become like females. If a woman mates with three to eight men, no one knows who is the father so they are all the fathers and all can be men.”
Cherine asked, “Your father is an old man, by the time your daughter bleeds, how will she have a child?”
“Three daughters of a father make the last daughter strong in her power. Then she may choose to favour others.”
“What happens if you have a son?”
“Then he must favour me so that I bear his daughter. The strength will be in him also.” She paused, puzzled. “Is it not the same way with you? The water power you have to make green grow, will it end with you?”
“I would rather explain that once you know us better. Our ways are different and we might confuse you.”
The next day they began the long descent. They watched for clouds, expecting them to build up into storms, but the sky remained blue. Bobby rarely scampered off to explore as he was not as agile anymore and did not trust his abilities after hurting himself a number of times. It upset him, but Cherine gave him to understand that once he grows accustomed to the changes in his body he will become as agile as he had been. He stared at her with a flicker of anger in his eyes, but did not show emotion on his face, so Cherine and Robert discussed it and decided he feels they’ve harmed him by changing him.
“He is only a six year old, we’ll have to treat him like one.”
“What do you mean Robert?”
“You’ll see.”
That night they teleported home and found Arthur busy cooking for them. “I had a feeling you’d come back tonight. Have you reached the lands of rain yet?”
“We’ve scarcely seen a cloud! That smells great.”
He wrinkled his nose and grinned. “You don’t. I suggest you have a shower and change and by then the food will be ready. What about Birshima, how much of this can she eat?”
“She’s had ten days of eating our food and she’s over the worst of the reactions. She cannot tolerate cheese and milk, but the rest should be fine.”
“Strange, she has the same sensitivities as Bobby? The rest of the tribe are showing the same results, although with them we’re taking it more slowly.” He put down his ladle and crouched by Bobby. “How’s my young man? Are you enjoying your trip?”
“Spuf.”
“That bad eh, really spuf? I thought you would enjoy seeing new things. Would you like to spend the day with me tomorrow, we’ll get some of that ice cream you like.”
“Why doesn’t ice cream affect him?”
“What he eats is actually sorbet. I’ve avoided buying him dairy product ice creams.”
“Why don’t you take Birshima with so that the two of us can have a day off? Cherine is worried about the plants surrounding our home, some of them need more water.”
Robert asked Birshima to go with him and they went outside. “Bobby is a six year old child, but in many ways he is more like a three year old. I have to force him to think instead of just blaming me for healing him. Will you help me?”
“How?”
“I am going to tell him I’ll change him back to the way he was. His back was bent over so that he could not stand straight, his legs and arms were curved and his fingers were curled so that he could not open them properly and his nails were claws. He walked on all fours, only able to walk on his legs alone for five or six steps.
You must think that he will not want it? He is finding it difficult to adjust, he has not learnt how to balance himself properly and has hurt himself a few times from falling when he tried to jump the way he used to. He blames me, as you may have noticed. When I tell him I will change him, I will also tell him that if it is better to be as he was, I’m going to change us. Cherine and I will become as he will be and I want you to show that you feel sorry for us. You must not show that you fear us or that you are horrified, just that you feel sorry for us. Can you do that?”
“You will be demons? Will it make you evil?”
“Let’s see if it works, I’ve never asked my healer to damage me. I’ll try with just my one hand.” She watched in fascinated horror as the skin thickened, the fingers grew gnarled and bent and his nails yellowed and turned into claws. He sighed, his face beaded with sweat. “I thought it would not obey, but I explained we are doing this to help a child. Birshima, does this make me a demon? When you think so, just look into our eyes.”
He changed his hand back and they joined the others.
“Bobby, sit down, I have something important to tell you, you also Cherine.” Cherine pulled at Bobby so that he sat next to her. “Bobby, you are angry with me because you think the way you were was better. Are you sure it was better?” He nodded, but avoided looking at Robert. “Fine, then I’ll change you back to the way you were. Cherine, what if he is right, what if it is better to walk on all four instead of just our legs? Don’t you think we should both change to be like him?”
“You can do it Robert?”
“Yes, as long as your healer does not fight mine.”
“Aren’t you taking things to extremes?”
“No Arthur, how can we understand the way he feels if we have not been the same as him? We’ll only do it for a day or two and then Cherine and I will turn back to being as we are.”
Bobby was forced to affirm it was what he wanted and Robbie then gave his healer the order. Bobby watched his fingers change, the old tight feeling returning so that he no longer could open his hands. He watched the thick callouses re-grow and finally he saw his hands look exactly as they used to. He was sitting on the floor, his upper body straight.
Now it curved so that he had to place his arms before him to hold him up. There was little pain, but he felt the muscles stretch to accommodate the changes in his skeleton. Within the hour he looked exactly the same as he had before. Birshima forgot she was the Fire Woman-to-be and showed her horror and fear, but Bobby did not even glance at her.
“Now you Cherine.” Part of our sense of self awareness is our body. Cherine could not help the shock showing as she felt herself being violated, altered into something ugly and alien to her senses. Tears ran down her cheeks as she fought her healer. Robert knelt before her. “Oh my love.” He kissed her. “Now it is my turn.”
By the time Robert had changed himself, Birshima had regained her self control and only showed pity for them, as Robert had asked. What none of them expected was the pain and tears in Arthur’s eyes.
“Now me Robert, I also love Bobby.”
“Arthur, you are too old, changing you could kill you. We don’t want you to die.”
“It is my choice, change me.” For the first time Bobby showed he was aware. He leapt to stand before Arthur and snarled at Robert.
“You better stay as you are Arthur, Birshima will need you to look after her.”
Birshima’s face was a sickly yellow. “I am here to learn. When I tell my mother of this she will ask why I did not change. Change me.” She hesitated and could not help asking, “You will change us back?”
“Not Bobby, but I will change you tomorrow or whenever you ask me to.”
She was terrified and her pride was not strong enough to help her bear the changes she felt and saw without horror and terror distorting her face. Robert knelt before her.
“Whenever you see someone who has been crippled or sickness has made them ugly, remember how it feels now. They too feel the same at the way life has changed them. Inside they hurt and they are not demons. For them it is worse, for they will not be changing back to the way they should be within a day or two.”
That night, for the first time since they’d both acknowledged their love, Robert and Cherine slept facing away from each other.
When Arthur took Bobby and Birshima to the city, instead of her being overcome by the wonders she saw, Birshima could only notice the horror and pity on the faces that looked at her. She felt like crying out, this is not what I am like, but she bore it with the pride her mother had taught her. Neither she nor Bobby enjoyed their visit and they barely tasted the ice cream. Arthur noticed and was pleased.
When they returned home, Bobby rushed to be held by Cherine. Due to her own changes she no longer could and they had to experiment for a new position that would give him the feeling of being held. When she caressed him with the back of her hands instead of her fingers, he stopped her, holding her by the wrist for a long time.
Birshima did not sleep well, her body felt wrong and her usual sleeping position was impossible. Finally she gave up just before dawn and got out of bed. As she tried to stand upright to put on her clothes she told herself in a very determined manner that she would ask Robert to change her back. She was not learning anything and all she was achieving was the suffering that she did not feel was her due. She sat on the floor to pull her pants on, wishing she could just wear her loincloth. She came to her feet and she sensed a movement outside her window. She took a better look and saw Bobby running across the flowers. He vanished among the trees and she worried, waiting for him to reappear. When he did not she tried to put on her sandals, gave up in disgust at the way her ugly calloused feet refused them and silently she opened her window and ran in the direction she’d seen Bobby enter the trees.
The copse of trees was very small, but she could see the direction he’d run as he had deliberately snapped branches. She hesitated, realising that Bobby is raging and she already knew that his strength is above normal, he could hurt her badly. Fiercely she recalled who she is and loped off after him.
Robert and Cherine found them two hours later. They were sitting on the ground and Birshima was playing a game with Bobby. When Bobby saw them he recalled he was supposed to be running away to his ‘Bobby house’. Guiltily he waited for them to be angry with him for damaging the trees. He avoided looking at Cherine, expecting to find the love he is used to gone from her eyes. Birshima stood up, leaning on her hands.
“I apologise, when playing with Bobby we ran through the trees and I broke some branches.”
Robert grinned. “We’ve brought breakfast with us, shall we have a picnic?” He explained to Birshima what a picnic is and it did not make any sense to her, for it sounded similar to the way she always ate back at her home. Cherine touched the two children and they teleported. Bobby gave a start and then hunkered down in misery.
“Is this where you wanted to come to Bobby?” She crouched before him. “Have you stopped loving us? Do you really want to leave us?” Tears filled her eyes and he began to whimper, wanting to get rid of her tears but afraid his claws would scratch her face.
“Cherine, I’d rather have breakfast at the Faerie Glen. I’m curious as to how it has grown and whether Birshima’s people are using it. Before we go, Bobby, my son, do you want to stay as you are? I’m changing Birshima back to the way she was.”
He stretched out his arm and Robert took his hand in his and brought it to his lips. With a soft kiss he let him go. He moved closer. “While the changes hurt you, would you like me to hold you?” Bobby moved into his arms, his eyes locked on those of Robert throughout the changes. Birshima wondered at the hate she saw him show for Robert and softly Cherine explained. Birshima shuddered.
“If he looked at me that way and I were already the Fire Woman, my warrior would kill him.”
“Can’t you see that to earn his love is the greatest gift you could hope for? Think of what we’ve told you about his life before we found him. Any love he feels, however he shows it, that has to be the biggest miracle of life.”
They had to return to the mansion to change their clothes once their bodies had changed. Arthur was reading, but when he heard where they are going he chose to accompany them. He took his book with so that the others can have their privacy.
Cherine buttered the bread, being careful to put the minimum on the slices intended for Bobby and Birshima. She held up a jar with a red content. “In the various parts of the barren lands that we’ve been healing, the POL agents have found plants growing that were unknown to us. One of them grows a red berry. By searching through the old books they identified it as a strawberry. They also found a recipe for making strawberry preserve and I’m told it should be spread over bread. We’re all trying this for the first time and I hope it is not called a strawberry because it tastes like straw.” Arthur had eaten, but he did not refuse a slice. Bobby first smelled it, Birshima copied him and they took a bite. Bobby whooped and stretched out his hand for a second slice while still eating the first.
“Birshima, Cherine and I want to walk around to heal some plants, can you keep Bobby busy?”
Birshima collected some pebbles and the two of them played the game she’d taught him earlier. Suddenly he stopped and stared at her. “Me trees, why?”
“I didn’t want them to be angry with you.”
A little while later she caught him cheating and, giggling, she tickled his armpits. As he squirmed she giggled out aloud, telling him it is the price he has to pay for cheating.
They were both panting when she stopped. He made as if to tickle her and then grabbed her hand. He brought her fingers to his mouth and lightly nipped the tips, his icy blue eyes staring into hers with a shy hate.
Dear visitor, if you only joined us now, at post 28, welcome.
I think you have missed some beautiful parts of the story of Cherine and Robert.
This is a reminder, you can go to the top of this page and use the link to return to Post 01.
Thereafter, each post has the next link at the end of the story. Or else, from post2 onwards, all you need to do is alter the url, increasing the post number by one.
If you enjoy the story, I do not ask that you resteem or upvote; those to me are just bonuses, a sign you enjoyed reading Boxee. All I really want as encouragement is that you recommend the story to all your friends; those you think would enjoy such a fantasy story.
I would like to add a personal note, which is also a hope of mine. You may or may not enjoy my way of keeping my writing simple where I can; you may or may not enjoy the style of the adventures experienced; but, I am very confident you will each grow to love at least one character.
Is that character going to be Cherine, Robert, Arthur, Bobby, the Fire Woman or her daughter, or one of the others you will come to know? I will not even try to guess, but I know you will, for I have loved each of them and written of them with love :)
Thank you.