Sekali, "The Sister City"
Chapter 24
Sekali found himself in a clearing crowded with tall grasses and shrubs, each surrounded by an array of colored flowers at their base. Mabuhi was close at hand, peering at the edge of the glade which was densely lined by trees in all their varieties and sizes . . .
. . . Sekali inadvertently began leaning toward her, closer and closer, until there was but a short distance between them. He bent his will upon her, searching deeply into her soul, trying to learn what she was . . .
. . . Far away he heard a wolf howl. His mind flashed, and he saw himself again standing within the large clearing of knee-deep grasses, which were flowing in a gentle wind. Great spires of trees surrounded him on all sides. He studied them with great interest for a long while, overwhelmed by their beauty and majesty. He wanted to touch them; feel their surface. The thought occurred to him to climb one and see what there was to see. He closed his eyes and smelled their scent. It was pleasing, different. When he opened his eyes again, the day had been replaced with night. The stars shone radiantly in their resting places in the black expanse above. He marveled at the immensity of space, reminding him sharply that he was small within the scheme of things. He watched two falling stars shoot over the horizon above him, fading to two mere stretches of fire.
The noise of panting toward the forest’s edge caught his attention. A great black wolf entered the clearing, as proud and majestic as a Wasteland morgel lion.
Sekali did not fear the wolf as it came to him, stopping not ten paces from where he stood. He stared at the wolf, noting every curve of its magnificent structure. Especially, he was taken aback by its eyes like the Living World’s blue skies. It backed up a few steps, sat upon the ground, and raised its eerie voice to the moon that was creeping up over the trees. Sekali listened to its sad and lonely howls as it sang to the white globe rising. After a while, the wolf ceased its uncanny song, and came to Sekali, who knelt and held out his hand for the animal to smell. The wolf nuzzled his hand, and then licked it. He raised his other hand to its head and coursed his fingers through its ears and fur. After a brief time, it departed silently, swiftly. When it had gone, he again heard it cry in the night, somewhere out in the darkness, beyond the tree line.
As if by magic, Sekali was taken back. His eyes focused upon Mabuhi's. He did not move. Again, he felt the strange sensation of searching for something lost; something almost remembered.
The distance between the two decreased. She was so close to his being . . . too close.
Sekali pulled back and released a quivering breath. Mabuhi continued looking at him while he breathed deeply, unable to take his dark eyes from hers. She was something other than . . . Sekali quietly, almost silently, whispered, "Who are you?"
Mabuhi smiled warmly. "I am Mabuhi, and I come to claim my forest." She took his hand in hers.
"And all my labors have not been in vain." She continued to hold Sekali's full attention, as if she had the will and power of ten sorcerers.
"Sekali, you are my ward. I wish to go now. We are very near; I have many friends who anxiously await my arrival." She arose gracefully and began her preparations for the day's journey.
It was still dark when the four broke camp. All that next day, as they traveled, Sekali could do nothing but meditate upon Mabuhi, and the things he had seen and heard. There was something about her . . . he would solve this mystery. She was not merely a distant cousin elf; she was much more.