Seeing with the Heart Page 6

  Braxx couldn’t help smiling at her enthusiasm. He’d been fascinated by the details of Tal’ossi life as well, when he’d first made contact with the primitive aliens, but he’d had no one to share his wonder with. It was nice to be able to include Molly in his discovery and explain everything he knew about this new people to her.

  They had landed at the end of Tal’os Trenta’s short day so the shadows were already growing long by the time they reached the hut of the Wise One. It was a long, low structure built of the pale pink and deep purple wood which grew in the forest and the flat roof was thatched with pink and green moss.

  For a world where sight wasn’t as important as other senses, there was certainly a lot of color on Tal’os Trenta, Braxx mused, as he had the first time he had visited

  They came to a stop before the wooden door and Braxx murmured, “We have arrived. This is the domicile of the Wise One who acts as a kind of medicine woman to the Tal’ossi of this particular Top Dweller clan.”

  “Now what?” Molly asked in a hushed voice.

  “Now we clap and sing a request for admittance. Listen to me first and then you repeat,” Braxx instructed. “All greetings and farewells must be sung—it’s a very important part of Tal’ossi etiquette.”

  He clapped a simple one-two-three, one-two-three rhythm and sang in a strong voice, “Oh Wise One, Oh Wise One. Please grant entrance. Please grant entrance.”

  “Oh!” Molly seemed impressed. “You have a gorgeous singing voice, Braxx!”

  “Um…thank you.” He could feel his cheeks getting hot at the unexpected compliment. “I don’t sing much but it’s necessary here on Tal’os. I remember the first time I tried to ask entrance to the Wise Woman’s hut—I was too embarrassed to sing so I just spoke. But you can talk until you’re hoarse—she won’t let you in if you don’t ask properly.”

  “Can I try it?” Molly asked. She cocked her head to one side. “You know, I can’t get over the way I can tell you’re talking in a foreign language but I can still understand it.”

  “That’s the translation bacteria,” Braxx told her. “Yes, if you want to come in, you have to clap and sing as well. The Wise Woman is probably watching us right now and she knows she has two visitors, not just one. Until you ask admittance properly she won’t allow either of us inside.”

  Molly began to clap. “Oh Wise One, Oh Wise One. Please grant entrance. Please grant entrance,” she sang in a soft, clear voice which Braxx found quite lovely. Then again, he found all of her lovely.

  When she had finished, they repeated the ritual, only this time together. When the last note died away the pink and purple wooden door swung open and the wrinkled blue face of the Wise One was finally revealed.

  “Ah, Braxx—he that comes from the sky,” she said, smiling at him. “You are most welcome here.”

  “Thank you, Wise One.” He bowed his head deferentially.

  He didn’t feel self-conscious about his scars around the old female because she also had a deformity. Though most Top Dweller Tal’ossi had large, round eyes to capture every bit of light, she had one round eye and one tiny shrunken one, which was like the small, atrophied eyes of the Deep Dwellers, who hardly used their sight at all. She had told Braxx once, when she saw him looking at it that she “had a foot in each village.”

  “For my father was a Deep Dweller and my mother was a Top Dweller he had taken in a raid,” she’d explained to him. “That’s why my skin is neither dark nor light but somewhere in between.”

  Indeed, instead of being pale, baby blue or deep indigo, her wrinkled hide, which was displayed through the strands of her negu, was a kind of medium blue-gray.

  “This is the female I told you of—Molly, she who wishes to learn your ways,” Braxx said, bringing Molly forward.

  The Wise One held out two wrinkled hands.

  “Welcome, welcome,” she sang. “Welcome to our land—Molly who seeks knowledge of the People.”

  “Thank you,” Molly sang back, smiling.

  “She’s reaching out to you with both hands,” Braxx murmured, trying to help her avoid giving offense. “You must take them in your own—it’s a gesture of greeting.”

  “Oh, sorry!” Molly exclaimed. She reached blindly for the other female’s hands, grasping the Wise One’s wrinkled fingers and smiling. “Thank you, thank you,” she sang again. “It’s so very good to meet you.”

  The Wise One nodded in apparent satisfaction.

  “You are very welcome, child,” she said to Molly, speaking rather than singing now that the greetings were made. “But I perceive that you have the affliction of the Deep Dwellers.”

  “The affliction of the Deep Dwellers?” Molly frowned.

  “She thinks you can’t see very well—the Deep Dwellers have notoriously poor eyesight,” Braxx explained in a low voice.

  “Oh—yes.” Molly nodded and spoke to the old woman. “I do have something like that. Actually, I cannot see at all. I’m blind.”

  “No sight at all?” The Wise One frowned. “We must see what we can do about that. But come in, come in…” She stepped aside to let them pass and Braxx led Molly into the hut.

  The Wise One’s hut was built to the proportions of the female Tal’ossi, not the males, so he had to duck his head carefully lest he bang it on the doorframe. Even when he straightened up inside, the top of his head was a scant inch from the ceiling and the twigs the roof was made of tended to snag in his thick, black hair.

  “Come to the sitting place,” the Wise Woman directed. “And we will have nider blood and speak.”

  She led them to a sitting area with a small hearth in the center—the place where she counseled other Tal’ossi when they came to ask her advice, Braxx knew. There were several cushions, made from animal hide and stuffed with dried herbs and leaves, scattered around the central hearth. They made a pleasant rustling sound and released a soft floral fragrance when Braxx and Molly sat on them.

  When she was certain her guests were settled, the Wise One busied herself with stirring the thin, pale pink liquid she had in the pot over the hearth.

  “There’s a heat source here,” Molly remarked in a low voice. “I can feel it in front of me. I would guess it was a fire but…” She frowned. “I don’t smell any burning or hear any crackling. Why is that? What is it?”

  “It is a fire—of sorts,” Braxx told her. “But it isn’t a fire that you or I would recognize as a fire. It’s a little pile of clear red crystals that range in size from your smallest finger to the length of my palm.”

  “Crystals that give out heat?” Molly frowned. “How?”

  “Through the power of the Cha’llah, child,” the Wise One said, handing Braxx a bark cup of the steaming pink liquid.

  “It’s one of the most remarkable things about the Tal’ossi,” Braxx told Molly as he accepted another steaming cup from the Wise One and placed it carefully in her hands. “They are able to harness this power for any number of uses. They use the Cha’llah infused crystals for heat, for light, even for propulsion in certain kinds of primitive vehicles. It’s an amazingly versatile power source.”

  “Where do they get the crystals and where is the Cha’llah?” Molly asked curiously.

  “Both come from underground—from the realm of the Deep Dwellers,” Braxx told her. “They trade the charged crystals to the Top Dwellers for fruits and vegetables—things they are unable to grow themselves in their underground village.”

  “The Cha’llah blesses us all, both Top and Deep Dwellers,” the Wise One said, taking a place on a cushion which rustled and released a cloud of sweet fragrance when she sat on it. “Now sip your nider blood and we’ll speak of what can be done about your eyes.”

  Chapter Eight

  “Oh, it’s not my eyes that can’t see,” Molly tried to explain after taking a sip of the sweet, slightly spicy stuff in her cup. It tasted a little like apple cider mixed with super hot cinnamon to her. “It’s my brain…here.” She patted the back of her head. “I w
as in an accident that damaged the part of my brain that interprets images,” she told the Wise One. “So now I can’t see, even though my eyes appear to be fine. They take in the light but my brain can’t tell me what they are seeing. All I see is blackness”

  “Nonsense,” the Wise One exclaimed.

  There was a rustling across from her and Braxx murmured, “She’s coming to examine you, I think. Just hold still and allow it.”

  Molly was quite used to people of other cultures being curious about her blindness. She sat quietly while the Wise One pulled up her lids and examined her sightless eyes, then felt the back of her head as though looking for bumps. There was a long scar there where Molly’s scalp had been split open during the car crash but it had happened so long ago it was barely noticeable.

  The Wise One found it, though, and clucked her tongue knowingly as she felt along its length with her soft, wrinkled fingers.

  “So, so, so,” she sang softly under her breath as she examined Molly. “I see, I see and so will you, when you wear a healing crystal I have crafted true.”

  Molly wasn’t quite sure if she was supposed to sing back or not but she thought she should err on the safe side.

  “Thank you, thank you, Wise One,” she sang softly. “You are very kind, my sight to help me find.”

  Of course, she didn’t really believe that anything on this primitive planet could restore her vision. So many specialists had told her that her blindness was completely permanent and inoperable, she had long ago given up hope for a miracle cure. But she wasn’t going to give offense her very first day in this new culture by publicly doubting what appeared to be part of their religion. If the Wise One wanted to give her a crystal to wear, she would certainly wear it. After all, what harm could it do?

  “Let me see now.” The Wise One had left her side and Molly heard a few shuffling footsteps and then a soft clinking sound, almost like the older woman was looking through a basket of glass ornaments. “I do not have the kind I wish,” Molly heard her grumbling to herself. “It must be right to make the sight…”

  “She’s searching through a bowl filled with crystals,” Braxx murmured to Molly.

  “Oh, are they red like the ones in the fire?” Molly asked with interest.

  “No, these are clear. All crystals are clear before they are charged for a certain purpose from the Cha’llah and then their color proclaims their purpose. Red ones produce heat, green ones make propulsion possible in simple machines and vehicles—”

  “And golden crystals are for healing,” the Wise One finished for him, coming back to where Molly was seated. “I don’t have the right shape for you yet and my own piece of the Cha’llah needs a new infusion of essence from the Chall’ah flow. But don’t you worry, my child—I have a new batch of crystals coming soon and very soon. We’ll fix your eyes before you know it. But first…what are these strange garments you are wearing?”

  Molly had taken the time to change out of her best business suit and into a plain pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers before leaving the Kindred ship. She’d been hoping to be able to keep them on but she remembered Braxx’s warning that she might have to wear a negu.

  “These are the clothes of my people, Wise One,” she said. “Do they offend you?”

  “They offend the Cha’llah,” the older woman said, clucking her tongue decisively. “You must change to proper wear before you go out to meet the People. And you,” she continued, apparently talking to Braxx. “Where is your negu that I made for you, Braxx from the Sky?”

  “I have it with me, Wise One,” he answered mildly. “I will be happy to put it on if it pleases you.”

  “It does indeed. Go there—you can change in the corner while I take this child to the other side of the hearth and fit her with a negu I made just for her when you said to me that she was coming.”

  “You made a negu just for me?” Molly did her best to sound appreciative. And indeed, she thought the gesture was lovely. But she would be lying if she said she was looking forward to being mostly naked on an alien world.

  “Yes, I did, though I didn’t know your chest would be so big.” The Wise One tsked disapprovingly, as though Molly could help the size of her breasts.

  “Perhaps I should wear the negu you made me below and keep on the covering I’m wearing on the top?” Molly asked hopefully but the older woman made sounds of negation.

  “Neh-neh—that won’t do at all! How can the Cha’llah reach you when you cover yourself so much? Here, let’s get you undressed.”

  She started pulling at Molly’s t-shirt and Molly felt she had no choice other than to let her, though she was liking this less and less. She couldn’t help wondering if Braxx was on the other side of the hut watching her. He seemed extremely honorable so hopefully not, but still, the thought that he might see her naked made her uncomfortable.

  She tried to at least keep her underwear on but the Wise One vetoed this so strongly that at last she found herself naked and shivering in the corner of the hut, trying to cover herself with her arms.

  “Here now, here now,” the Wise One said in her ear. “This is the negu and I think it will fit you very well.”

  Molly felt something long and soft being belted around her waist. Reaching down, she felt long, silky strands of what seemed to be fabric. She knew, however, that it must be the special grass Braxx had told her about. The garment fell past her knees and swished when she moved.

  “It feels beautiful—so soft,” she said admiringly to the Wise One, forgetting for a moment to be embarrassed.

  “Everyone in the clan says I make the best negu—Deep Dwellers and Top Dwellers alike. It’s my second calling, after crystal crafting.” The older woman sounded proud.

  “Then it was very kind of you to make one for me,” Molly said. “Um…unless you made two?” she added hopefully. She really didn’t want to go out and meet the people she was going to be studying for the next three months completely topless.

  “Yes, child, I did. For I thought you might be shy. Braxx from the Sky didn’t want to wear his negu at first either—imagine, covering up in all those layers! How can the Cha’llah get to you to bless you?”

  “I…don’t know,” Molly said hesitantly, moving her hands so that the Wise One could fasten another, shorter negu around her chest, just under her arms. She hoped that she was facing away from Braxx or she might be flashing him right now.

  “Anyway, that’s better.” The Wise One’s voice was coming from in front of her now—apparently she was inspecting Molly’s new appearance. “Well—you poke out a bit but that can’t be helped.”

  “I do?” Molly reached up and felt that sure enough, her nipples were poking out from between the short silky grasses that made up her top negu. Quickly, she tried to cover them but it was difficult to say if she’d managed or not since she couldn’t see the result.

  At any rate, the Wise One seemed to be pleased with her appearance.

  “You look very respectable now—just like one of the People,” she exclaimed. “Except for your strange coloring. But I suppose you can’t help that.”

  “Thank you, thank you,” Molly sang, not knowing what else to say. Then she added, “I hope to learn much more from you, Wise One. Truly, your negu is the finest.”

  “Very good, child. Now come back to the hearth and we’ll talk about your arrangements. The night is almost here and soon it will be time to feast.”

  She took Molly’s arm and led her back to the heat of the hearth, being careful to keep her from stepping on the red-hot fire crystals. Once again, Molly settled on one of the rustling, sweet-smelling cushions but this time she felt much more exposed.

  Take it easy, she told herself as she took care to cross her legs modestly so that nothing would be revealed by the gaps in her negu. If this is the only way to get them to accept you, then you’ll just have to go along with it. Try to be comfortable in your own skin and remember you’re dressed just like everyone else is here.

  T
he thought would have made her feel better if she was on her own. But Braxx was here too—at least, she assumed he was. Where had he gotten to?

  “Commander Braxx?” she called, using his formal title. “Are you still here?”

  “I’m here.” She heard him settled onto a cushion beside her. “I wouldn’t leave you, Molly.”

  “Oh good.” Instinctively she reached for his hand and he gripped her fingers and squeezed. “So tell me, are you wearing your negu?” she asked, trying to make her voice light.

  “I am. As you are wearing yours.” Molly thought his voice sounded tight and somehow uncomfortable.

  “Yes, I am,” she agreed. “How do I look in it?” She lowered her voice. “Am I, uh, decent?” She didn’t like to ask him for modesty’s sake but Braxx was the only person she could ask.

  “You look…lovely,” he said and again she thought his voice sounded slightly hoarse. “Though…somewhat exposed.”

  “Exposed how?” Molly asked anxiously. “Am I, uh, sticking out again?” she asked in a low voice, letting go of his hand to try and smooth down the top negu over her breasts.

  “Somewhat,” Braxx said and coughed. “There—I believe you have mostly fixed the problem.”

  “But it’s going to be a problem again the minute these grass strands move.” She sighed. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to forego modesty in the name of science on this particular field study. Either that or just keep one arm plastered over my boobs everywhere I go.”

  “Well, you—”

  But Braxx’s reply was cut off by a loud clapping outside the hut, followed by deep-throated masculine singing.

  Someone was at the door.

  Chapter Nine

  “Is it someone else asking for entrance?” Molly asked under her breath.

  Braxx nodded and then remembered she couldn’t see him. “Yes—a male apparently.”

  “Now then, now then!” the Wise One exclaimed, bustling to the pink and purple door. “With any luck that will be Drogor with my new bunch of crystals!”