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Itspris Eros
Che Sara, Che Sara
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Something continues to call to me…They've…always told me…"che sara, che sara"…
The whisper whisks away the flame…
Ending life renewed…
Continue the cycle of pain…
Is the song never to end…
How am I supposed to know what that means? Some dead person's words that no one remembers…
Tragedy befalls your steps…
A wave of calm sweeps them away…
But the whisper still regrets…
The flame which could not stay…
Was I really supposed to know? Or…
Hear this whisper now…
…was I supposed to learn its meaning…
For the wave has come to erase…
…while I was away?
…the calling that has come.
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"Anom! Anom! Don't tell me you're still asleep!"The figure on the top bunk stirs then settles, a groaning sound coming from under the pile of blankets.
"Anom…you really shouldn't do this. Today of all days." A sigh. "Well, if you want to miss the Arrival--"
A sudden green streak drops from the bed with a quick, "Love-you-see-you-bye!"
Seraph shakes her head at the sudden movement but begins to work on tidying up the place. "Honestly…that boy should learn to appreciate things more. Excitement and adventure. All he lives for anymore…"
"Hey, Anom!" The green streak slows down long enough to let Clav join up with him. "You're late!"
"I know! I know!" Anom exclaims. "I didn't mean to sleep in! I just forgot!"
Clav laughs. "You forget about the Arrival? As if!"
Anom laughs as well as they race through the small village in the grasslands. It is a tribe of people, each other them bearing the mark of the Grasso on their upper arm. They are all dressed in simple outfits--dresses that reveal bare shoulders on the women, and trousers and a sash of cloth tied from should to the opposite waist for the men.
"Hey!" Clav shouts. "I see the Arrival Cari!"
The Arrival Cari is a caravan of strange looking mechanical transportation vehicles that looks very out-of-place in this village. Other young teenagers and children race to see the vehicles while the elder people watch, the eldest of them with wary expressions.
"C'mon, Anom!" Clav out-runs Anom and gets into the small crowd before Anom can catch up.
"Easy there," a heavy-set man with a military-looking outfit says, keeping the small crowd a reasonable distance from the vehicles.
"I can't believe these can move--!"
"I hear that the Itspris control them--"
"Itspris? Those are just myths--"
"Where do you think they came from? Naheve?"
"Over here, Anom!" Anom grins widely and pushes through to Clav. "Check it out!"
"Whoa!" Anom sees the tallest vehicle and studies it before he sees someone in it. "Who is that?"
"Who?" Clav asks but doesn't get an answer.
"Qira!" the man with the military outfit shouts up toward the tallest vehicle. "V'gys y'qa uio ciemf?"
"Misgemf!" a voice shouts back, gaining everyone's attention. "E vyr hors kiijemf!"
A girl around Anom and Clav's age is standing at the top of the vehicle. Dark hair reaches the small of her back and is gracefully layered to frame her soft facial features. She is dressed in a skirt with a delicate design that hangs low on her waste, and a complex series of twists of a simple blue cloth makes up her top.
"Qira," the man says warningly.
"S'gau y'qa gyq'l'karr," the girl--Qira--says lightly as she climbs down the ladder to be with the man on the ground.
"Ah…" Clav says with excitement. "It's a human-looking Itspris!"
Anom silently agrees, watching Qira stop by the man.
"Uio j'miv uio y'qa mis ronnirac si za gaqa," the man scolds lowly, loud enough to be heard by those in the front of the crowd.
Qira leans to the left to look at the small crowd, a small smile on her face. "Es ciar mis raal cymfaqior." Then, hopping away from the man, she bows to the crowd and says, "Good…morning, everyone."
There are various replies.
"Hey, Anom," Clav whispers, "I dare you to give her this." He produces an Itspris Eros.
Anom nods. "Sure!" He takes it and walks over to the two strangers.
"Qira," the man says, indicating Anom.
Qira turns to Anom, who holds out the Itspris Eros. "It's supposed to bring you good luck, fortune, and dreams," he says before she takes the Itspris Eros.
"An Itspris Eros?" Qira asks, looking to him. "Aren't they also supposed to bring beauty?"
Anom grins. "Only to those who need it," he answers before jogging back to Clav, who laughs as they go into the crowd, disappearing from Qira's view.
The man looks to Qira before grunting, "Itspris Eros? A rare thing to find."
Qira doesn't reply and touches a petal of the Itspris Eros.
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Night descends on the village and the Arrival Cari is still just outside of the village. Inside the tallest vehicle, Qira places the Itspris Eros on a table just as the man in the military outfit enters."Kaycaq," she greets the man politely, followed by a bow.
Kaycaq crosses his arms, watching her as she slowly comes out of the bow. "You shouldn't have come down there," he says.
Qira turns to put her hand on the Itspris Eros. "They were not dangerous at all," she says softly but firmly. "They are a kind people. Why must I always remain hidden? How am I to learn about these people and help them if I am never seen?"
"You are too trusting with them," Kaycaq says gruffly. "These villagers are set in their ways, and some would rather have themselves killed than have their ways changed. That or war."
Qira's hand freezes, hovering above the Itspris Eros. "You would go to war with these people?" she asks quietly before turning to Kaycaq. "You would annihilate them all!"
Kaycaq doesn't reply.
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Anom sits on the ground, wrapping a long strong of yarn around a small wooden pole. He sets the object on the ground and quickly jerks the yarn off, making the object spin on the ground.It was a gift from my father when I was little…it was all I had of him…except memories…
That night…my mind couldn't keep from thinking about those memories…as though they were trying to tell me something…
The Elders…they would say "che sara, che sara"…and then move on to pray to the Itspris and our ancestors…as if dead people could help any…
My father…he had been the one who had found the people that now come with the Arrival Cari every year. He had told me that they were fascinating people from far away that needed our help and wanted to help us.
…I hadn't understood what that meant…
The top stops spinning…
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It is morning, and Qira is moving through the village, taking in the sights. She enters a small bar-like place and slowly walks to the bar when she sees no one is here."Gakki?" she calls but receives no reply.
"Can I help you?" Anom pops out from behind the bar.
Qira jumps while Anom stops and stares.
"Hi," Qira greets him hesitantly.
He blinks before smiling. "Ah! It's the Eros!"
Qira blushes, watching him shyly. Anom is a fairly dark-tanned young man, wearing a green sash and light-tan trousers. His brown hair is naturally highlighted and has bangs that fall into his green eyes.
He laughs a little. "Do you need help?" he asks unashamedly.
Qira nods. "I was…wondering if you…or someone could tell me more about this place. Your…customs and such."
"Our customs?" Anom makes a face. "They're pretty boring. Not like you and the Cari's!"
"Oh, but I find you to be very interesting!" Qira says quickly before blushing. "I mean…your customs…" Notices a mark on his arm. "What is that?"
"Hm?" Anom looks at his arm. "Oh…that's a tribal mark. Our ancestors used to be from many different tribes…each protected by their own Itspris."
"What does yours mean?" Qira asks, very much in interest.
Anom colors, becoming very embarrassed. "It really doesn't mean anything."
Qira is about to object when an angry voice breaks in, "Anom!" It is an Elder woman, her bare shoulders covered in a light, white shawl. "You should not be speaking with this one!"
Anom's face becomes stony. "She just wishes to know--"
"I know what she wishes!" the Elder exclaims. "And it will not be you nor any other to give it to her! Che sara, che sara! And without their help!"
"Please," Qira speaks up, "I do not wish any harm on you…I am only hoping to learn--"
"You will learn nothing!" the Elder shouts, catching passer-byers' attentions. "And certainly not from--"
"Elder!" Anom interrupts loudly. "Why not let her learn? My father wanted them to learn--"
The Elder interrupts, "You're father--may the Itspris care for him--was a fool to allow such a people to find us!"
That was the final straw for me, that Elder saying that about my father. I hated the Elder because she had said that about those people. Why shouldn't they understand more about us, I wondered.
…I resolved to help them learn about our culture…starting with Qira.
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Kaycaq shakes his head. "I have told you what would happen--""But he wanted to help me learn!" Qira objects. "I know he did!"
"Qira-zoc…" Kaycaq kneels in front of the girl. "It may be that he wanted to, but in this society, the rules are not made by those with reasonable minds. The Elders are the ones who determine what is to be done and how."
Upset, Qira turns away and sees the Itspris Eros, still as fresh as the day Anom gave it to her.
A young man barges in. "Kaycaq! We have someone onboard!"
Kaycaq stands. "Who is it?"
"One of the villagers," the young man says uncomfortably. "He wears an odd shade of green and is marked as--"
Qira stands quickly, face brightened. "That's him! That's the same one. I know it is!"
Kaycaq looks to Qira and then to the young man. "His mark?"
The man nods, not saying anything aloud.
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Anom shifts uncomfortably, not really sure if this is the right thing to do. Two young men watch him carefully, like zookeepers looking over the animal in the cage."Ci uio s'gem'j ga er cymfaqior?" the younger man asks his partner.
"Mi," the elder one answers, still watching Anom. "Va gyta migemf si dayq d'qil s'ger ziu."
"Zos…" the younger man says uncertainly, "ger lyq'j…"
A door opens, revealing Kaycaq and Qira, who walk out. Kaycaq nods to the two men, dismissing them. Qira goes up to Anom, smiling widely.
"You actually came onboard!" she says, excited. "None of your people has ever--!"
"I'm not supposed to be here," Anom says nervously, looking around the place. The large vehicle is an airship that has more people onboard than first thought.
"Then why are you here?" Kaycaq asks bluntly.
Anom faces him and then clenches his fists. "Because the Elders are wrong. We shouldn't keep our customers to ourselves! If we do, eventually we'll have no one to teach it to! Our ways will die!"
Kaycaq watches him for a moment. "You're a lot like your father…"
"Anom," Anom supplies, shocked that Kaycaq had known his father.
"Anom." Kaycaq nods. "And what is it you want to do to go against the Elders' practices?"
The moment of choice. Become cowardly and run away or continue to defy the Elders' and their teachings…
"I want to teach Qira about our culture and customs," Anom eventually answers.
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The Elders are not happy with his decision. They are gathered in a large hut, each of them sitting on a pillow, facing the center where Anom stands. The members of the village stand outside of the ring, Seraph watching worriedly beside Clav."You have been aboard that mechanical monstrosity," says an old man from Anom's right.
"This is something we cannot over-look," an elder woman from behind Anom says quietly.
Anom doesn't say anything.
"You have gone against and Elders' command and have agreed to teach one of these people of our culture and customs. You have violated one of our sacred laws. How do you plead?" The man on Anom's left waits patiently for an answer.
"Not guilty," Anom answers, causing a small disturbance amongst the villagers.
"Not guilty?" demands the Elder in front of Anom; the same woman who had told Qira that she would not learn their culture.
"Why is this sacred law?" demands Anom. "Why do we hide ourselves so much from the world outside--the world in which we were wandering children? Why are you so against anyone learning?"
The Elder on his right answers, "These are laws Itspris have given our clans since the times before our gathering. Will you disrespect their wisdom?"
"No," Anom answers.
"Then why help those outside?" the Elder in front of him demands.
"I do not disrespect any of the Itspris or their wisdom," Anom says. "Only their laws."
The Elder on his left shakes his head. "Then we've no choice. Anom, son of Arakias and Seraph of the Itspris…if you shall not cease this corruption of this lineage then you will no longer be of this lineage. Leave this village with those who seek our secrets, and you will be dead to us. Should you return with them…"
The Elder behind him finishes, "May the Itspris watch over you."
Anom bows his head.
"Your answer," chorus the four Elders.
A long pause occurs before Anom looks up again, chin held high. "I will not submit."
A gasp comes from the gathering, and Seraph begins to cry, comforted by Clav.
"Let it be known," the four Elders say, "that this day marks the end of Anom, son of Arakias and Seraph of the Itspris. There will be no service for his passing, and should his grave be marked, those who have marked it shall be punished."
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Qira and Kaycaq stand near the airship, watching as Anom makes his way over. The villagers are back to business while the four Elders kneel near a small sight with only a stick in the ground, whispering words of prayer. Qira notices the closed expression on Anom's face and becomes worried."Are you--?" she begins to ask but he passes her by and goes up to Kaycaq.
"So you are dead now," Kaycaq states.
Anom gives him a narrowed-eyed, curious look and nods. Qira blinks at this, not understanding.
"The Elders have decided," Anom says before quietly finishing, looking away, "and they followed."
Kaycaq nods. "I see."
"You have been exiled?" Qira asks in shock.
Anom turns to her. "First lesson. Telling outsiders of our traditions is considered corrupting the lineage for it disrespects and breaks the laws set down by the Itspris."
Qira stares at him before he begins to walk off.
"An name," Kaycaq says, stopping him. "Your name here has died. By what name do you wish to go by?"
Anom doesn't answer for a moment. "Call me what you wish," he says before boarding the airship.
"Mataq," says Kaycaq, surprising Qira.
"Mataq?" she asks, unsure.
Kaycaq looks to the airship. "Never. Never to return home. Never to be alive in this village. Never to fit in this new world he now live in. Never to face his future here."
Qira watches him for a moment before also looking to the airship, a sad smile on her face.
That night…I didn't have my top to play with. I didn't have my mother there to scold me before laughing. I didn't have Clav there to keep me from drowning like when we were kids.
That night…I drowned. Anom was dead.
…so…who was I, then?