28ish

“That is very good work today, Tsuda!” Lida smiled as she examined Tsuda’s tight weaving on the hammock. “Soon, I think you will be caught up to the other girls; we are learning how to mend tears in skirts; you will ffind that one of your most useful skills, I believe. You’ll pick it up in no time, I am sure of it!” Lida patted her gently on the shoulder, then moved on to look at the work of some of the other girls.
Rashdi, who was sitting next to Tsuda, chuckled under her breath. “I’m sure you could catch up, Tsuda, if you stayed, but you won’t. Tomorrow you’ll be running off to play in the sea again, and all of the men in Leti will see you running through the streets, half-naked and grimy with salt water.”

Tsuda felt her cheeks flame, but kept her eyes on her work and said nothing.

"It's alright, Tsuda," another girl spoke up. "I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding a husband. Enough traders come through the town that you'll find someone who hasn't seen you make such a fool of yourself." More giggling ensued, and Tsuda's hand trembled. One of the fronds she was weaving slipped loose, and she carefully worked it back in to the pattern.

She heard a rustle beside her as someone sat on the bench. "It's ok, don't listen to them. You're every bit the woman they are, they just don't like anyone who is different." Tsuda looked over and saw a young girl smiling at her. Her hair was long, and was the color of dried palm leaves. Her eyes were blue like the sky in the morning, and she wore a very earnest expression. Tsuda recognized her as the daugher of the Ersan ambassador; he had insisted that his daughter be brought up in the ways of the Astaldak, and it had caused quite a sensation at the time. By now, Kaedti was generally accepted as a normal presence in the group, but she had never really fit in. Her clothes were always the best that her father could buy, and somewhat less casual than most of those in the village. Today she wore a brilliant blue skirt, with matching shirt, and a string of beads hung low across her forehead.

Tsuda smiled slightly, and resumed her weaving. "Oh, I know. It just gets to me sometimes. I am trying to grow up a little though; ym mother wants to present me in the temple soon."

"Oh, really? that's wonderful! You'll be able to join in the prayers then, and learn how to run your house!" Kaedti leaned forward, and rested her chin in her hand. "I get to learn how to direct servants to do everything, which sounds much less interesting." The younger girl looked so dejected that Tsuda had to smile.

"I'm not convinced that it will actually be very interesting. I would rather walk on the beach all day, but I suppose that everyone has to grow up sooner or later." She pulled a final frond into place, and clamped it with the wooden rods nearby. The two girls stood and walked out of the garden, Tsuda keeping her usual quick pace, and Kaedti trying to keep up, looking over her shoulder at the other girls who walked more slowly. Tsuda noticed, and slowed her steps until the main crowd caught up with them. As they entered the main street, the girls dispersed in groups of twos and threes, until Kaedti and Tsuda were alone again.

"I need to go see Mede...Kaedti, do you know Mede? She doesnt' come to the lessons, so I'm not sure if you've met."

Kaedti shook her head, beads jangling. "No, but I need to go, my father wanted me to come straight home from the class. But I would like to meet her; maybe some other time?" Tsuda nodded, and Kaedti beamed. "Oh good! In fact, my father is having a celebration soon, to commemorate the the alliance between the Astaldak and Ersa, I will make sure that both of you receive invitations." Tsuda groaned inwardly; she was not fond of large gatherings, but she could tell that Kaedti was exited at the prospect of the invitations, so she smiled, and agreed.

--------------------------

Mede was not in her garden, so Tsuda sat on the bench to wait for her. She picked up a dead twig from the ground and bgean idly drawing in the dust. Slowly a design took shape: a young woman rising from the foam of the waves crashing on a beach. Her eyes were drawn upwards to a sky filled with stars. Tsuda smiled, and added a final flourish to the waves.
"That's a very interesting design." Tsuda yelped and jumped up, whirling around. Mede's father stood a few paces behind her; she'd been so intent on the drawing that she hadn't heard him come in. "I didn't know that the Astaldak ever did any figurative art."

tsuda stood silently, unsure of how to respond. She quickly rubbed her foot over the image until nothing could be distinguished from the random prints in the dust. Mede's father chuckled humourlessly. "Don't worry, I am not going to tell anyone, if that's what you're concerned about."


He handed her a tightly rolled scroll. “Here. Mede asked for this, will you please give it to her when she returns?” He bowed slightly, and retraced his steps through the garden. Tsuda waited until he was gone, and then sat back on the bench with a sigh of relief. Where was Mede? She was usually more punctual than Tsuda, but perhaps she had had to run out on a sudden errand. Tsuda lay down on the bench, and closed her eyes.

She was just beginning to drift into sleep when she heard someone come noisily into the garden; she sat up quickly, hastily checking to see that her hair was still pinned in place. Mede was moving quickly towards her, carrying a small basket, and casting furtive glances over her shoulder.

“Mede, where have you been?” Tsuda exclaimed. “You shouldn’t be rushing around so much anyway; here, sit down. Dear, what’s the matter?” Mede’s eyes were wide, and she seemed to be struggling to catch her breath.
“I am so sorry, Tsuda, I didn’t mean to be late. I just went out to get some things from the market. I was on my way back, when I ran into one of the monks. He seemed suspicious of me from the very beginning, and he made me show him what I’d bought at the market.” She pulled a small blank scroll out of the basket, followed by some simple brushes and a small pot of ink. “He wanted to know why a girl would be buying such things, since few here read, much less write. I couldn’t think of a reason that he might belive, so I told him the truth. He ran his eyes over my hair and face, and said that perhaps it was not so unusual that a girl like me would be writing. Oh Tsuda, this may be nothing, but I am afraid. If he discovers who I am, what my father does, we are all in danger. But…perhaps he only meant that perhaps it was not so unusal that a foreign girl could read…Thank the Twins, the Temaltans have not brought the entire planet under their thumb.” She cleared her throat, and took a deep breath. “Well, enough of that! I forgot to get the learner’s scroll from my father, so we’ll just have to make do on our own.”

“Oh, I almost forgot! Your father came by, and he left this for you.” Tsuda handed Mede the scroll.

“Wonderful! This really will make things easier. This is what the acolytes in the temple use to learn to read.” She paused, and looked up at Tsuda. “My father came here? And spoke to you? How odd! He rarely speaks to anyone, even me. What did he say?”

Tsuda shrugged, and dug her toe into the ground. “I don’t really remember…not much. I’d been doodling on the ground to amuse myself, and didn’t hear him come in to the garden. He remarked on how odd he found it that a native Astaldaki would be drawing a picture like that, then he gave me the scroll for you, and left. I don’t think he was here for more than three minutes at the most.”

Mede stared off into the distance for a moment, then turned to Tsuda, and opened the scroll. “I never have been able to understand him. It’s hopeless. Now, to begin with the reading! Here are the letters of the Astaldi alphabet.”

Tsuda was a quick learner, and in a very short time she was reading simple stories and writing sentences. Whie Tsuda puzzled out an old folk tale, Mede walked slowly through the garden. The flowers had just put on fresh growth, and the whole enclosure seemed almost to glow with green light. Mede stopped near the house to pull a few dead leaves off a winecup vine, and when she straightened up, she saw the black-garbed figure of a Temaltan novice in the entrance. Her first response was fear, but she pushed it away. She looked calmly into his green eyes, and neiher moved for a long moment. Then in a rustle of black fabric, the monk had moved on, and Mede returned to Tsuda’s side. “Were you able to understand the story alright?”

The other girl nodded, eyes still fixed on the scroll. “Yes, I think so. I know the story of the fall of Sukdis anyway, and that made it a little easier to figure out the words.” She paused, resting her finger on the surface of the scroll, and read, “ ‘And the floor of the great temple split in two, swallowing the priests and the sacrifice whole. The seas began to boil, and the earth itself began to shake. By the time dawn spread her robe across the sky, the entire land had sunk inot the sea, and only a few boats floated amidst the wreckage. So fell Sukdis, city of pride, and so was ended the golden age of Ersada.’ “
Mede smiled encouragingly. “excellent! I think I will send you home with some of the historical scrolls this time.”
“Mede, you said that you would teach me how to remember. I still…I still want to know who I was. The dreams keep coming, more every night, and I want to know what they mean.” Tsuda’s voice was quiet, and calm.
Mede stood still for a moment, thinking. Was this the right time? And what if, Su forbid, the monks should find out about this? They would punish Tsuda and her family. The memory of the monk at the gate flasherd through her mind, nad she saw for a moment the stone-covered courtyard of her dreams, blood running quickly between the stones.
“I don’t know if we should, Tsuda. I don’t want to put you in danger.”
Tsuda stood, brushing dust off her skirt. “It’s too late now. I have to know, and I no longer care what happens. My parents are still full believers. Please, Mede, you are my friend. My only friend, for several years now. Please don't act like I haven't considered the dangers. I have. I know what I'm doing, and I'm even taking precautions." She smiled faintly and gestured toward her hair. "See? I'm trying to be a little more adult...And my mother is going to present me at the women's court in the temple soon, and then they will begin negotiating to find a husband. If I'm ever going to learn this, it needs to be now." Tsuda swallowed hard, and fell silent.

Mede nodded. "I hoped that's what you would say. I just didn't want to force you into anything you didn't truly want."

Laughing, Tsuda stood, and climbed into the hammock. "as if you could! You know as well as I do how stubborn I am."

"no one knows it better than me! Alright, now lay down, and make yourself as limp as you can. You're going to try to forget about where you are in this time as much as possible. I'm going to tell you as much as I can now, since you won't be able tio hear me when you go back. Now...."

Tsuda sank slowly into herself, struggling not to wake. She could still hear Mede's voice in the far distance, whispering like a stream, but even that finally silenced. She sank further down, and entered the tunnel of flickering light that she found in the depths of her mind. Like Mede, she felt herself drawn into one image, drawn closer and closer until suddenly she was in the image, looking out through new eyes, at a garden enclosed by a stone wall. She could not see over the wall, but she knew there was desert beyond. At her side was a young woman with ginger hair.

She reached out and clasped the hand of the woman beside her. ""Ved..." Her voice did not sound like her voice; it was older, richer.

"Yes, lady?" The woman responded.

"Ved, tell me who you are."

"I am Ved, lady, manager of the household of Mushad, in Kemal, in the land of Kedon. which gives tribute and homage to the priests of the Temaltan isles." Tsuda felt a tremor at the name of Mushad, but did not understand it.

"No,. I want to know who you really are. I will tell no-one, and will never ask again, but Ved, I must know." She squeezed the woman's hand gently, and looked back out towards the setting sun.

"I am Madak, of the house of Lothel, in the Selides islands. I am a priestess, and was being prepared to become the head of my order." Her pale fingers twitched nervously as she continued. "Every year, in the month of Temala, we go out on our temple boats to the spot where Suktis fell into the sea. My people fled from Suktis when she fell, lead by a priestess of the Great Temple there. When they reached the Selides, and found shelter, they thanked the gods for sparing them, and promised to return and pray for forgiveness for the sins of Suktis. We return every year, say our prayers, and send our sacrifices down into the depths."

The ginger-haired woman leaned down, and took Tsuda’s hand in both of hers. As their eyes met, Tsuda felt a shock go through her/

She was moving upwards, shooting towards the surface of her consciousness. Her eyes flew open and she gasped.

“Tsuda? What is it? Are you alright?” Mede grabbed Tsuda’s hand and rubbed it briskly. “Your hands are freezing, I think you’re under a bit of shock. Just stay there, I’ll be right back.” Mede sprinted into the house, and returned in a few moments carrying a small water jug and a clay cup. She buried the end of the jug in the fire pit and lit a small blaze. In a few minutes, the water was warm and Mede poured some of it into the cup for Tsuda. “Here, drink this. It’ll warm you up, and the herbs should help calm you a little. I’m so sorry, I didn’t expect you to come up out of it like that.”

The cup was warm as Tsuda took it, and sipped it carefully. “I saw that garden…or, at least…one of the gardens..I think there are two. It was sunny and hot, and there was sand..a desert. I was sitting on a bench beside..” She glanced at her friend quickly. “Beside someone. And we were talking…she said something about the house of…of Mushad. And that name meant something, but I don’t quite know what…And then I looked into her eyes, and…” Her voice caught in her throat, and she fell silent, draining the cup to its dregs.

Mede’s voice was so quiet that it almost could not be heard. “And the other woman was me, wasn’t it? I’ve been told that you can sometimes see it in the eyes. When I go into that memory, I see you sitting on the bench. You don’t look like you do now, but it’s the same eyes. Something about it hurts to remember.” A small dry sob escaped her, and she covered her mouth with a hand, then smiled. Her eyes shone brightly with tears that would never fall, and she took Tsuda’s hand in her own.

Tsuda suddenly lunged and embraced Mede in an almost stifling embrace. “I’m so glad you found me again,” she whispered through sudden tears.