Tiger's Quest (34 page)

“They aren’t responding like normal gorillas, but there’s one way to find out. Stay here.”

He disappeared in the trees and emerged a moment later in tiger form. He walked up to the giraffe. It blinked long-lashed eyes at him then calmly went back to plucking leaves off the tree tops with its tongue. When he moved toward the gorillas, the same thing happened. They watched him lazily and chattered among themselves. Then they went back to their breakfast, even when he approached one of their babies.

Kishan shifted back to a man, staring thoughtfully at the animals. “Hmm. Very interesting. They’re not afraid of me at all.”

I started breaking camp. “You lost your hiking clothes, Mister. You’re back in black.”

“No, I didn’t. I left them back there in the trees. I’ll be back.”

After breakfast, we hiked to the large structure we’d seen the day before. It was huge, made of wood, and obviously very old. A large rotting incline led up into it. As we got nearer, I exclaimed, “It’s a boat!”

“I don’t think so, Kells. It’s too big to be a boat.”

“It is, Kishan. I think it’s the ark!”

“The what?”

“The ark—as in Noah’s ark. Remember when Mr. Kadam talked about all the flood myths? Well, if this really is the mountain where Noah landed, then that must be what’s left of his boat! Come on!”

We made our way up to the massive wooden structure and peeked inside. I wanted to climb in and look around, but Kishan cautioned me.

“Wait, Kells. The wood’s rotting. Let me go first and test it out.” He disappeared into the gaping maw of the edifice and emerged a few minutes later. “I think it will be safe enough if you stay right behind me.”

I followed him in. It was dark, but where the wood had fallen out of the ceiling, jagged gaps let the sunshine through. I had expected to see stalls of some kind to keep the animals contained, but there were none to be found. It did have a few levels with wooden steps, but Kishan thought the stairs would be too dangerous. I pulled out a camera and snapped a few pictures for Mr. Kadam.

Later, as we left the wooden relic, I said, “Kishan . . . I have a theory. I think that Noah’s ark
did
land here and the animals we’ve seen are descendents from those original animals. Maybe that’s why they act differently. They haven’t lived anywhere but here.”

“Just because an animal lives in paradise doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have any instincts. Instincts are very powerful. The instinct to protect your territory, to hunt for food, and to . . .” he looked at me pointedly, “find a mate can be overwhelming.”

I cleared my throat. “
Right
. But, food’s abundant here, and I’m sure there are plenty of,” I waved my hand in the air, “
mates
to go around.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps. But how do you know it’s always like this? Maybe the winter comes at a different time here.”

“Maybe, but I don’t think so. I’ve seen flowers growing that bloom in the spring, but I’ve also seen flowers that bloom in the fall. It’s strange. It’s almost like the best of everything. The animals are all perfect and well fed.”

“Yes, but we haven’t seen any predators yet.”

“That’s true. We’ll keep an eye out.”

I took out a notebook and started categorizing the things we’d seen. The place really was like a paradise, and from all appearances, Kishan and I seemed to be the only two people here. The fresh fragrance of flowers, apples, citrus, and grass hung in the air. The air was a perfect temperature—not too hot and not too cold.

It seemed like a well-kept garden. I couldn’t see anything resembling a weed. It would be impossible for this type of landscape to maintain itself naturally, I thought. We found a perfect bird’s nest with speckled blue eggs. The bird parents sat chirping happily, not upset at all as we came closer to inspect their eggs.

I also made a list of every animal we came in contact with. By the early afternoon, we’d seen hundreds of different animals that I knew shouldn’t be living in this kind of environment—elephants, camels, and even kangaroos.

Late afternoon was when we saw our first predators—a pride of lions. Kishan had smelled them a mile from their lands, and we decided to go in for a closer look. He made me climb a tree while he investigated. Finally, he came back with a look of astonishment.

“There’s a large herd of antelope near the pride but they graze right next to the cats! I saw a lioness eating something red that I assumed was meat but it turns out that it was fruit. The lions were eating apples.”

I started to climb down. Kishan caught me around my waist and lowered me the rest of the way.

“Ah ha! So my theory was correct. This really is like the Garden of Eden. The animals don’t hunt.”

“It appears you were right. Still, just to be safe, I’d like to put some distance between us and the lions before we camp.”

Later, we saw other predators—wolves, panthers, bears, and even another tiger. They made no moves against us. In fact, the wolves were as friendly as dogs and approached us to be petted.

Kishan grunted, “This is strange. It’s unnerving.”

“I know what you mean, but . . . I like it. I wish Ren could see this place.”

Kishan didn’t respond except to urge me to leave the wolf pack and move on.

At dusk, we stumbled into a clearing in the middle of a forest that was full of daffodils. We’d just started to set up camp when I heard the soft, haunting music of a flute. We both froze. It was the first evidence of people.

“What should we do?” I asked.

“Let me go look.”

“I think we should both go.”

He shrugged, and I trailed quickly behind him. We followed the lingering notes of the mysterious sound and found the source of the music sitting on a raised stone near a brook, playing a reed pipe. The creature held his pipes gently between two hands and blew air softly between pursed lips. As we hesitantly approached, he stopped playing and smiled at us.

His eyes were bright green and set in a handsome face. His shoulder-length silver hair hung loosely down his back. Two small, brown, velvety horns peeped out of the top of his shiny tresses, reminding me of young deer just growing antlers. He was slightly smaller than an average human, and his skin was white with a slight lilac tint. He was barefoot but wore pants that looked like they were made from doeskin. His long-sleeved shirt was the color of a pomegranate.

He hung his pipes around his neck and looked at us. “Hello.”

Kishan replied warily, “Hello.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to come. We’ve all been waiting.”

I asked, “Who’s we?”

“Well, me for one. Then there’s the Silvanae and the fairies.”

Puzzled, Kishan asked, “You’ve been expecting us?”

“Oh, yes. For a long time, in fact. You must be tired. Come with me, and we’ll provide you with some refreshment.”

Kishan stood rooted to the ground. I stepped around him.

“Hi. I’m Kelsey.”

“Nice to meet you. My name’s Faunus.”

“Faunus? I’ve heard that name before.”

“Have you?”

“Yes! You’re Pan!”

“Pan? No. I’m definitely Faunus. At least, that’s what my family tells me. Come along.”

He stood up, hopped over a rock, and disappeared through the woods on a stone path. I turned around and took Kishan’s hand. “Come on. I trust him.”

“I don’t.”

I squeezed his hand and whispered, “It’s okay. I think you could take him.” Kishan tightened his grip on my hand and allowed me to lead him after our guide.

We followed Faunus through the leafy trees and soon heard the tinkling laughter of many people. As we neared the settlement, I realized that the sound was nothing I’d ever heard
people
make before. It was unearthly.

“Faunus . . . what are Silvanae?”

“They are the tree people, the tree nymphs.”

“Tree nymphs?”

“Yes. You have no tree people where you come from?”

“No. We have no fairies either.”

He seemed confused. “What kind of people emerge from a tree when it splits?”

“No one emerges as far as I know. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tree split unless lightning hit it or someone chopped it down.”

He stopped in mid-stride. “Your people chop down trees?”

“In my land? Yes, they do.”

He shook his head sadly. “I’m very glad I live here. Those poor trees. What would happen to all the future generations, I wonder.”

I looked at Kishan, who shook his head imperceptibly before he led us on.

As darkness fell, we stepped under a wide arch full of hundreds of miniature climbing roses in all varieties of color and entered the village of the Silvanae. Lanterns hung from ropy vines that draped down from the largest trees I’d ever seen. The small lights inside the lanterns bobbed up and down in their glass houses, each one a different vivid color— pink, silver, turquoise, orange, yellow, and violet. On closer inspection, I saw the lights were living creatures. They were fairies!

“Kishan! Look! They glow like lightning bugs!”

The fairies looked like large butterflies, but their glow did not come from their bodies. The soft light emanated from their colorful wings, which opened and closed lazily as the creatures sat perched on a wooden mount.

I pointed at one. “Are those—?”

“Fairy lights? Yes. They have two-hour shifts on lantern duty in the evenings. They like to read on duty. Keeps ’em awake. If they fall asleep, their lights go out.”

I mumbled, “Right. Of course.”

He led us farther into the settlement. The small cottages were made of fibrous woven plants and were set in a circular fashion around a grassy space. The center area had been set for a banquet. A giant tree stood behind each hut; the towering limbs reached over and across, twining their branches together with their neighboring trees, creating a beautiful green bower overhead.

Faunus raised his pipe and blew a happy melody. Slight-framed, willowy people streamed out of their cottages and hopped down from hiding places in the foliage.

“Come. Come and meet those we have been waiting for. This is Kelsey and this is Kishan. Let us bid them welcome.”

Shining faces came closer. They were all silver-haired and had green eyes like Faunus. Beautiful males and females were dressed in shimmering gossamer clothing in the bright colors of the flowers that grew everywhere.

Faunus turned to me. “Would you like to eat first or bathe first?”

Surprised, I said, “Bathe first. If that’s alright.”

He bowed. “Of course. Anthracia, Phiale, and Deiopea, will you take Kelsey to the women’s bathing shallows?”

Three lovely Silvanae approached me shyly from the group. Two took my hands while the third led me out of the clearing and into the forest. Kishan scowled at me, obviously unhappy about our separation, but I noticed he was soon escorted away too, in a different direction.

The women were slightly smaller than Faunus, about a head shorter than me. My escorts followed a path colorfully lit by helpful fairies until we came upon a round, sunken pool fed by a small brook. The water dropped down from larger stones to smaller, and then dropped to the pool, creating a diminutive, hidden spray of water. It worked like a wide faucet that was constantly running.

They removed my backpack and disappeared while I took off the rest of my clothing and stepped into the pool. It was surprisingly warm. A long, submerged stone too convenient to be natural, ran along the arch inside the pool, serving as a stepping stone and then as a seating stone once I was in the water.

After I’d wet my hair, the three nymphs returned and brought bowls of fragrant liquids. They let me pick the fragrance I liked and handed me a mossy ball that functioned like a loofah. I scrubbed the dirt from my skin with the fragrant soap while Phiale soaped through my hair with three different products, having me rinse under the small waterfall each time.

The fairy lights glowed warmly. By the time I stepped out of the pool and the women wrapped my body and hair with soft cloth, my skin and scalp were tingling, and I felt relaxed and refreshed. Anthracia massaged perfumed lotion into my skin while Phiale worked on my hair. Deiopea disappeared briefly and returned with a beautiful celadon green gossamer dress embroidered with shimmering flowers.

I reached out to touch the dress. “It’s lovely! The embroidery is so fine that the flowers look real.”

She giggled. “They are real.”

“They can’t be! How did you sew them in?”

“We didn’t sew them. We grew them in. We asked them to be a part of this dress, and they agreed.”

Anthracia asked, “Do you not like it?”

“
No
. I love it! I would be very happy to wear it.”

They all smiled and hummed contentedly as they worked on me. When they were finished, they brought out a silvered mirror set in an oval frame carved with looping flowers.

“What do you think, Kelsey? Is your appearance satisfactory?”

I stared at the person in the mirror. “Is that me?”

They erupted in tinkling giggles. “Yes, of course, it’s you.”

I stood transfixed. The barefoot woman staring back at me had large brown doe’s eyes and soft creamy white skin that glowed with good health. Sparkling green eye shadow enhanced my eyes, and my lashes were long and dark. My lips shone with apple red gloss, and my cheeks were a becoming pink. The green gossamer dress was in the Grecian style, which made me look curvier than I was. It was draped over my shoulders, wrapped around my waist, and fell to the ground in long folds. My hair hung loose and wavy down my back, ending just above my waist. I hadn’t realized that my hair had grown so long. It was adorned with flowers and butterfly wings.

The wings moved slightly.
Were there fairies holding my hair in wavy twists?

“Oh! The fairies don’t need to stay in my hair. I’m sure there are other things they would rather do.”

Phiale shook her head. “Nonsense. They are honored to hold the tresses of one as fair as you. They say your hair is beautiful and soft, and it’s like resting in a cloud. They are happiest when they serve. Please let them stay.”

I smiled. “Alright, but just through the dinner.”