K'Normia Memories (continued)

[rosetto 0]

The two women finally finished their talk and the young native scurried off to finish her work. Harriet turned to Sal with a very serious look on her face. This was not normal for her and she was very tight-lipped about what she had discussed with the young girl. Sal draped her jacket over her shoulders and the two of them walked arm in arm back to the transport pad. Sal handed the attendant his ID who quickly glanced and returned it and they stepped onto the pad to be ported off to their room.

 

Harry was quiet all evening and it took everything he had to pry anything out of her. She started by talking about the two moons and how beautiful they were, how they never meet in the sky. Sal loved astronomy and was quite interested in the uniqueness of the K’Normia moons. Of course, he was more curious as to how it had come about. He wanted to know what forces of nature had acted upon them to place them in such a synchronous dance. Sal had done some research on his own reading many papers who claimed that it was far off K’Colum that kept the two moons tightly bound to K’Normia. There was no proof to any of this. It was all speculation; simple facts that fit into a theory presented before some high-browed committee that decided to agree. They would have toasted themselves as ‘masters of the universe’ in their traditional ways. Sal laughed to himself as he mused about the masters.

 

“Oh, Sal, you’re so silly”, she commented, “This has nothing to do with celestial mechanics. It concerns the heart.” She paused and looked at him knowing that she loved him and his analytical mind. It would be very difficult to explain this to him. She didn’t even have the details. “Remember what I was telling you? About the hand gesture during the performance?”

 

“I sure do!”, he responded and tried to mimic the gesture with his hands. She smiled have-heartedly and continued.

 

“Well, the young server, El Tira, she was trying to explain that tonight’s performance was about the twin eclipses. She explained that they represented the dark and the light of life and how sometimes it comes together. The dancers were three because there were two moons and their possessor…K’Normia.”

 

Sal looked at her for a long time knowing that this was going to get really deep. He spouted, “So what’s that all got to do with the explosion and the woman’s scream? Where did everyone go and why did they all leave?”

 

“I don’t know. I couldn’t get it all out of her. She seemed very upset by something and I didn’t think she wanted to go into details right there. You know? She was supposed to be working…”

 

“So what else did she tell you?”

 

“Well, you have pretty eyes. They remind her of a tiger she had as a child.” She smiled and kissed him gently. “Sal, like I said, she didn’t want to talk about it there. We’re meeting tomorrow in the hills for lunch. She asked that you not come and begged for me to understand. I finally agreed after much expression of my fear of this place. She confided that she was well equipped; she knew her world.”

 

“So what am I supposed to do while you two go traipsing off into the jungle?”

 

“Oh Sal, there’s plenty around here. There’s a lecture downtown. I think the key note is from the Federation. You could go down by the beach. I know you like the views there.”

 

She flirted and teased with him, raising her short skirt with a flip as she left the room. He was not getting anywhere with her. He knew this from experience. He might ‘get lucky’ though and so he jotted off to the kitchen area.

 

“Computer. Cabernet. Dry.”

 

“There are four different brands available. Burgess Farms, Villa de Osten, Southgate Valley and Winterspring Wines.”

 

“Southgate. The oh-five. Two glasses. Room temperature. Thank you.”

 

Harry returned and joined him in the lounge area and he handed her the glass he had gotten for her. She was dressed in satin PJ’s and she had let her hair fall to her shoulders. The gloves were off. It was time to relax.

 

“All in all that was a fun evening…” she started.

 

“Yeah, right up to the scream…” he retorted and was answered with a smirk and a mock slug to the shoulder.

 

“I’m sorry that I don’t have any more details right now”, she smiled, “But if you do that little thing with your hands… well?”

 

She sipped her wine and snuggled next to him on the chase. Sal pressed a button on the table, the drapes opened and the screen retracted revealing a gorgeous sunset shimmering over the calm waters. They fell asleep in each other’s arms as the sun disappeared.

 

 

The next morning was embraced with brief exchanges as Harry hurried off to choose her afternoon outfit. Sal made breakfast, K’Normian eggs with ginger and orange peel. She could smell them frying from the other room and knew that he was making them special for her.

 

“Over medium, dear!” she called out “You know I don’t like mine runny.” She laughed and he joined her. It was inside humor and he fetched some fresh beef from the cooler and tossed it into another pan with spices already simmering.

 

“What time are you meeting her?”

 

“Just before Light Moon…”

 

This was about mid-morning and he had decided that maybe he would venture into town for the lecture. The women wouldn’t be on the beaches until much later in the day. A K’Normian day was a little shorter than an Earth day at 20 hours and only 0.73156 standard solar days, so whatever you had to do you needed to get up early and get to it. They ate quickly and went their separate ways.

 

 

Harriet gave the name of the villa to the attendant at the transport pad and he gave her a very strange look. She didn’t understand. It was obvious and the attendant, who was Westen, asked if she was meeting someone. When she confirmed he acted as if he were relieved. It was uncommon and unwise for outlanders to venture into Westen alone. But he had noticed the girl’s symbol next to her name on the card that Harry had handed him. He knew that she’d be safe.

 

A symbol was like a family name, identifying of whom you were a part. This was not that uncommon on K’Normia and other worlds. Symbols were more unique than names, they carried more meaning behind them and they were pictorial and so semi-universal as well. El Tira’s symbol bore three stars in a tight orbit. It was the eye of a constellation in the winter skies of K’Normia. The eye of a tiger-like beast that was native to Westen. It meant power, unquestionable power.

 

Harriet appeared before the villa café and was greeted with looks from all passer-by. They were all Westen. There were no outlanders anywhere that she could see. Her nerve was about to run out and she reached into her bag for her communicator just as El Tira walked up. She was at least a foot shorter than Harry but very graceful and dressed far more elegant than the night before. She greeted Harry with the traditional bow and Harry attempted her best response.

 

“There are no replicators here, Harriet. I hope you enjoy the food.” El Tira spoke first and welcomed her to sit down at a table set apart from the others. “We should afford a bit of privacy here.”

 

Harry thanked her and sat facing the café as instructed. El TIra joined her and held her hand across the table. “Let us have some refreshments and then we can talk?”

 

Harriet was silent but agreeable to the young woman’s requests. A male Westen came by with a towel in his hand; obviously the server and El Tira ordered some spiced tea with ice.

 

She began.

 

“Every half-year on K’Normia the twin moons eclipse and cause shadows on both sides of the planet. This pattern grows from one shadow, expands and splits and then comes back together before disappearing. It does this approximately five times during this period and each are slightly different in shape and each have meaning. Sometimes the shadows near the equator as they appear of opposite sides of the world and seem to trace the whole globe.”

 

Harriet knew all about the eclipses but she listened intently as the young woman continued to explain.

 

“Although the splitting eclipses are quite common, happening twice in a K’Normia year, the equatorial split is rare and therefore more significance from the others. Westen understand and use these eclipses to initiate our mating rituals.”

 

Harry’s eyes widened.

 

“I can see from your response that you’ve always wondered about this.”

 

El Tira smiled briefly for Harry as she could tell that she was sitting uneasily. The server arrived with the tea, El Tira tapped Harry’s hand and turned to respond. She handed him a silvery coin from her bag and he set down the drinks. She handed him another and gave him a stern look. He nodded and turned away.

 

“Harriet, these are things that have been handed down for centuries and are at the core of our religion. I see trust in your eyes and in the eyes of your man. This is the only reason that I feel that I can tell you these things.”

 

She waited silently while Harry digested the comments.

 

“It’s his eyes, huh?” Harry questioned. “It’s his green eyes.”

 

“Yes, Tel’KimZa…”

 

It was a deep compliment as Harry understood it. It meant ‘one with a wise heart’. El Tira smiled seeing that Harry understood and continued.

 

“Yes, green eyes are rare indeed. They are especially rare among the Westen.”

 

“Last night. The dancer. She had…”

 

“Yes, Harriet. Her eyes were green.”

 

“Like the moons, to Westen, greens eyes have two meaning. One is light and the other is darkness. There are times when their meanings came become intertwined. But this happens only when a third has come between them.”

 

“The third...” she thought a moment, “The eclipses!”

 

“Shhhh….”

 

“As three bears special significance to Westen, there is a third indicator which governs our ritual. The one, the single, the possessor is pure, be they male or female. Never have they mated with another. I believe your culture calls them virgin.”

 

“The dance is the same, told as tradition allows. The triangle of love and fire is performed. However, on special nights, nights where the shadows have returned to mingle, we Westen take our glory of expression to K’Nor.”

 

Harriet knew that K’Nor was their god. He lived on K’Colum and kept his own three children dancing around him. This was, of course, all lore and the three children were the moons that spun around K’Colum. El Tira grabbed Harry’s hand once again and asked her to sip her tea. It was getting warm.

 

“As the dance is performed, it is the one in green that wins the virgin over and the jealous rage of the other in red is used to cleanse this virtue-less soul before K’Nor. As He roars, the virgin’s throat is cut and then the heart is removed and eaten by the avenger.”

 

BTW.... Yes, there's more.....

Edited June 22, 2010 by rosetto