Dragon & Dreamer | ONC 2023 honourable mention

12 - Reunion

Close to exhaustion after running half the night, Dánirah didn't dare slow down when the sun rose. In the daylight, the xyl resembled a sphere of glass reflecting the sunlight in rainbow colours and was sometimes hard to see. Like a trusty guide, it led her through forests, across meadows, and made her walk for long stretches over the pebbles in a riverbed where she left no tracks. Mid-morning, she found a handful of dried berries on a shea bush and devoured them.

In the afternoon, the xyl stopped in a secluded clearing. Dánirah slept a few hours in a grassy spot sheltered by a hedge until the xylin's chimes woke her. The evening sun reflected on the surfaces of several light spheres assembled around her. Dánirah yawned and rubbed the grit from her eyes. Her stomach rumbled, but the xylin could only show her a small brook where she drank icy water from her cupped hands. "Thanks for saving me."

The light spheres jingled and danced. Dánirah shook her head. "I wish I could understand you."

One xyl separated from the group and bobbed away. "You want me to follow you?"

The jingle could mean confirmation—or something else. Dánirah took a few steps towards the sphere, and it danced farther away. "Fine, I guess you know what's going on. Lead the way."

Dánirah wondered if she followed the same guide as she climbed a crest behind the skipping sphere and looked out over the rolling hills ahead. These were the prairies her mother mentioned. Perhaps the xyl brought her home? For the first time since being captured, hope lightened her heart.

The day faded to dusk, and she stumbled through the night again, first through the grassland. Then, after a while, they entered another forest where progress became slow. Dead branches snapped under Dánirah's steps, and brambles snagged at her skirt. She tore free to follow the bobbing light to an area with mighty pine trees. Relieved the underbrush was less dense, she dashed over the soft ground, catching up with her guide, who pressed on faster. What was the hurry? Tiredness and hunger sapped Dánirah's energy. She stumbled on, tears of exhaustion burning in her eyes and a stitch building in her side, when she made out a few stars in the sky between the trees ahead. The forest's edge was near.

Moments later, Dánirah stumbled over a log, fought for her balance, lost it, and found herself on her stomach in a meadow under the starlit sky. Two dark silhouettes moved at the periphery of her vision, and a sword hissed out of its sheath. She rolled sideways, panting. With her bangles jingling, she scrambled towards the forest's safety.

"Wait."

She had no intention of obeying and getting caught again. Where had her guide gone? Without the xyl's light, she would never find a track through the undergrowth. Instead of braving the brush, she stopped behind a mighty tree trunk and calmed her breathing.

"Dánirah, is it you?"

She knew the voice from Penira—but this was impossible. Her hands balled into fists while she gathered her courage.

"Liha?"

"Yes. What are you doing here?"

A shiver of relief ran down her spine, and she no longer held back the tears. The xyl hadn't betrayed her. With careful steps, she returned to the forest's edge. Liha waited beside a stranger. In the dim light of the waning moon, she thought the warrior's skin might be dark enough for a Tanna, but when his sword gleamed in the moonlight, she stopped.

Liha seemed to perceive her fear. "Berim, this is Dánirah. I'm sure you won't need your weapon."

"Your Tanna friend from Penira?" The warrior sheathed his sword, pressed his palms together and bowed his head. "Welcome, daughter of the dawn."