Pathways - Jeri Taylor [173]
Kes stood in the Assembly for a very long time, how long she wasn’t sure. The entertainment screens droned on, people collected their rations, and eventually the crowds began to thin out, which meant the time of rest was drawing near. Any number of people had stopped to ask if Kes had needed help; each time, she shook her head and replied that she was waiting for her father.
As time wore on, she began to grow weary, and decided that it wasn’t really violating her resolve if she sat down. She did, watching as more and more people left the Assembly. She was beginning to feel somewhat forlorn as she realized her father wasn’t going to yield to her determination, but she was utterly unable to swallow her pride and return home.
One minute she was sitting on the floor of the Assembly, feeling somewhat drowsy, and the next she was waking up in her bed at home. It took her a brief moment to realize where she was and then she looked up to see her mother, Martis, sitting by the bed.
“How did I get here? I didn’t want to move from the Assembly,” said Kes.
“You fell asleep and one of the Elders, Toscat, carried you back here.”
“No! He should have left me there!” Kes felt her eyes begin to burn and then grow moist.
“He knew you should be at home in your bed.”
“I said I wouldn’t move until Father had answered my questions.”
Martis leaned forward and stroked an errant lock of hair away from her daughter’s face. “Kes, you’re a bright and beautiful child, and your father and I love you very much. But you’re also willful and stubborn, and that concerns us. We don’t want you to grow up to be spoiled and arrogant, and so we’re not going to allow you to decide what will and will not happen in this family. Benaren and I are the adults, and you are the child. We’ll make the decisions that determine your behavior until you’re an adult and can make wiser choices.”
Kes didn’t like being chastised. It made her feel funny inside, queasy. She idolized her beautiful mother, and didn’t like the thought she had disappointed the woman who had always given her such loving care. She hung her head, unable to look up.
“It grieves your father if he thinks he hasn’t been able to give you the information you want. But you ask questions that can’t be answered.”
“I don’t understand why not. I don’t understand why these aren’t questions that everyone asks.”
“Darling child,” said her mother, “you can’t begin to believe how unique you are. I’ve known that since you were born. I told your father that I thought someday you would see the sun.”
This aroused Kes’s curiosity instantly. “What does that mean? What’s the sun? Why would it be special to see it?”
Martis smiled. “We’ve decided it’s time for you to hear about the surface. Usually parents wait until a child has finished the growth cycle, but you are precocious, and can probably understand the story now.”
Kes sat up in bed, eager to hear about the “surface.” This was more like it. Now maybe some of her questions would finally be answered.
“Long ago our people lived on the surface. A giant orb in the sky, called the sun, provided light and heat. The Ocampa were a happy, peaceful race with an affinity for the arts. Then for reasons no one knows, or remembers, a disaster befell the planet, and climatic conditions changed. Drought ensued, and water became more valuable than gems. A people called the Kazon began to raid the Ocampan settlements and steal their water. Our people were in danger of dying out.”
Kes listened in fascination to this story. She already had a dozen questions about what her mother had said so far, but she knew she should wait and hear everything before interrupting.
“That’s when the Caretaker presented himself to us. No one knows in what way, but somehow he made it clear that he would protect us from the Kazon. It was a promise. He built this magnificent city for us, under the ground, and supplied us with endless amounts of energy and water. That was long ago, and he has kept his promise ever since.”
Kes was bubbling with questions, but