CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Unusual Encounters

Kenta leaned close to Pascale.

“That takes care of that,” he whispered. “Do you want to go to the beach for a walk, or perhaps a swim?”

“Can we do both?” Pascale said. She had felt the calming effect of the waves gently lapping the shore several times since her arrival on the island, and this drew her to the water.

The beach was but a few moments’ walk from the Morningbay home. The pair crossed through the yard and had just turned in the direction of the shore when they were met by a young man Pascale had not seen before. It was Zarel Duckpuddle, the Apprentice Healer, and he was walking in a peculiar manner, as though one leg had claimed the energy of both while the other barely supported him.

“Zarel! Good morning!” Kenta greeted him.

“I wish I could say it was a good morning,” Zarel replied gloomily.

“Problems?” Kenta asked, stealing a sideways glance at Pascale. She did not notice the look, however, as her attention was on Zarel, whose countenance put her in mind of a sad clown she had once seen at a circus.

“There are shooting pains all through my body,” Zarel lamented. “Besides that, I think I have a fever and —”

But here the youth stopped, for it had finally registered that the girl beside Kenta was a stranger to him, and must therefore be the visitor to TeJÉ everyone was talking about. He gaped at her for several long seconds.

“This is Pascale,” Kenta said, breaking the awkward silence. “And Pascale, this is Zarel Duckpuddle. He’s our Apprentice Healer.”

“How do you do?” Pascale said.

“Terrible, in fact,” Zarel said. He took a deep breath, which suggested he was readying his lungs for the task of more longwinded complaints.

“My mom and dad made bamboo shoot soup yesterday,” Kenta said before the young Healer could say anything else. “Why don’t I get you some?”

With that, he dashed back into his house, reappearing a moment later carrying a clay bowl with a banana leaf tied securely around the rim.

“Mom says this is sure to help,” he said, thrusting the bowl into Zarel’s hands. “It has great healing and restorative powers.”

Zarel looked at the bowl hopefully. “In that case,” he said, “I’d better get home and get it into me as quickly as possible. I can only hope it will work.”

Pascale and Kenta watched as the young Healer limped away, clutching the bowl of elixir to his chest.

“Wasn’t he limping on the other leg a moment ago?” Pascale asked in a whisper.

“He was,” Kenta agreed, also with his voice hushed. “He imagines he has all of his patients’ ailments. My guess is that he’s just come from seeing old Mr. Rainpatter, who suffers from a bad hip.”

“It seems a most unfortunate job for him to be training for in that case,” Pascale said. “I wonder why he chose such a profession.”

“His aunt is the official Healer, and very good at it. She took care of patients until a short time ago. Zarel has been training to be her replacement for a while, but so far he hasn’t shown much sign of being up to the task.”

“What will be done about it?” Pascale asked. “Shouldn’t he be encouraged to take a different job so that someone suitable can be chosen to care for the ill?”

“Perhaps,” Kenta said lightly. “But Zarel will continue unless he goes to the Elders and tells them he wishes to withdraw from healing and do something else.”

Pascale thought this was a terrible arrangement. The poor patients — what good could someone so unsuited to healing possibly do for them?

The idea of expressing that opinion to Kenta was unthinkable, of course. She was a guest on the island. It would have been rude to criticize the way things were done there.

“Perhaps he will get better at it as time goes by,” she said instead.

“If he doesn’t, the Elders will assign an assistant to work with him,” Kenta told her. “In that way, they can find someone good at the job, even if Zarel never improves.”

Pascale still thought it was an odd system, but all she said was, “How interesting.”

“For now, the best idea is to stay healthy,” Kenta said with a wink. “Anyway, let’s get to the water. I can’t wait to jump in.”

“Me too,” Pascale agreed. It was lovely not to have to think about changing into a swimsuit, or carrying towels. In her short time there she had noticed that everyone on TeJÉ swam in whatever they were wearing at the time. Because their garments were so light, drying off afterward was a simple matter of letting the sun and ocean breeze do their work.

They had gone only a few more steps when Kenta pointed Pascale to a footpath that led between clusters of shrubbery. It formed a beautiful green passageway and Pascale found it quite enchanting. Until, that is, she was startled to find herself facing a large, scaly creature. She gasped and jumped back.

“A crocodile!” she cried, grasping Kenta’s arm frantically.

Kenta could not stop himself from laughing.

“That? That’s an iguana,” he said. “Look at the shape of the head.”

Pascale saw at once that he was right. The head was not flat like a crocodile’s, and there was a horned crest running from the top of its skull down along its back.

“A lizard!” she said. “But it’s so big!”

“That kind can grow to be as long as a man is tall,” Kenta agreed. “But don’t worry, they only eat plants.”

“So it’s not dangerous — not at all?” Pascale asked doubtfully.

“If you forced it to defend itself, it could hit you pretty hard with its tail, but otherwise, no, it won’t bother you.”

“Then why is it staring at me?” Pascale said.

“Maybe it thinks you’re a crocodile,” Kenta teased.

Whatever it was thinking, the iguana did seem curious. Its glassy eyes blinked at them several times before it lost interest and disappeared into the lush greenery.

Kenta and Pascale continued along then, walking side by side until they reached the shore. There, they waded out until they were in water up to their thighs, then Kenta squatted forward and began swimming. Pascale followed his lead. Kenta was a much stronger swimmer, but he slowed his pace to hers and they glided gracefully through the gentle waves.

It was only a short while before Pascale began to tire. Her strength had not yet fully returned from her ordeal at sea and she was forced to admit she needed a rest, even though the water was wonderfully refreshing.

Back on the shore, a light breeze from the surrounding ocean danced lazily against their skin as they made their way along the sand.

There was no natural cover to be found on the beach, but the villagers had erected tall, thin poles with wide grass umbrellas that slid up and down and could be secured in place at various levels. These provided shade from the sun for anyone who sought it. After they had been walking for a while and their clothes had dried, the pair decided to stop and sit under one such shelter.

A rolled-up straw mat was fastened to each pole and Kenta quickly unfastened one and spread it over the sand. Pascale settled on the mat as Kenta adjusted the umbrella to give them shade. It was lovely and relaxing.

“I should have brought a snack,” Kenta said, patting his pockets and finding them empty.

“Thanks to you, I did!” Pascale said. She retrieved the orange from her pocket and peeled it, enjoying the light spray of citrus that tickled her nose as she pulled the rind loose.

She had just finished removing the peel and was separating the segments to share with Kenta when Inch appeared, venturing out onto her shoulder and pausing to look around.

“Your friend must want a snack too,” Kenta commented.

“He does seem to have a habit of showing up whenever there’s food around,” Pascale said with affection. She pinched a tiny, juice-filled globe from a wedge and sat it on the mat, giggling when Inch raced to it at once.

After the orange was gone, Pascale and Kenta sat back and enjoyed the shade and the peacefulness of the waves lapping on the shore, while Inch raced and rolled about the sand.

And for just a few moments, Pascale almost felt as though she had family again.