16
The Familiar Stranger
Dylan slept soundly for a short period of time in the shelter of the trees. He dreamed of happier times in Duffle. His entire family was sitting around the dinner table, laughing and eating breakfast. They cleared the table, cleaned their dishes, and got ready for the day. Taya punched her brother on the arm, and he chased her out the door and into the yard. Turning back toward his house, Dylan saw his father step through the door. Just before his foot touched the ground, he turned into a hawk and flew away. Dylan watched the bird circle above his head. He called out to him, but it was too late. The bird seemed to evaporate and then condense into a cloud.
Dylan ran toward the house to alert his mother, but before he could get to her, she stepped out and turned into a dove. She also evaporated before his eyes. He heard his sister scream, so he ran in her direction. He froze when he saw a trog rise out of the trees with his sister in his talons. His own screaming woke him, and he was face-to-face with a small, wrinkled, charcoal-skinned creature. The whites of his eyes almost glowed due to the contrast between his skin and eye color.
“Who…who…who are you?” Dylan stuttered as he pushed back against the wall, his heart pounding against his rib cage.
“Relax, Screaming Boy,” the creature mocked in a high, squeaky voice. “I have come to take you to your people.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” Dylan asked, knife in hand.
“You don’t, but I’m all you’ve got, so you can stay here and cry or you can come with me, Nervous Boy.” The creature spoke quickly and haltingly—at times, without spaces between words.
Dylan fumed. “I’m not crying, little man!”
“Well, you’re pouting.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
Dylan stood angrily and bumped his head on a branch. He was knocked back to the ground. The creature laughed.
“Be careful, Clumsy Boy. You don’t want to hurt yourself.”
Dylan scanned the enclosure. It was dimly lit, but his eyes adjusted quickly. The creature jumped to an entrance. Dylan watched the little man peek out of the hiding spot. He flew from one side of the shelter to the other so quickly that Dylan did not see him move.
Dylan wrestled with his thoughts. Here’s a stranger, the very same stranger who peered out at me from the poster, telling me that he’s going to take me to my people. Do I go with him or go off on my own? I don’t know where I’m going or what I should be doing, but if I go with this…thing, he may lead me into danger.
“Eat this.” A small bundle flew into Dylan’s hands. “Then we’re off.”
Dylan unwrapped the package. It was a dense piece of bread filled with fruit and nuts. The wonderful flavor and freshness surprised him.
“Who are you?” Dylan asked.
“Why does that matter?”
“Well, I’d like to know your name if we’re going to be spending time together. I’m Dylan.”
“I know who you are, Stupid Boy. I’ve been watching you for a long time. I have orders to take you to your people.”
“Who are you referring to, when you say ‘your people’?”
“The people of Duffle, Question Boy. Now stop the interrogation and eat.”
“Duffle was destroyed. Where are you really taking me?”
The little man did not respond. Dylan continued to eat, and just when he was getting thirsty, a skin of water landed in his lap. The creature was now sitting across from him, and the two of them scrutinized each other for a few minutes. Dylan no longer felt threatened by the unusual character.
“Let’s go!” The creature suddenly jumped to the entrance and surveyed the landscape.
Dylan moved toward the opening, but before he got there, the little man was gone. He looked out and saw him standing behind a tree. A split second later, he disappeared again and popped back out from behind another tree. Dylan watched him flit from tree to tree. Then he was back and standing beside Dylan.
“It’s safe. Follow me, Slow Boy. Try to keep up.”
Dylan knew he was in for a challenge. He had prided himself on his ability to travel quickly, but he had never seen anyone move like this. Before Dylan could ask a question, the creature was up ahead, standing behind a boulder. Dylan peered out and ran to the rock, but just as he got there, the little man vanished. Dylan spied him up ahead, and again, just when Dylan moved within reach, he disappeared.
They proceeded like this for hours. Dylan was beginning to tire. He wanted to let the little man know that he needed to stop for a moment, but he could not catch up to him. Yelling out was not an option—he did not want to attract unwanted attention. Just as Dylan was about to collapse, the little man led him into another cave, very similar to the last one. It was a dugout with branches overhead. The shelter of the leaves muted the sounds of the forest. Dim beams of light shone into the shelter and bounced off his companion’s iridescent black hair, revealing a prism of colors.
Someone had prepared them a meal of fresh bread and warm soup, but no one was around. Dylan nestled himself into a rounded spot in the ground, and the little man served him.
“Who gave you orders to take me to my people, Little Man?”
“Again with the questions. I hate questions.”
The two of them ate quietly, and then the little man finally broke the silence. “I take my orders from the earth. Don’t ask what I mean, for you would never understand.”
“I think I do understand,” Dylan responded. He paused before he spoke again. “I’ve been in touch with the earth, and I’ve learned things that I cannot explain. Tell me about the earth.”
The little man was silent for a moment and then he started. “The earth is everything. It provides life; it takes life; the earth is life. Every part of the earth is vital for every living creature. We are connected to her.” He scooped the dusty floor into one of his palms.
“This soil is alive. You are a part of it as it is a part of you. Your body is made up of particles that have lived in other life forms, and the components of your body will continue to shape other lives. You never really die—you just transform.” He stopped speaking for a moment and let the dirt slip through the fingers of one hand into the palm of the other.
“Your origins are dust…and your end is dust. You have no choice in that.” The little man let the dirt slip though his hands like sand in an hourglass. Then he blew the remaining dust into the air. The tiny particles filled the shelter and danced in the light.
“Your choice lies in what you do between the dust you were and the dust you will become. You can change the world, or you can float—aimlessly and without purpose. The choice is yours. You are the earth and the earth is you.” He paused for a moment. “I take orders from the earth…as do you. You just don’t know it yet.”
The two of them sat in silence for a moment. Dylan contemplated what he had just heard. Parts of it made sense while much of it confused him.
“You have been given special powers, Baffled Boy, and you are to use them to make things right—to rejuvenate the earth.”
“Now you’ve lost me. I don’t understand how my powers will rejuvenate the earth.”
“You will see, Worry Boy. Don’t concern yourself with details. You have a mission, and I’m here to assist you.”
“But I don’t understand my mission.”
“You will as time passes. You have much to learn.”
“Why are we going to visit the people of Duffle?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps you have something to learn. Every experience is a teacher. The purpose of the lesson is not always obvious at the time it’s taught. Enough talk. Eat.”
When they had finished eating, the two of them rested for a while. Dylan sat back and thought about all the things that had happened to him since the last time he had seen his father, at the Gnarled Oak. The power he had gained was very exciting, and his abilities often surprised him, but a great sadness and sense of loss weighed down on him. He missed the warmth and sense of community Duffle had provided.
Suddenly, the little man jumped up and startled Dylan back to reality.
“Let’s go, Sleepy Boy. No more time wasted.”
They continued on as before. As the light dimmed, a musty, sweet scent rose up from the forest floor. Dylan began to worry that he would not be able to see his new companion in the dark. He decided that he had to tell him to either slow down or walk with him. Just as Dylan was about to speak his mind, the little man was off again, and Dylan collapsed.
“I’m going to sit here and make him come back to me,” Dylan said with an exasperated breath. “I’ll never catch up to him long enough to tell him what I’m thinking.”
Dylan waited. After several minutes of silence, he thought he’d better get moving. The little man was nowhere to be seen. Dylan listened but all was quiet, which was more terrifying than noise. His heart started to pound. Dylan walked slowly through the trees. He was alone and terrified. With his sword drawn, he looked for shelter. He could sense that he was being observed, so he turned in the direction of the watchful eyes. A silhouette stood in the final minutes of the setting sun. Dylan’s heart dropped, and he prepared himself for battle. The figure walked toward him. Dylan stood his ground and prepared to strike.
The silhouette spoke calmly. “Hello, Dylan.”
Dylan recognized the voice but could not make out who it was. He stood still and waited.
“You have forgotten your relatives so quickly?”
“Uncle Tanu!” Dylan yelled, and he ran toward him.
They embraced in silence. Then Tanu put his arm around Dylan, turned him around, and guided him through the forest.
“Did you see that little dark guy?” Dylan asked.
“You mean Micro?”
Dylan looked at him curiously.
“At least that’s what we call him,” Tanu added.
“Where did he go?”
“Who knows? He started appearing a short time ago. He comes and goes. No one knows where he comes from or where he goes.”
The night was upon them before Dylan was aware of it. He did not know for how long they had walked together, but it was getting late. The moon shone down on them as they walked into an opening in the forest. A tangle of shrubs, very similar to the one Micro and Dylan had found shelter in previously, came into view.
Tanu put pressure on his shoulder. “Bend down and crawl on your hands and knees.”
They entered a warm little dwelling. The moon shone through the branches, and he could see that it was a very comfortable home. Dylan observed many of the same household items that had been in his aunt and uncle’s home in Duffle. There was a scattering of objects on the ground, including toys, pots, and pans. Dylan was about to ask about his aunt and cousins when he heard voices. They were coming from a small cave dug into the ground. Dylan looked in, but it was black. He stood still and waited. The appearance of a face startled him.
“Oh, Dylan!” Aunt Vena shouted as she hugged him. “We have missed you so much.”
His two cousins appeared and smiled at him shyly. Their faces were streaked with dirt.
“Are you alone here?” Dylan asked.
“No, there are about forty of us,” Tanu replied. “When the trogs destroyed our village, some of our people were killed; some were captured and taken away; the rest of us fled. Everyone with children left the night before the trogs came. We were concerned about our families.”
“Where’s everybody else?”
“I’ve heard rumors of others living in distant lands, but we don’t travel far away from this place. We are comfortable but always in fear. Most of our movement takes place at night. There are eyes out there.” Tanu paused. “Enough about us, tell us about you and what you’ve been doing.”
Dylan talked at length about his training and some of his adventures.
“What do you know about Nero and his plans?” Dylan finally asked.
“I’ve heard that he’s looking for complete control over everything,” his uncle replied. “He kills anyone who questions his authority. I’ve even heard that he plans to kill all of the men in Milo, but I don’t believe this. There are many rumors, and it’s difficult to know what the truth is.”
The conversation stopped with the sound of voices. Several men and women crawled into Tanu and Vena’s home. Dylan knew all of them. Each one of them hugged him upon entry and then sat down, forming a circle. This was the sense of home he had been missing. It did not matter that they were not in Duffle. Several of the people were his parents’ closest friends, and he remembered their regular visits to his home in Duffle. The conversation started with a discussion of old times. They laughed and enjoyed themselves like days of old. Then the conversation gradually turned to what was happening in the present.
“There are rumors about you, Dylan,” Pectus said cautiously. “We don’t know what to believe anymore. What is your role in the world?”
Dylan did not speak for a moment. He was trying to understand the question, and he wondered about the rumors.
“I’m not certain what my role is, but Ravelle believes I have a part to play. I have much to learn.”
“Do you possess Aarial?” asked Vena.
Dylan was uncertain of how to respond. He looked to Tanu, who nodded.
“Yes, I do. My father transferred it to me before he fled.”
“I’m pleased that it is you who possesses Aarial,” Pectus said. “We’ve always known that you are different than most, and you will serve the power well. Your father was a great man, and he did his best, but he had difficulty with it.”
“I have control of Aarial, and I’ll use it to the best of my ability.”
“You’re all we’ve got. No one is willing to stand up to Nero. A small number of people have tried and perished in the attempt. He’s too powerful. Are you heading toward the castle?”
“I’m not sure. Ravelle gave me two tasks. He told me to destroy Nero and find Queen Gaia, but I don’t know which is the priority. He said that Queen Gaia would help me, so I think I should find her first, but I’ve never heard of her. Do any of you know anything about Queen Gaia?”
Dylan scanned their faces, but they averted their eyes from his gaze. No one spoke for a few moments. Then Tanu spoke up. “I’ve only heard about her. She is supposed to have great powers—powers beyond all comprehension. I heard your father curse her many times, but he would never tell me who she was. I’m sorry, but I cannot help you. I don’t know anything about her.”
Vena interrupted. “It’s getting late. Dylan has had a long day, and he needs his rest before he leaves.”
“What?” he blurted. “You’re making me go?” An uncomfortable silence filled the room. “For so long, I’ve yearned for the comforts of home. This is the closest I’ve come in a long time. I want to stay.”
“This is not comfort,” Tanu said. “This is survival. It’s temporary and won’t last. I’m not asking you to leave, Dylan, but I want you to consider a few things. Our future depends on you. You’re the only one who can make things right.” Then he stopped for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “You’re welcome to stay for as long as you like. Our fear is that Nero will be drawn to our homes in search of you. We’re fairly safe at the moment, but we’re concerned about our families.”
“I understand.” Dylan’s feeling of rejection blanketed his words.
One by one, his friends left the shelter. On their way out, they embraced Dylan and spoke words of encouragement. His heart sank with the last farewell.
Tanu and Dylan spoke quietly while preparing his bed. “Do you understand, Dylan?”
“Yes, I do, but that doesn’t make it any easier. I’m constantly leaving the ones I love.”
“We’ll all be together one day, Dylan. Comfort is a wonderful thing, but you must continue your quest. Your role is bigger than this. You have a heavy burden, and I’m sorry for that, but you are our future. Our thoughts and hopes are with you.” His eyes expressed an awareness of the fact that they may never see each other again. “Good-night, Dylan.”
Dylan lay down and stared up at the ceiling. His mind raced as he went over the events of the day. He thought about his travels with Micro and all the things that had been said, but one phrase kept repeating itself—Your origins are dust, and your end is dust. You have no choice in that.
Just as he was drifting into sleep, the uncertainty of tomorrow snapped him wide awake again. He felt his stomach tighten at the idea of leaving. Exhaustion finally caught up with him, and he dozed off with the comfort of a silent whisper: You can change the world, or you can float—aimlessly and without purpose…change the world or float…change the world or float…change the world or…aimlessly and without purpose… aimlessly and without purpose…aimlessly…aim…less…ly .