A/N 8/18/2020: had to fix a temporal inconsistency with this chapter and the previous one concerning Viera.

Bubble

The corn was gone, and Viera's muscles ached from the effort. This was going to complicate the process of reaching the pond. A lot. The best she could come up with was cultivating a closer friendship with William since the pond was on his family's land, but they didn't really have any common interests. Except...

"Fishing!" she blurted out in the middle of supper. Her parents looked at her inquisitively. "Oh - um - excuse me," she said as her face flushed. "I just remembered I was going to ask William if he could teach me how to fish."

Her father continued to look at her with a contemplative eyebrow raised, but it finally gave way to a genuine smile. "I believe that may be a good idea," he said. Her mom didn't look so sure.

On Sunday, after the morning church service, Viera cornered William. It wasn't hard to do since he was sitting by himself with his hands folded, looking quite bored. "Can you teach me how to fish?" she asked abruptly.

"You said you already knew," he replied, a bit confused.

"Well, not really." She looked down penitently, drawing little circles on the top of the pew back with her finger.

He shrugged. "I guess so." He still looked bored, which Viera found irritating.

"Today?" she pressed.

What she got was almost a glare. "Why today?"

"Why not?"

He sighed. "OK."

"What should I bring?"

"Do you have a pole?"

"No."

"Fishing line?"

"...No."

"Lures? A net?"

"No."

"What do you have?" William sounded a little exasperated. He crossed his arms.

Neither of them had noticed that Viera's father had wandered near the conversation. "I can provide her with some of these things," he said with a smile.

William simply nodded. "OK, come when you can, then," he said dismissively.

At home, Viera's father helped her strip down a palm frond to use as a pole, and then he rummaged through his own supplies until he found some fishing line. He looked it over and gave a low whistle. "Wow," he remarked. "This hasn't seen the light of day since before you were born. Here you go, Sweetie." He cut a piece and helped her puncture the pole to put it through and knot it. "This is old, and it couldn't take heavy fish even when it was new, so I don't know how long it will last you," he advised. "But I wouldn't expect you to find anything too heavy around here." He gave her a wink, then cut a few more lengths of line. "Take these too, in case that one breaks." He returned to rummaging, muttering to himself as he went, until finally giving up. "No hooks," he said. "Hopefully William has some to spare."

"What about - what did he call them?"

"Lures?"

"Yes."

"Mine are long gone. But they're not that hard to scavenge in a pinch. You've just got to think like a fish!"

Viera looked blank.

"What would you eat if you were a fish?" he prompted. "Bigger fish eat littler fish, and little fish eat bugs." He waved for her to follow as he walked towards their patch of spice plants. She was surprised to see him kneel and begin poking carefully in the dirt around the smaller plants. "Let's see what we've got here." It wasn't long before he turned up a grub worm. "Perfect!" he declared. Viera cringed. "Find a few more of these and you'll be on your way. Let me get you a small case to put them in."

"Why can't we use the ones we flick off the leaves?" she asked.

"Think like a fish," he replied. "Those are hard bugs, and most fish don't have teeth. They eat soft bugs."

Viera was starting to wonder if this was a plan she could handle. It was by sheer determination that she began poking gingerly in the dirt. She hadn't found anything yet when her dad returned.

He gave a sigh. "Come on, Vivi," he urged. "You're not afraid of dirt, and I know you're not afraid of bugs. These are just dirty bugs instead of clean ones." He worked with her - doing most of the work, for which she was grateful - until she had several to put in the small folding tin he had located. "You're all equipped!" he declared. "Be back in time to clean up for evening church, and I look forward to hearing all about it! Who knows, maybe between you and William, you'll bring home supper!"

Viera smiled at his beaming grin, wishing he wasn't quite so enthusiastic. She didn't plan to bring home supper. She didn't plan to spend much time with William at all.

Viera's stomach still churned as she walked down the path to William's house. She knocked timidly on the door, then stood clutching her pole and tin of bugs for comfort. A minute later, William appeared at the door.

"Hey," he said. After a second, he added, "that's your pole?"

She nodded. "My dad helped me make it," she said quietly. "Do you have an extra hook I could use?"

"Come on. My stuff is in the barn."

Viera looked towards the barn. The last time she had been in there was when Vixen had had kittens. Now her kittens had kittens. She followed William over to its side door but paused outside. "I'll wait out here," she said uncomfortably.

He gave her an inquisitive look, then a shrug, and disappeared inside. After a minute he returned with a pole that looked much fancier than hers, and a small bucket partially filled with ... she didn't want to know. Whatever it was, it was stinky. From there they began walking across the cactus strewn field down towards where the palms were tall. She had only been down this way a few times when her father was available to go with her. Now, at age eight, the trees didn't look quite as tall.

"The best pond is back here," William said. As they made their way down to it, Viera was relieved to see that it was not the small one she had played at a week ago. It was much larger, large enough that the trees only shaded the edges and the middle was open to the afternoon sun.

"How many ponds do you have?" she asked.

"I don't know. Three maybe. They're all connected by the same brook. Not much water comes through in the summer, so it can get pretty stagnant, but we may still find fish if we're lucky. Do you have some bait?"

Viera didn't know what 'stagnant' meant, but it sounded bad. She opened her little tin and showed William the grubs.

"Hmm," he pondered as he plucked one from the tin. "I'd be surprised if there's anything out here that will eat something this big." With a practiced hand he whipped out a pocket knife and cut it in half against his palm. Viera cringed. "Here; now you can catch two," he smirked.

Viera bit her lip and picked one of the half-grubs from William's palm. She impaled it onto the hook at the end of her fishing line. From the corner of her eye she watched William take a strip of ... whatever it was ... from his pail and cut off a small piece, letting the rest fall back in with a revolting spluck. Then he held his rod back and whisked it overhead. It flew far out into the pond and landed near the dividing point of the light and shadow. Viera tried to imitate him, but her line landed just a few feet into the water. "Now what?" she asked.

"Now we slowly reel it in, and see if anything bites." He began turning the wheel on his fancy rod.

Viera's rod didn't have a reel. It was just fishing line tied to the end of her pole. "How do I do it?" she asked.

"Beats me," he replied. "I guess if I was you I'd just grab the line and pull it in slowly by hand." As she began to do this, he advised, "slower. And give it teeny little tugs. It's supposed to move like a little fish in the water."

"Think like a fish," Viera rehearsed.

He looked at her somewhat surprised. "Yeah."

After reeling in and recasting their lines several times, William announced, "yeah, there's nothing out here. Let's try the smaller pond downstream."

"Actually, I think I need to get going," she said.

"What, already? You just got here!"

"My dad has some things he needs me to do. Maybe next Sunday we can try again and I'll get here a little earlier?" She gathered up her line and her tin. "And maybe there will be fish then. Thank you for your help though."

"It did take you a while to get here," he agreed, as he gathered up his gear and led the way back towards the house. She and he parted ways on the path between the barn and the house. She quickened her pace as her excitement mounted. She glanced back once or twice, and when she could no longer see William's house, she cut across the field towards where the stream was. It took some time to get there. It was a long way off the path, but that was actually a good thing. It lessened the chance of being seen.

The stream was barely a trickle. She followed it until it led to the small pond, which was also quite a bit smaller. Even so, she couldn't suppress her giddiness. "Hello..." she said softly. Everything was still and quiet, except for the barely perceptible breeze ruffling the palms overhead. She was disappointed at the silence. Then she remembered. She walked to the water's edge and placed her hand on it. "Hello!" she repeated. Still silence. Her giddiness withered fast. "Oh, no! No! Where are you! Aren't you here? I worked so hard to get back -"

Splash!

The water that had splattered on her had come from somewhere off to her left. When she turned to look, there it was, in all it's magnificence, standing on the surface of the pond. Viera laughed in relief and joy. "There you are! I was afraid you had gone -" It dropped back into the water. "Come back!" she called. "What's wrong?!"

Splash!

Water splattered her from the right. She grinned. "Oh, you stinker! Well, two can play at that game!" Viera placed both hands on the water and watched carefully. When the horse rose again, she lifted a wave in front of it which crashed down onto the surface of the pond. Viera waited as the ripples slowly dissipated and the surface became still again. A moment passed. "Are you OK?" she asked. There was silence. "Are you mad?" she asked. "Please don't be mad! I was playing! We were just playing!"

Water splashed her from the right again, and she turned to see the little horse prancing away on the surface of the pond. She grinned and sent waves to chase it, but it danced away, dodging around her waves to the left and the right, and then simply riding over the top of one. Viera laughed in delight. The farther away it was, the smaller her waves were, she noticed. So she did the obvious thing: she kicked off her shoes and stepped out, walking on the surface of the water. "I'm coming for you!" she laughed. The two chased and splashed each other until Viera was out of breath. She stumbled and fell onto the water's surface. She had never done this before. Doing "Moses" - parting the water - was one thing. Doing "Jesus" - walking on the water - was another. But she had never heard a Bible story of someone laying on the water. It was cool and comfortable, and undulated soothingly against her back. She sighed deeply, and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the little horse was standing over her, looking down at her. She beamed, and instinctively reached up to touch it. "I love you!" she said. "Thanks for being my friend." She touched the side of its head. It felt just like the surface of the water - cool, with a tiny bit of give. "What's your name?"

The horse suddenly popped like a bubble, and all the water that was above her gushed down onto her face. She sat up spluttering. "Your name is 'Stinker!'" she coughed with more vehemence. She looked about, but the pond was once again still. It was odd being there, in the middle of the pond, sitting on its surface like a leaf. She sighed contentedly, and then thought of the time. "I probably need to go," she said. She stood and began to walk towards the pond's edge, but before she could reach it, The little horse rose up underneath her, lifting her off her feet! It was a much larger size this time - about the size of one of their goats. "Oh!" she exclaimed. It carried her around the pond in a few circles as she laughed, and then it disappeared again, dumping her back onto the surface. She still continued to laugh as she got up and made her way the rest of the way to the edge. She put her shoes back on. "Goodbye!" she called. "See you next time!" As she walked away, she said to herself, "I'm going to have to come up with a better name than 'Stinker.'"

The next Saturday evening, Viera worked with her father to put a makeshift reel onto her rod. He had spent the week carving it for her from a scrap of wood with his small paring knife. He showed her how to cast it and put her thumb on it when she wanted the fishing line to stop unspooling. It still wasn't in the same league as William's, but Viera didn't care. It's not like she aspired to such things.

They had gotten some welcome summer rain on Thursday. The ground was dry enough to absorb it quickly, but it had been enough of a downpour that some of it had run off into the creeks and ponds. Viera face flushed with anticipation as she walked to William's house. When she got there, she saw William's rod leaning against the outside of the house just outside the door. She knocked, and it was William who answered instead of his mother.

"I'm ready for you this time!" he smiled. "We got some rain, so maybe we'll have better luck. But today I have stuff to do later, so it will be me cutting it short instead of you. So let's get going!" Viera smiled at the serendipity.

They went to the same large pond. The closer they got, the muddier the ground became. The pond was visibly larger, having expanded up its shallowly sloped banks quite a bit. There was water flowing gently in from the creek on one side, and flowing out on the other. Viera showed William her new reel and he gave a smug grin. "You're dad's handy with a paring knife, I'll give him that." That was the closest to a compliment she was going to hear.

The act of casting was much more interesting with a line that actually traveled when something was on the end of it. Viera tried aiming for the same spot as William, until he told her to give his hook some space. "Aim for the dividing point of light and shadow," he said. But in spite of the higher water level and her better equipment, neither of them caught anything. As the time past, William grew frustrated. Viera found this kind of funny. He was the fisherman. She would have thought he would be used to this. Ultimately he huffed in disgust. "I'm giving up. There's nothing out here. Let's call it a day." They walked together in silence back to his house. Finally, when they were near the door, he said, "I think we'll have to wait until we get enough rain to wash some more fish downstream to us."

"Aw, can we keep trying? Please? I'm still learning good things, even if I haven't caught anything yet."

"We'll see. See you at church tonight." He left his rod leaning against the outside of the house as he went inside. Viera wondered if that's just where he kept it now.

When she arrived at her pond, it was also larger, and had water running in and running out. She took off her shoes immediately and walked out onto the surface of the pond. She had to keep walking this time since there was a mild current.

"Bubble!" she called. "Bubble, I'm here! Are you here?" She was answered by a spray of water to the back of her head. She grinned in delight. "Yay! I was worried you might have gotten washed downstream. Do you like rain?" Bubble pranced up to her and touched her with his nose. "Do you like your new name?" she asked. As if in reply, he pranced around her in a circle, disappeared, and then boosted her up from underneath. "Oh!" she cried. "Are you going to give me a ride already? I don't want you to get tired!" To her shock and alarm, Bubble got a running start and then ran out of the pond, downstream along the creek. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hat trailing behind her in the breeze as she laughed. She realized quickly though that this was not a safe place for them to be. "Bubble," she said, "you have to stop. If you go farther, someone might see you." He came to a gentle stop, turned in place, and looked around as if checking for any onlookers. Then he started running back upstream again, back towards the pond. Viera pressed the side of her head against his neck and savored the wind in her face. Bubble was much more comfortable than any other animal she had ridden. He was soft, sleek, and refreshingly cool, not bony, scratchy, and hot.

They came to a stop at the pond again, and Viera slid off Bubble's back, panting and giggling. "I think that's the most fun thing I've ever done!" she exclaimed. "Thank you, Bubble."

- Snap -

Viera's heart leapt into her throat at the sound. Bubble immediately splashed down into the pond as she wheeled around to see where the sound had come from. There, at the top of one of the gentle hills that made up the side of the pond, stood William and two older boys Viera didn't recognize, all holding fishing equipment in their hands. Their eyes were wide as saucers and their complexions were pale. The two older boys dropped their gear and ran, leaving William riveted in place, staring at Viera as she stood on the middle of the pond.

"William -" she said in shock. He began to shake his head in disbelief at what he was seeing. Viera didn't know what to do. She had to do something. "William, please don't tell anyone..." That's all she could think of to say. Then she looked down and realized the ridiculousness of what she'd said while she remained still standing on top of the surface of the water. She began to run towards the edge of the pond.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME," William shrieked. He hurled his fishing rod at her, turned and ran. It landed about six feet in front of her.

Viera plopped down on the edge of the pond and started to cry. She was in so much trouble. So, so, much trouble. Her palms and forehead were getting cold and sweaty. She began to tremble as her mind raced. Maybe she could run away. "Where would I go?" she asked herself dejectedly. She felt a nuzzle against her cheek. "Bubble..." she said as she reached up to touch his face. "I'm in sooooo much trouble... What do I do?"

Viera wobbled through the door of her house white as a sheet and with her arms wrapped around her stomach.

"Good heavens!" declared her mother. "What happened to you?"

"I don't feel good," she answered in a thin voice, without meeting her mother's eyes. She stumbled to her bed and flopped onto it facing the wall.

Her mother came over and felt her forehead. "You aren't fevered," she said. "But I don't think you'll be going to church tonight. Let's pray this passes by morning. I'll call doctor Evansson then if necessary."

Viera squeezed her eyes shut more tightly.

After church she feigned sleep. Real sleep was impossible. She heard her parents talking in low voices.

Her father's voice: "They've demanded I meet with the community elders tomorrow."

Her mother: "What do you think they'll do?"

"I don't know. God willing, they just want information. That's how I'm going to approach it, anyway. I'll tell them the same things I've been telling Vivi for years. More likely, though, they'll tell us to leave. I pray they don't demand I turn Vivi over. I'm not going to do that."

There was silence for several minutes.

"Tomorrow I want you to take Vivi and leave. Go to where I took you when I proposed. If all is well, I'll come meet you there. If I don't come tomorrow, you'll know to flee with her. Go to Delavea, on the continent. There's another like-minded community there. You can start over. If and when I am able to, I will come join you there."

"A like-minded community, Lars? Is that really what we're looking for?"

"What would you have us do? Her gift would be frowned upon most anywhere. Until she learns temperance, I fear her lot in life is to be feared or abused. At least among our own people she will learn a good way of life."

"To be feared or abused by good people ... how will it not drive her into the hands of bad people?"

"What is the alternative? To have her around bad people and hope it drives her to good people?" There was another long silence. "We can only pray."

The morning air was fresh and warm. Viera was silent as her father loaded a small pair of saddlebags onto Morgel, their best horse. It was barely light. She stood with her hands folded, still not able to meet their eyes. Her father knelt in front of her and took her by the shoulders.

"Vivi," he began. "Because of this, everything is going to change. For all of us. Hopefully it changes in ways we can all live with. But please, please, don't do this again."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, still looking at the ground.

He helped her mother onto Morgel, and then lifted her up and settled her onto the saddle in front. It was uncomfortable - she was nearly sitting on the saddle horn. The only thing that made it tolerable was the straps from the canteens that were looped around it. So different from riding Bubble. She wanted to say more. She wanted to hear "I love you," or "it will be OK," or to receive a hug, but none of those were forthcoming. He patted Morgel on the thigh and they began walking away from the only home she'd ever known. The morning brightened around them as they walked in silence, Morgel's hooves on the wagon path and the clunking of the canteens the only sounds. At last the sun peeked over the horizon on their left. It was so much like all other mornings on their farm. Viera could scarcely believe what was happening. The fitful night, the methodical rhythmic swaying of the horse ride, and leaning on her mother, all conspired to pull her back into sleep. She was startled when her mother broke the silence.

"Tell me what happened, Vivi."

She couldn't find the words.

"The boys said something about a demon."

"He's not a demon!" she said with more vehemence than she intended. She bit her lip. "He's a horse. His name is Bubble. He's made out of water."

"Did you make him?"

"I ... no." Had she? Was that possible? "At least - I don't think so. I found him. In one of the Wallin's ponds. He was my friend. We played, a lot. He even gave me rides. He can't talk, but he never did anything bad. Except get me wet. He's not a demon."

"Maybe an angel then?"

"Maybe..."

"Why do you think you found him?"

"Because I can control water. I think he trusted me." They walked on in silence. "Where are we going, Mama?"

"We're going to the place where Daddy asked me to marry him."

"How far is it?"

"It will take us several hours to get there."

After what seemed like forever of following the dusty path through monotonous, cactus-pocked, arid land, her mother diverted Morgel off the wagon trail onto a cow path that headed towards a large, low hill in the distance. Viera could see a few trees at its top. "Is that where we're going?"

"Yes, Vivi." They reached the hill, and Morgel slowed his pace as he wove his way through the more frequent cacti. The few trees at the top were quite large - the largest Viera had ever seen. They were shorter than palm trees, but they were so wide.

"What kind of trees are those," she asked.

"Those are Manchineel trees."

"They're beautiful."

"That's all they are. Someone cultivated them - maybe a furniture maker - but the fruit will kill you if you eat it. Even the sap will make you sick if you get it on your skin. I've heard you can't stand under them when it rains, lest the rain wash some of the sap onto your skin as it drips through." Viera was surprised when her mother stopped the horse underneath one of the trees. "We're here," she said. "Remember, look, but don't touch."

Viera was incredulous. "Why would Daddy ask you to marry him here?" she asked.

Her mother chuckled. It was the first smile she had seen on her mother's face all day. "We were young. We didn't know. It was just a pretty tree to us. Daddy got blisters on his fingers where he used his paring knife to carve our initials onto the tree right here. We found out why later. That's how life is, sometimes. You learn lessons the hard way, and then wonder at yourself for being so silly before you knew..."

Viera looked at the tree and then looked at her hands. She could stick her hand in water and not get wet, if she chose to. She wondered if she could control the sap like she could control water. "Mama," she said, "my ... gift. It's like a Manchineel tree, isn't it? It doesn't hurt me, but it hurts everyone else."

"Oh, Vivi, I'm sure God has a plan for you. A gift like yours isn't given without reason. I'm sure you have some great purpose to fulfill."

Viera hoped so.

The day dragged. The tree gave shade, and a good view of the surrounding countryside, but there was nothing to play with except Morgel, and he seemed more bothered than interested in her antics. They drank sparingly from the canteens. Her mother was uncharacteristically quiet, and Viera was afraid to ask what she was thinking about. At last, as the sun was starting to get low in the sky, they saw a lone rider on the wagon trail.

"Come to the far side of the trees, Vivi," her mother instructed. "That may be Daddy, or it may not. If it is, he'll know to come here." They both watched intently, and her mother let out a sigh of relief when he turned onto the cow path leading towards the hill. A few minutes later he was with them. He was sullen.

"They've told us to leave," he confirmed. "The communal farm equipment will stay with the community, of course. They're letting us have the horses, and they took up a collection to aid us with our travel expenses."

"Did they ask where we're going?"

"No, and I don't plan to tell them. We're leaving the past behind." He turned to Viera, and with a somewhat stern voice, said, "right, Vivi?"

She hung her head.

A/N: I have specific geographic locales in mind for Viera's side of the story, but to me, linking it to known named places and dates kind of breaks the "fourth wall." I'm sure you can figure it out if you try, though.