The Faith
Chapter 14 - Gift of Farwell
(Marco)
The waves crashed against the wet sand, leaving more water behind to soak in and darken the color of the ground. They, the waves, barely touched Sarah's toes from where she was, halfway between the completely dry sand and the saturated sand. The cool beach weather had caused her to dress in jeans and a black jacket, but the jacket was slung on the ground next to her and the bare shoulders of her shirt let her soak in as much of the fall sun as was possible. She was just sitting there, watching the water, while I stood about twenty feet back from her, debating exactly what I was supposed to do. Tobias had given me something to give to Sarah, telling me to tell her that I found it, but not telling me where he had gotten it. It was just a ring, a small, silver ring of intricate lines set around a purple stone that was cut into the shape of a tiny moon.
"I am not sure how long you plan on standing there, but you're making me anxious." Sarah turned her head and looked at me over her shoulder, making me swallow my own breath. There was a soft reddish light that highlighted the wispy curls of hair that fell across her face and the red made the blue in her eyes look almost lavender. "Well?"
"Sorry," I said quickly, making my way through the sand to sit next to her. We sat in the silence of the ending afternoon for a little bit, until a thin breeze came up, making Sarah shiver. I picked up her coat, forgetting I held the ring in my hand, and dropping the ring as I slung her coat across her shoulders. She offered me a smile of thanks as I scooped up the ring.
"Meides?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. I held it out to her.
"I found it," I lied. "And I don't have much use for rings so…" She closed her eyes slowly and took in a shaky breath.
"She gave this to you," she whispered, taking the ring from my hand and stretching her legs out in front of her and holding her hand against her chest. "My sister, mi itelan, gave this to you." It took me a moment, then I had a distinct urge to throttle Tobias. Emily had shown up again and she had given the ring to him, something he had failed to mention to me.
"Sarah… I…" I didn't know what to tell her. As mad as I was at Tobias, it didn't seem like the right idea to point the finger of blame at him for lying. But Sarah only shook her head.
"She probably told you not to tell me it was from her," she said, wrapping her free hand around the hand that clutched the ring. "Because… she would. Because she never had the courage to say goodbye in person…"
"Goodbye?" I asked. She held out her hands in front of her and opened her fingers.
"Our Teslahani names, woven of silver strands," she said quietly. "Seharenae and Eaimae, the names of the Twin God and Goddess of Life and Death. Silver, because we were born the daughters of a priest-in-training. The stone is our birth stone, Jehidai, and the cut… because I wanted to be a Priestess…" She reached into the inside pocket of her jacket and shakily pulled out the matching ring - but the stone was a different cut, instead it was a iosolese triangle, with the top being the shortest side and the long sides pointing down. "She wanted to Head Caster Healer, like our Aunt. That is why the stones are different." It was becoming a visible struggle for her to keep from crying but…
"You traded rings," I said, answering my own question. "And she gave it back because…"
"Because she does not plan on coming back…" Tears began slide down her cheeks, though she didn't look like she was crying. I wanted to tell her not to worry, that it was probably all some Yeerk trick to shatter her confidence, but I knew… I knew, if Emily was anything like Sarah, she had given the ring to Tobias, or at least, had her Yeerk do it. Either that, or the Yeerk was trying to get to Sarah by giving back something that it knew it would effect her.
"Aendes laertai na, Emaiae-itelan," whispered Sarah, wrapping her fingers around the rings. "Iades veranda…"
"Sarah…" She turned her face into my shoulder and began to cry with silent sobs. I wasn't sure what to do at first - Sarah had never cried, that I had seen, and it was unnerving to see someone who was usually all strength breakdown like she did. But it had to hurt, to have something like returned to her. It was a blow to the belief that she, Sarah, could do her Mission and get everyone from her world home safe. Emily didn't plan on returning…
But I only hesistated a fraction of a second before I wrapped my arms around her and held her while she cried. Because I knew… I knew what it was like to have family on the other side.
End Book 2: The Faith
