Chapter 5

New Year.

Well, this is it.

It was the night before the first day of Spring, when people made vows to do things right, when people stayed up half the night dancing and drinking, the night when almighty declarations of love were made on the stroke of midnight.

Popuri, suspicious as ever, knew exactly what was on her mind. "So, Karen, have you found anyone that's caught your eye?"

Karen felt the knot in her stomach pull tighter. "Maybe," she admitted, and then quickly turned the question around. "Why, have you?"

Popuri's laughter chimed, a sound like bells. "Ann's brother..."

Karen interrupted. "You mean the one who's been crushing on you since oh, say, forever?"

"Has he really?" Popuri asked, making an abashed sound. Karen knew that this was no news to Popuri.

"Obviously," Karen said smugly.

"Well then." Popuri's eyes flitted to Gray, who was watching Ann intently, who was snapping at her father, who Karen could tell was obviously drunk by the red in his cheeks.

"Good luck," Karen said, unusually kind. She gave Popuri a shove in the back and winked at her, and Popuri suppressed another round of giggles and took a seat next to Gray.

Karen sighed. Hail Popuri, queen of flirting.

"FIVE!"

Karen jumped, nearly dropping the glass of wine in her hand. She took a quick glance at the clock – five seconds to midnight.

"FOUR!"

Suddenly she remembered what she came here for. She swept her glance about the room.

"THREE!"

Where was Jack, where was Jack, where was Jack?

"TWO!"

There! In the corner, with Ann and Harris. Karen made a start.

"ONE!"

She was almost there. Almost there... And what she suddenly saw made her heart stop.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

There, in the corner of the bar, in the midst of the shouts and yelps, Jack was kissing Ann. In her hand she held a feather, blue as the moon.

Summer rolled in, breaking in the thick heat too quickly for anyone's tastes. Days were long, nights were hot, and the air was thick with dust. There was a comfortably small beach area behind the ranch, and these were the days in which it was always occupied.

Summer was a month dreaded by all. Summer meant hours in the kitchen for Elli and Rune, baking in the combined heat of the sun and the stoves. Summer meant double the work for Stu, who was stuck with the chore of watering Lillia's greenhouse plants twice as much as usual. Summer meant dehydrated animals, gardens that needed constant attention, sweat and grime and peeling skin. The only people who really enjoyed the Summer happened to be Mint, Rune and Ann. Ann because she celebrated her birthday in Summer, Mint because it was good swimming weather, and Rune had an excuse for avoiding the bakery.

Over the Summer days that followed, Sonya had appointed herself in charge of bringing Cliff his food. Cliff insisted he was fine, but Sonya wouldn't take no for an answer. She would bring him meals almost daily, and Cliff would accept it politely. Luckily for her, Kai hadn't taken notice to her constant meetings with Cliff. She supposed that she already was gone so often it didn't make a difference how often she was home now.

For John, work in the Summer was especially horrid. If Jack ever laid eyes John, he knew he would have him working till dusk, and by that time he'd be drenched in his own sweat. Water the crops again, recheck the water bins, go help Popuri with her garden. His only escape was the beach and occasionally the grape vines, which provided nice cover for when he needed to be hidden.

The only breaks in Summer were festivals, each of them dull in their own way, aside from the swimming festival in which a race was held. But unfortunately, that festival didn't come until the end of the season, leaving the sensitive ones to hot and humid misery.

The first of the festivals was the fireworks.

In the evening, Sonya followed her father to the square. It was slightly crowded, though comfortable enough. When her father left to be on his own, she thought of joining Ann, though she didn't seem like she needed more company – she was almost lying against Jack's chest, his legs at her sides, and they were murmuring to each other. Scratch that one. She glanced around for Mint, but she was busily chatting with Rune and Mia and she didn't want to interrupt them. Sonya's father was with Mia's parents, Gray and Popuri were with Stu and his wife, and suddenly Sonya felt very alone.

With thirty minutes to spare before the fireworks started, Sonya found herself at Cliff's cave. But he was nowhere to be found.

She cursed angrily. Sure, just forget about me, she thought angrily, kicking away a stone. She crossed her arms and stormed her away over to the beach, muttering incessantly.

She was still grumbling bitterly by the time she reached the beach. Catching the silhouette of a person out of the corner of her eye, she froze and jerked her head up to catch a glimpse of him. She thought of turning back, but it was too late, he'd already spotted her. "Sonya," said John. "What're you doing here?"

She kept her arms folded. "I wanted to watch the fireworks alone," she said. "Can't really do that here..."

"Why?" he asked, scooting over to give her room to sit. She didn't move.

She shrugged coolly. "Everyone else seemed busy at the square. I'd rather be alone by myself than alone in a crowd."

"Makes sense." John faced the ocean once more and attempted to start a conversation. "You couldn't sit with Mint?"

"She was with Mia, and I know she wouldn't want me there."

"Mia's not so bad." John shuffled the sand between his fingers.

"No." Sonya glared menacingly into the sea. "But I know the way she talks about me. She doesn't like me, plain and simple."

"Maybe you should try to be nicer to her," he offered.

Sonya made a spitting noise through her lips that suggested she thought the idea was incomprehensibly stupid.

John studied a handful of sand thoughtfully. "I don't think it's you she doesn't like," he said carefully.

Sonya swept her gaze over to him. His back was to her, he was facing the sea, observing something in the palm of his hand. A distraction, an excuse for not looking at her.

"Oh?" she said, and she saw a quick gust of wind tug at her clothing and comb through his hair.

John paused to think of what he would say before speaking. "She isn't too fond of your mother."

He heard Sonya spit into the sand, a vulgar act for a girl. "That isn't fair," she said, loudly and defensively. "She doesn't even know her."

"But she knows what she did."

"That arrogant little twit," Sonya spat. John rolled his eyes.

Sonya made her way to the shore, not two feet from where John sat. She tore off her shoes and placed her feet into the water, letting the water wash through her toes, upturning the sand under her heels. This seemed to calm her.

"Goddess, I can't tell you how angry that makes me," she said suddenly.

He turned his head, slightly surprised. "I would be too."

"She has no right to think that," Sonya began, this time with a little less anger and a little more desperation. "I mean... my mom had her reasons... And she's never even met her! And—I mean—who would want to live on a vineyard like that anyway?!"

John rested his head on his knees. Sonya knew he was tired, his expression was proof enough. However, his eyes suggested otherwise, as they were bright and blue and curious as ever. "Don't you?"

Sonya contemplated this for a moment. "I dunno," she said at last. "Sometimes I think I do... and sometimes all I want to do is get out of here... but... maybe I..."

"Shh," he whispered suddenly. "They're starting."

She ceased her rambling reluctantly. Rather than looking to the sky, she looked to the water. For the fireworks, in all their brilliance, were being reflected in the sea. She noticed the waves gave the display an extra shine. The fireworks reminded her infinitely of the cherry blossoms, the way they burst into bloom so beautifully, the way the petals of sparks simmered and fell from the sky so suddenly. She remembered the midwife's words: Such is the life of a soldier, whose glorious existence is as brief and immediate as the blooming and falling of the cherry blossoms.

Thirty minutes later, the last firework sparkled and fizzled into the sea. John and Sonya sat silently, waiting for any more that may come, but none did. He was the one to stand first. "I guess that's it," he said. "You coming?"

She shook her head. "I'm going to sit here for a while."

"Okay then," he said, and left the beach without another word.

Sonya slept on the beach that night, the throb of the ocean's waves rocking her to sleep, the heat of the Summer keeping her warm.

Late into the season, Cliff was discovered by a young woman.

May was the wife of the florist and the granddaughter of the midwife. She was a pretty girl and married young, seventeen years into her life, and soon after took up her grandmother's profession. At the time, May was only a season away from birthing her own child.

The villagers wandered about the forest regularly, and May was no exception. On a particularly warm day when the air was so heavy with dirt she could smell it, May decided to take a rest in a small cavern on the side of the mountain. She found it comfortable, realizing that apparently someone had already decided to make camp there. She settled against the rock wall and placed a hand on her swollen belly, and rested for a good three minutes until she was disrupted by a ragged man. His clothing was odd and foreign, his chin was unshaven and layered with grime. He looked as though he hadn't bathed in weeks.

The man glared at her and she realized she must have been trespassing. She stood up wearily, leaned against the wall and leveled her eyes with his, asking evenly, "Who are you?"

"A traveler," he answered, though she could tell that before he had spoken.

"What might you be doing here?"

"I came here to meet family," he said briefly.

She exhaled deeply before continuing and looked him over as if to estimate. "Did you find them?"

He didn't answer. Just looked at her.

A gasp came from the entrance, and both of them turned their heads to find Sonya, a bowl of fruit in hand, staring at the midwife.

"May?"

"Sonya, dear, what are you doing here?" May pushed herself off of the wall.

Sonya tried explaining, creating an excuse, making odd, incomplete hand gestures, spilling out fragments of words and sentences, but no answer came.

"She's my niece," Cliff said suddenly. Both girls gave him a confused look. He continued, "I came here to visit her. Isn't that right, Sonya?"

Sonya blinked out of her befuddlement and nodded her head at May.

May frowned. She knew her mother had no siblings, and any brother of Kai wouldn't be so pale. "On which side?" she asked.

"I visited here once," said Cliff, avoiding her question. "More than a decade ago. You were a child back then, you'd come up in the mountains all the time."

May blinked, bewildered. Sonya could tell she was searching her mind for any memory of this man. "Who are you?"

"My name is Cliff, and yours is May," he said, grinning slyly. "You liked cats and you were always playing with those two little boys."

May was silent. She narrowed her dark eyes, searching for any signs of familiarity. And suddenly her lips parted, and she cried, "Oh, Cliff!" as though it were the most obvious thing in the world to her. "I remember you! Oh, I'd forgotten all about you! You were only here for like, a year, weren't you! Whatever happened to you? You never said goodbye! We thought you died or something!"

Sonya, on her part, was immensely confused.

"Sorry," Cliff was saying. "I was in a hurry. My, you've grown up, haven't you."

May was now shaking his hand. "Well, you've missed a few things!"

"And I can see you've been busy." Cliff grinned pointedly at her stomach. "May, dear, you can't be a day over twenty-one," he mocked, and May laughed.

"Well I'm married now," she said, beaming.

"To Stu?" said Cliff, and May burst aloud laughing again.

"Yes," she said after calming herself. "Cliff, how long have you been here?"

"I dunno, a couple weeks," he said.

"And how long has Sonya known about it?"

"Well, her house was the first place I went to..."

"Oh." May's arms fell to her sides, but she resumed her position promptly and smiled at him again. "Why haven't you told anyone? Come on, we need to reintroduce you to everyone! Stu will be so—"

"May, no." Cliff shook his head, frowning. "I'd rather not."

She looked at him half-pleadingly. "Why not? Everyone would be so happy..."

He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding her eyes. "Maybe later. But not now."

"Oh fine," said May. "But I am going to be visiting you."

"Alright."

There was a brief silence. "Well, I should go," said May. "Stu's waiting. It was nice seeing you again."

"You too," said Cliff, and he shook her hand. "See you, then."

May turned to Sonya. "Are you coming?"

"Nah, I'm gonna stay for a little while."

"Suit yourself. Take care," she said, and then took her leave.

The moment May stepped out of the cave, Sonya turned and opened her mouth to speak, but Cliff beat her to it.

"Tell me what happened when you were born," he requested. "Tell me about your life."

Sonya blinked. What was this about? Did it have to do with May? Though she wanted to ask why, in her short time with Cliff she had learned not to question his actions, so she took a deep breath and began.

There was no one real place to begin, but Sonya believed the best place to start would be the day her own family began. Marriage, of course, was traditionally thought to be the beginning of a new life. Sonya's parents were married in the summertime, when the blossoms swelled to such a full bloom they withered off the trees.

The old midwife often told her: 'Twas a cursed time to marry. They should have married earlier in the Summer, in the spirit of marriage's time. She would have protected them, you see. But no, they picked the height of the season., when the nights were so feverish and the moons were so full it turned people crazy. They would slit the throats of their lovers and blame it on the wind.

And as she said this, she would shake her head piteously, rocking on her knees. I should have told them so, she'd say, I should have told them so.

Three seasons of marriage followed until Sonya was given to them. Sonya thought she came too soon. She thought she was a mistake, or at least an unwelcome surprise. Cliff said nothing, though he secretly agreed with her. Karen never wanted children, or never made any indication of it.

Sonya had to skip a few years after that, though she apologized for it. She was too young to remember.

After that, all she knew was that her mother left. He asked how old she was. Two, maybe three years old, she told him. Sonya admitted to having no true memories of her mother, just a pair of legs flitting across the carpet. But oh, she knew she was beautiful, and she was certain that she would know her the instant she saw her. She could spot her across a room, she claimed. And she would, too, for one day she'd go after her.

Cliff stopped her there and told her to continue with her story. She complied.

How did her father take it? Sonya could not answer Cliff this question. She explained to him she couldn't have possibly remembered. It's always been like this to me, she said. He didn't take it any way. As far as her memory went back, he'd already accepted it. She was gone, now it was just Sonya and her dad.

How is the vineyard doing?

Don't know. Don't care.

Cliff was silent at this. She was Karen's daughter, Kai's daughter. The woman who loved the vineyard with a fire and the man who put his life into it. How could she possibly not care?

Sonya was already continuing her story. She broke her arm while on the roller skates she got for her seventh birthday. She was a flower girl at Stu and May's wedding. She baked a cake for Rune on Thanksgiving twice, once when she was nine, once when ten. She once baked one for John, too, but she stopped (as well as screamed at him) when he teased her about it. She made things short, making sure not to be intricate with details for fear of boring her one-man audience.

When she mentioned the first time she hit her father, Cliff suddenly became immensely interested. "Hit your father?" He looked mortified and ready to berate her. "Why the hell would you do a thing like that?"

She explained that they were fighting about something or other, about how she was too lazy on the vineyard or she was too rude or she went off alone too much. Something stupid. All she knew was that the argument was heated, and both of them were feverish with anger, and he made a particularly vile comment and she smacked him. That silenced him, and she took this opportunity to run from the house.

She did it more than once, she told him. Cliff was vaguely surprised. She went on to tell him that Kai had never fought back till just recently, just before the Flower Festival.

Cliff said, "Stop there. You're getting ahead of yourself."

She nodded and continued. She told him she stopped working at the vineyard while she just years ago. She didn't remember why, but she said it was because she felt as though it wasn't her place there. And Cliff smiled ironically, for he knew it was a lie.