Chapter Two: Presents
Saffron was completely untroubled by the revelation that her father loved another woman more than he loved her mother. She hadn't known her mother, after all, and from the sound of it this Lyra character was more interesting anyway. Saffi wondered what it would be like to live in a world where witches flew in the skies and Armored Bears roamed the North.
Will sat in silent contemplation. His daughter had believed all of what he and Mary had told her much more quickly than he had expected. Meeting her daemon might have enticed her to believe more readily, that was true, but Saffron had never been a gullible child. He would have to discuss this with Kirijava later.
"Do daemons talk?" Saffron asked suddenly.
"Yes," Mary said. "I was a little surprised by that as well." She brought Gemini from her shoulder and placed him on the table. "But from what I've discovered about daemons, even people who don't know that they exist communicate with them on a regular basis. They're your conscious, that's true, but they're also the little voice answering the questions in your head. It's like when you're trying to remember something like, oh your favorite color for example. You ask 'oh what was it?' inside your head, and the answer 'blue,' flashed back into your mind. And it would be you asking the question and your daemon answering. It happens in all sorts of situations but the human never really realizes what is really happening."
"So my friends have daemons too?" asked Saffi. She propped her head up on one arm and listened intently. "And when my daemons settle?"
"I suppose he'll settle well, around your age." Mary said. "And of course your friends have daemons. Everyone does, after all."
"But I thought you said that in Lyra's world they were cutting…" Saffi said.
"Yes, but since daemons are very well known in this world, the likelihood of that happening here is very unlikely." Mary felt like shivering in spite of herself. After knowing Gemini for this long the thought of living without him was unbearable.
"What's my daemon's name?" asked Saffi. She stroked his white ferret fur absently.
"I named him when you were a baby," Kirijava said. She arched her back luxuriously. "He's called Ramidion."
"Ramidion," Saffi said the name slowly. She like the sound of it.
"Well, I don't know about you Will but I think it might be time for some cake and presents," Mary said. She smiled at the excitement that immediately appeared on Saffi's face. Mary reached into her purse and pulled out a smallish package that was roughly six my three by three inches big. Saffi couldn't imagine what was in it.
Will smiled. "I believe your right Mary," he said. He left the room for a moment and came back carrying several packages. Saffi recognized the two wrapped in white as being from her father. One of them was them was long and wide and the other was small and shaped like a cube. Saffi guessed that the others were from her relatives on her mother's side.
Her mother had been the youngest of three sisters. There was Aunt Lavender and Aunt Jessamine and then her mother. Saffi didn't know her Aunts well; they lived in France so she hadn't seen them often. However, they did make sure to send her birthday and Christmas presents.
Will handed Saffi one of the parcels. It was large, cubed, and wrapped in birthday paper. There was a ribbon taped to the top along with a card. Saffi pulled off the card and read (her aunts were fluent in English),
Dear Saffron,
Another year! Wow, time does fly. I hope you have a happy birthday, best wishes,
Aunt Lavender, Uncle Ulrich, Arthur and Molly
Molly was Saffi's three-year-old cousin. The last time she had seen Aunt Lavender was two years ago. Arthur was Saffi's cousin who was her age. Saffi remembered that they had 'gone on an adventure' without permission the last time Saffi had visited. That meant that Arthur and Saffi had run off with assorted camping supplies and spent two days out in the woods until the Adults had found them. Although they had all been furious, Saffi remembered her father's pride that she had done that all on her own. Saffi glanced at her father and passed him the card. He hadn't known his wife's family well when he married her and after she died he didn't seen them very often. He was, however, grateful for their continued remembrance of Saffi. Will suspected that they felt sorry for the girl.
Saffi, however, had never acted as though she was missing anything. She seemed perfectly content with her life and had never shown any desire for a mother. Then again, Saffi had never experienced what having a mother was like. Neither had Will, come to think of it. Well, that wasn't precisely true; he did have some vague memories of his mother caring for him but mostly he had had to be the parent, even from such a young age… at least Saffi didn't have to do that.
Saffi, however, was neatly ripping open the paper that enclosed her present. Inside it, was a white present box. Saffi put her ear against it and shook it. Something thumped softly against the inside of the box.
"Any idea what it is?" asked Will.
Saffi shook her head. She didn't.
"Open it," Mary smiled.
Saffi eased the lid off of the box. Inside it was a black back pack. It was sturdy and durable. Saffi lifted it out of the box and another card fell away with it. Saffi slid it open and pulled out another note.
Dear Saffron;
Remember your last visit? Jessamine and I thought that you could visit again and then we could all go camping. We'd like you to come and visit us this summer. Arthur says he wishes you would. Phone us and let us know soon,
Love,
Aunt Lavender
Saffi gave a squeal of delight and excitement and passed her father the card. It would be great to see Arthur again and imagine his surprise when she showed his daemon… Saffi could hardly wait. She loved spending time with her cousins.
Will read the letter and smiled. It would be a good idea for Saffron to spend a few weeks in the mountains with her extended family. It was a luxury that Will himself had never had. He didn't have any extended family, well, besides his in-laws. "It's a good idea," he said with a smiled at his daughter.
Saffi jumped up, gave him a hug, then sat back down. She remembered that Aunt Lavender had mentioned that Aunt Jessamine had thought it was a good idea as well. Did that mean that her present also had something to do with this trip? Saffi hoped it did. Aunt Jessamine usually bought her cloths (Saffi suspected she thought Will couldn't.) Saffi took the other package from the table. It was wrapped in shiny purple paper. This package was much smaller than the other (around two by one inches long) although it weighed just about as much. Saffi carefully unwrapped it and slid open the lid of another box. Inside there was a pocket knife. A little piece of paper was folded around it that Saffi assumed was a note from Aunt Jessamine. She was right. She took it out, unfolded it, and read:
Dear Saffron,
Did you already read Lavender's note? If not, let me tell you that we are inviting you to come and stay at either of our homes this summer. We remembered the last time you and your father visited and we thought that it might be fun. Call us as soon as possible se we can start setting up travel arrangements. Its best to deal with those things as quickly as possible otherwise everything gets booked. I hope you have a very happy birthday. By the way, the knife was left to you by your Grandfather on my side before he died. There is something else I'm supposed to give you as well, but I don't trust the mail carriers not to break it. I'll give it to you when I see you. Happy Birthday again,
Aunt Jessamine, Uncle Carl, and Bella
Saffron gave a smiled and handed the note to her father again. Then she picked up the pocket knife and turned it this way and that in her hands. It was beautiful. There were several parts; several knives for different tasks, a file, a wrench, different screw drivers, a magnifying glass, and so on. Saffi loved it. It was probably the best thing that Aunt Jessamine had ever given her. At least it was in Saffi's opinion.
Saffi smiled and handed the knife to Mary to examine for Mary had been watching the knife curiously.
"It's beautiful," Mary said. Her eyes were what really told her approval though; they seemed to shine.
"May I see it?" asked Will. Mary gave it to him and he spent several minutes turning it this way and that in his hands.
"It's a good one," Will finally approved.
"So… what do you want to open next Saffi?" asked Mary.
"Um…" said Saffi. She closed her eyes and reached out blindly to the packages in front of her. Her hands closed on something small and she opened her eyes. She was holding one of the packages from her father. She looked at it slowly began to ease the paper off of it. Inside there was a ring with a single emerald in its center.
"That belonged to your mother," Will said.
Saffi looked at him in surprise. She felt a strange mixture of emotions inside her. For the first time she left a tang of loss. There was something missing that should have been there… she had just never known. Saffi held the ring tightly in her fist. She nodded at her father. "Thanks," she said. She didn't notice that her voice was thicker than usual but Will did.
Without pausing to let her mind linger on the subject of her sudden discomfort, Saffi grabbed the next present. It was the long flat one from her father. She eased the wrapping off and discovered a sketchbook. Since a young age, Saffi had loved to draw though back then she mainly drew on the walls. Will said it came from her mother's side of the family since it certainly didn't come from his.
Saffi smiled in surprise and delight. She gave her father a big hug and sat down again. Now there was only Mary's present left. Saffi took it now from the table where Mary had left it. She opened it just as carefully as the rest of them, but some how she knew that this was something special. Inside, there was a spyglass.
Saffi gasped, knowing what this must be. The instrument that Mary used to see Dust with! She picked it up again and held it to her eye… and nearly dropped it. The Dust swirled in great curtains and vortexes around her father and Mary. Saffi thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She let out a small gasp of surprise and delight. Setting the spyglass carefully down, she threw her arms around Mary.
Mary laughed and hugged her back. She had thought that Saffi would enjoy the glass and besides the wheel tree seeds that the Mulefa had given her were growing nicely. Soon she would have an access of oil.
After many thanks and a lot more discussion about the stories that Will and Mary had told her, Saffi went to her room and curled up on her bed. The ring Will had given her was on her finger. Saffi had something important to try. She carefully adjusted her mind to the state she could see Ramidion in. Suddenly, there he was. He was perched calmly at the end of her bed in the form of a terrier. He sat up and seemed to smile as she noticed him.
Feeling extremely tentative, Saffi spoke: "Hello?"
The Terrier seemed to laugh. "Hey," he said.
Saffi felt a hiccup of excitement rise up inside her chest and burst. "So you can talk?" she asked.
Ramidion gave her a look and changed into a ferret again "Definitely not," he said sarcastically. "I'm using sign language now."
Saffi giggled and pushed her daemon off of the bed. Although they had just truly met, Saffi felt she had known him for ages.
Ra flew back onto the bed in the form of a gold finch. "Well you have," Ramidion reminded her.
"You can read my thoughts?"
"We have the same thoughts."
"Oh." Saffi felt keyed up with excitement. She was discovering another part of herself, after all. And he was really part of her! He would stay with her all her life, sharing her every experience. He would always be there to council and advise her… forever and ever… "Can I call you Ra?" she asked. Ramidion was a bit of a mouthful.
Ramidion nodded. He was apparently pleased with something. Probably their meeting. Saffi felt ecstatic about it as well.
They sat in silence for a while, just reveling in that feeling of discovery. It was amazing. A soul-deep joy. It was Ramidion who broke the silence. "Hey Saf," he said.
"What?" she asked.
"Do you think we could visit other worlds?"
"I don't know," she said. "Probably. But Dad said that the only ways were the knife and that mind thingy. I don't know if we could do those."
"Hmmm…" said Ra. "I'd like to visit other places."
Saffi nodded. From the feeling she got deep in her chest, she knew that other universes would become an obsession for her.
