In the woods, she was as an interpreter of the living.
Cheza began to recognize again the ebb and flow of life around her. The dazzle of the sunlight, which made her blink, and the chill that fell when night was near. She quietly marveled at the connectedness of all, and offered this as part of the praises her heart would sing to God.
The hothouse flower had been transplanted to the wild. Instead of these new elements hindering her, Kiba began to suspect she would flourish.
Four days after the soldiers' turmoil, Cheza was again thoughtfully collecting materials by the side of a clean brook Hige had found. Bemused, Hige watched her shove bread, a canteen Tsume had given to her, some dried spice from Kiba into her hooded cloak, roll it into a sack, and foisted her pack onto her shoulders.
"What's up?" he called to her.
"We are going to be approaching something."
Toboe appeared as a pup by the rivulet. After his tongue had swiped in a generous portion of water into his waiting mouth, he darted from one end of the creek to another, his paws trotting out a dance of sorts. "Is it good or bad?"
"It is good," she assured them.
Hige thought to nudge Cheza towards the camp, but she was already moving, her gait soft but steady. "So, what is it?" he pursued.
"I do not know."
That seemed to make it Toboe's turn. "How come?"
Cheza smiled. So many questions! she thought silently. "He does not tell me everything, Toboe. And I never know when He is going to speak to me, through word or signal." Her hand casually brushed the ginger-highlighted right side of his coat. "Tsume took you out again last night. How are the hunting lessons coming?"
"Good." After a beat, he added, "Rabbits sure are smart, though. And the deer are real big! We didn't have any of those where I grew up."
"Are you learning, though?"
"Yeah." He offered a decisive nod.
"Then I know we will have enough for everybody."
"At least enough for Hige." Toboe craned his body to spot if Hige had caught the remark, then bolted straight past them.
Hige groaned and chuckled. Sure, he reasoned. Let another few words roll my way. I can handle it. But the moment after his grin at Cheza faded, he was pursuing Toboe in the hopes of tackling him. Just to save face, of course.
With the five convened and set upon the quest, they pressed on. While Kiba knew directions from the taste of the wind, the plant and wildlife, and the way the ground spoke to him, it was Cheza who could intuit what would be in their path.
She pulled them to into bare brush, insistently leading. It was a mess. Wiry branches protruded from everywhere. It was so entangled, she could not discern what branch belonged to which plant.
Wryly, Cheza remembered when she was a child, and she had hidden herself in a coat rack in a department store. At the time, department stores were still in existence. When she wanted to get out and find her mom again, the cheap wire hangers poked her from every angle. She had finally freed herself, but not before taking down a third of the coats with her.
Similarly, she had sloppily snapped through the enmeshed overgrowth until there was enough space to pass through. She checked her hands. She had only suffered a few cuts.
And she continued, silently, uncertainly. Kiba knew how to keep quiet, as well, but the other three were locked in another spat. Cheza barely heard the yips and grunts between them. The trees had not taken to leaf, yet the forest cover was dense enough that it was dark in the daytime.
Kiba took her hand. "Let me be your eyes here." As they surveyed the area, both could discern a faint glow in the distance. It was the only strong light source to be had, and Cheza realized that she felt unthreatened by it.
Like a radio receiver being tuned, the voices of the other wolves came into focus behind her:
"…We never had t' walk this much when we were in the city!"
"You wanna wait around for them to make a trophy out of your hide then, Porko?"
"Quit hanging on me!"
"Sorry, but you're in the way!"
Cheza interrupted them all. "There!" she exclaimed breathlessly. She pointed towards the origin of the soft light. "That is where we need to be for now."
"That's Rakuen?" Toboe murmured innocently.
"That is where we need to stop for now. But it is not Rakuen."
Her muddied perception grew clearer as she neared the light, she ducked branches and skirted past trees with Kiba as she moved. The earthy brown that sheltered the glow was not from trees; there was a small cabin. In her impatience, she strained her eyes to take in more. A weathered but sturdy porch held up the modest house, spreading itself as invitingly as a grandmother's lap.
Finally, a figure-a female figure-pushed open the front door and stepped upon the porch, her arms enfolded. Cheza could finally see that the woman was older than she, perhaps in her late forties, and beautiful in how she carried her imperfections. Her skin held caramel warmth, and her hair was thick. Cheza would have felt self-conscious in her rags if this person was not as personable as she appeared to be.
The woman briefly flashed the palms and the backs of her hands, and pushed her palm forward in a symbol of "stop" when Cheza rolled back her sleeve to do the same.
"My name is Maya," the woman called. "And it's all right; I know who you are."
Beaming, Toboe blitzed to her side. Tsume groaned, "Even now, he wants to be a human's pet."
"It's no wonder she has been kept safe," continued Maya, " with so many strong and brave people looking out for her." She was looking at Toboe as she addressed the last part of her compliment.
"Huh!" Toboe smirked, pleased.
Maya pushed the door back a little further so the interior of the cabin was exposed to them. "This house is here as …a refuge, I guess you could say. It's just really a safe place to stay for those who need it."
Toboe was the first to enter the simple, four room dwelling, but Cheza, and Hige soon mounted the two small stairs to follow him. Cheza turned, and noticed Kiba with his own arms folded, gazing back at her. "Come in with us," Cheza entreated softly.
He slowly shook his head. "I'm a wolf. I don't stay indoors."
"Then stay close. Please."
He nodded.
She smiled a little before she made her way to the entrance. She had to brush past Tsume in order to get through the doorpost. She offered him a hopeful little glance before slipping into the home.
In the days he had spent by her, he had noticed her gentleness and her discretion. She was guided each day by the strength of an inner conviction, a courage that was not her own. She was like a witness who had no need of an audience.
Even as he accepted all of those attributes, the thoughts would return, as markedly as someone's voice.
You know, she will never forgive you for it.
Tsume inhaled quickly.
You won't be trusted…And you can't build anything with that. It would be easier if you just walked away.
He made a conscious effort to force the thoughts from his mind. He wasn't willing to give up. Not yet. He silently reasoned that if Cheza never forgave him for doubting her, he would deal with it.
He just wouldn't look at her.
Still in his human form, Tsume cleared his throat and walked into the house.
The layout of the sparse and simple home was open. It was ideal for companionship, but it served as a poor choice for anyone who enjoyed privacy. The kitchen was to the back; the small dining room table the only divider between that space and the living room.
Cheza was reminded of her cell. She had been startled by the stark openness of the outside world. Now, she was called to readjust to this enclosure. She leaned by the door, her right hand still clutching the knob.
Will I be able to leave? she thought incongruously. Her eyes nervously skirted the sum of the space.
Maya sat by the table patiently. Toboe had already decided to appear as a wolf, and was curled by her feet. Cheza saw that her skin was like chocolate and amber in the sun. Maya smiled as if she expected nothing. She was like someone's mother. Maybe it was this one's own. Cheza released the door handle.
"Tell me," Maya considered, "how many humans like us have you found since you came to your flower?"
"N-no one," Cheza supplied.
Maya marveled, "Then there must be so much you have yet to understand. Do you know that now there are travelers on their way to build new cities, travelers all over the world?"
The young woman shook her head.
"Some of them are coming from this land, too. That is you, Cheza. You are one of several. Some of them have stayed in this refuge, too."
"Why do you not follow?"
"I have to stay for now, and give them a place to rest. When my time for this is over, I'll leave."
Cheza sat on the floor across from Hige. Maya stood from her place at the table and pulled open a cabinet. Presently, she produced gently worn blankets, some form of glycerin soap, and began stacking the table with her discoveries.
Thankfulness forced an unspoken message from this one's mind to her Creator. You give and You give. There are people, my own kind, to be met. The way she is…is familiar to me. I do not know from where.
Cheza hoisted herself up, and nudged Hige on her way to Maya. She glanced over to Tsume, as well, who understood and rose to help.
She was quietly observing the way in which Maya pushed food around her plate with the tin fork, like a hockey player with a puck back when that still existed. Finally, she would pin her prized egg piece to the side before scooping it towards her mouth. Cheza tried to imitate the way in which Maya was holding her fork, but was knew she was being awkward. It had been a long time since anyone had given her utensils with a meal.
Maya barely seemed to notice as the food wobbled past Cheza's lips. Maya had set kibble seasoned with broth in bowls for the wolves, and to The Flower Maiden's surprise, even Tsume took some.
As Cheza gazed at Maya from across the table, she noticed the elder's face hardening in concern. Cheza dropped her fork against her plate.
"Have soldiers come after you, Cheza?"
Cheza nodded.
"We've had our run-ins, even before Cheza showed up," Hige supplied from the floor, the only one remaining to appear as human.
Maya sighed before firmly adding, "They won't come for you here. I hope you understand that. It's just-do you even know why they're doing it?"
"I do. I embarrassed them by escaping. They want me back."
"Ohhh, honey! Do you think they would really go through all that trouble if that was the only reason? This isn't just about saving face for a failing power."
"What do you know about it?" Tsume quietly challenged.
"Your name is Tsume, right? Well, Tsume, there's an old man wandering through the cities now reading lines from an old book he swiped off a Noble. He says it's The Book of the Moon."
Hige and Tsume exchanged uneasy glances. Toboe placed his muzzle in Cheza's lap.
Cheza didn't like all the hints and innuendoes Maya was spinning. "Please, Maya, what does that have to do with us?"
"It's a book that most of those Nobles believe in. Some of it may be true, but why invest in anything less than the pure Truth? The Nobles have enough problems at the moment, so this man, Yaiden, seems to have gotten away with saying a lot. He drinks so much, I've heard, that people usually think he's too drunk to be saying anything real.
"So this book…It's about things that haven't happened yet. I think their leader promised them a Paradise, too. Because in The Book of the Moon, it says that Paradise is a perfect moment in time that's frozen forever. That way, it can be touched, handled, or taken for or from somebody."
"It is not like that. God's Realm is beyond time," explained Cheza.
Maya stood and briskly approached Cheza. She caught Cheza's dirt-caked and scabbed hands in her own warm ones. "I know you're smart," Maya appealed. "Open your eyes, girl! The Nobles can't have that, can they? They don't want it. They only have the here and now."
Maya looked up from her exchange with Cheza, finally acknowledging the wolves. Reluctantly, she continued to them, "You have a name for her. What have you been calling Cheza?"
"Calling her?" Toboe spoke up. "She's the Flower Maiden."
"Kiba called this one-I mean, me-that. I do not know why," Cheza quietly concurred.
"That's the other part of the book everyone who's seen it mentions. The Flower Maiden is the key to unlocking Paradise. Where-ever you've been, I bet you're still alive because they wanted to use you."
"Paradise has nothing to do with me!" this one shouted. "I am nothing; they told me so. I have no power."
"Heaven has its own power." The conversation halted. The humans and wolves stopped and listened to the speaker. It was Toboe. "It's real! I've seen it."
"Yeah, Toboe." Tsume rose and stared down Maya. The discussion was over. "We know."
Maya nervously fidgeted, lacing her fingers and pulling them apart. "Hey, Cheza. Are you done? Why don't you follow me? I'll show you where the washroom is."
Cheza noticed the three; Toboe with his head cocked to the side, Hige with his arms crossed, frowning, and Tsume, leaning against the wall, looking as if he were waiting for something.
"Sure," Cheza finally nodded. The warm hand was back on her shoulder, and she felt herself being led to a small door.
Kiba conceived new dreams of unity.
Before sleep overtook him, there was another thought besides Paradise he indulged. On the day he wandered Freeze City, his limbs struggling to adhere to his commands to move, the desire, like an instinct, was closer to him than his own surroundings seemed to be. Later, when his own kind had attacked him, he dragged his beaten body, tender and aching with every movement, into an alleyway. He curled into a fetal position, and there, the almost palpable need returned.
He wanted a connection with someone. His senses yearned for the immediacy of a person, not only a goal. But then, he recognized that part of Paradise was in being together with other people through God.
The humans though The Nobles had come up with their own plan for union on Earth. Kiba had decided that he did not care about what they did, but the people's decision encroached his own way of living, and limited his own choices. They, too, had chosen togetherness, but it was a connection without a true sense of pride or self. When the people were promised to be taken care of, most listened, and they lost their identity in the process.
He tried to imagine a new world, and his role within it, and fell short. To be free…to truly live. That would be enough.
His thoughts always drifted back to Cheza. She was growing stronger every day. Even her movements and her demeanor seemed more like that of a person's.
He lifted his head. The moon's light was rich. As he basked, he sensed its light was fortifying his muscles, bolstering him for the journey ahead. But there was another glow from the cabin where Cheza slept.
The soft, invitational incandescence of a lamp beckoned to him. He followed its source, and found himself in the path of light cast from the cabin's window. As he renewed promises each day, he knew he was guided by something greater than even his own instincts now.
He recalled his promise to Cheza. As he rested his body near the wooden house, he smelled Lunar Flowers again.
Cheza felt newly anointed. Her skin no longer itched. She had used water from the rain barrel to help draw a bath for herself. She had been given the glycerin soap to clean herself, and as she plied the opaque material to her flesh, she saw the years of confusion and abuse caked in the grime of her body begin to slide off.
Maya mixed soap with olive oil as a shampoo for Cheza, and had laid out a bottle of a mixture of olive and sesame oils to rub on her skin after she was finished bathing. She complied with Maya's instructions, then turned to the tub to survey the damage.
It was disgusting. She could have dumped the silt from the streams she had seen into the tub, and it would have nearly appeared to be the same thing. Maybe cleaner. "Never again," she told herself aloud. With plenty of soap remaining, she set about the task of scrubbing the tub.
Cheza finally emerged with a clean body and a clean set of clothing.
"Hi, Cheza!" Toboe called.
Cheza smiled, "Hello, Toboe."
"You smell real nice."
"Thank you."
Hige grinned, as well. "You smell like bread. Stop making me hungry."
Cheza laughed.
"You were in there for a while," Tsume reminded her.
"I had the clean the tub after all that," she added sheepishly. "It was pretty bad."
Maya had been sitting upon the couch, scrawling in what appeared to be a journal. At Cheza's declaration, she dropped what she had in her hands. "You didn't have to do that!" she exclaimed.
"It is fine, Maya," Cheza reassured her. She suddenly directed the wattage of her smile to her. "We will have to leave soon, and yet there is so much more that is needed to be said."
"Then at least let me show you something down the hall."
Cheza looked to the wolves for approbation.
"It's up to you," Hige replied.
"Can we go soon?" Toboe inquired.
"Quiet, Runt," muttered Tsume.
"Okay," said Cheza to Maya.
Across the hall from the tiny washroom was a closet. On the left side were situated some canned goods, a flashlight, and some baking oils. On the right side there were extra blankets. Maya lifted one of the blankets and produced a small-framed picture. She turned it so Cheza could see.
It was The Woman she had envisioned before. She herself seemed delicate like a rose, and was pregnant; pregnant with The Lord. She was clothed in all of the stars of the sky.
"It is Her!" Cheza exclaimed joyously.
"Yes," Maya agreed, "it's a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is a copy of the image that was left on a tilma."
"Maya? I want you to know that I am not afraid. I am sorry about yesterday."
"I knew you were coming, and it wasn't because of that stupid book. Do you know what the word Guadalupe means? It's Spanish for 'Wolf's Creek.'"
"Wolf's Creek?"
"This day was planned a long time ago. There are good people left, and there are priests and nuns still here, who are all coming out of hiding."
Cheza gawped. "Are there really?"
Maya laughed. "Of course! We wouldn't get very far in our covenant without them." She smiled, and pulled out another article for Cheza to see. It was The Bible.
"Maya," Cheza eyes widened in both amazement and shock. She cautioned, "to even have that…they would jail you. You would be killed!"
"They won't find me here," she shrugged. "Even if they did, it wouldn't matter. They aren't bigger than God."
"There is something else, too." Cheza paused, then questioned, "When were you going to tell me?"
Maya shook her head lightly, still happy. "What do you-" But something in Cheza's unmoved mien struck her. She suddenly understood. Maya sighed, "I wasn't."
"It is not right! I cannot just leave you like this!"
"You do have to go. You have to do just what God has called you to." Cheza wanted to plead for her, but Maya's reassuring voice continued, "Look, my sickness hasn't even spread yet, and there will be more people coming along in the next couple of days. There are always more people to check up on me. A couple of them have even been doctors!"
"But when you die-"
"If I die, it will be when He wills it." Maya drew Cheza close, and confided to her, "It is enough to see this new generation starting to rebuild. It's more than enough for me."
This was a resolve that Cheza had never seen before. It was more than she could comprehend. She needed to make a promise to her. She looked at the woman firmly and declared, "If no one brings you to Rakuen, I will come back for you myself after everything is over."
She was packed and ready to go. The wolves were before her. The sun was searingly bright, to the point where multi-colored dots skirted her range of vision. She was dizzy, but she was making haste to continue. She suddenly had a future. Maybe Maya did on Earth, as well.
Surprised, she found Kiba in his true wolf form. She had not even heard him approaching. "You stayed nearby," she remarked.
"You asked me to."
"Was it only because you were asked?" Cheza archly wondered. Though he did not respond with human expression, she knew he was beaming at her. She and the wolves clambered down the steps while Maya smoothed her hands upon her jeans. Quietly, the flower continued, "I was explained many things. We are still under Our Lady's protection. But the soldiers and The Nobles are going to keep chasing us."
Kiba raised his head. "Then we'll be ready for them."