Moho (Part One: Rise of a Symbol) (29 page)

"I know that any analogy breaks down eventually, espe
cially botanical ones" I snap. He laughs and gives me this round.

"A cycle ago, I thought you were some harmless, spoiled misstep of Cosmo's. But you're actually some sly, bold kook," he says. "Our cat-and-mouse game is going to be an exciting one."

"Watch out for the lion, little mouse," I warn him.

Xerxes laughs again and leaves.

Suddenly, I feel foreign lips on mine. I pull my head back immediately and wipe my lips with my arm.

"Aziz!" I shout. "What's wrong with you?"

He looks totally shocked as if he can't comprehend my reaction at all. Then I get it.

"Oh, no, Maya, is that you?" I ask quickly.

"Maya? What? I'm Aziz!" he says, deeply disappointed,

"Then what was that?" I ask.

"The Savior's Hongi, of course," he argues.

"The Savior's Hongi? There is no such thing. What you did is called a kiss. And kissing your friends on the mouth like that is not okay. Kisses are for Maya only," I explain and can't believe that I have to.

"Okay, I can kiss Maya if you want to," he says seriously.

"No, Aziz, no! Only I kiss Maya. It took long enough." Ugh… navees.

Aziz lowers the corners of his mouth and I feel guilty immediately. His naivety and excitement make him impossible to dislike.

"Come on, Aziz," I say and hug him.

"Can that be The Savior's Hongi?" he asks carefully.

"Sure."

Maya is still listening to Ravi and I decide to eavesdrop.

"No, it's too late," Ravi argues. "One hundred
and fifteen billion people saw how she sacrificed herself for humanity. One hundred and fifteen billion people saw that it is possible to be true to oneself. One hundred and fifteen billion people saw how she formed a heart around her bellybutton. They call it 'Bellybuttonheart' on TNOP. Who knows how many of them are human. There may be millions, maybe billions of those creatures among us. Now all of them have an icon to follow. Her symbol has risen. The Third Dark Time will come. I wonder who will follow down her path first… What do you think, Moho?"

Everyone stares at me. I swallow.

"One hundred and fifteen billion people is a very curious number," I say but I don't know why. And, judging by their faces, neither does anyone else. Ravi's words have thrown me. "It'll be fine," I say to end the staring.

"Oh, will The Savior come and free us from humankind?" Ravi asks wryly.

"I'm not The Savior. My name is … Moho," I say and can't believe that I did. I haven't used that name before.

"I'm surprised you're still among us. Pax couldn't get to you at all," Ravi remarks. "Not even by destroying this deep connection to
..."

"Leave Maya out of this. She chose me. You've lost - not that this was ever a real competition, of course," I say.

"Not even by destroying this deep connection to yourself. If we've learned one thing about you this past cycle, it's your existence that is closest to your heart," he counters.

"Do you have any more of your wisdom to share with me?" I ask. He just smirks and refocuses his attention to his group of people. Then I get the idea to return the favor and offer him a piece of advice. "Ravi, go and get a life." He looks back at me and frowns. "No, seriously. Have fun!"

"I had fun once," Ravi tells me.

"And?" I ask.

"It was awful."

The chatter in the Springtreegrove falls silent. Maya and I sit down to watch the Cosmo Show. He gives a variation of his speech from last cycle but makes sure to include the same unhealthy amount of narcissism. When his speech turns to his 'spectacular' selection of new Islanders who sit under their own new Springtree next to my Springtree, he makes a very odd announcement.

"I'm thrilled to announce the formation of a new department. The Department for Navee-Animal Connectivity will be located on the previously unused Purple Island. I've handpicked an eclectic selection of species from all over Persadia and invited new mentors and assistants to run the department," he announces.

"I don't understand. Why would he do that? Won't that be damaging for his reputation?" I ask Maya.

"They most likely won't offer sessions in Holo Holo Nalii," Maya suggests. "He was actually under a lot of pressure since the announcement of Pax’s Darkening. During the Second Mass Darkening, some humans were darkened on Cosmo's Islands and he swore this would never happen again. And yet it did… The new department is probably an attempt to show how much Cosmo cares about Persadia."

After the selectees become Islanders via The Vow, The Spring sends the same ball of light into the middle of the Springtreegrove it sent last cycle. The light splits into four and the lights fly into the crowd under the Springtrees. The new nominees are selected and then all attention turns to last cycle's nominees. When one of the four lights stops in front of Maya, it's the first time since our kiss that I remember her nomination. My stomach turns. While the other three nominees make their way into the middle of the Springtreegrove, Maya doesn't move. People start to turn their heads towards the missing nominee. She is really staying with me. The light in front of her disappears.

"What are you going to do now?" I ask her.

"For the first time since I can remember, I have no idea. And that is a good thing," she says happily. "What about you?"

"I think I'm not done with Cosmo's Islands yet," I say.

"Oh, do you want to become an assistant?" she asks excitedly.

I shake my head.

"A mentor? Wow… which department?"

"That won't be enough," I say.

"What more could you want?" she asks.

I nod my head towards Cosmo. For a moment she thinks I'm joking, but then she understands that I couldn't be more serious about replacing Cosmo. She kisses me on the cheek and I lay my arm around her. I knew she would love me for that.

Everyone follows the newly selected Creator to the beach
, but Maya and I want to be alone and stay behind. We watch the sun quickly disappearing into the ocean and the new Creator walking on the ocean towards The Spring. I think neither of us know who eventually ended up getting summoned by The Spring. This whole Creator question dominated our lives for such a long time and suddenly it couldn't be less relevant. We are in such a different place now. From now on, we are enough to each other. We have accomplished a lot this cycle and I feel like we deserve our alone time to find ourselves and our relationship. Nothing is standing between us anymore.

"Maya, there is something I wanted to asks you since
Pax’s attack. I rescued you with a little Glowing Stone in your uniform," I say.

"This one," she says and pulls out the stone. "It's a Springstone."

"I know. I have one myself," I say and take mine out as well. I hold mine against hers. Both are broken off a bigger piece, and our two pieces fit together perfectly. I wonder if it's a reaction of the reunited Springstones, but I smell something.

"Look, our essences really do complete each other," I say
, but Maya doesn't react. She simply stares at the two united pieces. Suddenly I hear a deep, vibrating roar. A grey ape storms towards us. My eyes alternate between the two Springstones and the ape. My heart drops. I finally understand.

"Maya, who was that boy you felt safe with?" I ask.

She doesn't respond.

"Maya, who was that boyfriend you brought home to dinner?" I ask.

She tears up.

"Maya, who gave you that Springstone?" I ask.

"I did," Victor answers.

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