NAAN (The Rabanians Book 1) (17 page)

Daio nodded at him, an embarrassed smile on his face. “This is the house where we are going to live?”

The translation came from the driver’s box and Moah nodded looking pensive.

“This is someone’s hoos?” asked Dug and wondered if it was the Doctor's.

Moah signaled them with his hand and they walked to the front door.  When they reached the foyer, Moah opened the door for them and stood next to it as they walked in. The house was luxurious inside as well. Dug made an effort to raise his head to take in the magnificent style of the stairs and its carved wooden handrail that led to the second floor. Moah pointed toward the living room to the right of the wide lobby. The living room ceiling was high and decorated beautifully. The pattern merged nicely with the designs that flowed down the walls to the large windows overlooking the garden.

  They walked in slowly, and Daio helped Dug sit on one of the armchairs.

“Moah will take care of all your needs,” said their driver. “In the rooms on the second floor you will find new clothes. I hope they will suit you.”

Moah spoke.  “Tell them I have prepared a light meal for them.”

When they heard his translation, Moah smiled awkwardly. Daio nodded to him and Moah bowed and then walked to the kitchen and dining room beyond the lobby. 

“Whose house is this?” asked Daio.

“There are eight rooms on the second floor," said the driver ignoring Daio's question. "You can choose any room you like. Every room has a toilet and shower, and their quality is similar.”

“Thank you,” said Daio and gazed at the man's agitated behavior.

“If that is all, I will be on my way. The Doctor will be here in the morning to talk to you.”  He bowed and left the house.

“This is crazy,” said Daio and looked around him.

“I am uur it's tempoeey,” said Dug.

“Do you want to eat something?”

Dug nodded. He held the edge of the armchair with one hand and tried to pull himself up. Daio was close enough to help him straighten up and to make sure he didn't fall. They walked to the kitchen and after a light meal went to the second floor. Each of them picked a room, took a shower, and went to sleep.

Daio woke up first and when Dug came down from his room he was sitting on one of the armchairs and looking outside.

“I could get used to this,” Said Daio when Dug sat heavily on the armchair next to him and closed his eyes.

“Don't,” said Dug.

“I don't suppose you had a hard time sleeping last night,” said Daio.

“No, no a all. I seept so ood my boey wants moo foom this. I oney hope we don’t et a check in the end.” He tried to stifle a yawn to avoid the pain in his jaw.

“I think we paid in advance,” said Daio after a few seconds.

He stood and walked to the edge of the living room. Along the wall stood a wooden cabinet with carvings on its walls. Daio leaned on it and gazed at the magnificent ceiling.

“Something here is odd,” he said and wrinkled his forehead.

“What is ood?” Dug asked, his eyes still closed. He didn't want more surprises or questions.

“The house is big,” said Daio with surprise.

“Yes,” answered Dug in a sleepy voice.

“No, I mean…” He said looking around. "It's scale. It’s as if it was built for normal people.”

Dug opened his eyes and looked around him. Suddenly he could see it too. The doorframes, the stairs to the second floor, the armchair he was sitting on, and even the bed, were all his size.

They didn't have long to think about it before they heard noises from the entrance. The Doctor walked briskly into the living room accompanied by two strangers.

“How do you like the house?” he asked, “I hope it is adequate?”

“Yes, very much so,” said Daio walking toward him from across the living room. “The house is very impressive.”

The Doctor looked around him as if he was surveying furniture in a shop.  “This house previously belonged to the President of Naan.”

“Ahh, this explains a lot. Where is he?”

“Dead. His family too.”

The room was silent for long seconds. Daio suddenly felt disgusted by the Doctor’s tone. Dug was now completely awake.

“I would like to introduce to you Soey and Shuman,” said the Doctor. The two people next to him bowed. The quick change of subject gave Daio the feeling that the Doctor wasn’t even trying to give the impression that he cared about the death of the President.

“Soey and Shuman are language experts from Naan's University,” continued the Doctor. Daio shook off his thoughts. 

“They will teach you spoken Naanite so that you can communicate without a translation box. I think things will be easier after that.”

“University?” wonder Daio.

“Yes,” said the Doctor. “I thought I mentioned it. I founded it after leaving the University of Ses. It's small but I hope that with the new momentum that will sweep Naan the university will develop as well.”

Daio nodded.  “How long do you think it will take to learn this language?”

“Naanite is not a hard language. It is much easier than Seragonian. I don’t think it will take long.”

“Eeellent,” said Dug.

The Doctor gazed at him with a smile. “Soey and Shuman will be here every morning for a few hours. We'll see how you progress and back off the lessons as you improve."

“I’d be happy to visit there sometimes,” said Daio.

“Visit where?”

“The university.”

“You are always welcome of course, but don't expect too much. As in most cases, the university here is only a reflection of the society.”

Daio nodded, “Still, it looks like you are more than just an anthropology professor.”

“All due to circumstances. You have no idea how much I want to go back to my office and forget all the daily troubles I am dealing with right now.”

“Yes I suppose," said Daio although in light of the latest events he wasn’t sure he believed the Doctor.

“I suggest we start tomorrow. We'll let you get used to the place, and I am sure some daylight and fresh air will do you good.”  He looked to the window.

Daio didn't answer and Dug was feeling sleepy again. The Doctor bowed and walked out the door. Soey and Shuman smiled at them, waved, and said, “See you tomorrow,” and followed him.

“There is something strange about the Doctor,” said Daio when the three left. He shook his head. “I don't know what it is.”

“He wants to eeword us. He wants to eive us a chance, to clear our pass.”

Daio didn't answer but shook his head in disagreement.

“Why aa you aaking this so haad? Think wee we wee few days ago.”  Saliva started to drip from the edge of his mouth and he wiped it gently with his hand. “We are feee now. We are heeoes and we haae all this.” he looked around him. “What could be bettee than that?”

“This is what we see but I’m not sure what we see is what is really going here.”

“And what is really going heee?”

Daio gazed at him and shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t you think it is an odd coincidence that three outlaws from Seragon, stowed away on a shuttle that happened to land on this backwater planet, exactly when a gang of robbers, or rebels, tried to take it over? Isn’t it even more strange that these outlaws happened to be the only ones around who can save the place from complete destruction, and in the process become the local heroes?”

“So what a you saeing? That it's no a coincieence? A you saying that it was all panned? Sosi's death too?”

A shiver went through Daio's body. “Sosi's death,” he mumbled. His thoughts went back to their landing on Naan. The events streamed by like a video in fast forward, skipping over the irrelevant parts, until he reached the sight of Sosi's face as his little brother disappeared behind the smoke.

On a small hill overlooking a valley stood a small structure. Its walls were made of stacked logs placed one on top of the other between long wooden stakes that were driven into the ground. The wall facing the valley was shorter and left a small entrance that overlooked at the valley. Canes, arranged densely side by side, covered the structure and on top of them was a thick layer of dried and long leaves.  The structure was firm but looked shaky. Its walls weren’t uniform and it tilted on its side as if it is about to fall.

A bed, made of dried leaves covered with sheepskin was close to one of the walls. A table, made of branches lashed together with leather straps stood on three wooden legs in the center of the structure. A wide log completed the meager furniture. It lay beside the table and served as a chair.

On the other side of the structure a brush fence created three pens, one next to the other. In one of the pens were two sheep munching on leaves, in the second several plants grew in densely in rectangular beds, and in the third, stood a young stallion. This one opened on one side to a large pasture of lush green grass in the open space behind the structure.

On the near side of the valley, tall, dense canes hid a large pool. The canes were so tall that in spite of the large size of the pool, the water was mostly hidden from view. The pool had small creeks that flowed along the valley in a winding route and with a little concentration one could hear their gurgling from the hilltop.

I walked slowly up the hill along the trail leading another young stallion carrying two leather containers filled with water. I was tired even though I’d walked this trail countless times. The stallion’s stubborn resistance to go down in the first place had exhausted me. I didn't understand why, he’d suddenly refused. They usually liked to go down to the water. I stopped and gazed over the pool. Maybe a predator was lurking there and the stallion could sense it.  There was something else there. I felt something too, but I don't have the keen senses of the horse. I continued walking up the trail that my steps, and those of the horses and the sheep, had worn into the hill. I scratched at the black beard covering my sweaty face when I reached the hilltop. I unloaded the water containers in front of the house and gazed back towards the valley.

A while ago I’d encountered a herd of horses grazing in one of the valleys nearby. I’d followed them for few days. Using an improvised corral I built from long canes, I’d caught a young stallion. It took me a while to calm him down but a few days later while I walked him up the mountain, I discovered to my surprise that a mare and a full-grown stallion were following me. Gradually they came closer until they trailed along just behind me. The mare was easygoing and got used to me fast. Mostly I used her to carry my few possessions and the two stallions followed behind.

I took the water containers inside and laid them on the table, then went out again.

“Go. Go to your mother,“ I yelled at the stallion and slapped his rump. He jumped and disappeared behind the house.

When I was a child, Daio told me that our mother use to say I was destined for greatness. I didn't remember this story myself. He always told me this story when I did something wrong, hoping it would change my behavior. He told it so many times that eventually, when he was angry at me, he shortened it to, “You know what mommy used to say about you!"

There was another story Daio told me about my mother. Before I was born she dreamed about a handsome man called Sosi who led a herd of sheep and horses along green plains. The dream was odd mainly because my mother never saw a sheep or a horse in her life. Nor had she ever seen a shepherd leading his animals across green plains. In any event this is how I came to be called Sosi.

For many years I lived thinking these stories were a reflection of her mental health, and possibly the reason our father left. The fact that I was now, years later, responsible for a small horse herd made me think of my mother and of her dream. What if what is happening to me now was her dream coming true?  If so, then maybe there was something to her other dream as well. Maybe I was destined for greatness. I looked around. Maybe this was what she saw. 

I loved the horses, both for their character and also because they made me think good thoughts about my mother. More than that, they made me believe that eventually, somehow, things would turn out okay.

I looked down at the valley and thought about the possibility of a predator lurking there. Animals have a good sense of danger, and the stallion’s behavior was unusual, but I wasn't sure it was a predator. Something else was there.  My nostrils flared to take in the smell of the surroundings and the bad feeling that had been growing since the morning came back. I walked into the house and sat on the chair. One of the water containers was dripping, so I straightened it.