“Stop.” Lina demanded.
The twirling woman disappeared and Lina’s mentor took her place. She was wearing a gray tunic and her head was misshapen, crushed on one side.
“No!” Lina cried. “Please!”
The wrinkled old woman’s face was back. There was a strained look in the corners of her mouth and a tear rolling down one cheek. “I am sorry, my child. I am getting fatigued, losing focus. I will try to hold this face for you.”
“Thank you.”
The old woman was on her knees now, kneeling beside Lina and holding a bowl of steaming vegetable broth. “Are you ready?” the old woman asked.
“For soup? How exactly does that work in a dream?”
“The soup is symbolic, my child.” The old woman was helping Lina into a sitting position. “It is knowledge you seek. Drink, and you shall have it.”
Lina sat up and drank.
* * * *
“Lina? Honey?” Arabel’s voice sounded distance, tiny.
Lina cautiously opened her eyes, first one, then the other. Gone was the woman, the Great Tree, the roiling clouds. In their place was Arabel’s face, framed in moonlight. Lina reached out and touched her cheek. “Arabel,” she whispered. “I think we’re dead.”
Arabel grinned. “And why is that?”
“We’re on a cloud skimmer and it’s nighttime. How is that even possible? And, I just had a long and rather interesting conversation with the Great Tree.”
“Is that so?” Arabel asked. “You okay to sit up?”
Lina nodded.
“Come and look at this,” Arabel said, and helped Lina move out from under the shelter of the cloud skimmer’s cover and into the cool night air.
“So many stars,” Lina said.
“Yeah,” Arabel said, lacing her fingers in with Lina’s. “Beautiful isn’t it?”
“Mmm.” Lina rested her head on Arabel’s shoulder. The fact that it was a farther down than it used to be was not lost on her. She felt the cuffs of her coverall just below her knees, and the inseam was beginning to feel uncomfortably tight. She shifted a bit to relieve the pressure.
Lina pointed up into the sky. “Do you see that star? The one over there?”
Arabel nodded.
“That star is the Guide Star, it will remain fixed in the same place throughout the entire night sky. The Ancients used it to navigate by.”
Arabel looked up at Lina, her lips parted, but no words coming out at the moment. Finally, she said, “That’s what the Book of Origin calls it. But—but you refused to read it. So how—?”
“How do I know that?” Lina looked around. “And why are we not dead?”
I turned and smiled. “Look. Look. Make sun in the nighttime. See?”
I pointed to a curved slot sitting over the cloud skimmer’s roof and heat exchanger, that was glowing a deep orange inside. I picked up a brown-colored brick that appeared to be frayed around the edges as it caught the flickering glow and handed it to Lina.
“Smells interesting,” she said. “Earthy.”
Lina gave the brick back to I, who proceeded to push it into the slot toward the red-orange glow.
“From what I’ve gathered,” Arabel said, “This thing is like an oven that I’s people use—”
“Of course!” Lina blurted out. “It’s ceramic, like cookware, but you light the fire on top of it, not under. It evens out the heat and protects the top of the skimmer’s heat exchanger. And it’s built with a top that prevents too much heat from escaping into the surrounding air. Those bricks are from ancient peat bogs. Prevalent in I’s homeland.”
Lina paused and took a deep breath. “How do I know all this?” She mumbled aloud.
“I’s father use this to sail great distance. Show I how it works.”
Lina saw the flash of I’s proud smile in the glow of the cloud skimmer furnace. She reached out for I’s hand and squeezed. “This is amazing. You’re amazing.” She reached for Arabel’s hand, too. “Both of you.”
Lina shuddered and pressed her palms to her temples, as a sharp pain suddenly gripped her, and then departed almost as quickly as it came.
“You alright?” Arabel said.
“Lina hungry?” said I, “Lina want fruit?”
“Thank you, I,” Lina said, nodding.
“So, do you want to know where we’re going?” Arabel asked. “Or do you know already?”
“Is it someplace warm, with blankets?”
“According to I, it’s a very well-established colony, with a very wise and beautiful queen, and every meal—”
“Every meal is milk and honey!” exclaimed I.
Lina smiled. “Milk and honey. Sounds like a nice change. I can’t imagine us eating—”
Lina started to shiver again, just a little at first, but very quickly it became a violent shuddering. Lina raised her hands to her temples and groaned.
“Lina?” said Arabel. “Lina, let’s get you tucked in down below.”
“Don’t know what’s wrong,” Lina said. “F-Feeling fine just…ohh. Bucket! Quick!”
Lina vomited, narrowly making it into the bucket that Arabel held out for her. In her head, Lina heard the echo of a sing-song voice that seemed to come from a great distance. “Sorry, too much,” was all it said.
Lina fell limp. She felt her body being carefully tucked amid the bedding by Arabel, and then closed her eyes.
Chapter 8: The Land of Milk and Honey
And those brave souls, those sailors of ships on the clouds, were met with open arms and glad tidings at each port of call. For any people of the Great Tree are all of the same family. And it is the wisest of queens who will see to it that the stranger is always given a place of honor at her table.
—Selected passages from The Book of the Origin by Bella Aurelius Nobilis, Modern Language Translation
* * * *
Lina heard the sound of the skimmer scraping on rock. It echoed all around her as she lay, tucked in under the skimmer’s roof, sweating and freezing at the same time. Struggling with the urge to vomit.
The noise stopped. Lina opened one eye.
“Shh,” said Arabel. She held up the bota bag for Lina to see and then brought the end to her lips.
“Where?” Lina croaked.
“Safe,” said Arabel.
“I go get medicines,
