Alex glanced around and saw five women hovering in the background, smiling, waiting to be asked. “I don’t think we’ll have any problem finding someone to watch her.”
One of the women considered that an invitation and hurried in and scooped up Tinka-eh, hurrying away with her. The toddler did not seem upset in the slightest to be taken away. She smiled and waved, showing many gaps between her first teeth.
Alex led them out to the forest, where he showed them the type of trees he wanted. He had considered building with fir, but finally decided to go with cedar. He loved the smell and knew the logs would be easy to strip of their bark. He wanted mature trees, but not too big.
The structure he envisioned was modest, perhaps twelve feet by fifteen feet. Enough room for the bed he intended to build them, another bed for Monda-ak, a wash basin, and room for enough chairs that they could have a few people in to visit with them. He had built a few chimneys and fireplaces in his day and he wanted to have a large river-rock fireplace take up most of one wall so they would be warm in the harshest storm.
They spent most of the day in the forest, marking trees and felling a few of them, then delimbing. It was hot, tiring work, but it made Alex’s heart sing.
When he had stepped through the door in his basement, it had been his insatiable curiosity of what lay beyond that drove him. He had paid a heavy price for that curiosity, but he had been rewarded with epic adventures. A wild new country, loyal friends, breathtaking risks, and finally, Senta-eh, who he knew was the true love of his life. It was not a trade he ever would have chosen to make, because he would never have abandoned Amy, but now that it had been forced upon him, he was content.
They dragged several of the logs back to the field, where Alex could measure them, and they could be prepared as the foundation layer for the cabin he envisioned. By the time they dropped the logs, it was almost dark.
“I think I can be the most use to you by hooking the logs up to my horse and dragging them here for you,” Reggie said. “Keep your beautiful horses in the stables. They are fast, but mine is a workhorse.”
Alex thought back on when he had traded his good workhorses for the beautiful horses and winced. He hoped he would not be in charge of negotiations anymore.
He released his workers for the day, but before they left, Senta-eh warned them, “Manta-ak likes to start early.” By then, everyone knew that about him.
“I want to go and check on Lanta-eh,” Alex said. “I know she’s fine, but I want to see her.”
They climbed up to the top level where Lanta-eh and her sisters slept. They met Niten-eh leaving their sleeping room.
“She still sleeps,” Niten-eh said.
“Is that unusual?” Alex asked.
“I’ve never seen anyone stay under for so long after ingesting the egg. It usually only lasts a short while, except for the first time, when some people stay in a trance for most of the night.”
“Is that what this is? A trance? Or is she asleep?”
“What’s the difference?” Niten-eh asked. “Her sisters are with her. One of them will stay with her at all times and let me know when she awakens. I would be more worried if it was someone else.”
“She’s still just a young girl,” Alex said.
“No, she is the chosen one. She will never be like the rest of us.”
The next few days passed in much the same way. Alex and his workers went out into the forest, felled and stripped cedar logs, and Reggie dragged them back to the building site.
At the end of the day’s labors, Alex immediately checked on Lanta-eh and each evening, the answer was the same—no change.
Finally, on the fifth night, when Alex returned to the open field, Niten-eh was waiting for him.
“She’s awake. She says she’s been away, but we know she never left the cliffside. At least her body didn’t.”
Alex and Senta-eh hurried up to the upper level of the cliffs but found she was not in her room. Instead, she had left word with her sister that she wanted to meet them at the site of their new home.
They found her sitting cross-legged on the spot that would eventually be their living room. Her eyes were closed, but she smiled happily at the sound of their footsteps.
“We were worried for you,” Alex said.
Lanta-eh opened one eye with a mischievous grin. When she saw their worry was genuine, she stood easily and let her expression fade to neutral.
“You never need to worry about me. My fate is predestined. I was not chosen to always be first at dinner, or to be last at chores. I was chosen for a specific purpose and now I know what it is. I always had some idea, but now I see it in more fullness.”
Alex glanced at Senta-eh, wondering if she might think the same thing that he did—that perhaps Lanta-eh had indulged in too much karak-ta egg. But Senta-eh just said, “How wonderful. I am so happy for you.”
The sunshine returned to Lanta-eh’s face and she dropped down into her cross-legged pose again. She made sitting on the soft, fragrant ground look so inviting that Alex and Senta-eh sat as well—three parts of a triangle.
“So what is it?” Alex asked.
“What is what?” Lanta-eh asked innocently.
For a moment, Alex felt as though he was speaking to Tokin-ak again. He reminded himself to ask questions more carefully.
“What is it that you were chosen for?”
“Oh, that. It doesn’t really matter, does it? Everything is in motion now. Nothing can be changed.”
“Things can always be changed,” Alex said with some force.
Lanta-eh chose not to disagree with him. She
