I opened my eyes. The sunlight came at me from above. It was around noon, maybe later. Was I in the same place as before? The land was groomed differently. More of it had been tamed, shaped, but oddly there were occasional features that had been left as they were, fastidiously worked around- a pair of trees, a couple large similar-looking rocks. Very soon I came upon a walled structure like a castle. Two people stood at the entrance gate. Guards I supposed. They looked surprised to see me.
“Are you a traveler?” One of them called out to me.
“I am. I apologize, I am lost” I said, a little uncertain of how to get my bearings. I hadn’t needed to use place names before. Was the virus still breaking down, taking the memories I needed? The two guards conferred quietly with one another. I caught only fragments of the conversation.
…shouldn’t even be here…
-said she was lost…
…even come from…
…South’s too well guarded. She must be Northern. I told those fools so many on the southern border would compromise…
As they were still talking another guard jogged up to them. He spoke more quietly but I was able to catch the words “out of control” and “Southfolk”. The first two guards seemed to forget about me for a moment and I thought of simply leaving, but I still didn’t know where the virus had brought me, so I waited. Finally one of them remembered me. “This is Kingsground. No one may wander here unaccompanied. I was going to escort you beyond our limits, but I have urgent business to attend first. You’ll just have to come along.”
We went through the gate and into the structure. The guard who first spoke to me said, “I’m called Crest. Wait here.” The two guards entered a room. This time it was easy to hear what was being said.
Crest said, “Sir, we just got a report from the South. They say things are getting out of hand. They ask for instructions.”
“Tell them they need to do their jobs. Honestly this is so tiring. Crestin, take the rest of the gate guards with you and Rayin, get someone to send down more from the North wall. Can you handle that?”
The door opened and I caught sight of the owner of the new voice. He wore a style of clothing that looked more intricate than any I’d seen yet. Could I have missed the proper time and been vaulted into my family’s future? If I had been pushed into the future, it seemed the situation my family fled had only grown worse with time. Did they escape with their lives? Could these people be their descendants?
Seeing me, he asked “Who is this?”
“My name is Glad,” I said. The man looked unconcerned with my name. I was unimportant.
“She became lost. We were about to escort her off-grounds,” Crest offered.
“See that it doesn’t interfere with the task I’ve given you. Go now. No harm and peace,” he said.
“No harm and peace,” Crest replied.
Crest, Rayin, and I set out with a group of guards who joined us at the gate. They talked amicably as we walked. One of them said, “It’s probably nothing. It’s always nothing. They show up here. We drive them out. They show up again. It never ends.”
“Look!” one of the others called out. “See the Holy Two!”
I looked in the direction she pointed but could see nothing to explain her words. “What is it?” I said.
“Those birds. Do they not tell this story where you come from? The Mother and Father gods who watch over this land come to earth always in twos. They like to inhabit pairs of beings. We leave undisturbed things that come in twos whenever we can. Did you notice the pair of blossoming trees in the castle’s courtyard? They were left while other trees were cut, because they make the sign of twos. And when one dies the other will be cut down, so they may be together.”
The afternoon wore on. One of the group asked if I was hungry and offered me a fruit like an apple and a square of bread. No formula seemed to be required of me in their acceptance. We continued walking. Someone in the group cried out sharply ahead of us.
“Are you alright?” I heard others ask.
“Just a sharp branch. Does anyone have a bandage?”
A strange thing happened as we stopped to bandage the wound. The entire group began humming a melody, each person seeming to begin without thought, yet they all very gently droned along together as a cohesive whole. Bewildered, I asked, “What is that tune?”
“It is the song of healing. You must know the words, though I have heard it said there are multiple melodies,” and she began to sing:
I will take my heart in my chest and put it next to yours
As its beating steadies you, as the warmth encompasses
Let this twinsong find you, and you may yet continue
And you may yet continue, no harm and peace
“That’s lovely,” I said.
“I wish this task was as easy as a song,” Rayin sighed.
“Is it very difficult?” I asked.
“It can be dangerous. Southfolk can be unpredictable, violent, savage even. It is taxing to restrain them and difficult to remove them.”
“I’ll never get used to it. I wish we were allowed to make exceptions. Some of them seem alright,” someone else said.
“Don’t feel sorry for them. It’s an act. We can’t let violent deranged people stay here. We have our orders.”
“It’s true. Keeping them out is the only answer. It isn’t nice, but we do what has to be done.” They all nodded.
Another voice said, “Anyway Southfolk are vile. They don’t wash, and they are constantly talking about dead people. But the worse thing about them is how they can never just give you food and drink but they have to take some for themselves first. They even use the same cup they hand to you to drink from. It’s disgusting.”
I felt my heart sink inside me. These were the traditions of my family they were speaking of. I had arrived all right and in the proper time, but I’d reached the place my family sought ahead of them. And I now knew what welcome awaited them.