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The Fat Lady Sings
Wednesday
November 14, 2001
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Day 14: Julie's NaNoWriMo novel without a title.
Day 14, and tonight a bunch of us got together at the Elliot Bay Cafe in Seattle for a writing session. I've been sick for the last couple of days, and I'd gotten behind on my word count. I'm mostly back on track, and the story has entered into the second - and different - half.
Today's word count:
25,362
(approx)
Goal: 50,000
Mileposts: Mon., Nov. 5: 8,333 words. Sat., Nov. 10:16,666 words.
Thur., Nov. 15: 25,000 words. Tue., Nov. 20: 33,333 words. Sun., Nov. 25:
41,666 words. Fri., Nov. 30: 50,000 words.
"Elly!" Rae said, running through the archway into Ancient
Voices.
"We—" A customer at the
counter, paying for merchandise, stepped back as Rae came running toward
him and Elly.
"—and that's five, and ten," the store owner said, counting change
into the customer's hand. "Thanks
for stopping by!"
Rae waited impatiently as he smiled uncertainly, then
left. "Elly, it's
Aaron! He disappeared right
as we were standing there watching!" she blurted out.
"You mean, disappeared, gone?"
"Yes! No longer there."
She held out Aaron's book.
"He had been reading this right before."
Elly's lips tightened as she read the
title.
"Wish Magic. Well,
you can't get a bigger clue than that as to where he's gone, can
you?"
"You don't believe he literally wished himself somewhere, do
you?"
"Why not? Stranger things have
happened." She took the book from
Rae. "He got this book here,
I remember. I was surprised he bought it, considering the other kinds
he's gotten in the past. He
seems interested in magic, but usually sticks with the more… serious
topics and methods. It looks
as if he was going in a different
direction. And," she said with
a forlorn look, "we were all pretty aware that he's been unhappy about his
life for a long time now."
"But to wish himself away?"
Rae felt miserable, powerless that she hadn't been able to help
Aaron. "All right. I can deal
with this… but how do we get him back?"
Elly handed her the book.
"I suggest you begin with this.
Read it, and figure out what he might have decided from reading
it."
Returning to the café, Rae had Kim fix her a large plate of
salty turnip fries – a new item on the small but popular diabetic menu
the café had begun – and together with an oversized mug of sugar
free hot cocoa she retreated to the upstairs
bathroom. She was having difficulty
believing that Aaron was simply… somewhere
else. That somehow she had to
figure out how to get him back, or at least make sure he was all
right. She lit all the aromatic
candles she could find and placed them around the bathroom, filled the tub
with hot, steaming water, and added vanilla bath
salts. Melata pushed open the door and hopped up on the closed
toilet seat, making herself comfortable on the fluffy
cover. Rae placed the fries and cocoa within reach, then undressed
and stepped into the tub.
Jeff would never understand
this. I'm trying to figure out
how to find Aaron, someone I care about deeply, and I'm getting into a bathtub
to do it. He would know
why. Jeff wouldn't have a
clue.
She needed to relax. Let
her thoughts wander, and try to understand where Aaron was coming
from.
Rae needed to read that book.
Rae really didn't want to read that
book. Everything in it, she
thought, was contrary to her belief
system. Being able to make things
happen simply by wishing them to?
Aaron was gone.
She opened the book and started reading.
A few pruny hours later, the fries and hot cocoa consumed and the
water considerably cooler, Rae reached the last
pages. The book, much marked
with penciled notes by Aaron, had dealt with the wish magic in a manner she
had understood and, surprisingly, was able to
accept. It was much more a matter of making things happen by altering
your attitudes about them through rituals and regular meditation, and those
were things Rae could understand.
They were methods of altering behaviors and thought
patterns. Magic, psychology… whatever you wanted to call
it.
But generally, psychology didn't make someone
disappear. As far as Rae knew,
at least.
She grabbed a towel and stepped out of the
tub.
Maybe I need to go over to Aaron's place and see what he'd been thinking
about. She didn't like prying
into his private life, but she wanted to make sure that – if he really
had caused his own disappearance – wherever it was that he ended up
was really somewhere he wanted to be.
Aaron had always been a very private person,
though. She'd prefer to figure
this out without going over there; he had given her a key to his apartment
years ago, but she'd use it as a last resort.
She dressed in comfortable sweatpants and shirt and grabbed a pad
and pencil from the den before sitting at the dining
table. Melata padded out of
the bathroom, yawning, and jumped into Rae's old, overstuffed chair, settling
down for another nap. Opening
the wish magic book, she prepared to take
notes. Maybe all she needed
to do was figure out what method Aaron had used from the book, and then she
could follow him in some way.
She would wish herself to Aaron.
After looking through the book several times, she couldn't see how
he had accomplished sending himself away from the
café. All the methods
involved rituals which couldn't have ended while sitting in a café
booth. The back of the book
had a few empty pages for keeping notes on, and although Aaron had written
down some cryptic comments, she couldn't see that he had decided on a
method.
Then she noticed that one of the pages was
different. She carefully examined
it, and found that the page had been ripped halfway up the spine, folded
upward, then again folded in on itself.
On the outside were symbols she didn't recognize, along with a pentagram
inside a circle. She traced
her finger over the circle, and felt an answering tingle of Ward
magic.
This was it! Book in hand, she slipped on a pair of shoes and hurried
downstairs, looking for Gavin. He
had just finished his shift and was on his way out the
door. "I found
something! I think I know how
Aaron did it," Rae said, pulling on his arm
impatiently. "Let's go talk
to Elly."
"Slow down a little, Rae…"
"Come on!" She hurried
into Ancient Voices, followed by Gavin, and was happy to find Elly alone
at the counter. "I think I've
got it!" She waved the
book.
"Here, I'm about to close up
anyhow." Elly shut the front
door, locked it, and put up the closed
sign. "You found something,
then?"
The three of them stood at the counter as Rae opened the
book. "I read it all the way
through and couldn't find anything that really looked as if he'd followed
that particular method, but then I found this at the
end." She turned to the folded
page. "Do you feel it?" she
asked Gavin. "I got a Ward buzz off it.
Gavin lightly touched the folded page with his
finger. "I get Ward magic, but
it's not my own. I mean, this
isn't my call. I'm pretty sure
it's for you, Rae."
Rae looked at Elly. "These
symbols on the front... do you know what they are?"
"Well, it looks like kabbalah," she
answered. "I don't know a lot
about the details. It's a magic
system that's a little too... logical for
me. A lot of people are very
comfortable with it, though, and I know that Aaron got into
it."
"Is it difficult to learn? Rae asked, worried that she would need
to study the kabbalah before going after Aaron.
"Well, it can get complicated.
The basic ideas aren't too difficult to understand, but it's the details
that will get to you."
Rae traced the circle on the folded paper again, this time expecting
the answering tingle of Ward magic.
"It feels to me like it wants me to go after
Aaron. I'm not getting one of
those... data dumps, or whatever you call
them." She touched some of the other symbols, then began running
her finger over the pentagram. "I
just don't--"
"Rae," Gavin interrupted, "you might want to be careful with
that. Can't you feel the magic
building up?"
Her finger came near completing the
pentagram. "I don't think anything
will hap--"
She was proven wrong when suddenly it was just Gavin and Elly standing
at the counter.
Gavin reached for the book.
"Damnit, Rae!" He used
a tentative finger to begin unfolding the paper, but Elly stopped him with
a gentle hand.
"No... leave it alone for now.
I think she's gone where she's supposed to be."
"But she's there by herself!
We can't help her from here, damnit."
"Leave it, Gavin. Give
her time. You'll know when the time is right."
Rae woke up on a hard surface, laying on her
side. Opening her eyes, she
found that it was dark but that she could see shadows of objects in the room
with her. She laid her hand
on the floor to lever herself up, and instinctively knew the touch of wood
under her hand. As her eyes
adjusted to the dark, she recognized the gray shapes of what appeared to
be furniture... a chest there, a dresser, and there, a canopy
bed. A bed with a large, breathing
lump in it.
She carefully pulled herself to her feet, trying to be as quiet as
possible. She was wearing the
clothes she'd had on when she left the cafe.
The cafe! She'd just
been there, with Elly and Gavin. And she had been trying to find a way to get to
Aaron.
Walking quietly to the bed, Rae peered through the darkness at the
person sleeping there, but couldn't make out any
features. The sleeper took a
deep breath and rolled over to face Rae.
She pressed her fingers to her mouth to stifle a
cry.
It wasn't human, and at her slight outburst its eyes opened slightly
and sleepily regarded her, then opened wide in surprise.
Rae didn't consider herself to be the screaming sort, really she
didn't. But she couldn't help
herself, and she let out a yell as the figure sat up in
bed. It said something
incomprehensible and the lights went on in the room.
She stumbled backward as it swung its legs to the
floor. Legs covered with
fur. It was wearing something
like loose boxer shorts and a loose tank top and it was
humanoid. Standing, it reached
out a hand to her and said something again, then paused and spoke vaguely
toward the ceiling.
"There. Now can you understand
me?" The voice didn't seem to
be coming from the... thing.
Rae nodded shakily. "Yes,
but how?"
It went to a nearby desk and rummaged in a drawer, returning to come
near Rae with hand outstretched.
"I'm not going to hurt you.
Here, this is a translator you can wear in your
ear. It will help you understand
everyone you meet, and assist them in understanding
you. If you would like, I'll
place it for you. It won't
hurt. Please, I won't hurt you."
She looked into its eyes and found sincerity
there. Its eyes looked remarkably
human. She nodded, then stood
as still as possible as the being placed something in her left
ear. She could feel it there
for a few moments, then the sensation passed.
"There, how is that?" It
looked as if it were smiling. And
this time its voice was coming from the device in her
ear.
"I understand you. But...
who are you, and where am I?"
"These are good questions," it said, smiling
again. "I am Meg Holwell, and
you are on Tatum, in the city of Trent."
"How is it that I can understand
do? I know the concept of
translators, but if you're alien--"
"But I am not," Meg said, "an
alien. I was born on this
planet. You're human, and we
both originate from Terra. I've
not seen it, but I am told it is a beautiful place, almost as wonderful as
Tatum."
"We... both come from Terra?
How can that be? You don't... look like me."
Meg chuckled. "Of course not.
You're human, and I am bruin.
I am guessing that you came by the same way as
Aaron?"
"Aaron! Yes! Is he
here?" The matter of
bruin could wait until she knew
about Aaron.
"He is nearby, although not in this
city. He was taken to Parksdon,
where there is a facility where he was required."
"Facility? A hospital? Is
he all right?" Rae struggled
to not jump to conclusions.
"Oh yes, he is fine. And
getting better, from what I understand."
Meg smiled toothily again, and this time the term
bruin struck a chord in
Rae.
Bruin! As in
bear.
"You... you're a..." Rae faltered.
"I'm a Holwell Bruin," Meg finished for
her. "I apologize for not explaining
sooner. I should have known to tell you, as I knew that it needed to be explained
to Aaron, as well." The tall humanoid bear backed up and held her arms
out. "Most of the bruin species
look as I do, although some have a less typically ursine body
shape. And, of course, the males
differ from females."
Rae found it fascinating to watch her speak, noticing how the muscles
around her shortened muzzle compensated to provide capability for speech.
"Holwell? That's Aaron's last
name," she said, puzzled.
Meg nodded, dropping her arms.
"Yes! He's... well, a
founding father of our species. A
many-greats grandfather, you might say.
His son and grandson, inspired by his example, founded our species,
and others, as well."
Species.
Founded.
"I... can you tell me what year this is, please?" Rae asked, almost
dreading the answer.
"Oh yes, that was one of Aaron's first
questions. It is, in your reckoning,
the year 3214, on Terra. We
are far from there, however, and in the year 576 of Tatum's
calendar."
"Five hundred and seventy six... years, since?"
"Since colonization here began."
Rae nodded, in shock.
"Aaron brought himself a long, long way."
"Oh, but I am the one who brought Aaron here," Meg
said. "We can talk about that
later, however. I am sure you
are tired and would like to rest.
Would you like a room to yourself, or would a resting area in here
be all right? It is late here,
and it might be easier..."
"In here would be fine, thank you," Rae said, taking in the comfortable
surroundings. "You're right,
I think I would like to rest."
Maybe it will all make more sense when I wake
up.
Meg showed her a day bed on the other side of the room where she could
sleep, and then they had to figure out what to do about Rae's contact
lenses. Meg found them fascinating,
commenting they were a wonderfully primative solution to bad
eyesight. She was able to provide
saline from a medicine cabinet, and couple of pillboxes sufficed for
cases. Rae was sure she wouldn't
be able to sleep with all the questions running through her
head.
She woke with a warm sliver of sunshine on her arm, shining through
the heavy curtains over the tall window.
She stretched luxuriously, feeling her joints pop.
Her eyes opened wide as she remembered where she
was. She shrugged out from under
the light blankets and looked across the room to the canopy
bed. The
empty canopy
bed.
"Good morning!" Meg was
entering through the door, a smile on her ursine face.
So it obviously wasn't all a
dream.
Meg was dressed in loose weave fabrics: short tank top, calf-high
slacks, and a long, loose vest that fell past her
hips. Rae wondered if the clothing
was comfortable over her fur.
"I would greet you by name, but I don't know what it is," Meg
prompted.
"Oh. I'm Raelynn
Rowland. I usually go by
Rae."
"It is good to meet you, Raelynn.
Rae." Meg smiled, the
short whiskers on her muzzle sweeping backward.
"I understand that this must
be quite disorienting for you. In
your time, there were only humans on Terra?"
Rae nodded. "There are only
humans. There were other species
that I, personally, believed sentient in their own
way. Chimpanzees, gorillas,
orangutans, dolphins and other whales.
There are people, though, who write about times like yours, where
there are many sentient human and animal
species. I..." she paused, shaking
her head in wonder, "never expected to meet any of you."
"There are many species on Tatum, many of which I'm sure you will
enjoy meeting. We're a diverse
planet." She walked toward a
large wardrobe. "Would you like
to dress and eat?"
Rae looked down at her clothing, rumpled from having slept in
it. "I only have what I'm
wearing."
"There are a large number of humans on Tatum," Meg said, opening the
wardrobe. "We can provide you with something you will find
comfortable." She looked through
the available clothing, then looked back at
Rae. "Perhaps you would like to choose something
suitable?"
Rae moved to stand next to the tall bruin and chose from the wardrobe
a set of slacks and simple shirt.
She looked at her feet, realizing that a fur covered person probably
wouldn't wear socks. If she
stayed her long, she'd need to find an alternative to washing her socks every
day.
She said there are other humans
here. Don't be
stupid. "I think these will
do fine," she said, holding up the
items. "I'll just wear my own
socks and shoes for now."
Meg nodded. "Later, we'll find you something that fits you
better. I'll leave to prepare
breakfast. There is a fresher...
a restroom, through there. When
you are ready, you can come out through the door and walk to your left down
the hall." She smiled and walked
through the door, her sandaled long legs taking great
strides.