Keeper and the Firefly, page 17
“Were you?” she asked again
It was a moment before the mentor finally answered.
"They weren't like me," Keeper corrected.
"What's the difference?"
"Perception. Point of view."
"Why does that make it different?"
"Are you like them?"
Ariel was taken back by the question.
"Of course, I am! I'm a flyer!"
"But are you like them?" he repeated.
Ariel stopped to think for a moment. What in the world was he talking about? Of course, she had to be like them if she was one of them. But then again, lately she had felt like such an outsider. She thought about that for a moment before she answered him.
"No..." she confessed tentatively. "I don't think so."
"Why not?"
The girl shrugged, unsure. "I don't know. I used to be, before. Then I guess I saw what it's like here and it's like I'm seeing everything differently now. Some of the things my people do bother me now. Sometimes, I think they act like babies. It's really weird. I used to think it was alright before, and normal. I thought everyone was supposed to act that way. Now I don't know..." She trailed off, not sure of her feelings.
"So, your point of view has changed. You're thinking more like a plains’ keeper."
"I am?" Ariel hadn't really thought about it before, but Keeper was right. Her point of view had changed since meeting the Rapha. "Yeah, I guess I am."
Keeper nodded in the direction of the elves on the other side of the room. Ariel followed his gaze. The others were laughing among themselves, swapping stories and jokes; oblivious to the discussion the two flyers were sharing.
"Does that look 'alright' to you?" the elder asked.
Ariel looked at her new friends, some much newer than others. It gave her a warm feeling to see them there, sharing their friendship with each other. She liked the feeling. So different than any she'd felt with her own colony.
"Yeah," she answered the mentor. "It does."
"Seem 'normal'?"
It was unlike the experiences in the flyer colony, but Ariel had to stop and think. Which one was supposed to be normal? It depended on where you were and who you are. Your point of view. Was that what Keeper had been meaning? Ariel wasn't sure, but she knew he expected an answer and she had to decide. Which was the more "normal" to her, the abusive way of her people, or the sharing characteristics of the plains’ keepers? Did the plains’ people seem the "normal" ones?
"Yes," she finally answered him. "I'd like it to be."
"If this is normal, then who is supposed to be like who?"
Ariel turned the question over in her mind but couldn't get it to make any sense. Keeper hadn't expected it to - yet. The elder watched the younger elves in their joviality over by the fireplace as he continued.
"When I was your age," he told the young flyer, "I thought I was odd because I wasn't like other flyers, and I thought there was something wrong with me. About thirty years ago, I decided to stop making apologies that I wasn't like them because I realized I didn't want to be like them anymore. Maybe, deep down, I never had. Instead of thinking that I wasn't like them, assuming they were normal and I was the odd one, I began thinking they weren't like me - so I was the one who was normal, and they were the ones who were different."
The light went on in Ariel's head as she suddenly understood what Keeper was talking about.
"So, it's alright if I'm not like them," she concluded. "It's alright to think what they do isn't normal." For some reason, she felt greatly relieved by that.
He nodded. She'd gotten the point and, if her huge grin was any indicator, she obviously accepted her newfound revelation with great relish. Keeper looked the young girl over and saw her in a newer light. She was proving to be more like him than he wanted to ever admit, and it worried him. She had taken a huge intellectual step, which was also a very dangerous one.
She took hold of the last plate to dry it, but Keeper didn’t release it. She looked up at him. He was staring hard at her.
“Your mother knew this,” he warned her. “She wanted to make your colony better and change what was ‘normal’. We both did. They didn’t like it. It killed her and it nearly killed me.” He stared intently into her eyes, drilling into her the importance of what he was saying. "Don't ever let them catch you."
She stared at him and slowly nodded as the reality soaked in. If the others found out, it wouldn't be good for her.
“I’ll be careful,” she promised, taking the dish.
But Keeper couldn't help having some apprehensions as he pulled the drain plug and sent the girl off to enjoy the evening with the other young elves around Basil's fire.
23
10 Moons
First Day of June
Keeper stared up at the starry night sky. The absence of the moon made the stars shine brighter than ever.
“Their beautiful, aren’t they?”
The voice didn’t surprise Keeper. He’d expected his companion to appear. They hadn’t spoken since the day he’d first met Ariel and scared her away. But the companion always seemed to know when Keeper needed to talk and would come, appearing out of nowhere. The last time, he was a strong young elf. This time his appearance was that of an old tree sprite. His chameleon ways sometimes infuriated Keeper, but his presence was always welcomed.
“Did she make it home in time?” Keeper wanted to know, still gazing up at the heavens.
“Yes. Just before sunset. They hardly noticed her.”
“Mmm.”
The two were silent for a minute, contemplating the vastness of the night.
“It’s June 1st,” Keeper finally said.
“Yes. As of 23 minutes ago.”
“And it’s the new moon.”
“Yes.”
“Ten more months until Ariel turns 16. Ten more moons. She’ll have to marry then.”
“That’s her colony’s way, yes.”
“Then what’s the point?” Keeper demanded. “If she stays here, she’ll keep learning. Sooner or later, she’s going to be found out and they’ll kill her.”
The companion shook his head. “You don’t see as far as I. The future has a lot of different paths that are open. It’s always changing.”
“So, they’re not going to kill her?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Then, she is going to die?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
Keeper groaned, frustrated. “She’s turning 16 in ten months,” he said again.
“A whole lifetime can be lived in those months.”
This wasn’t helping.
“And what about Basil?” Keeper asked.
“A whole lifetime can be lived in ten months,” the sprite repeated.
Keeper’s blood ran cold. But his companion wasn’t finished talking.
“But sometimes lifetimes last forever,” he added.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Keeper wanted to know.
But when he turned to look, his companion had already vanished.
End of Book 2
Currently Available in the Year of the Firefly Series:
The String Bean and the Firefly: (The Year of the Firefly: Book 1)
Keeper and the Firefly: (The Year of the Firefly: Book 2)
The Rapha and the Firefly: (The Year of the Firefly: Book 3)
GeAnn Powers, Keeper and the Firefly
