Page 80 of Moon Chosen

“Hey,” Mari said, glancing over her shoulder. “Don’t forget to bring that fern.”

With a groan, Sora slung the huge, wilted fern over her shoulder, causing dirt from its exposed roots to cascade down her back. Grimacing, she announced, “When I’m the Clan’s Moon Woman I will never get dirty again. I mean it. Never! You might like dirt, but I absolutely, definitely do not.”

Mari didn’t bother to correct Sora. She simply strode forward, allowing a bramble branch to fall back over the path. Then she and Rigel shared an amused look at the muffled shriek that came from behind them.

24

“This is lovely! And no one would ever guess that it’s here,” Sora said in a hushed, reverent voice. “May I approach the Earth Mother?” Mari made no response. She’d come to an abrupt halt half a step inside the clearing, and was just standing there, staring. “Mari? Are you okay?”

Rigel whined and licked her hand fretfully.

“What? Oh. Yeah. I’ll be fine.” Mari absently stroked Rigel, drawing comfort from his nearness.

“You don’t look like you’re going to be fine. You look like you’re going to be sick.”

Mari met Sora’s gaze. “I buried Mama here—in the arms of the Earth Mother. I—I haven’t been up here since.”

“Oh. That explains your paleness. I’m sorry, Mari,” Sora said quietly. “May I approach the Earth Mother?” she repeated, and then added, “I’d like to offer a prayer for Leda.”

“Mama would like that.”

Before Sora entered the clearing she squeezed Mari’s hand briefly, saying, “I know we’re not friends, but I am truly sorry about your mother.”

Unable to speak, Mari nodded, blinking quickly. As Sora stepped into the clearing, she breathed deeply and called to Mari over her shoulder. “These flowers are incredible! They smell like honey. They look familiar, but I can’t name them. What are they and how did you get them to grow here?”

“They’re forget-me-nots, like what I painted on our hearth. I didn’t get them to grow. They’ve never bloomed here before,” Mari said. Sora had stopped and had turned to face her. Mari bent and brushed her fingers lightly through the delicate blue flowers that Rigel had buried his face in and was sniffing enthusiastically. “They don’t usually bloom until midsummer, and never here.”

“She sent them for you,” Sora said.

“How do you know Mama did that?” Mari wiped at a tear that had escaped her eye.

“Not Leda.” Sora nodded her head in the direction of the idol. “The Great Earth Mother sent them for you.”

“Does she talk to you?” Mari asked as she studied the statue’s serene face.

“Not with words, but I can feel the Goddess’s presence. Can you hear her?”

Mari shook her head sadly. “No.”

“But you feel her presence?” When Mari didn’t respond Sora smiled at her and said, “Well, the Goddess obviously cares about you. Sending Leda’s flower to comfort you is no small thing.” Sora approached the Earth Mother idol. Mari watched as she knelt, raised her hands, and began murmuring something that she couldn’t quite hear.

Feeling like she was eavesdropping on a private conversation, Mari shifted her attention to the ground, expecting to see the rawness of her mother’s newly dug grave. But instead of broken earth the spot near the arms of the Goddess was exactly like the rest of the clearing—covered with grass and fragrant blue flowers.

Mari’s gaze returned to the Earth Mother’s face. She stared at the image of the Goddess, willing herself to be open to anything the Great Earth Mother might send her. Then she whispered, “If you did send these flowers, thank you. I’ll never forget Mama. It would be like forgetting to breathe. But thank you.”

“Oh, that is so much better!” Sora had risen from her knees and was standing in a white wash of moonlight, arms raised, head tilted back. The silver-gray color that had begun to taint her skin was gone, and when she turned to face Mari, she was smiling. “I’m ready for my first lesson in drawing down the moon.”

“Do you know what direction is north?”

Sora cocked her head, thinking. Then she pointed at the idol. “That’s north.”

“Correct. We begin in the north. Do you know why?” Mari asked.

“It’s the place of beginnings?”

“Well, yes. But the reason it’s the place of beginnings is that we think of the earth as a living being, and her head rests in the north—thus we begin there.”

Sora nodded. “That makes sense.”