A Broken Paradise (The Windows of Heaven Book 3) by Powderly Jr. K.G

Author:Powderly Jr., K.G. [Powderly Jr., K.G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-02-25T23:00:00+00:00

Thou hast seen what Azazyel has done, how he has taught every species of iniquity upon earth, and has disclosed to the world all the secret things which are done in the heavens.

—1 Enoch 9:5 (Ethiopic Manuscript)

11

Encounters

Tiva first saw the Stranger from a distance.

She had been on one of her morning walks above Grove Hollow, along the narrow game trails that twisted through the woody northern foothills. At first, she thought he was just a boy, younger even than she was. He flitted from tree to tree, as if to taunt her playfully—though she was sure that he could not possibly see her hiding in the tall grass at the crest of a knoll in a wide clearing. He wore only a fawn loincloth with strapped leggings of goatskin to protect his thighs and shins from the scraping underbrush while he sprinted from tree to tree as if chasing something.

Tiva smiled at the fantasy that he was chasing her—though he could not know she watched him.

The Stranger paused, and sniffed the air. Tiva saw that he was not really a boy, just small and wiry—like Khumi—and about his same age. He pulled a set of Iyu’Buuli pipes from his leggings, and began to play the most haunting melody. The music resonated with the trees in a wild cacophony, as the Stranger began to dance up and down the clearing. His antics reminded her of her husband’s fire dancing, and widened her nostalgic grin.

Presently, the piper retreated to the woods again, his melody fading into the trees until Tiva’s heart ached.

She saw him again several nights later, amid the dancers at Grove Hollow. He still wore his fawn loin cloth and goatskin leggings, as he cavorted around the bonfire. When the music faded, the Stranger vanished into a crowd of drinkers on the other side of the fire pit, by the waterfall.

Tiva got up, and crossed the clearing to follow him. When she pushed her way through the drinkers, she found only a few lovers entangled by the pool. The Stranger was not among them.

That night, Khumi did not come home from the shipyard. Tiva sat up, humming the Stranger’s tune to herself while she drank herself to sleep.

When she woke up, it was almost noon, and her head hurt. She had cleaned the tree house top to bottom only yesterday. Since Khumi had spent the night at the drydock, there was nothing to straighten up except after her own small breakfast of flat-bread and cinnamon-seasoned olive oil.

Tiva decided to walk off her headache. She began up the stream bed trail to the Hollow, and from there onto the foothill paths. It only occurred to her that she was heading to the same clearing where she had first seen the Stranger when she emerged from the trees and climbed the small hill to her grassy hide. She reclined where she had watched him from the other day and waited. What am I doing? What are the odds that he’ll come this

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.