Journey of Mem by Paulina Vallin

Author:Paulina Vallin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Paulina Vallin

13

o

Sarili

Mem found a place of solitude on the bottom of a dry riverbed. It was near the outskirts of the city, but far enough to stay out of Mayor Hattenstein’s way. She had collected some moss and branches to rest upon, and except for Baby, the only company she had was a single leafless tree. There she rested and licked the wounds of her injured soul like a beaten dog.

She had made it from Diri’s house without shedding a tear, but now her stern mask of anger melted away. She sat down on the dry ground and cried—for so long and so hard that the ground underneath her turned wet and muddy. Red-eyed and miserable, she dragged her finger through the mud. It felt cool and soothing against her skin, and she sank both hands deep into it.

Soon her hands started molding shapes and angles in the teary ground. It was almost as if they had gotten a life of their own. Baby watched her curiously as she kept molding and crying and molding and crying, and by the time the sun was starting to descend, Mem stepped back to observe what she had created. In front of her stood a girl made out of mud, looking like the spitting image of herself.

Baby nodded approvingly. “Another you. I understand. The only one whom you could stand.”

Mem walked around her creation, surprised by how identical it looked to herself.

“Tomorrow I’ll give you a name,” she whispered as she touched the cheek of her clone.

She fell asleep, feeling better than she had in a long time.

c

The following day Mem returned from a quest of finding anything eatable in the nearby forest. The longing she had had for a city had completely been replaced with an immense gratitude to the tranquil refuge the forest provided. She dropped her findings and ran up to her creation, excited to check on her Mem-copy. To her joy, the sun had dried it during the morning hours.

“Thank you, Day,” she smiled. “Now, how do we fill her with life?”

Baby just yawned. “Quite a boring friend, I’d say, if she just stands there quiet all day.”

Mem tried to think of how life had been blown into herself. Her mother and father had told her stories, and so had the sounds, scents and views of nature. So she asked some birds to sit in the tree and sing throughout the day, and she asked the wind to kiss the face of her creation. Then she asked Sun to tickle its skin with his warm fingers.

Baby stood under the Mem-copy and wrinkled his nose. “An un-special ‘it.’ You have to admit.”

Mem shoved him aside. “She is no it. She is a girl. Her name will be . . . Sarili.”

Baby grimaced. “You better not be naming her Sarili because it rhymes with that hat-head Diri!”

Mem ignored him and sat down by Sarili. “Let me tell you all the stories I know. They are what formed me and maybe they will form you too.

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