SuperMoon by H. A. Swain

Author:H. A. Swain
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

TALITHA NEVA

CALLIOPE, EARTH

HOURS LATER, I wake to the unmistakable sound of my mother’s buzzing motorbike. I sit up, rocking the hammock where Uma sleeps beside me. She opens her eyes, startled, and cries, “Are we landing?”

I look at her and laugh. “You okay?”

“Oh, gad,” she says, clutching the edge of the hammock with one hand and my thigh with the other. “I didn’t know where I was just then.”

“Calliope,” I remind her. “My mother’s house.”

“Right,” she says, then sighs. “The best place on Earth.”

“Wow,” I tell her with a chuckle. “My mother will be honored that you think so.” I sling my legs over the hammock edge and offer Uma my hand as I say, “And here she comes now.”

Together, we walk to the front of the house. In the distance, I spot a wavering image coming down the road—a fat-tired, rainbow-colored motorcycle shimmering in the early evening sun. I wave my arms overhead. My mother stops, puts one foot on the ground, lifts her sand goggles, and shades her eyes to see.

“Mom!” I shout, hands cupped around my mouth. “Hey, Mom! It’s Talitha!”

My mother whoops and gets back on the bike to blitz toward us with a sand trail swirling in the air behind her. She arrives looking how she always does: bikini top, many-pocketed shorts, and worn boots. She steps off the bike, pushes her thick-rimmed black goggles to the top of her head wrapped in colored silks, and reaches for me.

“Talitha, darling girl child!” She pulls me close. For a moment I am soothed by her smell—desert sage and lavender. The comfort of her hug, like everything else about her, makes no sense. For someone so thin and bony, her embrace is always warm and soft. “I knew you were coming.”

I glance over my shoulder and wink at Uma, who stands shyly by the bougainvillea bush. “No, you didn’t, Mom.” I start to pull away, but she squeezes me tighter.

“Last night I dreamed of Hala Bashi, the red-haired Uighur warrior,” she tells me.

“Mom,” I say. “We aren’t Uighurs and I’m not a warrior.”

“But you are my fierce red-haired girl, so it was a sign.” She buries her fingers in my damp hair to massage my scalp, which makes it impossible to stay annoyed with her. “Is Castor with you?”

I shake my head.

“Oh,” she says, clearly disappointed, but not surprised. Castor rarely comes to visit, and I offer no other explanation because I don’t want to worry her. Not yet.

Then Mom notices Uma. “And who’s this?”

“Don’t you know?” I ask, because I can’t help baiting her sometimes. “I thought you dreamed of us?”

“Hmph,” my mother says. “Talitha is no fun. But you!” She walks toward Uma with her arms wide open. “I can tell that you are someone special who came from far, far away. I’m Rhea. What’s your name?”

“I’m Uma. Nice to meet you.” Uma holds out her hand like a regular human being, but my mom chooses to hug her anyway. Way too tight. I half bury my face in my shoulder as I laugh at Uma stiff in my mother’s arms.

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.