The Emerging Part I: Dream
CHAPTER XI

“Ah, boys, we have arrived at Southern Citis,” Vaiqon announces loudly. Desert and Pork marvel at the incredibly tall buildings that seem to tear scars into the sky. Hawk and Fox look ahead, their eyes befalling the massive ten story wall surrounding the city appearing only as tall as a child compared to the tall buildings.

“And if you look at the exact center of the city,” Vaiqon says pointing to his right, “you will see the domed building of the Southern Central Trading Circuit, the largest market in all of Munda Luna. And the location for the last opportunity for another child to claim victory over the obstacle course.”

The boys nod involuntarily to Vaiqon’s words as they merely follow Vaiqon nearly unconsciously. They dismount from their horses, leaving them at the northern gate with handlers, then venture into the city.

Vaiqon leads the boys through the northern ring of Southern, “Ah, boys, I am quite certain you have not seen wealth as Southern’s Northern Ring. The buildings throughout the ring are actually homes. Homes that house Munda Luna’s most wealthy merchants, traders, and artisans.”

The boys gape at Vaiqon’s statement. They see extraordinary detail carved into gold and silver plated bricks that comprise the outside of the massive buildings that dwarf every other building except the domed Trading Circuit.

The boys see birds, animals, plants, entire masterpieces carved on every inch of the massive buildings. They see iron-works crafted into unique forms, some animals, some plants, some abstract, some people, some ornate symbols, and some Lunarian runes. They see people milling about in the finest silks and satins dyed in the most gaudy colors of bright orange, yellow, and pink. They see the men and women alike with painted faces to match their outlandish clothing. But they see these people weighed down by their fantastic jewelry of gold, silver, platinum, necklaces, rings, and bracelets.

“If I could steal just one of those bracelets,” Fox thinks to himself out loud.

Hawk punches Fox in the side, “Quiet,” he says to silence Fox. “These people are not worthy being envious of. They know nothing of personal sacrifice nor hard labor. My father’s smallest finger has more honor than either of these people have in their entire bodies. Do not let your family’s memory be tarnished by such materialistic nonsense.”

Fox stares at Hawk as if another person has chided him completely from the boy that rode with him all week long. Fox shrugs, closes his mouth, then looks down the entire way as Vaiqon finally leads them into the massive Trading Circuit that weighs upon them enough to force them to forget how to breathe.

Vaiqon leads the boys to the center of the Trading Circuit where a massive halo of light illuminates from a gigantic hole in the center of the dome that allows sunlight to touch nearly every inch of the Trading Circuit inside.

Vaiqon arrives in the direct center of the Trading Circuit where he turns to the boys, “You have seen the obstacle course enough now, perhaps you would favor in helping me construct it?”

The boys nod. Vaiqon, Hawk, Desert, Fox, and Pork construct the obstacle course quickly inside of an hour, the people mulling about the Trading Circuit often glancing at their handiwork with excitement before scampering off to inform family members of twelve years about the amazing opportunity that has presented itself in the center of the Trading Circuit.

Vaiqon gazes at the obstacle course, his thoughts racing as he senses through each and every child that passes near him. He frowns, ‘To think, I pass through Southern every four years while my fellow Daijoks traverse their routes to search for possible victors, and I can feel only one that could possibly defeat the obstacle course? Why have so few children been able to surpass the tests?’

Vaiqon shakes his head before he stiffens noticeably. He feels a presence requesting contact but denies the request for the moment as he turns to the boys.

“Hawk, Desert, Fox, Pork,” Vaiqon starts, “I have some personal matters to attend to, please do not make such mischief that you are run out of the Trading Circuit. Remain in proximity to the obstacle course as well,” he finishes with a commanding point towards the ground and then casually walks away leaving the four boys alone in the massive Trading Circuit.

The boys observe all the passersby and nearly join the many people in pondering the many, many wares that are on display from the numerous amount of vendors and merchants in the Trading Circuit, but replace that as soon as they take a single step, exhaustion sets in from the previous days’ riding and of the construction of the obstacle course.

They sit on a makeshift bench they have placed on the stage next to the obstacle course where they then see a drove of guards rushing about frantically through the Trading Circuit’s main gate.

They watch as the guards then stop before a house on the edge of the Trading Circuit behind the obstacle course. They watch as the guards beat on the door behind a peculiarly empty merchant cart.

A squat man with balding hair and glasses squints into the brightness. The boys watch as the man and the guards engage in a quick conversation before the guards nod and then rush away from the squat man.

The squat man opens the door fully to watch the guards disappear into the crowd where a slender woman, easily a head taller than the man, appears next to him. The man and woman engage in a conversation before the squat man then takes off after the guards. The slender woman turns to her right, gestures, and a girl of about twelve years embraces the woman warmly. The woman speaks inaudibly to the child before following after the squat man.

The girl shrugs, exits the house, closes the door, then walks to a bench just outside her house watching the woman disappear into the crowd. The boys watch with pure curiosity.

“I’m gonna go talk to her,” Hawk says unexpectedly.

The other boys laugh, “Hawk, have you even talked to a girl before?” Fox asks jokingly.

“Of course not, he’s more scared of them than a full-grown bear,” Pork answers.

“Oh, and, your mother doesn’t count,” Desert adds.

Desert, Fox, and Pork laugh but Hawk merely shrugs as he rises from the makeshift bench and walks down the stairs towards the girl.

“What? He’s actually gonna do it?” Desert asks in complete shock. “Bet he gets slapped.”

“Nah, bet he falls,” Fox counters.

“You’re both wrong,” Pork says. “He will freeze and come running and crying back to us.”

The three laugh again and their merriment echoes down to Hawk who has just encroached upon the same bench the girl is sitting.

Hawk sits down. He makes wary glances at the girl who stares straight ahead into the crowd. Hawk swallows before moving closer to the girl. When the girl still does not move, Hawk moves closer. When the girl still does not acknowledge him, even though he is only a few inches away, he opens his mouth to speak, but freezes

Hawk closes his mouth instantly and looks back at Desert, Fox, and Pork to see them laughing maniacally. He turns back away and takes on a look of frustration. He warily glances at the girl again and swallows hard.

He opens his mouth to speak and says, his voice cracking, “Hi, my name’s Hawk.”

The girl does not even flinch, her eyes pinpointed on the crowd where the slender woman disappeared into. Hawk closes his mouth and looks down. He sees a trail of hay leading to a bin directly next to the girl. He smiles as he rises.

Hawk walks in front of the girl, then trips on purpose, waves his arms as if to balance himself, then falls into the bin of hay with a slight squeal. He works his way out of the hay with more difficulty than he thought, and sees just the slightest upturned edges of the girl’s mouth.

Hawk smiles widely, climbs out of the bin of hay, then approaches the girl again. He feels hay inside of his shirt and itching his head. He shakes to rid himself of the hay, only to replace the itchy material land on the girl’s face who scrunches her nose in disgust before slowly wiping away the yellow hay.

The girl then stares pointedly past Hawk who stands just before her. Hawk slumps. He looks down again to see a slight puddle in the street. He walks to the puddle, pretends to slip, and falls with another slight squeal.

Hawk looks up just in time to see the girl forcing her lips back into her scowl. Hawk smiles widely as he rises and approaches the girl. He stretches out his hand, “I don’t know if you heard me the first time, but I’m Hawk,” he says with a wide smile.

The girl continues to stare straight past him. Hawk drops his hand and his eyes.

He is suddenly blinded subtly by the sun reflecting off of the girl’s silver arm band on her left arm. He looks to her right to see only a tattered cloth covering her arm. He smiles widely. He reaches over to his right arm, takes off his golden arm band given to him by his father long ago, and offers it to the girl.

Finally, the girl becomes animated. She stares at the golden arm band, then at Hawk, and back at the golden arm band. She shakes her head, but Hawk insists. He places the arm band on the girl’s arm.

The girl stares at the golden arm band on her right arm with a wide smile on your lips and sparkle in her eye. She stares at Hawk with her serene green eyes. Hawk feels his knees nearly collapse.

“Ah, there you are!” a womanly voice tears through the air.

The girl looks past Hawk who turns to glance behind him where he sees the slender woman rushing back from the crowd.

“Come along,” the slender woman says as she brushes past Hawk not unkindly to gently grab the girl’s upper right arm to tote her away. “We have found a new home, let’s go,” the slender woman says with obvious happiness in her voice.”

The slender woman and the girl waltz away, but just before they disappear into the crowd, the girl turns to stare at Hawk and utters, “Santhemum,” in a voice as soft as velvet that carries to Hawk’s ears and warms him from head to toe.

“Oh, so all I need to do to get you to speak is have a boy make a fool of himself?” the slender woman says to Santhemum.

Santhemum merely stares at the woman with bright eyes, a slight smile on her face.

The slender woman chuckles, “Very well, come along daughter, you will adore our new home that Tristan has purchased for us. In the Victorian Ring of the Trading Circuit.”

Santhemum just nods as she allows her mother to lead her through the crowd.

“I knew he’d get slapped,” Desert says. “Tell me she slapped you when you fell down, Hawky.”

Hawk does not have the opportunity to respond when Fox says, “Nah, she ran away. Who’d wanna talk to Hawk anyway. Such torture,” Fox says jokingly.

Pork adds, “Well, he’s not crying... yet.”

The three laugh but Hawk does not hear their jibes or their laughter. He can only think of the sweet voice that continues to resound through his mind. ‘Santhemum.’

He looks at the crowd that has long-since absorbed Santhemum and the woman, and can only feel a sadness in his heart. He shakes his head and replaces himself at the mercy of his friend’s mockery. He shrugs and joins as well, easily backfiring against Pork, his longest-known friend, “At least I never had my pants fall off in the middle of the market.”

Pork turns bright red, his eyes widening, “Hey! You said you’d never mention that?!”

“In Karacrross,” Hawk adds.

The boys laugh with jubilant glee.