Stargazer

Chapter 5

Jermain jumped off his horse and I copied him, nervously thinking about what was in the crazy man's head. He then led the horses to a strong branch, tying their reins up, and letting them munch on the green grass.

I couldn’t wait to see any longer, “Uh, Jermain, you’re not going to make me climb that, are you?” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear his answer.

“No,” he replied, throwing his big rucksack down to the ground, and I exhaled in relief. “Not yet, anyway.”

What did that mean!? I recoiled from his last statement.

“First, we eat,” he raised his bushy, red eyebrows and grinned at me as he pulled out a loaf of bread from his rucksack, already sliced, and a small jar of butter. He lay it all in front of us on a flattish, large rock that served the purpose well.

The smoked meat was next with a dried and crumbled appearance, but had the same smell of the wonderful meats at our feasts. We added it to our thick slices of buttered bread and washed them down with a cup of water, each. As I was finishing, Jermain finally spoke again.

“This is what I want you to do, first,” he directed. “Close your eyes,” I smiled at him thinking he was pranking me. “Go ‘head, just do it!” He was back to his serious, cryptic side, so I listened. Eyes closed he continued, “Now listen.”

“Listen for what?” I wondered aloud with my eyes still closed.

“Now, girl! If ya have ta ask, then ya aren’t listenin’,” Jermain scolded me. I shut my eyes again, listening for something in particular. There wasn’t anything that stood out to that I should be listening for. I waited a long while, and still, nothing happened.

After a while I decided to make note of what I could hear that seemed insignificant; the movement of leaves rustling, some birds squawking close by and others singing in the distance, something small, maybe, scurrying close by.

After a while, Jermain finally directed me to open them. Now I was confused, what had I been listening for? Maybe my inner thoughts or something abstract? Because I wouldn't run that past Jermain!

"I will now ask ya a set of questions. For every question ya get incorrect, ya will have to climb ‘til I say." I gulped, this was a very serious side of him I hadn't quite seen. He was being intense and what was left of his red hair on his head was sticking up in places, giving him the appearance of a crazed man. "What kind of questions?" I asked him.

He ignored me completely, "Question number one." He cleared his throat before continuing.

"Was there a breeze?”

I was surprised by the question. I didn't understand what kind of questions these were and immediately began to panic before recollecting myself and attempting to think back to my listening. I tried to remember feeling a breeze but I didn't recall anything moving past my skin, and my hair was usually kept in braids so tight, not one strand would escape to blow in the wind.

But then I thought back to how he had me listening. Did I hear something? Rustling! I suddenly remembered, Leaves were rustling up above!

"Yes!" I finally answered confidently. Jermain smiled in response and I let out my breath.

"Correct," he said. "Question two: In which direction did the breeze come from and in which direction did it go?"

You have got to be kidding me, I thought as I wanted to ring Jermain's neck. I looked up at the sky to find the sun. I did the math in my head and decided it would have to be about 2 o'clock in the afternoon and the sun was currently favoring the western hemisphere, which was also the direction I was facing. I remembered the leaves rustling somewhere above me, but didn't recall hearing anything else that could identify direction. My head began to hurt from the calculating and I eventually let out a good guess, "The breeze came from the East and moved to the West." I tried to answer confidently again, but this time a waver in my voice cracked.

"Wrong! If ya were listenin’, ya woulda heard the leaves approachin’ from the trees behind me, ta the West! Question 3! How many species of birds didja hear?"

Really? Who in the hell would actually know this? I took a deep breath and let it out in an attempt to regain my thoughts. Two kinds of birds I knew for sure were by us, but the rest I wasn't paying attention to. At least one other that sounded like a raptor type and another like a smaller songbird. I had to guess again, "Four species."

He shook his head, "Wrong...again! The two by us were the same species; there was a male and female calling and answering ta each other! Didna' notice?" He shook his head at me and I couldn't help but feel like I was disappointing him. "Final question! Did the temperature around us rise or fall?"

Is he serious right now!?

"Oh come on, Jermaine! You told me to listen, I don't see how that's fair!"

"It's fair because ya need to learn how to be more attentive to the world around ya! Your stuck in your own head, thinkin if ya get in there deep enough, you'll have control over everything that happens! Because, ya think all ya need to do is be the very best physically."

"I almost won the first trials, Jermain! The only reason I lost was because I was the fastest and, because of it, the furthest past the ribbon!"

"Wrong again! The only reason ya lost is no one's fault but your own! Because ya missed using your eyes in the first place, damned girl! Use your other senses, wouldja Solé?"

Wow that comment hurt. My mind flooded back to the night with Pierce, his gentle lips in mine and his hands softly on my body. And I had blamed him for being right, that he had won. But he was still an arrogant prick about it.

"You're right," I said and it hit me as I said it out loud. "I'm the reason I lost." It felt good to come to terms with it.

"Now answer the question. Did the temp rise or fall?" I felt a chill just then and was about to answer when I noticed Jermain started smiling, unable to hold back his laughing snorts.

"The temperature...fell?" I said, confused by Jermain's sudden ludicrousy. He suddenly burst out full blown laughing, unable to take a deep breath to talk.

"Wrong!" He was on the ground now, shaking his big belly in laughs. "I let some wind slip of my own!!" he continued to laugh until he was crying.

Something about that completely surprised me in the moment, and after a second of shock, I began hysterically laughing as well. The laughing turned to tears and my abs ached. I was supposed to hear the sound of him passing gas! I thought as I rolled onto the ground attempting to silence my giggles.

Jermain pulled a long rope from his rucksack, and that stopped my laughing fit quicky. He managed to lasso it onto a branch so high up, I could hardly see it. I wondered if that had been lucky or if he could actually aim that high. He pulled the rope taught using all his strength to make sure the branch would hold.

I began to shiver at the thought of climbing and wondered how far he'd send me, but I didn't have long to wonder as he put the rope around my chest, up under my arms and tied it tight.

"Up ya go now, Solé," he smiled at me and put a hand on my shoulder. "And god's willing please pay attention!"

I rolled my eyes and nodded, then turned back to look up at the tree once again. Any trace of smile I had, had now faded.

I easily had two branches to choose from at ground level: one had dead-looking, twisted twigs coming off the end, and the other, was thinner, but had greenery. I chose the latter and was pleased to find that the branch bounced under my weight, a softer wood, but thick and perfectly strong. The difference between this tree and the other dead tree I had climbed in the trials, was that the distance between the branches was farther out, since the tree was so big and clearly ancient. I had to reach to the next branch, almost at my neck level, and use a jump from my current branch to get to my next.

Continuing my climb, I eased at a slow, but sure pace making progress, although I didn't have the guts to look down and check. Eventually, I got to a point where more branches appeared, and the foliage began thinning out on them all. I suddenly couldn't tell which branches were strong enough to hold me.

Jermain’s words echoed in my head about watching the world around me. I didn't understand what he meant in a situation like this, where I could go from here. Then I thought about the stars, my inspiration according to Jermain, but instead of inspiring me, my thoughts went directly to my visions of Scorthion, "the back stinger" in the night sky. The night sky that had tried to send her messages to me...

Was it possible that Jermain was the betrayer? He was supposed to be training me, but was he leading me to my possible death? Out of frustration, I grabbed at a branch that seemed forgiving but strong enough when I pulled at it.

As I jumped my weight onto it, a loud crack rang in my ears and I felt the weight of my body leave the tree as I fell below.