Haven’t Read chapter 1? you can find it here
TELA & THE TREE
by Jordan Miller
Tela awoke with the sun high in the sky. Confused, she called out for Kirak, but got no response. As she rose to her feet, uneasy and disoriented, she took in her surroundings. She was lost. Strange, because she’s known every nook in every tree of her forest since she was very young. She was sure she had not wandered far from her village, yet she couldn’t help feeling that this was a strange place. Realizing that she wasn’t sure which way to go, she picked a direction started walking.
After just a few steps, she came upon a tree. She decided to climb it to get a better view of the surrounding forest. The tree appeared completely ordinary; it had limbs, bark, and leaves just like every other tree. It was tall, but not remarkably so. Yet there was still something about it that seemed important. As she touched the tree, she immediately felt that she was not alone, and she froze.
“Hello? Is someone there?” she asked.
“I am here,” a voice which seemed to come from everywhere replied.
“Who are you?” Tela ventured, unsure of where to speak.
“I am…the forest…
“…the wind and the leaves.”
Tela stood confused. “Where are you?” she asked.
“I am all around…and inside…I am spirit.”
The voice struggled with its words, as if this were the first time it ever spoke. Tela felt warmth throughout her body, even though the forest air was cool and crisp. “Where did you come from?” she asked.
“I do not know,” the spirit replied. “I have always been.”
“Well, my name is Tela,” the Inoka said.
“I know.” The voice paused. “I have watched your kind since you came to my forest.”
“You have? Then maybe you can help me find my way home? I think I’m lost.”
“I can, but I do not want you to go.” The voice paused again. Tela felt a chill, like ice cold rain, race down her spine.
“No one has ever talked to me,” the voice continued. “I get so lonely here.”
“Don’t be sad,” Tela said sweetly. “If you help me find my way home, I promise I’ll come back.”
The voice fell silent, and Tela became uneasy. After a moment, a butterfly flew past her, and she could feel the warmth returning to her body. It stopped and circled back as though it wanted her to follow. Tela followed the butterfly all the way back to her home.
Over the next few months, Tela kept her promise to the spirit. She learned the way back to the spirit’s tree and visited it almost daily. They would talk for hours. They would talk about the wind and all the beautiful things in the forest. Sometimes Tela would confide in the spirit about her troubles in the village. One day after a poor harvest, Tela came to the spirit upset. She wanted to know why the Inoka suffer the harsh weather and poor harvests when the spirit could help.
“You have been kind to me, little one, and I want to help. But I must stay in my grove connected to the forest.”
Tela looked at the ground. “There must be something you can do,” she said in a quiet, determined voice.
“Yes, brave Inoka…” Tela felt the presence of the spirit swell and surround her. “You will be my Emissary.” The wind picked up and blew a small patch of leaves from the forest floor revealing a small wooden disc.
“Take this totem, treasure it, keep it close. It is the symbol of our bond.”
Tela picked up the totem and held it in front of her.
“Wherever my help is needed, hold out the totem and call to me, and I will help. Call to me when you need rains, call to me when you need the streams to flow and teem with fish. And when your time is done, pass on the totem to another who is worthy to be the Emissary, and send them here. This promise I have made I will keep with you, and with all the Emissaries who follow you.”
To be continued…
