NOVEL NEXT 45: Two In One
Pot.
Lid.
Kettle.
Drum.
Strands.
Chord.
Two
in
one.
Lovers are never separate.
File name: Untold Stories
Passcode: 8675309
RYST
Lirin: Come bead with me! Tomorrow? 2:00?
Ryst: Yes!
"First, pick a color for the foundation of the bag, and then we can add accents if you want to," Lirin instructed. She was teaaching me how to make the Shurwin bead bags like the ones that Denten had given me when I got my Tindin martial arts Beads.
"I like this dark grey," I said. "And I'm thinking of adding little pink flowers along the sides."
"Then, take this plot and pencil and diagram out what you want to do while I start threading the grey beads. And also start telling me everything new! It's been too long!"
"Yeah, Lirin. It's been— well, how do I put all of it into words? So much shock with Peydran's accident. He's doing really well, by the way," she nodded, so I continued. "And even though there was the hospital and therapy and all of that, we both kept plowing ahead. I think some of what he got me doing, which is great, of course, but I think it was a distraction from the early weeks and days. To get through the shock and horror of it all, he needed something to set his mind to. And the research project seemed to really help."
"I kept writing articles and doing my own research. Then I had a woman contact me to talk, and it went so well that Peydran added a "Schedule a Session" button to my Living Foods stream. And I'm getting clients! Usually just a couple a week, but it's a great start. And the crazy thing is, Peydran is getting clients. Like, counseling clients, not Produced by Pedran clients. Did you see any of the videos we did since he got back to Media?"
She shook her head. "Well, we decided to try something that would be easier than videoing the recipes— for less editing and time, you know? What I've been doing is transmitting a recipe or an article, and then we do a live show where he asks me questions. Kind of like an interview, but mostly we just chat. Sometimes viewers post questions, and we've gotten some people attending live."
"I honestly think that Peydran is what is drawing people in! He's been so open and frank about the process of surgery. And people are responding to that honesty. It's more cybernetics than I was anticipating, but since that's an area where patients and their families need a lot of help, I think it's a good thing. We've added a donations section, and people have been really supportive. We charge for sessions, but get enough donations to offer scholarships to people who need it. We don't turn anyone away."
"So, this quest has taken both of us to places that we never would have anticipated. I'm not really happy about it. I'll never be happy that Peydran has gone through this tragedy, but I'm glad that I was there with him and could stay by his side."
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I was threading beads and following Lirin's guidance when she asked, "Have you seen Luchian and the other girls wearing their hair in twists like yours?"
"Wait, what?!"
"Yep, you have some admirers. I don't know if they've watched your videos, but they're adopting your hairstyle. So, while we are crafting, tell me about the twisty hair and the way you put beads in it. Is that from your home world?"
"Mmm hmm," I agreed. "Starlend is really, really wet compared to Shurwinn. I don't think you could get a more different climate. It's about 75% water— huge oceans and only two land masses. So, we have a large maritime presence. Ships, fishing, water sports. A lot of traditions have grown out of that because there's a lot of ropes involved in boating, and you see ropes everywhere. It's kind of like this beading, only much more prevalent. The ropes are just— everywhere. Architecture, decor, my Chula bag. You know that bag I always have?"
She nodded. "Well, it's one example. Actually, that's kind of cool if you're interested in hearing about it."
"Please, it's fascinating. I've never been off sphere."
"Okay. Well, the Chula flower, that's how my family made their business empire— Novaceutical. The Chula lily is endemic to Starlend; there's nothing else like it that I've heard of anywhere. It's a really odd looking lily— a spikey, blue-purple flower. And every part of the plant is traditionally used in pharmica. There's medicinal uses, and also cosmetic uses. It's been used for burns with great success. Anyway, the bulb of the plant is also useful because once dried, the fibers are pulled into strands. They make excellent decorative ropes for things like my Chula bag. And we use other types of plant fibers for all kinds of rope decor like rugs. And, of course, it's a way of styling long hair, too."
"Starlend is just so, so different, Lirin. It's cloudy so much of the time, and cold. Mountains— really sharp high peaks, but very green because there's so much precipitation. It's almost always snowing, sleeting, or raining. The air is just damp all the time— damp and cold. It gets into your bones and you think you'll never get warm. And the cities! Lirin, they're so huge. Jensen, where I'm from has a population of twenty million—"
"Twenty million?!"
I nodded, "Yes, and that huge population is plopped down in a city in the mountains. So it's tall skyscrapers— when I say tall, I mean 100 stories—"
"Woooaaah!"
"Definitely. So, tall skyscrapers surrounded by even taller mountains. You feel like you're down in a bowl squashed between all that height surrounding you. I think that's one of the things I love about Shurwinn. Well, I love the dry air and the warmth, but I really, really love the vast open spaces of the desert. And the low buildings give me a feeling of being able to stretch and stretch and stretch out." I was staring off into space, so I shook myself off.
"Do you still think of the home in the desert, Ryst?" Lirin asked softly.
I wasn't sure how to answer that question. Thinking of it made something in my heart squeeze, and I didn't really want to talk about it. "I'm not sure how to answer that, really, Lirin. Let's talk about something else."
"How are things going with your Talent?"
I raised my eyebrows in a sort of rolly-eyed gesture then shook my head ruefully. "I don't know how to answer that either! It's like it's all tied together in the knot of confusion in my head. There's too many threads all tangled up in a knot, and it's too hard to unravel them. Is the Talent changing? Or did I change? It used to be so overwhelming, but I thought it was people—voices in my head. Emotions from other people. Sensing people."
My eyes were closed, my hands still on the beads. "Now I'm sensing something out there. It's so big and vast. I perceive that it's there, but it's so big, I can't see it all. I feel it."
My voice changed to a whisper. "And I'm pretending that I've forgotten that I sat here a few months ago and said there was something coming and then Peydran. . . ." I ended that line of thinking.
"There's just questions. Every question is part of it. There's something so vast I can't perceive it all. But a question is a straight line. So questions bring information out of me. Peydran kept asking me questions. Questions help. Questions are a focus. It's out there, beyond me, and a question pulls a string of it through me and out of me. Information. A detail. It's all woven together. The dreams. Peydran. The Talent. His mind blocking me. The dreams. The questions. The thing that is so vast. It's one giant tangle. I get so tangled in it that I seem paralyzed. Questions help. I can't look at it. Ungth!" I growled.
"I can't think about it anymore. It's too much!"
"Okay, okay," she held up her hands in a stopping motion, "then we'll just back away from that and let you unwind it as you keep going one day at a time. What do you think of your little grey bead bag— it's your first one, right?"
I agreed, "I think it's great, and actually, do you know of a jeweler? One who could help me with a piece from Starlend?"
"Homemade jewelry, or —"
"Yes, homemade."
"Mirtan is very good. She's over on mona—
"No, not a woman. It's a man," I cut her off again. My eyes closed, and I stared into space, seeing in my mind a tiny sea glass rope I kept in my room in the monastery.
"Granden? How does he sound?" Click, I felt it inside, and I saw a coppery-colored chain. Odd— copper? Strange choice. I opened my eyes and looked at Lirin with a smile.
"He's the one."
"Perfect! I'll transmit his details to you. And Ryst, let's get together again soon. It's so great to have you here."
I hugged her goodbye, and put the little grey bead pouch in my Chula bag.
Ahtah, I have a gift for you, my love. Keep holding on.