Dream Catcher, Heart Listener - Page 4

As she sewed, Michaela focused the larger part of her conscious upon the conversation around her. Janetta was wearing yellow. Yellow, sun, the scent of lemonade rain. Lililu weaved shades of lilac together. Lilac, the smell of fresh lilac blossoms. Geranel would be attending in emerald green. Emerald green, the cold touch of an emerald bracelet he’d given her once, though she’d been able to wear it only for a time, while the dream had lasted.
She listened as much as she could, practicing the colors in her mind. Even so, she’d finished her dress before many of the others, all of which who’d completed their tasks just before the sun began to set, and all rushed back to their tents to dress. Sunset marked the time of their transformations into their cat-like forms, and also, the beginning of the Autumn Festival.
 
As she slipped her own gown carefully over her head, she felt the fur rapidly sprouting all over her body, her rounded ears shifting from the sides to the top of her head, their roundness transforming into pointed tips. She felt the whiskers growing out from her cheeks, now fluffy with white. All this happened within seconds, yet she was more than sensitive enough by now to feel each detail as it happened.
 
As she stepped into her mother’s half of their tent, her mother placed a hand tenderly on either of her shoulders; again, Michaela imagined the smile as her mother said, “You look so elegant; you were right to pick indigo. It suits you more than any other color you’ve ever worn.”
 
Michaela returned the imagined smile. “Thank you, Mama.” She reached up a hand to stroke the short, velvet fur of her mother’s face. “You look beautiful too.” She knew it must be so, though someday she would get up the courage to ask him to really show her in one of their dream escapades, if he could.
She followed her mother outside the tent, and they wound their way down the rocky, grassy hills to the beach below where the echoes of excited talk and laughter, as well as the hints of music—flutes, fiddles, guitars, drums, and the like—slowly drifted towards and then consumed her ears. Still, as they walked, she listened, reaching out for him on all sides with the groping fingers of her mind.
 
Once all or at least most of all had gathered there, the food was brought out on platters by the young fishermen, and, knowing, the ladies, children, and other gentlemen gathered there seated themselves while the young men set the food in the midst of their circles and semi-circles. She inhaled the rich aromas of the scrumptious, carefully prepared foods as the sand, yet warm from the day’s sun, slipped like the comforting fingers of old friends between her toes.
 
Several of the elders stood to silence everyone so that they could pray to Amiel, to thank Him for another year of harvest and protection and ask Him to bless their celebration of their thanks. As soon as the prayers had ended, the cheerful chatter picked back up, and all set to passing the platters and baskets around to all. For the first round, everyone would be generous, gracious, making sure not to take too much of one portion, making sure it was fair to the others around them. Michaela smiled as she selected exactly two drumsticks and passed the plate along, knowing everyone would’ve gotten into a less polite and more festive spirit by the time second and third helpings came along.
 
She sat eating and talking amongst her friends, listening every now and then for any sign of him, but not too hard, knowing that trying to hear too much while her friends talked excitedly to her about the festival, about their latest crushes and the like, would make it impossible to properly concentrate on anything else at all.
 
“So, what about you, Michaela?” Janetta asked as the musicians began to play again and as several couples, finished with their meal, jumped up to dance to the upbeat tune. “Do you have any promised dances tonight?”
 
She shrugged. “I always have those.” What did it matter if she had any others if she didn’t get the only one she wanted?
 
“Oh, Michaela, you’re so lucky and you still don’t realize it!” Janetta sighed in a huff.
 
“Hush, Jan,” Lililu scolded gently. “Michaela cant help it she’s caught the eye of practically every available Swician in the camp.”
 
“You hush,” Michaela snapped, feeling herself blush, grateful for night’s cover of such a thing.
 
“Oh, you know it’s true.” Michaela envisioned Lililu rolling her eyes. “Especially Cooper Myers. He follows you around like syrup on a pancake...”
 
Michaela zoned out as someone’s laughter caught her attention. She strained. No, it wasn’t him. Probably Cooper, knowing her fortune.
 
“Michaela, are you listening?” Lililu hissed.
 
“Of course—”
 
“Michaela!”
 
She found herself being wisked off her feet and twirled in the air by the infamous Cooper himself. She found herself thinking sulkily too that if her mysterious lover truly cared about her, he would’ve gifted her with sight long enough to see Cooper coming so she could’ve hidden.
 
“Good evening, Cooper,” she said, mustering cheerfulness. He was a good friend, after all, just not the person she wanted to focus on that evening.
 
“Evening, Michaela! Ready for our first dance?”
 
“I—”
 
She didn’t bother finishing the sentence for he was already pulling her into the circle of dancers as Lililu called after her, “Told you so!”
 
She allowed herself to get caught up in the laughter, in the quick, challenging, yet delightful steps of the Circling Dance, a favorite tradition in which everyone joined hands and danced rings about the musicians who played all the more enthusiastically and swiftly which caused the dancers to quicken their pace until it became a competition between musicians and dancers to see who could last longest. Cooper tripped and fell out early enough. Michaela stayed in a while herself, but the last standing of them all was the flute player, who, upon squeaking his last note, fell backwards, passing out.
 
While he recovered, the other musicians prematurely began the first waltz of the evening. She tried to slip away but Cooper had, soon enough, popped up by her side and was reminding her he’d promised the first waltz.