The Fire God

Chapter Ten

I started to write. I couldn't fully explain it. I had learned when Tuesdays were and to anticipate them. Milkshakes were pleasant. A bit sweet, but the milk was rich. It reminded me of my youth. Clarissa's empty chatter entertained me.

Clarissa asked me what I was doing at the computer. She was a cherub leaning her cheek against the door jamb.

I had to break every hour or so, like it or not. My body would atrophy if I didn't move. I lifted my hands over my head, stretched, did forms, stood on my head. When the blood was sluicing through my body again, I'd return to my seat.

The Life Story

My mother was suckling my baby brother, but she was letting me rest my head on her other breast. I touched his brow. His dark hair was like the silk we traded with the Han people. Mama had horrible heartburn carrying him. She predicted a full head of hair and she was right.

"When I was near my travails with you, we were in Xiongnu. It was a very bad zud," my mother said.

My father's people were from the Arabian tribes, but my mother was from the Maurya Empire. We were nomads and we were presently in the Siberian Taiga. We were heading to the land of the Tungusie now that my brother was safely born, thanks be to the gods.

"The animals were so thin. Your father killed many of our flock, but they had no meat on their bones. They were starved. Almost all of them died. Some of the villages we traveled through would give me bread, since I was round with you, but your father, your uncles, your cousins and sisters... we were all skin and bones. My mother was still alive then and she said many times that the winter was almost over."

My mother rubbed my brow. "The local people told us of an oasis in the mountains. They said we should go up, your father and I, and find it, that we would be blessed and welcomed. I was fearful, but your father was wise. He took me. I was overwhelmed by snow and ice. So sheer and steep and I was so round. I was tired and had to sit much. The wind bit into my skin. Your father had to carry me up. For days we climbed up the mountainside.

"Your father stumbled, fell. We were both freezing, near death. I was sure you would die in my womb and I sobbed. I begged the gods to deliver us. Please, deliver you at least." She touched my hair, ran her hand over my braid.

"Sentries appeared. They were dressed in beige linen. I'd never seen the style before. Like a woman's garment, but short. It only came to the knees. I thought I was dreaming. They came, lifted me and your father, brought us into this dreamland, Arcadia." My mother swallowed, touched my chin, tilted my eyes up to hers. "Green like you've never seen. Flowers you could only imagine. The blooms this big," cupping her hands. "Fruit on every tree. And the animals. A hopping fox, a black and white furry creature that stood on two legs and screamed at me. A gigantic lizard." She cast one arm in the air to indicate his size. "Magnificent animals I never imagined were preening and prancing.

"I was put in a pool. Warmth swelled in my bones and I was alive again. I was brought food, given a bed to rest in. Your father sat with me, took my hand, checked you for vitality. An elderly Chinese woman came to us, sat with me, said my time was nearing. She was ridiculous, Mri. So tiny and bent over almost touching her toes. Her cane came up to her nose."

My mother pulled her nipple out of my baby brother's mouth, set him into his crib.

"After days of toiling and praying that you would come, the travails fell upon me." Without my brother, she could truly pull me into her lap. "I had never had a child before, but I knew labor to last for hours, days. The old Chinese woman, the midwife, she rubbed salve on my stomach and up the birth canal. She held my hand, helped me breathe. And in an hour, you were in my arms." She kissed my cheek. "A bird, unlike any other bird I've ever seen, red, shiny, with blue and yellow feathers glimmering. It soared into the sky and exploded like fireworks. Green, purple and white danced in the sky like stars and reddish orange flames whipped about.