Passion of the Liger

Chapter 8

Ginessa sat down on the small wooden stool and lovingly rested her fingers on the strings of her harp. She loved this harp. Her big sister Anna had taught her how to play this very harp when she was little; those were cherished memories to Ginessa. She remembered her sister had been so patient with her. She couldn’t picture her sister’s face anymore, but when she thought of her, she just remembered long blonde hair and kindness.

The fireplace crackled away nearby. It was nighttime and the gentle fire was the only light in the room. Ginessa got a little churning feeling in her stomach; it was a good feeling. She was so happy. She was living a charmed life and was now about to relax and play the harp. Could life get any better?

Her husband Anton had just left to do some night fishing with Narteb, and now she had some quiet time to herself. Playing the harp was one of her favourite things to do. She found it so fun and soothing, and it also gave her nostalgic memories of her late sister Anna, and her life when she was a little girl. She brushed her fingers lightly along the strings once, and then began to play.

Beautiful music filled the room, and the small tongues of flame in the fireplace danced along joyfully.

She was playing a song called ‘Canyon of the Soulflame’, and loving every moment of it. She really liked this song. She let her eyes close, and allowed the tune to go through her body, leading her imagination. The story of the song came into her mind, a story that was faint and ever changing, like a million objects inside a whirlpool. Today the song made her think of dark green forests, waterfalls, bittersweet adventure-

Woof! Woof!

That sure interrupted her lovely daydreaming. It was the sound of Paddles, their little black terrier barking. One minute he had been curled up content by the fireplace, the next he had run over to the front door of the house and was now barking loudly.

Ginessa stopped her harping. There was something unusual about the way he was barking. It sounded urgent, as if he was trying to tell her something, or get her attention. She got up and walked to where Paddles was; he looked up at her and began scratching at the door with his paw.

“You want to go outside, Paddles?” said Ginessa. She opened the door for him, and to her surprise, he just bolted out!

“Paddles!” she said, and ran outside after him, into the darkness. What had gotten into him? Had he sniffed a cat nearby or something? She ran and chased the little dog down the front path of their house. She didn’t have to go very far, because just a few metres down, there were two people standing in the dark. One was her husband, Anton, and the other was a woman that Ginessa had never seen before. The most noticeable thing about the woman was that she was holding a small glowing ball in her hand. It looked very mysterious. Her husband and the unknown woman seemed to be in the middle of a very intense discussion.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

Paddles was standing in front of Anton, facing the woman and barking ferociously at her; it seemed as if he was defending Anton.

“I’m sorry,” said Ginessa, and she went over and scooped up Paddles, “I thought he needed to go do a nature’s calling, but he just ran over here. I’ll take him back inside.”

“No,” said the woman, “You should stay. There is something I need you for, actually.”

“Leave her out of this,” said Anton, “This is between you and me, Maruska.”

“I’m sorry, Anton,” said Maruska, “But you don’t make the rules.”

“Ginessa,” said Anton, “Leave now. Don’t go back into the house. Go find Narteb.”