The Mountains of Eden

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The sun hovered just over two handspans above the mountains when Halka, Hallik's daughter, came to the library. She had only ever entered the building twice before in her life, and she stood for a moment simply looking in awe at the books before remembering her errand.

"Hello!" she called loudly, striding through the gap in the wall and walking towards the darker section. "Hello? I'm looking for Jael. Is Jael here?"

Jael heard a voice calling his name, and after saying a quick good-bye to Melki, he slipped out of the Important Books room and waved a hand. "Here I am," He called back.

Halka met him halfway across the room, near the racks that once housed periodicals. Like her mother, Halka had an aura of solidity to her. She was a year younger than Jael, with brown hair and eyes and lightly tanned skin. Her entire body was wide, like her mother, and she was strongly muscled from helping work in the smithy. She smiled at Jael somewhat shyly and said, "Your bucket is done. Mother sent me to fetch you."

"Ah, good, thanks," Jael said, glancing at the windows across the room as if trying to judge the time. He found he could not, but he checked again once the pair of them left the building. "Oh," he said, one hand raised to shield his eyes from the sun, "It's later than I thought. I must hurry."

He set off at a brisk pace, one that Halka had trouble keeping. He was used to striding across fields and forest paths, she was used to the small confines of the smithy and house. She had to hustle so as not to fall behind.

They reached the smithy and Jael took possession of his bucket, examining it and thanking Hallik gratefully. He started to head home, and was half a block away from the smithy when a thought struck him and he turned back. Hallik and Halka were still there, cleaning up the tools and banking the fire for the night.

"Hallik," Jael said, "I was wondering. Melki told me about a device the people in the before times would use, a large metal can sealed so tightly that neither water nor even air could escape except through a certain hose. They used it to store extra air for long swims under water."

Both women raised quizzical eyebrows at this. "Why would you want to swim under the water of the pond for that long?" Hallik asked.

Jael waved the question away, shaking his head. "No, I would use it to cross the mountains. I would see what was on the other side, and find out what happened to all the people."

Hallik nodded slowly, giving her daughter a quick glance. The girl's face was excited and eager, for she also had long wished to see what was on the other side of the mountains. "I do not know if it can be done," Hallik said reluctantly, "but it might. It would take much time and experimenting. It could not be done in an afternoon, or even in a month. I might take years before such a device would work right, and it would be expensive to create."

Jael nodded slowly. "It was a thought," he said. Then, "I could not go right now even if you were to make this air-can tonight. I could not leave my mother while she is sick." He paused as he thought over his options. "I will pay you however I can," he said at last. "In work or trade. When I find game, I will split it with you. I will give you herbs from my garden, and the sweat off my brow in lean times, if you will help me make this. I know it may take years before it is ready, and I accept that. Will you do it?"

Hallik looked again at Halka, whose face shone with hope. The blacksmith swallowed a hard lump in her throat. She looked at Jael and nodded. "Yes," she said, "I will do it."

The rest of the year was hard for Jael. The traps seldom yielded enough game for him and his mother, and he was forced to do more work in the garden. The winter was particularly difficult for them, but Jael and his mother managed to just barely eke out a living. When spring came at last and the ice and snow melted, he planted the garden once more. It wasn't until the very beginning of summer that he was able to grow enough herbs to give Hallik. Most of his payments to her were in the form of physical labor, and during the long, cold months he fretted every moment he was away from his mom.