I Am Einn

Chapter One

It is very warm here. And dark. And quiet. There's always something around me though. Twitching, moving, reaching. For what I'm not sure. It's hard to think. I shall sleep again. But when did I wake up? It doesn't matter. I'm tired.

• • •

Oh. I'm awake. This time I am sure of it. And I can feel more. I still cannot see or hear anything, but there is a constant rhythmic pulsing. I wonder, am I blind? There's something next to me, it is as long as I am from what I can tell. And there's something all around us, pushing in and pulling out. The thing next tome keeps twitching. I wonder what it is. I shall sleep again.

• • •

I can't move. I can't move and I can't breathe and I'm scared. When did I need to breathe? I lash out at the in-out wall, for it is indeed a wall, that separates me from the air. It suddenly squeezes and I am forced out. It is cold and wet and I can breathe. It is still dark and quiet, but I can feel that something is next to me. It touches me and suddenly the wet is drying, and I am warm again. There are more things beside me, wet and cold as I just was. But they soon dry and warm too. And there is something else. I latch onto out of some primal instinct, and knead the soft that is attached to it, asking for something. It gives. And for the first time in my short existence, I taste milk. It is sweet and thick and warm. I feast on its sweet taste, until I am full and curl up next to the soft one, and then I sleep.

• • •

I am not sure how long has passed since I was forced out of the soft one (For that is what I have determined to have happened). I spend my time mostly sleeping, for I have very little energy except for when I need to feed. When I awoke this time, the soft one was gone. But the others, I have determined that there are three, are still here. My favorite is always by my side. He smells of cold and warm wind, and I know he is a he because he has a very different scent from me and the soft one, therefore I am a she. I have taken to calling him Kin. The other two are on the opposite side of Kin, I am not sure what to call them yet. I will sleep with Kin until the soft one comes back. I should give the soft one a name as well. I shall call her Manju.

• • •

Manju returned, and I have noticed a change in me. It is very strange, yet strangely familiar. As though I knew this would happen. I am not entirely sure how to describe it. It happened when I felt Kin move next to me. Something on my head twitched at him and then relaxed again. The blackness that has always surrounded me has also shifted. It is lighter at certain times when I am awake, and then darker, but still lighter than before. My head hurts. I have thought to much on whatever it is. I shall sleep after I feed.

• • •

Manju tells me that what I am experiencing is called 'hearing' and 'seeing'. What I am starting to 'see' is called 'light' and what I am hearing is Kin 'moving'. The lighter darkness and the darker darkness is called 'day' and 'night'. These are new words. I shall remember them. Manju tells me that she did not expect me to be able to see or hear yet, but I can tell she is happy because she is rumbling when she talks. Right now, it is night, so I shall attempt to open my eyes completely.

The first thing I see is a black hole in front of me.it seems to be where the air is coming from. It is not so dark that I cannot see, but neither is it bright enough to see anything but shapes and dull colors. I look to where I know Kin is and see a strange lump of what I believe is called 'fur' with darker spots all over him. His ears, for I believe that they are his ears, are pinned back against his head and his eyes are still closed. He is very soft. Even softer than Manju. The other two are a little farther away, huddled together so that at first, I thought it was a very big little Manju. After all, we have the same build as Manju, though more awkward and clumsy looking. Manju is curled behind us; her rumble is very soothing to me. Her 'fur' is darker than ours, though not by much, and she is all one color, except for a strange patch on each side of her maw and a lighter color for her warm underside. It would seem that I am the first one of the little Majus to 'see' and 'hear'. The other two seem to hardly even be awake, and Kin is next to me, quietly chuffing in his no-see no-hear world. This has made me very tired. I guess that I am not big enough to stay awake for very long yet. How disappointing. Tomorrow I believe I shall try to walk as I have heard Manju tell us about it, though I think I was the only one who listened. I snuggle deeper into Kin's soft fur and close my new seers

• • •

Somehow, I am walking. I do not remember learning how to walk, nor can I feel my legs as they walk. This is very strange. Kin is next to me, with his ears and eyes open, yet I cannot see them. It is like there is only one part that is in the blackness now. And suddenly, I am back in the lighter blackness with kin next to me and I am laying down. This time however, I can see his ears, which no longer lay on his head, but rather stick forward and twitch a little.

Manju calls me over with a chuff and I am standing before I realize what I have done. I am frozen at the realization of this feat, as only the darker darkness before I could not even attempt to stand, and here I am doing it with ease. I lift my pad and move it forward with unpracticed aim. Manju looks proud of me, I must have achieved something great. I do it again, with the other foot, and I am walking, faster and faster. I run. I am not entirely sure of the impact this will have, but it doesn't matter. Manju is proud of me. And that's all I care for right now. After I have grown tired, I lay once more next to kin, who had been following my movements based on his hearing. Manju slowly gets up without waking the others, who I realize that I have yet to give a name for, and leaves through the air-bring tunnel. The other two huddle closer together, and I believe I have a name for them. The one with a twisted tail will be Kearn, and the other will be Uri. I think those names suit them very well, though I've yet to properly meet them. Today has been a good day.

• • •

Manju has yet to return. This worries me greatly because Kin and I have grown very hungry. I can only imagine that Kearn and Uri feel the same, for they have started to slowly crawl towards us. I have decided to see if she is returning. Slowly, as to not disturb Kin next to me, I pad towards the air-bring tunnel. It seems to go on for a long way. Cautiously I pad forward. There are many twists and turns for my small body. Suddenly, I am blasted by a fierce force. It chills me deeper than my fur, and nearly knocks me off my paws. As soon as I get my footing back, I carefully open my eyes. I had failed to notice before how bright it was, so it takes a moment to fully open them. The outside, for that is what Manju called it. That is what I am seeing now. There is some urge that I know this place. As though it is engraved upon my very being. It is so big, and bright, and . . . green. Marvelous. That is the only word that I can think of to explain this haven, for that is what it is.

I believe I myself am ready for a name. I have yet to call myself anything other than 'I', and it greatly upsets me, for I do not believe that the others have even thought of one for me. But I have decided. My name will be Einn, daughter of Manju, and sibling to Kin, Kearn, and Uri, the first to name themselves.

I am Einn.