13.the Journey Begins

They set up camp by a dwindling riverbed. The goats drank from the thin stream that trickled through it and grazed along the grassy bank. Fen placed blankets over four piles of bracken she had gathered for bedding. Saka crouched over the beginnings of a fire. Tien trudged into the wood with Berry to collect wild spinach for soup. She had Fen’s leather pouch slung over her shoulder. Berry strode several paces in front of her. Tien followed uncertainly for a time, knee-deep in undergrowth, before branching off on her own. I get the hint, she thought, glaring at Berry’s back. I’m inferior and you want nothing to do with me. Well, fine by me.

Years earlier, on the day they moved to Panzaar, Papa sent Tien to market to buy some bread. A group of children playing on the street had halted their game to stare at her. Behind concealing hands, they murmured to each other. Tien caught fragments of their whispered cruelty; words that made her cheeks flame with humiliation. She had stumbled home empty handed, with her head down.

I refuse to feel like that again, Tien told herself firmly. No more head down in shame for me. I’ll just put her in my story. She’ll have body odour and an overbite. Remembering how her precious pages had shrivelled, blackened and finally crumbled softly into ash, as the flames devoured them, Tien winced. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Dins Hallow and those who live there are all still alive in my memory. One day I will have all the paper I want in the world. Then I will write it over again, every magical adventure. But now, spinach.

She scanned the greenery for the long-stemmed vegetable. Fen had described it in great detail. Further in, Berry crowed as she dangled her first stalk in the air like a trophy. Tien rolled her eyes and moved away. She began to look in earnest. Wretched spinach. How hard can it be to find? If only Graic were here. Carefully avoiding the nettles, she brushed ferns and shrubs aside. A myriad of plants flourished in wood’s damp soil. At first glance they all looked alike. Nothing appeared to be edible. Then Tien spied a thick stem, hung heavy with broad sage leaves.

Spinach. With an inward sigh of relief, she cut her first stalk and stashed it into the bag. Finally, a task I won’t fail. A haze of sunshine streamed through the ceiling of leaves, casting dappled light over the vegetation. It reminded Tien of the orchard, the morning she had left. Mama had made apple tarts the night before. Papa planned to grill his citrus-soaked lamb steaks for dinner. Tien closed her eyes and imagined succulent meat; the tarts’ crisp pastry. Hunger clenched her stomach in a growling knot. Her shoulders slumped. Two handfuls of spinach will hardly touch the sides of my stomach, let alone satisfy the four of us. There has be something else that is edible and filling. Tien looked around her. Clusters of mushrooms sprouted at the base of a tree. They looked harmless, but then what would an Aryk know? The local species were poisonous, so they never developed a taste for them. And if these mushrooms were safe, Fen would have suggested them.

Tien noticed a large-leafed plant, nearly obscured by ferns. She glanced back over her shoulder. Berry sat under a tree. She had styled her hair and somehow reapplied her makeup. Her head was down, absorbed in creating a daisy chain Tien crouched over the plant. Its heart-shaped leaves nodded on long stalks. The plant’s garish yellow flower with a purple heart was familiar. Had Graic shown one to her? He had always been a keen adventurer. He would camp in the Betuinn wilderness for days at a time, surviving only on the natural ingredients around him. Once, Mama had persuaded Graic to take Tien along for an overnight camp. He was furious at having to share his special place. Tien had walked silently beside him as he complained and sulked in turn. He constructed a shelter, a fire, and gathered ingredients for dinner in silence, Tien struggling to help. After she ate a second helping of his stew, Graic relented. He brought her back to the wilderness three more times.

And this plant Tien was staring at, looked like taro, whose root Graic often used in his stew. Isn’t taro a tropical plant? Can it grow this far inland? She wasn’t sure, but in the end, Tien surrendered to her hunger. If I’m wrong and look foolish, at least I tried. Grasping the plant around the base of the stalk, she pulled hard. Plump tubers surfaced, crusted with moist earth. She tapped them against her leg. Taro. What a find! By the time Berry was standing up, Tien had collected five taro roots. She couldn’t bear the silence as they walked back together.

“Did you find much spinach?”

Berry’s eyes widened, her expression a caricature of surprise. “That’s why we came, isn’t it?” she said. “I was picking spinach the entire time, so I suppose that means I have a bag full.”

She strode on ahead. Unbelievable!, Tien thought, trudging back to camp in Berry’s wake. Berry thrust her bag at Saka, and flung herself onto the warm grass. She lay back, her eyes closed. Saka stirred a tin that hung over the fire.

“Good job, girls,” he said, looking at the lumpy bag that Tien still held. “Else we’d be dining on diluted fish water. There are two dried fish left, and we need to leave one for tomorrow’s main meal. Pasco is another day’s journey from here. We’ll stock up our supplies there.” He smiled at Tien. “You must find it strange talking about breakfast as dinner, and travelling at night.”

“Ummm.” Tien held out her bag awkwardly. “I feel a bit silly now,” she said, speaking in a low voice so Berry could not overhear. “But I found some roots that I think might be taro.”

Berry snorted. “In tune with nature are you, Tooen?” she drawled, without opening her eyes. “That’s sweet. You remind me of my father’s old valet. He fancied himself to be a ‘hunter and gatherer’. Picked some wild mushrooms that he thought might be flavoursome. Tragically, he never got the chance to tell us how they tasted. May his soul be at peace.” Her voice trembled with suppressed laughter.

Stung, Tien flared, “Alright then. I know this is taro. It can be boiled, mashed, roasted, fried into chips…” She knew she should stop, but words continued to tumble out of her mouth. “It is full of protein, travels well in a pack, and …” “Alright, alright. Steady,” Berry’s hands fluttered up in surrender. “You are quite the forest nymph, alright?”

Tears of fury sprang in Tien’s eyes. It is not all right. It is downright infuriating. I itch to smack the sneer right off her face! And Tooen! Who is Tooen?

Saka looked up from inspecting the roots, his brow raised. “Well, well,” he said, “You’re right.“ He grinned at her. ”We’ll get Fen to confirm it, but I feel certain our stomachs will not rumble tonight!”

Being right, Tien noted, is more satisfying than delivering a smack, and produces the same effect.

© 2006 by Shelly Taylor