about his health or his family.
He saw me. She couldn’t get it out of her mind. Again she wondered what the Sayers wanted with the Mindstreamer, Gilon? She felt some guilt and compassion for the man who was about to receive what was Jora’s due. She just hoped he wouldn’t be slain.
Chapter 5
Jora rose shortly before dawn, eager to return to the shoal where she’d met the friendly dolphin. She had no pressing projects to work on, now that Boden was on his way to war with his new knapsack, and she could practice on her flute for at least an hour before needing to stop for breakfast.
Flute in hand and one of the curious dogs following behind, she picked her way carefully across black rocks wet with the recent flood tide. Without the sunlight to show her the path, she had to feel for each step with her foot before shifting her weight. At last, settled on the last rock, unmindful of the wetness seeping into the seat of her trousers, she licked her lips, lifted the flute to her mouth, and played tentative notes. This early, with the water still and the waves quiet, the sound of her flute carried too far. She glanced back toward the trees, toward the still-sleeping town of Kaild, and hoped she wasn’t disturbing anyone. The cooks were surely awake, as were many of the farmers, but perhaps the sound wouldn’t carry that far.
She learned how to make each note in three octaves, though some she stumbled on by chance when she inadvertently rotated the flute. So absorbed was she in learning to play the notes that she didn’t immediately see the smiling face of the dolphin below her dangling feet.
It was studying her with one black eye, quietly as if not wanting to disturb her.
“Hail again,” she said, lowering the flute to her lap. Her shoulders were tired from holding the instrument to her mouth, and it felt good to relax for a moment. “I’m glad to see you again. I’m Jora, by the way. Not that you could ever pronounce it, or even understand what I’m saying, but I feel like I should at least introduce myself.”
The dolphin twittered and rose up slightly, nodding its head.
She laughed. “You understand? Or are you nodding because that’s what dolphins do?”
In reply, the dolphin whistled the five notes of Song of the Sea Spirit , as it had the day before.
Jora’s mouth dropped open. “You remember that?” She lifted the flute and played the same five notes, surprising herself by getting them right on the first attempt.
The dolphin turned suddenly and swam off, then leaped into the air, returning to the water with a splash. Jora laughed, and the dolphin leaped twice more before swimming back to the shoal.
“You like that. Does it mean something to you? Is it some kind of greeting? Or perhaps it’s your name,” she mused. She played the notes again, and again the dolphin went racing off to leap into the air. Before returning the second time, it rose up on its powerful tail, almost fully out of the water. The way the beautiful creature danced and played, with the rising sun as a theatrical backdrop, made Jora’s eyes well with tears. What might life be like when the entire ocean was your home? Without the worries of finding a husband or repairing a boot or witnessing the violent death of a man she cared about?
The dolphin drifted slowly to the shoal and whistled the notes again, this time more slowly, almost longingly.
“You’re remarkable,” she said. “I wish I understood what you mean when you sing those notes. For us, it’s just a song—a beautiful song, of course, but it has no real meaning. It’s something we play and listen to for enjoyment.” For the dolphin, the song seemed to be more than that. Much more.
She lifted the flute and played the notes again, but this time, she played a bit more of the melody, tentatively because she wasn’t sure of the proper fingerings. After a couple of corrections, she was able to play it without a pause.
The dolphin
He saw me. She couldn’t get it out of her mind. Again she wondered what the Sayers wanted with the Mindstreamer, Gilon? She felt some guilt and compassion for the man who was about to receive what was Jora’s due. She just hoped he wouldn’t be slain.
Chapter 5
Jora rose shortly before dawn, eager to return to the shoal where she’d met the friendly dolphin. She had no pressing projects to work on, now that Boden was on his way to war with his new knapsack, and she could practice on her flute for at least an hour before needing to stop for breakfast.
Flute in hand and one of the curious dogs following behind, she picked her way carefully across black rocks wet with the recent flood tide. Without the sunlight to show her the path, she had to feel for each step with her foot before shifting her weight. At last, settled on the last rock, unmindful of the wetness seeping into the seat of her trousers, she licked her lips, lifted the flute to her mouth, and played tentative notes. This early, with the water still and the waves quiet, the sound of her flute carried too far. She glanced back toward the trees, toward the still-sleeping town of Kaild, and hoped she wasn’t disturbing anyone. The cooks were surely awake, as were many of the farmers, but perhaps the sound wouldn’t carry that far.
She learned how to make each note in three octaves, though some she stumbled on by chance when she inadvertently rotated the flute. So absorbed was she in learning to play the notes that she didn’t immediately see the smiling face of the dolphin below her dangling feet.
It was studying her with one black eye, quietly as if not wanting to disturb her.
“Hail again,” she said, lowering the flute to her lap. Her shoulders were tired from holding the instrument to her mouth, and it felt good to relax for a moment. “I’m glad to see you again. I’m Jora, by the way. Not that you could ever pronounce it, or even understand what I’m saying, but I feel like I should at least introduce myself.”
The dolphin twittered and rose up slightly, nodding its head.
She laughed. “You understand? Or are you nodding because that’s what dolphins do?”
In reply, the dolphin whistled the five notes of Song of the Sea Spirit , as it had the day before.
Jora’s mouth dropped open. “You remember that?” She lifted the flute and played the same five notes, surprising herself by getting them right on the first attempt.
The dolphin turned suddenly and swam off, then leaped into the air, returning to the water with a splash. Jora laughed, and the dolphin leaped twice more before swimming back to the shoal.
“You like that. Does it mean something to you? Is it some kind of greeting? Or perhaps it’s your name,” she mused. She played the notes again, and again the dolphin went racing off to leap into the air. Before returning the second time, it rose up on its powerful tail, almost fully out of the water. The way the beautiful creature danced and played, with the rising sun as a theatrical backdrop, made Jora’s eyes well with tears. What might life be like when the entire ocean was your home? Without the worries of finding a husband or repairing a boot or witnessing the violent death of a man she cared about?
The dolphin drifted slowly to the shoal and whistled the notes again, this time more slowly, almost longingly.
“You’re remarkable,” she said. “I wish I understood what you mean when you sing those notes. For us, it’s just a song—a beautiful song, of course, but it has no real meaning. It’s something we play and listen to for enjoyment.” For the dolphin, the song seemed to be more than that. Much more.
She lifted the flute and played the notes again, but this time, she played a bit more of the melody, tentatively because she wasn’t sure of the proper fingerings. After a couple of corrections, she was able to play it without a pause.
The dolphin
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