wasn’t
exactly a laugh. It was more of an amused grunt.
“He ’ s not deaf and
he ’ s standing
to my left, ” Kelsey replied with irritation. Then, just to spite Maggie
she added, “ And he ’ s laughing at
you! ”
“You
shouldn ’ t have
told her that, ” Roland said quietly.
“Maybe you
shouldn ’ t have
laughed, ” Kelsey retorted.
“True, ” he agreed. “ But that was barely a chuckle.
When I laugh in earnest, you’ll know it. And you’ll never forget
it, either. ”
“That ’ s OK, ” Maggie said
dismissively. “ He can laugh whenever he wants. I would always rather make
people laugh than cry, so it doesn ’ t bother me. I just wanted to
say hello and that I ’ m sorry I didn ’ t believe he was real. But he must be real if you keep
talking to him and these strange people are following him like they
worship him. ”
“Tell her that
she ’ s forgiven
and that I ’ m
very pleased to meet her, ” Roland said quickly before Kelsey could
instigate any more trouble .
“He forgives
you and says that he ’ s pleased to meet you, ” Kelsey said to Maggie. “ So now we can move
on. ”
“Not just yet, ” said Roland.
“Shouldn ’ t we get moving with these freaks right behind us?” Kelsey
said. “They may be harmless, but they could still compromise the
mission. ”
“There ’ s a message from the king, ” he answered. Kelsey looked
around. She didn ’ t see anything out of the ordinary. All she saw were the
same old birds that were there all the time. She glanced all around
and tried to find one that looked regal, but none stood out among
the others.
“Where? ” she asked.
“Listen. ”
Kelsey tried.
She stood very still and closed her eyes, but all she could hear
were sounds like “ chirp, chirp
twirp! ”
“I
don’ t hear anything
special, ” she
replied.
“Focus. ” Roland replied.
So Kelsey tried again. She closed
her eyes and felt the breeze against her face. She thought she
heard a few faint whispers from the reapers, the wind blowing
through the leaves of the trees behind them, and a few birds making
cawing sounds.
“Nothing, ” she said.
“What are we
doing? ” Maggie
asked apprehensively. Kelsey had already forgotten that Maggie
couldn't hear Roland.
“I ’ m trying to hear a message from
the king, ” Kelsey replied. “ But I don’ t know where to listen. There are little noises
everywhere. ”
“There will
always be noises. Your job is to discern the message amid the
confusion. It ’ s
good practice for resisting the sorcerer, ” Roland said with
encouragement.
“How so? ”
“Noise and
confusion both distract and distort perceptions. Once you learn to
focus and tune out the noise, you have developed some of the
discipline needed to tune out the confusing messages that distort
perception. ”
“How do I focus? I ’ m not very good at being
quiet. ”
“You ’ ll get better with practice.
Start by taking a deep breath and closing your
eyes. ” Kelsey
did as she was told. Roland didn ’ t speak again, so she took
another deep breath, feeling the warm afternoon air filling her
lungs.
“Now focus your
ears in different directions and identify the individual sounds
coming from each source. Cover your left ear with your left hand,
and cup your right hand to your right ear. Slowly turn around as
you focus on what you hear with your right ear. It takes patience.
Eventually, one of the sounds will begin to make sense to
you. ”
Kelsey tried again to listen.
Mostly, she could hear the wind. She concentrated and then turned
her body slowly as she identified different noises. She could hear
birds, but the sounds they were making were normal and
unintelligible bird songs. After she had turned in a complete
circle, she stood still and spoke quietly to Roland.
“I
don’ t hear anything that sounds like
language. None of the birds is saying anything
important, ” Kelsey said with her eyes still shut tight and her hand
cupped to her
exactly a laugh. It was more of an amused grunt.
“He ’ s not deaf and
he ’ s standing
to my left, ” Kelsey replied with irritation. Then, just to spite Maggie
she added, “ And he ’ s laughing at
you! ”
“You
shouldn ’ t have
told her that, ” Roland said quietly.
“Maybe you
shouldn ’ t have
laughed, ” Kelsey retorted.
“True, ” he agreed. “ But that was barely a chuckle.
When I laugh in earnest, you’ll know it. And you’ll never forget
it, either. ”
“That ’ s OK, ” Maggie said
dismissively. “ He can laugh whenever he wants. I would always rather make
people laugh than cry, so it doesn ’ t bother me. I just wanted to
say hello and that I ’ m sorry I didn ’ t believe he was real. But he must be real if you keep
talking to him and these strange people are following him like they
worship him. ”
“Tell her that
she ’ s forgiven
and that I ’ m
very pleased to meet her, ” Roland said quickly before Kelsey could
instigate any more trouble .
“He forgives
you and says that he ’ s pleased to meet you, ” Kelsey said to Maggie. “ So now we can move
on. ”
“Not just yet, ” said Roland.
“Shouldn ’ t we get moving with these freaks right behind us?” Kelsey
said. “They may be harmless, but they could still compromise the
mission. ”
“There ’ s a message from the king, ” he answered. Kelsey looked
around. She didn ’ t see anything out of the ordinary. All she saw were the
same old birds that were there all the time. She glanced all around
and tried to find one that looked regal, but none stood out among
the others.
“Where? ” she asked.
“Listen. ”
Kelsey tried.
She stood very still and closed her eyes, but all she could hear
were sounds like “ chirp, chirp
twirp! ”
“I
don’ t hear anything
special, ” she
replied.
“Focus. ” Roland replied.
So Kelsey tried again. She closed
her eyes and felt the breeze against her face. She thought she
heard a few faint whispers from the reapers, the wind blowing
through the leaves of the trees behind them, and a few birds making
cawing sounds.
“Nothing, ” she said.
“What are we
doing? ” Maggie
asked apprehensively. Kelsey had already forgotten that Maggie
couldn't hear Roland.
“I ’ m trying to hear a message from
the king, ” Kelsey replied. “ But I don’ t know where to listen. There are little noises
everywhere. ”
“There will
always be noises. Your job is to discern the message amid the
confusion. It ’ s
good practice for resisting the sorcerer, ” Roland said with
encouragement.
“How so? ”
“Noise and
confusion both distract and distort perceptions. Once you learn to
focus and tune out the noise, you have developed some of the
discipline needed to tune out the confusing messages that distort
perception. ”
“How do I focus? I ’ m not very good at being
quiet. ”
“You ’ ll get better with practice.
Start by taking a deep breath and closing your
eyes. ” Kelsey
did as she was told. Roland didn ’ t speak again, so she took
another deep breath, feeling the warm afternoon air filling her
lungs.
“Now focus your
ears in different directions and identify the individual sounds
coming from each source. Cover your left ear with your left hand,
and cup your right hand to your right ear. Slowly turn around as
you focus on what you hear with your right ear. It takes patience.
Eventually, one of the sounds will begin to make sense to
you. ”
Kelsey tried again to listen.
Mostly, she could hear the wind. She concentrated and then turned
her body slowly as she identified different noises. She could hear
birds, but the sounds they were making were normal and
unintelligible bird songs. After she had turned in a complete
circle, she stood still and spoke quietly to Roland.
“I
don’ t hear anything that sounds like
language. None of the birds is saying anything
important, ” Kelsey said with her eyes still shut tight and her hand
cupped to her
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