“It’s all right, Pondwader. It’s me,” Seedpod said.
“Oh! Good morning, Seedpod. Is your watch over?”
“Yes, thank the Spirits. I’m so tired I’ve lost my prudence.”
Seedpod shoved aside a palm frond and came close enough for Pondwader to see him. Puffy patches of dark blue skin lay beneath his eyes, and his old face seemed gaunt, as if just barely enough flesh covered his cheekbones to keep them from protruding through his skin. He smiled.
“Did you rest well, son-in-law?”
Pondwader replied, “Yes,” though dreams had haunted his sleep. The Lightning Bird in his chest had kept him awake, rumbling all night long, and in the midst of that thunder Pondwader kept hearing Seedpod’s frightened voice describing the way Cottonmouth used to “call” Musselwhite. His souls shuddered. It had to be witchery. Pondwader felt certain of that.
Seedpod came alongside him and put a hand on Pondwader’s shoulder. “Come. Let us return to my shelter and I’ll make us breakfast. I said good-bye—”
“I already have a frogs’ legs stew going, Seedpod. It should be ready shortly. But the tea is already warm.”
Seedpod clamped his shoulder affectionately. “Thank you. I tried to convince your wife to stay for breakfast, but she refused. She—”
Pondwader spun around breathlessly. “What? What are you talking about?”
Seedpod frowned and stepped back. “You didn’t know? But she said she’d—”
“Know what?”
“Musselwhite is gone, Pondwader. She left half a hand of time ago. She stopped to say good-bye to me only because I happened to be standing in her path, but she said she’d spoken to you before she left. So naturally I assumed—”
“I … I did hear … something. But I hear so many voices in my dreams, it didn’t occur to me …”
Pondwader broke into a run, flying around deadfall and brush, slapping grape vines out of his way. He charged across the village with his robe whipping around his legs. People watched him in silence, then murmured as he passed. Diamondback and Thorny Boy sat in Seedpod’s shelter, sipping gourd cups of tea. Diamondback lifted a hand as Pondwader raced by. But Pondwader did not respond. His long legs stretched out as he crossed the plaza and burst into Musselwhite’s empty shelter. She’d rolled up her blanket. That’s why he’d thought she still slept.
“She’s gone! She’s really gone. She left me!”
Lunging forward, he grabbed his pack from where he’d left it last night, took her rolled-up blanket, and tied it to the bottom. She did not understand! It wasn’t that he wanted to be a burden to her! He had to be with her! Or she might die … .
“Pondwader?” Seedpod said as he trotted into the shelter, breathing hard. “Forget this madness. Come and eat breakfast with us.”
“I can’t. I must find her.”
Seedpod’s wrinkled face tensed with sympathy. All over the village, people stood up and looked in their direction, murmuring. “How will you do that? You can barely see well enough to avoid stepping off cliffs, let alone to track the finest warrior in generations.”
Pondwader slung his pack over his shoulder and stood up. “I will find her. I—I don’t know how. But I must.”
Seedpod gripped Pondwader’s arm. “Listen to me,” he said in a pained voice. “I know you love her and wish to help her, but from the instant she left here she ceased being your wife, and became Musselwhite the warrior. Believe me, not even I could track her. She—”
“Maybe I won’t have to track her, not if I leave right now and run up the trail as fast as I—”
“She won’t set foot on a trail, Pondwader. She’ll be moving through the densest heart of the forest, walking on fallen logs, and through any pond she can find, climbing trees to gain a vantage over her surroundings. You will never see her, Pondwader. You will not even see one of her sandalprints!” Worriedly, Seedpod pleaded, “Stop this nonsense. Come and join us for breakfast. After that, you can help me—”
“Seedpod.” Pondwader finished stuffing things into his pack, and picked up a gourd a fresh water. “When you see my grandmother and Kelp please tell them where I’ve gone. I thank you for your kindness. You’ve been very good to me, Seedpod. I truly hope I see you again. Good-bye.”
Pondwader ran out, his long stride eating at the white sand on the beach.
“Pondwader? Pondwader! Don’t do this!” Seedpod shouted after him, but he did not turn.
A flock of pelicans took wing as he sprinted toward them, their heavy brown bodies lifting out over the dark water.