Part 14 (1/2)

Tuk started up the steps and found them perfectly suited for his small size. He chuckled.

”What is it?” Annja asked.

Tuk pointed at the stairs. ”My entire life I have been forced to deal with stairs that are made for larger people than myself. I've had to adjust my stride accordingly. And yet here...”

”They are made for people of your size,” Annja said. She seemed to be having trouble walking up them. ”I can see that.”

”It is another indication, I suppose, that this may be my home.”

Annja took the steps two at a time. ”I'm understanding the trouble you might have had back in the world I'm used to.”

Tuk shook his head. ”It wasn't trouble. Just one of those things. When you don't feel normal, it seems the rest of the world doesn't quite fit you all that well.”

”And here, everything seems to fit.”

”Perfectly,” Tuk said. He paused and looked back at the parade of people who remained motionless as they watched him.

He couldn't see a single face that did not bear a wide smile. ”They seem so happy,” he said.

Annja nodded. ”I think they are happy because you have come back.”

Tuk frowned. ”Really?”

Annja nodded and continued up the steps. ”We've got a few more steps to climb. Let's get moving.”

At the top of the staircase, Tuk again paused and looked back. Prava nodded his head slowly, still smiling.

Tuk turned back and saw the brilliant red tapestries swaying in the breeze. And beyond them, he could see an open pavilion. In the middle of the pavilion sat three stone thrones.

Two people sat on either side of an empty one.

And Tuk stepped forward to receive his answers.

16.

Annja crested the steps and took a breath. She hadn't realized quite how troubling they would be, and even after resorting to taking them two at a time, she still found herself struggling to keep up with Tuk. The smaller man seemed to simply float up the stairs with no problem. Not for the first time, Annja had a pretty good indication of how it felt to be different from the world around you.

As they came off the steps at the top, she marveled at the brilliance of the red tapestries fluttering in the tropical winds. Their finery could not be underestimated, she decided. They looked nothing like any of the fabrics she had seen during her many travels. But she did have the feeling that they were all handmade. There didn't seem to be any type of machinery present in this place so far.

Stone thrones in an open pavilion in front of her beckoned them. Tuk walked ahead and Annja rushed to stay beside him. As they got closer, Annja could see that two of the thrones were occupied. An old man sat on the one to her right and the throne on the far left had an old woman seated there.

The throne in the middle was empty.

The smiles the old man and woman wore were indescribable in that they seemed to contain more joy than Annja thought possible. Tears rolled down their faces as they watched Tuk approach them.

They exchanged a glance and their smiles grew even broader. The old man lifted his hand and urged Tuk forward to a spot on the pavilion ten feet from the thrones.

The old woman gestured for Annja to stand back a little bit. Annja stopped on the spot the old woman indicated and contented herself with observing everything that seemed to be unfolding in front of her.

Tuk stopped at the prescribed spot and the old man and woman took an entire minute to examine him up and down. Finally, with a great deal of clearing of his throat, the old man spoke.

”Tuk, you are returned to us by the will of the harmonious universe seeking to restore that which was, for so long, the cause of unbalance within our hearts and within our kingdom.”

Tuk said nothing, but Annja noticed that there was a smile building on his face that seemed to be spreading with every second.

The old woman spoke, as well. ”I have dreamed for so long of this day-the day of your homecoming-that I often feared it would never come. But my faith in the universal scheme of totality has been rewarded and you have found your way back to your rightful home.”

”My rightful home?” Tuk's voice sounded small.

The old man nodded. ”You are not just Tuk. You are the one who was stolen from our kingdom.”

”Stolen?”

The old woman smiled. ”Long ago we helped a traveler who had fallen ill in the snows outside of our walls. We brought him here and nursed him back to health. He was beyond words with grat.i.tude, but when he looked around at what we had here, he wished to tell the world of us. We begged him not to, but he seemed determined to persevere.”

The old man cleared his throat again. ”This man stole you from the royal nursery when you were but a single year of life.” He glanced at the old woman. ”Your mother and I despaired beyond whatever may be deemed reasonable. We searched for you for many years, never knowing if you had survived your ordeal and lived somewhere out in the other world.”

”I did,” Tuk said. ”I did survive. But I must admit I have no recollection of this man of whom you speak.”

”That is because he did not survive the journey back to the other side. When he stole away from us in the middle of the night, he took you wrapped up under his arms. But as soon as he got back to the other side, he was struck by what must have been a terrible storm. He lasted long enough to get you to safety-and for that we must be eternally grateful and forgiving of his transgression-before he himself succ.u.mbed to the elements and perished in the snows of the mountains.”

”You know this for certain?” Tuk asked.

”We found his body within a week after you were taken,” said the old woman. ”But you were nowhere to be seen.”

”We searched everywhere for you,” the old man said. ”And when it became apparent that you could not be found, we had to face the possibility that something terrible had befallen you. Our hearts grieved, but perhaps something within us would not let us completely believe that you were dead.”

”I could not feel your death,” the old woman said. ”And you were bonded to me like nothing else in this world. I felt certain that I would know if you had perished on the other side. And yet, I never once did.”

”She knew you were alive. Somewhere,” the old man said. ”And it appears that she was right. You were alive. But you were also alone.”

Tuk smiled. ”I am alone no longer.”

The old woman started weeping with joy and Tuk rushed to her side, hugging her tightly. She clutched at him and kissed his cheeks. Annja found it difficult to watch the scene through her misted eyes.

Tuk rushed and hugged his father and the old man's voice cracked with joy at his touch. ”Long have I waited for the second coming of my only son,” he said. ”My heart has always been heavy with grief and guilt over something I should have been able to prevent.”

”I do not blame you, Father,” Tuk said.

The old man nodded and then gestured to the empty throne next to him. ”Then take your rightful place beside your father, my son. And rejoice, for you have found your home once more after many years away.”

Annja felt tears flowing down her face as she watched Tuk seat himself on the throne that looked like it fit him perfectly. He smiled at his mother and father and then at Annja.

Annja waved and felt silly at the same time. She'd known Tuk for barely a day and yet she was moved to tears watching the reunion between a child and his parents.

”Annja.”