Part 12 (1/2)
It was a fine spring morning when Adesina sat looking out her window, lost in thought. Ravi, who had missed his usual predawn ritual of watching and a.s.sisting Adesina in her training, opened his eyes from a deep sleep.
”Happy birthday, Ma'eve.”
Adesina blinked in surprise. It was her seventeenth birthday, and she had completely forgotten. ”Thank you, Ravi. Have you been Dreaming?”
He was only a heavy sleeper when he was Dreaming. Ravi stretched and sat up. ”Yes.”
She still had not been able to Dream without the aid of the strange forest through which they had traveled. She covered the envy she felt by smiling at him teasingly. ”Is that how you knew it was my birthday?”
”In a way. I have great reason to remember this day. It was very important to me.”
Adesina turned from the window to face him. ”Why is that?”
He smiled as if the answer were obvious. ”Because you were born.”
She was surprised to receive such a reply. ”I had no idea that you had been so long aware of my existence.”
Ravi raised his brow slightly. ”Of course. Your existence completes mine.”
The young s.h.i.+mat frowned. ”What do you mean?”
”The Rashad are sometimes born with a task a.s.signed to thema”a role or a purpose they are meant to fulfill. Mine was to be your guardian.”
Adesina stared at him, dumbfounded. ”You are my guardian?”
A soft laugh burst from Ravi's throat. ”Why else do you think I would be following you day in and day out for all of this time?”
She shrugged defensively. ”I stopped trying to explain your presence a long time ago.”
Amus.e.m.e.nt danced in Ravi's eyes. ”I see.”
Adesina pushed aside her aggravation to give priority to her curiosity. ”So, you were born to be my guardian?”
Ravi inclined his head.
”You had no choice in the matter?”
His expression now became more serious. ”There is always a choice. Even in matters that are called *destiny' by some.”
She furrowed her brow. ”Does that not contradict the very idea of destiny?”
Ravi considered his words for several moments before answering. ”Destiny is like a labyrinth. One is given the choice of paths, but once on that path one is required to follow it until a new choice is presented. When I received the Dream that told me of your birth, I had two choices: I could heed the call to fulfill my purpose or I could ignore it. I chose to heed the call and prepare to seek you out, and that choice has set my life on the path I now am obliged to follow.”
Adesina thought about this carefully. ”Is every life guided by destiny?”
”I do not know. I only know of its hand in my own life.”
She leaned forward, fixing her eyes intently on Ravi. ”What of my life?”
A smile tugged at the corners of Ravi's mouth. ”Why do you think I would have the answer to that question?”
”Because you said that our lives were connected.”
”Intertwined,” he amended gently.
Adesina nodded impatiently. ”If that is the case, then would it not stand to reason that you would have more insight into my life than with others?”
This time his smile would not be repressed. ”An interesting observation.”
Adesina straightened in her seat triumphantly. ”Well?”
Ravi, on the other hand, laid back down. ”I suppose it would make sense for your life to be guided as well as mine.”
Her expression became troubled. ”You said there are always choices, but I do not feel as if I have ever had any. My life feels more like my old ideas of destiny. I trained as a s.h.i.+mat because I was born in the fortress, and I came to the High City because I was a.s.signed to a purpose here. What kind of choices could I have had?”
Ravi shook his head. ”That I cannot tell you. All I can say is that sometimes our choices do not appear to be clear until after they have pa.s.sed. It may be that you look back on your life years from now and see momentous choices of which you were not aware.”
An odd expression came over Ravi's face and he went very still. Although she wasn't sure why, Adesina went still as well.
”What is it, Ravi?”
He didn't answer for several moments. ”Ma'eveaIaforgive me, but I must leave you for a time. Will you be all right if I go?”
The s.h.i.+mat rolled her eyes. ”I know how to take care of myself, Ravi. But what is wrong? What has happened?”
He shook his head doubtfully. ”I am not talking about your physical well being. Something is happening, and I will not leave your side unless I know you will be safe.”
Adesina's gaze became intent. ”What is happening?”
Ravi hesitated before answering. ”I do not know. That is why I must leave you. I have seen something I do not understand, and I must speak with one of my own kind.”
”Where would you go to do that?”
Ravi's thoughts seemed to have turned inward. ”Ruvim is probably the closest. Even so, it is quite a distancea”
After a few minutes of silence, his golden eyes snapped up to fix themselves on Adesina's face. ”Would you promise me to stay here today? Tell Jelana you are ill, and stay in this room.”
She was shaking her head before he finished talking. ”I am not going to stay inside all day.”
His expression became stern. ”Now is not a time to be willful. This is very important, Ma'eve. Please promise me.”
”What could possibly happen to me in this city? Especially when I am only going to school today?”
She met Ravi's eyes with a glare and folded her arms. He sighed. ”Well, then will you promise me that you will do nothing but go to school today?”
Part of her wanted to refuse even that, but the better part of her nature won over her stubbornness. She gave a reluctant nod. ”Very well.”