AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I think…” I trail off as the lie I was going to tell disappears.
I reach for another one and there is nothing. It’s like his eyes are burning away any untruth I might say before they can reach my tongue. He nods as if he knows the effect he is creating. Does he? Is he doing something? The idea is disturbing, but how would I know if he does?
“Please, do go on,” he says, smiling and nodding.
“I think this place is sad,” I blurt out.
“Sad?” he asks and I can’t tell for sure but he looks surprised by my answer. He frowns then leans forward. “Explain this.”
I dart a glance at Bhoja. He’s staring at me but doesn’t say anything. I’m too far up this creek to backtrack.
“I mean, all these people that I’ve seen, they look scared. Or resigned. Even when we were first captured and brought into the city and I saw kids, they didn’t look happy. Maybe that’s just the way Urr’ki are, but in my experience kids are happy. Or they should be. Running around, playing, having fun as they explore the world.”
“Interesting,” Suparima says, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Bhoja, what do you think?”
Bhoja growls as he too leans forward.
“I think we have lost who we are,” he says.
“Oh,” Suparima says, leaning back again. “I see why he feels as he does.”
“Huh?”
“He hasn’t told you?” Suparima asks. “He believes you are his dragoste.”
“I… uh… he…”
“No, do not bother hiding it,” Suparima says waving a hand in the air. “He has told you, but do you truly understand what it means?”
“I guess I don’t,” I say.
“Bhoja, I am disappointed,” Suparima says. “Did I not teach you better? Do you not recall your history lessons?”
History lessons? These two have a much longer track together than I thought.
Bhoja clears his throat, glaring at the floor between his feet. I’m a little surprised that there isn’t a hole in the floor where he is glaring.
“It only just happened,” he says.
“Ah, of course. Well, allow me to explain, do you mind Bhoja?”
“No,” he answers but he’s clearly unhappy.
“We are the First People,” Suparima says. “Which means, of course, that we are the first born of Tajss. Our people were the inheritors of all her riches. But we were foolish. We let the Star People come and they discovered the lifeblood of Tajss and all its secrets.”
“Epis,” I say.
“Yes, very good. Epis. We traded with them until they came with the lizards. They introduced them to the planet and they become the Second People. But the Star Peoples thirst was unslakable. Always more and more.
But that is a different story. We are discussing dragoste. A dragoste is a pairing created by Tajss. Two souls that are intertwined and bound together. Does this make sense to you human?”
“Yeah, it does,” I say. “We would call it fated.”
“Fated,” he says. “I will have to learn more of this word. But yes, this is dragoste. And Bhoja here, he believes you are his dragoste.”
I look at Bhoja then back at Suparima. It’s not clear where he is steering this conversation or what it is he hopes to achieve.
“Okay…” I trail off not sure what to say or ask.
