The Light in Aquala

They continued downward, the slope gradually becoming gentler as they approached the lower elevations.

The dense jungle canopy began to thin, and through gaps in the leaves they could see that the sunrise was well on its way. Almost all of the stars had disappeared, replaced by fluffy white clouds. The scent of the ocean grew stronger with each step and Mara breathed it in deeply, letting the familiar fragrance once again calm her frayed nerves. She couldn’t believe they had traveled all the way back to their village in only one night.

Lena seemed to relax too. "I could eat a whole fish," she announced. "With those roasted root vegetables that Tavi's mother makes and the sweet flatbreads that Mother bakes. Maybe even some of those fruits that grow nearby."

Mara laughed despite everything. "You're planning an entire feast."

"I'm starving." Lena grinned. "Aren't you?"

Mara realized she was hungry. The ongoing tension and fear from the past night had pushed the thought away, but now that Lena mentioned it, she could feel the emptiness in her stomach. They had been running all night with nothing but a few sips of water, and they had covered twice as much ground in the same amount of time as they did on their way to Aquala.

"I could eat," she admitted.

"Then let’s go eat." Lena's voice was determined, as if eating could solve everything. "We'll get back to the village, tell everyone what happened, have a good meal, and then all together we can figure out what to do."

Mara smiled at her sister's optimism. It was one of the things she loved most about Lena, her unshakeable belief that things would work out, that there was always a way forward.

A seabird cried overhead, and Lena imitated its call automatically, a habit from their childhood. "Eee-ah! Eee-ah!" She laughed at herself. "Remember when we used to try to talk to them?"

"Remember when you actually had one following you around for a whole afternoon?"

"Yes, that bird was very friendly."

"It was trying to steal your lunch."

"A minor detail." Lena waved her hand dismissively, her smile growing.

Mara was about to respond when the voices she had been hearing in the distance stopped.

The faint sound of people talking and of children playing had stopped. She listened harder and there was nothing. The normal sounds of village life had been there a moment ago, but now there was only the wind in the trees and the crash of waves on the shore.

Lena had stopped too. "Mara, what is happening?”

They walked a few more steps in silence. Then, through a break in the trees, they could see the village. Everything was wrong.

The morning cooking fires were all lit, which was normal for this hour, but there were way too many people outside. There were more people out right now than there were even on the busiest evenings of the Festival Season.

The village seemed frozen and no one was moving.

Mara felt something cold move down her spine. "Something's very wrong." Lena's hand reached out and grabbed her sister’s hand as they hurried to the edge of the jungle and stepped out of it at last.