The Medicine Woman

I stared at Sarika.
 
“Are you lost?” she asked.

Her appearance had startled me, and it took a moment to pull myself together. 

“Uh, no, well, yes, um, I don’t know….”

Sarika chuckled.  “You are not from Lemuria, are you?”

“It’s that obvious?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Okay, well,  here’s the deal.  I was on my way to the Streams of Mnemosyne and this guy…a friend…Albion…well, we ran into a little trouble..and, to make a long story short, he’s been kidnapped by the Spectres…”   Oddly, I felt myself blushing.  Was Albion really a friend?
 
“The Spectres….that’s not good, not good at all.  I think you need to see Hetura.”

“Who’s Hetura?”

“She is the village’s Medicine Woman.  She knows many things about the seen and unseen worlds.  She can help you.”

“Let’s go then and see her.  I don’t have a lot of time.”

Sarika gave me a questioning look. “Time?  I don’t understand.  This is Lemuria.”

I just shook my head and motioned for her to lead the way.  We descended a steep flagstoned path, weaving around the edges of each of the hot springs.  Steam rose from each pool and the smell of sulfur intensified as we made our way past them.

A few minutes later we passed through a gate into a compound of high-peaked thatched houses.  Like the buildings of Mudjimba, the structures were elevated by stilts off the ground.  Chickens, chased by small children, darted through the compound.  The smell of sulfur had given way to the pungent smells of vegetation.  Stalks of drying herbs hung from the rafters of many of the houses.  Several women sat on woven mats outside their homes, grinding herbs with pestles in stone mortars.  They smiled and waved as I walked by.

We reached a small hut at the far end of the compound.  Sarika motioned me forward.  The entrance was covered by a curtain, making it difficult to knock.  I turned to Sarika.

“Should I announce myself or just walk….”  Sarika was gone.  I quickly surveyed the compound but she was nowhere to be seen.  I was about to call her name when I heard a voice from within the hut.

“Come in, come in.”

I pushed through the curtain and was enveloped in darkness.  “Hello?”

“Hello, hello!” chirped a woman’s voice. “Wait, wait, please.”
 
I heard some scuffling and then the sound of stone striking stone.  A flame came to life before me.  I could see the illuminated face of an old woman blowing on some kindling in a small brazier.  As the fire grew, she stood and pulled a cord which was hanging from the ceiling.  A smoke hole opened in the ceiling.  “There, that’s better.  Sit, sit.” She motioned to a mat on the floor.
 
I stared at the old woman.  She was not very tall and had a toothless grin.  Her face was dark and wrinkled with deep laugh lines surrounding her eyes.  Most striking about her was the headdress she wore.  It was made of orange-colored bark, shaped into an array of lumps and dimples. It looked remotely like a misshapen motorcycle helmet.

“You like my hat?”  She chuckled.  “Hermit crab gave it to me… What a time that was!”  She sent herself off into a wail of giggles.

“Hermit crab?”

“Yes, he is my totem.  What is your totem?”

“I don’t have a totem.”

“We all have totems.  You may not have met yours yet.”

“Right. Okay.  Um, Sarika said you could help me find my friend.”

“Ah, yes, Albion.”

“You know him?”

“No.  Here, have some tea.”

“No, thank you. I’m fine.  Do you know where he is?”

“No.  I really think you need some tea.”

“No, I don’t need any tea.  What do you mean you don’t know where he is?  Sarika said you could help.” I rose to my feet.  Hetura did likewise.

“Yes, I can help.  Have some tea.”

“What is with you and tea?  They are going to kill Albion unless I can get to him…”

Hetura stepped toward me and before I could step back, she placed her index finger on my sternum.   A ripping hot pain tore through my chest and I fell to my knees.
 
“What the hell are you doing?!”  I gasped.
 
 “Very brown.  Not green at all.”

“What?  What are you talking about?”  I was having a hard time catching my breath. The pain was becoming more intense even though Hetura had removed her finger from me.

“The Anahata is blocked.  This is why you are sick so often.”

“How would you know that?”  The fact was that I had a respiratory infection for several weeks before I took off for Lemuria, but there was no way she would know this.

Hetura sighed.  “Because, like I said, the Anahata is not green.  Now would you have some tea?”
 
The pain grew heavier and I felt like my chest was being stomped on.  Before I could object, Hetura lifted a handle-less ceramic cup to my lips. Steam with a strong earthy aroma rose from the cup.  I sipped it, then began to sputter and cough.  It tasted as bad as it smelled.

“Drink it, all of it.”

Even before I finished the cup, I felt the pressure lessening in my chest.  The searing heat gave way to a pleasant warmth.  I could breathe again.
 
“There.  You feel better, am I right?”
 
“Yes. Thank you.”

“Good.  I told you I could help you.”

“Yes, you did.”   I felt calmer, and the urgency I had held when I entered seemed to dissipate.  I could think more clearly now. I knew where I needed to go.  I did not know what I would do when I got there but that did not seem important at the moment.  I knew the answer would come when I needed it and not a moment sooner. I set the cup on the floor and looked into Hetura’s eyes.

“All I need is the direction to the Kerith Caldera.”  Hetura nodded and laughed.

L. Gloyd © 2008