Voices by M J Marlow (uplifting novels txt) 📕

/> you in until you hear if you have been accepted for ship’s duty.”
He frowned as he saw my hesitation. “You like Moris Tulin,
Laura. He has always been very kind to you.” He then turned his
attention to the meal and silence reigned. He was just getting up to
go back to work when there was a chime at the door. “That will be
Tari’s sons,” he nodded. “Laura, go ready yourself for your
journey tomorrow.”
I nodded and went up the stairs to my room. I had an
uneasy feeling that this was the last time I was going to see this
place. As gruff as the couple were; I knew they cared for me
deeply, and they had been the only ‘family’ I had known for the
past nine years. I went upstairs after morning chores to pack my
belongings and fought the tears that threatened to fall. I came down
the stairs to get my research disks and saw two men sitting in the
front room. They resembled Joris well enough that I knew they
were his relatives. Both relatively young, and quite eager in
attitude; this had to be their first trip to the capital as well.
“Laura,” Joris nodded towards the boys. Average height,
but built like barrels; the boys were built for hard labor like all
farm stock on Jarusian. “These are my brother, Taris’ sons, Iyan
and Myko Xel. They will see you safely to Moris Tulin tomorrow
before they head to the space port to catch their flight out.”
“You are leaving Jarusian?” I asked as I found my disks
and slid them into the case that usually held them.
“We were selected by our community leaders to go to
Anarix, Laura,” Iyan nodded proudly. “Myko and I will be taking
delivery of twelve breeding pairs of taudo for our region.”
“That is a very great honor,” I smiled at them. It was
usually older, more established farmers who were chosen to select
new breeding animals. “You must have a very good eye.”
“The boys come by their talent naturally,” Joris beamed.
“Their father is very gifted in animal husbandry. His stock is the
finest in the region.” He beckoned to the boys. “While you are here
overnight, perhaps you will give me your insights on my own
stock.”
They nodded eagerly and followed him out of the house. I
felt much better with them gone. The way they had been eyeing me
had made my skin crawl. It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen those same
looks on the faces of other young men; I knew I was pretty and I
was fifteen now, the age when most farmers’ daughters began
selecting their future husbands. But I knew that I was not
remaining in the farming region; as much as I had become a part of
these people, I did not belong here. I had a people out there in the
stars somewhere and, surely, they wanted me back. Until they
found me, however, I was going to be out there doing some good
on the Jarusian medical vessel, Solace.
“Laura,” Bekah called to me as I finished collecting my
things and packed it all in my bag. “Could you come down to the
office? There is something I wish to speak to you about.” I went
down to the office and Bekah closed the door and nodded for me to
sit. “I know you are a young woman now, Laura; but I feel I must
warn you about Iyan and Myko. They are very clumsy flirts and
they believe they are every young girl’s fantasy. If they try
anything with you, call us. Joris will punish them accordingly.”
She laid her hand on my cheek clumsily and the touch was all the
dearer for the effort that went into it. “You have been like our own
child, Laura; just as cherished as if I had born you. If you find you
need a home to come back to, for any reason, we are here for you.”
I threw my arms around her neck and she let me hug her briefly
then pushed me away, uneasy at the exhibit of affection. “Enough
of that you daft child. It’s time to get lunches ready for the men.”
We went into the large kitchen down the hill from the main
house and joined the other women in preparing the afternoon meal.
It was the custom among the farming region. The entire area was
set up into sectors and all the women in each sector gathered
together to prepare the afternoon meal as one. The younger women
and girls would then deliver these meals to the men in the fields. It
had been this way for as long as anyone could remember and I
found it quite wonderful. I had met people I would never have seen
without this system in place. It also allowed the women to join
together in joint activities and free them from boredom and
isolation. This afternoon went much as all the others in my young
life had until after the deliveries went out. Then the older women
gathered to say their goodbyes to me. I was weighed down with
little mementos and a holo-disk picture was taken of the entire
group so that I would remember them. I assured them that I would
not need a picture to do that; they were all engrained forever in my
memory.
“You always were a soft-hearted child,” one of the
grandmothers smiled briefly. “You’ll have to be careful out in the
stars, Laura. There are aliens out there who will take advantage of
that kind of trust.”
“I will be careful, Grandmother Franka,” I assured her.
“The entire sector will be coming to the evening meal
tonight, Laura,” Bekah told me. “They all wish to make their
farewells to you.” I was in tears and she actually pulled me into her
arms and rocked me. “Now don’t cry, child. You’re just going out
to learn. You may find yourself back among us one day.”
“We can always use a healer in the farm lands, Laura,”
Grandmother Franka nodded. “You have a gentle touch and a
calming manner about you. Such things are to be treasured.”
“I will see where the path leads me, Grandmother,” I
smiled at her gently. I knew it was unfair to use her own adage
against her; but I had no idea what I was going to be doing with
my life from this point on. One day, I hoped it would be something
I chose for myself.
“You have a quick mind, little one,” Franka nodded and
smiled at me; “and a long memory. I don’t believe I’ve used those
exact words around you since you were seven.” She held her hand
out to me and I went to kneel at her feet as I had since the day I
had come here. I leaned against her knee and she ran her gnarled
fingers through my thick golden waves. “I knew the day you first
came to us that you were a special child. Wherever your path leads,
Laura, you will be treasured.” She got a far away look in her eye
and I knew she was seeing down that path for me. She looked
worried and laid her hand on my cheek. “Many people will try to
take what you do not offer them, child; but you will have many
protectors. Some of them will be quite out of what seems normal,
but they will be your staunchest allies in those times when you feel
you can not fight any longer.” She cupped my chin in her hand and
raised my eyes to her. “You must never stop fighting. Your
decisions will affect the lives of many you will never know and
every one of those lives will matter to you.” She closed her eyes
and sighed. “It is time for this old woman to rest.”
“I will show you to a guest room, Grandmother,” Bekah
spoke up. “Laura, why don’t you take Joris and his nephews their
meal? They are in the breeding pens.” She rolled her eyes. “They
will probably spend the rest of the day in there.”
Better there,” one of the other women sniffed, “than under
our feet, Bekah.”
I listened to the wives discussing what nuisances a husband
could be as I packed up three lunches and filled two jugs with
Jarusian cider. How I wished I could lose myself in such a
deceptively simple, but rich and satisfying, life. The women were
still gossiping as I made my way to the breeding pens across the
field. It was a beautiful warm afternoon and I tried not to dawdle,
but the warm air made me feel so calm and peaceful it was a
struggle. I entered the pens to hear the nephews discussing
breeding methods with Joris. My guardian had actually worked
with taudo birds and he had quite a few things to warn the young
men about regarding the species. I set the lunches down on the
table in the small office and turned to call them. I nearly jumped
out of my skin as I saw Iyan standing there leaning in the doorway.
“Uncle Joris says you’re going to be a medic on the Solace,
Laura.”
“If they agree to take me,” I nodded and kept my eyes from
his. I did not want to give even the faintest impression of interest in
either of these two boys. “I’ll be working with people who have no
access to advanced medical techniques.”
“That’s not what Mother told us,” Myko spoke up, joining
his brother. “She says the reason you really want to go is so that
you can find the people who murdered your parents. You really
think that you’ll find them?”
“I hope so,” I told him.
“You could stay here, Laura. The farms can always use a
good medic,” Iyan added as he moved closer and his fingers
reached out to stroke my hair. “Especially ones with hair like
sunshine and eyes the color of the early morning sky.” I backed
away from him and noted his brother remaining in the doorway;
keeping watch for Joris. Iyan pinned me against the wall and ran
his hand along my cheek slowly. There was no mistaking the look
in his eyes. “Have you had a lover yet, Laura?”
“That is not a conversation the girl would have with you,”
Joris snapped from behind them; “and I remember giving you both
chores.” Both of the young men had the intelligence to step back
and show shame at their effrontery. One did not accost girls in the
farming regions, unless they wanted to be exiled. Joris looked at
me and saw my gratitude. “You are free from chores before the
party tonight, girl. Your time is your own for the next,” he looked
at the chronometer; “five hours.”
“Thank you, Joris,” I nodded and slipped past the young
men. I heard Joris lecturing them as I left the pens.
I thought about the two young men as I made my way back
to the main house. How could they think that I would be interested
in either of them? They were going to spend the rest of their lives
here in the farming regions of this colony world, while I was going
on to become a medic, a healer. I had been quite happy to spend
my life among the farmers. They were good honest hard-working
people and life was simple. I could have been quite happy to settle
into marriage and raising children. But I knew I was going to be
doing something that my talents and aptitudes suited me for.
“We’re looking for Greyson,” I heard a man’s voice, as I
was finishing up my packing. I went to the communications
terminal and hit the answer button.
“This is the Greyson holding,” I said simply. “Farmer Joris
is out