La Cadena

La Cadena

Chapter 1

The people of the Eldrin tribe gathered in the center of their village. There was music, dancing, and lots of food. Tonight was the Eidolon Fest. Marietta, the village elder, would choose seven children to call into her hut, one at a time. Each child would be given their special power to mark their place within the village.

Normally, Solana was the quiet, observant type. During the Eidolon Fest, she would step out of her shell and be right in the middle of all of the activities. She would laugh and dance, always in the middle of her large group of friends.

Not this time, however. Solana sat apart from the rest, on a turned-over log, just on the edge of the gathering. She wasn’t an observer this time. She wasn’t in the middle of it all. Solana was just there, lost in her own thoughts of what she hoped was very soon to come. She just knew in her heart that she would be one of the seven children chosen to receive her power tonight.

Avra, Solana’s best friend, wandered over and sat on the log next to her. “Marietta has already called five children into her hut,” Avra pointed out. Solana only nodded her head, so she continued, “Do you still think that tonight is your turn?”

“Of course,” Solana refused to waver in her belief that it was.

“You’ll be the first of our group to get yours,” Avra mused. “Are you ready for it?” She knew that she wasn’t. Unlike her friend, Avra was hoping that she would not be chosen tonight by Marietta.

Solana was about to respond when Marietta appeared at the doorway of her nearby hut. The dancers seemed to freeze by the fire. The music stopped. Everything seemed to be frozen in time. Solana held her breath and waited for one beat and then another. Then things seemed to speed up again as Marietta called for Soraya to go into her hut. Soraya, not Solana.

Her heart fell into her chest. This could not be right. Marietta would only call for one more child tonight. Solana had been certain that her name would be called as one of the first children. Was it possible that she had been wrong and Marietta would not call for her tonight?

Avra stood up and grabbed hold of Solana’s hand. “Come on,” she encouraged her. “Let’s go have some fun. Marme made some of her fried cakes. I know you love those. Also, it’s not a celebration if we don’t join the dancing.”

Solana looked up at her friend and smiled. She was still disappointed that her name had not been called, but Avra was right. They should still enjoy the celebration. She stood up and followed the other girl over to the food tables.

A few minutes later, Solana was in the middle of a group of dancers, laughing and moving in time with the music. She whirled around and back, expecting to see her brother, and current dance partner. Instead, she nearly bumped right into Marietta. The elderly woman smiled at her with kind, light eyes.

“You did not come when I called your name,” Marietta shrugged her bony shoulders. “I came looking for you.”

“You called my name?” Solana’s dark eyes grew wide with surprise.

Marietta did not answer. She turned and started walking back towards her hut, at the far end of the clearing. Solana stood transfixed for a moment, watching the elderly woman’s long silver hair sway in time with her hips. Avra nudged her from behind and whispered, “Go.” That seemed to snap Solana out of it. She quickly followed after Marietta.

When Solana entered the small, one-room, straw hut, Marietta was sitting cross-legged on the floor in the center of it. She gestured for the young girl to sit across from her. Solana was quick to do so, crossing her legs just as Marietta had hers. There was a small fire between them. In her hand, Marietta held an ancient bowl made out of smooth, blasted sand and a long, round stone. She used the stone to mix several herbs in the bowl before dumping them into a black kettle that hung from the fire.

Solana held her breath. No one ever talked about what went on when they were inside Marietta’s hut. She had no idea how the elderly woman knew which child to call or what their power would be. Nor did she have a clue as to how each child received their power.

Marietta waved a bony hand over the pot. As Solana looked on, an image formed in the pot, quickly blurred, and became a different image. This happened several times with each image disappearing before Solana could even tell what it was.

“This cannot be,” Marietta mumbled, suddenly jumping up. She went over to a nearby shelf and began thumbing through her books quickly. She shook her head, throwing one after another to the side. Finally, she selected a book and placed it on the table in front of her. “Come she called to Solana who stood up and joined her, standing by the table.

“What is it?” the young girl asked. “What is my power?

“I do not know,” Marietta sounded confused. “This does not often happen, but I cannot tell you what your power is. You must discover that for yourself.

“What? How?” Solana’s mind was clearly in a jumble.

The elderly woman pointed to a picture in the book. “At first light, you must travel to the island of La Cadena. There you must live for thirty days. If by the end of that time, you do not know what your power is, your boat will sink, and you will forever be stranded on La Cadena.”

Chapter 2

Just after the first light, the following day, Solana found herself in a small, wooden rowboat far from her beloved Akua Island. The only other passenger in the boat was her pet coatimundi, Miyani. Solana had found him caught in a hunter’s trap, as a kit, and the two had been inseparable ever since. Marietta had told Solana that Miyani would lead her to the island of La Cadena. That was a bit confusing to Solana since Miyani had a horrible sense of direction and was led places only by smell. Still, she had no other way of knowing how to get to the island, other than to allow Miyani to lead her there.

The coatimundi sat at the front of the boat, his long, ringed tail wrapped around the seat for balance. Solana rowed on and on through the vast water. Her arms grew tired, and she began to nod off. The oars stilled in their holders, and the boat simply floated along in the water. Miyana focused his small, sharp eyes on the distance for a few minutes, nodded, and curled up on the seat to sleep as well.

Hours later, Solana awoke with a start when she felt the small rowboat bump against a far-distant shore. Miyani woke up and jumped from the boat to the soft brown sand. He ran off, his long nose sniffing about and his tail twitching all around him.

“Really?” Solana called after him. She managed to climb out of the boat and drag it further onto the shore. With her hands on her hips, she looked all around her. The long expansion of brown sand soon gave way to thick vegetation. She spotted coconut and banana trees and saw plenty of fish swimming in the waters that surrounded the island. At least she would have food here.

Where was she? How was she to even know whether or not she had actually reached the island of La Cadena? Why had she even come here, though? Yes, to find her power, but why? Marietta had told her to, and Solana had been so excited to learn what her power was that she had just gone without asking too many questions. It was what she had been raised to do. The Eldrin tribe fully believed that when one of your elders told you to do something, you did it. Now that Solana had done exactly that, she had no idea what would come next.

“Ahh, you have come to rescue me!” Solana looked up to see a tall man standing in front of her. He had long, shaggy, dark hair, a thick brown beard, and dark eyes.

“I have not,” Solana crossed her arms in front of her chest and shook her head.

“You have a boat, though,” the man pointed out. “I can take it and leave.”

“You can try,” Solana told him, “But it will sink.”

The man walked over and examined the boat. It was made out of oak and appeared to be solid. He did not see any holes in it.

“I have thirty days to discover my power,” Solana explained to the strange man. “If I am unable to do so, or try to leave before the thirty days, my boat will sink.

“Your power?” he asked, looking confused.

“Tell me your name and which tribe you are from,” Solana said instead of explaining further. “Also, where are we?”

The young man stared at her for a moment, wondering whether or not he should tell her the truth. If he were to ever get off of this island, however, maybe it was best to just be honest from the start. “I am Albeck,” he said with a smile. “I was a member of the Eldrin Tribe. This is the island of La Cadena.”

“I see,” Solana had reached her destination. “What are you doing here?”

“Many moons ago,” Albeck began, “I was sent here by the elder of my village, Marietta, to learn what my power was. I failed to do so, and my boat sank. I have been stranded here ever since.”

Solana shook her head, not wanting to believe him. How was this possible? Were there others like him on the island? Was she about to become one of them, trapped here forever? If Albeck had not been able to discover his power, was it even possible for her to find hers?

“The boat will sink in thirty days if you do not discover your power,” the realization dawned in Albeck’s eyes. “You were also sent here by Marietta.”

Slowly, Solana looked up and nodded at him. “Together we will discover your power,” Albeck decided. “Maybe by helping you, I will be able to finally leave La Cadena, as well.” He held out his hand to Solana.

For a long moment, she just stared at it. Trusting a stranger seemed risky. Then again, so was traveling from her Akua Island to the island of La Cadena in a small rowboat. Yet she had done just that.

As Solana reached out her hand to Albeck, Miyani ran out of the jungle. He climbed up his owner and reached out his tail to wrap it around their joined hands.

Chapter 3

Before trying to figure out what her power was, Solana first had to learn how to survive on La Cadena. She insisted on building her own hut, rather than sharing Albeck’s with him. She did allow him to teach her how to hunt and fish, as these were never things that she had learned from her people. Gee, her father, had the power to hunt better than anyone in the village. Ihan, her brother, had the power of an excellent fisherman. Nanook, her mother, had the power to care for others and was like a mother to all of the children of the Eldrin Tribe. Now, Solana had to learn the things that others had done for her.

Miyani was able to use his long tail to climb trees and grab bananas, coconuts, and other foods for them to eat as well. He preferred insects and hunting small animals, however.

The days on La Cadena seemed to be passing by quickly. Solana kept track of each passing of the moon by adding a small twig to the stone bowl she had brought with her.

By the time she had spent fifteen days on the island of La Cadena, her time was halfway up. She had learned much about the island, but was not closer to finding out what her power was. While she enjoyed a developing friendship with Albeck, she had no desire to be forever trapped there with him. They were, after all, the only two people on La Cadena.

Albeck and Solana knew that your special power was something that you were especially good at. It came naturally to you. While on the island, Solana tried everything she could think of. She swam, hunted, fished, carved things out of wood, weaved baskets from tall grass, and on it went. Every day, she tried a new task. Some things she was better at than others. There was nothing that she was a natural at. Nothing felt like it was her power. Albeck had experienced the same thing when he had tried finding his own power shortly after arriving on La Cadena.

On her twenty-ninth day on the island, Solana placed her twenty-ninth twig into her stone bowl. She turned to Albeck with a solemn expression. “I don’t get it,” she said. “Why would Marietta send us both here? What is it about this island that we were supposed to find our power here?”

“Don’t give up?” Albeck encouraged her. “You still have one more day.”

“One more day,” Solana repeated as Miyani ran over and rubbed up against her leg.

Chapter 4

The next morning, Solana woke up full of both uncertainty and hope. If she discovered her power today would be her last day on the island. That would mean being able to return to Akua Island, her home, her family. She was hoping that Albeck would be able to come with her. They had become good friends, and she hoped that it would continue once they rejoined the Eldrin tribe.

If today Solana was unable to discover her power, then both she and Albeck might be trapped on this island forever. She hated to think of what would happen after that.

Solana told Albeck that she wanted to spend the day alone on the island. She took Miyani with her and wandered deeper into the jungle than she had ever gone before. Solana walked until she had reached the center of the island.

There she came upon a large clearing. In the middle of it was a shallow pond. Feeling both hot and tired, Solana gazed down into the cool, clear water. She reached down to take a drink. As soon as her hand touched the liquid, an image began to form in the pond.

Her dark eyes focused on the scene that played out in front of her. She saw Akua Island, her home. Something was wrong, though. The vegetation on the island was dying. The huts her people lived in were burnt and smoldering in the sunlight.

With tears in her eyes, Solana looked up to see Marietta standing in front of her. “What is this she asked the elderly woman. “Why are you here? Have you come to tell me that my power will destroy Akua Island?”

“No,” Marietta held out her arms to Solana, and she went to her. “You have been given the power to see what has happened to Akua Island, just as I knew that it would.”

“Why did you send me away?” Solana stepped back from her. “I should have been there to help my people.”

“I sent you here to find Albeck,” Marietta explained. “He was sent to prepare the island for your coming.”

“And my people,” She asked cautiously. “What has happened to the rest of the Eldrin tribe?”

“Many of them will come here,” the elderly woman assured her. “Here, you and Albeck will lead your people. They will look to you for guidance just as they once looked to me.”

“And you?” Solana asked, with tears still streaming down her face.

“I have lived a good life,” Marietta smiled and disappeared.

Chapter 5

A year later Solana wandered through the Eldrin village on the island of La Cadena. Marietta had been right; her people had come. They had arrived by boat, slowly, over time. Each one had made their own journey from Akua Island to the island

La Cadena to start anew. They had come and accepted both Albeck and Solana as their new leaders.

Marietta never came. Solana knew that she would not, but others hoped, for a long time, that she would. In the center of the island, one of the villagers used their power to carve a special statue to honor Marietta. It was, after all, the last place that Solana had seen the beloved elder. Only Albeck knew about that.

He came up behind his wife now and placed a hand on her growing belly. Solana turned and brought her lips to his. “Your people came,” he whispered to her.

“Our people came,” she corrected him.

“And our power is to lead them together,” he added.