Gobeithio

“Remember, the only asterism you need to need to remember is the Big Dipper.” Madrona looks up at the night sky. “Depending on where you enter, the people may call it by another name. It’s critical you understand their concept of time, and the movement of the heavens on their world. You must be able to correctly identify the day with the least light in their planetary cycle to make it back.”

“We’ve been over it and over it Madrona!” Natsuki shakes her head. “I’ve been preparing for this my whole life. You’ll just have to trust that I’m ready.”

Madrona smiles sadly. “We only get one chance each year. You know two in ten return and only half of them ... and not one … in the decades we’ve been trying … not even one of them …” she pauses to collect herself. “You’ve no idea how hard it is to train, to prepare, to become attached to … oh, it’s just very difficult to let any of you go.”

Natsuki smiles at her. “Good thing you’re the best pis aller teacher on Mizar.”

“I prefer to think of myself as an instructor of gobeithio,” Madrona says. She sees the confusion on Natsuki’s face. “It’s Welsh. It means hope. But I fear the high council is running out of patience with me. I’ve yet to be successful.” She rubs a hand across her forehead a few times. “You leave in two night’s time on the day with the longest light in their planet’s orbit around what they call the sun.”

“Can we go over the options for the swaying stone again?” Natsuki blushes and rushes on. “It’s just that I’m not sure what difference it makes which direction I go. Should I try to force it one way or the other or let fate decide?”

“Come let’s sit.” Madrona leads Natsuki to a boulder with a flat top and they sit cross-legged, facing each other. “There are those who believe fate always controls the passage. Having been through it myself, I believe you can choose the direction you go. It’s important to remember the direction doesn’t remain constant and choosing one over the other may result in the opposite of what you expect.”

 “Then what’s the point?” Natsuki sighs in frustration. “Why bother?”

“It’s the difference between being told what to do and deciding what you want to do.” Madrona shrugs. “The result may not be what you hoped for, but you’ll always know you impacted your own destiny rather than leaving it to chance. The choice is yours.”

“What did you do?” Natsuki asks quietly.

Madrona smiles as she looks up at the stars. “I chose my direction and despite everything that happened, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. You’ll have to make your own decision and live with the consequences.”

Two night later, Madrona leads Natsuki to the swaying stone. “You must make it back to their swaying stone in this planetary orbit cycle. There’s only one chance to return home. Otherwise you will live out the rest of your life on their world.” She pulls Natsuki into a hug and kisses her cheek. “Good luck.”

Natsuki has made her preparations carefully. She has several types of clothing, maps, various forms of currency and enough food and water for a few days. She smiles at Madrona. “Thank you for everything. I’ll see you soon.”

Natsuki steps on the swaying stone and centers herself. She closes her eyes, begins the chant, and turns in a circle to the left three times, then to the right three times. She plants her feet far apart and, as lights like those that fill the northern night sky begin to swirl around her, the stone begins to sway to the left and to the right.

Back and forth it swings, at a deeper angle each time, until she begins to lose her balance. She keeps her eyes shut as she continues the chant and chooses to let fate decide which direction she will go.

Madrona watches as Natsuki falls off the swaying stone to the right and disappears into the Aurora Borealis. “Pob iwc … good luck … the fate of our world depends on you,” she whispers.

Natsuki opens her eyes and finds herself on a swaying stone, but not the one on Mizar. She steps off it, walks a short distance, stops, and searches the night sky until she locates the Big Dipper. She looks at Mizar, the second star in the handle, and smiles as she raises a hand in greeting to her home world.

She finds a flat rock, pulls out her map of the heavens and tries to figure out where on planet Earth the passage has led her. If her calculations are correct, she’s in the northern hemisphere. Wales. The same place Madrona entered.

Why hadn’t she paid attention to all the Welsh words Madrona was so fond of using? No matter, she knows the English she learned in training will serve her well.

She quickly grabs her map of Europe, compares it to the celestial map and marks the exact spot of the swaying stone. She double-checks her calculations; to get this wrong means she will never return home. Satisfied with her computations, Natsuki folds up the map of the heavens and packs it away.

She digs through her bag, changes into the appropriate clothing, and puts the correct currency in the small drawstring pouch she wears around her neck, tucking it beneath the shirt. She studies the map of the United Kingdom, deciding on the Welsh town of Caernarfon. It will take her several days to walk to her destination.

When she reaches Caernarfon, she follows every one of Madrona’s instructions, including renting a small flat for six months. Then she begins her search.

Two months later, Natsuki is almost out of hope. Despite her best efforts, she’s been unable to attain her objective. She leaves her flat, walks to a nearby shop, orders tea and bara brith, and takes it to her favorite spot along the water.

She’s lost in thought when a someone taps her on the shoulder. “Excuse me, but I think this is yours,” he says. The man is about her age, tall with light brown hair and green eyes. He’s smiling and holding out her umbrella.

Natsuki laughs. “Oh, I must have left it in the shop! Did you follow me all this way to return it?”

“I did at that. Wouldn’t want you to get caught in the rain without it, although there isn’t a cloud in the sky today,” he replies. “My name is Mabon. May I join you?”

She nods. “Thank you for bringing me my umbrella. I’m Natsuki. Would you like half of my bara brith?”

“That would be nice. Thank you.” Mabon takes the bread she offers. “Natsuki is an unusual name. I take it you’re not from Wales?”

“No. I’m visiting for a few months,” she replies. “Everyone told me how beautiful Wales is and they were right. I love it here.”

“Is there a special meaning to your name?” Mabon asks as her looks at her.

She nods. “It means summer hope.”

“Summer hope … that’s really nice,” he replies.

“What about your name?” Natsuki asks. “I’ve never heard it before.”

“It’s the name of an ancient Celtic god, but I think my parents chose it because it comes from the Welsh word mab which means son.” He smiles. “They had four girls before I came along.”

From that day on, the two of them are inseparable. Mabon takes Natsuki to see all the surrounding area has to offer. She enjoys Gypsy Wood Park, Caernarfon Castle, Snowdonia National Park and Plas Newydd, but her two favorite places are the Anglesey Sea Zoo and the Britannia Bridge. There is nothing like them on Mizar.

Almost three months later, Natsuki suspects she is pregnant. One afternoon while Mabon is at work, she walks to a nearby pharmacy and buys a pregnancy kit. The result is positive.

Natsuki knows she’s fallen in love with Mabon, but her duty to Mizar is of the utmost importance. Her time in Caernarfon is nearing its end and she isn’t sure she can leave Mabon.

She doesn’t tell him about the pregnancy and keeps her internal battle to herself, although Mabon senses the conflict in her. Love or duty? Duty or love? Madrona didn’t prepare her for this, but now she utterly understands why so few of the swaying stone travelers return to Mizar.

Two weeks before the day of the shortest light, which Mabon calls the Winter Solstice, she makes her choice. She tells him she will be leaving in three days.

He tries to convince her stay, but she remains steadfast in her decision to go home. She knows if something goes wrong, she’ll gladly return to her life in Caernarfon with him. She leaves it to fate, just as she did with her original passage to Earth.

On the day she leaves him, Mabon gives her a photo album filled with pictures of all the things they’ve done together. It’s almost enough to change her mind. It takes all her resolve to leave him and she cries as she walks away.

The night of the Winter Solstice, Natsuki steps onto Earth’s swaying stone with a heavy heart. Leaving Mabon is so much more difficult than leaving Mizar was. She centers herself, asking fate to choose her destiny.

She closes her eyes, begins the chant, and turns in a circle to the right three times, then to the left three times. She firmly plants her feet as the colorful lights swirl all around her and the stone begins to sway.

One year later in Earth time, Natsuki looks up at the night sky. She searches until she finds Earth and raises a hand in greeting to Mabon, sending him her love.

She smiles, cradling the back of her baby’s head on her shoulder and pointing up at the Earth. "That’s where your father lives. Someday, I’ll tell you all about him and show you the pictures of our time together. You are the greatest gift he ever could have given me.” She kisses the child’s forehead.

“Natsuki, it’s time,” Madrona says quietly. “The high council is waiting.”

They make their way to the circle of standing stones and wait until the high council calls them forward.

“Greetings members of the high council and fellow Mizarians,” Madrona says in loud, clear voice. “I am pleased to introduce you to swaying stone traveler Natsuki and her son Mabon. The first male child to be born on Mizar in five and thirty years.”