Shaynen ate little at dinner. His stomach shifted at the look of the stew. Sitting away from everyone else. Hiding behind the hastily constructed building and stirring his spoon around in the bowl. Finally, he put the bowl down altogether. Not hungry enough to eat when he knew tomorrow morning there would be breakfast. Just like every morning. Crina and her little party had gotten not only a garden growing, and she said in a few more weeks there world be something edible.

Shaynen curled up into a ball and held his knees. The sliver of a moon offered little light, not that Shaynen needed light to see. Dancing light and shadow from the fire waved like black tendons. Resembling the strings of a marionette. The puppeteer somewhere high above in the cliffs. Heavy, guilty pressure was crushing his shoulders and squeezing his stomach. He had to ease the weight.

Abandoning his dinner, Shaynen crept up the cliffs. Climbing up the walls in the safety of the building shadow. Not risking the stairs and being spotted. He had no excuses, nothing to say if he was asked. The road around the basin was clear, but also amplified the shadows cast up into the cliff side walls. They were the best for shadow puppets, not so much for creeping.

Instead, he slipped around the back roads. Not a plan in mind. He walked in a daze. His feet taking him wherever he needed to be. He stared down at the ground as he walked. His throat was too dry to hum. He trailed his fingers along the wall. The chill of the night was settling in, causing goosebumps to raise on his skin. His path drifted around to the corner of the camp. He knew he was never supposed to go. And now he knew why. Nearing the dark turn made his hair stand on end. He swore he could hear ghostly wails through the roads. But only if he stood very still and strained to hear it.

Shaynen noticed his hands shaking as he paused at the edge. He tried to steady himself before turning the corner. Prepare himself for what he was going to see. While paused, he thought about what he was doing and why. Considering turning around and just leaving but he could feel the guilt intensify and press the air out of him. With a deep breath to steady himself, he turned around the corner. He breathed a sigh of relief at the cleaned up sight before him. It was nothing like what he’d seen earlier. With large rock piles and little thatched roofs over top of them. Shaynen wrote off the rock piles as piles and nothing more, for his own sanity. Hardly a sign of what Shaynen had witnessed was left, which he was grateful for.

He kicked at a rock and looked around the scene. It didn’t make him feel better to see nothing. In fact it made him feel worse. He grumbled under his breath and forced himself forward. Traces of a foul smell made his nose wrinkle but it was so faint he didn’t smell it every time he breathed in. The smell was the worst near the rock piles. Shaynen willfully ignored that fact.

A large basket at the end of the channel caught his attention. He lifted the lid of the basket and slammed it back down immediately. His stomach jumped up into his throat and his eyes watered. With a whimper, he opened up the basket lid again. Inside were bones. Bones stripped of all their meat and left in the basket. Some had little nicks and cuts in the bone from the butchering process. Shaynen stared at the bones. Unable to move from the spot, unable to stop staring at the bones.

“These need to be put somewhere.” He said. “Somewhere better.” He shut the lid. Shaynen knew very little about grave rites. When people died in the treetops they’d be laid to rest in the roots to help nourish the trees. Shaynen vaguely remembered being told that every new branch and blossom was the spirit of the person buried under the trees, finding new life.

In the cliffs, there were no trees. No plants of any kind. Just the ones that Crina was attempting to grow. You couldn’t really dig to bury anything there. Crina had a time just cracking open the rock enough to get sprouts poking up. Shaynen could clearly see the trouble he’d be in if he tried to dig up the garden. Then he’d have to explain to his parents why he was trying to dig up the garden. No amount of good intentions would save him then. What else was there?

He could venture out of the cliffs to find suitable dirt. But that meant possibly running into something dangerous. Like the group of people he’d seen that his father never found. Even if the people weren’t dangerous they might tattle on him to his parents when they found him with a basket of bones. So that wasn’t an option, and he was running out quickly.

As he sat in silence he heard the distant sounds of the cliffs. The howling dogs, and the thunder of the waterfall. Which gave him an idea. The river fell from the cliffs and trailed who knew where. But wherever there was water, there could be plants. Plants which of course would need suitable dirt to grow in. Shaynen thought it was kind of like cheating, but he wasn’t in a position to be choosy. With a plan in mind, he lifted the basket experimentally to see if he could feasibly lift and carry it to the riverside. Only thinking afterwards that the riverside would be right next to everyone in the settlement. That wouldn’t end well. Shaynen lifted the basket up, it was a bit heavy but not unreasonably so. He hoisted up the basket and huffed, annoyed that he’d have to wander around the back roads to find another way to the river.

Shaynen stepped over the rock barrier that lined the main roads. His heart was racing, the only thing that soothed it was the weight of the basket in his arms. He felt his heartbeat in his ears, phantom yells of his parents catching him had him standing on his toes. The weight of the basket grew heavier as he strained to hear every single minor sound. His knees kicked it and made the bones rattle. The sound made him shudder and his teeth ache. He peered down every turn, dreading a sudden appearance by another person.

He hauled the basket down the unmarked roads. Following the sound of running water all the way to the riverside. Shaynen set the basket down on the edge of the water and looked back and forth along the water. Upstream Shaynen could see the massive waterfall and the dancing shadows of the campfire. Downstream, the river stretched on for a long while before the river vanished into a second smaller waterfall. Shaynen lifted the lid to the basket.

“I don’t know if this is good or not,” Shaynen whispered to the bones. “But I bet this river will carry you somewhere with good soil. You don’t even have to settle, you could just keep riding the tides to all kinds of new and strange places. After all this traveling, I’d understand just following the river back home and settling there.” Hesitantly, Shaynen tipped over the basket. Letting the basket’s contents fall into the river with a series of splashes.

Shaynen was hypnotized by the bones drifting away under the water. Gone in a matter of seconds. He flipped the basket upside down and sat to watch the water. Unbeknownst to him, his parents had turned the corner looking for him and were quietly but very animatedly talking. They both took deep breaths and came to some kind of agreement. Shaynen’s parents came up on either side and sat beside him. His mother moved the basket to the side to sit with him. She wrapped her arm over his shoulders and his father held Shaynen’s hands. No one said anything. Instead staring at the water.

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“The water level is getting low,” his father said conversationally.

“Mm,” his mother hummed. “Makes the current much stronger towards the center. Wonder if the falls will dry up in the hottest part of the season. Shaynen felt a small smile touch his face. He leaned into his parents who leaned together for him.

“Is there something you want to say?” Shaynen’s mother broke the silence. Shaynen felt the pucker of emotion shut his jaw tight. He clicked his teeth together as he tried to make words come out.

“You guys worry too much, and it makes me feel bad.” He said. “I’m doing my best to do what you want but it feels like I’m just supposed to stand in one place and do nothing forever. That’s no fun.” His mother squeezed his shoulders and his father squeezed his hands. But they didn’t say anything. Shaynen’s jaw squeezed shut again, the grip around his chest tightened and made it hard for him to breathe.

“Maybe,” his father started. Looking over Shaynen’s head at his mother. “We can be overprotective sometimes.” She glared at him and he raised his eyebrows. The two trading silent looks and glancing down at Shaynen in the midst of it.

“Right?” His father asked.

“Well, I don’t think so.” His mother huffed defensively. Squeezing Shaynen tighter to her chest.

“Ah, I tried, kid.” His father shrugged with a sigh. Shaynen shrugged out of his mother’s grip. Hunching over onto his knees to stare at the water.

“Look, I just..” His mother tried to defend herself. Getting audibly more frustrated. “Now this isn’t fair, you two. You can’t just gang up on me like this.”

“Kiylla.” His father said quietly. She took a long deep breath through her nose.

“I am not condoning it but that’s all I’ll say on the matter.” She said, crossing her arms and huffing some more.

“You know what that means?” His father asked in Shaynen’s ear.

“No, what?” Shaynen asked.

“Means, you can climb with our blessing… er. Mine at least.” His father said. Squeezing Shaynen’s shoulders. “Your mother’s still unsure but I’m sure if you’re really careful and keep spying things from up high, she’ll come around.” Shaynen’s heart flew. He twisted around.

“Really? You won’t get mad anymore?!” He grinned.

“We won’t get mad,” his father promised.

“Yes!” Shaynen hissed in excitement. He threw his arms around both of his parents and hugged them. “Thank you so much!” Shaynen jumped to his feet and took off running. Leaping up onto the rock wall and scampering up it. As soon as he was out of sight his mother turned a sharp look at his father.

“What are you thinking? He’s going to take a flying leap off the nearest cliff!” His mother snapped.

“Give him a little more credit. He used to run the treetops non-stop. He’s not going to just jump from the tallest rock he sees.” His father rolled his eyes and picked up the empty basket. “He really did dump all that stuff into the river. What was he thinking?”

“It was only the bones, nothing else was touched.” His mother mused but she shook her head and stood up. “But what if he falls? He fell every day, one bad slip and he won’t get up again!”

“He’s going to do it either way. At least this way we get a little of his trust. He’s your son, and what happened when you were told no?” Shaynen’s father held out his hand, Shaynen’s mother frowned in a tight lipped scowl. She took his hand and let him help her up.

“This is nothing like that,” His mother yanked the basket out of her husband’s hands. “They were wrong. Wrong about everything, spirits aren’t bound to us and the astral plane IS reachable.”

“Oh I remember,” Shaynen’s father laughed. “It’s hard to forget the day I laid eyes on you.”

“Shut up,” Shaynen’s mother snickered and bumped him playfully. She started walking away. “I’m trying to be serious.”

“So am I,” Shaynen’s father ran to catch up. “Call it selfish, but I don’t want to lose my son. Not him or his trust. If he thinks he can’t come to us with things he likes or wants. He won’t come to us when something important happens. He start hiding things. Then one day, just like you, he’ll vanish entirely.” Shaynen’s mother went silent, staring into the blood stained basket. Shaynen’s father ran around the front of her and grabbed her arms. Stopping her.

“It’s a small risk, but I think it’s worth it.” He said. Shaynen’s mother looked up at him through her lashes.

“This is something you worry about a lot, isn’t it?” She asked.

“Every day since he was born.” Shaynen’s father hugged her and she let him.

“I understand your point, and I accept your course of action. But I still don’t like it and do not approve.” His mother said. “But I will yield.”

“Works for me,” Shaynen’s father nodded.

—--

Shaynen slid down the basin and skipped around the edge of the encampment. Humming happily all the way to where he left his dinner behind the makeshift building.

“Where’ve you been?” Crina called out as he passed. “We had to clean up dinner.” Shaynen stopped, scattering rocks underfoot.

“Did you clean up mine?” He asked.

“Yeah, you ran off. We thought you were done.” Crina said apologetically. “I’m sorry, here I’ll get you something to replace it.” Shaynen walked to the fire and sat beside Crina as she called for a new bowl to be brought.

“Why’d you run off before you were done?” Crina asked.

“Cause I was mad, but it’s okay now.” Shaynen smiled.

“Why were you mad?” She asked as a bowl was handed along to her.

“My parents said I couldn’t climb but they said it’s okay now.” Shaynen took the bowl and spoon and took a bite. Surprised by the different taste. “What’s this?”

“We call it rock soup,” Crina smiled. “It’s vegetarian and made mostly of the plants we’ve foraged.”

“Mm,” Shaynen hummed. “Is that why it tastes like warm dirt water?”

“Yup,” Crina couldn’t help her laughter. “That’s it.” Shaynen shrugged. Food is food. He slurped at the watery soup.

“Did you guys see the people that were outside the camp? Dad said they ran away before they got there.” Shaynen took a pause from his dinner.

“I didn’t see them but I did hear they were around,” Crina sat back. She looked around. “Where’d your parents go?”

“I think they’re right behind me, but they took the long way.” Shaynen looked up at the roads. He shrugged and finished the soup. “Tomorrow, I’ma climb up there, then I’m gonna climb over there. After that I’ll be there…” Shaynen put down his bowl so he could point out all the rocks he was going to climb on. His parents came around the road, holding hands and bumping shoulders playfully.

“There they are!” Shaynen announced, pointing at his parents. “Hi!” He waved in giant arches that moved his whole body back and forth. They waved back at him and approached the fire.

“It’s getting pretty late, kid.” His father stood over him. “Should we start thinking about getting to bed?”

“Already?” He whined.

“Yup, c’mon. We’ll get you to bed.” His mother leaned down and pulled Shaynen up to his feet.

“Goodnight, everyone!” Shaynen called as his parents led him down the single room building.