Ithtizaz

Chapter One

Her brother's cloak swam through the gusts of wind. As uniform as the ripples of a pebble tossed into a still pond, the cloth fluttered with an unnatural mystique. Ithtizaz had been enchanted by her brother's abilities for as long as she could recall. The pride of their tribe at only seventeen, he possessed an extraordinary understanding of what Ithtizaz could only describe as magic. He was wiser than men twice his age and just as brave, but Ithtizaz didn't care for those merits. She loved him because he was kind to her. However, today that love wasn't reciprocated when Ithtizaz greeted him as he left their father's tent earlier that morning.  

“I will lead us to a saguaro today.” That is all he had said. Ithtizaz was a little hurt by that. The last two times they went looking for a saguaro together, her brother didn't use his abilities so Ithtizaz could find one mostly by herself. She wondered if she had been bothering him by making him accompany her on these day-long excursions.

       “Is everything okay brother?” She asked as they walked down a small dune. He didn't answer her until she reached the base. 

       “No, you are running out of time to reach the potential father had hoped for you. Father made that clear enough to me this morning. It concerned me as well upon hearing his explanation.” His tone was focused and clear. Ithtizaz only heard him speak like that with their father and the elders. While his serious side impressed Ithtizaz, she couldn't get used to him talking like that with her.

       “I promise I'll do the ritual right today.” She resolved. “I'll finish it quickly and we'll maybe even have time to find another saguaro!” She felt silly letting her own words excite her, and knew she really just wanted to spend more time with her brother.

       “Let's take a sensible approach, okay?” her brother cautioned. “Remember what happened when you tried to extract the other droplets yesterday and the day before?”

       “That was just because I got unlucky!” Ithtizaz was caught by surprise when they both spoke the same words simultaneously.

       “I wish you wouldn't do that!” Again they both spoke.

       “Stop reading my mind!” The third time really riled up Ithtizaz.

       “That's it! You're going down!” Slightly taller than her brother due to the slope of the dune, Ithtizaz tried to grab the cloak from his neck and drag him to the sand. Ithtizaz felt no resistance as she yanked at the cloak. She fell on her bottom; a burgundy cloak in her hands. Her brother had completely disappeared.  

“Hey! No fair! Stop using your powers on me!”  

       “I shouldn't have instigated.” His hand gripped her shoulder from behind. 

       “When did you-”

       “Can I have my cloak back?” He loosened his grip. Rising to her feet, Ithtizaz faced her brother and pushed the cloak into his chest forcefully.

       “Lead the way brother.” Ithtizaz wasn't upset with him really, she just wanted to provoke a response from him. She felt guilty as they continued to walk and her brother didn't say a word to her until they arrived at an oasis of brush. This collection of bushes, curved trees, and rocks was a much larger group than the one Ithtizaz had found the other day. More impressive than that, the saguaro her brother had located stood at an intimidating height. She could only compare it to a speckled tree she had seen drawn in a book. Her brother began to examine it up close. Watching him scour the huge plant for a specific cluster of spines, Ithtizaz could only think about how this was one of the few times he ever appeared small to her. Aftering waiting a short while under the dodgy shade of a leafless curved tree, her brother called out.

       “Come Ithtizaz, I've found the droplet's exit point.”

       “Be brave for once, you stupid girl.” she hoped.

       The bead of water scintillated as it danced along the pin of the saguaro's thorns. Ithtizaz silently stared. Her left eye closed; the other opened wide only a finger's length away from the spine. The droplet suddenly took an abnormal shape and began refracting small flashes of light that stole a few breaths from the girl. She slowly turned away, inhaled deeply and thought. "This is the one, this time for sure." Feeling sweat pricking her palms, she gave her hands a tired gaze. She compared the sheen of her skin to those unnatural flashes of light from the droplet.

       “You're taking way too long,” her brother's voice provoked. Ithtizaz glared in his direction. He lay on his back under a curved tree with his head resting on their two dusty satchels. The streaks of light that shined through the withered branches made the impatientance on his face obvious to Ithtizaz.

       “Do you intend to bother me until nightfall brother?”

       “We won't have to wait much longer at the pace you're moving.” He covered his right eye with his left hand. Palm facing the tree branches above him, his hand glowed a faint blue. “Looks like the sun dial has already moved two notches since you began these poor attempts.”

       Irritated at those words, Ithtizaz turned back towards the saguaro. “If you are so impatient, why bother waiting for me?” she said, repressing her tone. Looking at the plant closely again, she saw that the droplet was still waiting patiently for her atop that lonely spine amongst the cluster. It extended ever so slightly further than the rest, inviting her to take action.

       “You know father would never allow me to leave you alone after nightfall, let alone attempt this ritual unsupervised.” He paused; and when he spoke again his annoyance became obvious. “You are seriously starting to get on my nerves, you know that Ithtizaz? This is the third time we've gone far out into the desert to attempt this amateur ritual. I'm tired of wasting the day away babysitting you.” He threw himself to his feet and began walking towards her. “The new sky cycle has only just begun and you still can't commit to getting through such an amateur trial. Now move before the sun goes down and the droplet is wasted.” Ithtizaz's eyes compressed hearing those harsh words. 

      “Did I finally embarrass him for the last time?” She was worried.

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       “I'm gonna do it okay! Just give me a little more time!” She was too late. Ithtizaz felt that familiar feeling gripping her shoulder, and it was far earlier than she had expected this time. Trembling, she yelled at him. “Stop it Munadir! Let go of my…” a storm of sands beneath her feet paralyzed her senses. Then suddenly, the back of her brother's head was all she saw. That, and the sound of his guttural scream.

       “Then…it is…over.” Hunched over with hands on his knees, Munadir’s heavy breathing expelled an abnormal amount of saliva from his mouth like a struggling brook. The sand at his feet coagulated into a sloppy brown mud that stuck between his toes. Ithtizaz was not bothered by her brother's disgusting display. She was more confused and hurt by her brother's words just before he took the droplet for himself. The only words Ithtizaz could mutter was,

       “Ugh, show off.” Noticing the brown splotch around her brother's feet get slowly larger, Ithtizaz grinned. 

       “Whagh!” Taken by surprise, Munadir's lungs vented as his feet were yanked from underneath him and he plunged head first into the sand.  

     “Ahh…you are such a barbarian Ithtizaz!” His face was now covered in that mixture of slimy sand.

       “Ha ha ha! That's what you get, you jerk!” Ithtizaz was laughing hysterically. It was a kind of joy she hadn't felt for a long while. Although it was shallow, it allowed her to overlook her own failure for the time being. “Come on, stand up already brother.” she said mockingly. This is, what? The fiftieth time you've done this ritual? And don't expect me to take pity on you now! That droplet was supposed to be my first one!” Munadir's silver eyes stared disapprovingly into Ithtizaz's for a few awkward moments, but she didn't back down.

       “Stop exaggerating, it was my 26th.” He wiped the sludge off his face and dried his hand off in a patch of sand. Jerking to his feet he pressed down on his right temple. “It was a quarter dial turn this time.”

       “A quarter turn?” Ithtizaz was skeptical. “You're lying! There is no way you could hold your breath that long! Listen, just cause you are good at doing these rituals doesn't mean you can ju-”

       “I'm not lying!” The silence after those words made the echo they produced sting Ithtizaz's ears. Munadir quieted his voice. “Believe it or not, it makes no difference to me. I just wanna go home now, okay sister?” He took his time trudging over to the curved tree that he had been waiting under prior to interrupting Ithtizaz's attempt at the ritual. Ithtizaz, in shock, blankly watched him pick up both of their satchels.  

       “Got anything else to say? Or are you ready to go now?” That impertinence in his voice didn't surprise Ithtizaz at all, this was her third failure after all. What did, was the fact that he had just called her sister.

       Some time had passed as they had been walking back to the settlement, far too little for Ithtizaz's liking.  

“I just wanna get this over with.” she thought. The more she thought, the more resentful she became knowing she'd soon have to tell father she had failed again. Wanting to think of anything else, she absent-mindedly leered at the horizon where the sun would retire soon. The sky was still a boring deep blue and the desert sands complimented the sky's color with its dull, opaque brown. The midwestern region of the Vates Sandscape is where the tribe had set up their settlement for this sky cycle. The midwestern region itself was expansive; it was the second largest amongst the other six in all of Vates. Plantlife was nearly non-existent in this region as well. Saguros were rare and most of the dunes were empty, barring a few curved trees and creosote bushes that would grow in small groups. Animals and insects were also sparse. The most plentiful being jackrabbits, horned sheep, centipedes and lizards no bigger than a man's sandal. Reflecting on it, Ithtizaz was reminded how much she hated migrating to this part of the desert. She was born in the southern sandscapes, where the rainy sky cycle would flood the earth, creating sand traps unsafe to settle near. She had only felt the rain once on her 28th sky cycle and never forgot how it felt. While the other children cowered upon seeing the clouds overhead and shrieked when the rain touched their skin, Ithtizaz felt serene as the water slid down her body. The touch was gentler than she'd imagined and the slippery film of water that covered her skin cooled her. While the rest of the tribe quickly retreated to the coverage of their tents, Ithtizaz played and danced in the rain until the cloud's finished their downpour. She was enamored with that feeling the rain left her. That day was one of her best, and worst. It also happened to be the last day the other members of the tribe treated her like a normal girl. She hadn't seen any clouds that dropped rain since that day; moreover she didn't understand why everyone except her hated them so much. Her opposing views on even simple things made it hard for her to feel normal amongst her own tribe, for the most part.  

       “Hey brother?”

       “Not Munadir?”

       “I never said your name.” her sweat cooled. “You shouldn't say your own name out loud brother.”

       “Oh? And why's that?”

       “Why's he being playful all of a sudden?” Ithtizaz wondered. “Stop being annoying!”

       “Whatever do you mean dear Ithtizaz? I simply thought someone as smart as you would be able to tell me.” He babied.

       “I was gonna ask you a sincere question, but forget it! 

       “Aww don't be like that! I was just teasing you.” Ithtizaz sulked for a moment and then quickened her pace so she could walk alongside her brother.

       “Do you actually even care what I was about to ask you?” Munadir stopped, and Ithtizaz did in turn.  

       “Listen Ithtizaz, I'll answer that question honestly if you answer mine from earlier. I don't even care if you try to answer it correctly.”

       “You mean why no one should ever say your name out loud?”

       “Yes.”

       “Is it because the more your name is said the less you can use your powers?”

       “That was a worse guess than I expected, you could have at least thought about it for a while.”

       “You said you didn't care if I was right or wrong!

       “I didn't say anything about not voicing my opinion on your answer.” Ithtizaz's anger distorted her face, but her brother looked at her gently to counter it. “Ithtizaz, you still need to broaden your outlook on many things. Sometimes you act too quickly and other times too slowly. I won't pretend to understand your way of thinking.”

       “You can read minds though!” Ithtizaz interrupted.

       “Reading someone's thoughts and understanding why they think them are two different things sister.” Again, he called her that as he looked directly into her eyes. “You need to figure out what it is you truly want to do with your life; and the key to figuring that out hinges on your ability to capitalize on important decisions while taking the time to reflect on your mistakes.”

“Easy for you to say, you've never had any difficulties in life at all.” Ithtizaz softly whined. “It's not fair! Why did Attab make me this way!” Her voice quivered and she knew the tears would come, but a tender warmth washed over her, expelling them.

       “Attab created us all for a purpose beyond our sight sister.” She wished he'd stop calling her that. “Even with the abilities he has granted me, it comes with a price. We must all work hard in this life, and earn what we believe is ours.” He paused for a moment and hugged her even tighter. “I'm sorry for what I did and said to you today.”

       “Why?”

       “Isn't it obvious?

       “Not that, I don't care that you're sorry.”

       “That's fine, but what do you mean then?” Munadir asked. Ithtizaz hesitated.

       “You called me sister…”

       “And you called me Munadir.”

       “But I never should, father told me to never speak a man's name, and to forget it if I ever heard one.” Munadir chuckled; hard enough to shake Ithtizaz in their embrace.  

“I told you my name and you didn't forget it, so why would I ever want to forget you're my sister?” Her worries from earlier unfounded; Ithtizaz sobbed into Munadir's chest. “No matter what anyone might say, no matter the consequences I may face and no matter how long it takes for you to find your own purpose. As long as I'm around I'll be the one person you don't need to prove yourself to.”

      “No!” Ithtizaz cried. “I'll show you I'm capable and I'll do it my way!”

      “Because you're the best big brother ever Munadir.” They both said.