dec 4th 2024
Late that night, as Anankha slept blissfully in silken bed-sheets that still bore the scent of her Goddess, Fianna was gently awoken by Bubastis. Signaling her to be quiet, She led the priestess out of the Temple and down a winding footpath, to the foot of a tall, thin coconut tree.
As with most of the island flora, the fruits thereof were much larger than normal-just over a foot from end to end. But as Fianna watched, the Queen laid one paw on the tree's trunk. One of the coconuts began to grow and grow, its weight bending the skinny tree lower and lower, until it rested on the ground and She cut it free with a sharp claw.
"Here." Bubastis' voice was a soft whisper as She handed Fianna a knife - sharp bottle-glass, with thick animal hide wrapped around one end for a handle. "Cut the fruit in half. The shell will serve as a small boat; the meat and milk will sustain you for a few days."
The leather grip of the bottle-knife did little to cushion the priestess' hand, and her fingers soon bore blisters; but the blade did its job well, and she had nearly finished scraping the coconut flesh from one half-shell by dawn. If anything, the Queen had underestimated how much fruit was within. Fianna felt, if she went easy on her meals, that there was easily a week's worth.
As for the husk, it had grown to a length of ten feet, very slightly narrower at the ends than in the middle. It rather reminded her of tales she had heard as a child, where Faery queens and princes floated across ponds in boats made from ostrich egg-shells, rigged with sails fashioned from handkerchiefs. With such a round bottom, she knew she would have to be very careful lest she tip over.
The yellow Sun was just emerging over the horizon when the priestess heard soft footfalls from the underbrush. Looking up, she saw Anankha, her arms cradling two woven baskets and two large gourds, the stem ends stoppered with wooden plugs.
"Good morning to you, Fianna." The tall woman smiled. "I believe these will be helpful on the journey."
She smiled back. "And also to you. I take it the gourds are hollowed out, to hold the coconut milk?"
"Well, this one has fresh water inside. It would be best to drink it before departing." The island girl looked at the scraped husk. "You did all this with that knife?"
"Indeed."
Anankha chuckled and shook her head. "I am afraid our great Goddess has played a small joke on you. There is a much faster way to remove the meat, when the nut reaches this size."
While Fianna looked on, her paramour used the empty gourd to collect as much milk as she could from the untouched half of the coconut. She then set the gourd on the grass, and tipped the gigantic nut on one end; Fianna felt a small pang of desire, seeing her lover's muscles work. The raven-haired woman took a deep breath, and pushed on the shell with her full weight. With an audible crack, several breaks appeared in the whitish nutmeat, and soon a large piece fell easily out of the fibrous husk.
The priestess nodded, impressed. "I suppose your ghotiermen can use a spare boat. What are the baskets for?"
"For your head!" Anankha turned one of them over, and showed her the string running from one side of the rim to the other. "The Sun is merciless on the open sea. These baskets are a little worn, but they should keep the glare out of your eyes. Might also help you catch a ghoti of your own - at least, a small one."
"I see!" With the last of the meat scraped from her improvised boat, Fianna stood and wrapped Fianna in a hug. "Oh, I will miss you dearly, Anankha..."
The gatherer frowned. "You will miss me? Why?"
Fianna was taken aback. "W-why? Because I am leaving this island. Today, while the tide is going out."
"Of course you are. And I am coming with you!"
"You are?" The priestess blushed. "But... surely you have family, and the Goddess-"
"The Goddess," Anankha interrupted, "is fully aware of my desires. She has given me leave to go with you, if you will have me."
So that's why She gave both of us her blessing...
"And my brothers are all grown. I will leave the land of my birth, at least for a while." She reached into the neckline of her tunic, and pulled out a small pendant of lapis lazuli, carved in the unmistakeable calipygean image of Bubastis. "There are so many things I have never seen. Ice on the ground in the winter; your churches, that seem so different from what I've known all my life. And I want to see them with you."
Fianna smiled, genuinely touched that her blossoming feelings were reciprocated. "Are you sure? The world out there is harsh at times..."
"I am no stranger to toil." She grinned, touching one at a time the items she had prepared. "And you need not fear the boat tipping over. I will use this boat, and this hat, and this gourd."
Her lover's grin was catching, and Fianna smiled broader than ever before. "Then we will set off as soon as you are ready."
With their woven sun-hats in place, the two lovers quickly finished gathering their supplies. As Anankha had more experience keeping these small boats upright, it was agreed that she would carry most of the food, while Fianna took the stoppered gourds. They drank the fresh water before refilling the gourd with coconut milk, then each took a large seed pod from a nearby palm tree to serve as an oar.
No sooner had they pushed their shells into the water and hopped inside than they saw a familiar twelve-foot cat standing on the beach, a warm tropical breeze blowing Her gown around her like a gauzy cape.
"Sail due north for two days," She called to them. "You will cross paths with a merchant ship from the Pearl Islands."
"Thanks and long life to You!" Fianna shouted in reply. The priestess looked over at the island girl, and they smiled at one another. It was a big world, and indeed at times a harsh one; but whatever challenge lay before them, neither would be facing it alone.
Finis