Free Walking the Tree by Kaaron Warren Page A

shape of Botanica."
      "She learnt about food on her journey. From her home Order, Rhado, she brought knowledge of how to grill meat and keep it tender. In Bayonet they taught her how to grind nuts and coat a piece of fish. In Chrondus she discovered the secret of stuffing fruit into more fruit and poaching it in honey."
      "Now I'm hungry again," Lillah said.
      "I've got some lovely fruit drying out there. The taste of the sun will warm you when you're on the dark side of the Tree. You will need to keep your wits about you. Don't be fooled by a pretty face and an easy wit. You dabble and play as much as you like, my dear, so long as it is your choice. Never let anyone decide for you; always follow your own instincts and desires. And stay clean. Wash yourself often. Use the wood soap. It will keep you healthy. And never make do. There will be someone for you, and if you make do you might miss him. And… I have so much to tell you." Her father breathed heavily, too many words.
      Lillah felt sudden sharp pain at leaving him.
      "Will you be all right? You seem sad."
      Logan put his arm around Myrist. "I am here, Lillah. It isn't all up to you."
      Lillah smiled. "You are a good brother."
      Lillah almost leapt away from the house, as if the tie that kept her there had been released. She felt free, unburdened, young.
      The feeling did not last long. She was summoned by the Birthman.
      "My wife needs to speak to you. It's about Morace."
       Lillah did not like being too close to Rhizo, Morace's mother, but she tried to conceal her distaste from Morace. It would not do to have him think his mother frightened people. He was unconscious of smell and her look.
      Lillah breathed through her mouth in the small room. For some reason (probably Rhizo, it was the sort of thing she would do) they kept fresh air and light out of their home. Windows tightly shut, covered with the sort of thick material not often seen. Blanket material, precious for keeping people warm at night. The beeswax candles were bright, casting sharp, strange shadows at all hours. Lillah hated to feel enclosed.
      Morace's mother sat in a wooden chair, smiling. She said, "He's got his bag packed. All the things you need for a night away from mother." Lillah stared at her, mouth open. The parents were supposed to prepare the children so the tears could flow before school began. There would always be tears as school left; Lillah remembered crying herself. Melia had not cried and thus set herself up as the strong one.
      "Morace, why don't you go out and choose your smoothstone, now. Something to make you think of home. You'll know it when you pick it up. It will sit in your hand and calm you," Lillah said. She smiled at the echo of her father's words of comfort about choosing a mate.
      Morace jumped up, excited. His hair was plastered to his head, greasy. His mother didn't let him swim in the ocean. She thought it would make him sick. Lillah couldn't wait to see the boy swimming, bathing. He would be more popular once he was clean.
      "Morace!" his mother said. "A kiss!" He came back and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll only be gone for a few blinks, Mother," he said.
      She sighed as he left. "I'm still not sure we should send him," she said. "I think I can teach him just as well at home." Lillah looked around at the closedoff room.
      She said, "He'll learn nothing here." As the words came out, she realised they were terribly harsh. "I'm sorry. But school is so vast. Physically, it gives them the basis to be strong adults. And he would never learn all he will learn about the Orders of the Tree, and our history, sitting here protected by you. It's one of the things that keep us peaceful, the understanding of the children of other cultures. It is a leap of faith to send our children out. We understand that. A sacrifice of those years with your child for the good of Botanica. So that children will grow up knowing people