Free The Threshold Child by Callie Kanno

of
purple, and she did not have Adesina’s light sprinkle of freckles. Overall, the
woman’s face had a more delicate look to it than Adesina’s own features.
Standing side by side they were almost exact in height and build. Adesina,
however, had the look of more physical strength, while the woman exuded
feminine grace.
    The young Shimat had a strange feeling growing in her chest as she
studied this stranger before her. The woman knelt down among the unseasonable blossoms
and indicated that Adesina should do the same. “Are
these not lovely?”
    “Who are you?” Adesina repeated.
    The woman smiled again. It was a warm, enchanting smile. “Do you
not know?”
    Inexplicably, Adesina did know, but she hesitated to voice what
her heart told her. “Mother?”
    The woman nodded. “Sit with me, Ma’eve.”
    Adesina did so numbly. “I am still asleep.”
    Her mother nodded again. “Yes, you are.”
    “This is only a dream,” said Adesina in disappointment.
    Her mother tipped her head slightly to one side. “Are dreams not
real?”
    Adesina paused in uncertainty, then shrugged her shoulders as if
asking to be told the answers. Her mother waved a hand as if to brush it aside. “That is
for you to decide, but not in this moment. There are
things we must discuss.”
    Adesina felt a strange mix of apprehension and longing. “Like
what?”
    “You, my daughter.”
    The feeling grew stronger. “What do you mean? What about me?”
    Adesina’s mother’s gaze was direct, not unlike her own. “Why are
you here?”
    This question took Adesina by surprise. “I…am going to the High
City.”
    Her mother gave an encouraging nod, but said nothing. Adesina
continued. “My assignment was to go there, and
I shall fulfill my duty.”
    The last comment brought a raised eyebrow. “Duty? And what duty is
that?”
    Adesina’s answer was almost automatic. “I am a Shimat. My duty is
obedience to the Sharifal.”
    Her mother’s sweet smile became sad. “To what end? To what
extent?”
    Adesina became defensive. “This is the life that you gave
me! I have always done what was asked of me—far
better than my peers, I might add. My entire life I have worked and struggled,
all to achieve what was expected of me.”
    Her mother shook her head. “It was not my choice. I knew that this
was not your path.”
    “Then what?” the young Shimat asked in an almost pleading voice.
“What do you want of me?”
    “It is not what I want that matters, dear one. Not now.”
    Adesina’s frustration was growing. “Then what does matter?”
    “The answer to my question.”
    She furrowed her brow. “What question?”
    Her mother replied patiently, “Why are you here?”
    Adesina bit back an exasperated sigh. “I answered that question. I
am on my way to the High City.”
    There was a gentle shake of the head as the older woman leaned
forward. “That is not what I meant. Why are you here in this Dream?”
    “You would know better than I,” responded Adesina a bit tartly.
    Her mother’s expression did not change with Adesina’s lack of
manners. “You are the one who called me to this place, Ma’eve, not the other
way around. Everything that happens in this forest is of one’s own making. That
is the gift of its magic.”
    A confused frown crossed Adesina’s face. “I do not understand.”
    “You are not here because of me, I am here because of you. Why
have you called me to this place?”
    The young woman was speechless. “I…do not know…”
    Her mother prompted her gently. “Was there something you wished to
ask me or tell me?”
    Adesina could do nothing but repeat herself. “I do not know.”
    With an understanding nod, her mother got to her feet and began
walking back towards the woods. Adesina followed; hanging on the soft-spoken
words of the woman she had spent her whole life imagining.
    “Do not trouble yourself, my daughter. When you find the words, I
will still be here. Understanding will come in time.”
    Adesina