~Bilana, on the green hill~

One, two, three, four.

Again and again, Psetha burned down the trees around us, leaving me too shocked to say anything.

Five, six, seven, eight.

The smell of burning wood was overwhelming.

Fire, fire everywhere.

“Stop!” I screamed, slapping my ears closed so I didn’t hear the wood burn, closing my eyes so I didn’t see.

But my nose.

Oh, my nose was working only too well, and I was overwhelmed.

Terrified.

Psetha stopped. He looked at me and frowned thoughtfully. “What’s wrong?”

“Just…stop,” I whispered, starting to cry.

Silence.

Then understanding flashed in his eyes, and he laughed, hurt. “So this is what I do in your dreams? Burn down everything in sight?”

“Please stop,” I managed to get out through all my crying.

He raised a hand towards me but lowered it when I cringed away. “I can’t,” he said.

“Why?”

“Because we’re dying.”

I stopped crying. “What?”

He nodded, letting loose a sigh at seeing me finally stop crying. “This hill is a burial mound.” He looked around. “I suspect an earth spirit is keeping the plants healthy by sucking the energy out of any living thing close by.”

“That…that doesn’t make sense.”

“And why doesn’t it? Didn’t you realize we were growing more tired than was normal ever since we came here?” He looked around saying, “And we can’t find any lobeira. Clearly, this spirit is making us lose our way, making us walk until we are too tired to go on.”

I considered his words, slowly calming down. “But,” I said stubbornly, “there has to be another way to lure it out.”

“Not that I can think of. Can you?”

…I shook my head.

He sighed. “Then, will you let me do this?”

I hesitated.

“Bilana guaşe.”

I gulped and then nodded, closing my ears with my hands and squeezing my eyes shut. “Just make it quick, please.”

I didn’t know if he nodded but, seconds later, the exploding and burning started anew.

Oh, dear Tha.

Oh, great Tha.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore and was about to scream-

“Stop! Please!”

Someone else screamed.

~Psetha, on the green hill~

Finally.

The earth spirit came out of hiding, screaming at me to stop, and I lowered my hands. It had an earthen but humanoid body that was connected to the ground and leaves for hair.

It was looking at me like I was a monster.

Bilana guaşe sighed in relief behind me, and I laughed humorlessly—she had looked at me like that, too.

But that wasn’t what was important right now.

“Stop messing with us, and I won’t touch your trees,” I said coldly.

It nodded and then asked hesitantly, “Why are you here?”

“You know why. We want some lobeira for someone who needs it. Give us what we need, and we’ll be out of your hair.”

The earth spirit hesitated, and I raised my hands again.

“Okay! Okay. Just, please, go.”

I smiled and said, “Also…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon after that, we left the green hill with our arms full of lobeira. Bilana guaşe wasn’t talking—and I wasn’t in the mood either—so I inspected the fruits instead. They were golden and pink, round, and they smelled different.

“I’m sorry,” I heard Bilana guaşe say. I turned to look at her and then returned to inspecting the lobeira without saying anything. I wondered if they were edible, but I wasn’t going to risk it.

“Psetha, please. I’m sorry.”

I looked at her—she looked ready to cry.

Again.

“You sure cry a lot,” I said coldly, and she looked at me like I slapped her. I breathed through the guilt, not letting it dictate how I handled this situation, and continued, “It’s a good thing, I guess. Maybe you plan to guilt me out of going mad? I wouldn’t need to die, then.”

Suddenly the almost-tears were gone, and she looked furious. “What did you expect me to do when you were destroying trees left and right, seemingly with no reason? I thought—”

“You thought what?”

She stayed silent.

“Come on, say it. Say, I thought you went mad.”

“Psetha!”

“What? What is it, Bilana? Do you think I’m enjoying this? Because I don’t. I’m terrified!” I yelled, not really managing to look threatening with my arms full of lobeira.

I turned away from her, starting to walk again.

“I’m terrified,” I whispered.

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

I laughed humorlessly, “Well, that doesn’t change anything, does it?”

“No, it does,” she said, and when I said nothing, it does, she insisted.

She ran with her arms full of lobeira and stopped in front of me, making me stop. “I won’t let you go mad, Psetha. We will find a way out of this.”

I stared at her, not daring to hope.

“We will,” she insisted, her eyes and voice full of determination.

“We will?” I whispered, and she smiled, nodding.

“We will.”

I smiled as well. “We will.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yvoty and Py’aguasu were where we left them—Py’aguasu excited and Yvoty surprised to see us.

“You found lobeira!” Py’aguasu said excitedly, jumping up and down.

“You really did,” whispered Yvoty, her eyes full of reluctant hope.

“We did,” I confirmed and showed her the pile in my arms. “Now, eat.”

Yvoty nodded and took a lobeira from the pile.

She inspected it like she expected it to attack her and then, finally, she ate.

Wow.

She was shining.

Py’aguasu took one from the pile in Bilana’s arms and started eating as well.

They were both shining now, especially around their kidney area.

Yvoty’s eyes grew wide when she saw that Py’aguasu’s kidney area was shining as well, and she started crying. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you…”

“What’s going on?” Bilana whispered to me.

“I think Py’aguasu had a worm as well,” I whispered back as we watched the mother and son hug each other. Py’aguasu was a little confused as he kept eating his lobeira over his mother’s shoulder.

“Oh.”

“I’m glad we went there now,” I whispered, and Bilana smiled at me.

“Yes, me too.”