Chapter 34

I slept like a baby once I got back to my metallic hovel. My mattress had finally dried out, though the musty smell wouldn’t go away, even when I risked some cleaning magic on it. It was almost a blessing I’d barely slept the prior night. It didn’t make waking up to the stench any better, but at least I was better rested than I had been in a while.

I was surprised to wake up to a commotion outside. Once I was dressed, I found the men and women of Haven gathered around the fireside in a mob around a flustered Kumar, filling the air with despairing shouts and angry questions.

“What do you mean Ozzie’s gone?”

“You have to know, Kumar! You’re his right hand these days!”

“May the sea preserve us.”

“We’ve lost the sea’s favor, if it’s taken Ozzie from us!”

“Hush, by the sea hush!” Kumar’s echoing shout silenced the crowd. “Ozzie told me all about it last night; he left to commune with the sea because of a vision, and I’m in charge until he’s back.”

The sea? More likely he’s off to commune with his master. I wonder what that devil’s up to? It was certainly unusual; I’d seen the men disappear for days at a time on their fishing expeditions, but Ozzie had never gone off by himself.

“Anyway, Ozzie or no, you all need to go tend to your daily chores. We still have mouths to feed and bodies to clothe.” He turned to one of the other fishermen, Yu. “We’ll be sticking near Haven today, and be back by sundown. We wouldn’t want the womenfolk worrying too much.” Spotting me at the edge of the mob, he flashed me a meaningful wink.

I kept a smile on my face. “How thoughtful of him,” I muttered as the crowd dispersed.

“How thoughtful of him!” said Sunny, her bright face living up to her name. Hearing my approach, she pointed at my so-called fiancé. “You’ve got yourself a keeper there, Rose. He’s so decisive.”

“How can you…” I had to stop myself. I couldn’t free them just yet. I had one more night to come up with a plan with Zack and Virgil; I wouldn’t want to jump the gun. I had to be good, innocent Rose without the Cooper. Or the brain. “I mean, yes, it’s going to be a fun time. What do weddings look like around here?”

“As wonderful as I can make them. If I can’t find a partner, then I want to make it memorable for everyone else.” Sunny sighed dreamily. “First off, we need to go gather some flowers, and we’re going to make you a necklace and crown. I hope you don’t have other plans.”

“Of course not! Lead the way.” I couldn’t think of any flower gardens I’d seen working on the plots near the village, which meant I’d be away from prying eyes.

Kumar bounded over before we could make our escape. “Rose, good morning! You’re looking lovely this morning.”

I forced a smile to my lips. “You too. Not lovely, I mean handsome. This morning. Not that you aren’t always.” That little piece of me that was grateful at Ozzie for finding me such a fine man tied my tongue. Thankfully, she was getting quieter all the time.

Kumar laughed, surprising me with a kiss on the cheek. “Look at you, all jittery.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Is there a prettier bride-to-be in all of Haven?”

“Sunny isn’t bad herself,” I said, resisting the urge to hit him with a localized windstorm. Though, Stormbringer showed it was still awake, as the breeze coming in off the sea picked up.

Sunny waved me off, giggling coquettishly. “I’m sure the sea will bring me somebody.”

“That’s what all the old maids say,” said Puja, clapping Sunny on the shoulder. “Let go of your fiancée, Kumar. It’s bad luck just seeing her before the ceremony.”

“Alright, Mom.” He released me reluctantly. At least he seemed to be really looking forward to things, and he was keeping his distance better than he had on our walk. It made me wonder what was brainwashing and what was the real Kumar. “Rose, you’ll be on my mind the whole time I’m gone.”

“The feeling is mutual,” I said.

**************

We went south for a ways along a stretch of the beach I’d never crossed before. Where my old jogging path had a small rocky patch interrupting the clear beach, the south was rough, weathered rocks interrupted by short patches of beach

“This would be easier in a boat,” I said as I helped Sunny over a stone covered in slick seaweed.

“Yes, but those are for the men’s work,” said Sunny.

I kept quiet. Keep up appearances, Rose. Keep up appearances.

Finally, we reached a large garden protected from the sun by the branches of a nearby mangrove tree. Most of the flowers were a long-stemmed, purple variety I didn’t recognize, arranged in neat rows.

“There’s so many of them,” I said.

“It’s my pet project,” said Sunny, kneeling down and yanking out a weed in one deft pull. “The sea keeps the weather pretty consistent, so I can stagger them out so there’s always enough blossoms for a pairing ceremony.”

“What are they?”

“I think they’re Mexican Bluebells, but the packets were in Spanish, so I can’t be sure.”

“Spanish? I thought this was an old Chinese base?”

She shook her head. “You’re forgetting, the sea provides all sorts of refuse the wasteful humans and demons throw out. Us included.” She chuckled to herself as she began cutting the flowers with a rusted knife. “Puja and Ruth say it’s a waste of land that could grow food, but they always talk about how pretty my little babies are, so I think they’re over it. The sea provided me with packets of flower seeds that stayed dry, so I wouldn’t want to waste the gift.” She patted the soil next to her. “Let’s get to it; we need to go back for our real work later, after all.”

“You don’t see this as real work?” I asked as I followed her lead with my own knife.

“No, the real work is feeding everyone,” she said. “This is simply decoration.”

I felt a pang of guilt as she sacrificed pieces of her garden for a wedding that wasn’t going to happen. “Did you garden in your old life? I know you don’t like talking about it…”

“You’re right, I don’t,” she said. “It’s rude. I did, though, and I’m glad it’s useful here.” She stood abruptly, holding her skirt up to gather up the flower cuttings. “That should be enough for you.”

“That’s quite a lot,” I said, using Puja’s old poncho the same way. “Are you sure you can spare this many for me?”

“Of course,” she declared, walking over to a sandy stretch closer to the water. “Let’s get started; we’ll want to weave them first, so they’re easier to carry back.”

We set to work. Sunny was a wizard at intertwining the flower stems into something like a Hawaiian lei. I turned out to be all thumbs at it. Maybe I should have gone to the sewing club with Soren and the rest after all.

“There, here’s the first necklace,” she declared, throwing it around my neck. “Oh, I wish you could see yourself right now. When we get back, you can use my mirror.”

“Thank you,” I said, that guilt settling back into my stomach. Stop it. You’re going to free her, darn it! She can take a day to make something pretty instead of digging for yams.

Sunny beamed at me. “You’re welcome! You’ve been such a breath of fresh air since you arrived. You’re going to be busy taking care of Kumar and your family soon enough, so I want to make this as wonderful as I can.” She set a smaller lei on my head like a crown. “And there we go. You’re ready for your new life.”

I prayed that Virgil would have a plan for me when we met up that night.