The Waterfall Read online

  The Waterfall

  Khidra Kay

  Published by Khidra Kay, 2020.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are

  entirely coincidental.

  THE WATERFALL

  First edition. April 16, 2020.

  Copyright © 2020 Khidra Kay.

  Written by Khidra Kay.

  Grenna rolled her eyes as she overheard her mother worry about the black leaf again. She tied up her blanket and tossed it to the floor below. With a last glance around the little loft to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, she turned to the ladder. Their house was small. Under the loft and tucked away behind a fireplace was her parents' bedroom. A table took up most of the rest of the room. Her parents sat at the table when she came down. Her father was busy eating his breakfast, his hat on the table next to his plate and his boots waiting for him by the door. Opposite him sat Dana, Grenna's mother. She didn't take her eyes off Grenna.

  “I don't know if you should go.” Dana wrung her hands.

  Grenna sighed. Her mother always worried too much.

  “Let the kids go, dear,” Ber said from his bowl of porridge.

  Grenna jumped down the last steps and smiled at her father. Sometimes she thought he didn't worry enough. Today she didn't mind, it meant he was on her side.

  “But the tree of life getting a black leaf?” Dana turned to her husband. “That has to mean something. What if it's not safe?”

  Ber shrugged. “You shouldn't listen to rumors. Most like, the tree is fine and someone just saw a shadow.”

  “We'll be fine, mother.” Grenna took the bread her mother had prepared for her and placed it in her bag. “Besides, it's tradition. You don't want us to break tradition, do you?”

  “Well, of course not.” Dana put her hands in her lap and slumped down a bit. “Just promise you'll be careful.” She got up and Grenna had just enough time to move her bag out of the way before she was being hugged tightly.

  “I will.” Grenna wrestled out of the hug and picked up her blanket. She pulled on the leather boots her mother had cleaned and rubbed with fat. “See you tomorrow.” She nodded at her father, who grunted, and hurried outside.

  After a few steps down the road, she turned. Grenna smiled. Her mother was standing in the door, waving. She waved back and shook her head as she continued walking.

  Tomorrow she'd be her mother's equal. She and her friends had one more night of childhood, and like all the generations before, they were going to spend it away from the village. One last night of no responsibilities. Grenna couldn't wait to be an adult. It would mean she could finally take part in the village decisions and get a job where she could earn money.

  Tomorrow they'd come back from the waterfall and there would be a feast in the village square. Dana had been baking and preparing for days. And Fritz' father had fetched ice from the icehouse. Sometimes they'd shred the ice real thin and add some of Hissa's mother's cherry liqueur to it. Last year Grenna had tried some when Paul's older sister had her feast. This year she'd get her own glass of cherry ice.

  “Gren.”

  Grenna looked up. Past a small copse of trees was Paul. His family lived just down the road and were their closest neighbors, so they often walked together into the village.

  “Hey, Paul. Ready to end your childhood?”

  He caught up with her.

  “You bet. This is going to be the best night ever. Rosa told me all the good stuff about the waterfall.”

  Grenna had grown up with Paul and Rosa. They'd walked to school together every morning until last year. Then Rosa finally got to have her ceremony and her school days were over. And after tonight, neither Grenna nor Paul would have to go back to the classroom.

  They sprinted down the road towards the group of houses, stopping at the orchard to grab a few apples. Grenna put some in her bag for later and picked one to eat straight away.

  “What's going on there?” Grenna asked, munching on the apple.

  Outside the town hall stood a group of people, gesturing and talking.

  “It's probably about the black leaf,” Paul said and threw away the apple core.

  “Oh, yeah. Mother said something about that.”

  “Can you believe tomorrow we'll be in that group?”

  Grenna took a deep breath. Tomorrow, they could take part in all those discussions and the adults would listen to them.

  “Grenna. Paul.” Amber called out for them from the little dock by the river that ran through the village.

  Whenever the elder villagers saw them all together, they smiled and said that there must have been something in the water sixteen years ago. Grenna and her friends were the largest group to be born in the same year ever in the village. Seven children in one year was unheard of. Besides Paul and Grenna, Hissa, Fritz, Cati, Dan, and Amber were part of the group.

  Most years there weren't even enough kids to go to the waterfall. The adults had decided that they needed to be at least three so that they could look after each other. Paul's sister Rosa had had to wait a year for her feast. But that wasn't as bad as Fritz' older brother. He was two years older than Rosa and had only gone through the celebration last year.

  “I can't believe the summer is over already,” Dan said as they all stood around the dock.

  “I just want to get this over with,” Cati said and adjusted her bag.

  Cati had been seeing the miller's son for a year and they had gotten permission to marry in the spring after Cati's feast.

  “Did you bring blankets?” Hissa asked.

  “Don't do that,” Amber said.

  “What?” Hissa looked surprised.

  “Don't start worrying and planning and ruining the mood. I swear, sometimes you're worse than Grenna's mother.”

  “Hey,” Grenna said, halfheartedly.

  Amber shrugged.

  “So, are we gonna stand here all day?” Fritz asked. “The ice my pa got is melting as we speak.”

  “You do realize morning won't come any sooner whether we stand here a while or not?” Hissa said.

  “Well, I'm going now.” Fritz grabbed his bag and set off along the path towards the mountains.

  They followed the river past the edge of the village. They followed it through the dark forest and over Wolf Mountain, where no wolves had been seen in their lifetime, but people swore they could still feel the presence of Rafa, the god of chaos. They walked along the slow water until they reached the edge of the Gora mountains.

  When they heard the water gushing down into the little lake, they rushed forward until they stood looking out over it.

  “It's beautiful,” Amber said.

  “It's just water.” Paul took off his bag and dropped it.

  “Still, I like it.” Amber glared at him.

  “Should we set up camp here?” Grenna asked and let her bag fall. “Looks like they did last year.” She pointed to the faint remains of a campfire in a circle of stones.

  “Might as well.” Fritz pulled out a parcel from his bag. “I'm hungry.” He unfolded the linen cloth to reveal a large spice cake.

  “There's a cave over there,” Paul said and pointed beside the waterfall. “We could camp there.”

  Amber peered at him. “How do you know there's a cave over there? Have you been here?”

  “Don't be stupid.” Paul rolled his eyes at her. “Rosa told me. She said they only found it in the morning, so they didn't have time to explore it.”

  “Guys, we should set up the camp and make a fire,” Hissa said.

  “You know who's gonna make a fire,” Dan said and stepped closer to Hissa. “You and me.”

  The group stopped and stared at him. Hissa tried to step away and wave him off.

  “I don't
care,” Dan said. “I know you said we shouldn't tell anyone before tomorrow, but I can't keep it secret anymore.”

  Dan reached out a hand and Hissa reluctantly took it.

  “Fine,” she said and tucked her hair behind her ear.

  Dan beamed a smile at her and grabbed her waist.

  Loud cheering erupted as they kissed.

  “What is going on?” Amber said.

  “Are you serious.” Cati laughed

  “Hissa?” Grenna grabbed her arm and the four girls wandered off while the guys pretended to punch each other.

  “When did this happen?” Cati asked.

  “A few months ago.” Hissa blushed.

  “Why didn't you say anything?” Grenna asked.

  “Well, tell us all about it.” Amber's eyes were wide.

  “There's not much to say. We were walking home together and we were talking and,” Hissa shrugged. “One thing led to another.”

  Fritz whistled. “We're going to the cave if you girls are done gossiping.”

  “This isn't over.” Grenna held up a finger at Hissa. “Tomorrow you better be prepared to tell us every detail.”

  “Hurry up,” Fritz put away the rest of the cake. “There isn't much light left.”

  “I don't think that matters in the cave.” Amber cocked her head and smiled at him.

  He gave her a dry smile back. “Let's just go.”

  Paul took out a torch and lit it. They shielded it from the mist of the waterfall as they approached the cave. The entrance was narrow and hidden behind a rock that stuck out next to the gushing water.

  Inside, it opened up and Paul's torch cast long shadows on the walls.

  “I don't like it,” Grenna said.

  The damp air chilled her spine.

  “I hear something.” Amber walked a few steps further in and stopped to listen.

  The sound of running water echoed softly between the walls. Grenna shivered and strained her ears.

  “I don't hear anything,” Hissa said.

  “I swear, there's something there.” Amber was peering into the darkness.

  “I hear it too.” Cati grabbed the torch from Paul and walked ahead of Amber.

  “Wait.” Grenna stumbled after them. “If there is something there, maybe we should head back out. It might be an animal or robbers.”

  Amber shrugged as Cati ignored Grenna and disappeared around a bend. They hurried to catch up with her and the light. Grenna stayed behind the others. Something told her they shouldn't go any deeper.

  The others stopped.

  “By the trees and mountains,” Fritz said. “That's going to be a problem.”

  “What is it?” Grenna asked.

  Nobody answered. A sound she couldn't place came from the floor ahead. She took a deep breath and pushed her way past the others.

  On a small patch of dry grass lay a child. A naked baby was sucking on his fist and looking up at them with large dark eyes.

  “What are we gonna do with that?” Paul asked.

  “There has to be someone around,” Hissa was studying the darkness. “Noone would leave a baby all alone.”

  “Hello.” Fritz' voice echoed deeper into the cave.

  “Maybe we should just leave him.” Dan reached out a foot and nudge the baby as if testing whether it was real. The baby made an annoyed noise and kept sucking his fist.

  “We can't leave a baby alone,” Hissa said. “What if he's abandoned? He'd die.”

  “Hello, is there anyone there?” Again Fritz' voice died down in an echo.

  They stood quiet, listening for an answer.

  Nothing.

  “Oh, no,” Amber said. “I know that look from my little sister.” She pointed to the baby.

  His face was scrunching up and getting redder.

  “Is he going to cry?” Grenna asked.

  The cry started slowly.

  “I guess we should... pick him up?” Cati said.

  “You do it.” Paul took the torch and shoved her closer.

  “Why me? I don't know anything about babies.”

  “Well... Then you should learn.”

  They all nodded.

  Cati pursed her lips and glared at them, but she bent over and picked up the screaming baby.

  “There, there.” She held him close and rocked him.

  The screaming stopped.

  “See, I knew you'd be a natural.” Paul grinned.

  “We should leave the cave,” Grenna said and hugged herself.

  “We're taking the baby outside,” Fritz shouted.

  “Must you?” Amber glared at him.

  The baby started crying again.

  “Why did you do that?” Cati rocked the baby and glared at Fritz.

  “Hey, if he's not abandoned I don't want to be accused of stealing him.”

  “Maybe we should leave him here?” Grenna said.

  There was something strange about how the baby's eyes followed along with the conversation.

  Nobody answered. Grenna could have sworn the baby scowled at her when Cati walked past her holding him tightly.

  The sun was already setting as they hurried to prepare the camp.

  “I brought an extra blanket,” Hissa said.

  “Of course you did,” Dan smiled at her.

  Cati wrapped the baby up and they searched through their supplies for anything they could give him.

  “Nothing,” Cati said. “Nobody brought any milk?”

  “Just soak some bread in water and give him that,” Amber said and rummaged through her bag.

  “I brought some cherry liqueur,” Hissa said.

  “Fantastic,” Amber said and dropped her bag. “Well.” She turned to Hissa. “Pass it around. Let's celebrate our last night of irresponsibility.”

  Hissa produced a bottle from her bag and gave it to Amber. They each took a swig and passed it on.

  “Looks like we're not as irresponsible as I would have hoped.” Paul sat down on a log. “Having a baby here kind of puts a damper on things.”

  “What were you hoping to do?” Grenna asked and grinned at him.

  Paul shrugged and took the bottle. With a grimace, he took a deep drink and handed the bottle to Grenna.

  Grenna sniffed the sweet, thick liquid. She put the bottle to her lips and drank a mouthful. The liqueur was thick and flavorful. And much better on shredded ice.

  “Gren, can you hold the baby?” Cati offered her the bundle.

  Grenna backed up. The dark eyes were staring at her.

  “No, give it to Hissa.”

  She looked over at Hissa who was ignoring them, sitting next to Dan, whispering.

  “It?” Cati said. “It is a he. Just hold the baby.”

  Grenna took a step back. “No. I don't want to.”

  “Gren, I have to use the woods.”

  “I'll take him,” Amber offered.

  With a glare at Grenna, Cati walked into the woods. Grenna couldn't get the child's eyes out of her head. She could swear they were still following her.

  She picked up her blanket and moved it as far away from Cati as possible. The bottle came around again and she took another mouthful.

  Darkness descended over them as they nibbled at Fritz' cake and spoke of the change this night meant to them.

  “No more school,” Paul said and sighed.

  “But we'll need to work.” Grenna was lying with her hands under her head, looking up at the stars.

  “At least we'll be adults,” Fritz said. “And people will stop treating us like children.”

  “Why do you think everyone comes here for the last night of their childhood summer?” Amber was sitting with her arms around her knees, looking out over the lake and the waterfall.

  “My pa said it's a sacred place,” Fritz said. “That the tree of life has chosen it.”

  “I don't know if I believe that,” Grenna said. “I think some kids just went up here and then others did too.”

  “Maybe.”

  Amb
er lay down on her blanket. Hissa and Dan were lying next to each other, studying the stars. Around them, the sounds of the forest became clearer, sharper.

  She was just drifting off to sleep when a hiss started in the camp and grew louder.

  “What is that?” Paul sat up.

  The hissing grew louder, piercing into Grenna's skull and freezing her to the bone.

  “It's the baby,” Cati said.

  “What? What's wrong with him?” Hissa asked.

  “Sounds like he's possessed,” Grenna said. She had to raise her voice to be heard over the noise. “Maybe we should take him back to the cave?”

  “Don't be silly,” Cati said. The noise stopped. “There, see. It stopped. Nothing to worry about.” She reached out a hand and stroked the baby's cheek. The baby gurgled happily.

  Grenna turned away from the others and studied the shadows in the trees. Her eyelids got heavy and she dozed off, acutely aware of the movement just beyond where the light from the campfire reached.

  “...didn't think so, but now I don't know.”

  “Well, we might have to do something. She's ruining it.”

  Grenna kept her eyes closed and listened to the whispers behind her. The crackling from the fire and an occasional squee from the baby mingled with their voices. Around them, the forest was quiet.

  “Should we just ignore her?”

  “We can't do that, can we?”

  “What else can we do?”

  “Maybe she'll sleep right through it.”

  “What exactly is it? What are we doing?”

  There was a silence among the kids around the campfire, only the baby cooed.

  “But you guys feel it too, right?” Paul asked.

  “I'm surprised she can sleep. This feels so important.”

  “Whatever it is, I know I'm in.”

  “Me too.”

  “Me too,” the others chimed in.

  Grenna stirred. She couldn't take it anymore.

  “What are you guys talking about?” she said as she sat up.

  “Uhh...”

  “Skinny dipping,” Dan said. “You in?”

  “No, thanks.”

  Grenna watched them for a while longer. Each face spoke of secrets and shame. She glared at the baby. It had something to do with him; she was sure of it. The baby turned his head and eyes the color of the moonless night stared at her.