The Invitation
Part two of the story of Jess in the world of the Wissen
This is the second instalment in the story of Jess and the Wissen, the Ortook and the Missyts - it follows on from The First Encounter. This is when Jess meets Ortek properly (without a hat) and is astonished all over again. We also learn something (though not much) about the danger that surrounds Jess and the fact that she is a fugitive. The post first appeared on Drawing In under the title Ortek's Invitation and I'm publishing it again here to keep all the posts about the Unintentionals in the same place.
As I’ve said before, I’m not going to try to get episodes to appear in chronological order because I don’t discover them that way - but these two posts do belong together, at the beginning.
The Invitation
The light was no different when Jess went back to the woods the following day. The same early summer sunshine made a bright mosaic of the pale new leaves overhead and cast flickering shadows through the trees. She had been restless all morning but forced herself to wait until the afternoon, even though she couldn't stop thinking about yesterday's encounter. Somehow it felt important to wait and go back at the same time.
She was so accustomed to being alert, to watching out for signs of being followed that she had almost forgotten what it felt like to have her thoughts turn elsewhere. It was a relief to realise the agitation she felt was excitement and anticipation rather than fear.
Walking eased her and as she moved she felt her shoulders relax and her neck unstiffen. Feeling calmer at every step she made her way along the path between the trees and found herself seeing more and thinking less.
The sunlight through the leaves threw patches of light and shade that splashed over her as she walked, and for a moment she stopped and closed her eyes, feeling the breeze and smelling the woody, musty scent of leaf mould. Some way off to her right a wood-pigeon called, and in the distance she could hear the cawing of crows.
Arriving at the grove of beech trees where she had been drawing the day before she took out her sketchbook and began to draw before she had time to wonder or think. She quickly sank into the same wordless state as always, hand and eyes working together without thoughts interfering. She worked on, sketching the same view as yesterday but from a slightly different angle, unaware of how much time was passing.
The wind whispered through the branches above her head. Shadow patterns danced on the trunks of the beech trees and gradually she began once again to sense the unmistakable feeling that she was being watched. Slowly lowering her sketchbook she waited without moving a muscle, straining to hear the slightest sound, hardly daring to breathe.
"You may close your eyes now".
The voice was the same, soft and slightly clipped, the accent unplaceable. This time she had no hesitation. She closed her eyes but once more gasped in astonishment at what she saw, clearly and distinctly, with her eyes shut.
"Now you may open them".
There he was, now visible to her open eyes, as real as the tree behind him, standing right in front of her. The same figure, dressed as before in the same strange clothes, barefoot and this time without the large bag that he had carried the day before. But today he was not wearing anything on his head and that was what made her catch her breath.
Yesterday his head had been mostly hidden by his battered shapeless hat, but now this was gone she could see that his ears were sharply pointed and very large, standing straight up at either side of his head. His hair, most of which had previously been tucked away was now in full view - yesterday she had thought it looked a bit like a mixture of grass and twigs and now she could see that was exactly what it seemed to be. It was many shades of green, most of it sprouting upwards, held back with a white headband and decorated with feathers, moss, lichen, twigs and leaves.
He was watching her intently, his dark eyes deep set and bright, apparently assessing her reaction with a mixture of caution and gentle amusement.
Jess pulled herself together. She was trying not to stare but she realised she was and hoped this wouldn't offend.
"Forgive me" she said "I don't mean to be rude."
He was smiling. "You do not cause offence." He waved one hand in the general direction of his head, "The reason that yesterday I wore a hat."
Then placing both hands on his body, one on his chest and one on his belly, he bowed his head solemnly before looking up with a smile and gazing directly into her eyes as he extended both hands toward her, arms outstretched.
"Imlin, Jess" he said.
And after a pause,
"I am Ortek".
Imlin is a heartfelt, beautiful greeting. Jess would soon learn to love it for all its depth of meaning, but for now she could only guess at what it conveyed. Even so the impact was not lost on her; she was stirred by it. For a moment she was silent, wondering how she could make an appropriate response.
Any kind of gesture seemed out of place, so she kept her hands still by her side as she tried to find words.
Bowing her head slightly and then looking up she said simply,
"Thank you. I greet you with all my heart".
This felt pathetically inadequate to her as she said it as it didn't begin to express what she wanted to say, but Ortek seemed quite satisfied and even pleased. He made a wide, welcoming gesture with both arms and smiling said,
"And I, you. My heart is full of gladness that we meet."
He paused for a brief moment and then went on, "You have many questions, I know, but we do not have much time."
Immediately his expression darkened, a frown wrinkling his brow, his bright eyes narrowing as he placed his hands together in concern.
"This is important - this you must know. We know of your troubles. That you are pursued and that you have been running in fear to evade capture by those who would use you for their own ends. You are in danger, but the danger is now even more than you realise. You were not aware but we have watched you for a long time. Now we wish to offer help."
Jess was taken completely by surprise. The thought of invisible watchers who knew she was a fugitive and who were willing to help her was more than she could take in. She wondered just how much they understood.
"You - you know about this? About what is happening here, in this world, and to me? You have seen them? You know who they are and what they would do? she asked.
" Not I. I have not seen them. But others have, others from here who are Watchers and one in particular. We understand why you are pursued and the danger you are in if you are caught."
Suddenly Jess felt a knot in her stomach tighten. Was the danger that close, again? The last few days hidden away in this secluded place she remembered so well had brought such relief, but now she realised that it had only been a brief interlude. Instantly she was back in the same all too familiar state of heightened anxiety, tense and fearful, afraid that at any moment they were already catching up with her. With a sinking heart she knew that she would have to move on again.
Ortek could clearly see her distress. He raised one hand as if to comfort her.
"You are right to be afraid. Because the truth is you cannot outrun them. In the end there will be nowhere safe for you where you are now, because they will not stop. Hard for you to know, but it is true."
He looked intently at her, his dark eyes shining with concern.
"It is a hard thing for you to face, though it is time now for you to understand it. But do not be frightened, because there is a way out, if you choose it. One day soon you will have to escape them once and for all, completely, perhaps with great urgency. When that time comes, return here, and you may pass through the gateway into our world and leave yours behind. And no-one can follow you."
Jess was stunned. She stood silent, overwhelmed both by the thought of the present danger which she knew all too well and the immense unknown possibility of the sanctuary that Ortek offered. Both felt too much to take in.
" I can't give you an answer....except - to thank you. I - " her words trailed off.
Ortek spoke gently.
"Do not try now to think what you must do. Your heart will guide you, as it always has and will. Be watchful in the coming days and remember you can come here as often as you please. And we are ready to welcome you, at any time."
To be continued…….