Pot.

  Lid.

  Kettle.

  Drum.

  Strands.

  Chord.

  Two

  in

  one.

  Lovers are never separate.

  File name: Untold Stories

  Passcode: 8675309

  RYST

  Lirin: Come bead with me! Tomorrow? 2:00?

  Ryst: Yes!

  "First, pick a color for the foundation of the bag, and then we can add accents if you want to,” Lirin said, teaching me how to make the Shurwin bead bags like the ones that Denten gave me.

  “I like this dark grey,” I said. “And I’m thinking of adding little pink flowers along the sides.”

  “Okay, take this plot and pencil and diagram out what you want to do while I start threading the grey beads. And also start telling me everything new! It’s been too long!”

  “Yeah, Lirin. It’s been—well, how do I put all of it into words? So much shock with Peydran’s accident. He’s doing really well, by the way,” she nodded, so I continued. “And even though there was the hospital and therapy and all of that, we both kept plowing ahead. And the research project seemed to really help him get through his shock."

  "I kept writing articles and started talking to clients, which went so well that Peydran added a “Schedule a Session” button to my Living Foods stream. Usually just a couple a clients week, but it’s a great start. And the crazy thing is, Peydran is getting clients too! Did you see any of the videos we did since he got back to Media?”

  She shook her head.

  “Well, we decided to try something that would be easier than videoing the recipes—for less editing and time, you know? Live shows where we mostly we just chat. Sometimes viewers post questions, and we've gotten some people attending live."

  I finished the diagram for my bag and Lirin handed me a strand of grey beads to thread while I continued my story.

  "I honestly think that Peydran is what is drawing people in! He’s been so open and frank about surgery, and people respond to him! It’s more cybernetics than I was anticipating, but since that’s an area where patients and their families need a lot of help, I think it’s a good thing. We’ve added a donations section, and people are really supportive. We don’t turn anyone away."

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  I kept threading the beads, and Lirin asked, “Have you seen Luchian and the other girls wearing their hair in twists like yours?”

  “Wait, what?!”

  “Yep, you have some admirers. I don’t know if they’ve watched your videos, but they’re adopting your hairstyle. Is it from your home world?”

  “Mmm hmm,” I agreed. “Ropes are a huge thing in Starlend because of the maritime culture. Ships, fishing, water sports. A lot of traditions have grown out of that because there’s a lot of ropes involved in boating. It’s kind of like this beading, only—everywhere. Architecture, decor, my Chula bag. You know that shoulder bag I always have?”

  She nodded. “Well, it’s one example. Actually, that’s kind of cool if you’re interested in hearing about it.”

  “Please, it's fascinating. I’ve never been off sphere.”

  “Okay. Well, the Chula flower, that’s how my family made their business empire—Novaceuticals. The Chula lily is endemic to Starlend; there’s nothing else like it that I’ve heard of anywhere. It’s a really odd looking lily—a spikey, blue-purple flower. And every part of the plant is traditionally used in pharmica."

  Liring showed me what to do with the pink beads, and I kept threading and talking.

  "There’s medicinal uses, and also cosmetic uses. It’s been used for burns with great success. Anyway, once the bulb of the plant is dried, the fibers are pulled into strands and woven into decorative ropes for things like my Chula bag. And we use other types of plant fibers for rope decor like rugs. And, of course, it’s a way of styling long hair, too."

  I thought about my home world for a minute, and it seemed like lifetimes away.

  “Starlend is just so, so different, Lirin. It’s cloudy so much of the time, and cold. Mountains—really sharp high peaks, but very green because there’s so much precipitation. It’s almost always snowing, sleeting, or raining. And the cities! Jensen, where I’m from has a population of twenty million—“

  “Twenty million?!”

  I nodded, “Yeah, and that huge population is plopped down in a city in the mountains. So it’s tall skyscrapers—when I say tall, I mean 100 stories—“

  “Woooaaah!”

  “Definitely. So, tall skyscrapers surrounded by even taller mountains. You feel like you’re down in a bowl squashed between all that height surrounding you. I think that’s one of the things I love about Shurwinn. Well, I love the dry air and the warmth, but I really, really love the vast open spaces of the desert. And the low buildings give me a feeling of being able to stretch and stretch and stretch out.”

  I stopped myself from staring off into space. I kept doing that more and more lately.

  “Do you still think of the home in the desert, Ryst?” Lirin asked softly.

  Thinking of it made something in my heart squeeze. “I’m not sure how to answer that, really, Lirin. Let’s talk about something else.”

  “How're things going with your Talent?”

  I shook my head ruefully. “I don’t know how to answer that either! It’s like it’s all tied together in the knot of confusion in my head. There’s too many threads all tangled up, and it’s too hard to unravel them. Is the Talent changing? Or did I change? It used to be so overwhelming, but I thought it was people—voices in my head. Emotions from other people. Sensing people.”

  My eyes closed, hands still on the beads. "Now I’m sensing something out there. It’s so big and vast. I know that it’s there, but I can’t see it all. I feel it.”

  My voice changed to a whisper. “And I’m pretending that I’ve forgotten that I sat here a few months ago and said there was something coming and then Peydran. . . .” I ended that line of thinking.

  “There’s something so vast I can’t perceive it all, and it’s connected to everything else that’s been happening. A question is a straight line, so Peydran kept asking me questions, and that brought information out of me. Helped me focus. A tangled knot is out there, beyond me, and a question pulls a string of it through me and out. The dreams. Peydran. His mind blocking me. The questions. The thing that is so vast. It’s one giant, paralyzing tangle. I can’t look at it. Ungth!” I growled, rubbing my temples.

  “Okay, okay,” she held up her hands in a stopping motion, “then we’ll just back away from that and let you unwind it as you keep going one day at a time. What do you think of your little grey bead bag—it’s your first one, right?”

  I smiled, “I think it’s great, and actually, do you know of a jeweler? One who could help me with a piece from Starlend?”

  “Homemade jewelry, or—“

  “Yes, homemade.”

  “Mirtan is very good. She’s over on mona—

  “No, not a woman. It’s a man,” I cut her off again. My eyes closed, and I stared into space, seeing in my mind a tiny sea glass rope I kept in my room in the monastery.

  “Granden? How does he sound?”

  Click, I felt it inside, and I saw a coppery-colored chain. Odd— copper? Strange choice. I opened my eyes and looked at Lirin with a smile.

  “He’s the one.”

  “Perfect! I’ll transmit his details to you. And Ryst, let’s get together again soon. It’s so great to have you here.”

  I hugged her goodbye, and put the little grey bead pouch in my Chula bag.

  Ahtah, I have a gift for you, my love. Keep holding on.