A Most Unusual Quest: Part 1
a Liminal Chronicles Tale
Summary:
Yasu visits with the ghost of his wife’s grandmother–Babaa, a powerful prophetess. What crazy task is she going to assign him this time?
I dreaded visiting the grave of my wife’s grandmother, whom we lovingly called Babaa. She almost always had a prophecy to share that involved my wife—Yukiko—and me. Don’t get me wrong. She got Yukiko and me together, and I’m grateful. I promised to be here to help Yukiko through all the craziness, especially when Babaa used nightmares as a calling card.
So I braced myself as Yukiko lit the incense at her grandmother’s grave. How many other families had ghosts that roamed a cemetery?
Before the smoke reached even two centimeters, Babaa perched like a creature ready to take wing, atop the family monument. “Yasu. Yukiko. About time you arrived.”
My wife and I jumped back. Yukiko’s hand went to her chest. My heart pounded in my own as I pleaded, “Babaa! Please, don’t do that!”
“No time for chitchat, Yasu! You must be there for the migration!”
I let Yukiko be the one to ask. “What are you talking about, Babaa?”
Babaa sighed. “Sometimes I forget time passes differently for the living. Perspective goes all wonky after you die, just so you know. You remember the prophecy I gave about the coming magical sickness?”
My stomach knotted up as I nodded. It was the most ominous vision she’d had. She continued, “That danger is almost upon us.”
“Weeks? Days? Months?” I asked.
She tapped her chin. “Months, I think.”
That was the kicker about visions, never spot on with time frames. “Anything new you can tell us?”
“The migration is at hand. Yasu, you’ll have to voyage via the Nonogawa River into the heart of the forest to catch them before they disappear. The predators know the timing too!” At my confusion, she clarified. “Those little blobs like Suzu-chan keeps.”
The semi-sapient slime that devours a person’s life energy? I swallowed down my doubt. Babaa was always spot on. “How do I catch them?”
She gave a glare with the implication I should figure it out. Her ability to be visible among the living had a short duration.
Infernal prophecies. They only brought hardship. Why couldn’t there be visions of world peace, instead?
A gust of wind almost drowned her out. “They will be most vulnerable when in a form like a chrysalis. Leave the husks, they’re of no use.”
“They’ll turn to butterflies?” Yukiko asked.
Babaa shook her head. “It’s how they shed their skin as they grow.”
Before fading from sight, she said, “Pursue the little creatures with all you have. You’ll need every last one of them.”
Yukiko’s glance spoke the sarcasm that I bit back. A supply of slimes will be the cure to save every magic user? What next?
When we returned home, Yukiko helped me pack so I could be on my way.
The river’s route lead into the heart of the forest as the current carried my canoe at a steady clip. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was looking for on this foray, and I fervently hoped Babaa gave me enough information.
To be continued.
As I sign off, I’ll remind you to…
Be the Difference. Be extraordinary.
All the best,
Amy
interesting
I'm excited to see how this goes! What could possibly go wrong?