The Call

Written with help from Dr. Enoch Elmstone.
 
 
Selcis looks down at the stone, the ever-shifting colours of the thin veins sparkling in her eyes, and in her mind. In that moment, she feels fiercely proud of her tribe, and of her ancestry. She comes from a long line of incredible individuals. Fun, adventurous, optimistic, wise, and above all, caring. She smiles, and a single tear escapes its confinement and barrels down her cheek before she can wipe it away. She really does miss her Jida.
 
Enoch approaches the site where Selcis says Jida is at rest. He stands above the red-tinged sand as it slowly snakes across his boots.
 
“Here?” Enoch asks in a low voice, almost like a whisper. Selcis senses the gravity of what is about to happen. She nods.
 
"Thank you for offering to do this. I know it’ll likely be useful for intel, but I’m grateful to have the opportunity to connect with her. I miss her like hell. My mother does too. She was such a special person to me, and to the whole tribe.” Selcis pauses. She feels her throat tighten, swallows and attempts to continue on, but her breath catches in her throat. She takes another deep breath, and waits.
 
Enoch looks to the sky above as he slowly falls to his knees. His knees push deeper into the sand as Enoch lifts a handful of the red sand in his hands. He raises his hands and allows the sand to slowly seep through his fingers, watching the red glints of the grains as they catch the wind. Enoch sits back on his knees and sighs. He puts his head down and raises his arms upwards, in what looks to be a form of offering.
 
“Selcis, I warn you. When I commune with the ancestral dead they have the choice to come or not. It is not common that I request a soul so deep in the ocean of death to come to shore. This may not work, but I hope your connection to the dead bridges the gap.” Enoch sighs and begins to box his breathing to prepare for a great effort. He takes a moment to compose himself, listening to the wind gently caress the sand around him. Enoch begins to speak quietly; “When Likho begins to glow green, please place your hand on my shoulder so that Jida may know your presence. When you are ready I will call her name, I leave the rest to you and fate.”
 
Selcis inclines her beautiful head.
 
Enoch slumps as his arms reach higher above his head. He begins to mutter under his breath and a withering green begins to take the colour of his eyes and the skull of Likho. Selcis steps forwards and softly but surely places her scaled hand on his shoulder. The sand begins to swirl in front of him as his mumbling continues. With an abrupt stop Enoch becomes silent as the sand swirls higher and suddenly falls.
 
Enoch looks up and says in a low voice, "Marhaabi, Jida Niran."