December 16 – Starsha<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the Bard stepped back, his student stepped forward. Starsha had come to the Cove the same year Drew had, looking to study with Damien. She was tall, her dark skin marked all over with the white tattoos of her people. Her dark curly hair was haloed around her, and Molly saw that she had sprinkled silver and gold stars within the curls, so she sparkled. \u201cMy people do not celebrate Christmas either,\u201d Starsha said, turning her beautiful face to the crowd. Her dark eyes with the star-shaped pupils were bright. \u201cBut we do celebrate the Winter Solstice, and we decorate trees, although ours are not cut down, so the animals that are our brothers and sisters in nature can share in our bounty.\u201d She held out her hands to the Snow Queen. \u201cAs such, there is very little that is passed on year to year, other than the concepts, as we take each other. So I have brought this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The clouds wrapped around Molly and when she could see, she was in a cool forest clearing. A younger Starsha, dressed in the tooled leather vest and soft dress that she\u2019d worn the first time Molly and Schrodinger had seen her, was sitting with several other young people dressed similarly. They were stringing what looked to be cranberries and small balls of something coated with seeds onto thread. Nearby, others were using more thread to make silvery fish and chunks of meat into garlands. The trees that ringed the clearing were already sporting several other garlands, and there was an older man and woman chanting something that neither Molly nor Schrodinger understood. Everyone in the clearing was laughing and smiling. Then the clearing blurred again, and they were outside of Damien\u2019s house in the Cove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This must be the first year after she came to the Cove,<\/em> Schrodinger said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Starsha before them was standing on the porch, dressed in jeans and a sweater, with leather boots on her feet, and she was cradling a steaming mug of tea in her hands. \u201cIt will be the Solstice soon,\u201d she said to Damien, who was sitting in a rocking chair to the left of her. \u201cAnd I am not ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot ready?\u201d he said. \u201cTo go back, you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot exactly,\u201d Starsha said. She turned to him, and Molly caught a glimpse of the uncertainty on her face. \u201cI won\u2019t be going back this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot even for the Solstice? Well, that\u2019s your decision, but may I ask why?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t belong there anymore,\u201d Starsha admitted sadly. \u201cI don\u2019t know that I should participate in the ceremonies that I haven\u2019t contributed to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause you haven\u2019t been there?\u201d Damien got up from his rocker and came to join her at the porch railing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s part of it.\u201d Starsha looked down. \u201cI\u2026I don\u2019t feel like a Mareesh anymore.\u201d \u201cWhat do you feel like?\u201d Damien asked her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d A tear dripped from her eyes. \u201cI just don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He took the mug from her, set it down on the railing, and held her why she cried. When the tears had slowed, he said, \u201cMay I tell you what I think you are?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She mumbled yes into his shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think you are an explorer, an ambassador for the Mareesh, and that even though you didn\u2019t gather the fruits of the forest and the sea, you have carried your people in everything you do. No, your Solstice may not be the one that you remember, but isn\u2019t that part of growing? To learn who and what we are?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starsha said softly, \u201cI\u2026I did not think of it that way.\u201d She stepped back from him. \u201cAnd while it won\u2019t be the same, I can still do the Solstice ceremony on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Molly\u2019s eyes cleared, she watched Starsha hand the wreath of cranberries to Jade, who sent in floating up to the top of the tree, where it settled like a necklace. Then Jade turned back to Starsha. \u201cThank you for bringing your customs to our tree. This is one of the ways we strengthen our bond as a town.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" December 16 – Starsha As the Bard stepped back, his student stepped forward. Starsha had come to the Cove the same year Drew had, looking to study with Damien. She was tall, her dark skin marked all over with the white tattoos of her people. Her dark curly hair was haloed around her, and Molly …<\/p>\n
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