The Bucket List Page 7

  “Jordan, this is my dad, Pasqual.”

  Jordan observed the man dressed in a dark, long-sleeved shirt buttoned to the neck, and extended her hand. Pasqual took her hand and motioned for her to sit. She looked to Kelea who nodded. Kelea sat to one side of Jordan, with her grandmother occupying the other side. Maiah had yet to say anything to her, and Jordan was a little unsettled by her gaze. It felt more like she was looking inside of her instead of at her.

  They enjoyed dinner and retreated to wooden rockers in a small, outdoor area. Kelea and Solanya conversed easily with Jordan. Dusk was falling, and an earthen chimera held flickering embers of mesquite wood that filled the air with a fragrant smoke. Jordan watched the sunset paint the canyon walls and streak the sky.

  Finally, without prompt or warning, Maiah spoke. “You must seek the rooted dragon. Your phoenix will find its answer there.”

  Jordan turned to her. “I’m sorry?”

  Maiah spoke no more. She sat back in her rocker, eyes closed.

  Jordan looked to both Kelea and Solanya for some explanation. Kelea shook her head, while Solanya steepled her fingers, her elbows resting on the arms of her rocking chair.

  “My mother is a vision holder. She sees what others cannot.”

  Kelea looked to her mother. “How does she know about Jordan’s phoenix tattoo? Grandmother, were you over at the falls?”

  Maiah spoke again. “It is not the marking on the skin that I’ve seen, only the one on her spirit.” She looked at Jordan with soft, narrowed eyes. “You must seek the dragon to find balance.” With that, she rose, touched Jordan’s face, and went inside.

  Jordan sat there for a long time, gently keeping her rocker in motion by flexing her feet.

  Solanya broke the silence. “Why did you come to the falls, Jordan?”

  Jordan blew out a breath. She told Solanya and Kelea about her quest and why she was seeking Professor Scott. She explained that somewhere, here at the falls, was a clue to her next destination on the bucket list Aggie had created for Noeul. Solanya slowly covered her mouth with her hand, as if she was holding something back. She put her head back and closed her eyes for a moment.

  “I know what you are seeking. A few years ago, a woman came into my clinic. She’d slipped on the trail on her way down here. When she went to catch herself, she jammed her hand, dislocating her index finger. I put it back in place, and she told me why she was visiting. She was unsure how to accomplish what she wanted to do.” Solanya opened her eyes and sat forward, turning to Jordan. “She was trying to find a place to put a memorial with a small capsule of her wife’s ashes.”

  Jordan’s eyebrows shot up, her mouth gaping open. “Solanya, I know this is asking a great deal, given the personal nature of her request. It’s important I find her. She may hold the only key to what I’m trying to do, and I need her help to complete this research.” She stopped for a moment. “I’ve read many of your legends, about how your people came to be here. Even in the harshest of habitats, they were able to thrive. I’m trying to help those in this world who are barely surviving under circumstances even more dire. With global warming, we can only predict that these conditions will continue to get worse for them. I need to find a way to help them grow food to support themselves and their communities.”

  She stopped and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Jordan had been racking her brain trying to figure out how to find the next clue. Here it was, right in front of her, and yet out of reach if she couldn’t convince Solanya to help her. She watched the woman’s face as she seemed to wrestle with the decision. “Please.”

  Solanya turned to Jordan. “I will help you. First, my mother must cleanse you from all negativity. The place I must take you is sacred to my family and must not be defiled in any way.”

  Jordan grabbed her hand and held it tightly in hers. “I’ll do anything you ask. I will try to disturb the memorial as little as possible. Most likely, it leads me to the next location that Aggie chose for them. I can’t tell you how important this is to me. I’ve taken a year sabbatical to accomplish this task, that’s how committed I am.”

  “I will speak to my mother and make preparations.” With that Solanya rose from her chair and turned to Kelea. “If your grandmother is agreeable, we will do this at dawn. You know where to bring her.”

  Kelea rose and kissed her mother. “Yes.”

  Solanya walked into the house, leaving the two young women sitting quietly in the waning light. Jordan was watching the fragments of light disappear above the canyon walls. The rock faces were in a state of constant change, going from deep reds to dark grays and eventually into black obsidian. She could hear Kelea’s quiet rocking beside her.

  “Do you think your grandmother will agree?”

  “Yes.”

  Kelea’s quiet reply left many questions in Jordan’s mind. Did she hear hesitance or resistance? Did Jordan have something she needed to be worried about, or was Kelea centering herself for what needed to be done? She had no answers and resigned herself to whatever was to happen.

  Hours later, Jordan lay awake in the wee hours of the morning. Her mind hadn’t let her rest, no matter what she did. She’d tried her usual technique to relax herself, tightening every muscle from her head to her feet, one area at a time. Usually, after three tries, she could drift off. She’d only been able to achieve a twilight slumber, constantly feeling as if she was running. From what or to what she had no idea. She’d awakened several times in a drenching sweat. Lines of code, complicated formulas, graphs, and data scrolled through her head. She’d sat up only a few minutes ago, her heart racing, searching the unfamiliar room for a voice beyond her consciousness. A light tap at her door startled her, and she ran both hands across her face to clear the vestiges of her restless night. It was still dark, even with the shades completely open. She rose and walked to the door to find Kelea standing there, fully clothed.

  “It’s time.” Kelea touched her hand and walked away.

  Jordan quickly dressed in a pale, cotton T-shirt and khaki hiking shorts. She slipped into her short socks and pulled on her hikers. At the door, she met Kelea who handed her a bottle of water.

  “Drink this now and save the other one. We need to hike about twenty minutes from here. Leave everything behind except what you’re wearing.”

  Jordan began to follow Kelea, slowly drinking the cool water. Their route led them to the canyon wall.

  Kelea turned and spoke quietly to Jordan. “Watch your step, take my hand.”

  Jordan gratefully accepted and instinctively followed Kelea’s lead, even though she couldn’t see where she was going. Her steps were not as tentative as she would have expected. Something inside her told her to follow and not worry. Ten minutes later, they’d climbed to a small plateau. Kelea led her to a small, dome shaped structure made from hides.

  “Drink your other water.”

  Jordan drank and was led to the inside of the dome, where a small fire illuminated the faces of Solanya and Maiah. They sat beside each other, legs crossed beneath them as their eyes rose to meet Jordan’s. Maiah motioned for her to sit in front of her, and Kelea took a position behind her mother and grandmother. Maiah spoke softly.

  Jordan reconsidered. Not really speaking exactly, singing or chanting. Jordan didn’t recognize the language or the song, yet something stirred deep inside her. She sat in what she would consider the lotus pose. In this setting, that terminology didn’t seem appropriate. She began to sweat profusely as the song continued, and she grew increasingly sleepy. The song grew fainter, and the light from the fire appeared to grow brighter until it seemed she was sitting directly beside Maiah. She noticed they were no longer inside the dome. They were sitting at the edge of the canyon wall. Before her, a wide stretch of blue sky opened up and the clouds shifted, casting shadows on the ground.

  Jordan turned to Maiah “Where am I?” She watched, as a breeze blew back the silver strands of hair that surrounded the older woman’s face.

  �
�You are in between earth and sky.”

  A vision dream played out before her, vivid and striking, foreign and yet familiar in nature. Jordan heard a gentle voice calling to her and found herself curled on her side, as Solanya wiped her face with a damp cloth. Maiah was chanting and walking around the dome. She held a sprig of smoking sage in her hand and used a large brown and white feather to spread the smoke over her. The chant was so soft now, it nearly made Jordan cry with its whispering caress. Kelea helped her sit up, and she stared straight into Maiah’s eyes that still echoed the flames between them.

  Maiah ended the song, she rose looking at Jordan. “What did you see, my child?”

  Jordan could barely speak. Her words came out on a strangled breath. “Uh…a…phoenix and a dragon. The dragon’s tail became roots that deeply pierced the earth. A branch sprouted…A giant tree grew with the phoenix…The dragon became its heart. Sunlight so bright, it was blinding.”

  “Ah, then what I told you last night was true. You must seek the rooted dragon. Do you understand the rest of the vision?” Maiah was covering the remnants of the fire with sand from around the pit.

  “I’m not sure, the vision was tripping something in my mind. I need to figure that out. Maybe something in the memorial will point me in the right direction. I know I have to find Noeul, no matter how long it takes.”

  “If that is so, you must continue your quest. Solanya and Kelea will lead you from here. I must talk to the ancients to help you in your journey.”

  Jordan stood on shaky legs, Kelea supporting her under one arm and Solanya’s hand at the small of her back. “Thank you, Maiah.”

  With that, the three of them left the dome.

  Chapter Five

  A FEW DAYS AFTER returning from Miranda and Kelly’s, Noeul found she was one chicken short. Feathers she’d discovered at the fence line gave away the culprit’s entry point. Sweat ran into her eyes, as she finished reinforcing the fencing by setting another post. It saddened her that even with all her efforts, she’d been unable to keep them all safe. Damn coyote. She carried her tools to the barn and put them away before returning to the house to clean up. She decided a light lunch was in order and loaded a pita pocket with some fresh greens, shredded carrots, and steamed edamame she’d glazed in some ginger and sesame seed oil.

  After lunch, she grew sleepy and sought out the solace of her favorite napping spot. Noeul had no idea how much time had passed when she woke from a light doze. Her back felt relaxed, as she lay against the warmth of the big rock in the sun. At her side, Kyo’s fur was hot to the touch. When she dug her fingers beneath the thick coat, it was surprisingly cool. She shook her head, trying to remember a dream through the fuzziness that lingered beyond the edge of her conscious mind. Something about a phoenix. She could remember that but nothing more. Strange. A wave of dizziness hit her as she sat up. It felt like she was dehydrated. Noeul couldn’t understand how that was possible, as she was always careful to drink water frequently through her day. Standing, she brushed off the seat of her pants and took a few tentative steps toward the pens.

  There was work to be done and some experiments she wanted to do today. Her lab sat idle, as she walked through the doors and checked the progress on a few of her trials planted there. The in-ground bedding row, as well as several raised table beds, lay basking in the heat of the greenhouse. Tomatoes, legumes, and quinoa grew in their individual spaces and were all doing very well. Remarkable. She bent down and placed her hands in the soil around the plants and dug her fingers into the warm earth. She reached for her journal on the work bench and made a few notations of the progress and her thoughts on the process.

  Ever since I turned my attention to the stalk and root ball of specific weeds, my results have been much easier to replicate. The weeds I’m using now are the bane of most farmers’ existence. The remarkable thing about them is they seem to flourish under any conditions. In normal field crops, these weeds are a nuisance and can render a crop unharvestable. Bioengineering specific weeds to accept a graft of a useful plant has shown great promise in my research. The procedure has taken me years, as I consider the plant structure, its defenses, and nutrient pathways.

  Noeul read back over what she’d written and placed the journal back on the bench. Head down, she was checking two of her test rows, when she heard the approaching clip-clop of hooves on the stone path leading up to the house. Delight crossed her face, as she looked out the tilted glass panels of the greenhouse to see Miranda and Kelly riding into the yard. She rose and wiped the dirt from her hands on a rag, as she watched Kyo dance around the front of the horses. The dog obediently sat as Miranda directed before she climbed down from Comet and tied his reins to the fence. Kelly followed suit and dropped to her knees to show her pleasure at Kyo’s enthusiastic greeting.

  After making her way outside, Noeul wrapped her arms around Miranda. “God, it’s good to see you two.”

  Miranda hugged her back and held her at arm’s length. “It hasn’t been that long, but that doesn’t matter. It’s always good to see you too. We got some mail for you that we had to sign for and decided to leave Leo in charge for a few days. It was beautiful weather for a ride and a good excuse to come for a visit. You spend too much time up here on this mountain by yourself.”

  Noeul couldn’t disagree. Sadly, she saw no solution to the issue. She hadn’t planned on living this dream alone. Every night, it grew harder to go to bed, reaching out for someone that wasn’t there and waking alone the next morning.

  Kelly walked up and drew Noeul into a motherly hug. “I’m going to grill us up some prime–A steaks tonight and fill your stomach until you pop. I’ll fatten you up yet.”

  Noeul shook her head and laughed. She missed the comfortable comradery she had with her friends and relished this unplanned visit. “I’ll go grab some fresh vegetables for sides. Will potatoes and carrots be alright?” Kelly nodded her head in agreement, and Miranda rubbed her stomach in delight.

  Miranda pulled two bottles of Noeul’s favorite red wine out of the saddlebags, holding them up in triumph. “Here’s my contribution.”

  “Now, that I look forward to. You guys go in and get cleaned up. I’ll unsaddle Comet and Vixen and put them in with Thor and Athena and give them all some feed.”

  Miranda kissed her on the cheek and grabbed their saddlebags. Noeul walked the two horses into the barn and scratched each on the muzzle. “Your mommies might be a little confused about you two being reindeer. I’ll admit, they certainly seem like the Clauses to me.” She rubbed the horses down and filled their buckets with feed and water. Kyo ran around her feet, dancing like a puppy. “Yes, we’ll go for a run before supper. Now go find Miranda and tell her you’re ready.” Kyo barked her approval and ran out of the barn toward the house.

  Noeul walked over to the garden and found the items she was looking for. She already had an onion and enough lettuce and tomatoes for a salad in the fridge. She found Miranda attempting to tie her running shoes while Kyo was licking her face. Noeul shook her head in amusement. “I’ll change, and we’ll go before she busts something.”

  Once in her bedroom, Noeul stripped down and was about to put on her jog bra when she glimpsed a redness to her side. In the mirror, she examined the area, noticing that the roots on her dragon tattoo were irritated. Noeul probed with her fingers all around the area. Nothing felt tender. She decided she must have brushed up against something while she was fixing the fence. Once dressed, she carried her shoes to the couch and felt Miranda touch the red area on her side as she sat down.

  “Honey, what’s wrong with your tattoo? It’s all red.”

  “I don’t know. I just noticed it.” Noeul stretched to look at the area. “I’ll put some salve on it after our run.”

  “Almost looks like a burn. You didn’t get up against any of your lab equipment, did you?”

  “No. Honestly, it’s fine. Not even sore. I’m guessing Kyo told you what she wanted?”

  “No mystery there. Yo
u ready?” Miranda stood and bent over to stretch her back.

  “We’ll see if you can keep up on my trails. That pasture you run in doesn’t hold a candle.” Noeul smiled and twisted sideways, loosening her obliques. “I’ll help you when we get back, Kelly.”

  “Young whippersnapper, I’ll have you eating so much of my dust you won’t need any supper.” Miranda grumbled good-heartedly.

  Kelly planted her hands firmly on her hips. “Miranda Leigh, if you pull something trying to outrun her, I’ll kick your ass. Now behave yourself.” She walked over and kissed her wife. “I’m good on fixing dinner. You two get that pup on the trail before she pees all over herself. I’m fine.”

  Miranda pushed Kelly back and sprinted out the front door, Kyo on her heels.

  Kelly kissed Noeul on the head and sighed. “Try to keep her from killing herself to show you how good she is. Remember, she’s got ten years on you.”

  “Don’t worry, Mom, I’m letting her think she’s got a head start. I promise, she’ll come back a little tired and still in one piece.” Noeul hugged her, then took off after her dog and one of the best friends she’d ever had.

  After the first mile, Miranda quit trying to outrun Noeul and they settled into a comfortable rhythm on the trail, allowing them to talk without much difficulty. Despite the years Miranda had on Noeul, she was extremely fit and always gave her a run for her money if they went all out.

  “So, how are you?” Miranda held her hand up to avoid a small branch in front of her face on the trail.

  “Honestly, I’m fine.” Noeul jumped over an exposed tree root and noticed one of Miranda’s laces was coming untied. “Hey old woman, tie your shoe before you fall and break a hip. Kelly would kill me if I let you get hurt out here.”

  “Look here, funny girl, who you calling old woman?” Miranda laughed, as she slowed and bent to finish untying and retying her lace.

  Noeul paced to keep from developing cramps and to keep her body limber. She absently rubbed her side.