LITMIR.BIZ

      Tala and Kaya started on their journey just before daybreak. They carried only a small sack each, because they knew they must travel quickly. If their mission failed, their people would be condemned to unhappiness for eternity. They crossed the high ridge to the east and left behind all that was safe and familiar.

      Tala and Kaya continued over the ridge and headed down into the valley. This valley was deeper and darker than their own. There were no birds singing in the trees. The ground was strewn with moss and branches. Litde sunlight filtered through the thick foliage. They followed the path that twisted into the forest, losing sight of the mountains to the north.

      Parts of the trail were overgrown with salal-berry bushes and caused them to lose sight of the route. They found it again only to lose it once more on a rocky bank. As they had been traveling for several hours, they grew tired and frustrated. Finally they came to a clearing, but the mountain ridge was nowhere to be seen.

      To the right of them was a meadow overgrown with straggly weeds, stretching as far as the eye could see. To the left was a dark and somber cedar forest. The path that they had lost was now clearly visible, leading into the woods. They followed it as the light grew dimmer and dimmer. Rotting wood and decaying branches lay on each side of the path.

      A sharp scraping noise to one side made them stop dead in their tracks. They stood frozen, unsure whether to run or to remain where they were. Their breathing resounded against the tree trunks.

      They heard the noise again and whirled around to see two dead trees rubbing together in the wind. They relaxed, daring to breathe deeply once more. Tala laughed nervously.

      They walked deeper into the forest, whistling loudly to reassure themselves. The trees were so thick they blocked the last rays of sunlight. Dusk was falling quickly and the twins could barely see the path.

      “Should we go on or camp for the night?” Tala asked.

      “It is getting very dark but each minute we delay the box is being taken farther and farther away,” Kaya said.

      They both decided to carry on, putting one foot in front of the other, gingerly groping their way along in the dark. Suddenly they came to a clearing where a large shape shimmered in the dim light. In the middle of the clearing was a massive cedar tree trunk, at least four metres in diameter.

      The path led around to the right and left of the trunk. Kaya motioned to Tala to scout around the tree to the left side and he would go to the right. Kaya crept around the tree with her spear held tighdy in hand. She came to a fire pit and felt the ashes; they were cold.