Page 139 of Tiger's Quest
“Can you tell the pretty lady your name?”
“Rock,” the boy replied.
“Your name is Rock?” I asked.
The sweet baby face grinned at me.
Kishan said, “Actually, his name is Tarak.”
“Tarak?” I gasped. “That’s impossible! He looks like he’s almost two!”
Kishan shrugged. “Apparently, the Silvanae mature quickly.”
“Amazing! Tarak, come here and let me take a look at you.”
I held out my arms, and Kishan encouraged him forward. Tarak took a few clumsy steps toward me before falling into my lap.
“You’re such a big boy now! And so handsome too. Would you like to play? Watch this.”
I took the Scarf from around my neck, and we watched the kaleidoscope of colors shift and change. When the baby touched it, a tiny handprint of hot pink appeared on the fabric before disappearing in a swirl of yellow.
“Stuffed animals, please.”
The fabric shifted, divided, and turned into stuffed animals of every kind. Kishan sat beside me, and we played with Tarak and the stuffed animal parade. The sting in my heart lessened as I laughed with the young Silvanae child.
When Kishan picked up the stuffed tiger and taught Tarak the proper way to growl, he looked up at me. Our eyes met, and he winked. I grabbed his hand, squeezed it, and mouthed, “Thank you.”
Kishan kissed my fingers, smiled, and said, “Aunt Kelsey needs to get some sleep. It’s time to take you back to your family, Little Man.”
He scooped up Tarak, placed him on his shoulders, and said quietly, “I’ll be right back.”
I gathered the stuffed animals and told the Scarf we didn’t need them anymore. Threads began spinning in the air and wove themselves back to form. Just as it finished, Kishan returned.
He crouched down, cupped my chin, and tilted my face up for his perusal. “Kelsey, you’re exhausted. The Silvanae have prepared a bath for you. Go soak for a while before you sleep. I’ll meet you in the Grove, okay?”
I nodded and let the same three Silvanae women lead me back to the bathing area. They were quiet this time, leaving me to my thoughts as they gently soaped my hair and rubbed scented lotion into my skin. They dressed me in a spun-silk robe before an orange-winged fairy guided me to the Grove of Dreams. Kishan was already there and had taken the liberty of creating a hammock with the Divine Scarf.
I mocked gently, “Not interested in sharing the honeymoon suite again, I see.”
His back was turned toward me as he tested a knot of the hammock. “I just thought it would be better to . . .” He turned around and gave me a potent, steamy look. His golden eyes widened, and he quickly busied himself with knots again. Clearing his throat, he said, “It’s definitely better for you to sleep by yourself this time, Kells. I’ll be comfortable over here.”
I shivered and tried to pretend Kishan’s gaze hadn’t affected me. “Suit yourself.”
Kishan got into his hammock, laying back with his hands behind his head. He watched me as I pulled back the sheets.
I heard him say softly, “You look really . . . beautiful, by the way.”
I turned toward him, lifted an arm, and ran my hand down the blue silk robe with long fairy sleeves. I knew that my hair hung down in supple waves and my pale skin gleamed from a vigorous scrubbing and the sparkling lotions of the Silvanae. Perhaps I did look beautiful, but I felt hollow, as empty as a plastic Easter egg. Colorfully, perhaps even elaborately decorated on the outside, but there was nothing in my center. I was drained to the core. “Thank you,” I said mechanically as I climbed into the bed.
I lay awake staring at the stars for a long time. I could feel Kishan’s eyes on me as I tucked a hand under my cheek and finally drifted to sleep.
I dreamt of nothing. Not of Ren, not of myself, not Kishan or even Mr. Kadam . . . I dreamed of emptiness. A great blackness filled my mind, a void. A space with no shape, no depth, no richness, and nohappiness. I woke before Kishan. Without Ren, my life meant nothing. It was empty, hollow, and worthless. That was what the Grove of Dreams was trying to tell me. Too much was gone.
When my parents died, it was like two mighty trees had been uprooted. Ren had come into my life and had filled the empty landscape of my heart. My heart had healed, and the dry ground had been replaced by soft grass, lovely sandalwood trees, climbing jasmine, and roses. Right in the center of everything was a water fountain surrounded by tiger lilies, a beautiful place where I could sit and feel warmth and peace and love. Now the fountain was shattered, the lilies uprooted, the trees toppled, and there just wasn’t enough soil left to grow anything else. I was barren, desolate—a desert incapable of sustaining life.
A soft breeze stirred my hair and blew strands of it across my face. I didn’t bother pushing them aside. I didn’t hear Kishan get up. I just felt his fingertips brush against my face as he lifted the strands from my cheek and tucked them behind an ear.
“Kelsey?”
