...fall off a cliff?"
"But WHY?" you cry. "WHY did they want me to
fall?"
"We don't know," Loria says. "We can't tell. Only YOU
hold the answers now."
"Wait. In the forest I heard a voice. It called me Calamyna. It
wanted me to HELP the Enyd. So, how do you explain that?"
"We can't," Jalin says. "Only YOU can." He bends
down beside you. "Listen, Ni (may I call you so?), only you hold,
in your mind, the secrets of the Enyd and the secrets of the voice you
heard. You are the only hope of this country. You are the hope of the
Enyd. You are the hope of the Teladie, and also, most importantly, you
are the hope of all of Casaler. You are hope."
"Why not call me Hope and be done with it?" you laugh
impatiently.
"Hope," Jalin seems to feel it. "Yes, that is what you
will be called. Hope."
"Yes." Jalin nods. "You did. But 'twas the Enyd who put
you up there. They wanted you to fall--to your death. Your untimely
death." He pats your hand. There is warmth in the touch--and
something, too, you cannot place. He looks at you longingly.
