Kalu, Newborn Spirit (Part 1)

The creature didn’t know what he was, who he was, or where he belonged. He stared out from under the fallen log at the expanse of forest before him, seeing things he had never seen and hearing things he had never heard. He knew nothing. All he knew was that his name was Kalu, and that he had something he had to do.

He wasn’t sure, but something told him that getting out from under this log would help him accomplish this unknown task. He considered it, but decided that he liked it where he was. He walked over and alighted on the stem of a large leaf. There he rested, looking and listening. He saw beams of light streaming down from somewhere, leaving a beautiful pattern of light and dark on the ground. What was causing it, he wondered. Why wasn’t all the light reaching the ground? He looked up. A tapestry of green and blue lay suspended above him, thousands of miles high it seemed.

So some of the light was being blocked. Interesting.

The wonders of this place occupied him for hours, until the subtle green glow from his body was the only light.

He began to feel strange. Moving and seeing was harder. A little voice inside him was telling him to relax, to unwind—to sleep. A moment later, all was black.

When he awoke, thousands of tiny clear orbs covered everything around him. Kalu decided that today, he would venture out from under the log.

Tentatively, he moved into the early morning light. He looked up, afraid that something would jump down and attack him.

As Kalu’s courage grew, he floated farther and farther away from the log. He stopped on top of a bare patch of rock and looked around, awed by the huge brown and green forms surrounding him, the beams of light shining through the canopy, and the strange sounds all around. He heard chrips, rumbles, swishes, and from far away, and eerie howl that racked him with shivers.

That was when it hit him. He looked around. Nothing else. No one else like him.

What was he, anyway? He tried to look at himself, but all he saw was a faint green glow.

Slowly, the few fragments of knowledge he had in his mind began to weave themselves into a coherent thought. Light. His body, whatever its form, made light. Light reflected off the clear orbs scattered about. He moved in front of one, and saw a tiny ball of green light. He rammed himself into it, delighting at the cool feeling on his body.

Now he knew what he was, or at least what he looked like. Now he could find others like him, provided there were any.

He decided to stay under his log for another dark-time. As before, he fell into that state of calm blackness. His vision returned and he set out from under the log. He felt—somehow weak. It was hard for him to make his way to the bare patch of rock he had rested on the previous light time. He stayed there for a long time, growing weaker by the minute.

What was happening to him? Frantically, he tried to find something—anything that could nourish him—keep him alive. He searched all around the clearing, but nothing seemed to help. Kalu’s vision started to blur and fade. Sounds degenerated into a meaningless ringing. With a soft cry, he lost consciousness.

A loud screech jolted him awake. He stared up at a something—someone—another creature. Gray, and at least five times larger than he was. Kalu tried to back away, but he was cornered up against a stick.

“Don’t be afraid,” it said. “I won’t hurt you.”

“Wh—what are you?” asked Kalu.

“I’m a mouse,” it said. “My name is Ina. What’s your name?”

“Kalu,” he said. “Do you know what I am?”

“Of course,” said Ina. “You’re a spirit.”

“A what?”

“A spirit. A free soul.”

“What do spirits do?”

“They wander,” said Ina. “Wander until the ruler of us all, the Forest Guardian, grants us an animal form. I was once a spirit, until just a few days ago.”

“Day?”

“You’ve seen it get dark, and then get light again, yes?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a day. When it’s light, you have daytime. When it’s dark, you have nighttime. You sleep when it’s night, unless you’re a bat—a certain kind of animal. How long have you been here?”

“Three days.”

“That’s bad. Spirits are nourished by the sights, sounds, and smells of unfamiliar things. If you stay in one place for too long, you’ll die.”

“So—you’re saying I should leave here?”

“Yes.”

“Well, if staying here means I’ll die, I suppose I should leave.”

Ina laughed. “Yes, you should.”

“Will you come with me?”

“I’m afraid not,” she said, a twinkle in her eye. “I have my own task. I seek to help the Forest Guardian, and I must accomplish my task as quickly as possible. Goodbye, Kalu, newborn spirit.”

With that, she scampered away. Kalu watched her go, and then decided that today would be the day to leave this part of the forest and explore the rest. He now knew what his task was.

“I’ll do it! I’ll find what I am!” His voice was small and weak, but he poured every drop of strength he had into the cry. He turned toward some glittering object some distance away and began to make his way toward it, running over the moss, leaves, and needles that covered the forest floor.

By nightfall, Kalu had covered quite a long distance, and seen many new things, including other animals. Most of them ignored him, through he was sometimes conscious of a large black shape staring at him from one of those tall structures.

He stopped next to a very strange place, looking all around, taking everything in. There was a rushing, trickling sound, and he saw a continuous stream falling from the top of a rock outcropping and into a pool of the same clear, cool, shiny substance he’d seen before. He made his way to the edge and was able to get a much better view of himself. He wasn’t sure of his size, but everything around him was larger, so he guessed he was small. He went inside a small hole in the rock, and the gentle sound of the falling clear-shine soon lulled him to sleep.

A cackling laugh tore Kalu out of his slumber. He jolted awake to see a huge form, even larger than Ina the mouse. The moonlight reflected off its hard black and yellow scales.

“Well,” it hissed. “A young spirit, eh?”

Kalu pressed himself against the back of his tiny cave. “Wha—what do you want?”

“I want to kill you. There are enough spirits wandering around. Soon there will be so many animals that we won’t have any food. You won’t mind dying for the sake of the forest, or will you?”

“Wh—why me? Why me? I’m only a few days old.”

“Still, if I don’t kill you, then you’ll grow and turn into another food-eating animal.”

Kalu was in hysterics. “Please! Don’t hurt me!”

“Pleading shall have no effect.”

The creature reared back in preparation to strike. Kalu dashed out the hole as fast as he could.

“Escaping me won’t be that easy, spirit!” the creature hissed as Kalu sped away.

Kalu made at once for the clear-shine pool and skimmed over its surface, leaving a trail of green light in his wake. He could hear the creature gliding through the clear-shine behind him.

So began a chase where the pursuer was hidden in darkness, and the quarry shone like a star. Kalu reached the opposite bank. Suddenly, an enormous rock sprang from the night. He swerved to avoid it and slammed right into a stem. Dazed, Kalu turned around and beheld the glistening fangs of the creature pursuing him.

Only one thing to do. With all his strength, he plunged into the clear-shine and disappeared under its surface. He could hear the creature hissing with anger as he pushed deeper. The clear-shine seemed to not want him to pass through. It grew harder and harder, but Kalu ignored it.

Once he was sure he was deep enough to be safe, he swam into a small crack in the rock and hunched against its cold, slippery surface, falling asleep within moments.

When he awoke, light filled the pool. He struggled to find his vision for several minutes. The clear-shine was slightly warmer than it had been the night before. He had noticed the air being colder at night. Maybe it cooled down the water too.

Kalu floated up out of the pool, a feeling of accomplishment inside him. He was learning more about this forest every minute, but the words of the creature that had attacked him last night troubled him. Food shortages? What did that mean? What was food?

He carefully looked around for the creature that had attacked him last night, but it had vanished. He carefully made his way away from the pool and into unfamiliar country.