1. Tears

Leara was sitting in front of the mirror. Tired from a sleepless night, she rested her head on her left hand, slowly running her fingers through her already quite messy hair with her right one.

Worries troubled her. Whenever her husband Ksaetar and her brother Lean were on night watch, sleep would not come to her. She did not know what the cause of her worries was. There were no enemies, no one who could threaten their lives in any way. Her mind, it seemed, did not share that view, persistently disturbing her attempts to rest.

The shy rays of the Blazing Sphere began to appear above the level of the window, gently touching her head, tired from tossing and turning on the pillow.

She knew exactly the little spot on the wall that, when the rays of the Blazing Sphere reached it, as if on command, marked the arrival of her loved ones. There was still some time before that moment.

They won’t be here for at least another hour, maybe even a bit longer.
I need to prepare water for bathing, to heat it.
Get up, Leara, and do something.
It will be even worse if they come back exhausted and you are sitting here wasting time.
Why am I crying?

Leara’s face was full of tears, which as they streamed down entered her mouth. Their saltiness startled her. She wouldn’t have even noticed them otherwise. She took a cloth to wipe them away, casually glancing into the mirror, which until then she had been staring at blankly, focused on her thoughts.

What she saw made her recoil and almost fall off the chair. A beautiful, young, blonde girl was smiling at her from the other side of the glass. She waved shyly, revealing a small mark on her right palm. Leara dismissed the next thought without even considering it. She too had a mark on her right palm, from birth. Reddish-brown in color, no larger than her little finger.
She rejected the thought that the girl in the mirror was her. Leara had black hair, always had.

The girl patiently waited for Leara to calm down and focus on her. She used sign language. Of course, sound was not available, so sign language seemed perfectly logical. Leara, concentrated, followed her every movement, memorizing them in her mind.

After sending the message, the girl turned behind her as if expecting someone to come. She sent a final goodbye to Leara and vanished from the mirror.

2. The Message

She searched through books looking for a manual on sign language. She had read it once when she was very young. She had an imaginary friend, Trob, with whom she liked to communicate that way. But as she grew older, she had less and less time for him, eventually completely neglecting that period of her childhood.

She finally found it. She sat on the floor, placing the book in her lap. She found the explanation for the first movement, the second, the third…

Tears welled up. She wiped them with a cloth and continued studying sign language.

No, this is impossible. The doctor said I can’t. But the birthmark. And these tears, which flow without sadness to support them. I am full of worries, but I am not sad. I must go to the doctor again.

She looked at the message she had written on paper:

Mother, I am your daughter, Saba. I will be the light of your life in the days of indescribable sorrow.

Outside, the cheerful voices of her loved ones. She crumpled the paper and tucked it into her robe. She would not say anything until she was absolutely sure.

“Why are you crying? Are you sad again, my dear?” – Ksaetar called from the entrance of the house.

“It’s nothing, just… I don’t even know why. Some sadness came over me.”

That entire day Leara spent with the thought that the next day she would have to go to the village doctor, secretly. She did not want her husband to gain false hope that would later be crushed by bad news. Tomorrow he would not be on watch, but he would go to report to his superior, Tumin. Her brother had no obligations, but fortunately when he was not on duty he slept quite long. With him it would be easy. And his room was on the upper floor of the house; he wouldn’t even hear her when she left.

That night she had a terrible dream.
In the dark, stumbling through the room, she lit a lamp. Only to see her eyes, crying blood.
She woke up with a scream and tears that flowed like streams over her tired face.

3. The Girl

Foem, the village doctor, was a very busy Virteleonian. The lines were long. Patients came from all surrounding places.

He was a doctor for everything, examining patients with physical injuries as well as those who came just to check if they were healthy. Of course, he was not entirely alone. He had assistant doctors, but he was the main one. All diagnoses were made exclusively by him.

Finally reaching her turn, Leara nervously knocked on the door of his office.

“What troubles you, my dear Leara?”

“Uncontrolled tears.” – she replied.

“Lie down on the bed, we’ll see what’s going on.”

After several minutes during which Foem examined her body, occasionally sighing loudly, the doctor gestured for her to get up.

“Congratulations. You are pregnant. I don’t know how, I already told you the reasons why you cannot conceive. Rejoice in this miracle. This is a gift from God.”

Tears rushed even stronger, this time accompanied by pure happiness.

***

Lean, who had woken up, teased her as she tapped her foot impatiently, waiting to tell them both the good news.

“You, Leara, are truly something. First, you cry while waiting for us to return from watch, and now you can’t wipe that smile off your face.”

“Leave me be, wait for Ksaetar to come.”

When Ksaetar finally arrived and heard the news, he invited the entire village to a great celebration. His Leara was the first woman who was infertile to receive news of a child. Not hiding his excitement, he ordered that from now until the birth she must not do any work around the house. He would find someone to help and take over her duties.

That evening, when they finally lay down in bed, exhausted from the celebration and emotions, Leara said to her husband:

“We should go early tomorrow morning to the Lake of Pebbles. It is time to choose a name.”

“It’s still early, my dear. We don’t even know the gender…” – said Ksaetar.

“I know the gender.”

Ksaetar looked at her, confused.

“How do you know? What is the gender?”

“It will be a girl. I simply know.”

4. Saba

Regardless of the fact that she already knew what her daughter would be called, Leara watched Ksaetar with excitement as he took a pebble from the Lake of Pebbles. She had not told him anything about the mirror and the message she received. That would remain her secret. Perhaps one day she would tell him.

When they brought the pebble to the interpreter, he confirmed what she already knew – “Saba”.

***

Pregnancy among Virteleonian women lasts exactly one Virteleonian cycle. But it is believed that at a quarter of that cycle, the child becomes recognizable, in terms of gender, possible defects, or even predispositions it will have at birth.

Saba developed well, there were no complications.

They prepared the house so that everything would be ready when their daughter came into the world. As the day of birth approached, Leara became sadder than usual. More and more, Saba’s message came into her mind, which she had been suppressing all this time. But so far everything had been correct. It was confirmed that it was a girl. That her name would be Saba. But there was also the second part of the message: I will be the light of your life in the days of indescribable sorrow.

What sorrow awaited her?

The birth was scheduled in three days. She begged Ksaetar to postpone his watch for a few days when his wife would give birth. But he did not listen.

“What would I do here, rest and sleep. I would only bother you. Don’t worry, we’ll see each other tomorrow morning.”

That morning never came.

Virteleon was attacked by insect-like creatures, causing devastation that left the planet without all adult men. Defending their homeland, they gave their lives. There were male children, but they were so young that it would be unrealistic to consider any serious role until they grew up.

Saba cried at approximately the moment when her father and uncle were heroically leaving this world.

Leara never forgave herself for not telling Ksaetar about the message from the mirror. Had she done so, he would have gone to his eternal rest at least having some idea of what his daughter would look like.

5. Decision

Saba’s childhood was woven with her mother’s love and care. Although Leara spent every free moment mourning the loss of her husband and brother, she was always ready to sacrifice everything for her daughter.

The first few Virteleonian cycles showed that Saba would not be an ordinary girl. She learned to read much faster than usual. She developed an interest in martial arts.

Although she never had the chance to see her father and uncle, she kept their pictures beside her bed and imagined going into battle with them against the enemy. She dreamed of becoming a warrior, defending her homeland. She knew that she would reach her dreams through hard and painful work. That is why every morning before dawn she would go out and train. She had a wooden staff that had almost grown into her hands. She never parted from it. Since only women remained and they were not skilled in combat, Saba was a self-taught warrior. At first clumsy, but then more and more confident and better, she became a true little master of martial arts.
After her morning training, she would go to the local library and read books until the lights went out.

Her mother did not look favorably upon her interest in fighting, but she was too overwhelmed with grief to stop her. She knew that everything related to her daughter was predestined. Her resistance would not turn Saba away from what she had set her mind to.

When she started school, Saba already knew how to read and write. She also developed an interest in painting, but it was still in its early stages.

At the age of fifteen Virteleonian cycles, Saba, looking at the stars scattered across the sky, made the decision that had been forming ever since she started on this somewhat lonely path. Why lonely? For the simple reason that she was nothing like her peers. Smarter, more knowledgeable, stronger, more agile and above all braver than all of them. That was what she trained for, what she prepared for. She sacrificed her free time. She cried, lonely, but proud of her progress.

Turning her gaze away from the sky, she looked toward her house where her mother was surely already asleep. All the lights were off. Darkness, which somewhat ominously covered the entire landscape was pierced by the light of celestial bodies.

She straightened up, looked at the wooden staff in her hands and quietly said:

“It’s time.”

-End of part 1-

You can also read these two stories that are connected to this one.

Story in which the events of a battle are described. The Legend of Turlumin

A story in which the tradition of naming newborn babies is described. Lake of Pebbles