Read The Spaces Between (A Drunkard's Journey) for Free Online Page B

I know he had come a long way, but I don’t know from where. It was like he had flown in the air or run underground. It seemed strange to just be there. Nobody in the field. Then he was there. Now he snored loudly. I wanted the spicy drink, but he made funny faces when he slept.
    Suddenly Fa came in. The stranger sat up. “For Sacuan’s sake!” he yelled. “You scared the living Light out of me!”
    “I—”
    “Never mind, never mind! What have you heard of the mage?”
    Fa smiled. There was someone with him. An old man. He had white hair and a very large white beard. He looked silly. His robe was dirty. He smelled like an inn. His nose was ugly and bent. Like an old turnip. Ugly Nose.
    “I found your mage,” Fa said.
    I grabbed his arm. Mages scared me. They were old men and Ma said they could sink ships and kill children. Fa said they did good work. Ma said they were demons. I wanted the mage gone. He stood in our house, and I wanted him gone.
    “Son, son, everything is alright. This man works for the Light.”
    “That is true, young man. What is your name?”
    He had a very ugly nose. I wanted him to leave. Now.
    “Son…?”
    “It’s…it’s alright, Bimb, this man is here to help us.”
    Ugly noses never helped me. Mean, ugly, ugly noses. I went to the kitchen for the spicy drink. Fa or Ma won’t have any, so I will. Ugly nose must leave. Must leave!
    But no, Fa kept talking to him.
    “I’m sorry, he is—”
    “Sacuan bless us all,” Ugly Nose said softly. “I understand.” How can a soft voice be hard like stone? “In any case, my dear Protector,” he talked to the stranger who made the funny noises, “what seems to be the problem?”
    “I’ll tell you!” The man talked very fast. As fast as a grouse taking off. I drank the spicy drink. My head started to hurt. “Lost! Lost! The Temple is lost! I was bringing supplies from the woods and returned to screaming and loud noises. Someone screamed ‘Gozath’ or something, the Temple went dark, and the old man destroyed Gozath and then silence. I’m sure the old man did not survive the attack, he sent out some very colorful spells.”
    “What colors?” Ugly Nose asked.
    “Purple and green and white…I can’t remember.”
    “Is anything left of the attacker?”
    “No.”
    “I see.”
    It was quiet for a long time. Why was it so quiet? I peeked out, but Ugly Nose saw me and I looked away. I had to pee. But Ugly Nose kept talking. I had to go past him to go outside. I did not want to see him. I did not like him. He was scary. Mages were scary.
    “Sacuan help us,” Fa said.
    “Sacuan help us all,” Ugly Nose said at the same time.
    It was quiet again. A cricket started singing in the kitchen wall. One-two, one-two, one-two, four-eight, four-eight, eight-sixteen, one-two , I counted.
    Fa kept talking with Ugly Nose and the strange man. I went to the barn. We had nice horses. My sutan was there too. I sat on a big box of straw and played.
    Soon he would come. He always came. In between the spaces. Spaces between the notes in the music. Fa and Ma called them notes, but a note is written on paper. I cannot write on paper. I play music and Fa calls it notes. He—not Fa—comes to me between the notes.
    I picked up the sutan. It had ten strings and I liked how it sounded. I have a five string one. It does not sound as good. Ten strings are harder, but I play a lot. Fa says that practice is good. When I play he calls it practice. He wants me to play in inns. Or Temples. I don’t want to. I like to play ten strings. Ten strings are better. They make more notes if you play a lot of strings at once.
    You must help my son , the man said. He came to me between the notes in the song. I just started a new song. It was light and slow.
    You must help my son , he said again. I heard him the first time. Why was he asking for help? He never did. He always told me tales. The man told me he missed his son.
    “Can you talk to him?” I played a note that