Role

Chapter 1

The tall jug felt cool against her skin despite the heat of the jungle.
She listened to the sounds of the birds and insects, and inhaled the
myriad scents of growth and decay, and relished the incongruity of it all.
This was the best part of her day: when she went to fetch the water. As
the only daughter, village customs dictated that this task was hers and
hers alone. Some girls her age saw this as an imposition, but not
Rayangha. Fetching the water gave her the opportunity to trek through the
jungle, alone with her thoughts, which was her favorite place to be.

Sometimes, as she walked through the jungle to the place where their
village drew water, Rayangha fancied she heard it whispering to her. The
buzz of the insects, leaves rustling in the wind, the stream flowing along
beside her, the song of birds; these would rise and fall, blending with
one another in such a way as to convey the distinct impression of
language, but as soon as the sounds clicked into place in her mind they
would vanish, once again simply an unrelated collection of noises. Once
she had tried to describe it to another child, hoping to find a kindred
spirit, but the other girl merely made the sign to ward off evil spirits
and called Rayangha stupid. So it was her secret now, to enjoy alone.

Lost in her thoughts, she looked around and realized she'd reached the
point in the stream where they drew water. It had seemed like the jungle
was whispering to her again as she walked, but, unlike the many other
times, its multitude of voices did not fade this time when she became
consciously aware of their presence. In fact, they seemed to grow even
louder and more animated when she belatedly noticed the old man who was
crouched by the stream. He was bent down, lifting water to his mouth with
a cupped hand in order to drink. The whispers ceased abruptly when he
spoke:

"What do you seek, putri?"

She found it disconcerting that he didn't turn around to look at her
before speaking, but she hadn't been making any effort to walk quietly so
he must have heard her approach and assumed it was one of the village
girls. That must be it. Still, it was an odd question: what else would
she seek here besides water? And why had he called her "daughter"?