Chapter 18
The time for harvest came but Floyd was unable to help and only rarely walked out on the hill to watch their progress. The swelling in his feet and legs was getting worse, and even with the oversized slippers the Fixers made for him, walking was difficult. He could still read and remember what he read but it took a lot of energy to concentrate on the material and after a while he just gave up. His memories became more and more his refuge. He tried to visit with Lina and the kids but had trouble keeping up as his thinking was getting slower and slower.
One morning after Floyd picked at the food she had served Lina asked, "Is the grayness coming back?"
Floyd accepted the cup of coffee she offered him and after a pause said, "There is still some color but, yes, the grayness is coming back." Floyd could still enjoy the smell and taste of his coffee but most foods had a metallic flavor which was unpleasant. He saw no need to eat anyway, and tried eating only to please Lina.
Lina sat in her chair watching the man she loved sip his coffee. His hair and beard were scraggly and unkempt. His face and eyes were so swollen that he had only slits to look through. His hands were so pudgy that he had trouble holding the coffee cup and could no longer dress himself. He had a pungent odor which permeated everything that was in contact with his skin. She said, "We need to give you a haircut."
Floyd responded, "The clippers are broken."
"I will have the Fixers make something that will work." She asked, "Is the odor from the disease?"
"You mean the dead fish smell? It is the toxins weeping out through my skin. The last time I kept trying to clean my skin to the point that my skin was raw and bleeding. Not much we can do about it, sorry."
Lina reached over and touched his shoulder, "No reason to be sorry. It is what it is as this great man has taught me."
Floyd managed a small smile and finished the coffee before laying his head back for a nap. He slept most of the time but his legs were forever twitching and kicking to the point that Lina could not share his bed. It was the cramps that bothered Floyd the most. Sometimes they would wake him up from a sound sleep and it was all he could do to keep from screaming. If he tried to do the simplest things with his hands they would cramp up into claws that looked like someone was trying to make shadow figures. He did not complain but dreaded the grayness as it pushed all color out of his life. His mind had more and more trouble thinking and he often could not remember the kids' names. Every time he awoke one of the children was sitting nearby. They would visit with Floyd if he was up to it; otherwise they would just sit and be with him.
The Fixer doctor helped Lina wrap Floyd's legs with a stretchy material to help control the swelling and it may have helped a little. Floyd could no longer walk at all without help and spent almost all of his time in the chair because he had trouble breathing if he lay flat. His dreams and memories were blurring together and he was having trouble telling them apart. When he heard the screams of birthing, he at first thought it was a dream about Lina giving birth. The screams continued and Floyd realized that his grandchild was about to be born. A rare smile crossed his face and Ally who was sitting at his side said, "Amara's baby wishes to be born."
Floyd drifted in and out of awareness but when Lina put the newborn in his arms he was awake. He tried to see the baby but his vision was so blurry he could not see any features but he could hear it crying. He gently touched the baby's head and started to sing his simple song. His gruff voice managed to carry through the small dome and everyone stopped to listen to his rendition of "Home on the Range" as he sang the same verse over and over again until both he and the baby were asleep.
Lina gently picked up the baby and returned it to Amara. By the time she had settled mother and baby together and returned to Floyd he had gone to the other side. Her tail drooped to the floor as she stood and stared at what used to be the man she so loved. Ally stood by her and they cried together not saying anything for a long time. Ally spoke first saying, "Father kept his promise to Amara, he sang to her baby."
Lina through her tears said, "I wasn't with him when he died."
"No, Mother, he died when it was time and left us with the memory of his song."
All of the children were now huddled around the chair trying to figure out what needed to be done. There was a knock on the door and when one of the kids opened it several Fixers were there with a platform that they carefully laid Floyd on. They stepped back to allow Lina and the kids to say goodbye one last time before taking the body to the large dome. Amara was sitting in the smaller chair nursing her baby through her tears and said, "The ceremony of the dead needs to be planned."
Lina said, "Floyd said he wished to join those on the hill of the dead. I will have Mr. Watson plan the ceremony."
Ally spoke up in a strong voice saying, "Father was from the sky and we need to return him to the sky." She went on, "His bones do not belong to the ground he belongs to the sky and we need to send him to the sky."
Lina asked, "How would we do this?"
"I think we need to turn him to smoke and let him ascend on the winds."
Lina said, "One of you connect with Mr. Watson on the terminal and inform him of Floyd's passing to the other side. Ask him about Ally's idea."
Mr. Watson sent his condolences and told them the concept of a funeral pyre was an ancient rite of burning the remains of a respected member of a community. He closed by saying, "I will work with the Fixers on the ceremony using this idea."
Lina slept little that night until she was finally cried out and had no more tears. Morning came and the children had fixed some food but Lina could not eat. She did drink the leftover coffee that was still in Floyd's cup from the day before. Everyone had a small gift to give to Floyd as they sent him back to the sky but Lina could not think of anything. Ally said, "Mother, can you not give him some of the coffee beans he loved."
This brought on more tears but Lina was able to say, "Yes, I will send him on his way with some of the coffee he so loved."
All too soon the Fixers were assembled outside of their dome and the procession started to the hill of the dead. Lina was offered a ride on the drone but refused, preferring to honor Floyd by walking the last time with him. Amara insisted on carrying her baby but she tired and needed to ride the last portion. The Fixers carried the body of Floyd covered by a simple blanket as high above their heads as they could on a simple platform. They rotated positions so that all had the honor of helping. As they neared the hill Mr. Watson began to play the songs that Lina had sung so long ago. They assembled in a circle around the raised platform that had been built in the center of the hill. The platform rested upon a large pile of straw. The singing stopped and the flute-like instruments of the Fixers were played. Lina had not heard the sound before and found it both haunting and refreshing, giving her enough energy to go forward with the ceremony. When the music stopped, each of the six kids was given a firebrand. As they stood ready to send their father back to the sky Ally did her part saying, "Father, you came from the sky to save our people and to the sky we wish to return you."
Mr. Watson started to play the recording of Floyd singing his simple song. In unison the six kids applied their torches to the pile of straw and then stepped back as the fire spread. Lina then stepped to the edge of the fire and cast the coffee beans she had carried in her hand into the fire. She had meant to speak but could not and simply stepped back. The kids took their turns tossing something that they associated with their father into the fire. Then it was the other Fixers’ turns. Led by Tesla, they walked up to the fire and each placed a small paper airplane into the blaze. The fire blazed ever higher as the coal oil saturated straw in the center caught fire.
The simple song of Floyd's continued to be played and everyone stood until the flames had burned themselves out and Floyd was once again in the sky. Despite the kids begging her to ride back with Amara in the drone, Lina could not leave. Only when Amara said, "Mother,
our baby needs you!" did Lina seem to respond and climb aboard the drone.
The End
Other Books by Charles Kaluza
The First Indigan
Brain Worms
The Sacred Water Trilogy
Half Brains
The Time Before
The Scarlet King
Growing up on Eddie's Island
Medical Sci-Fi Short Stories
The Alaskan Voyage of the Sea Shanty
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