Welcome to the Muppet Central Forum!
Jim Henson Idea Man
Back to the Rock Season 2
Bear arrives on Disney+
Sam and Friends Book
Slackbot
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2010
- Messages
- 3,543
- Reaction score
- 3,155
A Wandering Heart
Part 8: Relativity
by Kim McFarland
*****
The Minstrels and their follower arrived at the next colony in the early afternoon. Times of the day were becoming increasingly vague, as they had been traveling downward for days, and had not seen the sun in some time. The Fraggles in his colony, though they awoke when the Ditzies began to glow and went to sleep when they faded, still used the sky above the Gorgs' well as a reference for the time of day. It was strange to let go of that, to rely only on the Ditzies and his own body to judge the passage of time.
They were following a stream that flowed through a channel it had cut in the rock. Some of the passages were so narrow the Minstrels had to walk in the water. That was no hardship to a Fraggle, and if the others minded wet legs they didn't say anything. Then the tunnel emerged into a large, open cavern full of Fraggles who had heard the Minstrels coming. Though the Magic Pipe was not loud, its music carried far.
Janken gazed around, awestruck. The cave was almost white. It wasn't as bright as the T. Matthew Fraggle Room, but the fluted patterns on the walls made it even more beautiful. Part of the ceiling was hung with countless long, thin, crystalline stalactites that looked too fragile to be real. They dripped water into a large, shallow pond that had been created by building up the sides of the stream with rocks and clay and narrowing its exit. It was like underground rain.
A green Fraggle, her hair plastered to her head by the water, swam to the side of the pond and said, "Welcome back."
Cantus replied, "It is good to be here."
"And here is a good place to be," she answered in a similar tone.
He nodded agreement. The Minstrels went to a spot along one wall of the cave and put down their packs. Usually the Minstrels set up their camp early; they often played until late, and when you are tired you don't want to fumble around with tent poles. However, instead of putting his tent together, Cantus untied his sash, took off his robe, and laid it over his pack. Then he walked to the pond and slid into the water.
"Catching spiderflies, kid?" Murray asked.
Janken realized that he was staring. He looked away, embarrassed, and said, "I just...didn't expect that. Um, is this his home?"
"Nah. He doesn't have a home, not that I've ever seen, and I've been with him years and years. But he has family here."
"Oh." It was hard to imagine Cantus, the wandering sage and Minstrel, having relatives. But, Janken thought, why not? It's not like he was born of the stone, like the First Fraggles in the Storyteller's legends. And, he thought as he watched him swim, it was kind of nice to see Cantus relax and act like a regular Fraggle for once.
Brio said, "Are you coming?"
"If it's okay," Janken replied.
"It's the friendly thing to do," Murray said. "Water's really important here."
"Well, okay," Janken said. But, not wanting to appear too eager, he set up his bedding first.
He waited until the other Minstrels went to the pool. Unlike the Fraggles of Janken's colony, who normally jumped into the water wearing whatever they had on at the time, these removed their clothing to swim. He took off his sweater and left it on his sleeping bag.
The pond was full of Fraggles talking, floating, swimming, and generally enjoying the cool water. Murray and Brio entered the pond. Brool and Balsam sat on the sides, dangling their feet in the water—Janken guessed that they did not like to swim, and were being polite by paying respect to the custom here—and Reed rode on Brool's shoulder, safely away from the pond. Doozers hated water.
Janken noticed two women, each holding a newborn baby, standing at the edge of the pool. Cantus saw them too, and swam over. Many of the other Fraggles were looking, so Janken assumed it was okay for him to watch too.
One of the mothers presented her child to Cantus, who held it gently in wet hands. "She was born twenty-five days ago. Her eyes opened four days ago. I'm going to name her Pila."
"What are her accomplishments?" Cantus asked in a serious tone.
The mother replied just as seriously, "Digestion."
"Very good," Cantus replied, chuckling, and gave the child back to her. The other mother, a thin gray Fraggle, looked nervous. She put her baby, which was noticeably smaller than the first, into Cantus' hands and said, "He was born twelve days ago, so his eyes haven't opened yet."
The distress was plain in her voice. Calmly Cantus said, "We will name and welcome him tomorrow."
"Even though he can't see yet?"
"He can hear, and that's what is important," he told her. "What will his name be?"
The gray Fraggle looked even more worried. "I don't know."
"If you don't, who does?"
After a long, uncomfortable pause she said, "I don't know."
Cantus told her, "He will have a name, and you must search for it. When you find it, you will name him."
"How should I search?" she asked barely above a whisper.
"Search with your son. He will tell you."
She said, "Thank you," in a defeated tone of voice. She held out her hands, and he returned the newborn to her. Instead of staying near the pond, she retreated from the gallery into one of the caves beyond.
Janken felt bad for her. Cantus had not been unkind, but Janken knew how frustrating his cryptic statements could be, and he felt sorry for her. He waited a few minutes, until the group has dispersed, then swam to the far end of the pond and climbed out.
He went to the tunnel he had seen her leave by. Where had she gone from here? He didn't even know her name, so he couldn't call for her. He walked silently, listening.
Soon he heard another voice. He followed it, and found a grotto lined with smooth stone and decorated by moss and ferns. She was here, humming to her baby with a sad expression on her face. She startled when she saw Janken. He said, "Hiya."
"Hello. Are you a new Minstrel?" she asked apprehensively.
"No. I'm just following them around for a while. Um, I'm Janken."
"I'm Flitch."
"Hi, Flitch. Um... I just wanted to tell you, don't worry about what Cantus said. Sometimes he sounds weird, but he makes sense in the end."
In a low voice she said, "I have to name my son tomorrow. I don't have a name for him. I can't find his name until his eyes open."
"Why not?"
"How can I name him if I can't see his eyes?"
Janken paused. How could he answer that? Why would you need to see a baby's eyes to name it? Poncle, his little sister, had been named the day she was born. He asked, "How do babies usually get their names?"
She stared at him. "Don't you know?"
"Things are different where I came from."
"Oh." She looked at her son. "A baby's mother looks into his eyes, and after a while his name comes to her."
Janken thought about that. It sounded like weird mysticism to him, but different places had different customs. He said, "Cantus said that it's important that he can hear. If you can't look at each other, you can still hear each other."
"How will that help me find his name?"
"Well... I don't know your customs, and I don't know Cantus well enough to translate for him, but I think he wants you to listen instead of look. After all, a name's a sound."
She stared at him. Then she looked at her son again. "A name's a sound..." she whispered, stroking his hair.
"He said you'd find a name, and he's always right. You'll find it," Janken told her in what he hoped was an encouraging tone.
She nodded without looking up. "Thank you."
"It's all right," he said, and left.
**
As he returned to the pond, he thought, the more similar a colony was to theirs, the more the differences startled him. Why wait to name a baby until its eyes opened? It was as strange as celebrating moving from one cave to another. These Fraggles swam and played in the water, but it seemed somehow ceremonial to him. Maybe they also swam for pleasure on less important days. He hoped so they did; swimming was too much fun to be saved up for special occasions.
Most of the Minstrels had returned to their camp, but Cantus and Brio were still enjoying the water. The green Fraggle who had first greeted them was sitting on the side of the pool, her fur half dried. She saw Janken and said, "Did you talk to Flitch?"
"Yeah. She looked so upset. I just wanted to tell her it'd be okay."
As he sat down she said, "She's a little nervous. This is her first child, and she's worried about everything. New mothers usually are."
"Will she be okay?"
"Yeah. She's good at what she sets her mind to do. But sometimes she has to back up and get a running start, if you know what I mean."
Janken nodded. "Yeah, I guess I do."
"I'm Clio. What's your name?"
"Janken. Nice to meet you. This is the first Fraggle colony I've ever seen beside my own."
"Is yours like ours?"
"Well... I don't know yet. We swim, and we gather in a big cave, but we don't have a ceremony for naming babies. I think I'd have to hang around longer to see more of what it's like here."
"Mmm," she said, and shook her head briskly to fluff out her nearly-dry hair. Janken glanced at her, then stared. She was tall, and had a straight, pointed nose and a somewhat dreamy expression, but that was not uncommon among Fraggles. His own mother fit that description, in fact. But now that she was nearly dry he could see that her fur extended to her neck and limbs rather than only covering her body. And with her hair fluffed out, framing her face—
She teased, "Am I that fascinating?"
"No! Uh, I mean, I've only ever seen one other Fraggle who looks like you."
"Cantus?" He nodded. She smiled. "That's because he's my sire."
Her what? Her smile widened, and Janken realized how silly he must look, gaping at her. "Um, sorry. I didn't know... Um, I better be quiet."
She laughed gently. "Some years ago my mother asked Cantus to join her at midsummer. He agreed, and I was born the next spring. Perhaps you do things differently where you live, but among us that's a good way to begin a life."
"Um, I just hadn't imagined... um." Now he really felt foolish. Why shouldn't Cantus have offspring? Fraggles were very selective about the parents of their children, and those who were respected and loved were asked to become sires. He wouldn't be surprised at all if Cantus had been invited to many Midsummer Rituals. If Janken were female—oh, sheesh, where did that come from? He thought he had his crush under control. After all, Cantus was old enough to be his grandfather, with the wisdom and experience he had earned as a Minstrel and sage, and who was Janken? A random kid with all the musical skill of a rock beetle.
Shut up, Janken told himself. He was getting stupid. He looked back at Clio. Concerned, she said, "Are you all right? You look upset."
"Yeah. Um, I'm not, I'm just surprised. Look, I'm going to stop talking now and swim. Can we talk later?"
"Sure."
She watched as he slid from the wall into the water over his head, then began swimming underwater. What a funny boy, she thought. He'd be a fine Fraggle when he recovered from adolescence.
*****
Fraggle Rock and all characters except Janken, Reed, Clio, and Flitch are copyright © The Jim Henson Company. All copyrighted properties are used without permission but with much respect and affection. Janken, Reed, Clio, Flitch, and the overall story are copyright © Kim McFarland (negaduck9@aol.com). Permission is given by the author to copy it for personal use only.
Feel free to provide feedback if the spirit moves ya!