Chapter 2. The Tangle
“Come on, calm down, it’s all nonsense,” I told myself. “They taught us something about this in school, I think.” But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t recall what exactly had been said about this unnatural silence of the Guests. A shiver ran through me as I watched the grim faces of the human Travelers. I wanted to get up and bolt, maybe run back to the house. Man, Vas’ko would have a field day if he found out, I scolded myself with a sobering thought. Scared of nothing. But it turned out I had reason to be afraid. While I was staring at the Road in panic, three things happened at once. First, across the way, Kulko, the dog, barked loudly and sharply. Intrigued by the sight and stomping of a Stomper, he yanked at the leash tying him to the bench, growled menacingly, and suddenly broke free. Feeling his freedom, the dumb dog ignored old man Tusko’s calls, barked triumphantly, and charged onto the Road. Oh no! That’s a death sentence! He’d either get crushed under the feet of some giant monster or the Road itself would kill him. How? Well, it knows how, and it’s good at it. At the same time, from our side of the Road, Tininka darted out. I’d completely forgotten about her. I should’ve locked her in the shed, but I got so caught up in my preparations and nerves! Tininka, the sneaky little thing, must’ve slipped through the gate and hidden somewhere in the bushes, up a tree, or even under the bench. And it’s all my fault! She rushed onto the Road to help Kulko, flapping her tiny wings and little arms, squeaking something in her funny language. She’s gonna get herself killed, the silly thing. Ignoring Mom and Dad shouting after me, I bolted forward onto the Road to save Tininka and, if I got lucky, Kulko too. And wouldn’t you know it, right at that moment, one of the Travelers stepped off the Road onto the grass near us. If the situation weren’t so dire, I’d have been totally stunned, but right now, all I could see was Tininka. I couldn’t reach her, stuck as I was between a wide Sludger and a long bicycle ridden by something with eight legs—all eight of them pedaling. On top of that, I felt myself sinking into the Road. My legs grew heavier, getting sucked in like I was caught in some swampy quicksand. Finally, the bicycle passed, and with every ounce of strength I had, I yanked my legs free from the dirt and reached the little squealer. Grabbing her by her tiny wings, ignoring her squeaks, I tossed her far back to the roadside, shouting a simple charm, “Stayhome!” Tininka was quickly pulled toward our homestead.
Okay, now Kulko! But then I saw something huge and hairy right in front of me. After the Stomper, the dumb dog had switched his attention to this thing. Oddly enough, unlike me, he wasn’t sinking into the Road at all.
“Kulko, Kulko!” I called.
Yeah, right, no reaction! The hairy giant was way more interesting than some familiar kid. Then I remembered I had candies in my pocket—Kulko’s favorite. I pulled one out, waved it in front of him, and tossed it to the other side of the Road. The silly dog happily bounded after it, where old man Tusko, who’d been hobbling back and forth near the Road this whole time but never dared cross the line, safely caught him.
With everyone else saved, I found myself in a hopeless spot. I was stuck in the Road. I yanked my right leg with a tremendous effort and managed to pull it free, but my left sank even deeper. And coming straight at me was a massive Caterpillar. Well, that’s it, I’m done for! I shut my eyes, bracing for pain and death.
And then something grabbed my arm and literally yanked me out of the sticky Road. For a moment, I hung in the air, then somehow landed on the roadside, falling on my side and painfully bruising my ribs. As I recovered from the shock and pain, I saw Dad, pale as a ghost, Mom with tears streaming down her face, and Tininka squealing (that silly thing, she broke free of the charm somehow). Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the shadow of a fourth figure. I lifted my head and froze. It was a Traveler. The same one who’d stepped off the Road toward our bench while I was rushing to save the little troublemakers. He was the one who saved me, I realized.
“Thank you,” I managed to whisper, struggling to get to my feet.
My legs wouldn’t cooperate. Because I saw something in the Guest’s hands—something that had been on the Tripod just moments ago. Something I’d worked on long and hard. In the Traveler’s hands was the Tangle.
This meant that whoever the Traveler chose would go with him forever and never return home. It meant that whoever the Guest pointed to had to take Sidor, the bundle of food thoughtfully placed under the Tripod, and leave right then and there, without even going back into the house to gather belongings. It meant that your current life was over, becoming a thing of the past, and a new life was beginning—but what kind, no one knew. And that someone was me. I saw it in the Guest’s eyes.
He was an old man with a long beard. His piercing blue eyes were filled with coldness and calm.
“You will come with me,” he said quietly but firmly, handing me the Tangle.
I stood up and took the knotted mess into my hands. What could I say? I had to go. Beside me, Mom wept silently, and Dad stood quiet.
“I’ll come back,” I told my parents. “I promise.”
Mom hurriedly kissed me, Dad hugged me and whispered,
“Be wise, son.”
Tininka was squealing something desperate nearby, then suddenly darted into the Tangle and hid among the ropes and rags, going quiet. I tried to pull her out, but no luck. She’d just turned into a piece of rope herself—good luck telling her apart from the real ones. Never gonna happen. Well, maybe it’s for the best. I won’t feel so alone.