Day after day, she had waited in the hopes of seeing Her. It didn’t matter that no one had seen Her for years, and those few people who did claim to have seen Her were now gone from this world.

The lore said that the Green Serpent was a protector. But what did she or her village need protection from? Narla was entering the season of her life where she could choose to remain in her village, or venture to other islands in this vast sea she knew as her world. Perhaps the Green Serpent would bring wisdom--or offer knowledge that would help her make the decision she now faced.

The lore also spoke of a sacrifice that must be made, but it didn’t specify what type. She’d asked so many people in her village, but they made The Sign and turned away from her.

The Sign. Narla shuddered. Narla knew she was different. To make matters worse, she always asked too many questions, and according to her mother's friend, was not a good sign.

“Nothing good will come of it,” her mother’s friend had whispered. “There--I’ve said too much already.” The older woman had smiled at her in the same way that others did.

The moons began their descent into the silvery sea. She loved this time, the sky alive with colors for which she had no name, just a wordless awe. Her mother called her a dreamer, shaking her head in dismay. Narla was secretly pleased, as she often fantasized that she had come from another island, one far away.

The ceremony would begin tomorrow, and even though Narla was excited to meet this rite of passage, but she wished she had more time. Why wouldn’t the Green Serpent rise from the sea, take her down, down, down beneath the surface, show her the truth of who she was?

It had been difficult growing up here, even though she was loved. She never felt like she fit in with the other girls her age. None of the boys appealed to her; they could fulfill none of her fantasies with their seafaring ways. Rarely in port, most often far out, casting nets for the sea plants that were their sustenance.

Not that one of the farmers would fulfill her fantasies, either. They thought only of the phases of the moon, when to plant, when to reap, how to preserve what they had gathered.

Feeling guilty that she’d be late for dinner once again, Narla stood, brushed off the clinging sea grass, made her way back along the tide pool-covered rocks to shore.

“There you are!” her mother scolded. “Your dinner is cold--”

Narla hugged her mother, and the older woman returned the hug, but not as warmly as Narla wished.

That was another thing that Narla had always longed for--her mother’s genuine love. Her little brother was the favored one, and even though Narla adored him, she couldn’t help feeling the twinge of grief every time she looked into his obsidian eyes or tossled his dark curly hair.

Perhaps that was another thing that bothered the others, her mother most of all. Where her people had dark curls, obsidian eyes, her hair was straight and the reddish-hue of potters’ clay, her eyes, serpent green.

She was different, and this had become more and more apparent the older she became. Now, as she approached The Choice, it seemed that it was being made for her. She would be encouraged to leave. The ceremony, the ritual, a mere formality.

Sighing, Narla spooned the cold stew into her mouth, chewed, tasted nothing. Her belly received the food, but was not nourished.

Sometime during the night, Narla was awakened by a keening. She had not heard that sound since her father had passed into the night, never to return.

Careful not to wake her little brother, Narla wrapped a blanket around her against the chill, then climbed out the window, dropping down into the sand below.

Making her way by the light of the twin moons, Narla followed the sound which grew louder the closer she came to the shore. She didn’t see anyone else at first, then further down, noticed a figure rocking back-and-forth just outside the forbidden sacrificial cave. Only the elders were allowed in here, but she didn’t recognize this woman as one of them.

She crept cautiously toward the woman, paused at a distance, hoping that the woman would turn her way, would speak with her.

The woman continued to keen, but had stopped rocking. A few more moments passed, and no sound emanated from her lips save deep cleansing breaths.

She turned toward Narla, locked her gaze with the younger woman, and smiled. “You’ve come.”

Curious, Narla drew closer. The woman seemed to beckon to her, the gesture an unfamiliar one.

As Narla drew the blanket tighter, traversed the well-worn, forbidden path, an unseasonable mist arose. She could still see her way up the steep incline, but when she turned to measure the distance she had traveled, she could no longer see her village. How strange, she thought, but resumed her climb, her feet seeming to know the way even though she had never ventured here. To do so was forbidden, but no one ever explained why.

Finally at the top, Narla was surprised that the woman was gone. The cave entrance wasn’t blocked, though, and she looked inside. There was a luminous green glow emanating from the cave’s walls, and she walked further into the cave.

“Hello?”

No one answered, but she sensed that she was supposed to follow the path that was so clearly marked before her.

She continued to make her way, Narla heard a scraping sound, turned, and saw that the large sheath of rock had covered the cave’s entrance once again.

“There’s no turning back now.“ Narla spoke these words softly, resumed her journey, following clearly marked twists and turns, curious as to how the woman had journeyed so far ahead of her.

At last, she arrived in a large domed area filled with crystal formations, all emanating with the same green glow.

And there was the woman, seating on a bench, waiting for her. “You have come.”

“Yes,” Narla replied hesitantly, still not certain where she was or how this woman knew her.

The woman gestured again, her long elegant hands reaching out to Narla.

She came closer and gasped. “You look like me!”

The woman smiled. “Of course. I’m from your mother’s clan, come to take you home.”

“But my mother--”

The woman shook her head, sadly, it seemed. “You’ve lived among these people, but they are not your people. We’ve looked for you a long, long time. The one you call ‘mother’ here did a good thing to care for you, but she is not your real mother."

“I don’t remember any other.”

“You will, in time. Once you are returned.”

“How did I get here?”

The woman laughed, “So many questions! Such a delight you are.” She patted the space next to her on the bench. “Sit with me, and I will tell you what I can.”

Narla sat down on the bench, and was startled as it conformed to her body.

“So, you wandered off one day. You were a little thing, not too steady on your feet yet, but quite adventurous. We were here, observing these people, and your mother, my sister, who had insisted on bringing you since you were still a suckling one, thought you were sleeping. Well, apparently, you were not. The rock sheath was not in place, and somehow you managed to climb down that path. Imagine that!”

Narla listened, mesmerized, as the tale unfolded.

“The woman you call ‘mother’ probably found you, or one of their fishermen, but we thought at first that you’d wandered somewhere off in the caves. They’re labyrinthian in places, with deep pits, pools of water. Your mother--she searched. We all searched. Returned over and over again, but never caught sight of you.”

Tears flowed down Narla's face. "I've always known something wasn't right. My mother--she tried to love me, but--I believe you. It explains so much. How did you find me?"

“The last time someone visited here, they saw you on the rocks, knew it had to be you, our lost one. So I came to see--and here you are.”

“But why not just come looking for me in the village. Who are you? Who am I?”

“We are from another world far from here. We’re not supposed to mingle with your people. There was an accident once. Someone saw us in our true form, saw us shift back again, and we had to take him with us. It's possible that he was your foster mother's mate. Your people here are not ready. They are too--they are just not ready.”

“I remember hearing of a serpent. A green serpent. My people have a story about Her, about how she grants wishes, brings wisdom. I’ve been calling to Her to help me.”

The woman tilted her head to the side, closed her eyes. A faint humming sound, and then she shifted form.

Narla gasped. Before her now was something unlike any of the legends. Far from a serpent form, the woman took on a green-hued skin not unlike the glow emanating from the cave walls. She still looked human, but her eyes had slanted, elongated. Instead of legs, she now had an elongated tail of sorts, covered with shimmering skin, like the inside of an abu’s shell.

“I am--I am--”

“Yes,” her voice now accented with a slight purring, “you are one of us. And you would be going through The Change soon. It is good that we caught you in time.”

“The Change! It was to happen tomorrow. A ceremony. My people did know.”

The woman blinked her immense eyes, then gradually began to return to human-like form.

“They know of this? We had no idea. Perhaps I will return with you to your village. Perhaps it is time that we lived among each other once again.”

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