Shangri-la
Chapter 12
Slowly lowering her spoon back into the pudding cup, Iris resisted the urge to check the time. It would only tell her that more seconds had ticked by, that they had added into minutes, then inevitably into hours – two had already passed by. She was worried. She was more than worried. The only thing that kept her from panicking was the creamy chocolate and vanilla scooped from plastic with plastic and into her mouth. Four empty pudding cups littered the floor by her feet, and with a final scrape she finished off a fifth.
Where in the world was Lotus?
Then there she was, a short yellow figure amongst the tall dark trees, causing Iris’s heart to flutter with relief and freeze with panic all at the same time. She had her arm around a man, supporting him as they slowly moved. Something about him made her stomach bubble with a nauseating fear.
“L-Lotus!” she shouted, scrambling to get out of the car. “Lotus!”
Lotus waved and Iris ran to her then stopped, unsure of what to say with the stranger watching them. He glanced at her once, then fixed his eyes on the ground behind her.
“I’m sorry,” Lotus said. “This is . . . Alder.”
“Kara,” he murmured.
“What?” Iris frowned at Alder, taking a step back.
“Your animal spirit guide is named Kara.” Alder looked at Iris, his eyes seeming dead. “Strange. Kara is exactly like Lune.”
“Lune?” Iris’s eyes widened.
“My animal spirit guide, apparently.” Lotus pulled Alder past Iris to get to the car. “My God Iris, did you eat all of our pudding?”
“There are three cups left . . .” Iris found herself staring at their backs. “I was worried.”
“It took awhile to free him.” After depositing Alder in the passenger side seat, Lotus went around to the trunk and opened the lid, rummaging for her bag. “And he doesn’t walk very well either. I had to support him the entire way.”
“Oh.” Something other than fear formed a solid lump in Iris’s chest; something that wasn’t quite anger or sorrow.
“Sorry Alder, we don’t have any clothes for you. You’ll have to wait until you’re dry.” Pulling out a new shirt and pair of pants, Lotus turned to look at Iris. “Come here and make sure he doesn’t peek at me.”
Nodding, Iris automatically walked forward to stand by the passenger’s side tire. “I think he fell asleep,” he heard herself say as she stared at the hunched over figure in the car. Lotus touched Iris’s back as she leaned over to look, and Iris shivered uncomfortably. Lotus was freezing cold.
“Good,” Lotus said, her mouth close to Iris’s ear, then she stepped back and pulled off her golden tank top.
Iris looked away. “What happened? How did you find him?”
“I fell into a cave, and found him encased in ice. I would have been here sooner, but I needed his help to get out.”
“What was that thing about our animal spirits?”
“I think he can see them. I don’t know how though.”
“Oh.” Iris stared down at the ground. “Do you think he’s connected to Shangri-la?”
“Probably.” Iris could feel Lotus staring at her back. “Would you mind camping here tonight?”
“That’s fine with me. Though, I don’t like . . .”
Lotus’s arms encircled Iris, hugging her shoulders and stopping her words. “I have the same feeling, but I also believe that he can’t hurt us.”
Iris shivered again. “I hope he doesn’t.”
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