Cedar Sweep First Light

If he could count, maybe he would have noticed one less among them. If he had any care at all beyond the basic necessities (food, warmth, occasional attention) maybe Sisamat would have cried for the brother he would never know.

With his eyes open and his interest in the world growing, he did notice something—a familiar greenlight, sprawling through the ulaq towards where their mother sat curled up around the body of their brother. It pulsed from time to time. It was mostly formless, this light; and judging by the way nobody else reacted to it, Sisamat presumed it was only a dream-thing. Sometimes when he slept he was in different places—and this was much like that. A sensation only he could experience. Something not wholly there.

The boy was wedged among his siblings. He was a little bit uncomfortable, being directly on his tailbone, but he was so transfixed by this play of light upon the ceiling of the ulaq that he did not mind. The sun was setting; the light grew stronger as golden hour ebbed in to an early evening. He watched the flowing light until something else caught his attention—a sound; laughter.

When he looked for the source, he saw the blurry blob of gold that was his sister. She was laughing! What was funny? What had he missed? Oh—but Sisamat remembered the greenlight, and when he turned again to look for it, saw that it was gone completely. There was only the blackness of the ulaq.

A squeal erupted from Malguk, and Sisamat rolled towards her with the intent to make her stop! She had scared away the light! Why did she do that?