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The Gift, Redux Bethany and Anapa, Introduction copyright comidacomida 2026 There had always been a certain tempo to life for Bethany; some of it was likely the schedule of school and some of it was most certainly the pace at which her family lived life. During that summer, however, both were disrupted and, somehow, everything seemed to move quickly and slowly at the same time. After the blink of an eye in what felt like a span of forever, summer was over, and Bethany knew she wouldn't be able to stay in Pinetown. That realization was gradual; although it had been coming for a long time, she noticed it in the little ways as the summer waned. Her mom still hadn't recovered from the loss and Bethany was still trying to deal with it herself; she realized that she wanted distance-- she NEEDED distance, and so, she made plans. It took her two weeks and her goodbye to her parents was a note; nobody needed the drama of a long goodbye. She headed out early morning since her train left at 9 and she had a half mile walk with a single piece of luggage plus a handbag. It wasn't much with which to restart a life but it was easy to carry and the apartment she'd secured was already furnished so it worked well. She didn't go alone, however: Anapa went with her. Although he'd come on strong at first, his presence was something that she'd started to grow used to. Whenever she'd been out on the street of Pinecity he was always a few steps behind her, following a respectable distance away. He never came into her home though, which meant that she was not forced to deal with him all the time. They spoke occasionally, but he was patient enough to almost always let her be the one to initiate it and so she found, as with everything else, a certain equilibrium. The train arrived on time, which was much better than the cobbled together bus system in Pinecity. She handed off her single piece of luggage to the attendant and presented her ticket then climbed on board, her handbag (and Anapa) coming with her. She found her way to her seat; they were set up as benches in 'pods' with one facing forward and one facing backward. She hadn't liked the idea of being placed with a random stranger but, as the train pulled away from the station and started its lengthy westward journey she was pleasantly surprised to see that she was alone... except for the Jackal. In the passenger compartment she had the bench to herself and Anapa sat across from her. While he continued to give her space he was not quiet; the Jackal spent much of the time speaking to himself. He said words Bethany didn't understand and recited them in an almost measured way, almost as though it was a sing-song prayer. It was beautiful in an unfamiliar way, and she found that it was more comforting than distracting, so she said nothing and made no move to stop him from continuing it. Bethany spent the nearly-five hours on the train on its western journey from Pinecity to Tracktown; she spent some of that time looking out the window and some of the time working on her tablet perfecting some sketches she'd been working on. Although she hadn't completely figured out what she wanted to do in life, she knew that she'd always enjoyed art and hoped that she'd find some time in her schedule to continue working on that. No matter what she did, however, it was accompanied by Anapa's soft, almost hypnotic 'chant', and she found that she didn't mind-- it was surprisingly calming. She had to change trains when she came to the end of the East-West line in Trackcity and got onto the train that would take her north; that leg of her trip was also quiet; there weren't many other passengers and she, once again, had her space to herself. The long part of her journey was over since it was barely twenty minutes at that point to the station in Cherry City. At the change-over she'd stowed her tablet and hadn't bothered to pull it back out, using the final minutes on the train to watch Anapa who, noticing her attention on him, simply returned it to her. Ultimately, she looked away, unable to hold his gaze. Shortly thereafter her stop arrived. Bethany still had to come to grips with the fact that Cherry City had a bus system, but she was comfortable walking since her new apartment wasn't too far from the train station. Despite walkling 'alone' she still had the company of Anapa, a Jackal-man Spirit. He remained respectfully silent, letting her keep her thoughts to herself without interrupting but, every time she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye she saw that his eyes were wandering the many buildings they passed; his ears, however were always, eternally, endlessly focused directly on her. It was strange for her to think that, with everything that was changing in her life, the odd, otherworldly Jackal was the one thing that would carry forward. Even dragging her wheeled luggage behind her, Bethany still had little trouble navigating the sidewalks; they were in good repair and covered far real estate than what little pedestrian paths were available back in Pinetown. The other thing she noticed was that there was actually a fair amount of foot traffic-- even so, there was more than enough room for her to navigate the several blocks to her apartment; Anapa walked beside her the entire time, occasionally resulting in some other pedestrians walking right through him, but he didn't seem to mind, so she put the eerieness of it out of her mind as best she could. She stopped when directed by her cell, pausing to look down at the map on it. According to the app her apartment complex was supposed to be directly to her right, but all she saw was a large brick wall with a mural of what looked like a hispanic mermaid. Letting out a sigh, Bethany finally felt the weight of her trip come to rest on her shoulders. "Great... well... the spartment is supposed to be around here somewhere." Anapa, standing beside her, pointed to the wall. "It is there, Kahina." Bethany took a moment to figure out what the Jackal was trying to say. "You mean it's behind the wall?" The Spirit shook his head. He was getting better with English, and elaborated. "No. The building. The wall is part of your new home." Things finally clicked as she raised her view, seeing a collection of windows further up the building. The navigation app had been correct: the building just happened to lack any doors on the side facing the street. Quickly circling the block, the young woman located the parking lot and, from there, the on-site apartment complex office. It was mid-afternoon and, at that moment, she wanted nothing more than to go into her apartment, but, first, she had to deal with the paperwork. After almost an hour later, plus writing two checks (one for the deposit and one for her rent), Bethanie finally got her keys and the manager, an older woman with her hair pulled back in a severe bun peered over her glasses and said in a tone that was probably supposed to be friendly (but sounded more indifferent than anythign else) "Welcome home, Ms. Adams." Accepting the key, she offered a curt thank you and headed toward the stairs leading to the second floor of the apartment building. As she went, Anapa followed. "Kahinia, your name is not Mihsadams... why did she call you this?" It took a second for her to realize what he was saying, and she waited until she reached the top of the steps, looking around to make sure they were alone before responding. "It's Miss-Adams. Miss Adams. 'Miss' is a courteous way to refer to a young woman, and 'Adams' is my family name." The Jackal's ears rose. "Family name? What is this?' Bethany moved to the door to her apartment and unlocked it as she explained family names as opposed to given names, and that she inherited hers from her father. As the door opened and she walked inside, she turned around to address him. "I'm guessing that isn't how it worked back when you were last able to talk with Humans? Anapa shook his head. "No... lam yakun thalik. It was not." She remained with the door open, looking up at the Jackal's softly glowing lavendar eyes. "Well?" His ears raised, and he paused for a few moments before saying "If a name was not enough, people would use their role in the--" The young woman held a hand up to interrupt him and he stopped immediately. She clarififed. "That wans't what I meant. I mean, are you coming in?" The Jackal's eyes gleamed with a surprising pulse of amethyst light as they widened, his muzzle dropping open slightly in surprised. "I... had thought my place was outside." The matter-of-fact statement stung Bethany for a reason she couldn't quite place. On one hand, she realized, that arrangement made things easy, especially since he was a Spirit, she really knew little about him, and she wasn't 100% convinced that he wouldn't (or couldn't) cause her harm. Her more magnanimous inclination won over. "Things were complicated back home. If you're not going away then the least I could do is let you have a roof over your head." His severe expression lifted for just a moment and she saw the hint of a smile on his muzzle, but that disappeared from view as he lowered his head, moving his right paw to cover his chest in a fist. "Khajjalani karamuk." Bethany wasn't precisely sure what the statement was, but it almost sounded like a 'thank you', although she'd since learned from Anapa that gratitude was usually expressed as 'Shukran' and, moreover, he continued to stand outside the door looking in. "So... are you coming in then, or..." She let her statement trail off and Anapa remained standing there as if waiting for her to continue. He evidently relized that she wasn't going to, at which point he clarified. "I cannot enter your home without your permission. It is Maqam to a Spirit... and part of Ahd-- part of The Pact." It wasn't the first time Anapa had mentioned 'The Pact'. Stepping aside, she gestured inward. "Please come in, Anapa. You're welcome in my home." His eyes glowed brightly and he bowed his head, his first going to his chest again as he repeated his earlier statement "Khajjalani karamuk." then entered. She didn't quite realize it in that moment, but she'd taken the first of several steps to living with a Spirt. There was a lot she didn't realize but, in that moment, the one thing that called to her was an obvious one, and she planned to remove some of her ignorance. "Now... what the heck is 'The Pact'?" * * * * * She dreamed that night. It wasn't any specific, singular storyline; it was closer to a vignette of small scenes completely unrelated to one another. They were happy scenes-- relaxing scenes-- soothing scenes, and they were wonderful. The night passed without event and, surprisingly, she managed to sleep the whole way through right up until hher alarm didn't go off; Bethanie hadn't set it before she went to bed since she didn't have any obligations, yet woke up right around her usual time anyway. She opened the door to the hallway and heard what sounded like praying-- the same soft chanting that Anapa had done in the. She went to investigate and saw the Jackal kneeling on the floor. As she entered the room he prostrated himself, lowering his head to the floor. As he sat back up his prayer came to an end and she heard what she knew was a morning greeting from him. "Sabah El Kheir, Kahina." It was a friendly enough introduction, so she figured the least she could do was return it. "Good morning, Anapa." The Jackal's stoic muzzle split with a pleasant acknowledgement of her return-greeting and his eyes gleamed with a faint Amethyst sheen. She was surprised when Anapa turned toward her, reaching out into midair to grab a strange short-staff with a curved symbol worked into its end. He knelt down, resting the staff on his knee as he lowered his head toward the young woman. "Kahina. I want help you." She stepped into the living room, moving to take a seat on the sofa. "Okay... and how are he going to help, exactly?" Anapa remained on the floor, rotating to address her, staff moving to rest across his thighs. "I am a Spirit. Humans asked me for things in times far gone." Bethany stood, heading into the kitchen. "So... they prayed to you, like a god?" She didn't need to see his face to know he was scowling; Anapa didn't like being compared to a god, but if he was going to be vague then she didn't mind throwing a little shade his way. I am not Al-Ma'bood-- not a God. I am Anapa. I am a Spirit, Kahina." The young woman nodded, opening the fridge and pulling out what few groceries she'd brought with her. "Right. I know. So how can you help me?" Even as Anapa tried to convey different things he could do to help (mostly in Arabic, with occasional attempts at conveying his thoughts in English), Bethanie got started on preparing a meal. The morning routine of preparing breakfast really did help her get her thoughts in order and, by the time the first plate was done she felt a lot better. He had just managed to convey the thought that he could properly instruct her on ancient history when she interrupted his meandering list of offers. "Anapa... your breakfast is ready." The Jackal made his way over to her and she paused when Anapa took the plate from her hand... but didn't. He bowed his head as he did so. "Ashkuruka min qalbi." Even as Anapa walked away with an equal and identical plate of eggs and returned to his seat, Bethany was left with the original serving, and no small amount of confusion as to what had just happened. "Wha?" Apana looked to her, ears up as he assessed her unspoken question. "It is... ah... Ihtira... 'Tear', Kahina-- spirits not eat food, but we accept gifts from Humans. We don't eat eggs, but we eat the Ihtira... is Nour because YOU, a Human, made food." She looked down at the plate and shrugged, setting it down on the counter. "Okay... so maybe I'll eat it when I'm done with--" Anapa shook his head, objecting. "No Kahina, Hatha gheyr muhathab... it is... ah... rude." Bethany glanced his way. "Rude? By not wanting to waste food?" The Jackal's muzzle scrunched up in frustration, but it it quickly returned to its neutral sense of serenity out almost just as quickly. He took a breath and held up one paw. "All is Ruh... Nour... is Spirit." He then held up his other paw. "All else is Turab. Guthah... not used by Spirit, but for Mortals. For Human." he then brought his paws together. "All is two parts. Two parts of whole." She attempted to reconcile what he was saying with her point. "Okay... so... why can't you eat the Nore, and I eat the Guthah?" Anapa's eyes slowly lowered down to his paws, which he stared at for several long moments. She felt a little frustrated when he tried to explain things within his limited scope of English and she could imagine that he was probably just as frustrated, or perhaps even moreso. In the end, however, he returned his gaze to her, a sudden gleam of confidence in them. "Two parts of whole, Kahina." Before she could explain that repeating what he'd already said wouldn't help, he raised both paws again and, as she watched, ephemeral motes of Amethyst energy rose off of them like tendrils of smoke, gathering together over either paw and coalescing into what looked like a three dimensional hologram of a plate with eggs on it. "You not eat, then Nour is full... but, if you eat..." at which point Bethany saw several bits of egg disappear from the left plate, "Then Spirit no eat." and she then watched as the same amount disapepard from the right plate. He closed his paws and the glowing light show disappeared. "You give but, if you eat Guthah, then Nour is eat too." Bethany considered what he was saying. "So... you mean you take the spirit version of the food, but it's still... connected?" Anapa lowered his muzzle and raised it again in a faint nod. "Yes. Connected. If you give food Nour, then eat food Turab then is like giving gift... then taking gift away." The Jackal waited in the armchair for Bethany to finish cooking her own serving and, original plate left on the counter, she moved to the sofa to sit down and join the Spirit for breakfast. "So... you want to try and help me... huh?" He nodded his head, only starting to eat the egg once she had. "Yes. I will help you." She appreciated the offer, but one thing her father had always told her was that people offering to help without defining their role usually ended up taking more energy than they saved. Taking that thought to heart, she tried again. "How do you plan on helping, Anapa? I appreciate you can teach me about ancient Egypt, but... to be honest, that's not really something that factors into my daily life." The Spirit didn't respond, eating his eggs bite-for-bite as Bethany did. In fact, he didn't respond until they'd both eaten, at which point, he stood in a decisive surge, stating clearly "I help." He surprised her further by not just taking his own plate to the ktichen, but also taking the one out of her hand; until that moment she had thought that he was no more than a ghost, and yet he was able to physically interact with it. The Jackal moved into the kitchen and set her physical plate on the counter and then slid his spirit plate into the exact spot where its physical twin was, causing the spirit version to disappear. What made even less sense was, as she looked at the blur that was the combination of the physical and spirit plate, as the fuzziness finally left her eyes, she saw that the physical eggs had disappeared. That helped her find her answer. "I think there ARE some things I need to learn." The silence that followed as he patiently awaited her questions was striking. His Amethyst eyes shone with an inner light Bethany had never quite noticed until she was that close to him. Once she'd figured out what she wanted to say, she laid it out as cleanly as she could: the question she'd only had half answered three months prior. "Anapa... I want to know what you were doing with grandfather at the funeral. I don't want a one or two word explanation... I want to know the full story." Ever since Anapa had let her feel whatever it was that he had shown to her on the sidewalk outside her parents' home she couldn't help but wonder exactly how he had been able to convey what she felt without so much as a word. She was left to my thoughts as the Jackal took a moment to try and translate it in his head before he responded. "Grandfather was like glass of water after drinking... not dry, but nothing left to drink. I take last drops until he was dry. I took Nour." She contemplated that; something that was left that a Spirit could access once the body was no longer alive. Bethany could still only find one approximation for what she was hearing "So... Humans DO have souls... and that's what you took?" His muzzle scrunched up again and Bethany could tell that he was trying to avoid being frustrated with his own limited vocabularly. "I take Nour. When all Nour is gone, Spirit is gone too. When Spirit is heavy and no longer has Nour it must be picked... like date. If not picked, it rots. I pick. I take Nour. If I do not... Sayad, it is lost... Mubathara. It goes to the Ghaib... the Deep Dark. It is wasted." He'd said the same thing before in as many words; despite her inability to understand him, the statement had stuck with her through the months since she'd last heard it. "So... you weren't taking his soul?" Anapa shook his head. "No. No take soul. I no take soul. Soul gone after I take last of Nour." He let out a deep breath, and launched into as lengthy explanation as his limited English could allow. "Ruh-- Soul, makes Nour... much and much of Nour-- some more, some less, but Humans always make much, and Nour keeps bodies moving-- gives Humans Ruh. Most Humans make Nour like candle... small Nour-- small light. Few Humans, like you, Kahina... you make much Nour. You are Daf; you shine. Spirits can feel Nour. I keep you safe. There was something about his statement that got Bethany slightly concerned. "Safe? Why would you need to keep me safe?" His gaze was severe. "Some Spirits hunt Humans with much Nour." Not particularly liking that direction of conversation, she jumped back to what he'd been saying prior. "So... all Humans make the 'Nore' stuff, and it's what Spirits need... and some make more than others. So... where does the soul fit in?" Anapa paused for another moment, one canine tooth stuck out of his muzzle as he stared off past Bethany, obviously trying to put the words together. When he spoke, they were clear and concise. "It is like candle, Kahini. Ruh-- Soul is heat. Heat makes Nour-- light. Fire. When fire goes out, there is no light. Candle is still there, but heat goes awal... Soul goes away." She hoped that she didn't understand correctly, and pushed for clarification. "A soul fades away? What about heaven, or an afterlife or--?" Anapa shook his head "Little Nour left. I take, so Ruh-- so Soul can leave and not fall into Ghaib... darkness." Jumping to conclusions wasn't Bethany's usual method, but trying to understand had her spinning in all directions. "So... what happens to our souls?" The Jackal's response was surprisingly short in length. "Mish 'aref... I do not know." She had a hard time believing that Anapa didn't know at least SOMETHING. "But... aren't you a Spirit? You've lived a long time. Haven't you learned even a LITTLE bit about what happens after people die?" Anapa blinked, slowly folding his paws in his lap as he spoke softly but with a surprising amount of authority. "What happens to Human's Ruh is path they make." She didn't have to think very long to figure out how to phrase her next question. "Like... heaven and hell?" Anapa made a face similar to the one he made when she suggested he was a god. "No-- yes. Heaven... Hell... it is... more. All souls-- Nasara... Yahud... Muslimun... akharun... all go there. But... why think about that, Kahina? You are not Ruh. Ruh is not you." The last statement threw Bethany for a loop. "What? Isn't that exactly what a person is? Everyone always says that a soul is what makes us human." He shook his head patiently. "No. Ruh makes Human, but Human is not Ruh." It didn't make a lot of sense to her. Leaning forward, folding her hands together on the table, she looked at the Jackal. "So... what is a Ruh?" Anapa rose from his place in the armchair and crossed the short distance to take a seat at the small table across from Bethany. She didn't miss the way that the Spirit mirrored her posture, leanbing lowering his head slightly when he leaned forward, lacing his fingers together before he spoke. "Ruh is Ruh... is Soul. Is opposite of... ah... aneikas. How is said..." he paused, is face scrunching up in deep thought before looking up at Bethany. "Is... self... self in mirror?" The young woman knew immediately what he meant. "Reflection." His ears raised, eyes gleaming anew with purple light. "Ah. Naeam-- yes. Reflection. Is like reflection-- but... eakas..." he held his paw up, palm facing her, then turned it around. "Re... reverse. Is like reflection... reverse." She didn't quite get what he meant. "The reverse of a reflection... like... the opposite?" His eyes blazed noticeably with light and he almost stood up, pointing to the ceiling. "Yes. Opposite. Opposite of reflection. Reflection is body with no soul... dust-- turab. Body without soul is dust. Soul without body is dust. Is like... reflection without mirror. Is nothing. It made sense to her in a way, but everything she'd ever understood made it difficult to accept. "But, a lot of religions talk about everlasting life, or eternal paradise, or even reincarnation. How does that work?" He stared at her blankly, the light in his eyes dimming faintly as his erect ears slowly settled into a more neutral position. Anapa shook his head back and forth without conviction. "Maandeesh agaba." She didn't speak Arabic, but his body language said all she needed to: he didn't know. In response, she settled her gaze, looking right at Anapa. "Is there something after death?" Rather than provide an answer, the Jackal instead countered with a question of his own. "Should it matter?" His response caught her by surprise, and it was her turn to sit up straighter, not sure of his meaning. "Huh? Of course it does... doesn't it?" Anapa reached across the table and took hold of her hand. It wasn't an aggressive or sudden move; it was calm and purposeful to such an extent that Bethany didn't draw back to avoid it. His touch was ephemeral-- it was faint and wispy like a thick mist but, even so, she could still tell it was there. She knew could easily have pulled away if she'd wanted to, but, curious, she humored him. The Jackal turned her hand over so that my palm was face up-- he didn't have enough solidity to do it, but the actual effect was just an inclination of what he wanted and following the unspoken request, and she found herself complying. When her hand was face up on the table, Anapa spoke, placing the tip of his index finger into her palm. "You." She looked him in the eyes; his Amethyst orbs stared at her out from behind a mask of golden pigment on his black fur. When he added nothing more to the follow-up question she spoke consisted of a single word. "What?" His digit brushed her palm; she could have sworn she felt the paw pad. "You. This you." After a moment's confusion she thought understood what he meant and she expanded on his statement. "My hand is me? Okay." He offered a single, succinct nod. He then brushed his paw across the table. "This....sofra.. t... table. Table is life, is being. It is world around you." "Okay." The Jackal continued to speak even as he gently urged her hand upward. "Now... your hand is not on table... but... is still hand. Yes?" She tried to make sense of the analogy, and came up short. "I guess, only if I wanted to put my hand back down, so-- maybe? I wanted to know what happens to my hand after it leaves the table, so... I mean... is there another table where I can put my hand?" He offered a simple, helpless shrug of his shoulders. "Maandeesh agaba." Bethany changed tactics. "Okay... so then... life... death... What does it all mean? Why is there life and death?" He held up his two paws, setting them parallel to the ground and facing one another so that his middle digits touched. He then rose one higher and the other lower, then the lower one higher and the higher one lower, then back together again until they touched. "Tawazun, Kahina... tawazun." She attempted to translate his pantomining. "Balance? You mean, so things are even and equal? Balance?" He attempted the word. "Bal-untz... All even. Some born. Some die. It is Tawazun." Looking back to the Jackal I asked "Balance? Balance in what?" He looked to me, eyes glimmering Amethyst. "Bal-untz. Is... important for all things." She looked quizzically at Anapa. "What does that have to do with balance?" He offered a reserved, almost elitist smile. "Bal-untz... you ask many questions, Kahina. Now, I ask questions."