Page 8 of Guarded By the Yeti

“This isn’t because I don’t like you,” I say. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And your hair suits you even better now.” I chuckle awkwardly, and she gives me a smile. “We can go for a walk tomorrow, if you want. You’ll blend in with thelandscape.” Now she laughs a silent laugh. It reminds me that she can’t talk. At least, that’s my conclusion. “You know what? I have a notebook around here somewhere. I should have a pen, too. What if I bring them to you, and then you can write down what you want to do?” She nods. “Yes?” I smile, relieved. “Be right back.”

It takes me a few minutes of rummaging through various drawers to find what I need. I’m not the type who uses pen and paper. Finally, I find an old, yellowed notebook and a pencil that’s been sharpened too many times. I don’t even know where I got it. Then I remember it’s a leftover from when I built my cabin and had to take measurements. I bring them to Ysella, and she reaches for them greedily. She scribbles something and shows it to me.

“I want to play the piano,” the note says.

“Piano.”

She gives me a broad smile, straightens her back and starts playing on an imaginary keyboard.

“Right. I assume it helps take your mind off...” The terrible things she’s seen. Her parents being chopped into pieces in front of her. “Playing the piano is your escape.”

She nods, and that seals it. I can’t say no to her. I don’t have a piano, and I don’t know where to get a piano, but those are just details.

“Okay. I’ll take care of it tomorrow.”

She throws her arms around me, and I’m too slow to pull away. Correction: I don’t pull away because I don’t want to. She clings to my neck, and I let her.

I can’t deny I’d love to hear her play.

Chapter Six

Kaelthar

I have the helicopter, but that isn’t going to help me bring Ysella a piano, so I dust off, so to speak, the old snowmobile. I use it to stock my pantry and it’s big enough, made for a big guy like me. I figure I’ll drive to the nearest Yeti community, buy supplies, and ask around. My chances are slim, and I know I might have to look further, drive south to one of the human establishments. Fingers crossed, like humans say. You never know.

I make sure Ysella has everything she needs, I bring in enough firewood, so she doesn’t have to leave the cabin, and when she clings to me at the door, I don’t reject her. I’m getting used to her seeking me, wanting to be close to me. It’s dangerous, but I can’t help it. I wonder... what if there’s something there, and it isn’t just the trauma she’s gone through? Can I dare to hope?

Uh-oh. I might have to call Oscar again.

“Stay inside,” I tell her. “And keep the blinds down.”

The lights are on everywhere in the cabin because that’s how she likes it, so I make sure to keep the windows covered, so it’s not immediately obvious someone lives here. I feel a bit panicky that I’m leaving her for a few hours, but I have no other choice. She wants a piano, and a piano is what she’s going to get.

My first stop is Icefang, a Yeti community with tradition created by some of the first Yetis that moved here from the Himalayas. It’s the closest one, and the biggest. There’s a market that usually has everything I need, and the Yetis know me.

“Kaelthar Frost! Back so early?”

I always buy my frozen meats from Bralgor. He’s an old Yeti, and he spends so much time behind his expansive stall at the market that he knows everything that moves. Apparently, he knows my yearly schedule, too. We chat for a while, and Imention the piano. I try to be vague, leading him to believe that I want it for myself. He’s silent for a minute and studies me with some skepticism, but then he shrugs, as if it’s not his business.

“I don’t know anyone in Icefang selling a piano. The Yetis aren’t exactly known for our artistic talents.” He laughs, and I join him. “But I heard there’s a family in Shiverpoint who were trying to introduce their children to more human-like things, you know. Some parents lean toward integration with the humans’ culture more than us old farts.” He waves his hand dismissively. “What do I know? So, ask around in Shiverpoint. Last I heard, they failed miserably, and now they’re stuck with a bunch of things they bought for their children. Maybe they’re selling the piano.”

That’s all I needed to hear. I thank him, load my food supplies into the snowmobile, and start toward Shiverpoint. It’s a little more to the south, and I hate that it takes me farther away from Ysella, but if I move quickly, it won’t be more than four more hours, and then I can hear her play the piano.

Shiverpoint is smaller than Icefang. I don’t know the Yetis here as well, but when I ask at the market, I get an address. I feel awkward knocking on this family’s front door, but I do it anyway. I’d do anything for Ysella, I realize. Even make a fool of myself, letting everyone believe I’m into the human arts. Not that Yetis don’t have respect for the humans’ culture, but we generally think it’s not for us.

A Yeti male answers the door. He’s young and broad, and when I introduce myself and tell him what I’m here for, he lets me in and calls Ishkala, saying she’s his aunt. The Yeti female appears from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.

“I heard you have a piano that you’d like to sell,” I say.

“You heard right. I bought it for my two boys, but they want nothing to do with it. All day, they’re outside causing trouble.I paid a fortune for the thing, and now it’s gathering dust in a corner.”

“I would like to buy it.”

“Music to my ears,” she laughs. “It’s not a real piano, mind you. It’s one of those electronic ones. What do humans call it? An electronic keyboard.”

I know nothing about pianos, so I just nod. I hope it’s good enough for Ysella.

“It was cheaper, you see,” she explains, leading me into the living room. It’s cozy, with a fire dancing in the fireplace. Her nephew sits at a table, tinkering with something. “My sons have barely used it.”

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