again tomorrow morning before we leave. I doubt we’ll find another lake before we reach the Central Village.”
“Okay.”
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
I shook my head, “Nothing.” But I still looked down, trying to figure out what exactly I was feeling. I knew, of course. But I didn’t really feel like sharing. Alec was finally not angry and I didn’t want to ruin it.
“You lie,” he accused.
“No I don’t, nothing is wrong, so just drop it.” Guilt gnawed at me. I laughed and played today, splashing and jumping and swimming. And not at all looking for my parents killers. Not moving forward.
“Fine.”
I watched him as his smile faded and his ignore-Lily-face appeared.
Sighing I laid back and watched the wind blow the clouds from one side of the sky to the other.
Chapter Thirteen
Nemophilist : A haunter and protector of the woods; one who loves the forest and its beauty and solitude; that doesn’t discriminate in how it protects the land. One is created when a being loses all familiar connections and wants only to live for the forest, usually after a great tragedy has befallen him.
It has been eleven days. Eleven days of walking together through the forested woods. Eleven days of staying mostly quiet. Eleven days of him giving me weak and not-quite-there answers. Eleven days of torture to my angry feet and inflamed legs.
And it had been eleven nights. Eleven nights of training to try and stand. Yeah. To stand the right way. Lame.
Eleven nights of sleeping on the cold ground. Eleven nights of staring at the fire until I was so mesmerized I didn’t even realize I fell asleep. Eleven nights of dreaming of my parents. Eleven nights of crying myself to sleep.
But it had also been eleven days and nights of seeing new things and learning new things. It had been almost two weeks of getting closer to them. Of getting closer to my goal.
And even though Alec was arrogant, and often impatient and annoyed with me, and all the time focused and determined, he was also kind.
After a few days, we had come across a bird that looked very similar to a cardinal. It wasn’t one though, cardinals in the Mortal Realm only had two wings, not four. The two wings on its right side were twisted and broken. They had pieces of bark sticking out of them, and the bird couldn’t fly.
So Alec picked it up, cleaned the wings, whispered some magic words-or maybe just something like, “I hope you feel better.” I wasn’t sure, since I couldn’t hear what he said. Then the wings straightened out. Alec carried the bird with us for two days, and on the third day he released him.
To see that bird take flight again, after being grounded for who knew how long, was more than extraordinary.
It was almost lunch time, which was great because my stomach was growling at me, begging for sustenance. Though the cheslins were great, he was right when he told me they would get so blah . I would kill for a cheeseburger right now. Even though he says the animals are connected to us, I loved me some juicy meat.
You know that feeling you get when someone is watching you? The one where the hairs on your neck and arms lift, and it’s like you have a target glued to your face? Almost like extrasensory perception, but more paranoid than that? For a minute I totally felt that. Like someone was watching me from behind one of these trees, lurking close by, spying on us through the scope of a sniper rifle.
I slowed down and turned in a circle, looking for something. I examined the branches and leaves and tried to find something out of the ordinary.
I searched for anything other than green or brown, but I didn’t see anything. I saw the trees, I saw the bark and the leaves and the grass beneath my feet. But nothing that shouldn’t be there. I didn’t even see any animals scurrying around.
I listened, trying to make out something, anything, that hadn’t been there the whole time. It almost felt like there were ghosts or something around.
“Okay.”
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
I shook my head, “Nothing.” But I still looked down, trying to figure out what exactly I was feeling. I knew, of course. But I didn’t really feel like sharing. Alec was finally not angry and I didn’t want to ruin it.
“You lie,” he accused.
“No I don’t, nothing is wrong, so just drop it.” Guilt gnawed at me. I laughed and played today, splashing and jumping and swimming. And not at all looking for my parents killers. Not moving forward.
“Fine.”
I watched him as his smile faded and his ignore-Lily-face appeared.
Sighing I laid back and watched the wind blow the clouds from one side of the sky to the other.
Chapter Thirteen
Nemophilist : A haunter and protector of the woods; one who loves the forest and its beauty and solitude; that doesn’t discriminate in how it protects the land. One is created when a being loses all familiar connections and wants only to live for the forest, usually after a great tragedy has befallen him.
It has been eleven days. Eleven days of walking together through the forested woods. Eleven days of staying mostly quiet. Eleven days of him giving me weak and not-quite-there answers. Eleven days of torture to my angry feet and inflamed legs.
And it had been eleven nights. Eleven nights of training to try and stand. Yeah. To stand the right way. Lame.
Eleven nights of sleeping on the cold ground. Eleven nights of staring at the fire until I was so mesmerized I didn’t even realize I fell asleep. Eleven nights of dreaming of my parents. Eleven nights of crying myself to sleep.
But it had also been eleven days and nights of seeing new things and learning new things. It had been almost two weeks of getting closer to them. Of getting closer to my goal.
And even though Alec was arrogant, and often impatient and annoyed with me, and all the time focused and determined, he was also kind.
After a few days, we had come across a bird that looked very similar to a cardinal. It wasn’t one though, cardinals in the Mortal Realm only had two wings, not four. The two wings on its right side were twisted and broken. They had pieces of bark sticking out of them, and the bird couldn’t fly.
So Alec picked it up, cleaned the wings, whispered some magic words-or maybe just something like, “I hope you feel better.” I wasn’t sure, since I couldn’t hear what he said. Then the wings straightened out. Alec carried the bird with us for two days, and on the third day he released him.
To see that bird take flight again, after being grounded for who knew how long, was more than extraordinary.
It was almost lunch time, which was great because my stomach was growling at me, begging for sustenance. Though the cheslins were great, he was right when he told me they would get so blah . I would kill for a cheeseburger right now. Even though he says the animals are connected to us, I loved me some juicy meat.
You know that feeling you get when someone is watching you? The one where the hairs on your neck and arms lift, and it’s like you have a target glued to your face? Almost like extrasensory perception, but more paranoid than that? For a minute I totally felt that. Like someone was watching me from behind one of these trees, lurking close by, spying on us through the scope of a sniper rifle.
I slowed down and turned in a circle, looking for something. I examined the branches and leaves and tried to find something out of the ordinary.
I searched for anything other than green or brown, but I didn’t see anything. I saw the trees, I saw the bark and the leaves and the grass beneath my feet. But nothing that shouldn’t be there. I didn’t even see any animals scurrying around.
I listened, trying to make out something, anything, that hadn’t been there the whole time. It almost felt like there were ghosts or something around.
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