Marysvale by Jared Southwick Page B

something when Hannah broke in.
    “ Healing? Healing from what?
I bet I can guess.”
    “ You’re quite right,
Hannah,” said Sarah. “John was attacked by three Brean.”
    “ That’s amazing! And you
lived! You have to tell us what happened,” exclaimed Hannah
excitedly. “It must have been a terrible fight.”
    Even Jane softened. She looked
impressed for a moment, but quickly regained her contemptuous look,
though it was not as hard as it was before.
    “ I’m afraid there’s not much
to tell. If I hadn’t come across Sarah, I’m sure they would’ve got
me.”
    “ Oh, there’s quite a bit
more to tell,” Sarah refuted. “But, before we discuss all that, I
want to know what under heaven made you girls risk such a dangerous
journey? You know they’re watching you.”
    Jane replied, “We know; but things are
getting worse…there’s not enough food.”
    “ We’re starving to death,”
piped in Hannah. “And not just us; everyone is suffering. Except
for ‘the almighty’ and his puppets,” she spat.
    I looked quizzically at
Sarah.
    “ I’ll explain later,” she
said. “First, let’s have some tea, and I’ll make us something to
eat. We don’t want you to collapse after such a long
journey.”
    “ Oh, yes!” exulted Hannah,
her eyes widening at the prospects of food.
    Jane added, “Thank you. We are very
hungry.”
    “ Come sit in the kitchen
with me, while I get things ready,” invited Sarah.
    She led the way, rattling off all kinds
of questions, such as: “When did you get here?” “How long did it
take?” “Did anything happen?” And so on.
    I smiled, remembering the inquisition
I’d received when telling my story—the difference being that Jane
and Hannah enjoyed it and were much chattier than I’d been. Wanting
to give them some privacy, and feeling a bit like an outsider, I
slipped out the front door while they migrated into the
kitchen.
    I walked over to the pasture railing,
climbed up, and sat on it. Smoke had given up trying to harass the
cows and now joined them in grazing the lush grass. He wandered
over after noticing me sitting there. I wrapped one arm around his
head and patted him with the other.
    With Jane and Hannah here, reality was
setting in. I recognized that I was only a guest, and the time was
close at hand for my departure, maybe a day or two at the most. Of
course, I’d known I would have to leave eventually, but I had kept
shoving it out of my thoughts. Now, I knew I couldn’t wait any
longer, if I were to find a place before the real cold set in. I
had already pushed my luck and would have many a frigid night ahead
before I found a suitable town and place to live. And though I was
certain Sarah would be willing to keep me over the winter, I had no
right to impose myself on her goodwill anymore. She was no doubt
sincere in her fondness of me, but was probably putting up with me
out of loneliness or perhaps even pity.
    Where to go was the question haunting
me now. I supposed there was Marysvale. I wondered if this is what
Sarah meant when she said, “I expect before too long you’ll want to
go there.” However, a town plagued by monsters and famine didn’t
sound at all appealing. And I doubted if there would be people
willing to feed me when they, themselves, were starving. Perhaps
someone may, but I wouldn’t feel right about taking their food if
another option existed. Besides, what was the difference between
that and staying with Sarah—other than Sarah didn’t look like she
had any lack of food? The only plan I could think of was my
original one: travel west and then far enough to the south where no
one would know my name.
    Maybe I could even learn a lesson from
Sarah: instead of trying to live among them, I would find a nice
piece of fertile ground and start a little farm of my own; just
close enough to a town to get supplies, but far enough away that I
wouldn’t be bothered. If I rode hard, I could make it in a few
weeks: find a room to