Chapter
Three: Going Away
Part One
Part One
I
was a rock. I was a smooth grey pebble lying on the roadside, watching the
traffic pass by me. A horse trod past me lazily, the cart it was pulling was
kicking up dirt; the dust settled over me, covering me in the fine brown
powder.
‘Tasia’
I heard my father calling my name.
‘I
can’t come right now, Father,’ I replied, ‘I am lying in the road, watching a
horse as he goes by.’
‘Tasia,
honey?’ Father called again.
‘Yes
Father?’
‘Tasia,
get up dear.’
‘I
can’t Father. I’m a pebble.’
‘Tasia…’
‘I’ll
come as soon as I can Father.’
“Tasia! Wake up!”
I sat upright on my cot, hitting my
head off of the low ceiling above me. I groaned and fell back onto my blankets,
holding my head in my hands.
“Tasia!”
“I’m awake Father,” I grumbled.
I stiffly sat up and rubbed the
sleep from my eyes. The orange glow of sunrise was spilling in through the
windows over the sink.
Oh
shoot. I must’ve overslept…probably because I was a lazy pebble…where did that
even come from? A pebble, I snorted, of
all the things I could’ve been in my dream, I chose a pebble.
I quickly pulled the comb through
my long blond hair; jerking the knots out with a deft flick of my wrist. Soon
my hair was pulled back into a sloppy pony tail; and my comb was lying on the
floor, full of the knots from my hair.
“Tasia,” Father said warningly.
I scoffed, “You fall back asleep one time and he never lets you live it
down.”
“You are coming?”
“Yes sir.” I pulled my shirt off
and threw it out of the loft; it landed in a wrinkled mess by the ladder.
I opened the chest sitting at the
foot of my cot and retrieved a fresh cotton shirt. A moment later it was
donned, and I was three rungs down the ladder. I was about to jump the rest of
the way down, when a thought crossed my mind.
If
I want Father to treat me like an adult, I need to act like one.
I climbed back into my loft and
quickly smoothed my rough wool blanket down over my cot. I righted the shard of
mirror that Kyan had salvaged for me; I caught a glimpse at my already
disheveled appearance. I couldn’t completely correct it, my clothes were
hand-me-downs from Kyan, and were far too big for me; I quickly tucked the bottom
of my shirt into my pants.
I quickly climbed part of the way
down the stairs.
“Tasia.”
“Yes Father.” I was halfway down
the ladder.
“Don’t-“
I landed on the kitchen floor.
“Don’t what?” I asked, as I stood.
He sighed. “Jump.”
“Oh.” I crumpled my shirt into a
ball and tossed it in the laundry crate in the corner.
I slowly walked to Father’s bedside
and helped him to sit up. Slowly, using a mixture of the strength in his arms
and my support, he managed to move himself into his chair. I quickly retrieved
his Bible from its shelf and handed it to him.
“Thank you dear… Is your shirt
tucked in?”
I grinned triumphantly, “Yes sir.”
“Why?”
“Why? Well…‘cause I’m a big girl.
That’s what we do.”
Father sighed. “Oh dear…dear
Tasia…”
“I made my bed too, Father,” I said
smugly, certain that he’d be impressed with me.
He sighed again. “Tasia, dear,
there is far more to being an adult than tucking in your shirt and making your
bed.”
“But, I…well what do I have to do?”
I asked sadly.
Father rubbed his face, brushing a
strand of his gray hair behind his ear, and looking at me carefully. “It’s not
something you do, dear. It’s something that happens when you get older.”
“How much older, Father?” I asked,
placing my hand on his knee hopefully.
“I don’t know, Tasi…it’s different
for everyone.”
“How old were you Father?”
He chuckled. “I’m not sure I’m an
adult yet.”
I smiled weakly, trying to
appreciate his humor. “You’re joking, right Father?”
He nodded, “I am…” he sighed.
“Honestly Tasi, I don’t think I really grew up until your Mama got a hold of
me.”
“Mama made you a man?”
Father nodded. “That she did.”
“How could she do that?”
Father smiled, remembering Mama, no
doubt. “She was so…beautiful. I had never seen anything as pretty as her
before, and I told her so.”
I giggled. “You just walked up to
her and told her she was pretty?”
“No, I didn’t have the guts for
that. It took me a long time to get the courage to talk to her.”
I settled into the chair sitting by
the table, just in front of Father. “How did you meet?”
He closed his eyes and sighed
peacefully, as he did before every story he told.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Small rays of sunlight shined
through holes in the canopy, falling across the forest floor, and warming
everything it touched. The wind toyed with the leaves, making them rustle
softly overhead, where squirrels and chipmunks were chattering at each other;
birds were twittering high in the branches.
David, Kenna, and I had finished
gathering boughs for Papa to weave early in the morning, and it hadn’t taken
long to mend the fence with David’s help. Having our work completed long before
mid-day I begged David and Kenna to take a ride with me, but Kenna had to help
our Mama with the baking, and David had to go to the palace, to receive the
training needed to become a guard; leaving me, the baby of the family, with
nothing to do.
I had decided to take a ride by
myself, and rode for hours, climbing higher and higher into the mountains.
Finally I had dismounted, and sat on the river bank, enjoying the broken rays
of sunlight that fell across my shoulders, and lazily casting my line into the
water. My half-hearted attempts hadn’t landed me any fish, and, after a while,
I tossed my pole aside and flopped onto my back.
That was when I saw re you alright?”
She shook her head, making her hair
fall out of her face, and stood up, grinning impishly. “I’m fine.”
“Oh...are you sure?” I hesitated.
Most girls wailed when they fell, and, I believed, most of the time they only
did it for attention, not because they were hurt- but she didn’t. She only
nodded.
“W-what were you doing up there?”
She triumphantly held her hands out
to me. I looked at them suspiciously, and then back at her. “A nest?”
She nodded again.
“What do you want a nest for?”
“I don’t care about the nest. I
want a meal.”
A
meal? How do you get a meal from a nest? “You’re going to eat the eggs?”
“Probably not.”
“Are you going to eat the nest?” I
narrowed my eyes.
She giggled and shook her head. “No
silly. I’m going to-“
A small bird squawked angrily and
dove toward her head. She spun around, yanking a spear from her back, and
running it through the bird’s chest; she pulled the bird from the spear and
dropped it to the ground by her feet, carefully watching the air above our
heads.
“Why did you-“
A second bird dove towards us,
screeching angrily, only to meet the fate of the first. She pulled it too from
the spear, and then drove the spear into the ground by her feet. “It’s a law of
nature- mamas and papas want to save their babies from harm. If you jeopardize
their young, they’ll try to rescue them...then you can eat mama and papa.”
“That’s horrid, and uncouth, and
the coolest thing I’ve ever heard.” I grin.
She giggled. “You’re just saying
that ‘cause you want some Papa bird too.”
“No! I mean it. I’ve never met a girl who likes to hunt.”
She shrugged. “It’s not really
hunting, if you think about it. I actually don’t like to hunt. Hunting requires
effort- you’ve got to sit perfectly still, and wait, and wait, and wait, and
wait...all I had to do was a climb a tree and spear a couple birds.”
“Who are you?”
“I am a girl of many secrets.”
“Do you reveal any of your
secrets?”
“Sometimes.”
“Who do ya tell?”
“People who use correct grammar,”
she said.
My face flushed red. “Erm, yeah,
sorry...will you tell me any secrets?”
“Will you keep them?”
“Yes.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“I will. I promise.”
“And what’s to make me trust your
word?”
“I’m Timothy, John’s son, of Sector
12.”
“So?”
“So?” I repeated incredulously. “My
father is-“
“It doesn’t matter what your father
has done. Trust is earned, not inherited. What have you done?” She challenged.
I was, for the first time,
speechless. I had never been doubted. I was the son of John of Sector 12. My
reputation had been established long before my birth. I hadn’t ever really done
anything to deserve it; being John’s son had always been enough.
“That’s what I thought. You’re just
like the rest.” She gathered up her
birds and slipped her spear into a holder on her back.
“What does that mean?”
“It means that you have no
initiative. You are perfectly alright with relying on your father’s
wonderfulness to get you through your miserable existence. I bet you’ve never
had to do a thing in your life- just like a rich boy’s son should.”
“I-I-well-I resent that.” I
spluttered, shocked that she had the nerve to speak rudely to me.
“So what?”
“I’ll have you know-“
She whirled around with
surprisingly ferocity. “You’ll have me know, what?”
“...I work too.”
“What do you do?”
“I gather boughs.”
“Ooh, I hope you don’t strain
yourself.”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
She sighed, “Fine. What are the
boughs for?”
“My father weaves them.”
She snorted. “And it still goes
back to your father.”
I looked at my feet, suddenly
abashed. It was embarrassing and degrading to hear her talk like she was, but I
couldn’t argue either. She had drawn her conclusions the way she’d seen fit. Her
demeanor softened and she gently patted my shoulder rather awkwardly. “Hey now,
it’s alright. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so sharp with you.”
I sighed deeply. “No, you’re right.
I have to have my Papa’s name to get me
places.”
She shrugged. “It takes time to
learn to depend on yourself. You’ll get the hang of it.”
I looked into her clear blue eyes,
intrigued by her once more. “When did you learn?”
She turned and started up deeper
into the woods, up the steep hill. “Recently.”
“What made you want to try?”
“I was tired of being dependent on
other people.”
“And you’re independent now?” I
tried not to pant as I hiked up the hill after her.
“Yes.”
“Where do you live?”
“Wherever I choose.”
“Are you an orphan, then?”
Her back stiffened. “Some would
say.”
“Would you?”
“I would say that I answer to only
myself, which is more than most girls can say.” She walked around the boulder
that rose above us. I followed close behind.
“And is it better that way? Answering only to
yourself?” I asked, trying to conceal my surprise as she untied a horse’s reins
from a low branch.
She threw the birds in a saddle bag.
“Better? Yes. Easier? No.”
“Who said I wanted ease?”
“You did.” She mounted her horse.
“When?”
“By not seizing your own
independence,” she replied simply.
There was a moment of silence.
“I’m leaving.”
“Don’t go yet.”
“Why shouldn’t I?” She asked
challengingly, as she turned her horse towards me.
“I want you to stay.”
“Well I want to go. Why should I do
what you want?”
“You ask impossible questions, you
know.”
“Yes...I do know.”
“How am I supposed to answer you?”
I asked, giving up the hope of ever being able to answer hers.
“Now that’s the question, isn’t
it?”
“No, the question is why you should
do what I want.” I absently stroked the hair on her horse’s shoulder.
She grinned. “You’re quicker than I
thought.”
I hesitated, wondering whether that
worked out to a compliment for me or not. “...You’re leaving, aren’t you?”
“That is such a vague question. Of
course I’m leaving. Eventually you’ll leave too. We all have to leave one place
to get to the next.”
“But you’re going to leave this
place?”
“Yes, very shortly.”
I sighed. “Will you come with me?”
“No.”
“Can I come with you?”
“No.”
“Can I see you again?”
“Can you catch me?”
“What?”
She smirked, her face being taken
captive by the same troublesome, irresistible look I had seen when she had been
in the tree. “Your horse, down the hill a quarter mile, tied to the little pine
tree-is he fast?”
I nodded; surprised that she had
seen him. “He is.”
“Let’s race.”
“Why would I do that?” I asked, trying
to pretend not to be too interested in her suggestion. I was itching to ride with
somebody-racing was even better-but I was wary of being too eager with this
girl.
She shrugged. “That’s a question
you’ll have to answer yourself.”
“You want me to answer your
questions.”
“I haven’t asked you any questions
that I haven’t answered myself.”
“Even your statements are difficult
to answer.”
She grinned again. “Good.”
“I don’t think so.”
“No?”
“No.”
“That’s too bad. I think so.”
I sighed. “I’m sure.”
“...Fine, if we race, and you win,
I’ll tell you where to meet me tomorrow. If I win, you clean my birds for me.”
“You’re on.”
I hurried to my little paint, and
swung myself on his back as the girl came galloping down the hill. I swung his
head around and dug my heels into his sides, making him jump forward as the
girl went thundering past us; a second later we were on her tail.
We dashed down the narrow path, her
horse’s tail mere inches in front of my horse’s nose. My entire body was
energized as adrenaline coursed through my veins; not only did I get the rush
of the speed-the usual prize I got when I raced- this time more was on the
line, making the feeling that much better.
The girl gradually got further and
further ahead of me, until she started disappearing around the turns; soon I
found myself alone once more, and slowed my panting horse to a walk. I couldn’t
hear her horse anymore, which I should’ve been able to, had she been anywhere
near us. I was surprised, and disgusted, at how disappointed I was that she was
already gone.
I sat for a few minutes on my
horse’s back, until his sides stopped heaving as hard, and then, realizing that
there was nothing else to do, I sullenly walked home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“That can’t be right. If you lost
her, then how am I here?” I protested.
Father smiled. “Well I didn’t give
up. I went home that night, but the next day I was still thinking about her.”
“What did you do?” I asked eagerly,
learning forward to be sure I didn’t miss a single word.
“I annoyed my family.” Father
laughed. “I was scared to tell my parents about my mystery girl, but eager to
see her again, and couldn’t keep myself calm...I finally broke down and told
David.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was twilight by the time I
returned to my family’s estate; but I was moving slothfully, my drive robbed
from me by the girl, taken with my good mood. I walked into the barn with my
horse, and slowly unsaddled him; cooled by walking the rest of the way home, my
horse patiently waited as I rubbed him down with an old towel and then brushed
his hair down.
“Mam’ is madder ‘en a wet hen,
waitin’ for you in the house.”
I looked up and saw David standing
by the door of the stall, leaning on the doorframe. “What did I do?”
“Well you didna make it ‘ome fo’ dinner, to start with.”
I sighed. “Is Papa home?”
“Aye. He’s not too happy with ya
either.”
I sighed again and slowly pulled
the bridle from my horse’s head. “Tell them I’m un-tacking, um, oh shoot, what
did Kenna name this horse?”
“It was somethin’ like Star, wasn’t
it?”
“I don’t know, I guess. Tell Mama
and Papa that I’m un-tacking Star...I’ll be in a bit later on.”
David shrugged. “A’ight, it’s your
hide...but you might wanna hurry up. Pap does’na seem to be in a very patient
mood tonight.”
I nodded. “Yeah, whatever.”
David returned to the house,
leaving me alone with Star. I patted Star’s neck and sighed. “What do I tell
them, Star? They’re going to want to know why I was out so late, and they’re
not going to believe me about the girl.”
Star nudged me with his muzzle, so
I pet him for a moment, trying to form an alibi; I reluctantly walked into the
house. Papa was sitting by the dying fire, smoking his pipe and reading a book
in the dim light; Mama was sweeping in the kitchen, trying to busy herself, to
keep from worrying so much about me.
As I opened the door, I heard David
talking to Mama, “Yes’m, he’s a in the stable now. He says he’ll be in the
house soon enough.”
“Well he’d better, or else-“
“I’m in Mama, there’s no need for
‘or else’s.”
Mama started towards me, broom in
hand; Papa closed his book and stood, fixing me in a cold stare.
“Where have you been? I’ve been
worried sick about you!” Mama scolded angrily.
“In the woods.”
“’In the woods’? In the woods!” She
smacked me with the handle of her broom. “I’ve been fretting and worrying all
night, and all you can say is that you’ve been in the woods?”
I rubbed my chest, and retreated a
few steps as she took another swing at me.
Father stepped forward and put his
hand on Mama’s shoulder; she stopped swinging her broom at me, but continued to
scowl at me. “What were you doing in the woods, Boy?”
“I- I had been fishing...I got a
bit further away than I usually do-and-misjudged-the...time-it
would-take-to-get-home...I’m sorry?” I said slowly, trying to step around the
lecture I was about to get.
“Hah, little Timmy’s been fishin’
in the woods. I bet he saw a mermaid, is what made him late,” David hooted.
“Shut up David!” I snarled.
“Go to your room, David,” Mama and
Papa said simultaneously.
David climbed the ladder into our
room, laughing the whole way.
“Timothy, your mother and I trusted
to get home by dark- that’s when you always have to get home- and you let us
down. If you can’t be trusted, then we’re going to have to stop letting you go
places by yourself.”
“Oh my god, Pa! Don’t act like I’m
a kid! I’m nineteen years old!”
“I know!” he shouted, “That’s why I
expect you to be able to get home by dark.”
“It was one time! Can’t a man
misjudge time once in a while?”
“Not when he lives with his
parents.”
“Then I’ll move out.”
“Don’t be stupid. Where would you
go?”
My thoughts wandered back to the
girl, and I wondered where she had gone, and how she at done it. I really
wished I had found out.
“I don’t know, but I’ll figure it
out if you keep treating me like a child.”
“If you’d act like a man, for once,
I might treat you like one.”
“It wasn’t my fault. I was trying
to catch our supper for tomorrow.”
“Oh yeah, ‘cause we’re starving.
That’s obvious.”
“I was trying to feed the family,
regardless of how well you’ve done it in the past.”
“Fine. Where is your catch then?
Are we going to eat tomorrow?”
“I had to abandon my quest early. I
was trying to get home before dark, because I knew you’d act like this if I was the tiniest bit late.”
“Your quest?” Papa laughed
scornfully. “Well that it explains it then, if catching fish is a ‘quest’ for
you.”
My face flushed crimson, but I
didn’t reply. He cuffed my ears, knocking me sideways. “Go to bed...then you’ll
be able to dream about your big quest.”
I resentfully climbed the ladder
into our room, where David was sitting on the edge of his bed, smirking,
waiting for me. “The grand quest o’ gatherin’ fish,” David cackled.
“Shut up.”
“You got off easy, ya know.”
“Shut up.” I growled, as I flopped
down onto my bed and jerked the blankets over me.
“You ain’t gonna even get outa your
quest clothes.”
“Just mind your own business.” I
rolled over, turning my back on him.
“Go to sleep boys!” Papa shouted.
David lay back in his bed with a
childish grin. I lay in my bed, fuming and waiting for sleep to overtake me;
but as soon as my anger melted away, it was replaced by her memory. Her grin,
the way she tossed her hair, the carefree way she did everything haunted me; I
wanted to see her again, more than anything. I wished I had gotten her name. I
wished I could visit her again.
Everything got quiet and dark
downstairs; David got up and crept across the floor, sitting down on the edge
of my bed. He put his hand on my shoulder. “Hey Bub, what’s the matter?”
He was met by silence.
“I know you’re not asleep.”
I sniffed, trying to wipe the tears
off my face. “So what.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. I misjudged time, for
once in my life.”
“Look, it’s
great that you were able t’ sell yer story t’ them, but I ain’t buyin’.”
“I just got too
far away.”
“You expect me
t’ believe that? You know them woods like the back o’ yer hand.”
I sighed.
“Come on, you
can tell me.”
“You promise not
to tell Mama and Papa?”
“Cross m’ heart
and hope t’ die.”
“...I met a
girl.”
“...a girl?”
“Yes, a girl.”
“I see...what
type o’ girl?”
“An amazing
one...she’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever met.”
“Who is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yet you’re all
upset ‘bout her?”
“You didn’t see her David,” I said
as I rolled over. “She wasn’t like any other girl.”
“Well where does she live?”
“I don’t know.”
David sighed. “Well if you do’na
know where she lives, and you do’na know who she is, then how d’ ya expect t’
find her again?”
“That’s the problem! I don’t know!”
I wiped at rebel tears that streamed down my face again.
“Hmm...Well maybe she’ll come
‘round again.”
“How? She doesn’t know where I live
either.”
David bit his lip, thinking. “Well
how about we ride out t’morrow t’ where y’ saw her...Maybe she’ll go back too.”
I sniffed, the tears coming to a stop.
“That might work.”
David nodded. “Then it’s a plan. We
go in t’ the woods t’morrow, and we find th’ girl.”
“Alright.”
He punched my shoulder and stood.
“Good. Get t’ sleep Timmy-boy, we’ve got maidens t’ chase soon.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What happened? Did you find Mama?
Did she fall in love with you?” I asked eagerly.
Father chuckled. “Wait a minute.
You’re getting ahead of yourself.”
“But you did find her. You had to
have.”
“Well it sounds like you know the
story better than I do.”
“I’m sorry Father...please finish
your story.”
“Well I suppose there’s not much
left to tell. You’ve already figured out the end.”
“Oh please tell me what happened
next. Please Father.”
“Oh, alright...David and I finally
fell asleep. The next morning we both worked twice as hard as usual, trying to
get our chores done early.”
“So you could try to find Mama?”
“Yes. We finished at mid-morning
and saddled up our horses. David and I
said that we were just going for a ride together, but, as I had forgotten my
fishing pole, we had an excuse to return to the mountains.”
