Page 21 of Earthbound

Lettle made a sound as though she were in pain, before rolling over and mumbling Rayan’s name. It had been hard watching her fade from the world–with every step she took eastward, it was as though she walked further and further from her soul.

They must reconcile when we return, she cannot go on like this.

Lettle wouldn’t tell him the extent of their feud, other than it had been Rayan’s decision to walk away. The next time she’d opened up about it, Alder hadn’t intended to probe.

‘Can I ask you something, Lettle?’ he’d asked, as they walked along a dirt path. They were still in their early days of their quest, and he was still wary of her. They did not know each other well, their circumstances the only reason they’d been brought together. He wasn’t even sure he liked her. He found her too volatile, her gaze too discerning. When she looked at him, he felt as though she were assessing him like her prophecy tokens.

‘Please. I’m bored of my own thoughts.’

‘Why do you always run your fingers against your neck? Is it an old injury?’

All humour drained from her features and she looked haunted.

‘Of a kind, I suppose.’

Alder didn’t think she’d speak again, and when she did it was at least half an hour later and it took him a moment to remember the thread of the conversation.

‘I used to wear a necklace. Yeeran made it for me when I was a child. We didn’t have a lot of money. In fact, we had no money at all. So each year she’d gift me with a nameday present that could be threaded onto the twine. Sometimes it was a shell, other times a pebble. Worthless to most, but precious to me.’

Alder didn’t think Lettle had realised she’d stopped walking. She was looking to the horizon, but it was clear her mind was conjuring the memories in front of her.

‘I lost that necklace before we got to Mosima. And Rayan,’ she laughed and shook her head. ‘He had noticed, and so he started collecting little things that reminded him of me. The first one was a polished seed that he threaded through a chain.

‘Then when we argued on Conch Shore,’ she shut her eyes and tears seeped from the corners. When she spoke her voice cracked. ‘I threw the necklace into the sea.’

Alder had never seen Lettle so exposed.

Here she was…breaking.

Alder wrapped his arms around her. At first she tensed up, but then she relaxed, the sobs racking her small frame. Alder helped hold her together.

The next day before they bedded down for the night, Alder handed her two leaves he had plucked earlier that day.

‘A snack?’ she asked hopefully. Farhan had got distracted cooking dinner and burned the stew.

‘No,’ he said and sat down beside her. ‘This is giffy grass. Sturdy, waterproof and easy to weave.’

She still looked confused, so he added, ‘I…I thought you could make it into a necklace.’

Her face was impassive. He started to feel a little silly. ‘I thought it might be nice to make something for yourself. Maybe add some trinkets we find on the trail? There are some lovely rough sapphires near the mountains…and the seed pods from the fula tree are a beautiful red…’ Still she didn’t speak and he shrugged. ‘Sometimes you can make your own happiness too.’

Then her arms were around his neck. ‘Thank you,’ she said as she embraced him.

Now, she murmured once more in her sleep and then was still.

Peace, Lettle. I hope only for your peace.

Farhan on the other hand was almost too peaceful. He was curled around his obeah, smiling softly in his sleep.

Alder was about to sit up when he heard whispering. He stiffened when he heard his name.

‘You have to tell Alder,’ Mia whispered.

‘They have come such a long way,’ Dart said.

‘It’s not your fault your father didn’t tell you anything.’

Alder’s stomach sank and he wished so desperately that he had remained asleep.