Chapter 3
1239 Words
3
“You should be more careful,” the new voice said, the one from earlier in the room.
I still didn’t know who it belonged to, but if I had to guess, I’d say maybe Zen’s mother or an older sister?
She hadn’t introduced herself when she guided me back me into the room and away from the outside freedom. Whether I liked it or not, I was in no state to leave. Not without seriously injuring myself, again.
“Drink some tea,” Zen said, her tone expectant.
I would drink tea, but I didn’t have any. Unless she was trying to hand me some?
Carefully, I held out my hands, hoping I didn’t come across as presumptuous or awkward. Without my vision, the simplest tasks were suddenly mountains.
Fabric rustled as the girl next to me moved. “It’s hot.”
“Where is it?” I asked, waving my hands around too eagerly and bumping into something. Hot water splashed on my wrist and burned into my skin. “Ouch!”
“Careful!” Voice Two scolded, unsure whether she was referring to me or Zen.
I dried my arms on the blanket they’d given me and held out my hands without moving them this time. Trying to grab things, especially hot things, was just making everything worse. If I couldn’t accept a cup of tea, how was I going to find Pickles?
“Here,” the human girl said, pressing the handle of the mug into my palm.
The sudden change of temperature was a shock, even if I was expecting it. The grassy smell wafted up and tickled my nose, the smell familiar and reassuring. “Mmmm… Which tea is it?”
“Hard leaf. It’s one of the only things that grows here in the mountains,” Voice Two said.
“And where am I exactly?” I asked, hoping I didn’t sound like I was trying to hatch an escape plan.
Zen chuckled. “Welcome to Zarvi, or as we call our little village, paradise in hell.”
“Where is this village? Is it near a forest?”
If it was closeby, maybe I could somehow find my way through the snow and return to Var. It wasn’t ideal, but it would have to do.
Voice Two spoke, suddenly all the way to the left. “No, the forest is all the way down at the foot of the mountain.”
“Is it easy to reach?”
“With the storm and displaced snow? It’s suicide,” she replied.
That was not what I wanted to hear, but the harsh reality of the situation was that I could be annoyed and mad all I wanted, it wouldn’t change the situation or make my snowsnare blindness dissipate faster.
“Hey!” A muffled, third voice sounded from outside. “Mamma, come look!”
“What is it?” Voice Two replied, shuffling noises accompanying her.
A gust of wind was introduced to the room, which I assumed meant she’d opened the door or window again.
“Alf, what did you find?” she called out.
The voice sounded again, this time clearer that it was a little boy. “I found a dead bunny!”
My heart stopped. A dead bunny?
It couldn’t be…
I jumped up from the bed, temporarily forgetting I couldn’t see. Tangled in the blankets, I tripped over my own feet and slammed into the wooden floor. The mug flew out of my hand, the hot tea spilling everywhere. “s**t!”
“Be careful,” Zen warned again as she tried to help me up. “What’s the matter?”
“What’s the boy talking about? About the bunny?” I called, waving my arms to find any more obstacles as I made my way towards where the cold wind was coming from. “Is it a black bunny?”
“I don’t know,” the mother said. “Alf, bring it here.”
The little boy laughed, his running footsteps accompanied with shrieking snow. “Look, it’s so small!”
My stomach twisted in all kinds of knots. It couldn’t be Pickles, it couldn’t be Pickles, it couldn’t be—
“Hand it to me.” The older woman spoke with an authoritative, but kind voice. She seemed wise and I hoped she wouldn’t realise just what a strange creature Pickles was. “Let me see.”
Alf shouted again. “Is it dead?”
Was she?
I couldn’t breathe, afraid of the answer about to come. If Pickles hadn’t made it… I didn’t know what I’d do.
“Aww,” she said, her deep voice filled with pity. “I’ve never seen a creature like this before, but look, it’s alive.”
The weight on my chest lifted. Thank f**k for that.
“It’s so small. What’s it doing out there all by itself?” Zen asked, her voice coming from my right.
I kept walking into the direction of the older woman’s voice, hoping that it was indeed my dust bunny. “I brought a bunny with me.”
“You did?” The mother’s voice was filled with disbelief. “You brought a bunny to the deep mountains?”
“I had no other choice,” I snapped back, trying to locate Pickles with my hands. “Pickles? Is that you?”
“Hffff.”
Laughter erupted from my heart. I knew that sound. “It is you!”
My fingers bumped into a sharp spike, but I didn’t care about the shot of pain. I was just glad she was here, that she was safe and alive. That was all I needed.
The little animal hopped into my hands and I brought it close to snuggle. Her heart was beating rapidly, which worried me a little. Was this new or had I just never noticed it?
“Hello, you! I’ve been looking all over for you,” I coed, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. Her fur was cold and her spikes pricked me in the face, but none of that mattered. I had Pickles back.
“Hff?”
I tickled her small body. “I know. You just wanted an adventure, like your owner, didn’t you?”
“Hffff.”
“Have you lost weight?” She didn’t seem to be as heavy as when I found her in the dormitory. Maybe a night of hopping and no food had brought her back to her normal size.
From the lack of answer, I assumed I was right.
“Here.” I patted my body in search of one of the pockets in my blazer. “Now you’ll fit. You stay close, okay?”
“Ahem.”
Someone cleared their throat and as I put Pickles away, I turned around to the noise. “Yes?”
“So that’s your pet then?” the mother asked, sounding suspicious. “Where did you say you came from again?”
I avoided her last question and just focused on Pickles. She wasn’t exactly mine, but for the sake of this conversation and situation, she was. “Pickles is my bunny.”
She let out another hum. “Hmmm… I’ve never seen a bunny like that.”
“Oh, really? That’s odd because she’s a famous… umm…” If I didn’t come up with a believable lie quickly enough, things would get a whole lot worse. Not only would I be temporarily blind, I’d have a special bunny with me. I couldn’t risk raising their suspicion. “It’s a very popular breed in the High Islands. They call it a dragon bunny because she’s dark as soot.”
“I think I’ve heard about those,” Zen said, backing me up. Whether that was her helping me out or her just thinking she heard about this breed, I didn’t know. It didn’t matter.
The mother clacked her tongue, the noise dismissive. “Alright then. You should be more careful, the Deep Mountains are traitorous.”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered. I still had the half-frozen fingers to remind me. I shouldn’t have spilt my tea, but it was tough not having my vision. At least I had Pickles back, which was the main thing. I’d just have to figure out a way to navigate down to the forest, although from the sound of it, that wasn’t going to be an easy task.
For now, I was trapped in the village.
- Writer
