Lost Lighte

Chapter 3 (part 3)

“Your hair is a very unique color. Do you dye it?” Lukas asked as they approached the cabin door.

“Oh, no…” Tilya began, shyly spinning a small chunk of her hair between two fingers. “That’s just how I was born. When I was younger my peers would mock me for it, but that was a long time ago, when we lived in the heart of the village.”

“I think it’s beautiful.” Lukas stated simply, and Tilya detected no deceit in his tone. She flushed.

She led him inside where a fire in the furnace was alive and warm, and she could have sworn she heard him sigh in relief. “It’s nothing special, but it does the job.” she said, referring mostly to the cabin. “I’m grateful for anything.” said Lukas.

Tilya gestured to the bench. “Please, make yourself at home. I can make you a hot cup of tea if you’d like.” He happily sat down on the bench and kicked his now worthless boots off. “That would be amazing.”

Tilya nodded once and made the short walk to the kitchen where she began heating up water for his tea, peeking at him every now and then while she made work of it.

“How old are you, Lukas?” Tilya asked as she stirred a teaspoon of sugar into the hot beverage. Lukas looked in the direction of the kitchen, which was half shielded by a wall that separated it from the living room. “Twenty-one. I’ll be twenty-two come March.”

“I see. I’m nineteen, myself.” She mixed in a dash of goat’s milk.

“You seem a bit older than nineteen.” Lukas suggested, watching her as she walked over to him and sat down, two teacups in hand. The cup warmed his hands as he took one from her.

“I had to grow up fast, I guess you could say.” She smiled somberly down at her cup and took a sip. Lukas did as well, and hummed in delight. “This is spectacular.” he purred, gulping down nearly the whole cup with his second swig. Tilya laughed softly and set her cup down on the small table beside the bench.

“I realize I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Tilya. Tilya Woodrow.” She offered him a warm smile and folded her hands in her lap. “Tilya.” Lukas repeated, her name playing along his lips. “That’s an interesting name. Much better than mine. Lukas is quite common.”

Tilya shook her head. “Names are just words. It doesn’t make anyone any more interesting if theirs is unique. It’s just the same with common names; it doesn’t make anyone any less interesting.” At this Lukas gave her a smile as he leaned back against the bench, though he didn’t reply.

A long moment of silence passed and Tilya cleared her throat. Realizing how warm it had gotten, she removed the winter coat she still wore and place it on the ground beside her. Lukas looked down at her lilac dress.

The thin, ruffled straps struggled to not fall down her shoulders, and the heart-shaped neckline was modest enough. A seam going across her torso indicated where the bodice ended and the flow-y length began. The entire dress was tulle over thin cotton, and the ruffled hem at the bottom of the dress sported embroidered daisies.

“Not exactly attire one usually wears in winter.” Lukas stated, finishing off his tea and continuing to hold the empty cup in his hands. Tilya looked down at herself and fought a blush. She tucked her hair behind her ear and awkwardly plucked at the fabric of her dress.

“Yes, well… To put it plainly, I had no choice.”

Lukas nodded in understanding, not at ease to ask any prying questions, and glanced at her ear. His brows furrowed at the sight of the large scar running along the top of it, though he didn’t ask any questions about that, either.

“At the risk of sounding rude…” he began, and Tilya looked up at him curiously. “Is there a place in here in which I could bathe?”

Tilya blinked, and shot up off of the bench. “Goodness, yes. I’m sorry, I should have offered first. I’m sure you haven’t washed since you… Ran away.”

Lukas simply gave her a soft smile and a nod.

Tilya took the empty cup from his hand and gestured for him to follow her. After setting the cup down on the kitchen counter, she led him outside and around to the back of the cabin where a small added-on room was connected. A fire pit was established a few paces away, and a large iron pot filled with water was situated on top.

“This is the bathing room, there’s a tub inside. The pot over there is where we get the water heated for the bath.” Tilya pointed at the pot. “I’ll get the fire going and when the water is heated to your liking, go ahead and pour it into the tub.” She then pointed to a pair of thick gloves that sat beside the pit. “Use those to pick the pot up so you don’t burn yourself. When you’re finished in the bath, there’s a plug on the outside you can remove to drain the water.”

Lukas smiled appreciatively. “Thank you so much Tilya.”

She nodded. “You’ll see a shelf above the tub with some soaps on it. Use whichever one you’d like. I’ll bring you a towel and a change of clothes.” She noticed the puzzled look on his face.

“My father couldn’t take all of his clothes with him, so I don’t think he’ll mind if you use them. At least until we can get you to the market to buy some for yourself.”

He nodded.

Fifteen minutes later Lukas was in the bathing room using a metal cup to pour the warm water over his hair and body. The soaps on the shelf had pieces of different flowers and herbs mixed within them and each had a different scent. Lukas chose the one that had a woody, musky aroma to it.

When he walked back into the cabin after finishing his bath, Tilya was nowhere to be found. He hung his towel over the arm of the bench closest to the fireplace so that it would dry faster and, having nothing else to do, began to look around the cabin.

It was nearly barren of anything sentimental-- as though Tilya’s family lived minimally. The kitchen counters were clear of everything but a vase that was used to store a few cooking utensils, the round dining table next to the kitchen held a single candle in its center with a small bowl of walnuts beside it, and the walls were devoid of any decorations save for a hook on the wall by the door to hang Tilya’s coat, and three paintings.

One of them depicted a family consisting of a friendly-looking man and woman with brown hair and their young son, all of them wearing respectable clothing; another showed the same man and young boy, but this time the woman was replaced by a young girl around the boy’s age dressed in a frilly white dress with a lacy white headband; the last painting was of a vast, beautiful garden with an out-of-focus manor in the background. Arches made from hedges were dispersed evenly along a stone pathway that swerved throughout it, lined by a variety of flower bushes.

Lukas stepped into the bedroom to behold a small bed lying on an iron frame, two woolly blankets draped over it. The two pillows were severely flattened from years of abuse, and their cases were yellowed.

In the corner of the bedroom was a small armoire used to store all of the family’s clothing. Lukas opened the large double doors above its drawers and to find a few dresses hanging inside, all of them different fabrics and colors. They seemed like they had been kept in good condition.

He shut the doors with a click and, looking to the left of the room, approached the window within it from which he could view a large portion of Tilya’s farm.

The young woman with the unique hair was walking back to the cabin with two baskets of a sort of vegetable Lukas couldn’t recognize. The thick winter coat she wore contrasted strangely with her thin lilac dress swaying in the wind. Lukas quickly exited the bedroom and shut the door before taking a seat on the bench.

At that moment Tilya appeared through the front door and set the two baskets of produce on the dining table, shrugging off her coat and hanging it up on the hook by the cabin entrance.

“How was the bath?” she asked Lukas, facing him. Despite the fire, he must’ve still been cold, since he was still wearing his hat.

The man tugged at the sleeves of the brown tunic that belonged to her father. “It was heavenly. I feel like a new man.” Tilya pulled a boar’s hair brush out from one of the vegetable baskets and began removing the dirt and ice from them with it. They were an oblong shape and barely paler than her.

“What are those?” Lukas asked, pointing at the food. Tilya blinked, caught off guard. “Have you never seen winter squash before?” she asked.

The man shook his head.

“They are a fruit that is delicious in the winter months. There are different kinds, like butternut, acorn, and delicata.” Tilya lifted the one she held higher into the air. “The kind I grow are the butternut variety.”

Lukas stared at it, his mouth watering, and he suddenly remembered it had been two days since he’d eaten anything. His stomach growled.

Tilya, as if hearing this, began brushing the fruits off quicker. “I’ll be making dinner soon, I hope you like pottage.”

An hour later, Tilya had a pot of liquid boiling over the fire pit made up of stock, leftover mutton, beans, and other vegetables. She was busy stirring its contents when she noticed Reese approaching the cabin.

“You’re finally home.” She acknowledged. Reese gave her a gentle hug. “I wanted to play with Chester today, and Hadley said that would be fine.”

His sister patted him on the head and smiled. “You’re not in trouble for leaving without saying anything. I’m just glad to hear you were somewhere safe. But, didn’t Chester have school today?”

Reese nodded, his golden hair bouncing. “Yes. I was with Hadley until he got out of school. We met him there and walked home together.”

“Well, from the looks of your dirty clothes it seems like you had a fun time. I’m glad.”

Tilya’s expression grew serious and Reese, the ever observant little boy, knitted his eyebrows together. “What’s wrong, Tilly?”

She set the spoon down on a rock beside the pit and glanced back at the cabin before kneeling down in front of Reese, her hands holding the tops of his shoulders.

“I need to tell you something, Reese.” she spoke softly. Reese gave her another nod. Sighing through her nostrils, Tilya continued.

“We have… someone staying with us for a while. A friend of mine.” Her heart pained. Even though Lukas seemed like a kind man who wouldn’t put her family in danger, it still hurt to lie to Reese about their relationship. “Have I met him before?” Reese asked, tucking his small hands in his coat pockets. Tilya shook her head. “No, but he’s very nice, His name is Lukas.”

Reese glanced at the ground and swayed back and forth for a short moment. “Is he going to be helping you with your job?” he asked, looking into Tilya’s eyes now.

Tilya nodded. “Yes, he is.”

The little boy’s mouth pulled into a smile and he shrugged. “Okay. That’s all I care about.”

Tilya let out a breathy chuckle and stood back up, brushing dirt off of her dress where her knees met the ground. “You’ll need to be on your best behavior, okay?” Her brow arched as she looked at Reese sternly.

The boy just giggled and ran inside.