Lost Lighte

Chapter 3 (part 2)

Tilya chose to sleep in, finally getting up from the living room bench when the sun reached its apex in the sky. A thick layer of clouds blanketed it, sending snowflakes dancing through the air. When she awoke, her father had already gone and Reese wasn’t home.

After tidying up the cabin, she slipped on a pair of thick fur-lined boots and a winter jacket and walked to the crop farm to check on the winter squash. It was moments like these when she wished she hadn’t given her only pair of trousers to a beggar’s son this past spring. Being a farm girl in the winter with only dresses to wear was a fate Tilya wouldn’t wish on her greatest enemy.

The wind was unexpectedly fierce, and her flowing lilac dress flailed chaotically around her as she walked. Despite the coat she wore, she still had to hold her arms close to her chest in a desperate attempt to stop the chill from reaching her core.

Upon inspection of the winter squash, Tilya was pleased to find that they were perfectly ripe. “Time to harvest.” she whispered to herself, clapping her hands together.

As she walked to the shed to retrieve the wagon and shears, her pace slowed when she saw through its window the red oil lantern that was lit up within. She swore she had extinguished it yesterday when she finished stacking the logs.

Stepping up to the window, she cupped her hand around her eyes to try and look inside. From what Tilya could see, everything inside looked untouched.

She took a moment to take some deep breaths and ground herself before approaching the shed door. Placing her hand on the knob, she silently counted to three before quickly flinging the door open and peering inside.

Looking around from the threshold of the shed, the items on the shelves were just as she had left them, save for the burning oil lamp on the bottom-most one. The logs in the back left corner were still neatly stacked on top of each other, the dark pile of blankets in the back right corner lay as they always did, and the wagon stay unmoved from where she left it. Tilya let out a shaky laugh and grabbed the shears and the wagon and exited the shed.

It wasn’t until she was halfway to the winter squash that Tilya realized there were never a pile of blankets in the back right corner of the shed. A cold chill crawled up her body and she slowly turned around to look back at the building.

Reese.

“That little shit.” Tilya muttered to herself. It was no wonder she couldn’t find him when she woke up.

She marched back to the shed, shears in hand, and stormed back inside it. “Very funny Reese. You can come out now.” Tilya spoke, nothing in her tone concealing her annoyance. The blankets shifted slowly.

Tilya placed a hand on her hip impatiently, and when Reese didn’t come out a moment later, she took it upon herself to pull the blankets off of him. But it wasn’t Reese under those blankets.

When Tilya threw the blankets to the side, she stood facing a young man, seemingly around her age, that wore a black long-sleeved tunic and grey trousers. Both were tattered and grimy. Thick brows sat above a set of full, dark lashes that framed piercing grey eyes. His lips were pursed as he stared up at her.

A second later, Tilya screamed. She flung herself backwards out of the shed and slammed the door, standing a few paces away from it and holding the shears out in front of her. “Who are you?” she shouted. Her body pulsed with her rapidly beating heart and she could hear the blood rushing in her ears.

Her breath hitched as she saw the doorknob turn and the man slowly stick his head out to look at her. “Please, let me explain.” he said gently.

Tilya stiffened and took another step back, not taking her eyes off of him. In the daylight she could see how greasy his dark hair was that stuck out of a grey woolen hat, covering his forehead and stopping at the tips of his eyelashes; it was obvious he hadn’t bathed in days or even weeks.

“I mean you no harm. I am… sorry I scared you.” The man stepped out completely and shut the door behind him, standing against it as he looked at her. Despite Tilya’s caution, she lowered the shears when the man did not approach.

Swallowing, she set her shoulders, holding her head high to at least appear brave. “Go on then. Explain yourself.”

The man cleared his throat and pushed clumped strands of hair away from his forehead. Those grey eyes stared unflinchingly into hers as he spoke.

“My name is Lukas. I was only using your shed as a place to sleep for the night.” He took a step closer, and Tilya stay unmoved. “I… My home life isn’t the greatest. So, I’ve…” he hesitated, fiddling nervously with his fingers.

Tilya’s brows furrowed and she tilted her head. “You ran away?”

Lukas simply nodded and stared at the snowy ground.

Tilya glanced at his boots, how worn and holey they were, and frowned. “How long have you been running?” she asked. She had been so focused on the situation at hand that it wasn’t until a particularly strong gust of wind that she remembered how bone-chilling it was outside. She couldn’t help but wonder how many deathly cold nights this man had spent sleeping in unfavorable places.

“About a week’s time.” he replied, glancing up at her. “But, anyways, I’ll leave you and your family be. I never meant to scare you.” Lukas adjusted his crooked trousers and tucked his shirt inside of them. “In fact, I never meant for you to learn I was ever here to begin with.”

He started to walk away when Tilya took a step towards him, a hand outstretched. “Wait.” she said hastily. Lukas paused and looked back at her.

Tilya pursed her lips thoughtfully, and after a moment finally spoke. “You’ve travelled a week’s time at this point. That should have… gotten you quite far from your village, no?”

Lukas's face paled. “If you mean to send me back there, please, I’ll- I’ll do anything if you could just let me go. Pretend like you never saw--”

“No!” Tilya interrupted. “That’s… That’s not what I meant.” She took another step towards him, pulling her winter coat tightly against her. “You could stay here. If you would like, that is.”

It wasn’t until that moment that Tilya realized what she was saying. What she had offered. A puzzled look overtook her face as she silently questioned her sanity.

“Oh, no. I-- I could never put you out like that.” Lukas replied with an awkward smile. He stuck his cold hands inside his trouser pockets and made to leave again.

“It’s fine!” Tilya blurted. She would ponder over her sanity later. Lukas stopped again and turned to her. She could see in his face the hesitation to accept her offer. “You won’t be putting us out. My father-- he just got a job in Wanesborough that requires him to lodge there, so there’s room for you if you’d like to stay.” Tilya slowly began to approach him.

“It’s better than being out in the cold all day and night. Besides, do you even know where you’re going? Do you have a final destination?” She was right in front of him now, and it was then that she realized how tall he was. She nearly had to crane her neck to look at him.

Lukas stared at her with a strange expression, and was silent for a moment, before replying. “No. I didn’t have anywhere in particular in mind.”

Tilya offered him a tender smile. “It’s just me and my little brother. He doesn’t bite. And neither do I.” she said.

One of Lukas's brows arched. “It didn’t seem that way a few minutes ago when you were pointing shears at me.”

Tilya flushed and gripped the shears she held in her pocket a bit tighter. “I’m sorry, but you can’t blame me for that. There was a strange man sleeping in my shed.” Lukas's laugh broke the tension, and Tilya couldn’t help but chuckle herself.

“Come, I’ll take you to the cabin.” She nodded in the direction of her home a few meters away and they walked together.