The Others

Chapter Eight

Two weeks have come and gone in the blink of an eye. Every morning I get up, I do my chores and I help my mother around the house. It seems like she's stuck in depression, because she does not say a single word. She does what she needs to do, but I have not seen her smile since the night my father came home. I'm worried for her.

My thoughts have been everywhere. The little dragon that's sleeping in my barn is growing with such a speed that I feel like every day she's grown a centimeter or two. In the mornings I see her sneak of to the forest, and sometimes she comes back with a small animal in her jaws. In the evenings we play together, or just look at the sun going down, while contemplating our own thoughts.

Why she's decided to stay with me, is the biggest question I have. Every morning I wake up, I run to the barn to see if she's still there and so far she has not let me down. But I know the morning where I will be left alone will come soon. There's no escaping it, so I cherish every day as much as I can.

I'm wondering if my brother knows about my father's death. To be honest, I'm curious if he even cares. We have not even heard from him, since he left ten years eight years ago. Would he even be alive still, himself? What has become of his falcon? I remember it could barely fly when they took Shane with their jeeps. Has it turned into a big bird? Can it reach the heavens high, like I’ve seen some birds do?

‘Maya’, I hear my mother say. I look up from the crochet hooks that are turning a thin string of wool into the start of a scarf. It’s been a while since I’ve heard her say my name.

‘Yes, mother?’ I ask her.

‘I want you to go to Keira’, she says. ‘There are some things you need to take care of soon.’

I look at her surprised. ‘What things?’ Mother’s never this vague.

‘She will know. I want you to leave now.’

I laugh. ‘Now? Mother it’s almost evening.’ She shrugs, and looks back at her own crochet-work. I chuckle. ‘Great joke, mum’, I say.

She looks up angrily. ‘I’m not joking. Go.’ She says strict, before she focusses back on her piece of cloth.

I growl under my breath, get up and walk to the kitchen to grab myself some food for the road. ‘You know it’s almost winter, right mother?’ I say, but I do not receive an answer. ‘In the winter it’s dangerous to walk outside, alone in the cold.’

With my mother’s depression, I’m sure she’s not thinking clearly about what she wants. But who am I to tell her something different? She’s my mother, and I’m supposed to listen to her. Besides, I have walked the road so often, that I know it’s not dangerous. But that does not mean that I want to do it.

With as much drama as I can, I walk to the door. ‘Goodbye mother’, I say. ‘May we meet again. Don’t miss me too much if I die.’ She doesn’t even look up. While gently growling, I leave the door.

‘Lilly’, I whisper when I’m outside. ‘Lilly’, I say a bit harder. It’s been a couple of days now since I started calling the dragon Lilly.

A gentle braap tells me she hears me. It’s so dark I can barely see anything. ‘I’m going to town for a couple of days. I hope you will still be here when I come back.’ I feel something rub against my leg, and I smile. I hope it’s her way of saying yes.

Tired, and bored, I start my travel. It’s dark, and it’s cold, but with the moonlight I can just see where the path is. Every couple of meters I try to find something to do, to take my mind off of things. I kick a small rock on the floor, or whistle a tune. I try to count some stars in the heavens, or sing a lullaby I remember from when I was young.

Slowly the hours pass me by, and so do the meters. By the time the sun breaks through the horizon, I can see the village. I try to spend my last hour imagining what I will do first, when I reach town. Will I instantly go to Keira, or will I go say hey to Carl first? With his busy job he will probably be up with sun-up. But then again, he did say he would be gone for a couple of days.

Although, two weeks have passed by since I last saw him. That would mean he’s back home, right? I’m curious what he meant with what he said last time, about his plans. Could it be that he took the merchant home with him? Or was he going to tell us that his travelling days are over? A part of me would be happy to see him more often, but a different part of me likes to know that he’s seeing places. He gets to do what I can not. I envy him for it, but I also do not want to take that away from him.

It’s clear that my thoughts are making my decision for me, so I head straight to Carl’s home. It does not take me very long to see that he’s not there. Everything’s shut, and in a way that it looks like he has not been home for a while. Has he maybe not returned from Yuna yet? I remember that he was speaking of a few days, but you never know what happened. He might have decided to stay there for longer.

I shrug, and continue my walk to Keira’s home. It does not take me long to reach it, since she lives just a small while away from her first-born son. I decide to do the unexpected, and take the front-door. I wait at the wooden counter, and ring the little bell that’s sat upon it to alarm her there’s customers.

I ring a second time, and a third. ‘Keira’, I say laughing. ‘The front-door was unlocked, are you still sleeping, old woman?’

The door to the room in the back, where the kitchen and dining table are sat, opens. Keira walks through. The moment I see her face, my heart skips a beat. She looks like she has not slept in days. It makes her look at least a decade older than she truly is.

‘Keira’, I say and I quickly walk past the counter to meet her. ‘What’s wrong?’

Keira shakes her head. ‘It’s so much at once, my child’, she sighs. ‘Carl has been late, for over a week now.’

I try to comfort her: ‘But he’s late more often’, I say. ‘Remember last summer, Keira? He was late for a month, at least.’

Keira shakes her head. ‘He would not be late, I can assure you, my child.’ I look at her surprised.

‘What do you mean with that?’

Keira brushes off my question, with different news: ‘And yesterday, there came two men at my store. It was almost dark, and they scared me half to death.’

I smile, trying to make her feel better. ‘Why would they scare you? You know everyone in Qwerth.’

‘That’s the thing’, she instantly clarifies. ‘They were not from here. And Maya, they had Others.’

I feel the blood leave my head, and my throat turn dry. ‘Others?’ I say. ‘Did one have a wolf?’

Keira shakes her head. ‘No, not a wolf. One of them walked in with his Other, showing it off like it was the most normal thing in the world. They were soldiers, I tell you. He had this snake laying on top of his shoulders, like it was an accessory. It’s slithering tongue… I will never forget the image.’

I put my hand on her shoulder. ‘But what does this have to do with Carl?’ I ask her.

Keira grunts, and shakes her head again. ‘I do not know, they said they were looking for an Other. Magic lead them to Qwerth, and to my house. They wanted to know where my children were, and I told them that Carl had left the house fifteen years ago, and that Tommy passed when he was just six months old. I explained to them that it must have been from one of my customers, because there had no one been here with magic.’

My heart races. Carl? ‘Do you think Carl has an Other, Keira?’ I ask her with a soft voice. Keira shrugs.

‘My child, I do not know anything. But if it was him, and they took him, I will never see him again. Then I have lost my youngest, and now my oldest to the King. Carl is not made to be a soldier, Maya. He was made to be with me.’

I take her in my embrace. ‘I will go around town, Keira. I will ask if any one knows of this news, al right? I know it’s rare, but maybe one of the other children has recently received an Other. I know Qwerth is not known for delivering soldiers, but it happens. Shane is the perfect example.’

Keira pushes me against my chest. ‘Go, go’, she says. She sounds very stressed.

‘But Keira, might I ask you’, I say before I walk back to the front door. ‘Why did my mother want me to come to you?’

Keira shrugs. ‘It’s not important now, go in to town and find out where my Carl is.’

I smile. ‘Of course, Keira.’