A day with the widow makes Mina reflect on her own former life, and if she would dare to tell Edvard the truth about herself.
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It was still mid-morning when Mina joined Yuila at a concealed area in the river to bathe the next day. Mina had already spent a few hours helping Eza with the usual chores, which fascinated her. Never again would she take for granted the luxuries of modern conveniences.
It took half an hour to milk all the goats and feed the hogs while Yuila and Donel walked the sheep from their small fold to where the boy wanted to graze them for the day. The fold was only partially covered on one end, its shelter roof of heavy beams nearly collapsed. While Yuila was gone, Mina helped Eza dig a box of peanuts and set them to dry on the lattice rack in the suns. She had picked through the legumes, surprised that they grew underground, like potatoes.
They also dug a few small potatoes from another part of the garden near the house and picked a few handfuls of leafy sorrel from the patch of assorted greens. These they cleaned and added to the turtle soup, which was bubbling slowly over the fire in the house. The potatoes Eza had added the night before had dissolved into a thin white gravy. Mina looked on as the woman estimated her herb pots by the laundry line in the front yard and selected a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary to add.
After that, Yuila and Mina had headed to the river as Eza allowed Donel a short time away from his sheep and goats to watch the trail for Edvard's return from hunting.
Mina soaked deep in the water, appreciating the unusually warm spring that fed that part of the river. Nearby Yuila was busy submerging and reappearing, and constantly humming.
Edvard was just entering the home site when the girls returned. Donel was jumping around him excitedly as Edvard dragged a freshly killed young buck into the yard. Mina watched as Eza expressed her thanks and showed him where to hang the deer up. Mina and Yuila gathered with them to inspect the hunt, the younger girl patting the sleek short hair as it dripped blood onto the ground from the belly cavity.
"If you can stay for a few days," Eza began, "I can send sausage with you."
Edvard shook his head. "We have to leave today."
Eza turned the deer, nodding at the small rack of five tines that were tied with rope to hold the animal aloft. "If you could stay the night, I could shape you spoons with the horns."
"Thank you, but we'll be leaving."
After Edvard had washed up and told Donel the story of the hunt for the fourth time, they gathered in the house for the turtle soup. Mina watched her hostess soak the hard pone of bread in the white turtle broth that was slightly tinted green from the sorrel. She braved sampling it, and found the stew had a light, pleasant taste, and the hard bread needed a few minutes of soaking before it could be eaten. She didn't mind the idea of eating turtle for the first time, for the small piece of bread and handful of peanuts she had eaten that morning had worn off.
Over the course of the meal Eza tried to find other ways to get them to stay for a few more nights, but Edvard graciously excused them, saying they had a long ride ahead of them to the coast.
He did, however, agree to see what he could do about the sheep fold before they left, if Eza could see what she could do about footwear for Mina. To show her good faith, Eza allowed Mina to wear her own shoes while she searched the house for something to serve as sandals.
Mina made her way to where Edvard was estimating the sheep fold later that afternoon. Eza's shoes were well-worn and too large for her, and were so full of holes they passed more for sandals. She stepped carefully over the rotting logs and rocks inside the log-fenced fold to where Edvard stood at the groaning timbers.
"I hope Donel didn't go in there," she said as they surveyed the poorly supported timbers.
Edvard nodded. "I wouldn't trust it." He looked around at the available logs.
"Can I help?"
He looked at her. "Do you really want to?"
"Of course." She looked over the scant choice of logs. "...If there's something I can do."
He let her get a pick ax from Eza while he collected poles that could support the weight of the sagging timbers, then had her accompany Yuila as they took Donel to watch the sheep. Donel wanted to stay and help with the fold repairs, but Eza insisted the sheep had been on their own too long already, and they did not want another wolf incidence.
When Mina got back to Edvard, he had three holes dug and was setting the thick round posts into them to brace up the cracking shelter roof. She helped him coerce the posts into place, surprised and pleased with the results. Edvard stood back to inspect the work.
"I think that'll hold."
She sighed, nodding. She looked up at the thick woodwork that had held for years without maintenance or tarring. The detailed notching had required an exhausting amount of work at one time. "Eza's husband sure liked to use heavy logs."
"It's probably why so few things have fallen apart since he died." He filled in more dirt around the post bases and tamped it down with his foot. "What does your father do, Mina?"
She didn't think he had meant to catch her off-guard, but he did. She hesitated, watching him firm the ground, then said, "He isn't at home right now."
He straightened, looking to her curiously. "Is he away at war?"
"No." She bit her lip nervously as he frowned at her with expectation. "I don't know where he is." She didn't, truthfully.
"Then your mother is alone?" He watched her closely as she debated answering.
She didn't know what to say. She just wanted to avoid the whole topic. "No."
He nodded after a moment, testily pushing on a post. "Well, if you don't want to go home, I can take you somewhere else."
"It's not like that, Edvard," she said quickly. "I don't remember everything."
"Do you have other family?"
She shook her head. "I can stay in Pantia."
"How?"
She shrugged. "I'll find work. I'll—"
"You can't," he said, suddenly irritated with the idea. "You said you don't know anyone there. You must belong somewhere, Mina. We'll find it."
Yuila joined them then, panting from running, and told them Eza had found shoes for Mina.
Edvard nodded and ushered Mina out of the fold as the Crone skipped on ahead on them. "How did you get so far away from everything?"
She wasn't sure how to answer. She was tempted to concoct a story to appease his growing inquiry, but was afraid she wouldn't remember it, or else he'd find out and turn her off on her own. More than anything she did not want to be alone in this strange world, even if she had suggested staying in Pantia.
At the edge of the woods, she made Edvard pause. She garnered her resolve and decided to tell him the truth. But when she returned his watchful gaze, the truth wouldn't come out. "I don't know how I got to where you found me," she heard herself saying. Which is actually true, she added to herself. "I really don't remember much about the days before that. I'm trying to, Edvard, but it's not working."
For a moment he only stared at her, then slowly nodded. "Okay. Tell me when you do, all right?"
"I will."
PG13, saga; teen, fantasy, fantasy world travel, teen romance, clean romance, realm, magical realism, shadow world, school/new school, high school, fiction, serial. #ReadFree with free signup. ♫♪
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Thanks to P.G. Waters for the use of her story!