We sat at the table. Danny was talking about how they had gone to a faraway village last year. I listened and couldnt hear. His expressive gray-blue eyes were laughing, and his lips were saying something quickly. I could feel goosebumps crawling up my back. What if he sensed something was wrong with me? What if I looked stupid? Emotions flooded through me, my ears buzzing and my heart pounding.
Danny stopped mid-sentence and just looked at me, then sat down next to me on the stool and took my hand in his. His eyes smiled in an embarrassed way, though I couldnt tell by looking at him that he was embarrassed. A pang of heat hit me, for the umpteenth time. Dont be silent, tell me whats going on. Why does your presence have this effect on me?, I thought.
He stroked the skin of my arms and watched, watched, and everything receded and became unimportant.
Im grateful to you for helping me, for bandaging my arm.
There was a bluish light coming from his eyes, and it was as if he himself was illuminating everything around him.
You dont have to. I just could have and should have done it.
Thanks anyway.
There was a jug of water in the cabinet. I was thirsty beyond belief. I sniffed, it sounded like compote, from the smell of it. I tasted it, it didnt taste good. Danny looked at me, then said.
Im drinking it, my dad told me to. The healer told him to tell me to drink it. Its an arosh leaf decoction. A little spider stung me the other day, its all because of it.
He smiled, not very cheerfully.
We were silent.
How is the wound? Lets get a bandage, I glanced at Danny.
Everything you need is in that drawer, he nodded at one of the drawers in the nearby china cabinet.
Look, Danny, your wounds healed, so I dont have to bandage it anymore. But its a little too fast. Dont you think?
Yeah. Its fast. Youve got magic hands, Denny laughed, and when theyre near the wound, the pain goes away.
Its strange. Ive never seen that before, I shrugged.
I shrugged.
Chapter 8. In the Garden
I was sitting in an armchair at about five p.m. when a knock sounded on the door of my room, and I was reading a book. I had gotten it the day before from Glens library.
Come in, I said.
The door opened, and there was Danny on the threshold. He shyly shifted from foot to foot.
Fox, dont you want to walk around the garden? He asked embarrassedly.
Im kind of a prisoner here, I glanced at him in surprise.
Kind of, Danny smiled, lets go for a walk.
With you? I asked.
Yeah, Danny nodded.
Im good, he nodded. The weathers nice. I could walk, I said calmly, and everything inside was jubilant and singing.
I was glad to be out in the garden, it wasnt bad, I was tired of being cooped up all the time.
We walked along a path winding through the trees. In the distance, Glen and a few others were practicing on the playground. Guys about the same age as Glen were wrestling with each other.
Are you slacking off on your workout? I asked.
Im guarding you, Danny replied, squinting and smiling.
We walked around the garden, talking, having a lot of fun, not like Glenn. I could barely get a word out of him, and I tried to pretend not to notice him, but he responded in kind.
I told Danny about the missing pendant, that it was a gift from my father and a reminder of home, that I was from far away, from the northwest. It was pretty much true, I just didnt specify that Id come from another world.
Danny, tell me about yourself, I asked.
Are you sure you want to know? he wondered.
Of course, I nodded. His question made my heart race, was there something wrong with him?
You know, Danny began quietly, Ive never had to tell you about myself before. I was a baby when the Calshires found me. It was on Far Lake, thats what they call it in both villages. There was no one in the boat but me, I was lying in a little basket, wrapped in a beautiful blue blanket. Those who found me saw no one to call for help. Glens parents took me into their family and raised me as their own son, Glen as my brother. When I was ten years old and Glen was twelve, it happened that Glen disappeared. He just disappeared, nobody knew what happened. We searched everything in our part of the island, we sent people to look for him, and we went and looked in other parts of the island with my father. It was only later, after a long time, that we found out he had been taken away by the Uliyans. They are a warlike tribe from another island. They kidnap boys ten or twelve years old, train them in the art of warfare, and then force them to fight for the interests of their tribe, mostly for land. Mom couldnt take it, she didnt
was able to stay at home, she left with strolling artists when they passed through our village. My father has been alone since that time. Glen returned four years later, he managed to escape. But, that time spent in captivity left a heavy imprint on him. He became mean and cruel, he did not sympathize with anyone after his return.
Nobody seemed to care about me. Why had I been kidnapped in the first place? I already knew the answer. Only to annoy Ty and to profit for myself. Glen had seen us together and thought we were a couple. He really wanted to take over Tys village, to be the head of two villages at once.
Glen was on his way. Straight, with a military bearing that any general would have envied, and always preoccupied with something. I ducked behind a bush beside the path.
Danny, arent you spending too much time with our prisoner? he asked as he neared his brother.
Why would you say that, Glenn? She helped me, Im just trying to be polite, Danny answered.
Dont fall in love with your politeness, Glen grumbled grudgingly and walked toward the basement.
He goes to his favorite rats, always spends a lot of time there. I dont know how he ever bothered with such things. He must have gotten used to them when he was a prisoner. I mean, at first they kept him in a solitary cell for a long time between classes, the only other visitors besides the wardens were rats, Danny told me.
***
Danny liked his privacy in the library. I caught him there when I decided to take the opportunity to see what books were there. We talked for quite a long time. It brought us even closer together. Although, I had liked Danny before, the fact that he liked reading as much as I did made us a little conspiratorial, because we both didnt really flaunt our passion. Danny, in particular, so that Glen wouldnt make fun of him about it, and I just wasnt inclined to have small talk with Glen about mine or his tastes. I didnt want to talk about myself with him, and I wasnt interested in his persona at all.
After lunch, I got a note. A double folded white piece of thin paper was slipped under the door. I unfolded it and read it. Danny had written, suggesting we meet again tomorrow night in the garden. My lips involuntarily stretched into a smile, and I felt light-headed.
The next day, I barely waited until evening.
Danny, I called in a whisper as I reached my hiding place from Glenn yesterday.
Im here, Lisa, he stepped out from behind the juniper bushes, illuminated by the setting sun.
We walked down the path, deepening into the garden.
Chapter 9. Glen
He was running on the slippery ice. The last of his strength was leaving his weary, tired body. I had to hurry. Just to get to the saving ice-hole.