Time is standing still. It feels like they’ve spoken forever. Skye’s walked away from the campfire, but not so far that she can’t see the others sitting around the fire. She walks nervously, back and forth, as she waits to hear the outcome of her sentence.
She wishes she could hear what they were talking about, but their voices are only a low humming in the distance. Why’s it taking so long to make a decision? It shouldn’t be so difficult to agree on a punishment. The sun’s long gone and the moon has found its place in the night sky. It’s large and round and shines almost as clearly as the sun.
Finally, they all get up. It seems as if they’ve reached an agreement. Dagwood scouts the area and he soon spots Skye. Slowly he starts walking towards her. Alone. She feels like running to meet him but doesn’t want to appear desperate, so she remains standing. She finds his eyes and sends him a cautious smile, but he doesn’t smile back.
“Dagwood, finally you come. Why has it taken so long for you to decide?”
Her voice sounds nervous, and she sends him yet another smile. He still doesn’t smile back, and his eyes are fluttering from side to side.
“Skye, it hasn’t been an easy decision … We had to make Flo’s punishment the starting point of our discussion, otherwise the rule of the Honor Duel would mean nothing. I’m certain that you’ll bear your punishment without problems – and come back stronger than ever before.”
Skye’s confused. She doesn’t understand why Dagwood’s dodging the subject. Why doesn’t he just look her in the eye, telling her what they’ve decided?
“Why are you hesitating, Dag? Tell me what my punishment is!”
He grabs her arms and turns his gaze towards her. His brown eyes are serious and he takes a deep breath.
“You’re to be evicted from the camp until the moon turns round again …”
He turns his gaze to the sky and looks at the shining orb at the night sky. Skye tears herself away from him and starts walking backwards.
“Evicted … what do you mean? Am I going to leave you and walk the forest alone?”
Panic takes hold of her and she looks at Dagwood in search of answers, but he says nothing.
“Why have you agreed to this? I thought you cared about me, and wanted to protect me. I’m not safe out there alone. Why didn’t you fight for me?”
The emotions come tumbling in one big mess, and she feels angry and upset, but most of all let down and afraid. How’s she going to make it on her own, without Ecco, without Dagwood … or without Salomon? She looks at Dagwood again and sees he looks sad. He walks over and holds her again.
“Skye, listen to me! I have fought for you. But the others didn’t want to make your punishment lesser. We put it to a vote and there was nothing I could do. No matter how much I care about you, and I do, I can’t treat you any different than the others. What if Flo had lost … would you then have let her go without punishment?”
He strokes her cheek and pulls her close.
Quietly he tells her: “But you’re going to make it … I know you will. You’re stronger than you think. Prove to the others, and particularly Flo, that you can do this. Accept her punishment with a smile and you’ve already beaten her. And you’ve won my heart too, right? That has to count for something.”
He pushes her a bit away from his body and looks her in the eyes. A crooked smile takes shape on his lips, and he suddenly looks vulnerable and fragile. Skye can’t help returning his smile, and they both start laughing. All the ugly and terrifying feelings that were filling her head just a moment ago are gone, and she feels only warmth inside.
“Oh, Dag, there’s no one like you who can make me feel safe. You fill me with faith and strength. And hope. And I’ll cope, but I’ll miss you …”
He bends down towards her and kisses her mouth, and a small suction runs through Skye’s body. How can a small kiss, two lips meeting feel so … weird? He takes her hand and smiles at her, and together they walk back to the camp and the others.
She’s packed a blanket and an extra shirt in her rucksack. The water skin and her knife are tied to her belt, and she’s lined her woven shoes with the fur of a long-ear. They’ve almost fallen apart, but they’re the only shoes that she has. Without them she’ll find it hard to keep her feet warm. Skye tries to keep calm and composed, but inside her heart is racing.
“I’m ready.”
She looks around at the others and she stops at Flo. Evi stands next to her, but she doesn’t look happy. Not like Flo, who can hardly conceal her smile.
“Evi, check that she’s not taken the tin steel with her. We need both of them in the camp!”
Skye swings the rucksack onto her back and says: “Don’t worry, Flo. I haven’t taken anything with me I’m not allowed to.”
She turns around and walks out of the hut, and the others follow her.
Puk pats her shoulder, saying: “You’ll make it, no problem, Skye. And I won’t be surprised if you return with your strength renewed and a lot of exciting stories to tell.”
She smiles at him and kisses him on the cheek. One by one she hugs them all goodbye. Except for Flo, who stands in the doorway behind the others with her arms crossed. Skye can’t see Salomon anywhere, and she’s about to ask where he is, but she doesn’t. Why isn’t he here? She doesn’t want to leave the camp without telling him goodbye. Despaired and disappointed about Salomon not turning up, she walks over to Dagwood as the last one and grabs his hands.
“I’ll see you soon … Take good care of the others in the meantime.”
She stands on her toes so she can reach his face, and she gently kisses his cheek. He holds her hands firmly as if he doesn’t want to let them go, and she has to pull them free. Slowly she turns around and starts walking towards the forest. Just then Flo runs from the door following her, and shouting at her in an upset voice.
“Remember that while you’re out there you mustn’t have contact with anyone at all from the camp at any time! Otherwise your punishment will be prolonged even further.”
Skye tries to ignore her, but she feels that her temper is raging in her blood. They’re some distance from the others, and Flo’s still following her. Suddenly Skye stops and turns to Flo. Her voice is controlled but full of anger.
“It might be you’ve chased me out of the camp for a while, but I’m here to stay. The others in the camp have accepted me, and care about me. You won’t get rid of me. You might as well face it. That fight you’ve lost.”
She turns quickly around and continues heading for the forest. Flo doesn’t follow her any longer. As she looks at Skye disappearing into the darkness, she says: “Just you wait and see.”
CHAPTER 38
The knife slides along the branch in calm, controlled and uniform movements. Skye’s almost finished making her spear, which has taken her most of the day to perfect. She sits in the bottom of an old hollow tree in which the roots have opened up a small den. The space is tight, but it’s almost dry and only a few drops find their way through the cracks and openings of the tree. The rain’s fallen continuously since she left the camp, and she’s struggled to keep warm.
Next to her lies her little fury friend. It always finds her when she’s alone and needs company. Soon after she walked away from the camp she’d seen it following her. Right away she recognized the small furry animal from the night it’d been sitting on the other side of the river watching her. It’d gotten closer and closer and never let her out of sight. When she’d found the den, it’d slept outside the first couple of nights, but soon it snuck further and further into the den until finally it slept by her side. They gave each other warmth, and she felt safe being close to it. The bond they’d made during her first time alone in the forest helped so she didn’t feel so alone. She looks at it. It looks back at her as if it knows she’s thinking about it. She’s also given it a name, Friend, and it already seems to resp
ond to it.
Everything around her is damp or wet, so even with a tin steel she’d have trouble lighting a fire. She turns to the small animal and pats it on the head.
“Are you hungry now, Friend?”
It looks up lazily, yawns and settles down again. Skye can feel her stomach complaining, and she suddenly gets a violent feeling of hunger. She’s lived off berries and roots for the last couple of days and it’s been a while since she ate meat.
One night, Friend had entered the den with a freshly caught long-ear in its mouth. Together they’d lived off it for a couple of days, and although the meat had been raw, it’d tasted amazing. Friend had gotten the boring parts, like the guts and the head, but it’d eaten them as they were the most delicious delicacies.
Now it was time to find something nourishing to eat again, and she’d made a new and improved spear so she could catch some swimmers in the river. She’d not gotten lucky with the other one she’d made. It was too thin and slow. But with this one she ought to succeed.
She followed the river away from the camp as she walked into the forest so that she didn’t lose her sense of direction. At the same time it gave her a feeling of being in contact with the others in the clan, even though she’d wandered far away from the camp towards the mountains. The river kind of tied them together. At least that’s what she thinks when she lays awake at night, unable to sleep because she misses them.
Finally there’s a break in the constant pouring of rain, and Skye crawls out of the den. She looks at the sky and sees that the sun has fought its way through the dark clouds. With a smile on her face she runs to the river with her new spear, hoping that the break in the rain will draw out a few swimmers from their hiding places. Friend’s awake too, and runs right behind her.
She’s lucky this time, and before long she’s caught two small swimmers that’ll feed them for the next couple of days. She’s proud of being able to manage on her own. Even though she’s frozen, been hungry and afraid of the dark, she’s still coped without the help of the others.
She’s thankful for the company of Friend, because the lack of the company has been the worst part of being alone in the forest. The significance of being a part of a group is more important than she ever imagined it would be. The certainty of knowing that there are people around her who care about her and with whom she can share her sorrow and happiness is priceless. She knows that more than ever before. She misses the sweet words of Dagwood, and Puk’s teasing comments, the conversations with Evi and Twice’s little wet snout poking her when he wants her to scratch him behind the ear, Finch’s creative drawings on each stone in the camp and Knox’s jubilant excitement when she catches a large swimmer. She misses all the cozy talks around the fire at night when the day’s over and the sun’s set. And she misses Salomon. More than she thought she would.
She’s still upset that she didn’t get to say goodbye to him, and she fears that he’ll feel let down by her. Let down because she chose to go to the river with Dagwood instead of talking to him as they’d agreed. But she’ll explain it to him when she returns to the camp. They have a lot of things to talk about.
She’s almost back to her den when she notices a strange silence around her. The birds have stopped singing. Silently she places her catch on the ground and looks carefully around. She has a weird sensation that someone’s been in her den. For a while she stands motionless, afraid to move. Friend is reacting to her tenseness and stands stiff on all four legs, sniffing the air for unknown scents. The birds slowly start tweeting again, and both Skye and Friend relax again. Maybe they’ve had a visit by a small predator or a bird.
Skye quickly forgets about her worry and sees a broken tree sticking out of the ground like a long figure with skinny arms. It looks funny and she wonders why she hasn’t noticed the odd-looking tree before. Suddenly she gets an idea. She finds a lot of branches and twigs and ties them to the middle of the tree with a long, flexible root. An old bird nest has fallen from one of the trees and she picks it up and puts it on top of her masterpiece. She also puts long lines of green moss on the top, and she looks at it with a smile. With a little imagination it looks like a plump girl with green hair.
She looks at Friend, who’s sitting with its tail curled around its paws, looking curiously at her. In a sweeping movement she points to the tree, and says: “Friend, meet my archrival, Flo. Let me apologize on her behalf right away. Her hair is messy and her elbows are sticking out, but I’m certain she didn’t know she’d meet such an important visitor like you, Guardian of the Souls.”
Friend raises its ears a bit and sticks its nose in the air.
“I’m sorry, what are you saying, Flo?”
Skye walks over to the dressed tree.
“Would you like a rematch?”
She picks up a long, solid stick from the ground and starts fencing with the dead tree’s long, crooked arms with a smile on her face. Jumping from side to side, she lunges harder and deeper into the wooden doll. Her smile gradually disappears, and she suddenly feels that it’s a real match about life and death. Her anger towards Flo flares up and she feels like hurting her. Each stab into the wooden doll is a stab into the body of Flo.
A nauseating feeling slowly takes over her body, and she stops to get her strength back. The hunger must have made her sick and suddenly she’s incredibly thirsty. She quickly drinks some water before she continues her fight against the tree she calls Flo. But the nausea doesn’t disappear. On the contrary, each time she stabs the tree she feels a small stab in her heart, and the pain grows stronger the deeper she stabs. A violent coughing makes her bend over and she squats and reaches for her chest. There’s a ripping feeling in her lungs and she’s struggling to breathe.
Friend runs to her and licks her face nervously as it wags its large, bushy tail.
“It’s okay, Friend. I’m all right, but thank you for worrying about me.”
Then she hears a voice behind her.
“I worry about you too.”
She turns around in shock and sees Salomon leaning against a tall tree. His arms are crossed and he smiles crookedly at her.
“Salomon! Is that you?”
Skye can’t believe her eyes and runs smilingly towards him. She throws herself into his arms and hugs him tightly. Her face is against his chest as she hugs his shirt with her fingers. Salomon stands stiffly without returning her hug, but Skye doesn’t seem to notice. Not until she pushes herself away from him and looks him in the eye does he slowly lift his arms and pull her into a hug. He’s afraid of squashing her, and he quickly lets go of her again.
“But you’re not supposed to be out here with me, Sal. If the others find out then my punishment will be prolonged. And you might get a punishment as well.”
Skye’s smile fades a little at the thought that Salomon has to leave her right away and that she’ll be alone again, but she can’t keep up the serious face for long. Soon her face is beaming of joy and she takes Salomon by the hand and pulls him towards the den with a smile.
“You’ve been hard to find, so I doubt that any of the others know where you are.”
He lets go of her hand as they reach the entrance of the den.
Skye looks inquisitively at him and says: “Have you been looking for me?”
Salomon lifts his shoulders and stares at the ground.
“I feel better when I know you’re all right. So I keep an eye on you … but I guess that you know, right?”
Skye smiles and nods at him as she answers: “We keep an eye on each other.”
She suddenly becomes serious, and asks: “How long have you been watching me attacking the old stick tree?”
He laughs.
“Long enough!”
Skye can’t remember whether she’s ever seen him laughing so much, if ever, and she can’t help laughing with him. She’s so happy that Salomon’s found her.
&
nbsp; “I think that the fire is catching on.”
Skye looks at Salomon, who’s lying face down by the ground, blowing air into a bundle of twigs. A thick smoke oozes into the air and soon the fragile fire gets hold of the bundle and overpowers the damp twigs and branches. She carefully places the two swimmers, wrapped in large leaves, on the fire and sits next to Salomon. The warmth of the fire slowly penetrates Skye’s damp clothes and embraces her thoroughly cold body. Friend sits close by looking at them and doesn’t approach Skye until she puts a bit of meat on the ground.
Salomon smiles as he looks at them. He leans forward to stir the embers, and his shirt opens a bit at the neck so that his markings appear. Skye can’t help looking at them, and her curiosity about what they resemble makes her stare.
“You’ve never shown me your drawings.”
She points to the opening of his shirt and Salomon suddenly becomes aware of his exposed chest. He doesn’t answer but tries to pull his shirt together.
Skye carries on regardless, but still tries to appear less insisting: “Will you show them to me?”
He looks hesitantly at the ground without answering, and slowly he starts opening his shirt. Button by button, his decorated and scarred chest is revealed, and Skye’s overwhelmed by what she’s seeing. The wild beast embracing his torso is impressive. It looks like a creature of imagination that she’s only heard about in fairytales. So awe-inspiring, so beautiful! Skye’s gotten used to the scar on Salomon’s face and she doesn’t see it anymore when she looks at him. But suddenly she sees a connection between the lesions on his body and the scarring on his face, and she shivers at the thought of how he got them. Her eyes soon find the one side of his chest. In the middle of the golden body, bright red scars stand out that are different than the others, and slowly everything begins to make sense in Skye’s head. He’s marked. By the sickness. On his body and soul.
The Dawn of Skye (The Someday Children Book 1) Page 27
