Still, Nora was glad to be home. And the healers assured her that she would be strong and moving around in no time. They said no serious, permanent damage had been done to her.
Nora spent most of her days lounging in various places. She didn’t quite have the energy to get up, run around, or to dance.
For the first few days of the Solstice, her friends all sat with her. They brought her drinks and brought her food. Everyone was kind and helpful. But everyone was somber too.
Finally, on the third day, she’d had it. She demanded that there needed to be more laughter and more happiness. She forced them all to go off and dance. She said that if they were really worried, they could take it in shifts, so that someone was with her at all times.
She sat with Sawyer and Lute, watching Maddie and Agler dancing closely together on the other side of the main fire pit. Nora liked watching the two of them gaze into each other’s eyes. She liked watching her friends happy. In the end, that was all that mattered.
Before bringing Owen here to Helicon, she’d been a little resentful. After all, Sawyer had broken her heart, and it had hurt to see him happy with Lute. And it wasn’t as if she didn’t have a history with Agler as well. But now, she realized all of that was incredibly petty. The memory of that resentment was far away. She almost felt as if a different girl had felt it. What she primarily felt now was thankfulness. She was so lucky to be alive, to be home, to be well.
What was important was friendship. What was important was that they were there for each other.
“In a few weeks, it will snow again,” Nora said. “We need to be thinking about what sculpture we’re going to make next year.”
“Do we?” Sawyer gave her a tentative smile. It was almost as if he was afraid she might break.
“I missed the sculpture with you guys this year,” Nora said. “That isn’t something I intend to do ever again.”
Sawyer laughed.
“Well,” Lute said. “I’ve always been partial to classic stuff. This year, you made a snowman, next year, we should make a snowflake.”
Nora considered. “Snowflake. It has possibilities.”
They all smiled.
Sawyer leaned forward. “Seriously, Nora. After everything that’s happened…”
Nora took a deep breath. “Well, things aren’t going to be okay for a while. We don’t know what Owen’s going to do, or when he’s going to do it. But you said it best, Sawyer. We’re muses. We’re wired to create. We have to take our pleasure and our joy or else lose ourselves.”
Sawyer nodded slowly.
Nora took a deep breath. “You know, I think I might be all right by myself for a bit. You two should go dance.”
“Nora, no,” Sawyer said, shaking his head.
Nora folded her arms over her chest. “I’m feeling pretty stubborn about this, Sawyer. I wouldn’t argue with me if I were you. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
What’s next?
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More ROMANCE by V. J. Chambers
Echoes Page 30
