by Avi
Then he said, “And there’s Great Bear. There, Little Bear.”
My heart jumped, for I had felt much anguish for what I had thought of Bear.
“Bear?” I cried. “Truly? Where!”
He pointed out the picture.
“I had a…friend named Bear,” I said, my voice thick. “He died not so long ago.”
Thorvard considered my words. “To be so well placed in heaven, he must have been a good friend.”
“None…better.”
He studied me. “Is that the one who told you those things about Iceland?”
I nodded.
He grunted. “Then he must have been human—like us.”
Quite unexpectedly, I began to weep, hard racking sobs full of the deepest pain.
His voice low and thick, Thorvard said, “For whom are those tears, Crispin? Who are you? Where do you come from? Who was that friend called Bear?”
I said nothing. I could not. It was enough to breathe.
“Well, then,” he said, “you need not say. I’ve seen many a broken boy—was one myself—and you are among the most bent. But perhaps I should ask: why, in Calais, were the people so eager to hang you?”
I did not, could not, and dared not answer right away. Rather, I was silent a long while, staring up at the stars where he said Bear was. But Thorvard’s silence seemed to call on me to speak. Suddenly I felt the need to tell all. Which I did.
While I related everything that had happened to me, I never looked at Thorvard, not once, nor did he say a word. Even when I’d finally done, he remained quiet. Only the sea spoke.
We stood in silence. Then, after a while, he said, “Come here. Stand next to me.”
I did so.
He kept one hand on the rudder bar. His other hard hand he set upon my shoulder. Just rested it there, heavy, firm.
“Crispin,” he said, “God doesn’t make saints for us to think about their perfections. He makes them so the rest of us can consider our sins. Mortals—like you and I—have sinned. Like your Bear.”
He pointed up. “Consider that bear. The smaller one. Can you see it clearly?”
“I think so.”
“That bright star there—at the end of smaller bear’s tail,” he said. “Do you see the one I mean? It’s called the North Star. Ancient mariners called it Cynosure.”
I looked along the reach of his arm and hand and thought I saw what he meant. “What of it?”
“That’s the mariner’s star. It shows true north. It’s always there. Unmoving. Know that star and you shall know where you are and where to go. That star is the sailor’s hope and guide. I named this ship after it. Always look for it. It can be your salvation. Crispin, follow your Bear.”
My heart seemed to swell. “Will it…will it always be there?”
“Until the end of time.”
I stared at the star, fixing it in my heart. “Then can I follow Bear forever?”
“Not follow, Crispin. Use. Learn to use him to help you know where you are and where you’re going.”
My tearful eyes made the star blurry. But I saw it still. And would see it, I knew, till the end of time.
About the Author
AVI is the author of more than sixty books, including CRISPIN: The Cross of Lead, a Newbery Medal winner, and CRISPIN: At the Edge of the World. His other acclaimed titles include THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE DOYLE and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, both Newbery Honor Books, and most recently THE SEER OF SHADOWS. He lives with his family in Colorado. Visit Avi at www.avi-writer.com.
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Also by Avi
CRISPIN: THE CROSS OF LEAD
CRISPIN: AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
Credits
Jacket art © 2010 by Tristan Elwell
Jacket design by Christine Kettner
Copyright
CRISPIN: THE END OF TIME. Copyright © 2010 by Avi. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN 978-0-06-174080-0 (trade bdg.)
ISBN 978-0-06-174082-4 (lib. bdg.)
FIRST EDITION
EPub Edition © May 2010 ISBN: 978-0-06-199963-5
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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