Feral Blood
Page 16
Epilogue
Both Jes and Lise stared at the large pool of water flooding the greenhouse floor.
Gillie explained that someone had left the water valve open. “Half the water was gone before we realized what was happening,” he told them. “It’s not a complete disaster, but it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
Jes had just one thing to say. “At least they didn’t leave the gate open.”
No, the gate had been locked. But the plants in the greenhouse needed watering and a new crop of weeds in the garden hadn’t been tended to, either.
Mirin stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Lise and Jes. “You’re back.” Her eyes skittered briefly, maybe a little guiltily, at the pool of water. “We didn’t know if you were even coming back.”
“It’s a good thing for you that we did,” Jes said.
“For all we knew, you decided to abandon all of us and stay with- him,” Mirin said stiffly as she turned to Lise.
Vonley, who had just come into the greenhouse, surprised them all by saying, “Give it a rest, Mirin. We have more important things to be thinking about.”
What was even more surprising to Lise was that Mirin didn’t have anything to say back to him.
Not everyone wanted to re-locate, but in the end they didn’t have any choice. They knew they had no chance of making it on their own and realized that there was safety in numbers. Mankind had endured catastrophic wars and plagues and genocides from the very beginning, even thrived in the face of adversity. Amidst a world of suffering and death, people re-learned what was important as they came to rely on each other in new ways, perhaps in old ways. Even Bayley grew into a man of principle and strong faith. It didn’t happen overnight, but he matured surrounded by the strengthening bonds he forged with the men around him. He was able to let go of the old habits, embracing new ones, just as they all did in a new spirit of thankfulness.
But no one was more thankful than Jes who, at that moment, was looking down at his new-born child. He looked up searchingly, sending another prayer aloft as he heard the cries of the wild geese returning. Spring was a time for new beginnings. For all of them.