Beneath Ceaseless Skies #231
Page 7
When they returned to the karwan Orha felt eyes on her like she had never known before. Fearful eyes that traced the seam of glass along her scalp. Abel had suggested that she wrap her head in a scarf, till she had time to share her story with Brighteye, and he in turn had time to warn the others. She had refused. This was who she was, now. Let people make of it what they would.
Only Brighteye looked first in her eyes.
“Oh, child,” he said, and embraced her. “Welcome home.”
The tears came unbidden.
When the children had been settled and her wounds had begun to heal, she sat with Brighteye on the seat of his wagon as she had often done as a girl. Saelle rode behind Abel. They would not let her carry gun and spear for some time. But she would, eventually, and Orha had no doubt that she would earn armor in time.
“Brighteye,” she said.
“Yes, child?”
“Could I have done it? I was ready to. Willing to. I hated the world. Often I have been angry, but this was deeper. This was loathing. And I had my finger on the seam of it all, ready to tear and leave it all in tatters.”
He slowly nodded.
“What if it happens again?” she said. “What if the karwan is attacked, or worse, and I lose myself in the hatred?”
A silence held between them.
“Are you asking whether or not it lies within the scope of your power? Or are you asking whether or not you, Orha of my karwan, could do such a thing?”
She thought for a moment. “Both.”
“To the second question, I say no.” He smiled at her. “For you did not.”
“I wanted to. If not for Saelle—”
“If not for Saelle, then for Abel, or for me,” he said. “I remember standing in that place. The hate. The emptiness. The temptation. But I endured. And so did you. It is the character of the person, Orha, and not circumstance. For endurance simply is the willingness to go on in spite of everything, in the face of any circumstance.”
Brighteye shifted his grip on the reins. The horses trudged along.
“To answer the first question,” Brighteye said at last, “I can say only this. In that moment, the world feels so thin, so fragile, and the hatred so potent. But the world is still here, Orha. Either it is more resilient than we know, or else every man and woman who has ever held the power to destroy it has decided to go on.”
Gently, he handed her the reins.
“I am not sure which would hearten me more.”
Copyright © 2017 Jeremy A. TeGrotenhuis
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Jeremy A. TeGrotenhuis is a writer from Eastern Washington state, where he grew up playing make-believe in the same desert that houses the most polluted nuclear waste site in America. He recently won first place in Writers of the Future for 1st Quarter 2017 and has a B.A. in History and Philosophy from Whitworth University, where he is currently pursuing a Masters in Teaching. This is his first professional publication. You can follow him on Twitter @jeremyteg and he blogs at jeremyteg.wordpress.com.
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COVER ART
“Bird House,” by Jordan Grimmer
Jordan Grimmer is a concept artist and illustrator with over five years experience in the video games industry. His recent in-house positions include Kobojo Ltd. and Lionhead Studios. He is currently working with Leading Light Design. To see more of his work, visit www.jordangrimmer.co.uk.
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
ISSN: 1946-1076
Published by Firkin Press,
a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Literary Organization
Compilation Copyright © 2017 Firkin Press
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