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Saturday, March 3. 2007Learning to Walk
It seemed that every time I moved, a new question popped into my head. So many things I wanted to ask, most of them starting with "why?" I felt like I was going to burst, but I forced myself to lie still and wait for morning. David had promised that he would answer my questions while we walked.
The night seemed endless, but eventually morning came. I shivered while David revived the fire. I hoped that he would offer to answer my questions before we started walking, but his bad-tempered silence forestalled the questions that I wanted to ask. We sat across the fire from each other, staring into the coals while we waited for the sun to warm the cold morning air. I knew that I needed to take a leak, but the idea of leaving the fire made me cold, so I sat there, waiting until what had been a pressing matter became an urgent situation. At that point, I hurried off into the woods. When I returned, David was gone. At first, I thought that he would be back shortly, so I huddled by the fire. When several minutes passed without him reappearing, I started to get worried, but by that point, I was finally warm, and before I knew it, I was asleep. I woke with a start when he returned. It seemed like I had only slept for a moment, but the fire had burned down to coals, and the sun was already high in the sky. "Time to get moving," he said, and tossed me something brown that looked like a cross between a carrot and a potato. "What's this?" I asked as I scrambled to my feet, wincing as I felt the blisters complaining again.
"Breakfast. Come on." His tone didn't invite argument or questions. We walked in silence, following the stream as it flowed from one small mountain lake to another. As we walked, I munched on breakfast, whatever it was. It didn't have much taste, but it filled my stomach, and I felt better for having eaten it. I watched David closely, hoping that he would show some inclination to answer my questions, but his silence and his constant darting glances told me that his mind was elsewhere. It was well past noon when I finally interrupted him. "What are you looking for?" "Food. I'm starving, aren't you?" "Yeah. Look, there are fish in the stream. I've seen them. You noticed them, too, I watched you watching them. Why don't you just magic a couple of them out of the stream. I've got . . . " I was about to mention that I had a pocketknife, but the look on his face stopped me in my tracks. "What?" He sat down, just kind of collapsed where he was standing. "Let's get this over with. First, magic is not the solution to the world's problems. It's not a toy. It's not a game. It's not even a tool. It is something that you use when there is no other solution. It is a last resort. Understand?" I was surprised by this. It seemed to come from nowhere. "So, what was the deal with the pitcher? Was that a last resort?" His face clouded. "No. It was just wrong." "Then how come it worked?" "It didn't, remember? I was trying to show off, but instead, I looked like a fool." "So why don't you get voices yelling at you when you try to do something magic?" The bitterness in my voice was unmistakable. He sighed. "Look. I don't think it's fair either. It sucks. You were trying to do good thing. You thought you were saving a life. In my book, that deserves respect, but they don't see it that way." He sighed again. "We've got to get something to eat. That, and some warm clothes. If we don't, we're not going to make it." He pushed himself to his feet. "None of this was supposed to happen, you know." I followed him as he began trotting along the stream bank again. "What did happen? Why are they after us?" "I don't know. They knew who I was. They knew everything about me. They've probably known ever since I came back here to go to school, but something triggered them. Did you notice? They didn't even accuse me of anything. Not when I was arrested. Not at the police station. When I asked them what I was accused of, they ignored me. I don't think they even tried to make it look legal. I was just supposed to die, and then all of their problems would be solved. That worries me." "Why?" "D'arville isn't a big place, but there are a lot of prominent citizens who have ties to D'arville. They do a pretty good job of making sure that we're treated with at least a semblance of legality." He pointed to some rocks that jutted up above the trees. "Let's go up there. See where we are." After that, he lapsed into silence. Trackbacks
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