A mysterious past, an unrequited love, and a desperate need to find himself, fifteen-year-old Kalyn has enough to occupy him without being on the verge of a massive societal upheaval. Join Kalyn and his friends as they explore what it means to come...
If I was looking for a distraction from the evening's anxieties, I have found it. Especially after noticing Agan's bright eyes, like spotlights, following the downward trajectory of my heart as it plummets back to earth. Well... At least I'm not nervous any more.
Figurative tail between my legs, I begin the long trek back home, hands in my pockets as I avoid eyes. My shame feels emblazoned on my face where everyone can surely see and glean amusement from it. Or maybe that is just my imagination. Either way, I keep my attention attuned to the scuttling gravel as I spirit it home ahead of me. I pretend every kick is aimed at myself.
Enos is still absent when I arrive. Corsa starts in immediately with the questions, but I excuse myself to my room. Today of all days, I need a break.
I collapse into bed with a huff. It is my fault, really. I shouldn't expect anything of Mab. We hardly know one another, and she is all but betrothed to Köv. Their families are close, equally important in the community, and her father has long been angling for an official engagement. He suits her better than I do. I am a nobody... the fatherless ward of a farmer. The whole thing would be a lot easier to stomach if Köv wasn't so insufferable.
I am weighing the pros and cons of running away to another town and assuming a new identity when there is a timid tap at my door. There is nothing I want less than to have witnesses to my misery, but I go to it regardless. Corsa is standing on the landing, Arri and Alvi at either hip. She thrusts them out of their shyness with a hand at each back.
"The twins have something for you." In spite of myself, a smile finds its way to my face. I kneel to receive them.
"Here," Arri peeps, before darting back behind Corsa. Alvi hands me his with a fixed expression.
"Corsa taught us," he offers as I inspect the leather bands. Arri's is braided, Alvi's a knotted attempt.
"You wear them on your wrist," Arri advises from her hiding place.
"For luck," her brother finishes.
"Oh, wow," I say. "Can you help me?" Arri is drawn by my encouragement, and her nimble fingers tie the loose strands until they are secure around my wrist. I wait calmly to her to finish, then I throw out my arms to trap them both in a hug before she can escape again. I roar and twirl the two flailing children until they wriggle free in a fit of giggles.
"These are amazing! You made these yourselves??" Arri, still smiling, affirms with diminished self-consciousness. "Incredible! I feel so much luckier already!"
As if these gifts are not enough, Corsa steps forward with a longer strap. At the end is a pressed coin. Rather than place it around my neck, assuming automatic acceptance, she offers.
"It's a family crest," she begins. It is the most uncertain I think I have ever seen her. "I know we are not technically-" In answer to her unasked question, I bow my head and allow her to tie it in it's rightful position. The crest hangs squarely above my heart, at once heavy and light.
"Thank you." It is the least I can say. Not nearly sufficient, but then words never are... The gesture is too much. I am overwhelmed. Fortunately, Corsa saves me from speaking what will surely be a blubbering incoherence of gratitude.
"He would have wanted you to have it." I wonder if Enos is still at his wife's grave. "He considers you a son." Corsa smirks, and a flare of her personality returns. I have never been happier to see it. "I know he always wanted one. A son. I can't even hold it against him. The man got more than he bargained for when he got me." She crushes me in a hug that, from her, feels more like an assault than your standard affection. Eventually I find the strength to hug her, too.
"We love you so much," she tells me in a husky voice that assures me I am not the only one burdened with emotion. "I am sorry I can't go with you tonight, but..." She nods at the twins, and I nod back at her. That I will have to undergo the ritual alone is only one of too many worries. I hug them all again, and straighten myself up, from the fearful boy that I am, into the figure of a man who will make them proud. Whether I am ready or not, the sun is nearly set. It is almost time.
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