Trusting Dust

Chapter 8

The carriage door was closed and they continued moving. About an hour later, Ava had fallen asleep crying, and Connor didn't blame her, no one should have to see what had occurred in front of their eyes. One of the captors threw back a bag. The man across from Connor pushed it toward Connor and Ava. Since the captors had stopped tying them up Connor was able to open the bag easily and he looked inside to find some food. When he saw the food, his body seemed to remember how long it had been since he had eaten. The captors had given them water every once and awhile, but they hadn't eaten since they were kidnapped. Connor began eating, but left the majority of the food for Ava. He knew he could survive on small portions of food, he always had. Ava would probably need the food more than he would. He left the food there and let Ava sleep, it would probably be a while before she had another chance to.

When Ava woke up Connor was sitting with a bag in his hand. He was asleep. Ava wasn't sure what was in the bag, but her curiosity soon found out the answer. She gently lifted the bag from Connor's hand and opened it, Connor stirred but she didn't think that she woke him up. She guessed that he had already eaten, but from the contents left, she assumed that he hadn't eaten much. She looked back over at him, she wasn't sure why he went through all of this, all the beatings and painful sights. She knew that he had suffered more from the bandits than she had, and it didn't seem right. She was the one they wanted, so why was he staying around. She shook her head and began eating, but not before deciding that she would leave extras for him, she knew that he would need the food more than she would.

As Connor woke up, he noticed that Ava was already awake. He hadn't planned on falling asleep, but he had. The bag was in Ava's lap and she was staring at the wall opposite of them. He assumed that she had eaten all the food, but whenever he shifted and she noticed that he was awake she tossed the bag into his lap and realized that some of the food was still in there.

"Why didn't you finish it?" he asked her.

"Because you need it more than I do." Connor was about to argue, but he stopped himself. Ava wouldn't be convinced otherwise, so he ate the food that was leftover.

It was after he finished eating that Connor realized that the carriage had stopped moving. When Connor was finished the man across from them stood up, grabbed the bag from Connor's lap and walked out.

Connor directed his attention back to Ava who still had tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" She refused to look at him.

"What if we don't get rescued? What if we don't get out of this? What about our families?"

Connor was hit by the last question, he hadn't heard that word for a long time. "I don't think my family will be missing me."

Ava looked at him full of concern,"What do you mean? If they are out there, They are probably worried sick about you!"

Connor didn't meet her gaze, "my family has been dead for ten years. They were killed during the Massacre of 1876."

Ava stuttered, "I'm so sorry. I didn't know." After a few seconds she added, "What were they like?"

Connor ran his hand through his hair, "that's the thing, I hardly remember them. It was like one second they were with me and then the next I hardly remember what they look like." Connor knew this was not completely true, he could still remember his father's face, but other than that, he couldn't remember anything before then.

Ava took a little to absorb the information, "Sometimes when something happens and it is too much for us to handle, our minds block it out. I just wish it blocked out everything. Ever since you began to act like my brother, I have been having flashbacks of the night he was taken." Connor didn't really know what to say, so he stayed silent.

A few minutes later Ava sighed, "We need to find away out of here. What do we do?"

Instead of answering Connor asked the question that had been nagging at him the whole time, "Why do you trust me? You know I am a thief. You know that I could run off and escape at any moment. So why?"

Ava just started directly at him, "You're here now aren't you?"

Connor shook his head, "That's not what I mean. Before you knew I wouldn't leave you behind, you still trusted me. You stuck by me, I just don't understand why."

Ava nodded, she pushed some of her hair behind her ear before speaking. "Your last name, it reminds me of the Arabic word for dust. I guess you could say in this scenario that I'm trusting dust."

Connor shook his head, "That doesn't make any sense."

Ava thought about it, "Actually, it's quite the contrary. Think about it. Dust is virtually everywhere. It survives many brooms and dusters, just as you stay alive in the market area. It may be slightly unclean, but it never leaves you. It knows how to survive. It may not be the greatest sight to a lot of people, but it is dependable, You always know it will be there when you look for it. So yes, I guess you could say I'm trusting dust."

Connor just sat there and let out a chuckle, "Most people compare me to dirt rather than dust."

Ava chuckled a little too, "Well I'm not most people."