A Peculiar Time in 1944 - A Millard Fanfic (Miss Peregrine's Home) #wattys2020

Chapter 55

"Strange, I thought, how you can be living your dreams and nightmares at the very same time." {Jacob Portman, pg 144 book 2}

"Of course." Emma said, seeming puzzled by the subject change. She stood with Bekhir, along with many of the other children. But Bekhir raised his hand and shook his head.

"He's shy, I'm afraid. Just you." He said pointing to Emma, "and you" he pointed at Jake, "the healer" he nodded at Aurora, "and the one who can be heard but not seen."

"Impressive." Millard said beside her, "And I was trying so hard to be subtle!" As they left a gypsy woman in a flowing robe came over to them and offered to read their palms and predict their futures. Horace straightened his tie and stood, "The future is my specialty madam, let me show you how it's done!"

Bekhir lead them to a rather plain looking wagon and knocked on the door, "Radi?" he called gently, "Come out, please. There are people here to see you."

The door opened a crack and a woman peeked out. She looked over the three peculiars – not seeing Millard of course – with a careful look in her eye. "He's scared. Won't leave his chair." She told Bekhir and he nodded exchanging a meaningful glance with her before she opened the door wider and beckoned them inside. The wagon was small, it held only a small bed, little stove, a table and one chair. Aurora tried to imagine what life was like for the gypsies, living in cramped wagons for months at a time, dancing under the stars at night, getting odd looks from strangers you passed on the road – though the last part she could understand perfectly.

Sitting on the bed was a young boy, probably around thirteen, he had light blondish hair that was combed back away from his face, though a few strands kept falling forward, he wore clothes the same as the other gypsies, old and moth eaten, and watched his new visitors with caution. Aurora recognized his expression, it was the same one they had worn when Bekhir had caught them on the back of the wagon. It was a look you wore when you had something to hide and were worried it was about to all spill out.

"Take off your shoes, Radi." The woman, most likely his mother, said softly. Radi's gaze fell to the floor as his eyes filled with sadness.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes." Bekhir said.

Radi tugged off one of his boots then the other and Aurora had to suppress a gasp. There was nothing there, he appeared to have no feet, the cuffs of his pants hanging a few inches above the floor. Aurora turned to the empty space next to her where she could feel Millard's body heat radiating from, but she knew he wasn't looking at her. Whenever he looked at her it was like her heart could feel it as it began to beat faster, that's how she knew his gaze wasn't on her but on Radi.

It was the first time Millard had met someone like him, and Aurora didn't need to see his face to know he was reliving parts of his past that he'd long tried to forget. Aurora didn't know much about Millard before he came to the loop, he never told her, she only knew that it had to be awful, so awful he did everything he could to forget it. Miss Peregrine was his mother now, the other children his family. But seeing Radi was bringing it all back for him and Aurora reached out and firmly took his hand in hers hoping to be some sort of comfort.

"He began disappearing a few months ago." Radi's mother explained, "First just his toes, then his heels, finally the rest, both feet. Nothing I've given him – no tincture, no tonic – has had the slightest effect in curing him."

"We don't know what to do." Bekhir said turning to Aurora, "But I thought, the healer among you might. . . " he trailed off as he saw Aurora's expression but before she could speak Millard intervened.

"There's no healing what he's got." Radi's head jerked up at hearing Millard's voice but not seeing where it had come from, "We're alike, he and I. It was just the same for me when I was young. I wasn't born invisible, it happened a little at a time."