Chapter Seven

Leelo left the festival before Sage. She had hoped after the ceremony she would feel different somehow, altered. That participating in these rites of passage would help her understand why things on Endla had to be this way. But she still felt like the same girl she’d always been. And she still couldn’t accept the fact that Tate was leaving.

She spotted a small white crocus that had fallen from a Watcher’s crown and saved it from being trampled by the dancers. Singing a quiet prayer for the first time in weeks, she carried it with reverence to the water’s edge, releasing it as she had the lily, this time as a symbol of her brother. But unlike the lilies, the crocus bud sank almost instantly, like a bad omen.

Leelo rose, wiping tears from her cheeks, and saw the man. He stood directly across the lake, watching her.

She thought about running. The closest village was across the lake on the other side of the island, so it was strange that he was here at all, and there was something about the idea of an outsider watching the ceremony that made her stomach turn. It was sacred to Endla.

But for some reason, she hesitated. He was younger than she’d first thought, perhaps a year or two older than Leelo, and beardless. She had keen eyesight, which Ketty had said would make her a good Watcher, but she couldn’t make out much of his features from here, other than his hair, which was a chestnut brown.

She didn’t realize she was waving to him until she saw his arm go up. She dropped her own instantly, a warm rush of blood flooding her cheeks, but she didn’t turn away. It wasn’t like he could hurt the Forest from there, anyway.

The man lowered his arm abruptly when something fell into the water close to his side of the shore. He looked up into the branches overarching the water, his mouth forming an O of surprise. Leelo wondered if a pinecone had dropped. But then she saw him peering into the water and realized a bird must have fallen from its nest.

She gasped and put her hand over her mouth, but the young man had already found a muddy branch on the shore and was attempting to rescue the creature, just as she had done with the swan.

He removed his coat and wrapped one hand in it before fishing the tiny chick from the water with the stick. He brought it to his face, probably examining it for signs of life, and looked up at her.

She knew it wasn’t possible from this distance, but she felt for one trembling moment that their eyes were meeting.

Unconsciously, she had taken a step forward, until her boots were dangerously close to the water. He shouted something and she stopped. He shook his head. The bird wouldn’t have survived the fall, let alone the water, and she certainly couldn’t help from here. The young man walked a little way into the woods and knelt in the dirt. It took her a moment to realize he was burying the hatchling.

“There you are!”

Leelo startled at the sound of Sage’s voice directly behind her.

“What are you doing?” her cousin asked, coming to stand next to her and squinting into the distance. Her brow was beaded with sweat from dancing. Leelo could feel the heat radiating from her body. “Is that an outsider?”

Leelo blushed again, this time in shame. “Yes.”

“What is he doing?” Sage started to turn. “We should tell our mothers.”

“No,” Leelo blurted, grabbing her cousin’s arm. “Don’t.”

Sage’s expression warped from curiosity to suspicion. “Why not?”

Leelo found herself scrambling for an excuse before she could even ask herself why. “What’s the point of disturbing the festivities? He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“He shouldn’t be watching us, Lo.”

Her initial, bitter thought was, No, that’s what we do. “He wasn’t,” she said instead. “Not really.”

Sage still looked suspicious, her hazel eyes sharp beneath her crown. “He could have seen the ritual. He could tell someone. This is what Watchers are for, Leelo. We should sing the hunting song and get rid of him before he tells anyone what he’s seen.”

Leelo’s stomach twisted at the idea of luring this hapless stranger into the lake. “He hasn’t done anything. And he didn’t see the ceremony. I’m sure of it.”

“Why are you protecting him?” Sage asked, arms folded across her chest. “We protect Endla, above all else.”

And Endla protects us, Leelo finished silently. “I just... I really don’t think he’s here to harm the Forest.” For some reason, she didn’t want to tell Sage about the hatchling. It felt like a secret, a good one, and Sage would find a way to twist it. “Let’s go back.” She didn’t feel like celebrating anymore, but she wanted to leave before Sage insisted they do something about the outsider.

Sage followed Leelo away from the lake, but her expression hadn’t changed. Leelo wished she could tell Sage what she was thinking, tell her all the thoughts that had sprung up when she saw the man save the bird. She wanted to understand how broken Isola was over Pieter, and why he’d had to die, and why Tate had to leave.

But they had rejoined the others, and Leelo decided to check on Isola, who stood staring out at the horizon, her eyes as empty as the waters of Lake Luma.

***

That night, Leelo lay awake for hours, watching shadows move across her ceiling in the moonlight. She could tell from Sage’s breathing that she was also having a hard time falling asleep. They had to be up early for Watcher duty, and they should be exhausted. But for some reason, sleep refused to come.

“I’m not sure I ever want to fall in love,” Sage said suddenly.

Leelo gave a tiny, involuntary gasp. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want to give up a part of myself for someone. Look what it did to Isola,” she added.

Leelo’s eyes widened, but she didn’t respond; she was afraid any reaction would frighten Sage back into her shell. This was the first time she’d ever revealed something so personal, and Leelo held her breath, hoping she’d say more.

“Isola was fine before him,” Sage continued. “She was free and happy, just like us. And now it’s like part of her died along with Pieter.”

“But maybe it’s worth it,” Leelo ventured after a moment. “To feel a love like that.”

Sage stiffened beside her, and Leelo was afraid she’d pushed her too far. “How can it be love, if it kills you?”

Leelo thought of her mother, of her quiet resolve and steadfastness. Of Tate, who only wanted to love and be loved in return. If the knowledge that she had people like that in her life made Leelo less afraid, then more love could only be a good thing. “I don’t think love kills you. Not often, anyway. Love makes people stronger.”

“I don’t think my mother ever really loved my father, and she’s the strongest woman I know,” Sage said defensively.

Leelo was quiet for a long time, but finally, she worked up the nerve to roll toward her cousin. “I want to tell you something, but I’m afraid you’ll be angry.”

Sage softened and reached out, placing her hand on Leelo’s shoulder. “You’re my best friend, Lo. You can tell me anything. Even if it’s about that man by the shore.”

Leelo rolled onto her back again. Sage was too perceptive sometimes. “I saw him save a bird that fell into the lake. He tried to, anyway. But it was already dead. He buried it.”

“So?”

Leelo sat up and looked down at Sage. “If outsiders are so terrible, if all they want is to destroy our Forest, why would he make the effort to bury a hatchling?”

“Don’t tell me you were protecting that boy just because of a stupid bird,” Sage moaned. “Do I think that some outsiders are better than others? Of course. Saints know that some islanders are better than others.”

“But your mother hates all of them.”

Now Sage sat up, her voice hardening. “You don’t know anything about my mother.”

“Then tell me,” Leelo said. “Why does she hate the outsiders so much?”

Sage stared at her for a moment, as if she might have something to say, but instead she lay back down and rolled away from Leelo. “Just go to sleep. We’re on the early shift tomorrow.”

Leelo could tell that Sage wasn’t anywhere close to sleeping; her breathing was fast and angry. She waited a few minutes and then left the room, padding quietly down the stairs. She opened the door to Tate’s room and slipped into the dark space, crouching to avoid hitting her head on the sloped ceiling. Tate slept on a mattress on the floor, and it was easy to kneel onto it, lift the blanket, and crawl in next to her brother.

“Hello,” he murmured sleepily.

“I’m sorry I woke you.”

He turned toward her, his eyes shiny in the dark. “Are you all right? Mama said the ceremony went well.”

“I’m fine. I just wanted to see you.”

“We don’t have much time left,” he whispered.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “We’ll make the most of it.”

Tate was quiet for long enough that Leelo thought he must be on the edge of sleep, but then he spoke again. “Is it true that we can really never see each other again once I leave?”

Leelo bit her lip to stifle a sob. Her prayers hadn’t worked, and neither had her sacrifice. What would it take, she wondered, to appease the Forest? A flock of birds? An entire caribou?

“Maybe you can send me some sign that you’re all right,” she said. “In the winter, when you won’t have to worry about the singing.”

“What kind of sign?” he asked, brightening.

“A fire, near the lake’s edge? No one ever camps there, so I’ll know it’s you.”

“But how will you see it?”

“I’ll come to the shore, starting the first night of winter. An hour after sunset, so I can see the flames.” Most islanders hated the winter; they couldn’t sing, and they didn’t have the lake to protect them from the outsiders. But while Leelo might miss the greens and pinks of spring and summer and the flame-bright foliage of autumn, she was starting to think winter had its own quiet beauty. The dormant Forest was soft and still beneath its snowy mantle, the animals tucked safely away in their dens. Winter was the only season on Endla that wasn’t corroded by poison.

She squeezed her brother’s hand. “Knowing you’re safe will bring me so much peace, Tate.”

He was quiet for a long time. But then he said, “I still wish you could come to visit.”

Endlans didn’t leave Endla. Everyone knew that. They said the island grew roots around your feet so you couldn’t leave, even if you wanted to.

But why would they? Other places faced war, famine, cruel rulers, and wild beasts. Here, life was peaceful. No one was impoverished or oppressed. The lake protected them better than any sovereign could. The Forest provided for them. And if the cost was that they could never leave, so be it. That’s what Aunt Ketty would say, anyhow.

Leelo kissed her brother’s forehead and closed her eyes. Sage had said her mother was strong, but Leelo didn’t think of her aunt that way. She was hard and brittle as bird bones, as kindling. And Leelo knew all too well that brittle things didn’t bend under pressure.

They broke.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***