The Boy in the Field (4 page)

You opened the window and climbed down the vines on the wall.
As soon as your feet touched the ground, you ran, racing for the fields before
your father could notice you were missing. The boy looked up, startled to find
you running towards him. You laughed as you saw his face, not Ethan, not Noah,
just the farmer’s nephew, obviously come to visit his uncle.

You kept running, hopping into the field and calling to the
therins, a limp green leaf in your hand. One of them took the bait and you
climbed onto its back, leaping the fence past the bewildered boy and towards
the town, never looking back. Even if you were followed, your pursuers would
soon be far behind, whether it was the farmer, his nephew or your father.

You dismounted when reached Landia’s town centre, the market
traders taking up too much room for you to ride. Instead, you guided the animal
through the narrow streets, trying to remember how to get to their house. When
you finally saw it, you tethered the therin at the gate and knocked on the
door.

“Hello again,” said the boy that came to the door. “I thought
you’d forgotten about us.”

You shook your head and smiled. “I just got lost.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door
frame. “I tell you what.” He grinned. “I’ll let you in if you get my name
right.”

You looked him over. His hair was neat, but there was mud on
the bottom of his trousers and he only had one sock.

Choice:
21. “You’re Noah”
or
22. “You’re Ethan”

You ducked below the level of the window, making sure he
wouldn’t be able to see you as you moved across the room. Crying was useless,
but that didn’t stop you dropping down onto your bed and burying your face in
the mattress. Problems were never solved with tears, but the thought that you
were never going to see them again, never going to go back to that nice house,
where they lived with their nice mother and ate nice food made you cry anyway.

He was just a memory now, a friend you had for a few days. No
good would come of dragging it out – it would only hurt more when your father
took it all away. Besides, he was a city boy. He wouldn’t miss you. He was
probably lost again anyway. Better that you stayed away.

The End
(Back to start)

He would know if you went out. Somehow, he would find out and
you’d be punished. You looked back at the field. Your friend was out there,
just yards away from you. Too far; even if you shouted, he wouldn’t hear you.

Friends… You felt stupid for even imagining that you could make
friends, let alone with city boys. You were a country girl and a merchant’s
daughter. There was no place in your life for friends.

He looked up and you couldn’t help but smile. You pulled open
the window and waved, hoping he could see you.

“Hey!”

You shouted and waved again. The boy waved back, only
half-committed to the action. He came closer and you began to make out the
shape of his face. It was Noah. You frowned. Or Ethan. Without them standing
side by side, it was difficult to tell if the rumpled clothes were due to the
effort of travelling from town or Ethan’s natural scruffiness.

“Hey!” he called, close enough to recognise you. “You didn’t
come back.”

“Are you lost again?”

“No. This is where we met, so I came to look for you. Do you
live here?”

You nodded. “Yeah. It’s not nice like your house though.”

Noah shrugged. “Do you want to come out?”

“I can’t. Father would be livid.” You smiled. “But you could
come in. Climb up.”

He came to the wall and put hands to the vines that coated the
exterior walls of the house. They had been there for as long as you could
remember and at least twice a year, you had to cut them around the windows to
stop them from coming inside and choking out all the light.

You grabbed his hands as he drew level with the window, heaving
him inside. He looked around your room, his nose wrinkled and eyebrows raised.

“Why are your walls so brown and patchy?” he asked.

You looked over your shoulder at the walls. “They’ve always
been like that, I suppose.”

“This is a strange house.” He stared at the bed. “Where are
your pillows?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know what that is.”

“You don’t have pillows?”

You shook you head. “I guess not.”

“Huh.” He shook his head. “And no toys?”

“Toys are for city kids and I’m not a city kid.” You frowned.
“I used to have a doll, but that was a long time ago now.”

“We’re not city kids. Landia’s just a town.” He tipped his head
to the side. “Is that why haven’t you come back?”

“I told you. I’m not allowed outside anymore.”

“But why?”

“I—” You stopped, holding a finger up to Noah. There were heavy
footsteps on the stairs. “Shh. That’s father. You need to go!”

You looked around the room. The window was still open. If he
was quick, he might be able to climb out of it. Or there was a space under the
bed where he could hide.

Choice:
17.
Help Him Climb out the Window
or
18.
Hide
Him

You beckoned him to the window, but the feet were already at
the top of the stairs. Your door crashed open before Noah could lift himself
onto the window sill. You pushed him back, standing between him and your
father.

“What did I tell you?” he spat.

“You said I shouldn’t go outside, father.”

“So who’s this
vasa
?”

“You shouldn’t swear,” Noah began. “It’s rude.”

Father laughed, a harsh, cigaretty chuckle that rumbled through
his throat. “Are you brave or stupid, boy?” He stepped forward. “What are you
doing in my house?”

“He came to see me,” you said. “He’s my friend.”

“I bet he is.” He took another step. “What are you doing in my
house,
adhika
?”

“Don’t call him that.”

He grinned and bent to level with you. “Why? What’re you gonna
do about it?” He smirked. “Or do you think that
adhika
will protect
you?”

“I said don’t call him that.” You gritted your teeth and curled
you fingers into a fist.

“Adhika.”

You snarled and lashed out, pushing him away with both hands.
He stumbled, his face contorting into a scowl. He swung his hand, striking you
hard across the cheek, making your ears ring and your eyes stream. You landed
hard on the floor, but he didn’t stop to taunt you as usual; he was going for
Noah, frozen in the corner.

You gripped the edge of the nightstand as you pulled yourself
upright, your face stinging and hot. He had Noah against the wall, hand at his
throat, choking him. You didn’t think, your limbs moving on their own command.
The cool, smooth handle of the stone jug relieved the pain in your palm as your
fingers wrapped around it. It swung under its own momentum towards his head. He
fell aside, crumpling in a heap at Noah’s feet.

For a moment, you could only stare, not at your father, but
Noah, his back against the wall, his face red. He stared back at you, gasping
for breath. You both looked down at the same time. Father’s body lay on the
floor, blood coating his hair. He didn’t move, even as the heavy jug fell from
your hand, the contents pooling on the floor and seeping between the loose
floorboards.

“What did you do?” Noah whispered.

Choice:
23.
Leave the Scene
or
24.
Cover It Up

“Under the bed. Quick!”

Noah threw himself to the floor and shuffled beneath the bed,
the blankets obscuring him from view. The footsteps reached the top of the
stairs and your door was thrown open.

“Shut the hell up, won’t you?” he groaned, his voice gravelly.
“I’ve got a headache and I’m trying to sleep.”

You nodded. “I’m sorry, father.”

“You will be. Bang about again and I’ll bang you about. Got
it?”

“Yes, father.”

You kept your hands clasped behind your back as he turned and
went back down the stairs. You closed the door, moving as slowly as you could
to make sure it didn’t creak or thump.

Noah poked his head out from under the blankets. Neither of you
spoke as he moved, sliding on his belly across the floor, his clothes caked in
dirt from beneath the bed. He wrinkled his nose but said nothing, holding his
hand out to you as he stood. You took it and followed him across the room.

As soon as your feet hit the ground, you both ran. Noah’s hand
never left yours until you were past the rocks and close to the other therin
field. He put his arms around you as you stopped for breath.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to be… Is he always
so…?”

You nodded. “He didn’t hit me, at least.”

“Come back to mine. I’ll tell Ma. She’ll know what to do.”

* * *

Adina let you stay for a few days, but their house was small,
none of the bedrooms large enough to fit two beds for the brothers to share a
room. Instead, you spent as much time as you could in town, picking up odd jobs
such as delivering newspapers and running errands for the Wickers’ elderly
neighbours. The three of you would spend time together when they got home from
school until Adina called them in for the day or asked you to leave. At night,
you would creep back to the house, waiting for the windows to fall dark before
you snuck in, avoiding your father whenever possible.

It worked for a few months, until you were walking home with
the brothers late one night. He was in the town square, shouting at another
man. Noah saw him too, hesitating as he turned to look at you. When he stopped,
Ethan stopped.

“What is it?”

“That’s my father,” you replied. “Come on. Let’s get out of
here.”

“He’s drunk,” Ethan said. “What’s he gonna do?”

“Please, let’s just turn back.”

“She’s right, E,” said Noah. “He’s dangerous.”

“He’s looking this way!”

Choice:
19.
Turn Back
or
20.
Try to Blend In

“Come on.” Noah grabbed your hand and pulled you away from the
square. “Ma will let you stay tonight.”

Ethan was a few paces behind, making sure you weren’t being
followed as you walked towards their house. Father seemed not to have seen you,
perhaps too drunken to recognise you or perhaps confused by the twins. You
didn’t actually care why, only that he wasn’t after you.

The twins convinced Adina to let you stay that night and for
several nights after. Each day while the boys went to school, you would go into
the town and look for errands to run, taking any job that was on offer,
determined to repay Adina for her kindness and the food she was giving you.

For two years, the situation worked well. Ethan and Noah agreed
to share a room so that you could stay, despite your protests that you were
happy on the floor of their day room. Both boys became protective of you, Ethan
treating you like a sister while Noah was like a best friend, always ready to
make you feel better when you had a bad day and sitting up with you late into
the night when you were frightened that your father would come back for you.
With Noah, the more time you spent with him, the more time you wanted to spend
with him. He called you
parahe
, an Ethigot word he learned from his
mother who said it meant
protector
.

He was at your side on the night that your world changed
forever. One moment, you were sitting on the floor by the dim light of a single
candle, whispering so as not to wake the others and the next, the room was full
of noise, sounds of doors across the neighbourhood being smashed open,
shouting, screaming, crying. You followed him as he grabbed your hand, dragging
you into the other bedroom with Ethan.

“What’s happening?” Ethan asked, crouching on his bed, a short
hunting knife in his hand.

“Don’t let anything happen to her,” Noah said, turning to leave
the room.

“Noah, wait!”

Noah didn’t stop as his brother called out, only turned and
raced down the stairs. You looked to Ethan, but he was as stunned as you, still
dazed from the rude awakening and unsure what to do.

“We have to go,” he said, lifting the curtain and peering
outside. “Whatever’s happening, we have to run, find somewhere safe to hide.”
He pulled open the window and beckoned to you. “Come on. Before they find us.”

Choice:
40.
Leave Noah Behind
or
41.
Let Ethan Go Alone

The two boys moved in front of you, but it was too late; he
had seen you. He stood, his interest in the other man lost.

“Oi! Come ‘ere!”

“Let’s go,” you hissed, moving quickly to get away from the
square.

“Don’ walk away when I’m talkin’ to ya! Get back here.” He
began to follow you, swaying with each step. “You two oughta get home. It’s too
late for little boys.”

Ethan stopped and turned to face him. “Who are you calling
little, drunkard?”

His eyebrows rose and he bared his teeth. “
Vasa
. You’re
either brave or stupid and you’re going to regret that!” He took another step
towards Ethan.

Choice:
26.
Take Father Home
or
27.
Stand up to Him

“You’re Noah,” you said with a smile.

His shoulders drooped and he scowled at you. “I’m offended.” He
straightened and smiled. “Come in. Ma! She came back!”

Adina poked her head around the door. “Hello. Noah’s gone to
the market,” she said. “I’ll send him out to you when he gets back.”

“Come on.” Ethan beckoned to you. “We’ll go in the garden and
we can play that game again until Noah gets here.”

You nodded and followed him outside, helping him set up the
hoop and ball to play the game you had been playing the last time you were
there.

“You weren’t really lost, were you?” Ethan asked, watching you
toss the ball down the garden. “Landia’s not that big, especially if you’re
riding.”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. I just…” Your voice caught, but
you continued anyway. “I just didn’t come back.”

“Are you going to cry,
masuki
?”

“No. It’s just… dust. Anyway, I thought you said I spoke funny.
When did you learn to speak all country?”

“Mama says that you speak the same as she did when she was a
girl in Ethigos.”

“Ethigos? I ain’t never been to Ethigos.” You wrinkled your
nose. “So I’ve been speaking foreign this whole time?”

Ethan nodded. “That’s what Ma said.”

“
Saa
. I never knew.” You smiled.

“So,
masuki
, you want to tell me what’s up? You were
dead upset when Ma said it was time for you to go home last time.”

You sighed. “My father was cross that I’d stayed out so late.
He told me I wasn’t allowed out any more.”

“But you’re out now. Won’t he get cross again?”

You threw the ball again, missing the hoop by a couple of feet.
“I don’t know. I’m hoping that he’ll be at work again. He trades with the
desert people.”

“Ma says that desert people are dangerous.”

You nodded. “She’s right. Sometimes, father brings people back
with him. They drink. They spit. They swear. They always fight.” You shrugged.
“At least he never stays home long. Sometimes he’s gone for a really long
time.”

“Does your mother get cross with him?”

“I don’t have a mother.”

Ethan frowned. “What? So looks after you?”

“I do.” You looked back at him and grinned. “The nearest house
belongs to the farmer and he gives me food in exchange for doing jobs or
telling him jokes.”

“Will you tell me a joke?”

You paused in thought. “Why did the man stand behind the
therin?”

“Why?”

“He was hoping to get a kick out of it.”

Ethan scowled. “Wouldn’t that just hurt?”

You shrugged. “I guess so. But the farmer thinks it’s funny.”

“I don’t get it. Tell me another.”

“Uhh… What did the little tree say to the big tree?”

“I don’t know.”

“Leaf
me alone. Get it?
Leaf
me alone.”

Ethan giggled. “That one’s good. I’m going to tell Noah that
one.”

When Noah arrived and joined in the game, you decided that you
wanted to spend as much time as you could with the Wicker family. As you spoke
to them, you found out that they went to a school in the town during the week
where they learned to read and write and do sums. Your reading wasn’t very good
– you could recognise the words on jars in the shops, but Ethan and Noah had
books. Suddenly, they weren’t just city boys – they were superheroes.

You put your plan into action the next day, setting out into
town early in the morning after doing your chores to look for ways to earn more
money. While the boys were at school, you delivered newssheets and fetched
groceries for elderly people. Once a week you would help a man to sweep the
streets clean of the market’s litter and even cleared the roads of therin
droppings. In the afternoons, you bought yourself some dinner and then went to
visit the brothers, staying at their house until Adina said it was time to
leave.

It worked for a few months, until you were walking home with
the brothers late one night. Your father was in the town square, shouting at
another man. The boys saw him too, hesitating as he turned to look at you.

The two boys moved in front of you, but it was too late; he had
seen you. He stood, his interest in the other man lost.

“Oi! Come ‘ere!”

“Let’s go,” you hissed, moving quickly to get away from the
square.

“Don’ walk away when I’m talkin’ to ya! Get back here.” He
began to follow you, swaying with each step. “You two oughta get home. It’s too
late for little boys.”

Ethan stopped and turned to face him. “Who are you calling
little, drunkard?”

His eyebrows rose and he bared his teeth. “
Vasa
. You’re
either brave or stupid and you’re going to regret that!” He took another step
towards Ethan.

Choice:
25.
Intervene
or
26.
Take Father Home