Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
When she entered the market, she kept her head down, trying to conceal her face as much as she could with her veil of hair as she went through the stands, buying the few things her grandmother needed to make her special bedtime tea.
The worst part was her hair didn’t help much from people staring at her as the color wasn’t common in these parts of the earth. She was just thankful not many people lived in the village, and most were used to the sight of her by now, avoiding eye contact with her as much as possible.
The last thing she needed was a root, and it had the young stand owner smiling from ear to ear when she came to buy one from him.
“Hello, Eira.”
“Hi, Kenji.” She tried her best to smile politely. It was easy at home with her grandparents, but out and with people she didn’t know or trust, it was hard.
“More root again?” he asked, continuing to smile.
“Yes, please.”
When he handed her the wrapped-up root, she knew Kenji was on her grandmother’s side, as he always seemed to give her the smallest bundle so she’d have to come back.
Placing it in her tote with the other things she had accumulated, she pulled out the money and set it on the counter stand, not into his waiting hand. “Grandmother wanted me to tell you hello.”
“In that case, it’s free.” He slid the money back closer to her. “Tell her I hope to see her next time.”
“I will.” Eira forced another small smile, knowing it was pointless to argue with him to keep the money since he always refused it, anyway. It only made their interaction longer. So, instead, she slightly bowed her head. “Thank you.”
“Oh, Eira …”
Kenji’s voice stopped her, and she wondered if today would be the day he had built enough courage to ask her out. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with him, per se, but something about him had her gut flipping into knots. It was probably because everyone avoided her at all costs, so him being interested had her telling herself there must be something wrong with him.
He nervously stared at her for a few moments before he simply just waved. “Have a good day!”
Thankfully, it wasn’t, she thought, waving back. “You, too.”
She headed back home; it was still early when she almost made it to the front door. The sun was still shining beautifully, so much so she didn’t think her grandmother’s bones could possibly be right, making her feel sad that her grandmother really was getting that old. So, she decided to head up the little trail she had started to create with her own footprints over the years.
Eira hiked up the mountainside toward the only place on this earth that made her feel truly safe. You wouldn’t think so by looking at it, as she took a seat on the lush grass at the edge of a treacherous cliff, but it brought a sense of peacefulness to her core. Staring out at the vast world, hundreds of feet high, where the cliff met the drop of the ocean, she suddenly didn’t feel so alone.
That was what she was—a loner, she thought, lying back on the grass beneath her. No, a monster.
She raised her left hand so the sun could shine down on the taut, scorched skin as she twirled it in its rays. Her skin had deeper pink valleys and higher branching veins spanning overtop, like the roots of a tree. The veins had practically turned colorless with time as they glistened in the sun from the burn, taking any little color she actually had in her skin.
As she lay here in the grass, she thought about how some parts of the left side of her body would never tan again. That was one of the things she had loved before the accident—to lie nearly naked in the warm sun, to get sun kissed. But now she lay in it covered almost head to toe, with only her burned hand and face exposed, as they were the only parts that had gotten used to it over time.
It was easier this way, to cover herself completely. Not only was the sun now harsh on her seared skin, but so were people. People were generally unkind, and children unkinder. Especially the ones at the age when she had gotten burned. So, when there had been nothing left for her after she left the hospital nearly a year later but pain, she had decided to move into her grandparents’ home.
It was far from where she had grown up, yet not nearly far enough. Truthfully, there wasn’t much farther than the edge of the sleepy little fishing village she now resided in.
Except for maybe there …
Sitting up on her elbows, she squinted her eyes to view the little, far-off island she could only view from up here that was completely covered in trees. Then, and maybe only then, she just might be far enough. For now, her grandparents’ home that stood toward the base of the mountain would have to do.