“if you’re gonna tell them everything
don’t leave out the good part”
“Thank you,” the girls replied, almost in union.
They shared a glance. It was nice to hear someone speak about their father so, and to know that they were not the only ones who missed him. Not enough time had passed, yet, that his absence felt truly real and permanent.
Thoughts of visiting the Desert, however, were a welcome distraction – particularly for Eadaz, who was the most likely to visit the exotic island of Salem without hesitation.
“Awesome!” Eadaz replied brightly, a glint of excitement in her dark eyes. “We’ll definitely come visit sometime.”
Both girls listened with interested, ears pricked, as Akello spoke of their mother. Once again, they were both still learning that the rest of the islands had some knowledge of their parents outside of their roles as mum and dad, given how many years they had spent as herd rulers on the islands. They had known, vaguely, that their mother had travelled many of the islands in her time, but it felt more truthful and more exciting to hear it from someone else – that she didn’t just sit on Luthien and raise them and patrol the Forest all her life.
“Yes, she’s our mother,” Sabran answered with a small bob of her head. “I didn’t know they’d ever met.”
Eadaz nodded in agreement and joked, “It’s a small world, I guess.”
There was a pause then, and the sisters looked at each other. They had spent enough time together growing up that they had the kind of connection where they could almost read each other’s thoughts.
“Do you wanna come for a trek around the Crossing with us and hang out some more? We can decide when exactly we’re coming to visit you back home,” Eadaz offered with a playful grin.
Sabran smiled, and gave a soft chuckle that was more air than sound. “If you’ve nowhere else to be, of course.”
EADAZ& SABRAN