"Talia? Are you awake, my dear?"called her grandmother.
"No, grandmother, I'm singing in my sleep," yelled Talia. She ran out into the kitchen where her grandmother sat at the table.
"I'm getting named today, hooray!"
Her grandmother smiled. "So I've heard dear. You're not going anywhere without a cup of tea inside you though." She hobbled to the corner of their cottage and picked up the milk pail. "Pop over and ask Farmer Gubbins for some fresh milk.
"Yeah, okay."Talia took the wooden pail and danced out the door.
Another gloriously sunny morning...of course, as it hadn't snowed in the secluded village of Elden for nearly thirty years.
Talia had wanted for years to be named a herbalist-she wondered if her mother would have approved of this if she could see Talia now...
For what seemed like the millionth time, Talia wondered whether her mother was alive or dead...
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the figure in front of her...
"Oof!" There was a thump.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" cried Talia. She looked up and saw someone she knew very well. Her face reddened.
Devin helped Talia up. "Are you all right?"
"Um...do you...are you...eh..."
"You're Talia, aren't you! I've seen you around! You're getting named today, right?"
"Um..yeh...are you..."
"Um...Well, I'd better not keep you, good luck with the naming!"
Talia watched him go. Her power of speech had completely deserted her...she must have looked like a complete idiot.
Talia bit her lip. Tommorow she could try talk to him again. In a sleepy village like this one, you had all the time in the world.
She picked up her milk pail and went on her way.
Talia walked out past the old signpost and took the right path. Even the trees surrounding her seemed restless today.
Letting her mind wander, she picked her way through the dense forest.
There were altogether nine boys her age in the village, and only one of them appealed to Talia.
Her favourite colour had always been blue. Her grandmother had told her all about her mother, who had gone away somewhere.. Talia had one memory, a memory that she treasured, because it was the only one she had of her mysterious mother. She vaguely remembered a smiling face with blue eyes, a bell laugh and rough, warm hands that wrapped a blue shawl around her to keep her small shoulders warm...
Yes, Talia liked blue.
When they had been small children, Devin had helped her up after she had tripped on a passing chicken (the chicken had been eaten with relish shortly afterwards) and held her hand while her grandmother had put some stinging paste on her leg to clean the wound.
When they had grown a bit older, Talia began to notice how warm, Devin's eyes were, and how wide his smile was. She began to wish he would smile only at her.
"Talia? Here's your milk. Tell your old granny I said hello. Hey, Talia?"
"Yeah, thanks, Mr. Gubbins..." Talia absent-mindedly took the pail and turned to walk back down the path, lost in her thoughts.
When he had turned thirteen and been named, she had stammered out congratulations and recieved that warm smile that made her want to smile back - and she had watched him work and had realised that he loved working with metal. She had watched him turn a hunk of metal into an intricately carved ring - but she had always thought that there was something unsatistied about the way he stared at his finished creation. But what would she know?
She knew what he was really like - he was a bit slow to catch on sometimes, always the butt of jokes when all the children played together - but he smiled, and laughed, and made silly jokes that made everyone laugh even more. And she had laughed along with everyone else and hoped that someday he would tell her jokes to make her laugh, and smile at her so his chocolate eyes crinkled to make her happy again.
Home already? Talia thought absently. She opened the door.
"I'm home.." she said dully. Her grandmother turned to look at her. "Talia, what is the matter with you! You're getting named today and that is your attitude! You should be excited!"
The old woman hobbled over, shut the door, and took the milk from Talia.
"The water should be heated by now, dear," she said in a kinder voice, sitting down at the table.
"Can you please make the tea?"
Talia laughed. "Okay, I'll brighten up. I was just thinking really hard on the way home with the milk, and I guess my brain got overloaded." She walked over to the stove and mixed in the tea leaves with the water.
Her grandmother smiled as well. "That's the spirit...exactly what your mother would have said, my darling..."
They sat down to drink their tea together, grandmother and granddaughter.