Chapter 28: Wind

Something about the way she'd done it relieved his anxiety. Maybe he didn't have to remember the exact words. Since they'd changed every time he practiced them anyway, perhaps it was better this way. He would tell her his thoughts and about how he felt, and hopefully it would make sense to her.

That she was holding her hand over his heart seemed to calm him, too, at the same time his heart was racing at her touch. He started to raise his hand up to take hers, but his look turned sheepish when he used the wrong arm and became entangled in the sling. Seeing her compassionate smile, he couldn't help himself. He laughed but was then happy to see her join him.

With something of a playful smirk, she took his right hand, gently moved it down, and then helped straighten his sling. With her handiwork complete, she slid her hands down to take his left hand in her own. Breathing out slowly as she tried to also straighten her expression, she said, "Now, I think you were going to tell me something?"

He nodded, looking into her eyes, and then took that step that seems so very hard and so momentous at first but is in actuality fairly small and not all that difficult in comparison to the overall journey.

"Easabella, I liked you the first time we met, even though we really didn't meet. You were beautiful and exciting; most girls would have taken Mr. Cannon's note and walked it into the house, but when I said it was urgent, you turned and ran almost as hard as I'd ridden to get it to that point. It was more than that, though. You didn't look at me like I was an outcast like the people in town usually do or the villagers among my mother's people. I don't know if you even knew who or what I was, but that didn't seem like it mattered to you. You looked at me like I was...well, me…and you smiled at me."

"Hmm, I'm not sure if I would want a young man who's taken by every smiling face," she challenged.

Wind, worried, completely missed her teasing facial expression. "No, no! Not every one," he countered, "just yours. And it's not just your smile. You are so beautiful, too, and you stir my heart to make me think that I like you."

She sighed, fighting off a giggle. "So you think you like me but you're not really sure?"

"No. I know I like you," he said, looking more worried by the error. "I'm just not sure how much. I think about you all the time, but I don't really know anything about you or why this is happening like this. I really...well, I just can't explain it. I want to get to know you better to see what this means."

She ran her fingers up his arm and then back down, cupping his fingers in her own as she smiled at him. "You're doing fine, Wind. I think I know what you mean. Keep going." Still holding his hand, she spun around and then resumed her hold on his arm.

He watched her move as she almost danced back around to his side. "You are quite graceful, your movements so..."

She looked at him questioningly. "So...what?"

"I'm sorry," he replied, looking a bit disappointed in himself. "I can't remember the word I was seeking. My upbringing has left me a little short on some words, particularly fancy ones. I didn't have any formal schooling, so I had to learn to read and write mostly on my own and I'm still not that good at it. Mrs. Cannon has been helping me since I've been at High Chaparral. She lends me books from her library and has given me a dictionary that I use to look up the words I don't know. I try to memorize them so I'll remember them the next time."

Wind watched as Easabella smiled and moved to sit against the wall around the well, but it was tall enough that she was still almost standing. He felt her pull him close so their legs actually touched and there were only inches between their upper bodies. So close to her, seeing her feminine shape, and feeling her touch, he felt sweat on his brow that he knew wasn't caused by the late fall heat.

Her hand stayed on his arm as she nodded and said, "She's doing the same with me, but more with my French. I'm trying to read a French book called Voyage au centre de la Terre right now since she said she also has an English translation that she gave Blue a few years ago. Unfortunately, she's lent it to someone and hasn't gotten it back yet since they're taking forever to read it."

"It's not by a man named Jules Verne is it? Journey to the Centre of the Earth?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

His face reddened and he looked down at the ground beside them. "I'm sorry. I'm almost half way through reading it, but it's taking me a long time since I have to look so many words. I'll return it to her so you can read it."

Easabella's eyes grew large as she realized what she'd done. "No! Wind, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to insult you. Perhaps we can read it together when we get home?"

Her smile following her invitation warmed his heart as his face slowly cooled and he nodded. "I'd like that."

"Me, too." She brought his hand up to touch her cheek. The softness thrilled him as she turned her head slightly to rub ever-so-lightly against his finger. "Now, you were saying?"

Her words were giving him the encouragement he needed, but the missing word was still lost to him. "I'm sorry I can't remember the word I was seeking, but you do remind me of a tree along a riverbank up north. It's tall and sways in the wind, giving me a very peaceful feeling when I watch it."

She drew back slightly in surprise. "So you're saying I sway around and almost put you to sleep?"

Wind shook his head, almost frantically. "No! I didn't mean—"

Her laugh and grin made him realize that her tone had again been teasing rather than serious. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to tease so much, though," she added with a wink, "you do make it a little hard to resist." When he seemed to relax, she asked, "So I remind you of a tree? How?"

"Not just any tree, but a particular tree on the bank of the Salt River up north. I've heard that it's called a willow tree, and I think it's the most graceful tree in the world. It has long branches with long beautiful leaves that hang down and sway like your hair when you move. The leaves are very soft in the spring, like your touch, and they seem to always dance, as if by magic, even when Father Wind is sleeping."

She stood, silent and still, as she looked at him, apparently pondering his words. Wind wasn't sure what she was thinking, so he added, "That's how I see you, but I want to know the real you, and to know all about you. I know you're not a tree and that you're much more than just a beautiful young woman that I can't get out of my mind. Can you tell me about yourself? If Casa Cuerva isn't your home, why did you come here?" After pausing for a moment, he added in very low voice, "And maybe it's too soon but do you think you might possibly see yourself ending up with someone like me someday?"

~HC~

Author's Note: This and the following chapter have been quite difficult to write and get to a point where I'm comfortable publishing them. Chapter 29 is now in a good rough draft form, as are all of the remaining chapters except for Chapter 32, and it's about 25 percent complete with a good outline for the rest. I really appreciate the nice notes and encouragement from wotwasithinkin, Junebug, and Kimani and nice thoughts from others as I was struggling with these recent chapters and from all of you throughout writing this story. Thank you!

Wind and Isabella are teenagers who might be in love for the first time, so I hope their tentativeness and uncertainty have shown through without being overly cliché. If not, please let me know your thoughts, including any issues you might have and any suggestions you might have for fixing it. I can't promise that I'll act on any such suggestions since the story continues according to the outline, but I will be glad to consider them. If you like it how it is, I hope to hear that from you, too. Thanks!

I think Wind may have been looking for the word "elegant." Of course, since he couldn't remember, that's just a guess on my part. ;-)

Unlike many of Verne's stories published in serialized form, Voyage au centre de la Terre, (Journey to the Centre of the Earth) was originally published in book form in 1864, with the deluxe edition with illustrations released in 1867. The first English translation was completed in 1871 and is recognized as being flawed due to abridgement and changes to the story. This would have been Blue's copy that Wind was reading since Victoria had given it to Blue a few years earlier, possibly following the trip to San Francisco. An improved English translation was completed in 1877 at about the same time as this story. The book became very popular in the English speaking world as well as in the French, and is still used for adaptations today.

Salix gooddingii is a species of willow known by the common name Goodding's willow, or Goodding's black willow. It is native to the American Southwest and northern Mexico, usually along rivers and streams. The tree has long thin leaves on many long, thin, hanging branches. Reaching heights up to about 95-feet or so (though usually much less), it can have a graceful, swaying appearance.

Finally, circling back to the last chapter, I've added an additional note on Martinillo in the note in the previous chapter due to wotwasithinkin's comment.

Five more.