Here's my last chapter until I get back from Christmas vacation around the 6th. Enjoy!
Twenty Eight
"Aerlyn," Esmora whispered. That had been the name of the child at least she thought that was what Amara had told her. A thought struck her. She had left without the child. Had that been why Chiara was not with her? Had she turned back for her child as she was distracted?
"May I talk with Aerlyn?" she asked Caladria and was relieved to see her question answered positively.
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"You are older," Esmora commented as she sat across from Aerlyn.
"Yes," Aerlyn replied icily.
"I am sorry for what happened to you and your mother. I should have remembered," she said.
"But you didn't."
"No," Esmora sighed. "I did not."
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Esmora stretched outside her uncle's house. She was going for her run without her uncle this time. Starting slowly, she made up speed until the buildings passed in a blur. She dodged people and ignored their glances. Her hair whipped across her face and she brushed it aside. Her feet flew over the ground and her legs pumped relentlessly. Running without her sight, she could almost imagine herself on the desert dodging rocks and dunes instead of cramped between buildings. Not sure where she was going, Esmora finally came to a halt, breathing a little heavier than usual.
"Are you Aldrich's student?" a voice asked her.
"Yes," Esmora replied and sensed a child slightly to her left.
"Mother says you are blind, is that true? How do you know where you are going?"
"I'm not quite sure, actually," Esmora replied, not sure why the question did not bug her when coming from the girl.
"Mother says you are part Wraith, but I think you are pretty," the girl stated
Esmora smiled without realizing, "I am part Wraith, but I have forsaken their ways. What do I look like to you?" she asked, curious. Never before had she thought of her looks, they were unimportant to her.
"Well," the girl said, wrinkling her nose, "You have long wavy black hair, very pretty but it could use a brush. Your skin is pale even though Mother says you have lived in the desert for a while. Your eyes look white sometimes but I think they are dark blue or black. Have you never seen yourself before?" she asked.
"No," Esmora said. "What is your name?"
"Synedtia, but Mother doesn't like it. My Father named me, but Mother calls me Arden," she answered
"Why doesn't your mother like Synedtia?" she asked.
"It means fate, my father died soon after he named me," she answered, a touch of sadness in her voice.
"I never knew my father either," Esmora said more to herself than the girl.
"May I come visit you some time?" the Synedtia asked.
"Of course, if your Mother will let you," Esmora said, wondering why she felt drawn to the innocent little girl. Perhaps that was why, her innocence. It reminded Esmora of what she might have been like if allowed to grow up with her parents.
"I have to go now," she announced and Esmora heard a lady calling.
Still smiling, Esmora listened to the girl running down the street and Esmora did likewise.
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"You have a visitor," Aldrich called to Esmora. He had an amused tone to his voice.
Esmora descended from her room to hear Synedtia say, "Mother says you are very old, how old are you?"
Aldrich gave a roaring laugh which startled Esmora. "Almost a thousand," he replied and watched Synedtia's face grow wide with astonishment. Just then, she noticed Esmora.
"I came to visit just like I promised," she announced.
"I see that you have," Esmora replied.
"Can I see your room?" the girl asked.
"Of course," Esmora replied and led her upstairs to a bare room with a bed and dresser.
"You need some decorations," she told Esmora.
"Why?" Esmora asked.
"To make it look pretty," Synedtia said. "May I decorate your room?" she asked eagerly.
"If you wish to," Esmora replied, still unsure why that was so important.
"I will be right back then," the girl said jumping up and rushing through the door.
Esmora simply stared at the place where the girl had left. She felt as if a ray of sunlight had just left.
