Ch. 2 The Stone
We ate more that night than we had the entire winter, and I
didn't hear another "I'm hungry" for the rest of the night.
Music to my ears, too. After dinner, I sent Sadri and the others to
bed, while I helped Savannah, my big sister, wash dishes, and put
them away. She was teaching me everything that had to be done around
the house because she was getting married in a matter of days, and
she wanted to make sure that I could take care of everything when she
left. But I had everything under control. I just let her teach me
everything over and over again because we didn't get to spend time
together, and it wouldn't be long until she moved away, and I
wouldn't see her for years. I knew before she even left that I was
going to miss her. I was doing my best to learn everything just how
she did it so that it would be like she was still here to do it,
herself. While we did the dishes, I told her about what happened
earlier that day. "… and a new herd has moved into the area,
that's where the buck came from. And I can go to the market in two
days and trade in the antlers for food and materials." I was trying
to make her feel better about leaving, but it wasn't working. She
threw her arms around me and squeezed me until I thought my eyes
where going to pop out of my head.
"You are going to do great
when I leave; I have nothing to worry about." She whispered in my
ear as stood there and hugged.
"I'm going to miss you so much; nothing will be the same without you." I said as I backed up and looked her in the eye.
"I'm going to miss you, too." She answered as she squeezed my arm.
When we where done washing and putting the dishes away, I went to bed. I unloaded my bag. I laid its contents out over the bed, and replaced what I thought I would need the next day. I removed the stone and held it delicately as I traced the silver veins that coursed through its deep blue surface. I placed my bag on the floor and lay back against a heap of skins. I rolled onto my side as I felt the stone's warm surface. I rubbed it with my thumbs and held it close to me. Wonder filled my thoughts as sleep took over me.
I woke up in the middle of the night to a violent shaking and bumping coming from the stone. I tossed it to the floor when I realized what was happening. The impact cracked its delicate surface and I immediately regretted it. Then suddenly, the crack grew, and the stone split. On the mess of shattered stone sat a scaly, winged thing. It rolled off of the heap of broken stone, and a head emerged.
What is that?
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