Days passed. Soren still was weak but he could at least move around. For once, in the whole time Aiya has been there, she watched him and his mother actually interact. She noticed she was able to understand him by just looking at his expression. The motherly bond between her and him was so strong, it made her feel homesick. Her mom was in a different state back home. She probably didn't even know she was missing. Her father must be a total wreck now though. This feeling of being homesick was coming over her, she would have to get used to it though.
"Soren I need you to take Aiya to the strawberry field again, we never finished picking a large enough batch and the one we got is already rotten. So, go now before it gets too dark" Beth said as she started her usual bread batch in the kitchen.
Soren just stared at her, while his mother raised her brow and began to tap her foot. The quiet room only intensified the moment. The silent battle made Aiya slightly nervous as she wrapped her arms around her waist as if she was trying to squeeze herself to a point she would disappear.
"Don't argue, it needs to be done."
With out another word Soren turned away and went to retrieve the baskets. Aiya played with her fingers while waiting for him to fetch the tools. "How are you able to, you know….talk to him? It's as if you can talk to him without even saying a word!" Aiya asked in curiosity. Beth went silent. Her fingers plowed through a batch of bread dough and molded it. She said in almost a whisper "You don't need to speak in order to express yourself to someone Aiya. Words can not describe complicated emotions. When you love some one for instance, all you have to do is look at that person and you can really understand how they feel. It's like talking through your facial expressions. I know Soren because I am his mother, so I know almost every expression he makes. When he first became mute, I struggled to understand him…so it does take time. Once you get to know him, you will know what I mean."
Those words repeated in her head as they made their way to the field. The quiet afternoon seemed endless as the sun remained in the sky. The town was alive. It seemed like the whole purpose of it was to be happy and live in a functional way. People were always smiling. It is as if they never had a tragedy hit their lives before. This almost made Aiya jealous of the happy townsfolk. After a long silent walk, they finally made it to the strawberry field. Edan quickly began to pick the berries as if he was in a rush to be somewhere. Aiya tried to keep up with his pace, but ended up ruining several berries in the process. She was envious of how he picked them so quickly without breaking any part, he also had a good eye. His mother must have taught him well. Aiya finally decided to break the ice. "Wow, you're really good at this!" She said smiling at him. He looked at her for a moment and quickly went back to work. She bit her lip and tried to think of something else. "When I was a kid, my grandma would take me to a blueberry trail in Illinois" He looked at her in question. "Illinois is a region where I come from, anyway...she used to take me along and grab as must berries as we could so we can make her famous blueberry pie. It used to take hours but in the end, it was totally worth it." She continued. He continued to pick berries without even glancing at her. "I would end up with the smallest batch because I couldn't resist eating the good ones along the way." She laughed and picked a big red juicy strawberry. Gazing at its freckled beauty she sighed and said chuckling "I would come home with blue stains all over my shirt and she would ask 'Did you eat all your berries?' and I would say 'No…a squirrel kept throwing them at me, so I couldn't get any'. When we got back, she gave everyone their own mini pies and left me with only a small slice and told me 'Next time you tell that squirrel you want to make a pie out of its berries so it will share with you next time'". She sighed at the memory, talking to him was almost like talking to herself. He didn't say anything. It was the same feeling when she went to the tree to relax. It was almost just as peaceful. She only wished that unlike the tree he would talk back to her.
On the way back home, Aiya watched the sun disappear over the luminous mountains. The exquisite beauty drew her to awe reminding her of how magical this place really is. The only noise in the distance was cows settling down, the wind kissing the grass goodnight, and the sound of their footsteps on the faded road. The smell of the strawberries was seducing Aiya to take one and indulge it while she could. The only thing stopping her was behaving in front of Edan. She eyed the largest one in her basket, as if she was devouring it with her eyes. How she wished she could feel the beloved texture of the red juicy fruit on her tongue. With out any warning, her beloved piece of fruit was taken from her basket and eaten by Edan in front of her very eyes. He lopped the fruit down in only a few bites and grinned at her. For the first time she has been with him, she has seen him smile. She laughed and said "So I guess you knew I was wanting that very one huh". He grabbed another one and took only one bite and acted as if he was teasing her on how good it tasted. She rolled her eyes and said "I won't fall for it; I learned my lesson when I was younger, and I know your mom is not going to believe a squirrel fought me for strawberries" He smirked and took the berry and did the unthinkable. He dove it into her sleeve of her dress and smeared it into a large noticeable mark. Shocked Aiya could only gasp while she couldn't move her hands while holding the large basket. He was able to hold his while destroy her dignity. She looked at him in a pout face " This is the only dress your mom had that fit me! And now I am going to get blamed for eating the strawberries she needs for baking! She had a count and everything you jerk". He closed his eyes and threw his head back silently laughing. She could only imagine what his laugher would sound like, either way it was nice to see his attitude change. Eying him she gained distance from him and replied "Ooo….you are so on my list buddy. When we get back I am so.." She was immediately cut off by the horn blast from before, but they were in a more fearful tone. Edan's facial expression changed as quickly as the horns did. He looked at her and started to urge them to jog the rest of the way. Dropping a few berries she obediently complied but looked behind her trying to see what was causing them so sound such an alarm.
They were met by his mother at the door as if she had been waiting for them when the alarm set off. She waved them in "Hurry, we need to get inside. Put the baskets in the kitchen and turn off all the lights". Quickly doing as told, Aiya and Beth scurried around the house blowing out every lantern and candle. Edan had other plans. Dawning his armor and sword he was ready to charge out the door when his mother stopped him in his tracks. "No! Your still too weak, you would only be a burden to the rest of the soldiers. You need to help Aiya and I get the rest of the women and children to the river." He sighed and clutched the handle on his sword. Finally giving in he nodded and they all left their home together.
Aiya was having a hard time walking in Beth's and Edan's pace. What ever was happening it must be very serious. She finally was able to have enough breath to ask her. "What's going on? Why are we going to the river?" They were joined by the rest of the towns' women and their children. "Shhhhhh….keep your voice down. I will explain later." Beth remained in the front of the large group guiding them through a stealthy forest path. Aiya tried to stay as close to Edan as possible. The intensity of the situation made her think it must have something to do with the wolves. She was beginning to hope none of the men got hurt while protecting them. Edan tapped her slightly and looked at her with concern. She nodded and gave him a reassuring smile to hide her discomfort. He kept her close to him, for any moment they were separated by the crowd he would look for her and guide her to him. The walk was long and silent. Even though their was a large crowd of people you could barley hear a sound, or even breath. It was if they were all one person. At the end, Aiya was greeted with relief by the sound of a river. It was too dark to see it, but they all were able to gather by the bank side. Beth formed them close together and said in a monotone voice "As you all know, something bad has happened to call for this evacuation. The lupe have been pushing their boundaries the past few weeks and finally made a breaking point. A small group has established a camp only a few miles from our town. We have sent a few scouts to only have one return and tell us the news that they were planning to attack this night. The king has issued the order to evacuate to the safe zone until further notice. His massager didn't give me any further information on to what he plans on doing. All I know is the men have been sent to fortify the town in hopes to trap the lupe with out the risk of us being there." Aiya gulped slightly, her palms began to sweat as she listened intently with the rest of the group. "I don't know the reason for these sudden attacks. The king's messenger said he was not willing to disclose that information. He said that the royal guard will visit us tonight to give us further instructions. For now everyone should be prepared to make camp for the night. Do not make any fires and maintain your voices. They want us to not distract the lupe in anyway" she said in conclusion and the group quietly broke away to make their temporary homes.
The night was intense. Everyone was sound asleep except for Aiya. Edan was keeping watch while Beth slept next to Aiya. The forest seemed as if it was awake as well. No animals made any noise. The wind remained silent as if it was scolded. The only thing that moved during the night was Edan patrolling the grounds.
The next morning, they all slept in. No one wanted to be responsible to being the first one up it seemed. Staying awake during the hours of the night had its toll on Aiya. She was trying to catch up on some sleep while she felt slightly safer in the morning light. Beth stirred and looked up at her son standing on watch. She got up and told him quietly "Get some sleep, I will take it from here." He nodded and walked to the spot she had by Aiya. Maintaining his space he lied down and with in moments fell asleep. Aiya knew he was by here but was too tired to care. The only thing allowed to run through her mind was "What is going to happen to us?"
The rest of the day, everyone remained silent. The children we either bored or fast asleep. Aiya eventually was wide awake and remained sitting next to Edan. His soft breaths were almost relaxing to her. It reminded her of how Soren was when he was asleep. The memory of Soren made her stomach cringe. It was another burden to linger in her mind. Where was he? Was he even looking for her? Maybe she should be the one to look for him.