Chapter 5: Discovering
The home was lovely.
Its palette of earth tones felt like a continuation of the landscape.
Its walls proudly displayed black-and-white photographs of horses throughout the ages.
Its interior smelled like a Michelin-star chef's haven.
"We rarely get visitors outside of the family," the woman in the shawl informed Quistis eagerly. "Please stay for lunch!"
"Thank you." Quistis' stomach rumbled at the anticipation of a meal. She had skipped breakfast entirely. She had not quite recovered her appetite post-flu. "Can I help with anything?"
The woman just smiled. "That's kind of you, miss, but we have plenty of helping hands this weekend."
She showed Quistis into the dining room. An old man in a wool beret was dozing off in his chair. Seated next to him was a boy focused on his PuPu coloring book. An old woman with elegant silver braids, no doubt the matriarch of the home, was working in the kitchen alongside younger men and women.
Quistis introduced herself to the household as "Kiss." She thought it best for her to adopt an alias like Seifer—something phonetically similar to her name without being too obvious. The anonymity left her feeling relaxed and sociable.
She learned that the woman in the shawl was named Marianna; her husband Buckley was out with Zef to take care of a monster attack at the perimeter of the ranch; the old man and the old woman were Buckley's parents; the boy was Marianna and Buckley's son; and the younger men and women, all of whom were either engaged or married, consisted of siblings and cousins from both sides of the family.
She appreciated that nobody questioned her identity or gave her a sideways look. They warmly accepted her as one of their own, all because of her association with Zef and the fact that he had brought her to the ranch by means of the white horse, who was apparently a messenger boy named Thessaly. Had Quistis not been aware that Seifer and Zef were one and the same, she would have assumed that he was born into this family, with the way that everybody spoke so highly of him. It was as if she had discovered an untouched pocket of the universe in which Seifer Almasy could be a loved and respected man, and she, Quistis Trepe, could have the luxury of being an ordinary woman.
As she reflected on all of this, she tried very hard not to drool while watching the table fill up with delicious foods, most of which she had never before seen in her life.
Glasses of pine-scented spring water. Plates of golden trout with yolk sauce and poppy seeds. Pizzas with charred crusts and bubbling-hot cheese. Sweet onions cooked in mountain ash. Flower-flecked yogurt finely threaded with marjoram honey.
"So how do you know Zef?" asked Marianna.
"We grew up together. We've known each other for years, and yet—" Quistis shook her head apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get all sentimental. Have you ever had the experience of seeing someone in a new light?"
"Do you mean falling in love with someone…?"
"What!?" Quistis exclaimed. "N-no, I just mean…"
Marianna's laugh was gentle. "You must be a special person to Zef, is all I can say." Melancholy tinged her expression. "When we asked if he had any family, he told us that he couldn't see them right now. We sense that Zef has been through some difficult circumstances. I'm really glad that you came here today, Kiss."
Quistis nodded compassionately.
Marianna discreetly handed her a small spiral notepad with a matching pen. "Here you go. You may already have one but keep this extra on you. My son—he's a quiet one—he prefers to communicate with Zef through writing and drawing. There's something nice about sharing silence, you know?"
Quistis frowned. "I'm not sure I understand."
Marianna placed a delicate hand over her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry…I thought you knew."
Quistis' heart plummeted. "I haven't seen Zef in months. Has something happened to him?"
Marianna smiled sadly at her.
"Zef is mute."