Enar's Vacation - Open Beta

Chapter 5

2076 Words

This is a beta version of Enar's Vacation. Changes can - and probably will - be made as a result of reader feedback. I hope you'll enjoy it and I hope you'll take the time to give me some feedback. It will help me make this story the best it can be.

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"Bye bye then. Have a great stay lad!" Hasse waved goodbye and drove off into the evening. Apparently he had somewhere else to be and would continue on his own.

Enar stood by the roadside, watching as the cart disappeared around a bend in the road.

It was just him and the sunset now.

No one had come to meet him, and he hadn't even seen an inn. He'd just sat there on the cart, rattling along and trying to shut out the ceaseless chatter, when Hasse had brought them to a halt, in the middle of nowhere, and told him this was his stop.

Now, a little settling dust was all that remained of the carriage.

To his right, the forest fell away into one of the many ravines that cut up the hillsides in these parts, and beyond that, another hill rose up and blocked out most of the sunset.

Along the other side of the road, to his left, a tall hedge grew; dense and full of thorns - probably blushberry. Branches of blossoming apple trees peeked up over the hedge, and far off in the distance, hilltops glowed green in the evening sun. Set deep into the hedge, hidden in shadows, was a white gate.

Enar sighed. There was nothing for it. He couldn't stay here and he had nowhere else to go. Dragging his suitcase behind him, he crossed the road, pushed the gate open and stepped into the garden beyond.

As he released the door, a weight in a rope and pulley system pulled it shut it behind him. Somewhere up on the hillside a bell rang out, followed by the screams of excited children.

Enar's heart beat faster. What if this was the wrong place? What if they expected someone else? He swallowed, clutched the handle of his suitcase and waited. The sounds of the children drew closer.

Looking around, trying to spot who was coming, he realized what he'd first thought a garden was actually full-blown orchard; row upon neat row of apple trees filled the hillside in front of him. A well-trodden path climbed the slope, with little stairs and handrails in the steepest spots.

From up among the trees, screaming and laughing, two children came hurtling; a boy and girl, probably about ten or so, both dressed in red, both with the same brown hair. Running as fast as their little legs could carry them they bounded through the grass, vying to be the first. In the end, the girl, slightly taller, managed to pull ahead of the boy; her dress flying around her knees and her hair streaming out behind her.

When she spotted Enar, she stopped dead in her tracks.

An instant later the boy crashed into her and the two toppled over, rolled the last bit, and ended up in a screaming, howling, pile just a few steps short of where he stood.

Enar gasped and stared. His heart raced. What if they were hurt? They could have broken arms and legs and necks falling over each other like that. What if they blamed him for it? It wasn't his fault. He'd just stood there.

Whether he'd done anything or not didn't seem to bother the next person to appear in the slightest. An even smaller child, a little girl barely the size of his suitcase, bobbled into view on short round legs. Giggling, she threw herself on top of the older children as they tried untangling themselves from each other. The howling turned to laughter and Enar let out the breath he'd only just realized he'd been holding. Everyone was okay.