Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 22

She imagined herself as a child, which was a struggle in itself, climbing trees. She imagined her parents, whose faces were long gone, laughing at her childish antics. She imagined being happy, being free.

She imagined a lot of things that weren't true. That weren't real.

Emma continued dropping apples, but her mind was miles away in a fantasy. It was easy. It was simple. The breeze was nice, relaxing in a way she didn't entirely understand.

But distantly, she heard voices. Emma was yanked from her daydreams, finding herself glancing down at whatever had captured her attention. Her eyes landed on Zart, who was talking with Gally. "Hey, Gally," she called down.

Instantly, his head snapped up. His eyes widened. "Emma?" The Keeper of the Builders was walking by when Zart called out to him, asking a question he no longer remembered. Changing directions, he marched toward them. "What the Shuck are you doing up there?"

"Picking apples," was her humored response. She grabbed another, dropping it. Zart managed to catch it.

Gally stared up at her, almost gaping. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Why would you send her up there?" He yelled at Zart.

The man turned to look at Gally, not appreciating being yelled at. "It's her job-"

"To garden, not to climb trees!" He was fuming. Emma didn't understand why.

"Last I checked, you're the Keeper of the Builders, not the Gardens. Nothing here concerns you-"

"It does when you're putting her in danger." Gally returned his attention to Emma. "Do you know how clumsy you are? You're going to hurt yourself-"

"Gally, it's fine," she spoke calmly. "It's-"

"Get down," his voice was firm.

Emma blinked a few times. "Gally-"

"I'm not asking. Get down." It wasn't a request but a demand. Gally wasn't asking.

She glanced at Zart, slightly unsure. He seemed to understand what she was asking without her using actual words. "I think we have enough apples." An indication that Emma better listen to Gally before he becomes angry. Zart didn't think an argument was worth it. "Come on down."

Emma huffed, feeling slightly irritated with Gally. It was her job as a Gardener to provide food for the Glade. That included picking apples. "Emma, come on." Gally was growing impatient watching her sit still.

"Don't you have somewhere to be," she snapped at him. As much as she liked Gally, he had no business bossing her around at her own job.

"No."

Zart laughed but quickly covered it with a cough. "Okay, I'm going to go wash these. Make sure she gets down, yeah?"

"Yeah," Gally barely acknowledged Zart as he left with the crate of apples.

Emma slid over the tree limb. Carefully, she began climbing down. Gally stayed near the bottom of the tree, nervously watching her. "You didn't have to overreact. I'm fine. Wasn't that hard."

"I'm not overreacting." Emma had a history of being clumsy. Sending her over twenty feet in the air to collect apples on flimsy tree branches was not a good idea. Gally was furious Zart would allow that to happen.

She looked over her shoulder, glaring down at him. "I'm fine." Emma was fine. She didn't need Gally telling her how to do her job. "And it is my job, by the way. I don't tell you how to do yours."

Gally sighed but never looked away. "Just come down, okay?" His voice was softer than before, full of apprehension.

Emma froze as her leg landed on a branch. A faint smile appeared on her face as she realized what was going on. "Are you worried about me, Gally?" He didn't respond. That only made her laugh. "I don't know. The views kind of nice. Might stay a while."