In Lost Dreams the Four Were Bound

06 - Elis - Remembering a Young Girls Longing

Coming home, Elis had expected the worst from her little companion but had found the situation to be better than she had imagined. The boxes and bags in the entryway had been opened, and their contents jumbled. Grains, herbs, and plant matter had been spilled about, making a trail into the larger common room. Within the room, the large wooden table that served as a workbench and dining table was littered with various bottles, vegetable matter, petals, stale bread and crumbs, nuts, berries, and small, drying puddles of water and distillate. At the far end of the table had been Rais's work in progress, three half-empty bottles of dyes and paint. Cleaning up had taken the two of them the better part of the afternoon, and by the time they had cooked and eaten, the sun was beginning to hang low in the sky.

Letting Rais re-commandeer the table for her crafts, Elis retired to their small shared bedroom. Sitting at her wooden vanity, she used one of the leftovers coals from their meal and lit a small paper lantern. Taking her time, she undid a small panel beneath the dressing table and pulled out a hefty leather-bound tome. Opening the old volume, she fingered the loose mixed sheets of vellum and paper. Meandering through sporadic entries, she scanned through excerpt after excerpt of past journal entries from when she first arrived in the village.

Among the earliest pages were mentions of her first months, which, after careful instruction from the talvuo tribal leader, she had started to write down her thoughts and deeds. The first several dozen were simple passages with crude handwriting, torrents of raw emotion engraved with hasty scribbles. The notion of form or coherence was lost upon her past self as she lamented the countless woes of those darker days. Death and loss, two things she had known ever since her early life but had never had the burden of carrying, overwhelmed her younger self's prose. Over time, things became more coherent, focusing instead on the lessons she was being taught by the tribe's leader. Over the months, she had written down fewer and fewer troubles, instead embracing the new experiences she had been offered.

Closing her eyes, Elis leaned back in her chair and mused about those early days. Accepting those she had lost had been the hardest thing she had ever done. But the village's then-leader, a woman who had lost more in her lifetime, had been there to ease the transition. Every time Elis sank into despair or desperation, the woman had pushed her to try something different, to take up a new trade or task. In time the woman came to recount the tales of her people and the role she had played in sealing their fate. But all of that had been ages ago.

"Zaisure." The voice of her little one broke her train of thought. Elis raised her eyes to the doorway, watching as Rais's small, pale frame stumbled into the dim room. The girl's green eyes were heavy with all the happenings of the day. Extending her arms, Elis reached out and brought Rais into her lap, holding her close.

"Are you tired, my little one?" Elis cooed into the girl's small brown ears as they hung lazily beside her head. Huddling close to her, Rais nodded, letting out a long yawn. "Then let's get you into bed."

Elis carried her tired bundle the few paces needed to lower her into their small shared bed. With a thoughtful glance, she watched the girl grab their rolled-up quilt and huddle beneath the heavy blanket. Letting out another yawn, the girl looked up to her.

"Are you going to stay tonight, zaisure?"

"I plan on it, and if not, someone will be here should you awaken," Elis whispered. "I'll join you in a bit."

"Alright, zaisure." The tired girl's voice was muddled as she slurred her words. Taking the lantern, Elis left the room with her journal. She was not done thinking about the things that had happened or the things that she had let go of just yet. Easing the door closed behind her, she sat at the far side of the large wooden table, avoiding the concoctions and pastes that Rais had been finalizing.