Beyond (Book Two of The Whispered Tales)

Chapter 3

Victoria found Aunt Alice in the little saloon, where the dinner table seemed to have been set for hours.

'I'm so glad you're here,' she whispered, happy to see her. 'I was so worried about you... but what happened to your leg?' she asked, looking at the wound.

'A mere trifle,' said Victoria while sitting at the table while ripping a piece from a fresh bun. The events of the day gave her a smashing hunger.

She then couldn't stop from chatting and telling her adventures to her aunt while also eating the goodies Matilda had prepared: meatballs, veal stewed in blackberry sauce, fresh vegetables and an entire plate of cheese pie. Victoria tasted all of them at once, without stopping from talking. The aunt joined her and smothered her in a warm gaze. The only grumpy one was Matilda, who was taking her time clearing the table, making sure she wasn't missing a word.

'Nevertheless, you shouldn't have let that poor, vagrant boy following you around,' went Matilda bitterly. The woman pretended to clear the table from invisible crumbs. But her words drew her aunt's attention. 'What are you talking about, Matilda?'

'What the little lady forgot to tell you is that she was with Paul, the village's orphan. He's a cheeky boy, that one,' she added, using not the kindest voice of all.

'But auntie, Paul didn't bother me at all. Quite the contrary, he was helpful. I could have got lost in the forest if it wasn't for him.'

'That wouldn't have been an option had you been back in time,' added Matilda before leaving the room.

Aunt Alice smiled. 'Never mind that, Paul is a good and hard-working boy. He helped me with the gardening a couple of times and I have to admit that he's quite skilled.'

'What's his story, anyway?' asked the girl, trying to look as casual as she could. She even took a bite out of a juicy peach to emphasize that. She kept looking at her aunt while cleaning the dripping juice off her chin.

'This boy has a very sad story. His parents died, one after the other, slain by a ruthless disease when he was a few years old. He remained with his grandmother, but she too passed away, leaving the boy on his own. Some greedy neighbors offered to take care of him; but after a while they threw him out, leaving the boy homeless by the time he was ten-years-old. Yet he never complained. He worked wherever he could, as young and puny as he was. I think he knows more traits than anyone in the village. He found food and shelter even during the coldest winters. Because a good pair of skilled hands is always needed in the village. He has only one wish, but I don't think it will ever come true.'

'What wish is that?' asked the girl with tears in her eyes.

'To go to school. He's convinced only an educated person can fulfill anything he wants in life.'

Victoria fell silent. An idea sprung into her head and cleared the tears away. She was going to give him all the books she had on her. Starting tomorrow.

'So you don't mind if I go back to the forest tomorrow? With Paul...' she asked while feeling her cheeks on fire.

'Of course not. Never have I heard a bad word about this boy. Now go to sleep, dear, it's pretty late.'

And Victoria got her good-night kiss from her aunt, dallying towards her room.

The bath she took was beyond words. Matilda had thrown in lavender for a good night's sleep, drizzled a dash of musk because she knew young girls liked to leave behind them a faint sweet perfume and left a big soap smelling of roses. All these resembling a magical ritual that would carry her, ever so gently, towards the long awaited sleep.