The Wounded World

The Glass Leaf

The dull grey-brown scene of Path was a welcome relief compared to the overwhelming emotional power of Cadrelle. Quin stumbled onto the bridge feeling weak and tired in a way he had never experienced before. He felt as though someone had taken his soul and stuck it in a wheat grinder and then wrung it out and tried to put it back together again. He grasped the rail of the bridge and took a few deep breaths of air, feeling useless and despising himself for not being strong enough. He looked at the sky, where a few black birds flew in lazy circles, and realized that he had never seen the sky – it had been cloudy every time they had come here.

"We should have Tobias take a good look at you," John said.

"No," Quin refused. "Don't want to go there like this."

"What, afraid Meriym might think you're a baby? Well too bad. I'm the boss now, and we're going to get you some food and some sitting-in-a-chair time, and you are going to do exactly as I say," ordered John defiantly.

Quin took a deep breath and stepped forward, focusing on his posture, calming the shaking of his hands, and ensuring that enough oxygen was reaching his brain. They were traveling through Doors and facing the unknown at every turn. He needed to be strong, needed to be ready in case something jumped out from around a corner. Once his posture was under control, he readjusted his senses. The world around him was quiet as ever, with most of the right noises, but missing the sound of the river. He had forgotten to ask about that. The wind caused the tall grasses to wave as usual, and the birds floated and hovered in the sky. It lacked any real smell – he hadn't noticed this before, and wondered why.

"Come on," John said, tugging on his arm. Apparently he had only moved one step.

Each step he took became easier, as his emotions calmed, his mind focused, and the scene around them solidified. He realized that the vividness of the dream had caused the real world to seem unreal – but as the dream faded, his senses took over.

They reached the house a few minutes later and Meriym answered the door with a gasp.

"You look terrible!" she exclaimed. "What happened?"

John pushed Quin up the steps and into the house, and forced him to sit on the couch.

"Is Tobias here?" he asked.

"Upstairs," Meriym replied. She went over and opened the trap door. The rope ladder fell and John scrambled up.

Meriym came over to Quin, concern written all over her face. "What happened? Are you okay? Do you need anything?" She sat down beside him on the couch.

Taking a deep breath, Quin reached into his pocket and pulled out the leaf encased in glass. He placed it carefully in her hand.

"What is this?" Meriym asked. "It's beautiful."

"It comes from Cadrelle," Quin replied.

Meriym's eyes widened and then began to well up with tears. "I haven't... haven't been back. What... is it..."

"Everything is encased in glass," he said simply. "It is one massive tomb, built to honor those that died there."

The tears that had started in her eyes began to flow down her face. Quin reached out, feeling inept, and placed his large hand awkwardly on her back. He was not good at comforting. He wished John would hurry up and come back.

"Do you... do you know what happened?" she asked.

Quietly, Quin told her all that he had seen and experienced in the graveyard of Cadrelle, until Meriym's sadness began to overwhelm him and he didn't know what to do. So he drew her into his arms and held her while she sobbed.