Jonas and Kira: In Between

4

Kira's pov

The walk to Jonas's house is pleasant. While Jonas and Gabe chat about a variety of things, I observe the village around me. Since Matty died, I haven't wanted to go sightseeing very much, so this was a part of the village I'd not seen before. It is beautiful.
Where the other parts of Village are busy, and noisy, this part is peaceful, serene.
Small trees filled with blossoming pink flowers line the stone path. Grass, the greenest grass I've ever seen, grows on either sides of the path, with little tufts peaking out from in between the stones.
The river, calm and still, follows the path on one side. A slight warm breeze flows through the tree branches.

I close my eyes and breathe in the fresh, sweet, air.
'I could stay here forever and never tire of it's beauty.' I think, opening my eyes.

After a few moments, I tune into Jonas and Gabe's conversation.
"What's this I hear about you and Nathaniel's sister? What's her name?" Jonas asks Gabe, with a glint of laughter in his eye.

"Deirdre?! What are you talking about, Jonas? She's a girl!" Gabe wrinkles his nose.

"There seems to be many a girl in Village." Jonas confirms.

"But Deirdre, she's a-a girl! I don't like girls!" Gabe exclaims, his face contorted in disgust.

I feign insult. "But Gabe, I'm a girl!"

Gabe grins and grabs my hand.
"You're not a girl, you're Kira, and I like you."
I smile and swing our joined hands back and forth between us. "I like you, too, Gabe."
I glance over at Jonas, who's staring at me. He catches my gaze and smiles.
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Jonas's pov

As we walk up the steps of my home, Kira laughs at something Gabe says.
I step ahead to open the door for them.
Kira's eyes sweep over the front room.
"Would you like a tour?" I ask.
Gabe grabs my hand. "Tour later, I'm ravenous!"
Kira laughs. "Tour later, I suppose. I am also rather peckish."
"To the kitchen!" Gabe drags Kira toward the kitchen, leaving me to trail behind them.

"Mm, that was a wonderful sandwich." Kira swallows the last of her snack.
Gabe and I nod in agreement.
"It's been such a lovely day, hasn't it?"
Kira commented.
Gabe's expression brightened. "Were going to play baseball tomorrow! Kira, can you play?" Kira looks to me for explanation.
"It's a game where you place four stones on the ground, and you have a pitcher, the pitcher throws a ball to the batter, who holds a long wooden stick. The batter tries to hit the ball and if he does, he runs to the first stone, then the second, then third, and if he reaches the fourth, he earns a point."

Baseball is one of the many things the Giver before me bestowed upon me. One day Gabe and his friends came to me saying they didn't know what to do, so I taught them baseball.
"I'm very good at it, Kira." Gabe boasts.
Kira laughs, "I bet you are."
"So? Will you play?" Gabe asks, hopeful.
Kira looks down at her leg. "I would love to, Gabe. But with my leg, I'm afraid I won't be able to run, and I don't have a throwing arm."
Gabe's face falls.
"You could watch, Kira." I say, "I'm sure Gabe would love an audience."
Gabe perks up. "Yeah! You could watch me!" Kira smiles at us. "Yes, of course I'll come watch."

Gabe's face is full of excitement. "You have to cheer for my team, not Simon's. My team is better. Last time we scored a home run!"
Kira blinks in confusion. "Home run?"
"It's where you hit the ball so far, it goes out of the area bounds." Gabe explains. Kira smiles sweetly.
"I'll cheer for no team but yours, Gabe. I promise."