The Island Curse

Kieran's Guided Tour

"Sure, mum. Isla?" He opened the door and waited for me to walk through.

"I'm sorry," I said, pulling my hands up into the sleeves of my sweater. The first hint of sunshine was breaking through the clouds, but the wind was biting.

"For what?" He didn't look the least bit cold, and he hadn't changed out of the light sweater the boys wore with their uniforms. "For making me babysit you?"

"You're welcome to go fall off a cliff somewhere," I snapped, quickening my pace. "I was going walking with or without you. I thought I was doing you a favor."

"Isla, wait," he grabbed my arm. "Yer right. I would rather walk around the Island than stay back there while our parents flirt. My other option was to try for a kip, and that didn't appeal either."

"Try for a what?"

"A kip. You know, a short sleep?"

"A nap." I surmised, and he nodded. I looked at the hand still wrapped around my arm. "You gonna let me go?"

"Only if you want me to."

Swallowing hard, I pulled away, disappointed when I felt his fingers unfurl and release me. Moving again, I goaded, "So what you're saying is that I was the consolation prize. Nothing better came along."

"You like to stir up trouble, eh?"

I chuckled. "You're one to talk. All you've done is try to wind me up."

"What did you think of yer first day?" he asked.

The change of topic surprised me, but it was welcome. "Better than expected. I don't know if it was harder or easier with such a small group. I've never been in a class of only eight before. I thought there were more people on the Island than that."

Kieran kicked at a rock and watched it tumble into the heather before answering. "The primary school classes are a lot bigger. Most kids opt out of S6. They go to work for their families, but honestly, a lot of the people you saw when you came in were tourists. We'll shut down the ferry in the winter, and you'll see how small the population is."

"You shut down the ferry?" I exclaimed. "What sense does that make? What do people do for a living then?"

"Most of the people who live in town own land. They have crops and animals, but they don't want to live out in isolation. It can be hard, especially when the winters are bad. It snows quite a bit here. You'll find that a challenge when yer having to come to school in it."

But if he was expecting me to whine about the weather, he was going to be disappointed. I squealed and clapped my hands. "I've always wanted to live somewhere with snow. We have two seasons in Mississippi: summer and not summer. I've seen snow maybe four or five times in my entire life, and never anything more than a dusting."

A deep longing filled his eyes. "To be that warm all the time... I miss it."

"You've lived somewhere warm before?"

"No." The haze lifted, and he looked angry. "I just meant in the winter. I miss the warmth. Besides, you've not stopped shivering since I met you. Today is a bonnie day. How're you going to handle something harsher than this?"

"I might surprise you," I sniffed, unhappy with what he implied.

"Isla, I think you just might."

We lapsed into a comfortable silence, our attention on the surrounding land. Kieran was a good sport, following me as I darted after anything that captured my attention. He'd occasionally offer more information if pressed, sometimes sounding as if he'd memorized the information from a textbook.