The Children of Nihon (BOOK TWO)

Chapter 11 - A Very Long Day

Sofia had tried to compel herself into sleeping. With little to no success.

She had even tried to imagine being asleep, to magically make herself become asleep. As it turned out, that was the one thing that wasn't even remotely possible. Awake, she couldn't fathom what it was like to be asleep anymore than she could know what it was like to be awake when asleep. So she lay there, trying not to move so as not to attract anyone's attention, and she went through the motions of the coming day.

Over and over she went through her plan, but it didn't make her feel anymore certain that things would work out. Her plan depended on every single thing going smoothly. Nothing was allowed to go wrong or all would go wrong. That didn't bode well for her, she knew. At one point, she started to feel like somebody might be reading her thoughts, but that was only the paranoia of the night.

The sky was deep and black outside the window. The air was cold and fresh, and the only noises Sofia could make out were the rhythmic hooves of the horses and the wheels of the caravans turning. It felt as if they were moving through nothingness.

Still, in the morning, Sofia didn't feel tired.

When she got up, as always, she went to the window. Ami joined her, and together they looked at the new landscape that lay beyond the bars.

They were driving along an endless stony road that twisted and turned in-between the largest chain of mountains that Sofia had ever seen. As she looked though the window on the other side, a very similar image presented itself, as if they were going through an enormous canyon. The mountaintops were covered in snow.

Sofia pulled her arms tightly around herself.

It's cold, she let Ami know.

Is it?

Sofia rolled her eyes, but then she did the same thing as he was doing. She made herself feel warm from the inside. Still, she wondered if the illusion would be enough to keep herself from catching a cold.

As Orì had told Sofia, they would disembark much earlier that day, and they even stopped twice before, though the children hadn't been let outside, and they quickly resumed their journey.

This is Shazar, Sofia told Ami. The smallest of the kingdoms. And Orì's home.

Ami didn't ask her how she knew this, only looked at her apprehensively.

We will stop more frequently now, Sofia continued. Mother has been gone for a long time, and she needs to make herself seen by her people.

And really, the people that they saw outside reacted differently to them than others had. They flocked towards the caravan, which had slowed down considerably, like starved birds descending on a field of corn. When Mother stepped out of her caravan, they approached her with barely held back delight, and Mother seemed to grow more luminous with each encounter.

Most of the time, Orì and Master Zbgi were at her side, and they received their share of reverence as well. Something had changed in Mother and in Master Zbgi, Sofia thought. They moved differently, the sound of their voices softened, their faces opened up. It was only after a while that Sofia realized what was happening.

Some of the falseness was leaving their behavior. They were genuinely happy to see these people, to be back at their home. And the people were happy to see them too. They did not fake it. It was real.

Sofia could see Ami's thoughts in his face without him needing to communicate them to her. He was relieved. And he was hopeful. Maybe everything will turn out alright.