02 Seekers by Lynnie Purcell

Author:Lynnie Purcell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The kids were up at dawn the next morning. They rolled over instantaneously, as if someone had yelled in their ears. I had spent the night on my makeshift bed of costumes and blankets, which smelled of mold and water, trying to get some sleep. Tossing and turning was jealous of how often I shifted on the bed. They stretched and yawned, then silently went to sit on the edge of the stage. Alex caught my eye as they waited. Hers were sleepy and full of tired tears, but she was curious about their strange behavior. Our unasked questions didn’t last long. Eli appeared at the door. In his hands was a box of donuts. He came forward and placed them on the stage. The kids didn’t waste any time in attacking them.

“The Sister’s sweet shop again?” Spider asked.

Eli nodded. “They never lock their upstairs window.”

Spider took a large bite of a donut. “Bless them and their oblivion. They have the best donuts in town,” he added for my benefit.

Eli sat down on a chair and watched the kids eat. His expressionless face was hard to read, but his eyes were pleased. He didn’t even look at Alex or me; to him we were as important as the moldy clothes we had spent the night on.

Twitch sat apart from the others, picking his food apart while his feet dangled off the edge. I rolled out of blankets and picked up a sprinkled donut, then sat next to him. His thoughts turned nervous at my presence, but he soon calmed when he realized I wasn’t there to force him to speak. His twitching decreased at any rate.

We shared a moment then I said, “Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths enwrought with golden and silver light the blue and the dim and the dark cloths of night and light and the half-light I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; tread softly because you tread on my dreams….Heard that one

before?”

Twitch shook his head in response. No.

“It’s by Yeats. I’ve always liked that poem, but then again I’m a sucker for poems about dreams being more important than wealth. Daniel, my friend, says I’m a closet romantic, but I think he’s just unaware of how much we need dreams…”

Twitch smiled at me oddly. I like the dark poems. They make me realize I’m not so alone…

“You’re not alone.” I gestured around the room at the other kids near us.

You can be alone even when you’re surrounded by people you love.

I blinked at him. “How old are you? You can’t be as old as you look. Not with thoughts like that.”

Seven.

“Give me some of that maturity, will ya?” I asked.

He giggled in the first real sound I’d heard him make.

I took my first bite of donut and saw that everyone was listening in. Eli’s face was full of jealousy, while the others were simply shocked that I was actually talking to Twitch as if he spoke words.

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