In Fallen Woods by R N Merle

Author:R N Merle [Merle, R N]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-01-27T05:00:00+00:00

12

The Contrast

A week later, Darklin retrieved the bag of coins from the sack inside the old oak tree. Before she left to take them back to John, she knelt by the bank of the water pool and leaned over to examine her reflection. The shimmering white face that greeted her, gave back an expression of uncertainty. She wiped her pale lips on the back of her hand, pinched the apples of her colourless cheeks, and roughly combed her hair flat with her fingers. She studied her reflection once more, then plunged her hand into the pool, ruffling the calm surface until her image distorted and broke apart, and was lost in the movement of the glossy water.

Her heart fluttered like a sparrow’s as she walked through the woods, knowing that each step she took brought her closer to John. The May blossom had fallen and vanished, and had been replaced by unfurling June leaves, not yet broad enough to obscure the sky. As she walked, Darklin could see the shapes of birds scuttling along branches, preoccupied with delivering the limp insects dangling from their beaks back to the gaping mouths of their young. She couldn’t help being exhilarated by the scents and sights of new life surrounding her.

As she drew near to Shadows End, she heard the familiar noise of an axe chopping wood, and followed the direction of the sound. She found John hard at work, and waited before she disturbed him.

The glittering blade of his axe swung rhythmically through the air, biting into the trunk of a crooked hazel tree that was leaning into the boughs of its neighbour. His brow was slightly furrowed in concentration, but the movement of his body appeared thoughtless and graceful. John made a final strike into the wedge he had cut in the trunk, and the tree creaked and fell. Darklin jumped slightly as the ground resonated with the shock of its weight.

As John stood catching his breath, she walked carefully over to where he was working. Again she was rattled by nervous energy, and was unsettled by a fluttering sensation located in the pit of her stomach.

‘John,’ she called out, not loudly.

His head whipped round to look at her. He looked surprised, but no longer wary.

‘I never hear you coming.’ he said, smiling.

‘I have your coins.’

‘Thank you, though they belong to Tom. He was beside himself when he thought that he had lost them.’

‘Are they valuable?’

‘No, I don’t think so. My father dug them up in the lower field and gave them to him. He’s been using them in his games ever since, imagining he’s got hold of a fairy’s gold or a pirate’s loot. How did you know how much he would miss them? How could you know which things it would hurt us most to lose?’ His eyes searched her face as he spoke. Darklin looked down.

‘I learned it from a spell.’ she said. Darklin thought about the other objects in the sack. ‘Those possessions are what you most treasure?’

‘Yes, for one reason or another.

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