Vagabond by J.D. Brewer

Author:J.D. Brewer [Brewer, J.D.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2014-05-07T07:00:00+00:00

Ono held up the bottle. The brown liquid held a honey-hued glow through the glass. Roderigo’s whiskey. “Have you ever tasted it before?”

“Once, with my friend Polo.”

Ono’s legs dipped into the air next to mine and he grinned. He became brave with less coaxing than I had needed. “Not with Xavi?”

“No. Never with Xavi. Have you ever had it before?”

“Yes.”

I raised my eyebrows. In the 18th, whiskey was rationed in small-bottled servings, affordable to the higher Castes in our Colony. My father got it sometimes, but I never had it. It wasn’t the first time Ono’d admitted to having access to things I never did. “What were you?”

He took a swallow from the bottle. He didn’t even cough or sputter or make a sour face. “I used to think I was someone with a bigger destiny. Then, I learned I wasn’t all that important after all… There are things much more important than all of us.”

I looked out over the water. The river wound a path of murky brown, but it took on the colors of the sun as it set. I took the bottle when he handed it to me. The liquid streaked fire down into my lungs and burned with memories of Polo.

“You get so sad when you remember people,” Ono said.

“How do you know I’m thinking of someone?”

“You have these wrinkles on your forehead. They only show up when your eyebrows try to meet. And your eyebrows only try to meet when you’re trying to remember someone.” He tapped the space above my brows with his forefinger. “It’s like everyone you’ve ever met out here is inside of everything you know about it. I’m guessing you’re remembering your friend Polo in that one sip of whiskey.” He took another swallow of whiskey and sighed. “You remember people often, and it makes me hope that one day, you’ll remember me. It makes me like you. It’s important to be remembered.”

“Thanks, I guess. You’re growing on me too.” When I smiled, I discovered it was genuine. Happiness is a sudden beast. All it took was one chink in the armor, and he worked his way onto my small list of people who mattered. That same list also reminded me that he’d be gone before I knew it. Everyone was always gone after a while.

“That scratch on your cheek is healing up pretty good.”

I reached up and touched where the boulder ripped into my face the first night we met. There was a slight scab, but the Neo-Spray had done its work.

Ono grabbed my hand again. The warmth of it was just as flammable as the whiskey we kept passing back and forth. This was different from the time I drank with Polo. That had just been a sip. These were thirsty gulps, and I felt the dizzy settle in. Ono felt it too and knew enough about liquor to think of safety. “Maybe we should get away from the ledge. I don’t think I trust myself to stay on it anymore.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.