[This post is from Bryant Tapping’s point of view.]
“You have the look of someone that’s carrying the weight of a few worlds on your shoulders.”
Bryant smothered his surprise, barely managing to keep himself from startling at the sound of the voice. He hadn’t even heard any approaching footsteps. Had he dozed off for a moment? Anything was possible—and the sleep, brief as it was, would have been more than welcome.
He opened his eyes, tilting his head enough to see the woman that stood a few feet away, a shawl wrapped around her shoulders against nonexistent breeze and chill. He recognized her from their meeting with what he’d assumed was the village council, though he didn’t remember her name.
“I guess,” he murmured, glancing up and back again, checking to see if there was any light beyond the windows—there wasn’t—before he looked to her again. Her hair was pulled back into a braid down her back, though there were whisps flying free, framing her face in the dim light. “Maybe just a little. Sorry…was I supposed to stay inside?”
“No, no,” she said, shaking her head. “I just was on my way to go check on something and I saw you out here. Are you all right?”
“That’s a relative term,” Bryant said, watching her. There was something familiar about her—beyond having seen her earlier that day—and it tugged at him, though he tried to put that out of his mind. “Just getting some time to myself, I guess, and trying not to disturb the others.”
“They’re asleep?”
“Should be.” He scrubbed a hand over his eyes. “Probably are.”
“You’re worried.”
“Is it that obvious?”
One corner of her mouth quirked upward in a smile. “Just a little.”
He sighed and looked away, stared off into the darkness. “That’s just the way of it, I guess. David might be the one with insights, but I’m the one that keeps us going in useful directions. Or something like that.”
“A noble enough task.”
“Is it?”
“I think so.” She shifted her shawl around her shoulders, shaking her head slightly. “Don’t you?”
“I don’t know anymore,” he murmured. “Sometimes, I just want to go home.”
“We all want that, sometimes,” she said softly, gently. “But sometimes it’s not where we actually need to go.”
“How do you know?”
“With age comes wisdom,” she said with a faint smile. “You’ll understand eventually.”
“You think so?”
“I know it,” she said. “You should try to get some sleep, too. Dawn will be coming soon enough, and with it I’m sure there will be more questions and more talking and who knows what else.”
“Maybe,” he murmured, closing his eyes.
“No maybe about it.” She shook her head again. “Go on. At least try. Trust me, you’ll be better for it.”
He wasn’t sure why he listened, but the next he knew, he was back inside, taking off his boots. His eyelids were heavy.
Maybe she was right. Maybe he would be able to sleep tonight.
