Certainly, the whole world had stopped. He could almost feel the entire plane grind to a halt underneath his feet. Awe, happiness, and relief all fought for a place on his face as Sayana nearly pleaded for him to stay with her. The flutter in his heart, the ice thawing in his gut…It was not just a feeling. Feelings were shallow, fleeting things. Like the steady dull throb on his lower lip. This was so much more. Even as their embrace ended, he felt like they were still in it. In that moment there was no more Syliras, no more Riverfall, no more Kenash and no more Sunberth. In that instant there was only him and-
Mother.
Seasons spent far removed from his mother’s grave had made him forget. His mother’s face was but a blur in his mind. She had had light skin and only two arms, of that much he was certain. But she had tended to his bruises and cuts just like how Sayana had. She had made him tea like Sayana had. She had dressed like Sayana did, and they had lived in a small but cozy home just like Sayana.
“I’d very much like to start again,” Timothy nodded vigorously. He was so overcome with warmth and hope that it took him several ticks to realize she had started to pack already. Following her example, Timothy jumped up from the couch and looked on as she filled a large rucksack with clothes and large quantities of money.
Living with her can’t be bad, he grinned to himself.
“I’ll need to go back,” Timothy replied. “All my belongings are there. I can’t leave without them.” She was right about some of his clothes getting too small, but he wasn’t worried about it. A hint of concern flashed across his face however when Sayana hesitated to pack a baby sling, only to leave it in the yanked-open drawer. Timothy stared blankly at the cloth for a moment as Sayana continued to pack.
And then he knew what to do. Like lightning an idea hit him. An idea on how he might help Sayana get happy. An idea on how he could do something good for more than one person. Nimble fingers lifted the baby sling from the drawer and he quickly stuffed it under shirt then crossed his arms over his chest to prevent it from falling down again.
He’d never been more certain about anything in his life.
“I didn’t expect to go right now,” he said, arching one eyebrow at her. Yet his rapidly broadening smile betrayed an eagerness on par with her own. “But it’s alright I suppose. There’s nothing for me here anyway.”
Although he was brimming with joy, a pang shot through his heart as he recalled how the knights had rejected him, said he was too young to become a squire and put him in the Orphanage instead. It wouldn’t matter now. He’d found something far better anyway.
“I know where to find the harbor. I’ll just have to go back and fetch my belongings, then I’ll meet you there okay?”
Spinning on his heel he turned around and headed for the door. He was going to get his stuff whether she was okay with it or not. Nothing she would say or do could deter him from that. “Of course I am coming,” he smiled over his shoulders. “You’re my mum now.” A wink and a smile later he’d pushed through the door and light boots pattered on stone; back to the Welcome Home.
--
Out of breath and stinking with sweat, Timothy stormed into the Orphanage. A few heads turned, but not many kids were startled to see one of their own come running in, even though Aenysa prohibited it. The Syliran caretaker opened her mouth to remind the unruly Sunberthian Orphan, but he’d already jumped up the stairs and fled into his room.
“Why is he allowed to run?” one of the younger girls Aenysa had been tending to piped up.
“He isn’t,” Aenysa replied simply. “Go play with Lilly for a while, I have to talk to Timothy.” She rolled up her sleeves, let out a deep sigh, and began to plod up the steps. It wasn’t all that unusual for new Orphans to consider themselves beyond her few, simple rules, but Timothy was an exception to exceptions.
Most new boys or girls were quick to adapt, having never know their parents to begin with. The Sunberthian youth hadn’t told her much, but she had learned enough to know that things were different with the boy.
When she pushed through the ajar door leading into the small room Timothy shared with a few other boys, she found him hunched over his chest of belongings throwing clothes into a pile behind him, his back turned towards her.
“Are you planning to go somewhere?” she joked, leaning casually against the door frame.
He didn’t respond. What did he have slung over his shoulder? “-Or did Dresen steal something from you again?” she tried.
“No,” Timothy shut the chest, dragged out a rucksack from underneath his bed and began to stuff his clothes, comb, few coppers, and other belongings in it. “I am going on an adventure.”
“Timothy…you can’t just leave. I know you haven’t quite settled in yet, but you’ve got to give it a chance. You’ve got to give me a chance…”
He hated that tone. Clutching his bulky rucksack under one arm, he scrambled onto his legs and turned around. Aenysa gasped. Of course she did. He had hoped she’d be out so he wouldn’t have to fight his way past her, but now there was no other choice.
The five-months old baby boy strapped to his chest by Sayana’s sling was as much of a misfit in this children’s prison as he was. Andreas always cried. Aenysa couldn’t sooth her, Lilly’s six-year-old smiles couldn’t calm him. But then Timothy had sat down and held Andreas’s tiny wrinkly hand. Not to comfort the baby, but to feel less lonely himself. Back then, not a dozen days ago, Aenysa had expressed her amazement for his ability to calm down the infant that had done nothing by cry and kick and scream.
Even now, as Timothy’s intentions punched her in the face, she couldn’t deny that Andreas was perfectly calm and quiet, resting his large head against Timothy’s chest.
“No…you can’t..I am not allowing you Timothy! Put the baby back!”
Never! Without him, without someone as nice as Sayana, Andreas would never make it. He’d be like all those other hollow, kids hanging around her, clutching to Aenysa’s skirt, begging for her attention. Andreas had been more of a comfort than Aenysa had ever been, and he wasn’t about to abandon the young baby boy.
Grabbing his rucksack with both hands, Timothy stormed forward and ducked underneath Aenysa’s outstretched arms.
“Come back!”
He was already downstairs, jumping the last few steps. His knees buckled under the impact. Nearly tripping over his own feet, he bolted towards the door, elbowing his way through a sea of outstretched arms barely reaching his waist. He’d already dodged Aenysa. He’d survived Jed Radacke. Toddlers weren’t going to stop him now.
The wind had relentlessly stabbed at his windpipes and his cheeks were glowing red by the time he arrived at the docks. Not once had he stopped running. Not once had he looked over his shoulder or paused to listen to the shouts. He’d heard the clattering of metal. Knights had been alerted and he was certain there’d be more than a few days of hard labour awaiting him if he didn’t escape.
But a boy could slip through crowds where Knights could not. Soon enough they would find him, but not if he managed to find Sayana first. Glancing around desperately, he searched the pier for the familiar woman.
Nothing.
Andreas stirred but remained in silent slumber. For whatever reason, his antics had apparently lulled the boy further into sleep instead of awaken him. But there was no time for that mystery now. Slinging his rucksasck over his back, Timothy began to make his way along the pier with a hurried skip in his step.
Finally, he found her at the far end of the docks. She hadn’t seen him yet, so he gently tapped her shoulder. “I’ll explain later,” he breathed immediately. Shouts sounded from the other side of the docks. Timothy’s wide eyes shot towards the buzz in the crowd. Brushed metal glistened in the sun. Within one or two chimes, the Knights would’ve shouldered their way through. “We have to go now.” He grabbed Sayana’s sleeve and waited for her to steer them both towards whatever ship she’d arranged to board.
