Page 50 of To Trap a Soul

“I’m sure I will,” she answered as the woman stepped back to leave her pathway.

She waved as Susie walked away, and the young woman shyly did it back to her before hurrying off like someone had lit the back of her skirts on fire.She’s probably afraid of this house.

It hadn’t taken long for a few of the men farming her parents’ land to realise the unmaintained house had become occupied. She’d probably been spotted from a distance while she’d been outside, as she’d found herself incapable of remaining inside.

They’d come to evict the unwelcomed squatter, only to discover it was Lindi who had returned home.

Then again, one of them would have eventually noticed her peeking through the windows when they were working the field. She couldn’t have stayed hidden forever, not with her staying the entire winter so she didn’t have to fight the cold.

Once Lindi closed the door to her home, she placed the bowl of food on the table and pulled open the neckline of her cream underdress.

“You were on your best behaviour that time,” she said warmly to her child nestled against her chest. “You didn’t even make a peep.”

She hadn’t quite appreciated Joshua and the others calling them a dog, but she had no other option but to let them believe that. When her child had been bashing and growling at the door while she’d been outside answering their questions, they’d enquired about the sound. Then they’d wanted to meet the little puppy, and Lindi had made every excuse under the sun as to why that wasn’t possible.

On the odd occasion, Joshua would try to strike up a conversation outside her door. He seemed more confident speaking with Lindi now that he had a wife, as if the potential of Lindi being one had made him nervous. Unfortunately, she would have preferred him to remain hesitant, rather than have her child going feral in his presence, as if they wanted to protect her.

They weren’t very keen on strangers.

At least that answered what would happen if she were to enter a town with them – a bad idea.

She wondered if that would get worse or better as they got older or, rather,bigger.It would definitely be harder to hold them back, since they were quickly gaining strength.

They’d grown over the past few months. What had once nestled perfectly in both her hands now overfilled them.

Lindi thumbed the sail fin that had begun to grow down their back, while her fingertips tickled against the softer ones running down the sides of their little forearms. When they breathed, a set of gills against their throat twitched but didn’t flare, but their flesh did glimmer with the minutest imprint of iridescent scales.

The changes weren’t extensive, but Lindi had grown hyperaware of every little thing about them. The size of them, the shape of them, and even the texture of their dark-grey flesh. They were still soft and squishy, as if they didn’t have a single bone in their body, but they were different.

They didn’t seem unhappy, so she didn’t mind. Whatever worked for them would be fine.

Lindi had grown utterly attached to them. She enjoyed playing with them, to the point that she moved all the furniture out of the way of the living area so they could chase her without bashing their head. She sang to them, cuddled them, told them stories.

Every waking moment was spent with them.

It was nice to have a companion, especially as trying to speak to Weldir had become pointless. He never answered, and she wasn’t sure if that was because he slumbered or was just ignoring her.

She had the impression she was being watched, but that paranoia had long become her life. Whether he was or wasn’t, Lindi knew currently she was alone. He had no answers regarding their strange child and could do nothing to assist.

He could only witness, which made him useless to her.

I don’t need him. I don’t need anyone.

She pulled her child from her dress and lifted them into the air. “It’s just you and me.” They let out a squeal in surprise until she pressed them against her face, and they held on as they nuzzled her back. “Do you want more fish? I’ll eat first and then take you to get more.”

The smell of the stew was making her mouth water, and she’d adore eating a home-cooked meal for the first time in years.

Then Lindi would take them to the river, as she did every day. Not every adventure was a success, but she didn’t mind spending part of her day fending for them. Now that autumn and winterhad passed, she found the iciness of the water wasn’t too bad, and she enjoyed listening to the sound of rushing water.

She played with them by the river and spent time with them outside, where there was no one to watch. They weren’t adventurous, but they were awake a little more throughout the day the bigger they got.

They also associated the sound of water with fish, and they now sat at the edge of the riverbank patiently waiting.

It showed they were intelligent underneath all that nothingness. In some ways, they came across as animalistic, and in others, otherworldly. Even after spending a little over seven months with them, she still didn’t know what to make of them.

They weren’t violent unless they scented fear or blood, they never appeared hungry despite her still feeding themjust in case, and they didn’t want to do anything but be near her. They slept most of the time, and the time they were awake was in short bursts, and only to crawl all over her until her hair was a tangled nest from them climbing into it.

Then again, it was easier than having a screaming baby to tend to. No, they were rather self-soothing and self-sufficient. All Lindi needed to do was let them cling, and she was able to move around as if they didn’t exist.

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