Page 97 of Fallen Thorns
Their eyes…
They stopped nodding in unison and blinked.
Oh.
I spentthe remainder of the journey saying as little as possible. Neither of them questioned me.I’m so sorry.
* * *
My home wasthe next village over from Rani’s, so we parted ways and arranged to meet in a couple of days. Mars followed me to my house, and they were quick to bring up the sleeping arrangements. Mars was adamant that I should remain in my own bed and thattheywould gladly take the couch, but I refused, and I contacted my mother in advance with the decision. She would have never allowed a guest to stay in anything but a freshly made bed.
The taxi crossed over the stone bridge; misty lamp-lit gardens and paint-chipped fences being our only view through the headlights. In daylight, you could make out hills for miles, and watch the village rise up into the mountains; church spires and telephone poles standing side by side amongst slate roofs and smoking chimneys. All of this was invisible in the dark.
It had been raining heavily that day and we stepped out straight into a drain puddle. The taxi driver hopped out to assist, joking to us that we would probably have preferred staying in whatever city we came from. I faked a gentlemanly laugh and thanked him.
The clock tower opposite us was illuminated ominously as usual, despite the door below it having been bolted for years. The air was damp and smoky, just as I remembered it. It was as if I’d never left.
Mars walked ahead after I told them where the front door was. The sensor light triggered, then seconds later, the living room was aglow, and we were greeted by a barking Bess.
“Cool house,” they observed, staring up at the chapel windows on the side.
“It’s tiny on the inside. If you look there, you can see it’s actually divided up into four.” I pointed with my free hand to where the neighbours rose-covered fence began.
“Still, a lot of history there.”
“Definitely.”
I had spent most of my life inventing scenarios of things I believed might have happened within those walls. People around the village would always tell us ghost stories about it, with my mum deducing that they were probably just trying to scare her off since she was considerably younger than most other residents when she first moved in. I used to sometimes exaggerate these dramatic stories with whoever wanted to listen at school, using it as a way to make friends.
“I’ll let you go first.” Mars held back and dropped their bag on the gravel driveway. I turned the corner to the garden gate, the gush of the stream sounding out the back. Neighbouring kitchen lights glowed behind the trees on the other side. Everything was the same as it always was and I smiled inwardly, rummaging for my keys.
A loud bark came from inside again, and the door opened before I was successful in locating my own keys; Bess pounding outside and diving straight over to me. I dropped my bags and bent down so she could leap up and lick my face, muddy paws clambering up my mac. My Bess. I missed her so much.
Bess stayed for a few seconds, then backed away suddenly. Panic shot through me.She knows,I thought, but she then made her way over to Mars and welcomed them the same way she would any stranger.So, what’s different?You know the answer to that.
My mother stood in the doorway, tears brimming her eyes. She was dressed in a white knitted jumper, one she normally only wore for special occasions.
“Come here, my boy.” She stretched out her arms to me and I stepped over to embrace her, bending down so she could tuck her head into my shoulder. I leaned into her warmth, and she pulled me away slightly, beaming as she gazed at my face. She pulled me back in again so she could smother my face in kisses. I would have been embarrassed, but after hearing about Mars’ own relationship with their mother, I knew they wouldn’t care.
“Oh, come in, come in,” she ushered us both towards the doorway. “It’s absolutely freezing!” And with that, she moved aside to let me through, then slipped outside to retrieve Bess who was excitedly jumping over Mars’ legs, rooting them in place.
“See, she loves me already, Arlo,” Mars shouted, unable to move. They looked at my mother, grinning. “It’s lovely to meet you, Miss Everett. Thank you for letting me stay with you!”
We invented the excuse that Mars had always wanted to visit the Lakes as they were an ‘avid walker’. Their ‘just a few days’ would inevitably turn into a week, and, if Mars felt necessary, the entire two weeks I planned to stay.
“Pleasure to meet you too, Mars. I’ve heard many great things about you,” she reached down for Mars’ dropped bag, “and please, just call me Mel.”
Mars mouthed up to me with a smirk, “manygreat things?”
I shrugged, my mum may have been slightly exaggerating, as usual.
“Oh, please, I can carry my own bag!” Mars patted my mother away from their bag in the politest way I’ve ever seen anyone complete that action.
Once we were all inside, with Bess still focused more on Mars than myself, my mother busied herself with boiling the stove kettle and I told Mars to make themself at home in our tiny living room, big enough for the two small sofas, a box television and a tragically blocked up fireplace.
They made no hesitation in flopping down onto the nearest couch. “I tell you what, that was a much longer journey than I expected. Are you sure we’re only just across the country?” they said it loud enough for my mum to laugh from the other room.
“And I was the one who told him Carlisle would be much easier. I went to Cumbria, and I turned out alright,” she piped up, slamming the fridge door shut in three attempts.Still faulty then.
