16. Maya
Itake Revnan to an old schoolhouse that I know no one ever comes to. After all, on our war-torn planet, who bothers with school? And there’s no way I can take him to my house. If anyone knew there was a wounded soldier just lying around, they’d kill him.
If it had been anyone else, I probably would have let them. But not this man. I don’t know why, but I know I have to keep him safe.
I push together a few old desks and use them as a makeshift cot for the soldier. As soon as he’s lying down, I check his wounds to make sure the stitches haven’t reopened.
Still sealed up. Good.
Then I start tending to his other wounds and washing away the dirt and grime. After all, it would be a shame to go through all that work only for his wounds to get infected.
When I’ve done all I can, I sit back on a dusty chair. Revnan gives me an odd look. I frown at him. “What?”
“I am trying to decide whether you are brave or incredibly reckless,” he muses.
I snort. “Somehow I think the two are usually connected. You have to be a bit reckless to do something brave.”
The soldier hums in thought. “Perhaps. Or maybe you simply have the conviction to do so.”
“Which many people would consider reckless.”
“Yes, but recklessness doesn’t always mean bravery. Sometimes it just means stupidity.”
I roll my eyes. “Where was this going again?”
He gives me a deadpan look, and I grin. “Oh, do you mean because I rescued an enemy soldier off the battlefield and am now risking my life to nurse him back to health? No, that seems pretty ordinary to me. Whatever could you possibly mean?”
A chuckle escapes him, and I can’t help but let out one of my own. He shakes his head. “Reckless then.”
“Recklessly brave or recklessly stupid?”
“Definitely recklessly stupid.”
I laugh again, and a strange sense of warm familiarity settles in my chest.
“Why did you save me?” Revnan asks quietly.
I open my mouth to answer only to realize I don’t really have a response. Everything leading up to saving him was almost all instinct.
So I shrug. “I just knew that I needed to. It was as if something was pulling me to be there to save you. Like I was destined to.”
I laughed a little when I realized how ridiculous this all probably sounded. “Or, you know, something like that.”
But when I meet his eyes, he almost looks understanding. “I’ve always felt like I’m at the beck and call of destiny. Like I’ve been guided my whole life to be exactly where I am. And when you came to save me, that felt like destiny, too.”
I stare at him, more than a little surprised. “Doesn’t that bother you at all? That you feel like you’re at the whim of destiny?”
He shakes his head. “No, it never feels like a whim. More like a purpose. Like it’s something that I’ve always been meant to do.”
I gesture around us. “I hate to break it to you, but this is where destiny has led you.”
But instead of looking around, he looks right at me. “Yes, it seems this is where I’m meant to be.”
Despite the circumstances, I can’t help but blush a little. He’s such a strange man, and all this is so strange. But despite all the strangeness around me, I don’t regret my choice to save him.
Over the next few weeks, I sneak back to the schoolhouse to check up on Revnan. I always make sure to either have some excuse about leaving or sneak out so no one sees me leave. There’s no telling what people would do to him if they found out about him. Or me, for that matter, for harboring him.
He slowly begins to heal and regain his strength. As I nurse him back to health, we begin to talk more. I tell him about everything going on in town, and he tells me stories of his troop.
As time goes on, our conversations become increasingly personal. I tell him about memories I have of invasions, and Revan recounts battles he’s fought in. Before I know it, I’ve confided in him more than anyone else I know.
Maybe it’s because he’s a stranger. I’ve heard that sometimes a person can tell more to a stranger than they can someone they’ve known their whole life.
But that doesn’t feel like the case to me. Everything about Revnan is so familiar, but no matter what, I can never really place why. It’s all in the curious looks he gives me, the way we banter with one another, or even the quiet moments. In all of it, I become more and more sure that I’m where I’m meant to be.
It isn’t always easy getting to him, though. In fact, in the time he’s been here, there have been more unusual occurrences than ever.
A windstorm that peeled the roofs off of houses. Acid rain that lasted for three days. A raging sickness in the town where every medically inclined individual was needed to help.
Whispers start to circulate in the town about bad omens. People say that all this tragedy means our world is on the brink of disaster.
I always snort when I hear those comments. Don’t they already know that disaster is already here?
Throughout all of it, though, I always fight my way to Revnan to check on him. Even though I’ve only known him for a few weeks, I can”t imagine not seeing him regularly now. I always look forward to our talks and his wry comebacks and curious looks.
Sometimes I stay so late that I even consider staying the night. But every time I quickly push that thought away. Especially when those daydreams begin to wander into… less-than-appropriate territory.
It is a particularly icy day today and I know logically I should be bundled up by a fire. But I need to check on Revnan, so I put on as many layers as I can and start the trek.
As I approach the schoolhouse, the first thing I notice is fresh footprints on the snow leading up to the doors. I freeze, and my heart pounds inside my chest.
Someone had gone in. Someone has probably already found Revnan.
As quietly as I can, I slip in the door and carefully make my way to where Revnan is. As I get closer, I begin to hear voices.
I move into the room housing Revnan and duck behind a bookcase. Slowly, I peek out to see who’s there.
Revnan is sitting up from his makeshift cot and is glaring at another soldier. My heart catches in my throat, and I duck back behind the bookcase.
For some reason, the sight of him makes me want to run. Something in my gut twists painfully, and I put my hand over it.
“I knew you were still alive! Everyone said I was crazy, but I could feel it inside me. Why haven’t you returned?” the stranger asks impatiently.
“I’m not exactly in a position to move,” Revnan growls.
“You look well enough now. Come on, let’s get you out of this shithole and back with the squad.”
“No.” The firmness in Revnan’s voice startles me a bit. “I’m not recovered enough yet to return. You know how our superiors get with anyone too weak to fight.”
“I also know how they deal with deserters.”
“Give me another few weeks to heal, and I’ll come and rejoin our team,” Revnan promises.
There’s a beat of silence before the stranger sighs. “Fine. But if you don’t show up soon, I can’t promise what will happen to you after that. You”ll go from MIA to AWOL.”
“Fine. And Wilkes, tell no one about this.”
“Oh, please. Do you really think –”
“Wilkes.” His voice brooks no argument.
“Very well, you have my word.” And then the strange Odex storms past me, thankfully not noticing my presence.
When I’m sure he’s gone, I come out from behind the bookshelf and stare at Revnan. There’s a wariness on his face and he doesn’t seem surprised to see me. We share a look, and I can see the conflict brewing within him.
Another few weeks go by, and Revnan is all but healed.
“Are you planning on going back to your troop?” I ask as I pull out his stitches.
Revnan looks grim. “I should. I’d be considered a deserter if I didn”t.”
I knew this would happen, and yet it still stings.
“But I don’t want to.”
My eyes snatch up to his. He’s looking at me with an intensity he’s never had before.
“I believe this is where I’m destined to be. That you are a part of that destiny.”
Hope ignites in me, but it’s abruptly cut short by his next words.
“But I also know that I can’t stay hidden here forever. And Wilkes will come after me if I don’t show.”
“So, what will you do?” I ask quietly.
He shakes his head. “I’ll worry about that when I’m closer to being fully healed.”
He and I both know he practically is, but neither of us is willing to point it out.