20. Roan
Roan
I can’t believe they are going to leave me already. We had just met and now that damn bear was going to take her away. I was lost in my misery and nearly missed the offer that the beautiful Farren had posed to me.
There was no way I would turn down a chance to extend my time around the first people to see me in forever. So after the bear shifter had packed up everything, he shifted and lay flat on his belly so Fare could load him down like a pack mule.
Huh, I guess that’s one way to travel and save on expenses. I mused as I floated behind Fare and tried to help her mount. Trust this to be the hard limit of what I can do in regards to interacting with them.
At least she could get onto Locke’s back without my help, and even more importantly, neither of them seemed to notice my failure in regards to helping her. And since they didn’t comment, there was no reason I had to bring attention to that. So I moved in front of Locke and made a gesture that he was to follow me.
I only looked back a couple of times to make sure they were following me before I felt sure they trusted me enough for this task. There were only a couple of times that I accidentally erred in my guide duties.
The first time, I moved without thinking and when the first thick tree came into our path, I merely passed through it. Locke was more focused on making sure he kept me in sight and trotted face-first into the tree. When I heard the thunk and growl, I whipped around and would have flushed if I still had blood in my veins. I apologized profusely, I might add, as I made sure from there onwards that I wove around the trees.
The other time was not my fault. I will swear on that to this day.
We were nearing the edges of my territory and a stray group of hikers nearly stumbled upon our band. I didn’t even think. I flew back and slammed as much of my energy into Locke as I could and barely managed to get him far enough away from the trail that the humans passed by without seeing so much as a single grolar hair.
Despite my attempts to help, I got the feeling that the small amount of respect I had gotten from the shifter last night was drying up fast.
A couple of hours later, we made it to the farthest north that I’d ever been from the center of my once colonial home.
I swallowed hard and waved a hand before me to indicate that they should continue on.
“This is where we must part,” I stated with a heavy heart as I looked over the waves rolling in from the ocean.
I heard Fare asking Locke to let her down before she strode up beside me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her.
“You know, when I was alive, there was not much that I loved more than being in the water. When I finally came to terms with being a ghost, the first thing I did was return to the waves.” I laughed sadly at the memory. “There are not enough words ever penned to describe the pain I felt when I realized I could no longer feel the weight of the water. I could still smell the salt in the air and feel the wind that carried it, but even the rain would pass through me.” She moved out of the corner of my eye and I felt the subtle pressure of her hand on my back.
Strange, when I was the one to initiate touch between us, it was like I was flesh once more. But when she did, it was more like the memory of sensation.
“I’m sorry fate was so cruel to you. Maybe if I ever break my curse I’ll come back and build a little cabin in your woods?” she whispered.
My heart broke. She wasn’t sure about anything but her pity for me. If only I could stay by her side and remind her that there would always be tomorrow.