Henrik had barely been able to eat; he was so sick with worry. Even if Elias intended to return, anything could have happened to him in the Dark Forest. It wasn’t safe. And where would he have gone, anyway? Henrik had wracked his brain to think of anywhere and came up with nothing.
The forest was still and near silent as Henrik walked to the water spring. He came here every single day like Elias would miraculously appear and they’d just not spotted him before.
When Henrik had finally accepted that Elias was missing, he’d searched through Elias’ belongings and found a bag, Elias’ warmest clothes, and one of the blankets missing along with a meagre amount of food. The only reassurance Henrik could take from it was that it did make it more likely that Elias hadn’t been taken.
Reaching the spring, Henrik cupped his hands under the small waterfall and brought the near-freezing water to his mouth to drink.
Where are you, Eli?
Why would you leave us behind without a word?
What if you don’t return, and Johan never utters a single word to me again?
Henrik plonked himself down on a mossy rock and held his face in despair. He wept until he could hardly breathe. When hefinally managed to clear his vision through the tears, a little bird had landed on the rock next to him.
A blue and orange bird. A kingfisher.
“Is it you who gave your feather to Elias?” he asked the bird. “Did he tell you where he planned to go?” Henrik sniffled.
The bird obviously didn’t reply, it just stood there and cocked its head to one side curiously.
“What do your feathers mean, little bird?”
At that, it tweeted and flew away, leaving Henrik all alone again.
He trudged back home to a place that didn’t feel much like home without Elias in it.
When he returned, he found Johan outside working on the house like he had done tirelessly every moment since Elias left.
The first day, Henrik had spoken, and Johan had responded with head shakes and nods, but the second day, Henrik had stopped bothering. Other than a sanity-questioning conversation with a small bird, Henrik hadn’t uttered a word in days, and he was beginning to feel as though he might explode.
As he wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and sat by the window, he wondered who Elias was talking to right now. Henrik knew that Elias would befriend a tree before he’d go this long without speaking, and at least that thought made the corners of Henrik’s mouth tug in the whisper of a smile.
O
n the fifth day, Henrik woke up angry.
Angry with Elias for departing without a word. Angry with the Queen for leaving them no choice but to live in the middle of nowhere. And lastly, he was angry with Johan.
Henrik woke up alone again, the sun hadn’t even risen yet and he could hear the hammering of wood outside that told him Johan had already started building for the day. He wondered if Johan had even slept for more than a couple of hours before he’d got back to work.
What was even the point of building a new home without Elias? Henrik could hardly stand to look at the new structure, resenting the space he feared would never be filled by his larger-than-life love.
After grabbing his clothes from nearby and tugging them on furiously, Henrik stomped outside.
“What if he never comes back?” he yelled. “What if he’s hurt, or—or—or dead, do we just wait here forever?”
Johan stared at him startled and used the back of his hand to wipe some of the sweat from his brow. He looked pleadingly at Henrik before wordlessly turning away and picking his hammer back up, continuing on with his job like Henrik hadn’t uttered a word.
Henrik lost it.
“Maybe I should leave too, then! You do not seem to care if I am here or not!” Henrik’s entire body was trembling.
Johan shook his head. He stopped what he was doing but just sat there, appearing frozen to the spot.
“So, what? You will just never speak to me again?”
Johan glared at that.
