CHAPTER THIRTY
ALINA
After we finished our breakfast, Frid and I cleaned the dishes while Victor stayed in the kitchen watching us. Tynan left the house without saying much to anybody.
I looked out the window above the kitchen sink, for a moment seeing Tynan walking up the hill. Every move he made hypnotized me, he was so unbelievably good looking that I could not comprehend why Frid never seemed interested. She kept on talking about not going outside, still angry with Victor and his mere suggestion of trying on something feminine. My hands lathered the plates almost mechanically. I sighed and glanced up the hill. The crisp air, and the rays of sunlight that struggled to break free, created unrealisticpatterns on the grass below, despite the thick fog that settled on the ground, spilling slowly into the valley. I have never seen so many conflicting things all at once, but the result was breathtaking. Just admiring the view soothed my soul in more ways than one, offering me the peace that I forgot I needed.
“It’s so beautiful here.” I sighed.
“Yes, this place is special,” Frid muttered.
“You don’t like it here?” I asked.
Victor shifted his gaze from me to Frid, leaning back on the counter. I could not remember him ever being so quiet.
“I guess. It’s just that we went through so much growing up here.” Frid went completely silent.
“How so?”
“We were punished a lot,” she explained.
“Punished?”
“Yes, for everything we did, or didn’t do.” Frid stopped, picking up another plate.
“Who punished you? Your parents?”
“Sometimes, but mostly it was our clan leader.” Frid dried another plate.
Victor looked down and I thought I understood something about the bond all of them had together. They went through something unsettling when they were children, and I desperately wanted to know what happened, but It was not my intention to force any confessions from them.
“I’m so sorry. It must be hard to be here,” I said.
“No, it’s alright. She’s gone now,”
“She? It was a woman?”
A loud sound by the front door announced a newcomer. Moments later, Sol entered the room.
“Sol, we thought you forgot about us.” Victor picked up an apple.
“I stayed with my aunt,” Sol crammed into the tiny kitchen.
“How is poor, old Mirtha?” Victor asked.
“She’s very sick. I don’t think she has long,” the giant man responded.
“I’m so sorry,” I offered, but the others did not do the same.
“She wanted to play cards and I stayed up half the night playing.” Solomon added.
Victor chuckled and even Frid had a thin smile playing on her lips.
“I really want to take a walk. Do you think it’s dangerous?” I lowered my voice talking to the girl beside me.
“No, why?”
“Well, I’m new to this place and I don’t know anyone here. I don’t know your traditions.” I bit my lip.
