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"He'll be back tomorrow," I say for Juth's benefit as much as mine. "With Mardok and a translator. And they're going to help me back to the other camp. I hope you'll join us when we go." I smile brightly at him. "I know things are weird right now, but we'd love to have you."
Juth finally stalks away from the cave entrance, and he touches my leg gently, mindful of my ankle. "Does this pain you greatly?"
I wiggle my hand in a so-so indication. "It doesn't feel good." Even moving slightly makes me break out in a cold sweat of pain. "But I only have to put up with it for another day or so. It's all right. The healer will get me. I'm just lucky it wasn't more than that." Poor Elly—not only is she insanely pregnant but she got hit in the head. Bek must be losing his mind. I wish I was there to help defuse things. If ever the beach tribe needed a therapist, it's now.
And here I am, talking to two outcasts that don't understand a word I say…and words are my specialty. I bite back a sigh.
The day drifts by painfully slowly. There's nothing to do but sit in the cave. We can't really talk to each other. Or rather, they can talk to me, but I can't get Juth and Pak to understand my words, so conversation tends to be halting. There are no chores, either. No food to preserve, no leather to sew, no baskets to weave from dried seaweed. For the first time in what feels like forever, I have a day to just sit around and relax and it's absolutely miserable. It doesn't help that my ankle is throbbing, or that my backside aches. It's cold and there's no fire, no blankets, no comforts of any kind.
How do they stand it? How did the other clans on the island think that this is okay? It just further emphasizes how vulnerable Pak and Juth are. I'm determined—now more than ever—to get them to join us.
I just have to make it through the day and everything will be better tomorrow. I tell myself this as I lie flat on the uncomfortable rocks and rub my arms to chase away the goosebumps. When Pak starts to play with the discarded straps of my breast-bands, I feel like I can't exactly ask for them back. They have so little, after all. They can have a bit more leather. It's just nudity, I tell myself. Pak and Juth are naked, save for Juth's belt. And Pak has no toys that I can see. He just picks up a few rocks and plays with the leather and entertains himself. He's a good kid. He just deserves more than playing with a few rocks.
So I try to ignore how loose and uncomfortable it is having my boobs hanging free. I carefully turn onto my side and use my arm as a pillow, and catnap throughout the day. I wake up now and then to sit up and sip some water, but there's no food since we're conserving supplies, and we can't go out. The bellows of the creatures on the beach tell me that they're still there, even without me exiting the cave to see them. We're more or less stuck.
Between Juth making a few trips to get more water, there's not much to do. I play rock games with Pak, and we try to stack pebbles higher than the other person. It makes him giggle happily, and as far as afternoons go, if I ignore that I'm in pain, hungry, and trapped in a cave? It's kinda nice.
Night brings a fresh round of cold air and more lowing sounds from the creatures outside. I shoot Juth a worried look but he just shakes his head. "They are burying themselves deeper in the sand."
I wonder why. Devi would know, but she's on the other side of the beach.
Eventually Pak curls up against my back, petting my hair and holding onto a strand of it as he goes to sleep. It melts my heart, and I wonder if he feels lonely. I think of my own childhood, playing quietly or reading books so I wouldn't disturb my sick mother. I remember how alone I felt, and I want Pak to play with the other children so badly. He deserves to run around and scream and be silly with other kids his age. I'll have to talk to Juth about it later.
Tomorrow, when he gets the translator implanted. The thought of it is incredibly exciting. We're going to be able to have real conversations, him and I. They won't be one sided like they are now. I'm looking forward to that more than anything, and I bite my lip with anticipation. The sooner we go to sleep, the sooner the new day begins. So, curled up on my side, I pat the stone floor next to me and indicate Juth should join us.
