Ralph and the Pixie

‘Theuli, too,’ said Pran, knowing what Ralph meant, watching his wife as she slept. Indicating Deborah with a nod, he said, ‘That one concerns me. In some ways she is hardly more than a child herself, and it seems she has known little kindness. I wonder if she has not come here to find healing, but rather to lose herself.’

Ralph shrugged. ‘I like to think that she’ll find here what Malina found in my world. She was long overdue for a change. Besides, there’s something that she needs in her life. I used to think it was me, but it’s not. It’s something else . . . not that sort of thing at all. One thing is certain, though: she was never able to find whatever it was she was looking for in the world we came from.’

‘That may be,’ Pran replied. ‘But that doesn’t necessarily mean that she will find what she needs in this one.

‘As for the rest of us,’ he said, starting to rise, ‘for the moment, I think we should have our breakfast and begin breaking camp. We must be under way soon.’

As the camp came to life, breakfasting around cooking fires and preparing to depart once more, Nevana left her family to walk alone, listlessly, aimlessly. Durus, following her daughter with her eyes, scowled, knowing full well the reason for Nevana’s foray. The jealous possessiveness that passed for the love of her husband and children welled up in her bosom.