Below the Sky

Chapter 32: Riana

I shook Lila awake the next morning. She groaned, but when I whispered to her that it was time to leave, she sat up. "What time is it?" She moaned.
"It's early, that's all," I said, "come on Lila, you have to wake up, it's time to leave."
Eventually I did convince Lila to climb out of bed, and then finally we got ready to leave. We dressed in simple clothes, just enough to stay warm, but not overheat. Then we grabbed our bags that we had packed the night before, and snuck out of the room.
Silently, we creeped down the stairs, towards the front door. I held my breath the entire time we moved, my fingers entwined with Lila's. What if we woke someone, and they discovered our leaving. We made it to the door though, unscathed, safe.
I turned the knob, about to push the door open when Lila tugged on my sleeve. "We should at least leave a note," she said.
I sighed, slightly annoyed. Lila was right, leaving a message on our absence was the right thing to do, but that didn't mean it was what I wanted. Still, I let go of Lila, and tiptoed to the kitchen. Then I grabbed a piece of paper, and pen, and scribbled quickly why were leaving and how grateful we were for the Davis's kindness. I left the note on the kitchen table, pinned under an empty water glass. Then I returned to Lila's side, and pushed open the front door. We spilled out into the cold morning air.
A blast of deja vu hit me suddenly, hard. It was a few weeks ago again, and the middle of the night. Me and Lila were standing on the Davis's front porch, Lila practically collapsed, and me pounding on the door, praying for someone to answer. That was another time though, a more vulnerable time. So I shook away the memory, and pulled Lila away from the Davis house.
I could tell that leaving pained Lila, even if it had been her idea. She had grown attached to the Davis's, and Abby too. I shared that disarray, but Lila was right, it was time to go.
We stole one last glance at the house, then picked our packed bags up, and start trekking forward. The sun had not yet risen, and therefore light hadn't yet engulfed the world. It wasn't too hard to see, and me and Lila didn't really struggle with finding our way. The air was crisp, not hot but not cold either. It promised a chilly fall, then a frigid winter. Even though it was only the beginning of August, if the early mornings brought on a colder temperature, who knows what the later seasons would show.
After about an hour of walking, me and Lila decided to stop. We guessed that we would reach the town in maybe another hour, or more. Then, once the sun had crested the horizon and people were starting to awake, we would go to the coffee shop we had visited not so long ago. There we would search for Elijah, then convince him to provide us shelter.
We rested for maybe fifteen minutes, then we started moving again. Lila was starting to grow tired, carrying her heavy bag. I too felt fatigued, but I didn't show it.
Finally we reached the town. The sun had long since risen, and I figured that the Davis's probably were awake by now. Meaning they would have found my note, and discovered that me and Lila were gone. We trudged forward, rubbing the exhaustion from our eyes. Through the town we moved, before we reached the coffee shop.
I let go of Lila's hand, and opened the door of the café. Some bells rung as I pulled the wood, but they weren't too loud. Me and Lila chose the same booth we had sat in last time we had came here, and sat down. We stowed our bags below the table.
Finally, we could rest. I was so, so tired. Lila clearly felt the same, because as soon as she sat, she rested her head in her arms. We had been walking for close to two hours, in pitch darkness, with heavy bags filled with all our necessities. We were ready to rest.
A kind looking waiter approached our table, asking for our orders.
"Is she okay?" He pointed his pen at Lila, concern written all over his face.
"She's just tired," I said, stifling a yawn. I order an iced coffee with creamer and almond milk for both me and Lila. The waiter scribbled it all down on his pad of paper, and with a short smile he walked away.
Once the barista was gone I scouted the store for Elijah. I looked through all the booths, and tables, but still didn't spot him. I figured that he maybe wasn't awake yet, or he simply hadn't made it to the small shop. My anxiety grew though as every booth I scanned didn't consist of Elijah.
Eventually the waiter came back to our tables with our drinks. He held them in a drink carrier, even though there were only two, and set them on our table.
"Thank you," I said to him, then he walked away. "Lila," I nudged her with my finger, "your coffee's here." Lila started awake, looking around. She finally noticed her drink, and reached for it.
I sipped some of my coffee, still looking for Elijah. I was tired, stressed, and just wanting to find somewhere to stay. Then a new worry dawned on me. The Davis's were surely up by now, which means they would have already found the note. And if they found the note, they might have gotten worried and ignored my saying that me and Lila couldn't stay with them any more, and sent out a search party. We weren't that far away from their tiny home, meaning that we could easily be found. The fact of the matter was I needed to find Elijah, and fast.
"Has he arrived yet?" Lila asked. Sleep still showed on her face, wanting to pull her back in. I figured a few sips of coffee would wake Lila up though.
"No," I said. I sucked some of the liquid out of my cup, and sighed. It wasn't too bitter, but wasn't that sweet either. The perfect combination.
Minutes passed, and still there was no sign of Elijah. My hope was dwindling, and I didn't know how long I could go before my anxiety won over.
Then I heard a soft ringing, and someone pushed through the front door. Elijah walked into the shop, heading to a booth on the other side of the room.
"Lila, look," I looked in his direction, showing her where Elijah was. Lila's eyes widened with relief at the sight of him, her hope of finding a good place to stay flaring.
"We need to go over and talk to him," I said.
"Ya, okay." I watched as a waiter approached his table, asking for his order. It felt so good, like taking a warm shower after a long day, to see Elijah walk in. Maybe he wouldn't welcome us into our home, or he will turn out to be not a great person. This was a step in the right direction though, of finding our own paths. Carving a new trail after our last one had been thrown out of our lives.