Jay's Journey

Chapter 3

"Get back here!"

"Stop right there!"

"As a guard I demand you to stop!"

It was impossible to tell which guard was shouting what. Jay's hands were full of clothes, and he was sprinting alongside Vayen and Zira. The ground was a blur, and the loudest sound was the whooshing of wind past Jay's ears. Villagers looked at them in mixes of annoyance, bewilderment, and disgust, but didn't intervene.

The three had gotten into the village early that morning to immediately beeline for the well. Each of them drank a sizeable portion of the bucket on their own, and Jay distinctly remembered his aching head cheering in relief. Then, after stealing a few vegetables from someone's garden, they opted for sprinting past a house, stealing clothes off a drying line, and trying to slip away. Only Vayen had tripped, cried out, and alerted someone. They had originally come over to help, but easily saw that the three kids were stealing.

So now they were here, at least half of the village's standing guards charging after them. Thankfully, the sound of their clunky armor was receding.

And then, the children broke the treeline. Even carrying bundles of various garments, some of which had fallen from their hands, they far outpaced their pursuers. They had gotten good at navigating the local forests, and here it wasn't nearly as dense. Soon, the guards lost sight of them, and it was probably hard to hear the children over their own clattering armor.

Then, the sounds completely died down. Whether they were too far away or their pursuers had simply given up, it didn't matter. All of them collapsed. They had sprinted for far longer than they usually did, and their couple days of starving and dehydration were now catching up to them.

"Well, let's get an idea of what kind of clothes we've gotten." Zira declared. Each of them laid out their spoils they had managed to hold throughout the entire chase.

There were five shirts. Some of them were petite pale blouses, but others were more bulky work shirts. There were three pairs of paints. One pair was loose, flowy, and baggy, a cream color that stood out brightly against the duller colors of the earth. The other two were more closely matching, and they were large, thick, and durable.

In all of the commotion, Zira had managed to steal herself a new pair of boots. Vayen tossed aside a delicate bonnet, a beige skirt, and a white apron. For some reason, Jay couldn't help but stare at them.

"Jay, these are a lil' big, oh well!" Vayen said, tossing the pants and shirt at Jay. He was startled by them, and he looked up to see Vayen shoving the blouse and baggy pants into Zira's hands. He then retrieved a shirt and pair of pants not unlike the ones he'd given to Jay.

The barrage of thoughts breaking into Jay's headspace came from nowhere. Why was he given the same things as Vayen? The two weren't even remotely comparable. It wasn't even because of Vayen's personality. No, there was a deeper difference than that. But it felt like it was being glossed over, and it made Jay clench his fists tightly. Did Vayen not see it? Did Zira not see it? Did Jay even see anything? He did, but it was a foggy outline, a shimmering silhouette that suggested a presence, but the actual nature of it was hidden by the mirage. Jay gave up, it had to be a pointless fight, but was it?

Then, Jay heard it. His panting had died down enough for him to hear the forest. Among the sounds was the motion of water.

"Ummm, I'll be gone for a second." Jay said. He took the clothes, but then glanced at the skirt. It probably belonged to the woman of the household they had stolen from. Jay picked it up, and he also picked up the bonnet. He could recall his mother wearing such things back on the farm. But, the memory made him nervous and uncomfortable, so he pushed it away.