My Heart was Always in the Valley

Visitors

The sound of thunder woke Nora the next morning. The fire had died overnight and Nora had drifted off to sleep after Sebastian left. She lay in bed and wiggled the toes on her left foot, doing tiny circles with her ankle. It felt better but she knew it could use another day's rest. Thank Yoba for the rain. She snuggled deeper into her pillow, thinking about the events of yesterday. Dancing with Elliot, watching everyone dance in the field, and Sebastian driving her home. Bear whined at the sound of thunder in the distance and she reached out and scratched his head.

Unable to fall asleep again, Nora sat up and flipped through the pages of Cave Saga X. She hadn't lied, she really wanted to reread it. Before she started all over again, she flipped to the pages she dogeared, her favorite parts of the novel. An hour had passed when there was a knock at the door. Nora carefully rose from her bed and opened the door. Bear ran out and jumped on her unsuspecting guest.

"Hi Nora! Just coming by to see how you're doing. And oh hi!" It was Maru. Bear ran a few circles around her and licked her face, nearly causing her to lose her balance.

"Hi Maru! Come in! It's pouring." Maru stepped inside, leaving her umbrella outside the door.

"I bet your crops are happy. How does your ankle feel this morning?" She pulled a chair up to the bed where Nora sat.

"It feels better. I think it's going to be ok."

"Let me take a look." Maru picked up her foot and studied it carefully. She made small movements and peered up from her glasses to gauge Nora's reactions.

"Seems ok. Make sure to rest it as much as you can over the next few days."

"Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll rain again tomorrow." Nora wasn't lying.

Maru motioned for her to sit up on the bed and placed her foot on a pillow. She was so kind.

"What are you up to today? Do you want to hang out?"

"I wish I could. I have some experiments to work on with my dad." Maru seemed a little sad.

"That sounds interesting. What are you working on?"

"Just some soil samples. He has me analyze them and take notes."

"That sounds . . . kind of boring."

"It really is, I'd rather work on engineering or robotics."

"I wouldn't even know where to begin." Nora laughed. "I don't know how you do it. I was never good at those subjects when I was young."

"It's not too bad. Whenever I'm struggling with a technical problem, I always take a walk. It's surprising how much a change of scenery can help." Nora nodded in agreement. She definitely understood the need for a change of scenery, she uprooted her whole life for it.

"Can I get you anything? There isn't much, but I can make some tea."

"I don't need anything. Seb mentioned he had to use your well yesterday, I don't want you to do that. And I don't want to do it either. Maybe one day I'll help you install a state of art watering system."

"It's not that difficult." Nora rolled her eyes. "Basic plumbing and sprinklers would be nice though, nothing fancy."

"Is there really no running water in here?"

"I definitely wouldn't call it that. There's a makeshift shower and a chemical toilet. I think the water coming out of the shower should be safe to drink but generally I'd rather just get it from the well."

"Maybe I'll send Mom out here next time."

"Let me save up a little more gold first." They both laughed.