As we head over to an area covered with bushes, I notice Rhun keep looking behind us. I look over at him and raise an eyebrow.
"You okay?"
He looks at me with no expression.
"Of course, just making sure your sinha doesn't follow us!"
I shrug and stop at a sheltered spot.
"Let's stay here."
The two boys nod and I scavenge through my bag, pulling out my bed sheet and pillow. I lay it down and Rhun places his beside mine, and I put Wecans beside me as well. Rhun pulls out a granola bar and sits on his make-shift bed. I grab from my bag crackers and split them with Wecan. As we eat, Wecan sighs.
"When are we going to see mom again?"
I tell him reassuring him.
"3 days, just 3 days."
He nods, yawns and rests his head on his pillow.
"Goodnight Añuli"
"Goodnight Wecan"
I smile as Wecan drifts off into sleep. I sit there, watching him carefully and Rhun seemed to notice.
"You seem to be acting like a mother, Sakura. Does he realize your mom isn't coming back?"
I make sure Wecan's asleep and I sigh.
"No. He thinks my mom will be at the tree. But you can never give up. Right?"
He looked at me, his blue eyes piercing me.
"Right."
He smiled, causing me to smile. He grabbed a loose strand of my hair and twirled it In his fingers.
"Such a gorgeous girl, stranded with 2 boys, one younger, and one older. One a cute 6 year old and one an ugly 17 year old. Such a shame!"
He looked at me with a glint of amusement in his eyes. My mind whirls as I look at his completion. I stammer.
"Your not ugly, your handsome!"
As soon as I fumbled with those words I regretted it. Maybe I said it in my mind, I think.
"Ah, Añuli, what a wonderful thing to say! How handsome am I would you say? A 10 out of 10, eh?"
He said, smiling at me with his pearly whites. I blushed and turned away.
"Did I say that out loud?"
He laughed then rolled his eyes.
"I think we should sleep as well, or in the morning we won't be sunny side up! More like a sunny side down egg."
I laid down and closed my eyes. He mumbled to himself, but I could faintly hear. He said in Hindi,
"Mujhē āpase pyāra hē"
That's the final thing I heard before I drifted off into sleep.
YOU ARE READING
The Canopy Tree
Teen FictionAñuli was a normal girl, living with her tribe in the Kenya. Everyday she would stare out her cracked and stained window, looking across the river beside her house. There stood a tall, elegant, canopy tree. She would stare at its curving trunk, desi...
