Faith and Trust

Quarrels and Schemes

She stared at him, her mouth open in horror. For a few seconds she was frozen like that, and then she started to laugh. It wasn’t a happy laugh, it sounde false and slightly crazy. “Oh, I get it. This is one of your pranks, isn’t it. Grandpa said you loved to play tricks on people.” But as  Jack continued to look solum, the smile faded from her face and she stopped laughing. “You're not kidding, are you.”

“I wish I was” Jack said heavily. “I’m sorry”

“Why!” Her voice was rising, and it no longer had it’s usually bubbly quality. “Why did they give up!”
“I don’t kn-”

“So they’re just giving up on us!  They’re just leaving the world to Somus, or whatever his name was!” She laughed bitterly. “My Grandpa believed for as long as he lived. He was ridiculed for tried to get others to believe. Almost nobody talks to me or is allowed to talk to me, because I try to restore faith. And the moment that the Guardians are back, they give up because they’ve met a difficulty!”

“Don’t you think I’ve tried” Jack shouted back “You think I just sat back and let them give up. I tried to convince them to come back, and when they didn’t listen I came here to find the last light.”

“Oh, well done. You’ve found me, now what are you gonna to do? There’s only one of you, and the least known Guardian. You don’t have a holiday. What’s your plan?” Mira folded her arms and looked expectant.

Jack glared at her and then looked down at the ground. He was silent for a few minutes, before snapping “Fine, I don’t have a plan” He looked up and glowered at her, daring her to be smug. Instead he saw her face fall, and realised that she had hoped and wanted him to have a solution.

He sighed. “Look, that doesn’t mean that I can’t come up with one. I can go try to talk to the other Guardians again and we could come up with a plan together.”

“Ok” Mira said. “Why don’t you try tonight, and we talk in the morning. I need to get home soon.”

They started walking back down the path “Strict parents?”

“Huh? Oh, no! I just have lots of school work to do. Mom...well she doesn’t really notice when I get home. She hasn’t really kept track of that since Dad…” She trailed off into silence.

“He’s gone?” Jack asked tentatively

“No-well yes, but not in the way you’re thinking. He’s not dead, he just was there one day...and gone the next” Mira’s voice shook.

“I’m sorry” Jack said

“It’s alright...Well, no it’s not alright. I’ve gotten used to it. I just...I wish I knew why he left.” She sounded dangerously close to tears now. There was a silence.

“I grew up without a Dad too.” Jack said finally “He was a sailor, and died at sea when I was five. Mum moved us to the colonies-America, I mean. She wanted to get away from all the memories back home”

“I’m sorry” Mira said. They walked the rest of the way to Mira’s house in silence. When they got to the front door Mira opened it, and Jack turned to leave.

“Wait!” Jack turned back to her, and Mira gave him a hug. “Thank you” She said into his hoodie, and then ran inside.

Jack stared after her, slightly confused, before taking a snow globe portal from inside his hoodie pocket. “The Warren!” He smashed it onto the pavement and walked through.