Revenance

Chapter 2

Mira couldn't stop thinking about Tajo in the days that followed. She wanted to see him again. She wanted to learn everything about him. She wanted to know everything she could. Her school books and any spare paper she could find were covered in drawings of him and the dreams she had of him in the night. Mira couldn't focus while she was helping her mother or feeding the animals in the barn. The only thing she could think about was him.

Her family never found out about her lone expedition into the forest. The chokeberries were quickly put to use and no one questioned Mira's story about how she got them from an abandoned garden on the other side of the village.

Mira's mother made medicine for the sick people in the village, though the people who worked at the local church were always on edge around her. How could someone do so much with just a few plants? Though since there was no real proof that she'd done anything bad or evil, they were left with their suspicions and distant glances.

Mira was aware of what the village thought of her strange family who lived on the edge of the forest, with the mother who was an outsider and the daughter who was more eccentric than a child should be.

One afternoon, the first rainfall of the spring season came through while Mira was feeding the chickens. Her mind was elsewhere when her brothers walked up to the chicken coupe, their boots and trousers covered in mud. The taller one, Hayden, hit the side of the coupe, shocking Mira out of her daydream.

"Hey, how long are you gonna stand there? The chickens have got enough food, Mira," Hayden said.

She turned to look at the two of them. "Right, sorry."

The shorter one, Oskar, sighed with indignance. "How many times are you gonna keep apologising? Just get your chores done like everyone else."

"Oh... okay I'm sor—" Mira swallowed her words. "Yeah ..." She slowly picked herself up and pulled the drawstring bag of seeds shut.

Before she could walk out of the coupe, Hayden blocked the doorway. "You're not gonna just start another task and then zone out again, are you? Living in daisy fuckin la la land all day long. It's pathetic."

Oskar stepped forward. "Whatcha even dreamin about in there?" he said, flicking Mira's forehead. "It's not like you've got anything to be happy about."

She glanced between them both. "It's ... it's none of your business..."

Hayden rolled his eyes. "What bullock." He grabbed Mira by the hood of her cloak and threw her out into the rain, sending her flying into the mud.

The two of them laughed as they loomed over her, and a sick feeling of embarrassment coiled in Mira's stomach.

"Oh, and Father told me to come and fetch you for supper. Sorry I didn't say that before, Broken Mirror." Hayden laughed once again before turning away towards the house, Oskar following behind him.

Mira was on the verge of tears, but she refused to let herself cry. Slowly, she pushed herself out of the mud and began making her way to the house, her dress covered in mud and dripping wet.

Once inside, she removed her shoes and quickly ran to her room before anyone could see her. She pulled on a clean dress after changing out of her muddy clothes and straightened out her hair before walking to the dining room.

Her brothers were already sitting at the table with her father, and she avoided eye contact as she took her seat next to her mother's seat. Mira stared at the table as her mother walked in with plates of food. She placed them in front of everyone at the table.

As her mother took her seat, she noticed how dejected Mira appeared. With a sigh, she looked at Hayden and Oskar. "So, did you two get your chores done today?"