Every Glistening Night

Chapter Fourteen

My shoulder jostles back and forth. I gasp from sleep, eyes springing open. Moonlight illuminates an oval-shaped head looms over me, two wide brown eyes blinking down at me.

Ixek. He's come to collect the parcel.

I hastily finished his order yesterday, skipping my second meal to ensure that no one saw me with the strange piece of cloth he gave me. Many times, my fingers itched to lift the carefully creased corners and find out why Nal m'se was being so protective, and secretive of. But I resisted every urge as I pushed a needle with golden thread through the animal skin. I wouldn't betray the trust Nal m'se has in me. Fortunately, it wasn't long before the cloth was sewed inside, only to be retrieved by breaking the exterior thread.

"It's right here," I say. I reach underneath my pillow and hand him the animal skin.

Ixek turns the furry bundle over in his hands. A slight wrinkle forms in his brow. "And this is waterproof?"

I nod. My fingers clasp under my blanket. He doesn't see what makes the parcel special. I actually wove an extra lining inside the parcel to hide the sunlight thread, just to make sure it remains hidden.

Ixek shakes his head after a moment. "I don't know how you do it. But I'm trusting that you know what you're doing." His brown eyes focus on me. Under his scrutiny, I realize that he doesn't actually trust me, he trusts Nal m'se and her judgment.

It doesn't matter, I tell myself. Soon, he'll know for certain that it will repel water, after he does whatever he's supposed to with the parcel.

Ixek clears his throat. "I suppose that's all for now. Good work."

And with that, he leaves the cave, disappearing up the mountainside, into the night.

I lie back down, head resting against a bundle of blankets. A full moon brightens the camp with milky light. On nights like this, the stars beside it are overshadowed. But soon, the balance between the celestial spheres will even out as the moon shrinks.

Soon will be the next half moon, the deadline for the sunlight cloak.

***

"Guess what I brought." I can't help the grin on my face as I enter Mother's cave. I hold up the fragment of veraloe that Kletasuah gave me. "This will soothe your burns."

Mother blinks cloudy eyes at me. "You brought veraloe?"

I nod eagerly, setting my bag on the ground then racing to her side. Gently, I turn her left hand over. The hairline red marks that marbled her hands the other day are barely noticeable, no longer red or inflamed.

"Your skin is healing up nicely," I say. "You'll be..." I trail off. Saying anything about her being 'back to normal' is a lie, and we both know it.

"Where did you find that?" Mother asks, filling the silence.

I slide my thumb over the tight film that's grown over the split leaf. Gelly cools my fingers, and I gently spread it over Mother's leathery palms.

"Kletasuah gave it to me," I say. Pride laces my voice. Finally, I feel like I can do something useful for Mother aside from bringing her cold food and refilling her water every few days.

Mother frowns. "She's the healer now, is she? Old Earlhe gave up his ghost?"

I nod, though I cringe a little at her disrespect for the dead.

"Awfully kind of her to sympathize with my plight." Mother stares straight ahead, deadpan. She knows as well as I do that I didn't reveal who the veraloe was for. I scrape every last blob from the plant, smearing it on her other hand.