Wolf Blood

Grandma's book.

She placed the mug of beer in front of Kilian.

The boy smiled at her, took the mug, and then placed the rim against pink lips, taking a nice sip.

"Why did you decide to return to Galway?" he asked her after placing the mug on the counter.

"I needed a change of scenery, especially since my father's partner decided to come and live with us" replied the girl, making another beer for a customer who had approached the counter.

"Is she younger than your father?" the raven asked.

"Yes, she's six years older than me," Niamh replied, wiping the counter with a cloth.

"I would have left too if my father had shown up with someone my age" Kilian exclaimed giving her a small smile.

"So... most citizens are fishermen?" Niamh asked so as not to let the conversation die.

"Yes, it's the most profitable job, since we don't only sell to the citizens of Galway but also come from nearby villages" Kilian replied taking another sip of beer.

"And you people from Galway only go out to Galway or do you move around?"

"We stay in Galway, it's usually the others who come here"

"And tell me" - Niamh handed another beer to a customer - "were you and I friends when we were little?"

"Yes, best friends. I remember that one time we were playing in your grandmother's garden, and I don't know how you managed to get your knee stuck in the wooden gate"-Kilian took a sip of beer-" and to help you I got stuck in my time"

Niamh smiled at that memory even though she didn't remember anything. Maybe since she had left and therefore had no longer seen Kilian, had she forgotten the memories in which the boy was present?

Kilian perhaps understood her sadness and placed his hand on hers. Niamh couldn't help but notice some scars on his back, they looked like scratches but stubbier and deeper.

"It's time for me to go. I have to wake up early to set sail!" Kilian exclaimed, placing some coins on the counter and then getting up.

"Ah..bye!" Niamh exclaimed, smiling at him.

She saw him walking among the people who were inside the pub. Everyone moved in his path as if they were afraid to touch him. He opened the door and disappeared outside, letting the cold evening air change the temperature of the room. She would have to get used to it.

*****

She had always liked the morning air, especially after it had rained. She took deep breaths and savoured that fresh, new air that filled her lungs and she couldn't help but smile, because when she lived in London with her father, the only smells she smelled in the morning were Emily's hairspray and the smell of car exhaust pipes.

It was only half past six in the morning but she was already up. All night she had had a strange sensation as if she had a large boulder on her stomach. She had also tried going to the bathroom, thinking that perhaps having moved house her body was getting used to it, but that wasn't the case. So she thought she'd get up anyway and go for a walk in the countryside and then come back to the warmth.

She washed and put on something warm, not that she had a choice since her father still had to send her the rest of her wardrobe, so she opted for the only things she had, some black winter tracksuit bottoms, then put on a sleeveless bodysuit long flesh-coloured shoes and an orange fleece sweatshirt on top and padded boots on the feet. She was a cold girl.

She walked for less than an hour since it was too cold so she returned home and sat on the sofa in front of the lit fireplace. There she had left her grandmother's diary, which she had yet to read, so she made herself comfortable and began reading. The diary was a mix of Latin, Gaelic and English and she struggled just to read the first page so she started flipping through it randomly until a drawing caught her attention. It was a very large tree, the branches went in all directions and the trunk was enormous, under the drawing there was a sentence written in Gaelic: