Birgitta the Nun

Part 41 - The Church

In the middle of a field, none too heavily burdened with crop, they chose to park their cart. The horse got some clean water from a bottle and fell asleep right away.

The wizard prepared their supper by a small campfire next to their cart. It was a sparse meal consisting of broth and rusks, which didn't make the nun content at all, having wished for the wizard's magical pancakes.

The merchant had left neither tent nor sleeping-bags at their disposal, and Charlie and Birgitta were stuck with the cart as their only shelter. It was that or sleeping under the stars. But that wasn't going to happen. They would have to fit.

The short nun had just enough room to stretch herself on the floor. But the long legs of the wizard hung out in the open, exposed to the chill and the sky. She tried to curl up into a ball, but the nun didn't want a crowd and shoved her long legs out of the cart again.

The sun was slow to set. They could see the fireball fuse with the crop of the fields, no trees or hills to hinder its descent down the horizon. When darkness finally took over, Birgitta remembered her being scared of the dark. She let the wizard fold her long legs inside the cart. The disturbing throng made her feel somewhat less afraid than when comfortable.

"You know," the wizard said, shoving her heels in the side of the nun, "I'm still friends with everyone I've ever met—I just don't meet them anymore."

"Good for you," the nun grunted, without meaning it to be condescending.

They were both loners, indeed—yet to Charlie friends meant something. She liked the idea of having friends, even though she didn't need them around. Whilst to Birgitta, friends - human ones in any case - meant nothing. The two of them, Birgitta and Charlie, would never reach a closer connection. They did very much enjoy shunning people together, but that didn't mean they wouldn't shun each other.

The next day the horse was as fresh as a primrose. She willingly let herself be harnessed and Birgitta and Charlie could continue their slow journey. Incidentally, all the action from the day before had humbled them, and they could enjoy the very slow drive now offered by the nag. Even the tedious and lame landscape seemed just exciting enough. They knew they were on their way and that was all that mattered. There was no use to hurry things.

The horse seemed quite confident and stomped on—if not fast, then at least with a lot of energy. Her passengers had caused her distress the day before - poisoning her with vile water - and this put her in an advantageous position today. They owed her, that much was clear, and she would not be late to put things straight. Some extra freedom would be her reward, she decided, and she made frequent detours to claim her right. If she felt like stopping for a short break, maybe to smell some flower or sniff a leaf or the like, she did so without asking permission.

The reins hung loose around the horse's neck. Neither Birgitta nor Charlie made any real attempt at controlling the vehicle. They barely noticed the short breaks of the horse. As custom had it, they were caught up in self-contemplation. This left everything but their own definite minds shut out—and the horse was free to roam the road.

After some time, after various skippings and small adventures, the horse did however arrive someplace. The fields melted into concrete and stonework. The small road broadened and flattened out. And so the nag brought the cart into a small village.

Charlie looked gloomy. She observed the small civilization with narrowed eyes and didn't seem content at all. Her eyes revealed she was familiar with the place, but that didn't mean she liked it. The cart rolled on without further instructions from the wizard. It crossed the village square, which was completely devoid of commercial activity. The hard drumming of the wheels against the cobblestones bounced off the circling façades, no people or stands there to catch the echo.

"Is this your village or what?" Birgitta asked. She waved her hand at the empty village, "Are we there yet?"

The wizard didn't answer but let the cart move on. A large church waited for them at the other end of the square. The horse didn't hesitate but seemed to know how to direct her steps. She pulled the cart up to the heavy gates of the churchyard and came to a halt.