The Book of Glass

In the Vineyards (7)

Emory held Shay back as she screamed in horror. In the distance, fire colored the twilight sky. It raged on, its flames consuming everything around it. Tears streamed down her face as she held her, restraining her grief with her arms.

It was gone.

"This is my fault."

Emory smiled at Ingrid as she slipped a few packages of herbs and mixtures into the horse's saddle. "Thanks. Hopefully we won't be needing those."

"Well, if we don't they'll make a good tea." Ingrid tried to smile but couldn't look Emory in the eye. She couldn't look anyone in the eye. They all watched her, their glares burning into her skin. No longer was she hiding from them. Gone was her old gray hair and sagging skin. They sneered at her beauty, cursed at her beneath their breath.

All this time they had been living with a witch in their village. All this time they had let a witch hide within their village. Ingrid kept her head down, afraid that one look would end a life. If that happened, she knew that that life wouldn't be her own.

"I've never liked tea," Shay joined in the conversation as she threw a blanket over the back of the horse. She turned to her companions with a nod. "That's everything. It's time to say goodbye."

"To who?" Ingrid sighed before grabbing the lead of the horse. "I'll bring this guy over to where the vineyards start. Don't take too long."

Emory and Shay turned to the crowd of people who had gathered before them. Many of them bore carnations, gathered from their personal gardens. Emory looked to a few of the other young women she had come to know. They weren't quite friends, but they were close enough. A few older people went up to Shay, wishing her a good journey, but the girls approached Emory with an object.

"We wanted to thank you for everything you had done for us." Quinn, a girl only a few years younger than Emory handed her the rectangular item, wrapped in a scrappy clothe. "It isn't much," she chuckled and gestured to the girls around her. "We just thought you might like it, so..."

Shay looked over and watched as Emory smiled in thanks before unwrapping her gift. It was a book. The face was leather, and the pages were well-worn with the hands of past readers. Flipping it open, a drawn map of Eden greeted her eyes. She looked for a second longer before flipping through the rest of the pages to see that it told the history of Eden. "A history book?"

"Just a small one. Every so often you mention wanting to see more of Eden, and we thought this might help you decide on where to go. For when you finally get a break from all of this." Another girl chimed up, excited to explain their gift.

Emory began to give the girls hugs, and Shay was pulled away by more people to where she couldn't see her friend. All of the people worshipped Shay, but she couldn't shake the feeling that none of them really loved her. Not in the way they loved Emory.

"Daughter, we have been blessed to have you this long. Please, accept our gifts in the name of Rosalind." An older man grabbed Shay's hand, placing in it a carnation and a few coins.

"Oh, I can't accept this." Shay tried handing the money back but he refused, shoving her hand away.

"You'll need to buy something eventually."

More people came forward, sitting flowers at her feet and coins within her hands. When her hands ran out of space, they offered her their satchels to carry it in. "The wine harvest is soon, and we'll be back out to sell. Take it, we don't need it now."

"Wait! Daughter, please, bless us." A young man rushed to Shay, holding the hand of his fiancé. "Your blessing would mean the world to us."

"Oh, of course." Shay grabbed their hands, reciting the blessing she had been giving out for years. "Upon dark red carnations you will wed in promise that your love for one another is true, and Rosalind will watch over your marriage with happiness, just as she will watch over the children you bare."