Moongrace

Part 24

The next day Eleeza was doing the washing together with Zoe. The others were on the round field cropping grass to make hay. This was a really wearing task she had been told, taking a least a week depending on the weather. However, Eleeza held the washboard and scrubbed linens. Zoe was doing the same next to her and told her stories. This had become their habit while washing. After every piece Eleeza had washed she held it up and Zoe checked if there were any major strains left on it. It was fun and Eleeza liked it, even though she had to wash clothes again and again. In such moments, it annoyed her to what extent her blindness disabled her. Then she was happy when they were done. Anyhow she was used to this work from the time in the castle when she had to do a lot of worse things.

Zoe's stories were great. She was not only a gifted storyteller but the tales were mostly from her life. Including a lot of childhood stories of Evan which Eleeza just loved to listen to.

Zoe was just at the punch line and Eleeza had to laugh very hard.
"You know, I think I really can hear you. I don't want to raise any false hopes but I am quite sure. It is even lounder than yesterday..."

Eleeza stopped and turned her face to Zoe: "But you cannot hear this, no can you?" she asked.

"I don't know what you just said. I think I can hear just your laughter April. But maybe one day we will be able to hear you voice fully. Let it take its time." Zoe advised and put her hand on Eleeza's shoulder.

Eleeza nodded and though she was sad, she laughed again to make Zoe happy.

"Your voice must be wonderful when even your laughter is like bells chiming." Zoe said softly and returned to the washing. They washed for a few minutes in silence and then Zoe returned to her tales, always stopping when Eleeza giggled to listen to the soft, yet audible and captivating mirthful laugh.

Zoe now often needed rest and the others worked on the fields or with the animals. The sheep needed to be sheared and drenched for worms. They didn't allow Eleeza to help with that work because of the sharp knives.

Lay now often stole away from her tasks and took Eleeza to her favourite places or played games with her. She was very fond of her and loved to help her. Other than the rest of the family, who enjoyed having a good listener, she asked her questions as much as possible. Many Eleeza couldn't and did not want to answer, but most she answered openly. They were just knotting necklaces of daisy flowers and Lay was chatting about how she always did it. But she got bored of telling stories herself and instead turned her interest to Eleeza:

"April, did you ever do daisy chains?" she started. Eleeza shook her head. "Never? Then what did you do as a kid? I mean, every kid does daisy chains!" she protested. But Eleeza just smiled and shook her head.

"What did you do as a kid then?" For a short moment, her facial expressions got sad and she threw her arms in the air and shrugged. She didn't remember what she had done, not even if there were daisies growing in the otherworld. Maybe she had had a doll. She formed her arms as if she would hold a baby and swayed it a little.

"Oh, you had a doll?" Lay asked and Eleeza nodded in agreement. Lay asked about other childhood games she knew and wanted to know if Eleeza knew them. Since Eleeza had to answer in the negative all the time, Lay soon took up another topic.

"April, how old are you?" she asked instead.

The question took Eleeza aback. How old was she? She didn't know, really! Meaning, she knew she was older than what she looked like, but truly she didn't know. Quickly she thought of Evan being twenty-two and subtracted it by two. She lifted her fingers two times and hoped Lay wouldn't notice the hesitation.

Later that day she spoke with Evan about it. They always talked about their day and everything that had occurred. "And what do you think really about how old you are? You look like you are very sceptical about being twenty. I would have thought you a bit younger, but it seems to fit." Evan had seen through her as always.

Eleeza curled up in his arms: "I really don't know it. And it frustrates me! But I do have a feeling that I am older than what I look like. Some of my memories of the Otherworld seem to be very old, but maybe that got detorted by the deletion. Maybe I don't age as humans do. I do not think that I could ever have wrinkles, I actually would never let it happen..."

She got interrupted by a sigh of Evan: "Sometimes I forget that you are able to stop yourself from aging and getting ugly. Even though I do not think you would ever look ugly even if you had wrinkles and white hair", he said and petted the bright flood of hair that spread over her complete back.

"Ugh! White hair, wrinkles... Never! This will never happen to me!", she exclaimed.
"But you would have to endure me getting all signs of aging. Even though you wouldn't have to see me."

She lifted her head and kissed him: "If you want, I can keep this from you."

"Really? You are actually able to do this?" asked Evan and in the next moment intensified the kiss.

"Of course. I cannot make you live longer, but I can keep the signs of oldness from you." She promised and opened her mouth to Evans searching tongue.

Their evenings mostly ended this way. Sometimes they flew together over the forest. In this region very few people lived, so they were sure nobody would see them. Eleeza found out that she could carry Evan for about a quarter of an hour. Both enjoyed the flying a lot and they tried to do it as often as possible.

Over the next month the family lit up in happiness and good times. The whole family took it as their task to protect Eleeza. They kept her from strangers, even from relatives visiting. Oliver taught her things about nature, especially herbs since Eleeza once showed interest in them. She tried to learn to differentiate by touch and smell, which was more precise than simply identifying by its looks.

All of them now could clearly hear her laughter and were almost addicted to it. Every one of them tried to make her laugh as much as possible. Sometimes they thought they could hear her talking to Evan, but never understood words, just the melody of her voice. Eleeza not once complained when one of the kids tried to get her for itself or when Zoe took her along to walks when Eleeza had planned to do something else. She rather enjoyed the love the others gave her and returned it open heartedly.

Still, when the others left for the market or the fields and Zoe slept, she sneaked of with Rola into the forests and enjoyed being alone. Sometimes she just needed those moments for herself, as long as nobody noticed it. She didn't want to hurt them by breaking the rules the others had set. Over time she strolled off more and more with her stick and Rola.