Silent Fog

Chapter 6 - Only a Touch

Mirela had left as well as the rest of the people and combatants, leaving in the courtyard only the children who had returned to play on the other side; and a Clara seeking an answer to the question that did not leave her head: Why Daniel had brought her in secret? That's why she had been treated almost as a prisoner by Nana at first, before trying to flee, and even for the fact that she was only visited and cared for by the old lady. Under regular circumstances and with the wound she had, she would have been taken to the infirmary like the others.

"Hey, Miss! Miss!" shouted one of the older girls approaching Clara. "One of the boys threw Maria's cloth doll on the tree, but it's too tall... Can you help us?"

Clara looked between the girl who was standing in front of her and the group that was gathered around a small girl who was crying. The older one looked eager for an answer.

"Okay. Come on." she stood up and walked beside the girl toward the woods a little farther on, next to where the group was.

Clara saw the doll hanging on a very tall branch, and even though she had no idea how she would get it out of the tree, she approached it. She looked sideways hoping to find a stick or something, but of course, there was not any.

"Stay here," she said to the girl while she walked to the tree.

Clara paused for a moment and looked up, scanning her branches. With an impulse, she climbed up with such a skill she did not even know she had. It was so natural for her to go from one branch to another until she reached the place where the doll was and threw it at little Maria, watching from the ground. Clara saw as the girl grabbed the toy and hugged it with a big smile. Not even noticing she was also smiling, she made her way back to the ground and thought how easy it was to make a child happy.

"Thanks, Miss!!" the older girl gave her a last gaze before returning to the others.

When she reached the ground again, Clara was alone, or at least she thought so until she noticed a slight movement behind her. Turning around, she bumped into Daniel a few steps away. She felt as her heart had stopped and sped up at the same time; the palms of her hands sweated and involuntarily she held her breath. Moreover: she could not take her eyes away from him, allowing herself to be lost in those black eyes with little bright spots that looked like stars in the night sky.

"Nana... me..." he began, staring her and apparently looking for the right words. Daniel shut his eyes for a moment, seeming to concentrate as he brought his hands on the back and stopped a few feet from where she was. Then, he opened them again and a little more focused, he continued. "Nana told me you're better."

"Yes ... yes, I think ... yes." Clara stammered, also trying to put herself together and moving her hand over the forehead, as if this might help to come back to her senses. "Thank you for asking."

Silence hovered between them and once again, Clara allowed herself to be lost in Daniel's eyes. Those sensations, butterflies in the stomach... had she felt it before? She tried to search deep in her mind, but it was too hard to concentrate on anything but him.

"There's one..." he gestured to a confused Clara.

"Sorry?"

"There's a..." again, he motioned in circles with the hand on top of his head and slowly advanced, closing the distance between them until she could almost feel his breath. "There's a leaf on your hair."

He reached out to take the sheet that had curled into her hair. For a fraction of a second Clara could have sworn he touched her cheek gently when he lowered his arm. That subtle touch was enough for her to feel as if hit by a bolt. He had become slightly stiff so she could swear Daniel felt the same.