In Saving the Imperfect

22. Who taught us to believe

It was way into the second half of the day when Layne finally awoke. For a few minutes, he laid in his bed disoriented, trying to remember where he was. Upon putting it all together, he turned around to see Coden's bed empty and neatly made. Layne stretched out his arms and legs with great pleasure, although the attempt to get out of bed ended with him falling right back again.

He rolled around the lumpy mattress as if it was a bed fit for a king. He didn't know how much time might have passed like that, but it felt like it could have been hours. Finally, putting in all his strength, Layne managed to get up and stumble outside.

He found Coden sitting in front of the house, peeling a boiled potato with the dullest looking knife Layne has ever seen. The guy looked up at him and smiled. "Good morning. It's dinner time."

"Great." Layne sat on the ground next to him and fished out another potato from the pot. Inside it, he found a second knife. He had been wrong – that was the dullest looking knife he's ever seen. Nevertheless, it was dinner and he was still hungry from the day before. Coden handed him a jug of water – just as ice cold as before. Layne wondered where did those people keep it.

"Hey," a woman's voice called from behind them when they were finishing their meal. As he turned around, Layne recognised the same blonde woman from the night before. This time, she didn't have the child with her. The woman came closer to them with a wide smile across her face. "I realised we didn't even introduce ourselves, that's rude of my part."

"It's alright," Coden responded and put his knife away. Layne followed his example and smiled at the woman.

"I'm Mary," she said. "You've also met my son Phil. He's out playing with the other children right now."

"Layne." He offered her his hand, which she shook firmer than he had expected from her.

"I'm Coden," Coden nodded at her.

"Coden. Not a common name. Sounds very familiar for some reason, though. Anyway, nice to meet you both." Mary interlocked her fingers in front of her chest. Her round cheeks blushed which only made the woman look more genuine and well-meaning in Layne's eyes. "We hope you'll stay here with us. It's always exciting when someone new joins, especially if it's two abled men."

The last part caught Layne off guard and he stayed still, looking at the woman who didn't appear to notice anything. Neither did Coden, as he without a doubt in his voice responded, "yeah, we'd like to stay."

"For now, at least," Layne added. "How many children are here? There are none in the other village."

Mary chuckled. "Of course there aren't, why would they allow women to keep their kids there? Children are only a burden to them, after all. We have seven in the whole village, at the moment, though the oldest one is sixteen already. I don't know any other person who's been in the Land longer than her. She's part of the reason this place even exists."

"How come?"

"Well, when she was born, her safety was a big motivation for Collins and Haslett. You could say they were the founders of this place. Well, at least they were the first to stand against the leadership."

Coden frowned. "Collins and Haslett?"

"Right! That's where I know your name from!" Mary clapped her hands together. "They had an illegitimate son of the same name. That's why they got rejected in the first place. Poor couple, they did nothing wrong."

An uncomfortable silence followed. Layne glanced between the two people, wondering which one of them would be the first to speak again. Coden watched the woman with an empty expression, while Mary didn't appear to understand the situation. Her smile eventually vanished and she furrowed her brows as if asking what was wrong.