Asher turns to Taylen. "Thank you," he says. "This means so much."
"Of course." Taylen looks down and kicks at a clod of grass. "You would do the same for me."
"I hope someday I get the chance."
"Where will you go?" Taylen's voice drops to hold a low, sorrowful tone.
Asher shrugs. "South. We'll find our way."
"Well..." Taylen drops his eyes and kicks his foot again. "Don't go too far. I'll want to see you again someday."
Asher holds out his arm. After a few seconds, Taylen clasps it. "You will," Asher says. "Just...take care of yourself. And don't tell anyone you helped us."
Taylen grins. "Your secret's safe."
The two boys embrace, and then Taylen pulls away and walks back to the horse. Asher watches as he mounts, and then holds up his hand. "Thank you again!" Taylen nods, turns the horse away, and doesn't look back.
When he's gone, May comes up beside Asher. "He is nice," she says. "Like you."
Asher's lips tug upward. "That's how friends are."
YOU ARE READING
The Unending Epic Written to Appease a Friend, Tell a Tale, an...
FantasyEach day, the story grows. The tale begins when two lives are suddenly and irrevocably twined together, and a boy from a lonely farm and a girl without a people find themselves each other's only friend. Little by little the fabric of their lives wea...
