Memoirs Of A Sparrow

Chapter Six

~Esther

    Something crashes through the trees above me. I look up and see Max climbing, or falling through the branches above us. He grabs a branch above Atticus's horse and then lowers himself into the saddle.

    "Thank you, thank you, hold the applause please!" He gestures dramatically.

    Atticus claps but I just glare.

    "What? You didn't like my stunt?" Max asks feigning innocence.

    "Well it seemed a little pointless." I say trying hard not to laugh.

    "We need to hurry," Senia says from her spot in the tree "the guards will be here soon."

    "Right, Esther can you give Israel to me?" Atticus asks.

    I hand him the baby then hold onto the branch and stand up. My saddle is a bit slippery but I find my balance and climb onto the tree. I stand up on the branch and walk towards the trunk where Atticus is. Senia walks over the same branch and drops onto my, or rather her, horse. Then Max and Senia ride away.

    "What now?" I ask when they are gone.

    "Now we have to get down from here without leaving too many tracks." Atticus says.

    He goes down first and then I follow. When we are on the ground we try to walk on logs or other things that will hide our trail. A few kilometres from the big tree is a clearing. At the edge of it, tied to two trees are our horses.

    I take Israel back from Atticus and wrap him in his sling. We mount our horses and I notice that each of them have a pack behind the saddle. Inside is food and some other gifts from my mother in law.

     We ride in the direction of the border again, hoping we can make it through this time. We stop for the night and start again in the morning with no sign of pursuit behind us. We reach the border around noon and show the guards our papers getting through with no problems. The rest of the trip is wonderfully uneventful.

***

    Atticus keeps his promise and builds me a beautiful house and I keep mine and plant roses.

    It is too late in the year to plant anything but we clear ground for fields that we will plant in spring. My horse, Destarté, is expecting a foal in the summer and with her we will start breeding horses.

    Israel can walk now and soon he will be talking. He is curious about everything, especially my necklace. Sometimes when he touches the stone it flickers green. He always laughs when it does.

    When Atticus comes home from town he brings a letter from my parents. They are doing well. But they warn that the governor is still angry with us and that it's not be a good time to visit.

    That night after Israel is asleep I take my necklace off and get into bed. The crystal sparkles on my nightstand so innocently, as though it doesn't know the pain it put us through. Part of me wants to get rid of it or give it back to my father, but I have also grown to love it's warmth.

    "What are we going to do with it?" I ask.

    "What?" Atticus asks confused.

    "The Passer's stone. It ruined our life. If you hadn't married me you wouldn't have to deal with any of this." I say almost frustrated.

    "It didn't ruin our life, just changed it." He says "Esther, I would do it all again for you."

    I smile and realize that my frustration isn't necessary. We will take care of the stone, it's not like we really have a choice, but deciding to makes it weigh less in my mind.

    We grow older and so does Israel. We give him the stone on his seventeenth birthday, telling him all it means to us and why it is important.

    He meets and falls in love with a girl named Angel and I get the daughter I was hoping to have one day. Eventually I become a grandma and after a long time a great grandma to a beautiful little girl named Genesys.

    Although my life from here on wasn't perfect, as the fairy tales say we lived "happily ever after".