Charades

Chapter 7

     Ronan and I were walking through town to where the town houses were. They were small houses. Built from white wood with roofs built of brown shingles. A few of them were chipping away with age and dirt had darkened the white walls of the houses. And soon, we were slowing down our pace to reach the house at the end of the street.

     "This is my home," Ronan said. 

     We stopped in front of his home. It was a small home - smaller than the other homes on the street and I stared at it. It was strange, looking at the homes. The castle I lived in was five stories high and it soared high into the sky while these homes were merely one floor high. They were small and different, but not necessarily a bad different.

     "Let's go inside," Ronan said.

     Ronan went to the door and he opened it for me and I stepped inside. Immediately, I was in the living room. There were two couches and connected to the living room was a tiny kitchen, with a wooden table and a stove and sink. There at the sink was Indira, washing some dishes.

     "Indira, look who's here," Ronan called, shutting the door behind him.

     Indira whirled around and her face lit up at the sight of me. She was grinning and she ran to me, her plain, gray dress flying back. I smiled at the sight of her.

     "Amara!" Indira exclaimed. "I'm so happy to see you! What are you doing here?"

     Indira flung herself at me and we embraced. I held her tightly and took in her warmth, realizing how cold it was outside.

     "She'll be living with us," Ronan said. Indira pulled away and her eyes flew wide. "Just until she finds a job and is able to find her own place."

     "Oh my god!" Indira screamed. "Yes! This is a dream come true."

     I giggled. Indira was lit with joy. Her eyes were shimmering, her smile so wide. I smiled, glad I agreed to Ronan's offer. I still felt guilty, but seeing Indira so joyful, so happy to see me, left me relaxing.

     "What's going on?" a young man asked.

     A young man walked into the living room then and he frowned at the sight of me. He had the same black hair and blue eyes as Ronan, but he was a lot more smaller - frail compared to Ronan's board shoulders and buff arms. He looked around my age. Maybe younger. And he was staring at me, looking confused.

     "Devan, meet Amara," Ronan said, motioning for Devan to come closer. "Amara, meet my younger brother, Devan."

     "Hi," I said.

     Devan had his hands shoved into the pockets of his brown slacks. His eyes were emotionless as he stared at me for a moment. I stared back, wondering what was on his mind.

     "What are you doing here?" Deven asked.

     "She's going to be living wth us," Ronan said. He narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Be nice. She'll be living here until she finds a job and can move out."

     Devan rolled his eyes. He went to the couch and leaned against it, his body sagging. He was a lot smaller than Ronan. But, he didn't seem much younger.

     "How old are you?" I asked.

     "Eighteen," Devan said.

     "Oh, I I thought you were my age!" My eyes flew wide. "I'm twenty."

     My eyes widened. Devan seemed to be my age. But with his clothes unkempt and his hair messy, he did seem to a teenage boy, so eighteen made sense. I gaped at him however, surprised he was two years younger.