Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
It’s so nice to be away from the camp, too. Everyone has been lovely and so helpful, and I’m glad we’re at the village instead of living alone in the mountains. I’m not ungrateful, but the introvert in me loves the peace and quiet of this particular day.
Going out with Nadine also shows me that a competent woman is trusted out on her own. I wasn’t sure, because some of the men have been extremely protective of their wives, but this morning, Nadine twisted her thick hair into a knot at her nape, handed her baby to her mate, gave them both a kiss, and then headed off with me, no questions asked. It’s clear she knows her way around the mountain trails, too. She uses the end of her spear like a walking stick and pokes at drifts before she steps forward, and her pack is full of supplies in case we get into trouble—rope, extra knives, fire-starters, and food. She also knows the locations of things called “hunter caves.” From the sound of it, they’re safe “pit stops” where extra food and weapons are kept in case someone’s stranded in bad weather.
It’s all practical and smart and feels vaguely familiar, and I wonder if I grew up with someone that practiced this sort of thing. A survivalist. An image of my father flashes through my mind again—sandy hair and dark eyes, pointing out tracks in the mud and joking about the number of flies caught on the fly paper in the cabin.
It fits. A survivalist. Today though, the strange bits of memory don’t make me sad. They feel comfortable, like a favorite shirt.
Nadine leads me along the paths through the cliffs, pointing out landmarks so I can tell where I’m going in the future. I have no doubt I’ll be doing this on my own soon enough. I can’t wait to go out and have a peaceful day alone in the snows, enjoying the beauty of nature before I have to return to the noisy hubbub of camp.
“We’re going to head to a spring first,” Nadine tells me as we hike along. “There’s these fish that have lightweight but really hard reeds on their heads. Devi says it’s some sort of cousin to keratin, like your fingernails or a horse’s hooves, and if those will work, it’ll be easy to get everyone outfitted in skis. I figure if nothing else, we can use them for ski poles. You’ll know we’re getting close to the spring when you smell it.”
“Smell it?” I ask, curious as I step into the tracked path she’s made for me.
“Oh yeah. This planet is full of volcanic activity—again, Devi’s theory—and there are a lot of hot springs.” She flutters a hand under her nose. “Smells like rotten eggs, but the water’s toasty warm and nice to bathe in.”
How fascinating. I’m intrigued at the prospect. “Are there a lot of earthquakes, then?”
“Not so much, though a volcano did blow not long after we first arrived. Flooded the beach for a few days and then rained ash on us for a month.” She gives me a wry look. “You’re going to find most of the explosions happen between people, though.”
“People?”
“Well, it’s a small beach and a lot of big personalities,” she says with a laugh, picking her way forward through a patch of deeper snow. “And then of course, there’s always resonance. Speaking of which…how’s it going for you, if you don’t mind me asking? You look like you’re not sleeping well.”
She says it with such a friendly, offhand tone that I don’t take offense. I knew it was bound to come up. How can it not? Like she said, it’s a small beach. Even if I’m quiet about the situation, I am guessing Skarr is very much not quiet. “I am not, no.”
“Resonance is hard,” she agrees, not looking back at me but studying the landscape instead. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s also delightful, and the babies are amazing, but it still fucks your shit up. Instead of a ‘me’ you become a ‘we’ overnight.”
I grimace at the thought. “I noticed. It doesn’t matter if we’re together or not, everyone pairs Skarr with me in their minds, as if it’s already decided.”
It’s come up in conversation a few times, and people have mentioned us like we’re a couple.
“Look at it from their perspective. In this generation, resonance does decide. Everyone pairs up happily. I’m told that it wasn’t like that in the past, and the stories of Rukh and Raahosh’s father and mother – and how much they hated each other – are legendary. But for the most part? In these people’s eyes, a resonated couple is a happy couple. But I wanted you to know that you’re not trapped.”
Strangely enough, her words choke me up, and a knot forms in my throat, hard to talk around. “I’m not?”