literature

HARPG- Welcome to Thief's River (PT 1)

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    The airport was crowded and noisy, packed with jetlagged travelers and heavy suitcases. Lailah couldn't quite decide whether the air conditioning was set too low or if it had simply stopped working entirely. Either way she was sweating while she walked down the tiled hall leading away from the gate, backpack bouncing against her back.

    The noise of the crowd around her was too much for the music in her earphones to drown out, and she figured she should be listening to what was going on around her anyway, so she plucked them from her ears and allowed them to hang around her neck.

    It had already been a couple of months since her mother had passed away, but everything still felt...false. Like she was having some crazy dream and would wake up at any moment. Nothing felt true. Moving across the country wasn't helping, not in the slightest. She doubted moving in with the aunt she hadn't seen in years would do much better.

    The last time she'd seen her mother's twin sister, Harriet, had been at a graduation party for some vague relative when Lailah was five. She didn't remember much beyond learning her aunt owned 'lots of horses' and the insistence that the family come visit. They never had.

    Will I even recognize her when I see her? Lailah fretted while she walked. Will she recognize me? What if we see each other but don't even know it? What if I already walked by her?

    She moved towards the wall, into a small clear space, and looked at the crowd. How would she ever see her aunt in this mess? How long should she wait before just heading to baggage claim by herself?

    Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She'd been in contact with her aunt via text for a few days now. It was a little odd, but she was getting used to her aunt's cheerfulness and had begun to almost depend on it over the short time she'd been exposed to it. Even with everything that had happened, her aunt had started each of the last four mornings with a cheerful 'good morning' text, and always said goodnight, even on the days when they didn't talk at all.

    Where are you? Was the message, sent, unsurprisingly, by Harriet.

    Lailah looked around to try and get some sort of landmark to use to pinpoint her location. She bit her lip and frowned. Maybe she should have sent Harriet a picture of herself to make sure she would recognize her, in case Lailah didn't recognize her.

    I'm right by the-

    Another message arrived before she had a chance to finish typing.

   We see you!

    Lailah looked up and glanced around. In only a moment her eyes settled on two people hurrying towards her through the crowd.

    Harriet looked unsettlingly similar to Lailah's late mother, and it made her stomach sink a little. They had the same golden brown, almond-shaped eyes, the same chocolate-colored skin, the same bright smile. But Harriet was taller and more sturdy-looking; her short-sleeved shirt and Bermuda shorts showed off the fine muscle she possessed. Her skin was smooth and even, her black hair very, very short. She moved through the crowd with elegant but purposeful movements, the kind of bearing that prompted others to move for you before you'd even asked.

    Beside and slightly behind her was a blonde girl possibly a couple of years older than Lailah, sticking close to Harriet and apparently trying very hard not to touch anyone or anything else.

    “Lailah!” Harriet gushed when she was close enough, wrapping the teenager in a tight vanilla-scented squeeze. “It's so good to finally see you!”

    “You too.” Lailah responded mechanically, suddenly unsure how to act around this person that, despite being related to, she barely knew. And she couldn't help but be surprised by the person she'd brought with her. Harriet hadn't really talked about anyone but her husband- Lailah's uncle, Balin, and some of the horses. She certainly hadn't mentioned bringing anyone else to pick Lailah up.

    Harriet released Lailah from the tight hug and gestured breezily to the girl who'd come with her. “This is Bethany.”

    The girl offered a slightly reserved smile, keeping her arms crossed tensely. “Call me Beth.”

    Beth was a head taller than Lailah, and slim, but her straight posture and defined arms suggested she was stronger than a first glance would suggest. She was wearing a loosely fitted tank top that offered an unobstructed view of her wildly freckled, strong arms, shoulders, and chest. Sunburn tinged the tops of her shoulders and her collarbone, and the pink dusting on her cheeks contrasted starkly with her wide, cornflower-blue eyes that never met Lailah's for more than a few seconds.

    Lailah managed a smile she hoped looked friendly. She was too jetlagged and overwhelmed to really be sure. “Nice to meet you.”

    “You too.” Beth answered politely.

    Harriet, one arm around Lailah's shoulder, started herding her along with the stream of people. “C'mon, let's go get your luggage! How much do you have? Should I get a cart or something?”

    “Oh, no, I don't have very much, it's okay.” Lailah stammered. “I can handle it.”

    Harriet laughed. “Nah don't worry, this is what  brought Beth for. My best pack mule.”

    Beth was walking to Lailah's right, keeping the pair of them between her and the majority of the crowd. At Harriet's teasing she rolled her eyes but smiled just a bit.

    When packing, Lailah had decided that such a momentous move called for as little baggage as possible. She'd brought mostly some clothes, her favorite books, and a few essentials. The less she brought with her, the easier it would be to make a fresh start.

    In the end it all fit in three large suitcases, which Beth and Harriet had no problem hauling from baggage claim out to the parking garage without any help from Lailah.

    It took only a minute or two to load her suitcases into the back of a dusty silver SUV. Beth hopped in the front without preamble, so Lailah climbed into the back seat, tossing her backpack onto the seat beside her.

    Inside the car was warm from the summer heat, but the seatbelts and doors and things still felt cool. Hay and dirt speckled the floor mats and a cherry-scented air freshener swung on the rear-view mirror when the car doors slammed shut. An empty water bottle rolled on the floor at Lailah's feet.

    Harriet 'tsk'ed and twisted around to pluck the bottle off the floor and set it in one of the cupholders in the front seat before starting up the engine. “I swear this car produces these things.”

    Lailah smiled but couldn't think of anything to say.

    Beth plucked a thick, well-worn paperback from the dash of the car and settled back in the front seat, leaving her flip-flops on the floor of the car and sitting with folded legs. She seemed unmoved when the air conditioner started blasting on her or the radio kicked up.

    Harriet quickly turned down both the radio and air conditioner before turning to smile back at Lailah.

    “It'll be about an hour back home. I should have asked if you needed a bathroom or anything. You hungry? Thirsty? Gotta pee?”

    Lailah resettled herself in her seat. “No, I'm fine.”

    Harriet nodded and turned forward again. The SUV was giant as far as Lailah was concerned- she was startled to realize there was a third row of seats behind her, but Harriet drove it like a professional, backing out of the parking space and driving effortlessly through the garage.

    Only a few minutes into the trip Lailah felt herself drifting. The air conditioner blew a gentle breeze over her skin and played with her hair, the car rumbled gently over the road, the radio was a gentle, consistent sound, the sun was warm on her lap.

    She didn't realize she was falling asleep until her head tilted to touch the glass of the window. The car bumped over a small pothole as Harriet steered onto the highway, and Lailah's forehead bonked the window gently.

    She sat up with a start.

    “Go ahead and take a nap, if you want. You must be tired.” Harriet said calmly from the front seat.

    It had been roughly an eight hour flight from San Francisco to Connecticut, including the layover time in Cleveland. Lailah had left at five that morning, and in California it was currently about one in the afternoon. But with the three hour time difference it was actually nearly four. Added to that confusion was Lailah's own internal clock, totally thrown off by getting up so early. Her brain knew what time it was, but the rest of her was a total mess. Maybe a nap would help settle things down.

    She readjusted her position so she could rest her head against the back of the seat rather than the window, and fell asleep almost immediately.

- - -

    Lailah woke up when some part of her mind became aware that the car was no longer driving down straight highway but turning along town roads. She came awake slowly, dragging herself out of the dreamless sleep she'd fallen into, straightening up to look out the windows.

    She'd been thinking they were at the house, but she was surprised to see they were pulling into the parking lot of a Wendy's.

    Harriet caught her eye in the rear view mirror. “Good morning!”

    Lailah grunted a vague response, stretching her arms as much as one can in a car.

    “We're just grabbing a quick snack. Do you want anything? Soda? A sandwich? Ice cream?”

    It took a few moments for Harriet's questions to sink in, and a few more moments for Lailah to awaken enough to assess her body. Was she hungry? Yes.

    “I was gonna just get some nuggets, do you want to share?” Harriet offered before Lailah answered.

    “Yeah, sure.”

    “Want a drink?”

    “Yes, um, a coke?”

    “Sure thing. Beth, what do you want?”

    Beth was still reading, or at least it looked that way from the back seat.

    Harriet glanced over at Beth, then reached over and flicked her shoulder. “Bethany. Up and at 'em.”

    Beth jerked in her seat, then took a long, deep breath that told Lailah the other girl had fallen asleep also.

    “What?”

    “Food. What do you want?”

    “Uh, just a soda. And fries?”

    “What size fries?”

    “Large.”

    Lailah was surprised. Looking at the older girl's slight form she would have guessed she'd ask for a salad. Mentally she scolded herself for making assumptions.

    While Harriet ordered their snacks, Beth unfolded her still-crossed legs and stiffly stretched them out in front of her, then stretched up tall and stretched her arms as well. The book almost fell from her lap, but she caught it quickly.

    Lailah leaned to her left to try and see the book on Beth's lap. It was closed but turned so she could only see the pages, not the spine.

    “What're you reading?” She asked after a moment of gathering her courage.

    Beth looked back at her like she'd almost forgotten she was there, and then glanced briefly down at her book.

    “Um, Fly By Night.”

    “The one by Frances Hardinge?”

    Beth's eyes lit up, she raised her eyebrows, and a hint of a smile touched her face. “You know it?”

    “I love that book!”

    Beth smiled in earnest now. “It's so good, right?”

    “It's awesome!”

    Lailah suddenly thought of the books she'd brought, wondering what others she and Beth might both like. Suddenly they had something in common and she wasn't about to let that go.

    Beth turned to take the soda Harriet was holding out to her, and handed it back to Lailah.

    “You like fantasy books too, Lailah?” Harriet asked.

    “Yeah, they're cool.” She responded, settling her drink into a cupholder.

    “You should see Beth's collection. She devours those things.”

    Beth smiled slightly and took a sip of her own soda, turning back to settle into her seat again.

    Lailah thought of the suitcase in the back housing the books she'd painstakingly chosen to bring along. Would Beth like the same ones? Had she read them? Maybe Beth had a bunch of similar books but that Lailah had never read and they could trade books back and forth?

    The car fell into silence punctuated by the rustle of paper fast-food bags, rattling ice in plastic cups, and the radio droning through the peaceful ride.

    Lailah had never had a friend to share books with. She'd never really shared anything with friends before, if she could call the handful of kids she'd walked home from school with 'friends'. They'd never really shown much interest in her outside of their daily walk. They didn't even talk in class or when they passed in the hallway. No one ever really seemed interested in her at all, really.

    Thoughtfully Lailah devoured her share of Harriet's snack, only now realizing how hungry and thirsty she'd become. Now that she was more awake, she was starting to regret that she hadn't gotten some fries of her own.

    Without looking up from her book, Beth reached back to offer her bag. “Fries?”

    A brief hesitation, just long enough for Beth to glance back to see if Lailah had heard her.

    “Yeah, thanks.”

    There wasn't enough salt on the fries for Lailah but she didn't really care. The knot that had been tied in her chest since leaving California early that morning had begun to loosen ever so slightly. She let out a deep breath and leaned back in her seat, watching the highway pass by.

- - -

    The ride went on for another half hour, going from the straight, sun-bleached highway to busy town streets lined with green lampposts, then over a river and up into forest-blanketed hills.

    The late afternoon sun slanted in golden shafts through the full-leafed trees, casting waving shadows that formed jagged edges to sunlight-flooded farm fields and bright green meadows along the highway. The road itself circled gently into the hills, hugging the rise so that you were unaware you were ascending at all until you looked to the left and saw the steep drop-off into more farmland. Then all at once you were slowly gliding down again.

    Small businesses clung to the street, a gas station, a mattress store, a garden supply store surrounded by summer flowers and plaster statues, several tiny plazas each boasting at least one garage, a massive sand lot, a package store. Abruptly it all dropped away, giving way to more woodland.

    At some point Lailah must have dozed off again, lulled by the peaceful scenery, because the next thing she knew the SUV was grumbling its way onto a long dirt-and-gravel driveway gently curved just enough that she couldn't see its end or any buildings. Short pine trees lined the right side of the drive, while the left side featured a short embankment leading into the woods.

    The way the driveway curved against the woodlands made Lailah believe they would be driving deeper into the forest. However, once they reached the bend the pine trees ended and the drive curved sharply to the right, and Lailah realized it all led to a massive open space.

    Shortly after the bend the driveway became a sort of miniature dirt parking lot already containing a sandy gold extended-cab pickup truck and a small backhoe. Two horse trailers were parked in the grass just off the parking area, one short and pearly white, dirt spattered on the metal behind the tires but otherwise nearly spotless, and the other roughly twice the size of the first, painted a metallic red.

    Beyond the driveway, a long, wide concrete walk stamped to look like elaborately laid bricks led to a house that, though not truly extravagant or excessive, was far larger than Lailah's apartment had been.

    It was timbered, and in sort of in a 'V' shape, so that it reminded Lailah of a dollhouse that had been opened for children to play with. Where Lailah imagined the hinges of the dollhouse would be was what looked like a living room with large rectangular windows, featuring a cathedral ceiling reaching up past the height of the second floor.

    Outside, nestled in the 'V' shape, was a stone patio. A small dining table with a folded green umbrella sat to the left of the living room windows, the chairs tucked close under the table. To the right of the living room was a sliding glass door, through which Lailah could see people moving around inside the house.

    Harriet pulled the SUV up beside the pickup truck, parked, and shut off the engine.

    Lailah felt a fresh wave of anxiety wash over her entire body. She'd forgotten that there would be people in the house. She'd been so concerned about meeting her aunt, she'd forgotten Harriet had a family too.

    Beth hopped out of the car with her book under one arm, blinking in the harsh sunlight.

    Swallowing the lump in her throat, Lailah opened the car door and carefully stepped out as well, dragging her backpack behind her.

    It was definitely warm, but dry. Dust from their arrival was still settling slowly, drifting in a ponderous cloud across the bright green lawn. The sun gently warmed Lailah's skin and dazzled her eyes while Beth and Harriet opened the hatchback of the car to get her suitcases.

    “I can take one of those,” She interjected when they, again, seemed prepared to carry all three on their own, “you really don't have to-”

    “We've got 'em! We've got 'em!” Someone called.

    Lailah turned to see a tall, wiry man bounding down the concrete path, flip-flops slapping loudly against his feet and the ground. Another, heavier-looking man was following him at a much less excitable pace, shaking his head, hands in his pockets.

    The first man, built like a greyhound and twice as fast, arrived and sprang past Lailah to the opened back of the SUV, slamming into Beth, who was already there and preparing to lift a suitcase.

    Beth swore in surprise when the impact forced her aside and almost sent her sprawling, but there was no anger in her voice, and she seemed perfectly okay with not having to lift or move anything.

    Harriet shook her head at the raucous arrival, a smile on her face.

    The second man, shorter by a couple inches but sturdier in build, with skin almost as dark as Harriet's and long dark brown dreadlocks falling down his back, arrived in a far more conventional manner and stopped beside Harriet, crossing his arms. “Jeremiah, are you a man or a puppy?”

    Before he could answer, Harriet cleared her throat loudly.

    “Lailah, this is Jeremiah Flynn and Gabriel Decker. Jeremiah, Gabe, this is my niece, Lailah Desmond.”

    The first man, Jeremiah, straightened up and ran a hand quickly through his mousy brown hair. His teeth were crooked when he smiled but the smile was warm and welcoming, his eyes scrunched up with the force of it. He swung a long arm out for a handshake, seeming to bounce in place from the motion.

    He really is like a puppy. Lailah thought as she shook his hand.

    “Nice to meet you, Lailah!”

    It was hard not to giggle at his incredibly cheerful manner. “You too, Jeremiah.”

    Gabe seemed to be Jeremiah's polar opposite. Where Jeremiah was cartoonish motion and puppydog sincerity, Gabe radiated calmness and composure. His eyes were steady and bright, his grip gentle when Lailah shook his hand.

    “We've got these,” Jeremiah chirped from the car where he and Beth now each carried a suitcase, “You can get the heavy one, Gabe.”

    “Gee, thanks.” He sighed sarcastically.

    Beth lead Jeremiah back up the path towards the house. “We're so good to you.”

    Lailah noted they'd left the suitcase with her books, the heaviest of the three, but Gabe handled it with no trouble at all and began following the others to the house.

    Harriet slammed the hatchback closed and locked the car, then approached Lailah and again rested her arm over the girl's shoulders.

    “How're you doing so far?”

    The question surprised Lailah. Her arrival hadn't exactly been traumatic; she hadn't even had to carry her own suitcases. She was still tired though, and would have very much liked to just go to bed. She wondered if that was jet lag or the stress that had been pummeling her for the last few weeks.

    “I'm fine.” She answered.

    Harriet nodded and started leading her up the path, well behind the other three. “Jeremiah and Gabe live here, in the loft over the stable. They're kind of our handymen, stablehands, and mechanics all rolled in one. Or two.”

    Lailah nodded. “They seem really nice.”

    “They're good boys.”

    Lailah was tempted to point out that Harriet still hadn't explained who Beth was, but they were still a bit too close to the others for her to feel safe asking; she didn't want Beth to hear and be offended somehow.

    Stepping through the sliding doors Lailah was greeted by a breeze of air-conditioning and the smell of freshly vacuumed carpets.

    She found herself in a comfortably large kitchen with slate gray tile on the floor, chestnut-colored natural wood cupboards with dark red countertops, recessed lights in the ceiling and a few tiny lamps hanging over the island. Lailah had never been in a house where the kitchen had an island.

    The perimeter walls of the house were wood logs like the outside, but the inner walls were flat and painted a neutral creamy white, dotted with family photos and a few animal-centric paintings.

    Beth and Jeremiah swooped to the right, around a gentle corner into the living room. They seemed to be in the midst of a sudden, shockingly competitive race; Lailah heard them rushing upstairs, their feet thumping on wood steps.

    The living room was bright and open, with a staircase against the wall opposite the front windows. The top landing and a portion of the upstairs hallway was a loft style, open to the rest of the room except for a white railing. The landing had a bookcase and rug, plus a recliner, but was otherwise mostly empty. Short hallways branched from the right and left of the room; Beth and Jeremiah dashed down the left-hand hallway, barely squashing through one door at the same time.

    When she entered, Lailah discovered it was a moderately sized bedroom, one wide window on the wall opposite the door, a twin bed beneath the window, a small nightstand beside the bed with a lamp, a white bureau to the right of the bedroom door, a mirror over that, and a round, braided green rug on the floor.

   Beth slammed the suitcase on the bed just a heartbeat before Jeremiah.

    “Ha! I win!” She laughed, finger-combing some loose strands of blonde hair that had come free of her hair tie out of her face.

    “All right, you win.” Jeremiah grumbled. “I'll get you next time though.”

    Gabe set his suitcase down beside the bed. “Oh darn, I lost.”

    Beth rolled her eyes. “You weren't even trying.”

    Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, Lailah hung around by the door. Meanwhile Harriet breezed in behind her, passed her and shooed the other three out like she was brushing petals off a railing. “All right, get going, c'mon, I'm sure you have other things to do until dinner. Let's give Lailah a chance to settle herself, c'mon.”

    The boys left without protest after a couple of quick goodbyes, but Beth stayed just inside the door, apparently hesitant to go.

    Harriet, standing in the center of the room with her hands on her hips, glanced at Beth once before turning her attention back to Lailah. “I'm going to get started on dinner, so we can eat in a couple of hours. Until then, do you want any help unpacking? Or you can come downstairs with me, maybe walk around a little, get a lay of the land?”

    Lailah glanced at Beth standing awkwardly in the room. She slid her backpack off her shoulders and set it down on the floor. “Actually I would really like to just hang out by myself for a little while, y'know? Maybe lay down.”

    Harriet nodded with a smile. “Of course. You've had a long day, lots of travel. Go ahead and rest, I'll come get you when dinner's ready. Everything else can wait.”

    Lailah, soothed by Harriet's casual demeanor and understanding, smiled back, feeling the knot in her chest relaxing a bit more.

    “C'mon Beth, you want to help with dinner? I need a potato peeler-” Harriet's voice faded while she herded Beth out of the room and down the hall.

    The sudden silence and isolation, after hours of travel and people, was jarring. For a long moment Lailah just stood in the room, listening to the distant thumps of Lailah and Beth going down the stairs. She could hear a gentle humming, and after glancing around the room discovered a vent in the floor blowing cool air into the room.

    Central air. She thought of her apartment back in San Francisco, the summers where every window would be open wide and it still wasn't enough, the fans fighting to keep up with the heat. It was all so different from this house. There was so much space here. There were woodlands. There were animals. Lailah hadn't seen the horses yet but she knew they were outside, and she'd smelled them on Gabe and Jeremiah's clothes.

    Her mother had loved animals, but they hadn't been allowed to keep any in their apartment. Of course the people across the hall had a cat anyway, and sometimes her mother would somehow get it to come into their apartment when its' owners were away. Lailah didn't know how she managed it and didn't like to think too hard about it.

    Suddenly unbearably exhausted, Lailah carefully took her suitcases off the bed and climbed up onto the red, green, and blue quilt. She didn't even bother to pull the quilt down from over the single pillow before resting her head on it and closing her eyes.

    In only a few short moments she fell asleep to the gentle thrumming of the air conditioning, dreaming of rattling fans, open windows, and her mother.
WRITING.

WHOA.

I haven't been writing anywhere near as much as I used to and I think it shows. But, I intend to do a lot more writing and just general storytelling with my revamped farm, so since I have a cold and have just been resting all day, I figured why not get started?

So here we have part one of two, in which Lailah arrives and I fail to accurately describe buildings. Woo. The second part should hopefully be more fun, with some more of Lailah's backstory and character interaction and HORSES YAY.
© 2015 - 2024 Redfeathyrs
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SleepyIguana's avatar
*o* That was awesome! I love all the descriptions and you described the house very well.
I really want that house...

Jeremiah and Gabe look like fun characters. X3 I look forward to seeing them some more.

Little note: You wrote "listening to the distant thumps of Lilah and Beth going down the stairs." I think you meant Harriet and Beth. X3

I can't wait for part 2! >o<