“Aderran?”   

“Huh?” 

“Are you okay?”

“Yea. Why do you ask?”

She raises an eyebrow at me. I know that look, and that lets me know that she’s somewhat feeling better. My thoughts had time to catch up because I remember now what I was thinking about before that. I shiver at the thought—another weird look.

“So…what do I tell them if they ask where I’m from?”

She hums and thinks for a moment. I guess she, in fact, doesn’t have all the answers. 

“They can’t know exactly where you live, and you wouldn’t be able to blend in. You could pose as a traveler from the north. I’ve heard that they are known for their healing. They may be skeptical like Emerta, but if you’re helping them, they may not ask too many questions. I’m sure Denchi will come up with something. He’s one of the elders that they listen to the most. I don’t think anyone would challenge what he says.”

“Are you from the north then since you know healing too?”

“No, I actually came here from the- “ 

She doesn’t realize my question until she catches herself. I give a sly smile as she frowns at me.

“You’re too smart for your own good,” she says as she smacks me on the arm. “You can probably come up with something on your own with that mouth of yours.”

“I learn from the best,” I say, smirking at her. And for an old lady, she’s pretty strong. That kind of hurt!

We laugh, and any tension that was in the room is gone. I’m glad to see the lines around her face and eyes and hear her light laugh. She reaches up to run her hand over my dark hair before she lightly yanks one of my curls.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“I need you to focus,” she says, cupping my face in her hand. “Don’t give them any problems tomorrow. I know you’ll be dying to ask many questions, but you need to listen more than talk. I know that’ll be a challenge for you.” Can she ever pass up an opportunity to be rude? “But you need to make sure that you gain their trust if you want to help them out and if you want me to teach you what I know. You can’t make them suspicious of you, and you definitely can’t let them know we’re here. It won’t be good for you or me. Don’t get distracted either. Make sure you listen to Maeren. I believe he’s supposed to show you around. Be nice to him too. I saw the faces you were making at him earlier.”

I raise my brow at her. 

“First of all, he was rude to me, and what am I supposed to get distracted by? Everything will be new to me, so of course, it’ll be hard to focus on one thing. So why tell me not to get distracted?”

She laughs to herself. I get she’s in a better mood now, but what’s so funny? Did I miss something?

“I guess that’ll be a conversation for later.” She’s full-on giggling now. Whatever the joke is, I’m sure it’s not that funny.

“…Well, if you’re done laughing, I think it’s time that we eat and prepare for tomorrow. I do have a big day.”

“That you do. Sit there. I’ll get it ready. I think you deserve a break since you’ve had such an eventful day.” 

I sit down at the table and relax into the chair. I finally get to leave and go beyond my familiar, very limited, paths and now I don’t have to help prepare a meal? I think she senses my all too obvious happiness because she walks over and pinches my arm.

“Why do you keep hurting me? I already almost died today!” I yelp. Seriously, where is all this strength coming from? This lady is barely as tall as me and looks half my size.

“You didn’t almost die.”

“Yes, I did.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Debatable.”

She doesn’t say anything after that, so I’m sure I won that round. She rests her head on mine and gives me a soft kiss on the forehead.

“I love you, my sweet and crazy boy.”

I look up at her. Every time she tells me that she loves me, I get such a warm feeling that I’m not quite used to yet. At first, I would never say it back to her because I never knew what she meant by it. She would always tell me at random times, like when I would help her cook or clean or after she taught me something useful. Or she would tell me for no reason at all, like now when I’ve made her laugh or annoy her a little. 

At first, I didn’t want to ask her what she meant because at that time, I barely could, and eventually, I felt embarrassed to do so. Then I began to notice the way she would look at me or how she’d hug me or pinch me and laugh. After that, I realized how much she took care of me until I could do it on my own and see how much she cares about me. Of all the things I’ve learned and seen, and all the things I’ve questioned, there’s one that I certainly know the answer to what she means when she says she loves me.

“I love you, too.”