HANDI

The soft soil squished into Handi’s soles as she walked through her forest. The light wetness on her bare feet reminded her of the subtle dangers around, danger that had never hurt her. She believed it never would.

Her concerns of safety had been born from the worries of others, while she knew she alone could run freely through the forest without gaining a scratch. She’d done it hundreds of times before, letting the breeze of freedom flow through her hair. The island didn’t treat everyone with the same level of protection, but that didn’t matter because it had become Handi’s role to protect them all in its stead. So long as the island watched over her, she could watch over them.

Conni ran ahead knowing the safety of a path chosen by Handi. Ludz had vanished at some point during the day to go look for his violin string alone. He had muttered something about Conni’s voice being too shrill before he wandered off. He tried a lot harder than he used to with the young ones, but Ludz loved his alone time more.

Yeshua’s weight was heavy but comforting on her back as he slumbered. He’d done well today walking most of the way back on his own. He grew more accustomed to the island everyday.

The path led to their home base. Conni kept running straight into the shack she shared with Will and Fiu. Will had chosen to stay and read the day away today instead of venturing out with them. Sometimes he found more adventure in the books they found scattered around the island than he did wandering the forest. Handi smiled softly at the thought of Conni filling him in on what he missed today.

Handi walked over to Fiu and dropped her full sack next to him. She kneeled down and dipped her finger into the starchy goo at the bottom of the pot. 

“Found a few more arrows for you,” Handi said. She licked the goo off her finger.She winced in disgust.

“Still bitter,” she said. She trusted Fiu’s skills as a cook, but didn’t understand how he turned this stuff into bread.

She stood up and turned around to find Vince and Ayn sitting by the dead fire together. Vince slumped forward, while Ayn leaned back leisurely. Handi locked eyes with an awkwardly squirmish Vince. He sheepishly looked away like he had done something wrong, which she assumed he did from his numerous new injuries. Instead of just one patch on his head he now flaunted more small ones all over his body. Handi sighed.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she said. He looked at Ayn. That was a curious development. 

“This one’s on Stein. He had another accident in the lab,” Ayn said. Her expression was blank. It unsettled Handi how fast Ayn had learned to lie. But it was obvious from how surprised Vince was. 

She looked to Fiu for confirmation. “Vince was the only one who got hurt.”

Handi twirled her head around in uncertainty. She’d accept their excuse for now, simply because Vince's safety wasn’t much concern to her. It did concern her how willing they were to defend him. “Fine,” she said. “Just don’t move until I get back.”

Vince nodded fast. As she shook her head in disappointment she felt Yeshua wiggle awake on her back. He yawned next to her ear and Handi helped him down. He noticed Vince's injuries through squinty eyes. “Ow, ow, again?” He asked.

She nodded. Handi didn’t have the energy to deal with this again. She marched off in the direction she’d come from without another word, leaving Yeshua in Fiu’s trustworthy watch.

Handi groaned. There was a drag in her step as she wandered through the forest without much direction. At this rate Vince will get injured everyday regardless of if he ventures out or not. She left them to go find him, a blessed creature like they had begged her to the night before. It may not be much use though. She couldn’t believe how hopeless Vince acted. “Can’t leave him alone for a second,” Handi said to her island.

She shook her head again. Following him around would just lead her to going crazy.  “Why didn’t I just leave him?” She asked herself. “I could have just left him.”

If she had stopped to think about it she might have just left him there on the beach far away from her inner sanctuary. Maybe it was a mistake to risk introducing him to the others. Her skin crawled. She stopped in her tracks. He likely spent the entire day trying to convince the others to leave. Her nails dug into her arms as she hugged herself tight. She kneeled in the shadows of the forest.

“I could just leave him,” she considered it. If she led him off into the forest, would he find his way back.

She shook the darkness out of her head. No. She knew right from wrong. She got up and continued walking. The deafening silence soon filled with the chirping of birds in the tree’s above. She looked up and spotted a hole in one of the trees.

“Hello?”

The tree’s rough bark made it easy for her to grasp onto the wood. She climbed up. The chirping grew louder the higher she got. Two birds swooped down. They were tiny with blue backs and white bellies. As they glided down to her she saw the inside of their wings were grey. They flew playfully around her. One had beady black eyes while its friend had eyes that shimmered of gold. She smiled. She found one.

They flapped their wings and soared high above her, above their nest. Handi followed. She picked up her climbing speed. She pulled herself up above the tree line and broke through the dark forest into the bright open blue. She paused to take in the beauty.

Below her a sea of green trees fluttered as the soft wind blew their leaves. The wind gently ruffled her hair like a mother running her fingers through her child’s hair. The birds twirled around her. Handi pulled herself up onto a branch and sat back against the tree. A content smile rested on her lips.

The golden bird perched itself on a branch near her head. It chirped as if to say hello. Handi giggled.

“You want to help me?” She asked.

She reached her hand out to the bird and it jumped onto her finger. She sighed. “A new…” She hesitated. She kept reminding herself that she needed to give Vince a chance. “...friend of mine got himself hurt. He could use your healing.”

The bird chirped again as if to say yes.

“Good…”

She sighed. “I hope he’s thankful this time. This place isn’t bad.” Why didn’t he like her home?

The bird chipped like it was comforting her. It lifted from her finger and flew down leading the way back. “You’re right.” She looked out to her island. Her island was always right. “He’ll come around.”

It would be different this time. She pushed down that lingering sadness. “But why…” She began to ask but stopped herself. She didn’t need an answer for why Vince was here. He was here and she had to deal with that. She descended the tree, following the bird back home.