The children spent the rest of the day wandering the city. With their meager coins, the children bought stuffed buns for their breakfast, an affordable street food that was favored by everyone rushing to and fro on their way to work. The shops lining the streets in the capital of Southlake looked very fancy to Mina and Tanner, who stared openly at all the varied products, drooled at the food, and otherwise delighted in the sights and sounds. Grandma smiled at their enjoyment, watching through Mina’s eyes and trying to figure out the local writing system.
In one shop, there was a young man sitting at the counter with a slab of slate and a stick of chalk. When the children peeked in, he looked up and gestured them inside. “Looking for anything in particular?” he asked with a friendly smile.
“No sir, just browsing,” Grandma answered.
The shop had all sorts of writing tools, from quill pens to ink brushes, charcoal pencils and pressed sticks of chalk. Rolls of vellum and paper lined one wall of the establishment. A cabinet displayed a dazzling array of colorful inks and paints. Grandma’s fingers itched at the sight of all the stationery, her eyes glowing with desire.
Seeing the avarice in the girl’s face, the shopkeeper pulled out a sheet of thin paper and a soft brush. “Would you like to play?” He asked gently. “I can only let you use the black ink, not the colors, but you’re welcome to try.”
Tanner, already bored, huffed impatiently by the door. But Grandma smiled from ear to ear and took the brush with eager hands. She dipped the plush fur of the brush in the cup of water that the man set out, soaking the bristles thoroughly, then gently stroked the excess moisture off against the edge of the cup. Carefully, Grandma touched the very tip of the brush into the small saucer of ink, rubbing the hairs on a clean part of the plate to blend the color up the hairs.
With a few deft, evocative strokes, Grandma painted a shrimp on the delicate paper. Its body curved in an impression of movement, its claws reaching out, antennae sweeping dramatically back and away.
“My goodness, little miss. You’re quite the talented painter!” The shopkeeper stared at the painting, then up at the girl. “May I keep this?”
Grandma smirked, and held out her hand, palm up. “Sure, mister.”
The shopkeeper laughed heartily, pressed a few coins into her open hand, and took the painting, clipping it up onto a shelf to dry. “Come paint for me again, little miss. If your paintings sell, I’ll give you a cut of the earnings.”
Grandma counted the coins. “If you pay me this much upfront every time, then I’ll only demand half the earnings from the sales,” she bargained.
“We’ll see. Come again next week.”
Grandma waved goodbye to the shopkeeper and the children left. Once they were safely out of earshot, Tanner grabbed Grandma’s hand and tugged her around to face him. “Where did you learn how to paint? I know for sure the Duke never spent that much money on you.”
[Oh no, he’s mad.] Mina cringed inside.
“Listen Tanner, I know I’ve been keeping a lot of secrets from you. If you want to know, I’ll answer all your questions, but not here. Let’s go somewhere quiet.”
[Are you really going to tell him?] Mina asked, panicking. [What if he doesn’t believe us? What if he runs away and tells everyone? What if he hates us for lying to him?]
[Then we’ll run away from him. It’s better to know what kind of person he is sooner than later. You already like him, right? That’s why you’re so scared.]
[Grandma!] Mina wailed.
Grandma tried to soothe the girl. Tanner was her first friend, more or less, and she was terrified of all the ways this could go wrong. Grandma sympathized with Mina. She too had been a scared and lonely child, desperate for any affection or attachment. But lies built up over time, growing until they became an insurmountable wall, so for the really important things, it was better to tear down that wall early and get everyone on the same page. Mina having two people in her head seemed like kind of a big deal.
The pair cut their tour of the capital short and went back to the inn. In the stillness of their room, Grandma sat Tanner down on the floor, then took a seat opposite him. “This is going to be very hard for you to believe. I’d like it if you could listen to me all the way to the end. Then, if you have questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.”
At the unexpected solemnity, Tanner could only nod. “All right, I’ll listen.”
“Inside Mina’s body, there are two people. One of them is the original Mina. You know her, she’s the bastard daughter of Duke Avery, and was abused by everyone at the estate. The other one is me. I’m an old woman from a different world, and I’m not sure how I got here. I went to sleep in my world, and woke up in Mina’s body. I saw how the people at Avery’s estate treated Mina, so I decided to run away with her. Since then, Mina and I have been trading places. Whenever life is too hard or scary, I take over and help Mina get through it.”
Tanner stared, his mouth hanging slack in disbelief. “So are you the Grandma that Mina has been talking about?”
“Yes.” Grandma was surprised by the question, but grateful that it was something she could answer so easily. She was half afraid that he would demand some kind of proof for her outrageous tale, but she supposed that Mina had done enough strange things that Tanner could swallow even this ridiculous story.
“I knew it!” Tanner shouted. “I knew she didn’t have a Grandma back at the Duke’s house!” He fumed for a few seconds, then cocked his head. “So all that fighting was you?” Grandma nodded. “And the magic?”
“I know a little bit about this world from a story my granddaughter told me back home. I used that knowledge to experiment with magic, and it’s working very well so far. Then I taught it to Mina, and you too.”
Tanner dug the heels of his hands into his eye sockets. “This is wild!” He shook his head, and suddenly froze as his gaze landed on the golem bundled in the corner.
Grandma turned to follow his gaze. “Oh yes, the golem. Sometimes I use the golem so that I can be away from Mina. It’s pretty inconvenient though. Whenever I fall asleep, I slip back to Mina, and then the golem loses its shape.”
“Was that you patting Mina on the head then?” Tanner narrowed his eyes.
“Yes it was,” Grandma said with a laugh.
They sat in silence for a moment. Well, Tanner sat in silence. Mina was babbling anxiously in Grandma’s head. [Does he believe you? Is he mad? What if he turns us in? Oh Grandma, why did you tell him!]
Grandma listened to Mina’s anxious spiral with stolid fortitude, waiting until Tanner took another breath and met her eyes. “I guess I’ll trade you a secret too,” he said. His voice was even and steady, but Grandma could see the way his fists tightened, the knuckles turning pale with the force of his grip.
“You don’t have to,” she told him softly. “I didn’t tell you my story with the expectation of any kind of payment.”
“But I want to.” He took a deep breath. “I’m not a real boy.”
That finally got Mina to quiet down. [Wait what?]
“Hold on.” Grandma put up a hand to forestall Tanner’s next words. “Do you mean you’re a girl pretending to be a boy, or do you mean you’re a boy but you got stuck in a girl’s body?”
Tanner stared at Grandma, stunned. “I–” he started, then stopped. “I’m–” he tried again, but no words followed. The boy sat with his mouth opening and closing for a few seconds, his throat working.
“It’s all right. Take your time.” Grandma leaned back on her hands. “You know, back in my world, I used to be stuck in a boy’s body, but I always knew I was a girl.” She tilted her head and watched the emotions flicker across Tanner’s face. Confusion, fear, uncertainty, and finally, elation.
“I’m a boy stuck in a girl’s body,” he said at last, his voice very very small.
“Yeah, that happens sometimes,” Grandma sighed. “It’s awful, because people will tell you all sorts of hurtful things without understanding.” She laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Thank you for telling me, Tanner.”
[Now what?] Mina asked.
[Now we get food, wash up, and go to sleep early for tomorrow,] Grandma answered matter of factly.
“So you’re not,” Tanner looked down, suddenly shy. “You’re not mad at me?”
“Oh sweetie,” Grandma hugged Tanner gently, folding the boy into her arms. “Of course I’m not mad at you! I’m so happy you shared your secret with me. Is that why you’ve been sleeping on the floor? Because it’s the manly, chivalrous thing to do?”
“Y-yeah,” Tanner mumbled into Grandma’s shoulder. It felt weird to be comforted by a girl only a year older than himself, even though the person inside the body was an old woman.
[Mina, how would you feel about sharing the bed with Tanner? You’re both kids, so I personally don’t care either way, but if you’re not comfortable with it, then I won’t offer.]
[Even when I thought he was a boy – I mean, had a boy’s body – I didn’t mind the thought of sharing a bed. It’s just sleeping anyway. But only if he wants to.] Mina stumbled over the words, but her heart was in the right place.
“Do you want to sleep on the bed too?” Grandma asked as she released Tanner. “Mina said she doesn’t mind, since it’s just sleeping.”
“The floor does get cold and uncomfortable,” Tanner muttered. “I guess it’s all right with me, if Mina doesn’t mind.” Tanner glanced up at Mina’s face. “What about you, Grandma? Do you mind?”
“Me? Of course not. I’ve raised my fair share of kids and grandkids, and slept in the same bed with them over the years.” Grandma climbed to her feet. “Come on, let’s go get some dinner and go to sleep early.”
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