Saoirse and I were getting dressed the next morning when a thought occurred to me.

“Hey, aren’t we gonna shower at some point?”

Saoirse stared at me blankly.

“Sho-wer…?”

“Oh right, uh… bathe? Wash ourselves…?”

This she seemed to understand. She brought out a bucket of well water and put it on the floor in front of me.

“You can wash your face, hands and feet now. We will bathe on… spec-ial days.”

I was about to ask what she meant by “special days” when suddenly there was a knock on the door. We both glanced at each other before she walked over to the door to see who it was.

“Nóra?!” said Saoirse, shocked. “What does she want…”

“Should I hide or something?” I asked. Saoirse looked at me quizzically.

“Where?”

I looked around at the small cottage.

“Point taken.”

Saoirse slowly opened the door. I braced for impact, praying that my handbag was hidden well enough.

“Good morning, Nóra,” said Saoirse. Nóra simply pushed through.

“Where is she, Mairéad?”

As if my nerves weren’t tested enough, Nóra seemed to be flanked by another woman and a man carrying a wooden walking stick, both looking around the same age as her.

“Nóra, you said there was a Moor with young Mairéad, did you not?” said the woman.

“I still don’t believe her anyway,” said the man. “You know how the missus likes to run her mouth.”

“Hush now, both of you,” said Nóra. She turned to Saoirse. “Well, where is she?”

Saoirse hesitated, then slowly turned her head to me. The other three followed Saoirse’s gaze, and found me.

“Um… hi?” I said. “Nice to, er… meet y’all.”

The trio shot over to me like lightning. The woman’s jaw dropped while Nóra and her husband, who smelled strongly of fish, gawked at me.

“See that? I told you both. Mairéad’s found herself a Moor!”

“Saints preserve us! But is she a Moor or a fae…?”

“Nóra, Úna… let the girl be. Just be thankful young Mairéad’s got herself a friend her own age now–”

“Oh hush, Tomás.”

Úna then came close and tried to examine my hair. I smiled at her awkwardly.

“Her hair is so soft! And smells odd… but nice.”

“And she speaks, too!” yelled Nóra. “Did you not hear her speak the tongue of the English just now? Only it sounded different– Mairéad, wherever did you find a creature like this?”

Saoirse groaned again. She clearly wasn’t happy with any of this.

“She’s just a traveler. I’m simply hosting her.”

“I see.”

They all gawked at me for a few more minutes before finally preparing to leave.

“We’ll be off then, Mairéad,” said Nóra. “You will be attending Mass today, yes? Today is the Lord’s Day.”

“Y-yes,” said Saoirse.

The trio left. It was only when Saoirse had shut the door behind them that I realized I wasn’t breathing properly.

“Whoa,” I said. “Now I know what a zoo animal feels like.”

Saoirse seemed a little tense.

“She asked if we’ll be going to Mass today. I don’t know if we should…”

Mass? Is today Sunday?

“You hesitate?” I asked. “Don’t y’all go every week, no matter what?”

“Yes,” said Saoirse. “But only because I must.”

“Wait, do you even believe in religion…?”

Saoirse looked at me. There was a deep sort of pain in her eyes.

“Do you believe in Catholicism?” I asked. “Or maybe you’re a Protestant, like the English…?”

Saoirse hesitated.

“I won’t judge you, Saoirse. I’ll respect you regardless of what you believe in, I promise.”

Finally she took a deep breath, and spoke quietly.

“I… believe… in God. I believe in… learning. But… n-not… the Bible… or the priests… or saints…”

She turned away from me. I walked over to her and smiled.

“Thank you for telling me. And hey, I don’t believe in that stuff either.”

Saoirse looked at me. I looked at her.

“But having said that,” I said. “I still kinda want to go to Mass. I want to see what it’s like.”

Saoirse thought for a moment, then let out a sigh.

“Okay.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” said Saoirse, shaking her head. “The talk will be worse if we don’t.”

I grinned.

“Cool.”