Read Online Home by Shayna Krishnasamy - Free Book Online Page B

all. Liam stared in amazement as the old woman reached through the branches and pulled open a creaking door. It was as though she’d cracked open the forest itself.
    Shallah had to stoop to get through the doorway, for the entire house had been built to suit the old woman’s size. The stool she offered them by the hearth was also tiny and Shallah sat on the dirt floor rather than break it. Liam crouched by her side, his mouth agape.
    The hemlocks hadn’t only conquered the house’s outer walls, but those within as well. They grew against the wooden frame, their roots ribbing the floor, their branches creating a screen to mask the windows. The roof couldn’t be seen at all for the trees had created their own canopy. The old woman’s pallet lay on a hammock of branches, and drying herbs hung in bunches from the boughs by the hearth. The floor was strewn with cones. Taking one of them in her hand, Shallah had the odd sensation of being both indoors and outdoors at once.
    The old woman appeared out of the darkness at the far end of the room, pushing her way through the branches of the trees sprouting in the middle of the floor. She handed them each a hunk of bread and a wooden cup of some sweet liquid Shallah had never tasted before. Though the brew was cold, it warmed her cheeks. It tasted faintly of rain.
    “Isn’t this part of the forest wonderful?” the old woman said as she took a seat on the other side of the fire. She too was drinking the strange liquid, but her cup was far larger and the wood intricately carved, her fingers covering what might have been a face.
    “It’s something in the air, isn’t it? A certain sweetness?” the woman continued.
    Shallah found herself agreeing unconsciously, nodding her head although she hadn’t heard the question. It seemed that whatever the old woman said must be right.
    “Yes, it can be bewitching,” the woman said, as though supporting a claim Shallah had made. “I was caught up in its enchantment long ago, and it’s kept me here. Its will is strong.”
    Shallah felt her mind clouding over. Her head began to feel extremely heavy, and yet light at the same time. The woman’s voice seemed very far away.
    “Don’t concern yourself,” the woman said. “Once you’ve rounded the hills your mind will clear. I would have kept you here with me, to be my company, oh yes. But now I see this cannot be. I didn’t realize at first who you were. I’ve been expecting you for so long, so long.”
    Liam gazed intently at the old woman as she spoke. He kept blinking at her and squinting his eyes, as though he couldn’t see her properly in the flickering light.
    “But how could you have been expecting us?” Shallah asked in slow confusion.
    “My mother told me the story when I was a little girl, oh so long ago. I’d nearly forgotten. The story of the blind girl and the dark-skinned child; the child of the light and the woman who would guide him.”
    “A story?” Shallah felt as though her ears were filled with wool. She had to strain to make out the words.
    “You are traveling far, are you not?” the old woman said.
    “Very far,” Shallah replied.
    “And there is danger ahead.” The old woman looked off to the north.
    “No,” Shallah said sleepily. “Behind.”
    To this the old woman said nothing, only smiled knowingly.
    “You will not be hindered. You’ll find your way in the end. He will guide you.”
    “Who will?”
    “The child,” the old woman said simply, gesturing to Liam. Shallah tightened her hold on him, as though the old woman’s words implied some threat. Still frowning at the old woman’s face, Liam seemed not to have heard.
    “How could he?” Shallah said. “He’s only a boy.”
    “Oh that’s of no matter,” the old woman said gaily. “Age is of no consequence. He will save us.” She beckoned Liam to her. The boy didn’t move, but a moment later he jerked and his eyes widened. He stared at the old woman as though stunned. Across the