Eira's knife ripped from under her pillow as a knock came. After a short time of pointing it at the door, there was another knock, followed by a woman's voice.
"Chamile? Chamile, are you home?"
Sighing with relief she replied, "Uh, y-yeah! I'm here!"
"You missed the meeting, is everything alright?"
"*#%@, did I? Sorry, uh, I'll... just give me a second!"
Eira leapt out of bed to the table and stuffed the knife into the stolen bag, then just as quickly threw it under the bed. The buckles scraped across the floor louder than Eira liked.
"Chamile?"
"Sorry, I'm just-"
Eira looked down at her fully clothed form.
"-just indecent, hold on!"
"Take your time, we don't want you to hurt yourself."
Eira ran for her wash basin, splashed her face clean, and quickly dried it off. She then made her way to the door, before stopping as she realized the bag was still barely visible. Not wanting to take any more risks for the day, she ran to it, pulled the blankets loose, and draped them over the gap between the frame and the floor. Finally satisfied, she went back to the door, collected herself, and opened it to see a blonde, curly haired woman with a green dress and a padded vest standing in the doorway. Standing just behind her was a rotund man with a thick mustache that curled at the ends.
"Hey Galilahi!"
Galilahi hugged Eira as she stepped out the door. "Hi Chamile! Everyone was worried when you didn't show up."
"Sorry, its been a long day. Hey Yogriche!"
Yogriche smiled in greeting, causing the ends of his mustache to raise upward. Eira backed out of the hug and smiled back to both if them. Galilahi's eyes narrowed as she looked at Eira.
Eira asked, "How's your daughter?"
Yogriche chuckled, "She's still chasing off suitors faster than I am."
"It's easy to do anything faster than you, big guy."
Yogriche stuck his tongue out at Eira, who responded in kind.
Galilahi turned to Yogriche and said, "Can you let the volunteers know she's alright?"
"Sure thing Gali. It's good to see you Chamile! Glad you're not dead."
"Right back at you."
Yogriche walked back down the street, whistling a cheery tune as he went. When he was out of earshot, Galilahi looked back to Eira, clearly concerned.
"You've been crying."
"What? *Pft.* No I haven't."
Her head tilted forward, her eyes hard. "Chamile, the swelling may have gone down but it's not gone completely. What's going on?"
&@^*. Think fast, Eira, think-think-think!
"I..." Eira gave a heavy sigh, "I've been homesick."
Galilahi's gaze softened, "Let's go inside."
Reluctantly, Eira relented and opened her door, leading her into her quarter-renovated shack.
"Sorry for the mess. Like I said it's been a long *@&% day."
Eira pulled a chair out from the table for Galilahi to sit, making sure it's back was towards the bed.
As she sat down in it, she said, "Trust me, this is clean compared to the other houses on this road."
Eira sat down opposite her. They sat in silence for a bit. Galilahi waited for her to reopen the conversation, which she was thankful for.
"I... I've been thinking a lot more about Prosvar the past few weeks."
"Your family home right?"
"Yeah."
"What part?"
"Mostly my dad. The recent rains made me think of him. He used to love the rain... every time it came he would stand outside and let himself get soaked, no matter how bad the wind or thunder got. I remember the last time it rained before... he took me outside with him. My brother too, mom stayed on the porch where it was dry. She hated getting wet for any reason other than getting clean. My dad taught me how to dance in the rain. We danced in the puddles before they soaked into the sand, and the footprints would stay for weeks."
"That sounds like a lot of fun."
"It was. I miss him."
"I know loss like that can be hard. I've got a friend who lost his parents when he was a boy too, his village in the mountains got attacked. He tells me he thinks about both of them every day. I remember the first time he came into our store, the sight of the lamps caused him to run straight out the door as soon as he saw them. It was so sad."
"When was that?"
"Seven winters ago, he's doing a lot better now. I've been at The Shouldered Burden for going on sixteen winters, and that's one of the many things I'll never forget."
"Sixteen? When did you start, age four?"
Galilahi laughed. "You're too kind Chamile. No, I started working there to help my husband about a year after we married, and trust me he needed it."
Eira's thoughts lingered on the boy Galilahi had mentioned.
"Does that person still live around here? My brother told me once he liked being around people who've been through the *@&$ like he had."
"He is. Maybe one day I'll convince him to come talk to you. Speaking of your brother, have you gotten any letters from him recently?"
Eira felt a twinge in her heart as she thought of the last conversation she had with him.
"No... He hasn't sent any replies."
Eira had never meant to let anyone know that she had family, but Galilahi had a knack for getting people to open up. She would have made a great spy for that reason alone, but she didn't have the heart for it. Not that she could ever be convinced to knowingly betray her own kind. It truly was a shame that she was human.
Galilahi put her hand out, and Eira hesitantly grabbed it.
"He'll come around, Chamile. The giving cart is the best thing that's happened to this city in years, and you're the one we have to thank for it."
Eira smiled.
"And remember, home is what you make of it. You've made a good one here."
"Yeah. I guess I have," Eira lied.
Galilahi continued to hold Eira's hand in hers. While she found Galilahi's presence infuriatingly comforting, Eira chose to pull away after a few seconds of silence.
"Well, the meeting may be over, but we still have plenty of supplies to pack. I was able to convince the tanners guild to donate a bunch of bags. You want to come?"
"Yeah... Yeah, I do."
Galilahi smiled, "Alright then. We'll go as soon as you're ready."
