As the General promised, a carrier pigeon was delivered in a small cage before sundown, with instructions on feeding and watering for the time Finn would be taking care of it. She'd never seen such a beautiful bird so close. At the farm they had chickens, but they could hardly compare. This winged creature was white from head to tail, with a delicately curved head, short beak, and long, soft tail feathers. It cooed softy in response to attention and thoroughly charmed Finn. She decided to sleep with the cage next to her bed to listen to its gentle sounds as she fell asleep. For the first time in a while, her dreams were soft and comforting.
At first light the next morning, cart loaded and Peach hooked up, the trio that had set out from their village together prepared to journey home. Mayra had abandoned hope of a journey to the sea. In light of the potential danger to their families and the mission from the General to report back as soon as possible via the carrier pigeon, her wish seemed trivial.
Riley was relaxed now that Roland's absence from their lives was indefinite. Maybe things could get back to normal, or even better than normal, once they arrived home.
Finn was mildly anxious about getting back quickly, but admitted to herself that traveling was much less onerous when she was in full health. She decided that if she traveled again in the future, she would prefer horseback.
They passed through the gate and outside of Klain with far less trouble than they had had coming in. Riley and Finn sat on the front bench while Mayra took up the back. She decided she'd like to look back at Klain as long as she could and imagine the adventures that might have been, had they stayed longer. She stole occasional glances South as if imagining she could catch a glimpse of the far-away sea. The group had no need to stop at the nearby towns; Dr. and Mrs. Sherman had generously replenished their supplies, including a small bag of medicinal herbs for Amelia. Thus, the journey continued uninterrupted.
"Beautiful day," commented Riley.
"Yes, it is," Finn looked curiously at him. He wasn't usually one for small talk.
"What did you think about your great adventure to the big city and beyond? Do you think you'll write a book about it?"
Light teasing, that was more like it. "Don't you think Mayra bought enough books to last her quite a while?" The trio had taken the opportunity to shop in town yesterday afternoon so that Finn could buy the promised sweets and souvenirs for her brother.
Riley laughed, "She did indeed. Little troublemaker borrowed a bunch of money off me to do it, too."
"It's not like you had anything you needed to buy," Mayra called from the back of the cart.
"It's not your business whether I did or not, just make sure you pay me back," Riley taunted back.
Finn smiled, "It was nice of you to lend her the money; she wants adventure so badly, and the books help her have some."
"Maybe I've turned over a new leaf," Riley said solemnly, "it's possible getting out of the village made me realize I can't take people for granted."
"Well, I'm glad that all it took was me almost getting myself killed," Finn said lightly. Riley's pensive tone threw her off balance, and she tried to ease his seriousness a bit. She sighed and chided herself. Riley being genuine should not provoke that reaction from her. Just because he'd hidden behind a wall of humor in the past didn't mean she should shore it up when he showed signs of taking it down.
"Just don't go doing it again, ok?" He gave her a lopsided grin, "You really scared me." The smile faltered.
"I scared me too," Finn whispered, looking away.
"Hey," Riley said, reaching over to take her hand in his, "you're safe now."
She rewarded him with a brave smile, and he squeezed her hand once and let go. He didn't want to know if she would have pulled away if he held it longer.
"Do you ever get tired of driving the cart?" Finn changed the subject to one with less gravity. "You've done it the whole way, don't you ever want a break?"
"Are you asking me to teach you to drive?" He eyed her with a growing smirk.
"It doesn't look that hard," Finn protested stubbornly. "Peach is a good horse and she seems to follow the road just fine. I thought you might want to rest or something once in a while."
Riley bit back a laugh. "I will gladly let you have a turn driving the cart, Finn. It'll be nice to put my feet up and relax." He handed her the reins and propped his feet up on the front of the cart, leaning back against the cover and lacing his fingers behind his head in a lazy stretch.
"Hear that, Peach?" He said. "Finn's driving now, so don't try anything."
Peach's ears flicked back, and she turned her head so that one great eye examined the new driving situation. She snorted and shook her head, then picked up her pace.
"Woah! We don't need to hurry all that much," said Finn, startled by the sudden change.
"Peach, she said no need to hurry," Riley was highly amused. Peach's quick trot brought the cart straight off the road and into some tall grass, at which point Peach promptly halted and began grazing on the lush blades.
"Hey! What are you doing??" Finn pulled at the reins, trying to steer Peach back to the road. The horse yanked her chin away, nearly wrenching the reins from Finn's grasp.
Riley could no longer contain his chuckling and burst into hearty laughter, which Mayra joined. Face burning in humiliation, Finn shoved the reins back into Riley's hands. He gave her a winning smile and a wink.
"I'm sorry, Finn, I'll deal with this vexatious beast. Peach!" The horse raised her head. "Fun's over, back on the road." She heaved a sigh and snatched another mouthful of grass, but obeyed her master.
Finn's mouth hung open. "That's the last time I compliment her. Good horse, indeed." She crossed her arms and glowered at the creature. Peach responded with something akin to a chortle.
"She'll fool ya. People are like that too sometimes." Riley added. Very subtle, he thought to himself sarcastically.
"You mean the Provider?" Finn questioned. She'd been pondering how he became one of the leaders of a large city when his own daughter seemed to despise and dread him.
Riley was grateful for the out from his less-than-tactful statement. "I don't understand the man. Won't help with the medicine shortage, apparently wants to ship his own daughter off to marry some stranger. Why does the city vote for him?"
"I'm not sure," admitted Finn. "There are a lot of things about Klain I may never understand."
"I want to go back someday," Although Mayra was only half-listening to Riley and Finn's conversation, she wanted it known that she would willingly journey back if the occasion arose.
"I'm utterly shocked. Completely flabbergasted. You've caught be by surprise entirely," Riley's sarcastic but good-natured reply amused his sister.
"I know, you're a bit slow. It's my burden as your nearest relative to keep you informed about things that should be obvious." Mayra jabbed back.
"Like what?" Finn asked, knowing there must be some truth behind the jest.
Riley glanced back at his sister with a light warning in his eyes, but he needn't have worried about her getting too specific about things that she thought 'should be obvious' to him.
"Oh, everything," she responded. "basic hygiene, the culinary arts, the meaning of life, the secret to happiness, all of it."
Finn giggled, "If you know the secret to happiness and the meaning of life, I'd love to hear them."
Mayra sobered. "You may have... only one." She uttered this in a comically ominous tone.
"Ok then..." Finn tapped her chin with her index finger in deep thought, "I would like the secret to happiness."
"That's the easiest one," Mayra said. "Thankfulness."
"Really, that's it? Thankfulness?" Riley peered at his sister with criticism. Surely she could have come up with something more creative.
Finn nodded, "That makes a lot of sense, actually. If you're grateful for what you're given, there's no time wasted wanting more or being sad about what you've lost. I expected a joke answer out of you Mayra, but that's actually something worth thinking about."
"I think I'm slightly offended," Mayra squinted at the two on the bench, "but no matter. I'm thankful for this journey, for the people I'm with, and for the good gifts provided to me."
"Provided to you... by us?" Riley was confused by her wording.
"By you, by mother, by someone greater. Who knows where all life's gifts come from?"
Mayra turned back to stare out the back of the cart again in silence.
"She can be a bit strange sometimes," Riley confided in a whisper.
"I heard that!"
"It shouldn't be news to you, all-knowing one."
"It's not." Mayra smiled.
Finn laughed. "I like you, Mayra, you're fun, even if you are strange."
"Speaking of fun, I'm going to feed your bird as long as I'm being bounced around back here," Mayra responded.
"Follow the instructions next to the cage, and be gentle with it. It's not my bird, it's the General's. Or Klain's? I lose track of these things. Their governmental system is too complicated."
"I completely agree," Put in Riley. "The village has run simply and well without such an intensive and ridiculous structure full of unnecessary rules."
"All rules come from somewhere," said Mayra. "Every time we got a new brother, he'd misbehave in new ways and Mama had to make more rules. I dread to think it, but our house may have gotten more weird rules than Klain if we had any more siblings."
Riley laughed, "That may be true. I suppose Klain doesn't have the 'no taking food from your brother's plate until after he's left the table for more than two minutes' law."
"Or the 'no sticking live animals in your mouth' law." Mayra joined in.
"Or my personal favorite, the 'you don't have to share a new toy on the first day you get it' law." The siblings burst into laughter, and Finn joined in. Their family was different for its size and boisterousness, but she was all too familiar with the creative misbehaviors a young boy could perpetrate.
She couldn't wait to get home.