Page 23 of Jhon
She smiled at that thought, trying to picture a version of herself that had spent ten years on this moon.
When she closed her eyes, she could see a woman standing on the tundra, legs shoulder width apart, arms akimbo, letting the freezing wind play in her hair and lift her cloak from her shoulders, her face a study in joy and confidence.
By her side stood a big, healthy boy with beautiful, pale-purple skin, hands on his hips and a cocky smile on his face.
Bo.
She smiled in the present now, ready to picture the best possible outcome of her decision to come here.
What could it hurt?
10
ELLA
A few hours later, Ella noticed the ground in the distance darkening slightly. As they drew closer, she saw that it wasn’t the shadow of a floating island, or a cavern of missing land.
Instead, thousands of tiny lavender flowers dotted the pale green lichen, turning the vast tundra into a blanket of colorful beauty. As they approached, the wind changed directions slightly, carrying a delicate, sweet aroma.
“Ohhhh,” she sighed happily. “It’s lovely.”
“It’s called Hera’s mantle,” Jhon said. “The flowers are beautiful, but also nutritious to the local wildlife.”
“What kind of wildlife?” she asked nervously.
“I think you might call them rabbits,” he said. “Though they aren’t exactly that. Very fluffy though.”
“Where?” she asked, looking around eagerly. “What color are they?”
“Oh, they won’t come out with the sleigh moving,” he told her. “They can feel the vibrations in the ground.”
She nodded, feeling disappointed. But there would be other opportunities to explore. Right now, they needed to get to her homestead.
It was just that she wasn’t looking forward to exploring without Jhon. He knew so much about Sigg-3, and he was… good company.
“Hey,” he said. “We’re close, but we have another hour of travel, and I’m getting hungry. Want to stop and eat?”
She knew he might have just seen the disappointment on her face, and he might only be throwing her a bone. But she couldn’t bring herself to care. The idea of food, and one last meal with him, and seeing fluffy moon bunnies, was all just too seductive.
“Yes,” she told him happily. “I’d love to.”
He chuckled and tapped the reins.
The deer drew up and stopped the sleigh.
“How can you secure him?” Ella asked, realizing there wasn’t a tree or a post.
“I’ll put a wedge on the sleigh,” Jhon said. “But he won’t go anywhere anyway. He knows he can’t find enough to eat or drink out here without us.”
Ella shivered at the thought. She wouldn’t be able to find enough food or water without help either. Hopefully, there would be good enough instruction at her homestead for her to keep Bo in food and water.
Jhon hopped down and held his hand out to her.
She took it, relishing the surge of wanting, since it would be one of the last.
It was odd to feel this sudden desire for a man when she was about to be alone on the tundra with a child for years. But she supposed she hadn’t had time to develop those feelings back home, where she was always scrambling to care for her siblings and find odd jobs in her off times.
I didn’t need a man then, and I don’t need one now, she reminded herself.