The Forest Deep
Part 5
While the village was already bustling in the new day despite the early hour after a festive night, Yavan wondered how Menzo fared. Was he yawning as much as everyone else seemed to be? He stifled one himself with a closed fist pressed to his lips. He felt the ache that accompanied age and the lack of full rest but had fallen asleep sooner than expected. A blessing, despite his sore joints.
After so many years spent travelling, Yavan barely even noticed the stares and excited whispers that surrounded him as waves in a boat’s wake. With no other interaction apart from a quick hand gesture to yesterday’s boys from across the small hamlet, he made the short distance to Medah’s house in a long but relaxed stride.
Pausing for a moment, he murmured a short prayer for Joren and then tapped softly, two slow raps followed by two rapid ones. He heard the door unfasten but the face that appeared was not the one he expected, this one significantly younger.
“Oh,” the girl uttered before pulling the door fully open to him.
Yavan stepped into the dark hut and glanced towards the girl, one eyebrow raised inquisitively. For one short albeit awkward moment, she merely blinked shyly back at him. Yavan’s lips parted with a slightly forced smile.
“How is he doing?” he asked, hoping to help the unforthcoming girl along.