This story is part of the Wanderer series.
Rin trudged through the narrow street, snow crunching under her boots. People walked by, heading in the opposite direction, some acknowledging her with a smile and a brief nod. She veered off once she arrived at a small stone hut. Stepping under the awning, she stomped out her boots and walked in, pulling open the curtain door.
Warmth engulfed her as she entered into its dark interior, soothing her tired muscles. Ani was sitting by the fireplace, reading a book. She looked up as Rin entered.
“Welcome back.” She smiled mildly, closing her book.
“Hey,” Rin breathed, still shivering. She stiffly bent down to untie her boots.
Ani got out of her chair and went to Rin’s side. She stood there, giving Rin her own room to do what she needed, but was ready to help if necessary. After all, Rin was teetering as she stood on one leg and held on to the threshold, slipping her leg out of her boots and into her indoor shoes. As she untied her cloak, she glanced towards the other side of the room at the crumple of blankets.
“How is she?” Rin asked.
“Nozomi still has a fever. But she’s been sleeping soundly.”
“Ah…” Hanging her cloak by the door, she stepped up into the dwelling. “Has she been eating, at least?”
“I coaxed her into eating something this morning, shortly after you left. She has not eaten supper yet.”
“Ah, alright.”
Ani pointed towards the fireplace. “There is porridge in the kettle for the two of you.”
Rin nodded, smiling warmly. “Great, thanks so much.”
Walking to the bedside, she discerned Nozomi’s face under the towel on her forehead and the shadows casted by the blankets overtop of her, shielding her from the light of the fire. Rin crouched down next to her and watched attentively, her eerily peaceful sleeping face. Letting go of her breath, Rin relaxed after she was able to pick out signs of her chest slowly rising and falling under the blankets.
Ani tilted her chin down, gazing at the floor as she shuffled by the doorway. “Should I give you some space?”
“Ah, go ahead. You can return home. Thank you.”
She nodded. “I’ll be next door if you need me.”
Changing her shoes, Ani slipped between the curtains, leaving a cold breeze from her exit. She slid the wooden door shut from the outside, sealing out the bitter bite of the winter wind.
Rin stepped over to the softening fire and took a bowl from the end table. Lifting the lid from the kettle and scooping out some porridge, she took a spoon and returned to the bedside. With her foot, she nudged aside the blankets on her side of the bed to make room for her to sit down. Nozomi didn’t seem to notice. Setting down the bowl on the floor, Rin took the towel off Nozomi’s forehead and felt it.
Gently shaking her shoulder, Rin spoke. “Hey. Nozomi. …Nozomi.”
Eventually, Nozomi responded by tilting her head away, then back towards the voice. Her eyes opened halfway, glazed and directionless, but she knew who was there, a smile developing on her face.
“Back already?” she muttered.
“What do you mean already?” Rin teasingly griped. “I’ve been working all day.”
Nozomi didn’t say much else, not even returning her banter. Rin grew serious again.
“How are you feeling?”
Closing her eyes, Nozomi breathed in, but didn’t open her mouth. It seemed like too much effort for her to measure how she was feeling.
Rin gently lifted the layers of blankets a little bit to peek under. Reaching in, she gently rested three fingers on her bandaged torso. She watched for any microexpressions from Nozomi as she did this. Quickly after, Rin retracted as Nozomi knit her brows a little, like she was wincing.
“Does it still hurt?”
“Your hands are cold,” she complained.
Rin lightened up. “But… does it still hurt?”
“… I don’t know. Your hand is too cold.”
Sighing, Rin gave up. “Geez… Well, you tell me if you hurt, alright?”
She didn’t say anything else. Scooching closer, Rin took her own pillow and tapped Nozomi’s shoulder.
“Can you sit up?”
Without much haste, Nozomi turned to the side. Rin pulled Nozomi’s shoulder to help her sit up a bit while pushing another pillow under her head. Bringing the porridge up to her face, Rin helped her eat a bit before helping herself to the rest after Nozomi lost interest in eating. She tried to cheer Nozomi up by talking about her day.
“We finished the repairs on the bridge across the Glimmering River today. So we can cross back over when we need to leave.”
“Mm. That’s nice.”
“I mean, I guess it helps that the river is frozen right now. So maybe it wasn’t that hard.”
“Mm.”
“But a bridge is still good. You know… because it’s not just people using it.”
“Mhm.”
“The best I can do to repay them right now. And… you know, keep myself busy.”
“…”
There was a rattle at the front of the hut as the wind battered the wooden door. They could hear the winter wind gush around their stone shelter, as if waves of little needles were pelting it. Rin looked up to the dark ceiling, watching shadows dance on its smooth surface. Their hut produced not even a quiet creak from the wind’s onset.
“How fortunate it was that we found this village,” she mused.
“Hm,” Nozomi agreed.
Sighing, Rin sat back against the wall and placed down her bowl, letting the warm feeling of a full stomach set in. “I don’t know what we’d do right now if we were still out there.”
“Mhm.”
“I wonder how these people live here, where it’s cold almost all year round.”
Nozomi was silent for a bit, before finally speaking. “Sen used to tell me stories… about how the winter people had to hunt all year for their food.”
“Yeah, they must have to trade for everything else, because I don’t know if you could farm here.”
“I don’t know,” she echoed.
“But, I mean, even their porridge tastes a little different.” Rin looked down at her bowl, lifting a hand and making the shape of a ball between her fingers. “You know, the pieces are bigger. Or, not bigger, but, they’re like seeds, or something. I think they’re seeds.”
Nozomi did not chime in. Taking off her shoes and socks, Rin swiveled her feet over the wooden frame into the bed, slipping in under the blanket. It was already lukewarm underneath, because she was sitting on top earlier. The heat from her friend’s nearby body also added extra comfort. Nozomi slid further down the two pillows she was resting on, curling up a bit as cold air rushed underneath from Rin’s entrance.
“People really do live everywhere, huh?”
“Mhm.”
“You would think no one would settle up in these plains. And yet, people do, and I don’t know why.”
“…”
“I mean, it’s a warm little community, you know? So…”
“Mm.”
“Maybe that’s why. I just don’t know how it formed in the first place.”
“Mm… Nomads, maybe?”
“Maybe.”
They were silent again, with nothing but the howling wind. Rin lowered her head to lie down on the bare bed, without her pillow. She continued to watch the shadows on the ceiling.
“I don’t know. For me… it’s just a very nostalgic feeling.”
Nozomi turned her head to the side a little, gazing Rin’s way.
“Seeing the camaraderie of this little community.”
“Mm…”
“You know… seeing what it means to be part of something, you know?”
“…”
“Everyone here… working together… eating together… knowing each other’s faces…”
Breathing out, Nozomi shifted her gaze, watching the ceiling with Rin.
“I can’t help but feel at home here as well.”
Dipping her chin and pulling the blanket up over her mouth, Nozomi dropped her gaze. “Yeah…” she murmured.
Thinking about home, Nozomi recalled the town she first met Rin after Sen disappeared. How they took her in after she lost contact with the flying castle that was her home. Even though they were on the other side of the world, it didn’t cease to amaze her how similar these pockets of community were. The feeling of home… it only made her miss it even more. Her home in the sky with Sen.