Hello, Everyone!
This is the third part of this little side story about Mary's past. Last time, after stopping her classmates from summoning a demon, she befriended Karina, the girl who had initiated said summoning (but she was actually good, I swear!) We learned about their friendship which had a lot to do with reading books, imagining things and writing them down (three things Mary actually kept on liking in the future). We also learned that Karina didn't like to talk about her family.
(this is foreshadowing)
The End
The years went by. Mary and Kari became inseparable, and although nobody else in their school really liked them, they didn’t seem to mind. After all, they had each other.
That was, until they entered their ninth year at school. They were almost sixteen by that time. Kari had grown tall and slender, and Mary stayed short, almost like all those years of worrying about her height had made her subconsciously not get taller.
One day, without any explanation, Kari stopped coming to school.
Mary waited for her at their usual meeting spot, flipping through the new Imre-and-Rinka story. She waited until the bell rang, and she waited for a couple of minutes more, just in case Kari showed up; but she didn’t.
She didn’t come the next day, either, nor the day after that. Was she sick? She’d never been sick before! Mary had stayed home with fever a few times during the years, but Kari was the epitome of health.
It was hard going to school without her. When Kari was there, Mary didn’t notice all the whispering behind her back, nor did she pay attention to people pointing at her and snickering. With Kari, it had always been “Don’t worry ‘bout it!”
Mary realised that she didn’t have any way of getting to her friend. Kari had never told her where she lived. She had never spoken of her family or what they did.
Mary didn't know what to do.
"Send her a letter, muffin," Lilly suggested when Mary asked for her advice. "The Bearers always know where to find people."
"Even without an address?"
"Even without an address."
So, she wrote Kari a letter. It was short, just asking where she was and why she hadn't been to school. Lilly joined Mary to the nearest Bearer's office and showed her how to post it. The Bearer who took her letter was a stranger but he was kind and he assured her that the letter will find its recipient.
Mary waited for days for an answer that didn't come. She wrote another letter, then another. They were short and concise at the beginning, but after a few weeks spread over pages and pages of words. At one point she found herself writing a letter a day. Maybe if Kari learned how much Mary missed her, or if she was curious enough for a story's cliffhanger, she'd come back?
But she never did.
It was an early evening at the library. Mr. Pruste had left for the fiesta half an hour ago and Mary had stayed behind, as usual. She'd been having more time to read lately. In any other situation, she'd be happy about it, but with Kari gone, the whole thing was kinda bittersweet.
A thud and a muffled curse took her out of her book.
Her heart jumped. Mary dropped her book on the table and followed the noise, hoping beyond hope that history would repeat itself. She opened the storage door and peeked inside.
"I knew I'd find ya here!" Kari said. "Ya haven't even changed the lock after all this time!"
She was wearing a travelling cape, and was holding a giant backpack that had just spilled some of its contents on the floor. Clothes and utensils, and a length of rope lay on the cold stone. Kari started stuffing them back in.
“So, I’ve been thinkin',” she started babbling. “That book we read, about the secrets of the North. How cool was it, eh? Those icy creatures, 'n' the white furry beasts… They sounded really interestin'. Like, ya know, an adventure.”
Mary didn’t say anything. She just stood there, at the door, holding the knob with knuckles that were starting to go white.
“Or, you know, the deeper West,” Kari went on, “With all those dragonborn 'n' wyverns. An' blessed people! Can you imagine bein' blessed from birth? I can’t! How do they know who is 'n' who isn't?”
Mary wasn’t really listening. She didn’t know what she was feeling at this very moment. The first instant of seeing Kari had made her heart leap with joy, but now she was beginning to get angry.
She took a long breath, turned around and walked through the door. Her book was still on the table by the window, she took it and blindly stared at the page.
“I missed you,” Karina said from the doorframe.
Her hand landed on Mary’s shoulder. She pushed it away.
“So what, are ya goin' to avoid me now?"
Mary turned around, angry tears filling up her eyes.
“You left!” she said, the last word sounding like a guilty verdict.
“Yeah?” Karina said with a shrug. “An' you flooded my house with letters. I’d say we're even.”
“No, were not. Where were you?”
Karina rolled her eyes. Mary knew what was coming next.
“Don’t w--”
“Oh, no, I worry!” she cut her off before she could even finish her favourite sentence. “I worry a lot. I worried that something awful has happened to you. That you've been hurt or something. That you've decided that we’re not friends anymore and that you've left. I worried that I was never going to see you again!” She slammed her book on the table. “So don't tell me not to worry 'bout it!”
Karina crossed her arms.
“You think it’s all been roses 'n' honey at my side?” she said. “Ya don’t know what I’m goin' through!”
“Yes, because you never tell me!”
“Oh, you want me to tell ya?” Karina hissed. “Ya really wanna know? Well, buckle up, Windfiddle, ‘cause it’s goin' to be a wild ride!”
And for the first time since they knew each other, she spoke of her family. Her words flowed out, angry and spiteful, and poured over Mary like a waterfall. Her family was a mess, Karina said. She didn’t have a father, not really. He’d gotten out of the picture a long time ago and her mother had lived with several other men since then. Karina had three siblings. She hated them all.
“It was good when it was just me and my mum,” she said. “But they ruined everythin'! An' now she’s havin' another one, and this time the guy she wants me to call ‘dad’ said that I’ve spent enough time at school 'n' I was old enough to ‘help the family out’. He just… took me one day and dropped me off at the mines to start workin' there. Didn’t even let me tell ya!”
Mary stared at Karina with eyes wide open with shock. She pressed her stomach with her arms as if to protect it from the guilt she was feeling. How could she have been angry with her friend when she didn’t know the whole story?!
“I’m… I’m sorry!” she whispered. “I didn’t know… Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Karina shrugged. “Yeah, well, what good would it have done, really?” she said bitterly. “It would've just made you worry. Ya worry too much anyway.”
“No, I could have… I could have helped you!” Mary insisted. She narrowed her eyes with decisiveness. “I still can! What if we talked to your parents?”
“Weren’t you listenin'?!” Kari snapped. “I don’t have parent-S, only my mum and the man she’s currently with!”
“No, listen, it can’t be that bad,” Mary said. “Even if he’s not your birth father, he loves your mother and that means that he must love you, too!”
Kari stared at her with eyebrows low above her eyes.
“You need to go and tell your mom how you feel,” Mary continued, “and I’m sure she’ll take care of it. Just tell her that this work thing is making you miserable and that you don’t really like it.”
Back when Mary was in kindergarten, Lilly and Bramble had tried to make her a performer against her wishes. Talking to them had worked for her. She didn’t see any reason for Kari not to do the same.
Her friend, however, slowly shook her head. “It will not work, Mary,” she said flatly.
“How could you possibly know that? You haven’t even…”
“Tried?” Kari cut her off. “You think I haven’t tried? ALL I’ve been doin' is plead and beg and shout what I want!” She gave out an exasperated sigh. Her eyes were filled with angry tears now. “It’s. Not. Workin'.”
Mary shrunk back into her shoulders.
“You just can’t understand, because ya have such wonderful parents!” Kari continued. “Ya say you’re afraid that they don’t love ya like their own, but guess what! They do! I wish I had a family like yours! I wish I had the love and care and protection that Lilly and Bramble give you! You don’t realise how lucky you are!”
Kari turned around to face the window. Almost a minute went by without any of them speaking.
“I’m leavin',” Kari said.
“What? Where?”
“I don’t know. Anywhere but here. I need to get away”
“But…” Mary hesitated. “It’s dangerous! You could get hurt!”
“Yeah, so?”
“How would you know where to go? What to do? Whom to trust and whom to avoid?”
Kari grinned. “Why do ya think we did all that research? I know everythin' there is to know 'bout the world. Now it’s time for me to get out there 'n' see it with my own eyes. Carve my own path, as the sayin' goes.”
“But…”
“You can come with me if ya want. We can go on an adventure together, like in one of our stories. I’d… I’d like that.”
Mary took a step back. “I can’t…” she stammered. “It’s too sudden... L-lilly and Bramble would… They would worry… I n-- I need time to think…”
“I see,” Kari nodded as if she’d expected that answer. “Sorry, but I don’t have the luxury of time.” She looked at Mary with a lopsided smile. “I’m leavin' tonight.”
Mary bit her lips. Suddenly, she’d lost all her words.
“It’s been fun hangin' out with you,” Kari said. “Goodbye… Rinka Autumnburry.”
“G-goodbye, I- Imre Stormbringer,” Mary said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Kari threw the heavy backpack on her shoulders and climbed on the windowsill. Without turning back, she jumped off and landed in the bushes outside. She dusted herself off, straightened her back and started walking.
Mary gave out a little sob as she watched the figure of her friend--her only friend--disappear in the distance.
She was alone.
Again.
Oh, man! How about this narrative symmetry? I always feel sad when I think about Mary's childhood and lack of friendships. And to have one so deep and lose it... Devastating!
At least now she has friends she would do anything for. Bruno, Aurum and Tesaya (not Agatha, at least not yet) are some of her most precious people in the world!
Next week, there will be another art post where I'll show you all the other illustrations for 'Alone Again' :) After that, there'll be the start of the next chapter when we'll come back to the present and see what our heroes are doing in the Swamp of Agony!
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossary and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: Mary Windfiddle's story is my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum, Bruno and Agatha) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.