CHAPTER 34

Ganya walked among the tall grasses that lined the bank of the river in Adia. The last light of the day sparkled on the water, which lapped with comforting rhythm against the moss-covered pebbles. Her dear friend Leora walked beside her, and both breathed in the fragrance of fresh water mixed with pine. They carried long, shallow baskets with handles looped around their bent elbows. Occasionally they would reach down to pull a plant up, roots and all, and sometimes they snapped off just the leaves or stems.

These had been long, difficult days for Ganya without her family. First Tali, then Avi, then Tovi, then Tali again—although this time she had been able to give him a long hug and grandmotherly farewell.

She looked into the distance, letting the breeze catch wisps of her white hair. She felt so much older, so much feebler, than she had just a few weeks before. She also felt a resigned peacefulness. She had been through challenges before. With Silas’ help she’d make it through this one, too.

“I hope he knows what he’s doing,” Ganya said more to herself than to Leora.

Leora looped her free arm through Ganya’s. “He always does, doesn’t he? My suspicion is that all will be well. It just may be awhile before we know what ‘well’ looks like.”

Ganya nodded and smiled at her friend. What a gift, to have a friend who was more like family. Leora had been like a sister for most of their adult lives. Nearly thirty years ago she had arrived in the early hours of the morning, soaking wet from the rising waters.

There were floods every few years, and that one was more intense than most. Once they got her to the tree house, it had been weeks before any of them stepped foot on solid ground again. Leora often laughed as she recalled her horror at being trapped up in the trees. “I thought I’d never get down. But perhaps that was Silas’ way of getting me to stay put for a while.”

She lived for a time with Ganya and Avi in the little room that would someday belong to Tovi and Tali. The Tivkas nursed her back to health, and Silas stopped in for daily visits, just as he had while she was imprisoned on the mountain. The dungeons in King Damien’s palace had done great harm to poor Leora, and she didn’t like to talk about it. However, Ganya knew her friend had been through unimaginable horrors. Leora often cried out in her nightmares, begging for her baby to be returned to her. When that would happen, Ganya would knock lightly on her door and enter the room without waiting for permission. She would hold her friend and let her weep as the candlelight chased away the demon memories.

For the last six or seven months, Leora had paid back all this kindness and more. She had walked the painful road with Ganya. Tali’s disappearance, Avi’s death . . . and then Tovi. A runaway. Ganya looked up toward the cloud-shrouded mountain and shuddered. Her life was unrecognizable from what it had been just a year ago.

They walked at a slow pace, and both were quiet until one of Leora’s feet made a loud squish. She poked at the wet ground with a toe. “Do you think it is rising? How long has it been since the last flood?”

“It’s about time for another if my memory serves me well,” Ganya said. “And the ground always knows before we do.” She ran her own feet over a watery patch of grass. “I noticed it several days ago, but I hoped I was wrong. Now I know the waters are coming.”

“We’ll need to tell the others,” Leora said. “We can send them out tomorrow to start storing up some rations. The last few have been mild. This one could be the same, or it may be a real doozy.”

They turned their backs to the river in unison, walking slowly toward the village in the treetops. “I am afraid of only one thing,” Ganya said, her voice quiet, barely heard over the breeze.

“What is it?” Leora asked.

“When the waters rise, there is no going out or coming in. What if Tali and Tovi can’t get home?”

Leora squeezed Ganya’s arm. “Silas will get them home, my friend. He always does.”