Chapter 16 - Part I

"The Cirren people are easily identifiable by their looks. Their hair is often described as the color of the night and their eyes as the bright stars. When they first appeared 2000 years ago, people believed them to be ravens who had been turned into humans by the Black Witch to spy on the common people. Some claimed to even have seen the transformation themselves," Dre read. Samuel looked at her proudly. He was amazed how fast she had started to make sense of the words that had looked like some weird pattern to her less than a week ago.

"It makes no sense," she said. "Why would a witch spy on the common people? And turn birds into humans?"

"Well, Dre, people thought differently 2000 years ago," Samuel answered. He was tired and not in the mood to discuss the essence of life. He rested his head on the pillow and looked at the carriage standing by the road. It was Dre's first ride with one and she hadn't liked it. That is why they had decided to spend the night on the ground. It was more dangerous this way, but at least they could all rest.

"Still, seems quite rubbish, if you ask me," Dre said turning her eyes back on the page and started reading again.

"Although even the Cirren people themselves don't know their true origin, it is now proven to be the consequence of a genetic disorder which besides altering the looks causes higher intelligence and better resistance to illnesses," she stopped suddenly looking at Samuel, her face full of surprise.

Samuel didn't know much of the Cirren history but he knew not to trust everything that was written. Dre seemed to think that if it's in a book, it must be true.

"It explains so much," she continued. Her eyes looked even brighter than the stars in the dim light of the fire, shadows dancing on her face creating a mesmerizing show.

"I have never caught the flu or even had a fever," Dre spoke so fast Samuel had trouble understanding every word.

"Your living conditions just helped to build up your resistance," Samuel mumbled to himself. Dre didn't listen to his explanations.

"Even when the plague hit Sencor and at least a hundred people died, I survived."

"It wasn't the plague, just a really bad case of food poisoning."

"What about my intelligence then?" Dre asked. It appeared she had been listening after all. "A few days ago I couldn't tell the difference between 'A' and 'W'. Now I can read and make sense of it."

That was a mystery to Samuel. He had thought it would be impossible to learn to read at her age not to mention the speed she had managed to accomplish it with. He hated to admit it, but there might have been a point in Dre's claim.

Dre must have noticed the struggle he was having with coming up with a solid answer and she started laughing. Her laugh was beautiful but it had started to annoy him a bit. It was as if she had kept herself from laughing all her life and was letting it all out now. There was a limit to how much laughter a person could stand.

“So you admit that I’m extraordinarily smart?” Dre asked.

“I just think you’ve had an extraordinary teacher!” Samuel answered with a smirk.

“Oh, really?” her face was lighting up implying she had already come up with a comeback. Samuel thought it was sweet how her face betrayed so much of what she was thinking.

“Then why can I read the alphabet backwards and you can’t, my extra ordinary teacher?” she asked emphasizing the word ‘ordinary’.

“I think it’s what every teacher strives for – we want our students to better than us.”

Dre let out another one of her laughs filling the woods with sound. Her hair fell on her face as she shook with laughter. Samuel found his mind wondering off to how good it would be to capture that emotion on paper. He had packed all the colors he had with him so that he would be ready when the opportunity striked. For some reason, Dre was still thinking his offer to draw her, had been a joke. No matter how many times he asked her, she didn’t take it seriously.

“Well, teacher,” Dre said, finally recovering from her laughing strike. “I think it’s time for bed. Do you want a bed-time story?”

“I’d rather be alone with my thoughts,” Samuel said teasing her.

“I’ll take it as an insult,” she replied with a grin. She didn’t put her book aside. As Samuel pulled his blanket closer, she was still reading as if she was trying to make up for all the time she had spent without books. At least that’s what he thought.

“Already sleeping?” he heard his mother’s voice.

“No, someone is reading out loud again!” Samuel said opening his eyes.

His mother smiled. “A life without reading is a life not worth living,” she said. “An old Cirren proverb.”

“That’s what my Grandpa said,” Dre looked up from the book. Whenever she spoke of her Grandpa, her eyes filled up with tears. She didn’t cry but she looked heartbreakingly sad.

“I remember when I went to school, there was a Cirren boy in my class. He was the brightest, the most humble person,” Sephora said. “He always had his nose in some book. Most of the girls in my class had a crush on him. He was so different, so mysterious.”

Samuel looked at her with interest. It wasn’t ordinary that his mother started reminiscing. When he was young, she had often sat by his bed and tell tales but it seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Most of the boys I’ve known have just thought I looked weird,” Dre commented.

“They’re stupid! You look beautiful,” his mother said and Samuel found himself agreeing. “And he was beautiful, too – inside and out. He had a kind heart, he could never say no to a fellow student in need of help. Some took advantage of his skills but he didn’t mind. Without him half of the class would’ve failed.”

“What does he do now? Does he live in the Cirren mountains?” Dre asked.

“No,” Sephora said. “No one heard of him after graduation. We all assumed he had left to become a scholar - it was the expected path for a Cirren. But he had gotten himself into a big mess instead, ended up in Sencor with his friends.”

“How?” Dre asked. “What did he steal?”

“There aren’t many things that earn a person a trip to Sencor but I don’t know his story that well.”

“Too bad! I’ve always wondered what did my family do. For some reason no one wants to talk about it. One time I even went around town asking others about what they had stolen,” Dre smiled thinking back on her actions.

“I can help you out with that one, dear,” Sephora said.

Samuel lifted himself up and Dre moved closer, too.

His mother made a dramatic pause before starting again. Samuel figured it might have been deliberate but he wasn’t sure.

“Your family stole one of the Stone Birds!”