Day 3 - Scene 1

Enar opened his eyes and for a while he just lay there in the bed; too awake to go back to sleep – too comfortable to get up. Birds sang outside in the orchard and the morning breeze played in the curtains.

Today he'd go on an expedition; a long walk through the forest and a climb up a big hill. He hoped it wouldn't be too far, and the hill not too steep. A bit of a hike would be nice, just not a too long one. The more he thought about it, the more he looked forward to it.

Even so, he made no move to get up; the day could wait a little longer. He closed his eyes and listened to the morning. There was no need to rush.

Somewhere outside in the orchard the laughter of children cut through the birdsong. The kids were up and awake. Better get up and get dressed. Before long someone would come knocking on the door to let him know breakfast was served. Enar yawned one last time and climbed out of bed. Leaving his pajamas in a pile on the floor he pulled on his jeans and on bare feet he tiptoed through the corridor down to the washroom.

Last night, just before going to bed, he'd remembered they didn't have running water out here. Grumbling and reluctant he'd located a jug in a cupboard in the kitchen and, lantern in hand, he'd ventured out into the night to fill up.

At the time it had been a bother; an unexpected chore when all he wanted was to sleep. He'd done it though, and a good thing that. No way he could have gone outside in his pajamas – especially not when others could see him.

Refreshed by the cold water he returned to his bedroom and donned a clean shirt. Yesterday had been warm and he probably wouldn't need his coat today. He glanced at it where it hung on the back of a chair, hesitated for a moment and then reached into the pocket and fished out his phone.

He knew he shouldn't be taking pictures – someone might see him. Still, he probably had some minutes before breakfast. Parting the curtains he looked out but couldn't see anyone. A few minutes. It would do. Better hurry.

Enar switched on the phone – no new messages, no coverage – and took a picture of his bedroom. The click from the little camera echoed through the burrow; much louder than the birds outside. Heart beating like a drum he hurried to disabled the sound and then looked outside again. No one there. No one had heard him.

In the kitchen he took two pictures, one showing the little table and one the old iron stove, and then he headed for the washroom. Too dark. The first picture came out nearly black despite the candle he'd lit earlier. He turned on the flash and as he shot a new picture the door to the burrow banged open behind him.

“Enar, wake up,” shouted Elsie. “Breakfast is ready. Mom says you need to come and eat.”

His face burned like fire and his stomach sank. Had she seen the flash? Had she seen the phone? Did she even know what a camera was? What had she seen?

“Enar? Are you there Enar?”

“Yes.” He cleared his throat and shoved the phone into the pocket of his jeans, hoping she wouldn't have seen or noticed anything. “Yes, I'm here. Just a moment.”

Leaving the washroom he found Elsie standing in the corridor peeking into the bedroom where he'd slept. Perhaps she was curious about his stuff. When he appeared she turned to face him.

“Enar, breakfast is ready. Mom says you should come eat.”

“Yes, yes I will. I was just...” He hesitated. “I was just in the washroom. I was looking for something.” Would she believe that? “I was looking for my socks. You can tell Beired I'll be right down.” That'd do it. She had no reason not to believe that.

“But you don't need socks here Enar, it's not winter now.”

“Oh.” Clearly she hadn't fallen for it. “Well, it's a city fylk thing.” He felt his face grow hot again. “Don't worry about it. It's silly.”

“Okay. I won't.” She paused for a moment. “I promised mom I wouldn't bother you with a lot of questions. I'm not asking too many questions am I?”

Enar smiled. “No no, Elsie, not at all. You don't ask too many questions.”

He went into the bedroom and stopped. He couldn't well drop his phone off here with Elsie standing around looking at him like that. He'd hoped she'd run off to tell Beired he was on his way but apparently the girl had other plans. There was nothing for it. He'd have to keep the phone in his pocket for now. He could drop it off later, before he left.

“Very well,” he said. “I'm sure I'll find my socks eventually. I won't need them anyway, will I?” He smiled at the little girl. “Shall we head down to breakfast then?”

Elsie looked at him and then glanced at the washroom. Enar felt himself grow cold. She had seen something. The girl pulled at her hair and bit her lip.

“Enar,” she said finally. “you forgot to blow out the candle. Dad says we shouldn't leave candles burning. It's not good to waste them.”

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Continued in Day 3 - Scene 2.

Back to Enar's Vacation.