Page 103 of Into the Heartless Wood
GRASS AND SKY BLUR PAST THE TRAIN WINDOW.
I dig my fingernails into the seat cushion.
I try to banish my fear.
The whole car rattles and shakes,
like it will break apart at any moment
and spew me out onto the earth.
“First train ride?” It is the woman across the aisle. She has skin as pale as mine, with smooth dark hair and a book open on her lap.
I look at her without speaking. I nod.
She tells me with confidence: “You’ll get used to it. We’re perfectly safe—it’s not like we’re headed into the Gwydden’s Wood! Although between you and me, I wouldn’t take the train to Saeth these days for anything.”
I grimace at her with what I hope is a smile.
I turn away.
I press my face against the train window. The glass is cold.
I never thought I would be at the mercy
of the humans’ iron machines
as they were once
at my mercy.
Yet here I am encased in one,
like sap in a tree.
My brothers told me the way to Owen’s village.
They gave me coins they had found in the wood years ago, enough for the plain gray dress I am wearing, enough for a train ticket.
Not enough for shoes, or the food this frail body craves. My human stomach growls, loud enough for the woman across the aisle to hear.
“Haven’t you brought a sandwich?” She is incredulous.
I shake my head.
“Well, here, you must have one of mine. I made too many.”
I do not accept or decline, but I find her settling into the seat next to me, drawing food out of her bag.
I take it, because my body demands me to.
I eat, and think about strawberries.
I sip something sweet from the cylindrical container she offers me.
While I chew, she says: “What sends you to Breindal City? I’m visiting my sister. She’s in the army, you know—she just made commander! I am excessively proud of her. My talents lie in a completely different direction. I make sandwiches and knit sweaters and keep our old mother company, and here she is off protecting Tarian!”
She chatters on and on. She does not seem to require an answer to her initial question. This suits me.
