Hannah's Hero - Ruby Dixon Page 0,50
me.”
“Okay, fine, I liked you better when I ignored you.” But her lips twitch with amusement. She leans against the wall next to me, and toys with a leaf near her face, her expression thoughtful. “This place is nice, isn’t it? Warm and green and just…pretty.”
“My home was like this,” I agree. “Though at home there were many predators. This place is safer. I do not see any creatures in this cave and there are no trees. So it is like home…but not.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? Because I have lost my home?” I shrug. “It was not of my doing, so how can I be sorry over it? Things change, and we must adapt.”
“You’re taking it well,” H’nah says, and there is a dryness in her tone.
“I ache inside. There is a sadness in my heart that will never go away.” I clench a fist and put it to my chest, where my khui thrums its miserable song. “Just like the loss of my family and friends. But it does not mean I give up. I go on living and treat each new day like the joy it is.”
Her expression is soft as she gazes up at me. “You’re a good guy, J’shel. I wish I was more like you. It’s hard for me to look forward.”
“I will help you, but you must try.”
She nods and straightens, pushing off the wall. “I’ll try. So which one of these fruits is your favorite?”
I shrug. I want to point out that she changes the conversation every time she grows uncomfortable, but I suspect that will only make her go quiet. “I like all of them. N’dek is partial to ground nuts, but I do not see those here.”
H’nah puts her hands on her hips, studying the leaves nearest to us. She gestures. “How come this wall doesn’t have any fruit at all?”
“That is chakk leaf.” She gives me a curious look and I continue. “You chew it and it relaxes you, makes your head silly. Or you can put it on a fire and breathe in the smoke. Same effect.”
She giggles, her expression startled. “Dude, this is weed?”
I shrug. “You have something like it at home?”
“A bit like it, though I’ve never smoked up. You?” She touches one of the big, yellow-veined leaves thoughtfully. “I was never brave enough.”
“My people used it for celebrations. I have done it then. It makes the world around you very pleasant.”
H’nah laughs again. “I bet.” Her stomach growls loud enough to echo in the cavern, and she claps a hand to her stomach. “Maybe we skip the weed for now and eat something instead.”
I grin. “Come. I will show you some good things to eat.”
For the next while, H’nah and I feast on fruit. I climb the walls, using the vines like I did at home, and pull down the most succulent pieces for her. I get her a little of everything so that she can taste all, and we enjoy ourselves, sipping water from our skins, talking of nothing in particular, and feasting on fruit. I add sweet leaves to an empty skin and stuff the rinds inside. “We close this and add a bit of water,” I tell her. “It will make a tasty drink in a few days.”
“Awesome.” She lies back on the rocky ridge, careful to stay away from the edge, and stares up at the top of the cave high, high above. “I wish we lived here instead of on the beach.”
I laugh, easing my larger body down next to her. There is just enough room for us to lie side by side. “There is more space to move around on the beach. Can you imagine crowding this place with all the others?”
She sighs. “I guess not. I just like the warmth.” She rubs her bare arms, drawing my attention to them. “Should we set up a camp?”
“Why? We can throw down a few furs, pick a ledge, and relax. There is no need for a tent or a fire. We slept out in the open back home.”
“You did? What if it rained?”
“Then we got wet.” I grin at her. “The leaves of our home tree were woven together so they could provide shelter from the rain. Not much ever got through.”
“Huh.” The light flickers overhead once more, plunging the cave temporarily into darkness. H’nah reaches for me, but the light sputters to life once more and she bites back a sigh. “That is so annoying.”
“Where does the light come