Prelude to a Dream Read Free Page A

backing away. “My mistake.”
    Malachi watched as Gemariah walked away, and
thought that he didn’t know if they would actually see each
other again, but he was glad that he had at least got to meet
someone like him.
    Looking around, he realized that the
festivities were starting, and people were becoming more energized.
A dance had started in the courtyard, vendors had gathered around
to sell their wares, and the young children had started up a game
of hide and seek. Overall, everyone was having a good time.
    Standing next to the dance floor were three
young girls. Their focus was on the groups of people swinging each
other around, and he could hear their laughter from where he was
standing. His attention was pulled to the one in the middle when
the fire from the lit touches gleamed off her hair and made it
glow. She was the same girl that he had seen before, the one with
the children.
    Seeing her standing there brought an idea to
his head, and he swiftly moved to a vendor selling baked products.
After tossing the elderly lady a coin, he grabbed a fresh biscuit
from her collection.
    Bread in hand, he made his way in her
direction, and didn’t stop till he was standing directly next to
the group of girls. When he cleared his throat, the noise brought
all three of their gazes to him. Mid giggle, all three stopped and
he watched as their eyes grew slightly wider. Focusing his gaze on
the girl in the middle, he was blown away by what he saw.
    Large, expressive eyes stared back at him
before they were quickly lowered to the ground. Even the small
glimpse was like a punch to his gut. Her eyes reminded him of a
plant found around the mountain at certain times of the year. It
was one of his favorites, and Gerard had once called the color
violet. Her eyes had to be close to the most beautiful thing he had
ever seen. She was still looking at the ground, with small glimpses
in his direction, and he suddenly realized that he wanted her full
attention back.
    Holding out the biscuit until it was directly
in front of her, he cleared his throat before speaking. “Here. This
is for you.”
    Before she could say anything, her friend
spoke up. “That’s an odd gift. Could you not find any flowers?”
    Malachi felt heat start to rise up from his
collar, and for the first time he started to second guess his
offering. Clearing his throat once again, he kept his eyes on the
blonde and chuckled, before he said, “Well, after witnessing her
lose something similar in such a vicious manner to those rug rats,
I thought she might like another.”
    Just then, her gaze popped back up to meet
his, and she squeaked, “You saw that?”
    Smiling down at her, he moved the hand
holding the biscuit closer to her. “Yeah. So how ‘bout it? Would
you like another?”
    Tentatively, she reached up and took the
offering. “Thank you.”
    There was a loud sigh let out from the friend
that had spoken earlier, and she took hold of the blonde’s arm and
pulled slightly. “Come on, we should probably go check in.”
    The girl’s gaze broke from Malachi’s finally,
and looked toward her friend. “Um… yeah. Just give me a minute.
I’ll be right there.”
    Her friend didn’t look as if she liked that
plan, and opened her mouth to protest. Before she could get one
word out though, the other girl, the one that had been silent until
now, spoke up. “Oh come on. It’s no big deal. She’ll only be a
minute.”
    Right then, he wished he had brought
flowers, because he would have given a couple to that girl as a
thank you.
    After a few seconds of thought, the girl that
was about to argue shut her mouth and walked away, along with the
girl he now owed flowers to.
    “So…” He hadn’t thought it through of what to
say next.
    “Are you up to no good again today?”
    Her question took him so off guard that he
took a step back. “What?”
    “It’s a small village, and word spreads.” She
gestured across the dance floor with her head. “Plus, with