The Silver Thread Read Free Page B

towel was already sitting out for him. Talvi squinted in the lamplight at the labels and then set the lantern down to carry a bottle and a jar over to a bench beside the large claw foot tub. He knelt down and put the stopper in the drain, then turned on the faucet. From the jar, he poured in a handful of bath salts scented with herbs and flowers, and from the bottle, he poured a thick liquid into the base of the tub, which instantly began to fill the tub with puffy, cloud-like bubbles.
    Talvi went back to retrieve the robe, towel, and lantern, and set them on the bench. He shoved another log into the stove before peeling off his clothes, and sighed in relief as he stepped into the scented suds. He eased himself in until he was completely submerged, letting the heat seep into his skin. From underwater, he heard the muffled sound of the oak door opening and closing, which was not that unexpected, given that the enormous house only contained three bathrooms.
    He rose back to the surface and there stood Runa, snuggled up in thick socks and a brown bath robe that was way too big for her. It dragged along the floor behind her like the train of a bridal gown as she approached the bath tub.
    “Did you start the fire for me?” Talvi asked as he wiped the water out of his eyes and let it roll down his cheeks. “That was so sweet of you to do.”
    Runa looked confused for a moment, and then smiled.
    “No, I started it for myself. I’m about to take a bath in here,” she said, and pulled a wooden comb out of her pocket. She began to run it slowly through her blonde waist-length hair as she sat on the bench beside the long tub.
    “I think you missed your chance,” Talvi said, and winked at her. “I’m planning on a nice long soak, so it may be a while.” Runa raised a pale eyebrow at him.
    “If you’re going to be so selfish and unkind with me, then I won’t share what I’ve brought.”
    “Come now, Runa, don’t be such a spoilsport,” he said, and sent a little splash of water in her direction, making her squeal as she recoiled from it. “What did you bring me?”
    But she just turned up her little button nose and ignored him, focusing on combing out her long dirty hair instead. Talvi sat up and leaned over the side of the tub, dried his hands on her robe, and reached down to grab a small silver case from his pants pocket. He removed a cigarette from the case and lit it on the candle burning in the lantern, before dropping the case on top of his pants and resting his head on the back of the tub.
    “I’m sorry I stole your bath,” he apologized, taking a long drag and blowing a few smoke rings. “I didn’t know you meant it for yourself.”
    “It’s alright,” she said, not looking too upset about it. “I forgive you.” She slid her comb back into the pocket of her robe and surprised him by reaching down for his cigarette case.
    “Runa, you rarely smoke,” Talvi chided his dearest friend. She put a cigarette in her mouth and he brought the lantern close enough for her to light the end of it on the candle.
    “Well, it’s been quite a day, quite a winter, really,” she said, half joking, half serious as she took a dainty puff and began to cough. “It’s difficult to see your parents so upset. Remember last autumn? Remember when we went to a little book store in Sophia without a care in the world? And now look where we find ourselves.”
    “Indeed,” Talvi agreed. He set the lantern back in place and tapped the ashes of his cigarette into the base of it. “Even with the prediction of all that has happened, I never imagined it would come to this.”
    “Nor I, but all will be well, in time,” Runa said in her wispy, sing-song voice before taking another delicate puff, this time coughing less. Talvi watched her in silence. He wanted to master that very essence she carried. He wanted to own it and keep it in a jar, just like the bath salts on the shelf.
    “How is it, my dear Runa, that you seem immune to