straight ahead and nodded. "Yes, gravely hurt. A wild beast attacked me and I managed to crawl back to the edge of the village before I lost consciousness. When I woke up I was in Vuk's home, a house smaller than your cabin and situated in the forest around the village. Apparently when the villagers found me they'd thrown me back out into the woods." He chuckled, but I shuddered at the sound. It was cold and full of sorrow.
"How could they do that?" I whispered.
"Superstition makes monsters of us all when we reject our humanity to save ourselves," he philosophized.
"So Vuk wasn't superstitious?" I guessed.
"On the contrary, Vuk was very superstitious, but I was fortunate in that he rejected the fear superstition induces and took me in," he told me.
"What kind of animal attacked you?" I wondered.
"A wolf." My eyes widened, and he turned to smile at me. "Yes, quite the irony, isn't it? I abandon Wolf Lake only to find myself in the jaws of a real wolf."
I couldn't laugh. It was like some cruel joke. "So Vuk cared for you and treated your wounds?" I asked him.
Will turned away from me and his voice was a ghost of a whisper. "Some wounds couldn't be healed," he murmured. There was a heavy weight in his words, like he carried a burden he could never shrug off.
I didn't like him this way. I wanted him to be the teasing and chuckling, and wooing me into a relationship I knew couldn't last longer than my vacation, but one I'd cherish for a long time. I skipped ahead of him, grasped his hands in mine, and smiled into his morose and surprised face.
"Some wounds might not be able to heal, but what about being forgotten for one night?" I suggested. Will looked doubtful, but I turned around, kept one of our hands locked, and pulled him forward toward the fun and excitement at the park. "Let's hurry before the little piranhas in tennis shoes eat all the hamburgers and hot dogs," I insisted.
Chapter 3
We reached the park in a few minutes, a record time thanks to my tugging on Will's arm, and Olivia jumped on us like a tiger on its first meal in days. "There you two are!" she scolded as she hurried up to us. There was a cigarette in one hand and a hot dog in the other. It was a surreal moment, but she did an admirable job of switching between the two. "I thought you had abandoned me to a life of solitary!" That wasn't possible. Even in a stone prison she would have made friends with the rocks in the walls. She might even had married one of them.
"It's entirely my fault, Olivia. I was reminiscing," Will replied.
She gently batted her cigarette holder against his shoulder. "Well, enough about the past, it's time for the present and a hot dog," she scolded.
"I have never heard you suggest a more brilliant suggestion, Olivia. If you will excuse us," Will agreed.
He led me over to a long line of tables filled to the breaking-point with food. We helped ourselves to the usual picnic fare and sat down on a patch of grass not occupied by running kids, picnic blankets, and the half-dozen barbecues hard at work cooking our meaty food. It was nearly six by the time we finished, and my calculations about the timing of the setting sun were a little off. The tall hills around the lake blocked the sun a good hour before a flat horizon would hide its light and the lake fell into the shadow of early twilight.
I set aside my empty paper plate and sighed. It had been a good meal with plenty of salads and meats. I glanced over at Will's plate and noticed there were only stains of meat juice on its white surface. "Didn't your mom ever tell you to eat your vegetables?" I teased him.
He placed his plate atop mine and smiled at me. "She did, but I was always too stubborn to listen," he replied.
"What about fruit? You have to like some sort of fruit," I persisted.
"I don't dislike fruits or vegetables, it's only that I prefer meat," he told me.
I clucked my tongue as all motherly women were apt to do when faced with a pure carnivore. "One day
"How could they do that?" I whispered.
"Superstition makes monsters of us all when we reject our humanity to save ourselves," he philosophized.
"So Vuk wasn't superstitious?" I guessed.
"On the contrary, Vuk was very superstitious, but I was fortunate in that he rejected the fear superstition induces and took me in," he told me.
"What kind of animal attacked you?" I wondered.
"A wolf." My eyes widened, and he turned to smile at me. "Yes, quite the irony, isn't it? I abandon Wolf Lake only to find myself in the jaws of a real wolf."
I couldn't laugh. It was like some cruel joke. "So Vuk cared for you and treated your wounds?" I asked him.
Will turned away from me and his voice was a ghost of a whisper. "Some wounds couldn't be healed," he murmured. There was a heavy weight in his words, like he carried a burden he could never shrug off.
I didn't like him this way. I wanted him to be the teasing and chuckling, and wooing me into a relationship I knew couldn't last longer than my vacation, but one I'd cherish for a long time. I skipped ahead of him, grasped his hands in mine, and smiled into his morose and surprised face.
"Some wounds might not be able to heal, but what about being forgotten for one night?" I suggested. Will looked doubtful, but I turned around, kept one of our hands locked, and pulled him forward toward the fun and excitement at the park. "Let's hurry before the little piranhas in tennis shoes eat all the hamburgers and hot dogs," I insisted.
Chapter 3
We reached the park in a few minutes, a record time thanks to my tugging on Will's arm, and Olivia jumped on us like a tiger on its first meal in days. "There you two are!" she scolded as she hurried up to us. There was a cigarette in one hand and a hot dog in the other. It was a surreal moment, but she did an admirable job of switching between the two. "I thought you had abandoned me to a life of solitary!" That wasn't possible. Even in a stone prison she would have made friends with the rocks in the walls. She might even had married one of them.
"It's entirely my fault, Olivia. I was reminiscing," Will replied.
She gently batted her cigarette holder against his shoulder. "Well, enough about the past, it's time for the present and a hot dog," she scolded.
"I have never heard you suggest a more brilliant suggestion, Olivia. If you will excuse us," Will agreed.
He led me over to a long line of tables filled to the breaking-point with food. We helped ourselves to the usual picnic fare and sat down on a patch of grass not occupied by running kids, picnic blankets, and the half-dozen barbecues hard at work cooking our meaty food. It was nearly six by the time we finished, and my calculations about the timing of the setting sun were a little off. The tall hills around the lake blocked the sun a good hour before a flat horizon would hide its light and the lake fell into the shadow of early twilight.
I set aside my empty paper plate and sighed. It had been a good meal with plenty of salads and meats. I glanced over at Will's plate and noticed there were only stains of meat juice on its white surface. "Didn't your mom ever tell you to eat your vegetables?" I teased him.
He placed his plate atop mine and smiled at me. "She did, but I was always too stubborn to listen," he replied.
"What about fruit? You have to like some sort of fruit," I persisted.
"I don't dislike fruits or vegetables, it's only that I prefer meat," he told me.
I clucked my tongue as all motherly women were apt to do when faced with a pure carnivore. "One day
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