Shepherd’s End
1011
“You have to be my strong girl now, Xalati,” her mother said, hugging her so tight she could feel her bones squeak. “Watch after your brothers and take care of them while I’m away. I know I can trust you to do that for me.”
She said nothing, and watched her recede into the darkness, the sails of her father’s boat belling out and catching the wind to disappear over the horizon.
Papa said nothing to her about it, but she saw the lines of worry and sorrow creasing his lips and his forehead, and she kept Yevhetsek and Zakhal quiet and fed so that those lines would not deepen.
Episode navigation
Previous
Previous:
Some Awkward MorningNext
Next:
Delicate Transitions
Back to: