Read Online A Life Earthbound by Katie Jennings - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Katie Jennings
Ads: Link
single detail.
The field was acres and acres wide, so that all the way to the horizon there was nothing but barley. Behind them were more trees and sloping hills, with the last dying rays of the sun filtering through them. Off in the distance, she could see a red farmhouse, standing alone.
And further in the distance, dark gray and blue storm clouds raged. Thunder rumbled faintly as the clouds churned.
“My father used to bring me here when I was a boy,” Rohan shared with her, taking her hand. “What do you think?”
“It’s amazing,” she replied, her voice soft as she continued to stare around her, breathless.
“Come on, let’s walk.” His hand still holding hers, he led her through the field. She reached out and touched the barley as they walked, mesmerized by the golden tips of grain and the way the entire mass waved in the wind.
The air felt different here than it did at home, almost as if electricity were sparking around her, brought on by the approaching storm. Wind the likes of which she’d never experienced whipped around her, sending her hair flying. It was exhilarating.
“Everything you see is the reality of what we do,” he said, motioning with his free arm. “The trees, the barley, the soil, the mountains…this is the beauty of what we create, and when all is balanced, this is the result.”
She stared in wonder, feeling small and important all at once. It was one thing to look at the globe, but to actually be there experiencing the glory of it fascinated her.
“Humans have several important uses for barley. It is important that it’s always able to grow here and that the harvest occurs every year. You see, while the Water Dryads ensure that the Earth is watered, we ensure that the soil is fertile enough to grow. Without the combination, none of this would be possible.”
“And without air, water would have no clouds to be carried in to water the soil,” Rhiannon added, glancing up at him thoughtfully.
He smiled. “Exactly. And sometimes when the flora becomes too exhausting for an ecosystem to handle, fire comes through and clears it out to prepare the cycle to start all over again.”
Rohan watched his daughter as she looked around, her innocence and beauty striking him all at once. Even though she was only eight years old, she was already pretty and neat as a pin. Her clothes were modest and pressed and her face was always clean. Her rich, earthy eyes brimmed with a serious intelligence that he wondered if she had inherited from him. And as she grew older, she had begun to lose the childish chubbiness in her face, revealing her true beauty.
Her sister Sierra had already proved to be the exact opposite. She was three years old and was already selfish and grabby. He loved both of his children, but Rhiannon was closest to his heart. Serendipity had warmed up to the idea of motherhood after the birth of Sierra, but that was because Sierra was a Muse and her legacy rested with the child. It pained him to see that his wife remained cold with their oldest daughter, critical and discerning as always.
A flock of birds soared out of the trees and into the sky, fluttering overhead, startling him out of his reverie. He watched them fade into the horizon and his thoughts turned to Clynn and Capri.
It had been three years since that terrible day and his friend had still not fully recovered from his depression. Sometimes he wondered if Clynn would ever be the same again, but he reminded himself that if the same thing had happened to him, he would perish into nothingness, unable to cope.
The thought of losing his wife, the woman he’d loved his whole life, the most beautiful creature he’d ever laid eyes upon…if he didn’t have her, he would be empty.
And the thought of losing Rhiannon…that would be like having his heart ripped from his chest and ground into nothing but dust.
Her hand swiped diligently across the paper as she wrote, filling in numbers in the boxes to complete the
The field was acres and acres wide, so that all the way to the horizon there was nothing but barley. Behind them were more trees and sloping hills, with the last dying rays of the sun filtering through them. Off in the distance, she could see a red farmhouse, standing alone.
And further in the distance, dark gray and blue storm clouds raged. Thunder rumbled faintly as the clouds churned.
“My father used to bring me here when I was a boy,” Rohan shared with her, taking her hand. “What do you think?”
“It’s amazing,” she replied, her voice soft as she continued to stare around her, breathless.
“Come on, let’s walk.” His hand still holding hers, he led her through the field. She reached out and touched the barley as they walked, mesmerized by the golden tips of grain and the way the entire mass waved in the wind.
The air felt different here than it did at home, almost as if electricity were sparking around her, brought on by the approaching storm. Wind the likes of which she’d never experienced whipped around her, sending her hair flying. It was exhilarating.
“Everything you see is the reality of what we do,” he said, motioning with his free arm. “The trees, the barley, the soil, the mountains…this is the beauty of what we create, and when all is balanced, this is the result.”
She stared in wonder, feeling small and important all at once. It was one thing to look at the globe, but to actually be there experiencing the glory of it fascinated her.
“Humans have several important uses for barley. It is important that it’s always able to grow here and that the harvest occurs every year. You see, while the Water Dryads ensure that the Earth is watered, we ensure that the soil is fertile enough to grow. Without the combination, none of this would be possible.”
“And without air, water would have no clouds to be carried in to water the soil,” Rhiannon added, glancing up at him thoughtfully.
He smiled. “Exactly. And sometimes when the flora becomes too exhausting for an ecosystem to handle, fire comes through and clears it out to prepare the cycle to start all over again.”
Rohan watched his daughter as she looked around, her innocence and beauty striking him all at once. Even though she was only eight years old, she was already pretty and neat as a pin. Her clothes were modest and pressed and her face was always clean. Her rich, earthy eyes brimmed with a serious intelligence that he wondered if she had inherited from him. And as she grew older, she had begun to lose the childish chubbiness in her face, revealing her true beauty.
Her sister Sierra had already proved to be the exact opposite. She was three years old and was already selfish and grabby. He loved both of his children, but Rhiannon was closest to his heart. Serendipity had warmed up to the idea of motherhood after the birth of Sierra, but that was because Sierra was a Muse and her legacy rested with the child. It pained him to see that his wife remained cold with their oldest daughter, critical and discerning as always.
A flock of birds soared out of the trees and into the sky, fluttering overhead, startling him out of his reverie. He watched them fade into the horizon and his thoughts turned to Clynn and Capri.
It had been three years since that terrible day and his friend had still not fully recovered from his depression. Sometimes he wondered if Clynn would ever be the same again, but he reminded himself that if the same thing had happened to him, he would perish into nothingness, unable to cope.
The thought of losing his wife, the woman he’d loved his whole life, the most beautiful creature he’d ever laid eyes upon…if he didn’t have her, he would be empty.
And the thought of losing Rhiannon…that would be like having his heart ripped from his chest and ground into nothing but dust.
Her hand swiped diligently across the paper as she wrote, filling in numbers in the boxes to complete the
Similar Books
