Read Online Gives Light(Gives Light Series) by Rose Christo - Free Book Online
Authors: Rose Christo
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sound like if I had one. In my crazier flights of fancy, I used to imagine that I could sing like Jon Vickers. I'd first heard him in an old recording of Samson and Delilah when I was eight. For a few weeks I would dream about that, that I could sing like Jon Vickers, and I'd invariably wake up crying. Like I said, it's something I try not to think about.
"Why do you wear that jacket all the time? Aren't you warm?"
For a moment, I'd forgotten where I was. The reservation shifted back into focus. I saw Rafael's eyes on my fingers, my fingers at my throat, the collar of my jacket hiding my neck.
I shook my head and smiled.
It was much later that night, when I was getting ready for bed, that Granny stopped me at the bottom of the staircase.
"Turn around," she ordered curtly.
I spun around to face her. Over her shoulder I saw the smoke rising from the newly extinguished hearth. I had acquired the habit of wearing a plain gray t-shirt to bed; the jacket was gone for the night. I saw Granny's wet gray eyes travel to the atlas moth on my exposed upper arm.
"Is that a tattoo?"
I nodded.
"Did the Gives Light boy put that on you?"
I nodded again.
Granny considered the atlas moth in thoughtful silence. Finally, she returned the nod, stiffly, and shuffled off to her room.
"Tell him I want a yellow rose."
My Granny, I learned that night, was an awesome gal.
7
Caliban
Come July, the reserve was unbearably hot during the daytime. More and more I wanted to stay indoors, not solely because my skin kept flaking and rashing in places I hadn't known existed. Every morning I set up Granny's loom on the lawn, fetched deliveries if she needed them, and left for Annie's house once Granny's friends came along to discuss whatever it is that old people discuss. Because of the humidity, blistering and relentless, I looked forward to the shade of Annie's home.
But the more Annie saw of Aubrey, the less she saw of me. She must have been up since before dawn making sure her brother and sister had meals for the day, chilled stews and cucumber sandwiches and thick dishes of wojapi, a kind of berry pudding the residents of Nettlebush ate with gusto. By the time I arrived she'd usually be halfway through cooking whatever she was bringing to dinner that night, and there wasn't much I could do to help her before she chirped "Bye, Skylar!" and ran from the house like lightning. I didn't need to be told she was visiting the farmland; and I didn't mind that she was otherwise occupied. Actually, I really liked the idea that she had a boyfriend doting on her, especially if it was Aubrey. I don't mean to sound like a thirteen-year-old girl, but it was ridiculously cute.
Restlessness, consequently, became a powerful thing. Come midday, I didn't know what to do with myself. Sometimes I entertained the idea of visiting my old house again, but it had been depressing the first time around; I wasn't sure what good would come out of repeating the experience.
Maybe it was natural that I started seeing more of Rafael. His mornings were spent hunting with his uncle in the badlands, but come midday, he was just as restless as I was--and a good deal more frantic. He sought me out at Granny's house every afternoon, a stormy maelstrom of emotion until I let him inside and he calmed down, flopped on the floor, and asked for iced juniper tea. He always asked for iced juniper tea, with the result that I became really good at brewing it in a really short amount of time. He laughed at me the first time he noticed my sunburns, but then he showed me how to crush lavender, thankfully a summer plant, and make a soothing oil out of the spikes. My burns disappeared in days. Not that there was any winning with Rafael. As soon as the burns were gone, he took to telling me that I smelled like a girl.
On other occasions, Rafael wanted to listen
"Why do you wear that jacket all the time? Aren't you warm?"
For a moment, I'd forgotten where I was. The reservation shifted back into focus. I saw Rafael's eyes on my fingers, my fingers at my throat, the collar of my jacket hiding my neck.
I shook my head and smiled.
It was much later that night, when I was getting ready for bed, that Granny stopped me at the bottom of the staircase.
"Turn around," she ordered curtly.
I spun around to face her. Over her shoulder I saw the smoke rising from the newly extinguished hearth. I had acquired the habit of wearing a plain gray t-shirt to bed; the jacket was gone for the night. I saw Granny's wet gray eyes travel to the atlas moth on my exposed upper arm.
"Is that a tattoo?"
I nodded.
"Did the Gives Light boy put that on you?"
I nodded again.
Granny considered the atlas moth in thoughtful silence. Finally, she returned the nod, stiffly, and shuffled off to her room.
"Tell him I want a yellow rose."
My Granny, I learned that night, was an awesome gal.
7
Caliban
Come July, the reserve was unbearably hot during the daytime. More and more I wanted to stay indoors, not solely because my skin kept flaking and rashing in places I hadn't known existed. Every morning I set up Granny's loom on the lawn, fetched deliveries if she needed them, and left for Annie's house once Granny's friends came along to discuss whatever it is that old people discuss. Because of the humidity, blistering and relentless, I looked forward to the shade of Annie's home.
But the more Annie saw of Aubrey, the less she saw of me. She must have been up since before dawn making sure her brother and sister had meals for the day, chilled stews and cucumber sandwiches and thick dishes of wojapi, a kind of berry pudding the residents of Nettlebush ate with gusto. By the time I arrived she'd usually be halfway through cooking whatever she was bringing to dinner that night, and there wasn't much I could do to help her before she chirped "Bye, Skylar!" and ran from the house like lightning. I didn't need to be told she was visiting the farmland; and I didn't mind that she was otherwise occupied. Actually, I really liked the idea that she had a boyfriend doting on her, especially if it was Aubrey. I don't mean to sound like a thirteen-year-old girl, but it was ridiculously cute.
Restlessness, consequently, became a powerful thing. Come midday, I didn't know what to do with myself. Sometimes I entertained the idea of visiting my old house again, but it had been depressing the first time around; I wasn't sure what good would come out of repeating the experience.
Maybe it was natural that I started seeing more of Rafael. His mornings were spent hunting with his uncle in the badlands, but come midday, he was just as restless as I was--and a good deal more frantic. He sought me out at Granny's house every afternoon, a stormy maelstrom of emotion until I let him inside and he calmed down, flopped on the floor, and asked for iced juniper tea. He always asked for iced juniper tea, with the result that I became really good at brewing it in a really short amount of time. He laughed at me the first time he noticed my sunburns, but then he showed me how to crush lavender, thankfully a summer plant, and make a soothing oil out of the spikes. My burns disappeared in days. Not that there was any winning with Rafael. As soon as the burns were gone, he took to telling me that I smelled like a girl.
On other occasions, Rafael wanted to listen
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