Read Online Threads and Flames by Esther Friesner - Free Book Online

where to look for that, and her mother’s asleep. I don’t want to disturb her. Brina can wear my coat.”
    â€œSo you’ll get sick and be sent back when we land? Not a good plan.” Zusa dug into her own bags and handed Raisa a thick sweater. “She can wear this, though I’m sure she won’t let me put it on her.”
    Brina loved the sea. It was all that Raisa and Zusa could do to hold on to the child’s hands. Once up on deck, she squirmed out of their grasp and ran to the ship’s rail, where she clung like a monkey, gazing out over the choppy water. The girls raced after her, grabbed her arms, and gave her a scolding, but she didn’t seem to hear it. Her face was covered with spray and radiantly happy.
    They walked the deck together, holding hands. Sometimes Raisa and Zusa lifted Brina high between them and swung her, making the child squeal with delight. The crewmen who watched them stroll past smiled, and one of them gave the girls some raspberry hard candy. By the time they returned to the steerage compartment, Brina was red cheeked and ready for a nap. She fell asleep sitting up on the edge of Zusa’s bunk while Raisa was unfastening her life preserver.
    â€œWould you look at that?” Zusa said, shaking her head. She knelt beside Raisa and helped place the sleeping child comfortably in her bed. “Do you think she’ll wake up in time for lunch?”
    â€œLunch?” Raisa echoed, only half hearing her friend. She was too preoccupied with trying to remove Brina’s shoes and get the child tucked in.
    â€œNever mind. I’ll go bring back something for all of us.” Zusa picked up the two meal pails and headed off.
    Brina slept through lunch but woke up hungry when it was almost the dinner hour. The sea had grown calmer, and many of the ailing passengers had recovered their appetites. The line for food distribution was long and tempers were short. Zusa stared at the bickering crowd and sighed as she reached for the meal pails.
    â€œNo, let me do it this time,” Raisa said, grabbing the pails before Zusa could get them. “I’ll go see if Brina’s mother wants something, too.” She gave Brina some dried apples she’d saved from lunch, then headed for the child’s berth.
    She found Brina’s mother sitting up in bed, picking at the cold oatmeal in her meal pail. “Oh, please don’t eat that!” Raisa cried. “It must be awful. Let me bring you something fresh.”
    The woman looked pleased. “My dear, it’s good of you to offer, but I’m feeling better now. I’ll be able to get dinner for Brina and me. How is she? I hope she hasn’t been too much bother.” Raisa told her all about Brina’s morning adventures, which made the child’s mother even happier. “My little one is very lucky to have met you, Raisa,” the woman said. “But I can’t take advantage of your good nature. I can look after my own child.”
    â€œWhy don’t you let us keep her until it’s her bedtime?” Raisa suggested. “You’ll be able to eat your dinner in peace, and I’ll make sure she eats well before I bring her back to you tonight.”
    The woman raised one milky hand. “No need, really. I’ve been alone too much as it is, ever since my husband died, may he rest in peace. I want to look after my own child.”
    Reluctantly, Raisa did as Brina’s mother asked. The woman was just getting out of her bunk when the little girl ran back into her arms. The most Raisa could do was clean the congealed oatmeal out of the mother’s meal pail before bidding both of them good-bye and going to collect dinner for herself and Zusa.
    â€œWhy the long face?” Zusa asked as the two of them ate their dinner. “We won’t land for at least three more days, thanks to the bad weather. You’ll see lots more of your little friend before that.