Read Online Wanderers by Susan Kim - Free Book Online Page B

never experienced before: jealousy. She needed to know about this stranger, the one with the beautiful golden hair; and so she stood in the dim light of the store, waiting. And after a few moments, Caleb spoke.
    â€œMichal helped me,” he said. “She saved my life when Levi tried to have me killed. Hid me in her room and took care of me.”
    Esther thought of the scars she knew so well: the one on his chest and the matching one between his shoulders, where the arrow had pierced him through. “Then she helped me find Kai.” Caleb took a deep breath. “I figure Levi found out what happened. That’s why he did what he done to her. With something that burns. To punish her in a way that would hurt the most.”
    Michal’s melted features flashed in front of Esther’s eyes and she shuddered.
    â€œI guess I feel responsible.” Caleb rubbed his face with a sleeve. When he spoke again, his voice was so soft, Esther had to lean forward to catch his words. “So it’s the least I can do for all she did.”
    When he had started to speak, Esther had been full of questions about Michal and how pretty she had been. Now that she had heard what actually happened, she was filled with shame, as well as a deep feeling of gratitude toward the stranger. She took Caleb’s hand.
    â€œIf Mundreel is as good as Rafe says it is,” Caleb said, “feeding another won’t be so hard.” He had been gazing at the ground, then glanced up at her with a smile. “Maybe we can try to give Kai a little brother or sister.”
    Esther’s smile broadened as she squeezed his hand. Then they were in each other’s arms; it was if they could not hold each other close enough.
    â€œCome,” she said after a moment. Her face was flushed and her eyes sparkled. “The others will be wondering where we are.”
    They left the STOP & SHOP hand in hand. Caleb helped Esther over a pile of shattered glass, and together they went to their bicycles.
    They were unaware that across the street, someone was watching them from the deepening shade of a tree.
    It was Asha.
    She often liked to spy on Caleb and Esther. The best times were when they were far from the others and did not know that anyone was watching. If Asha was very careful, she caught a rare glimpse of them that nobody else saw, not even their best friends, the old man Joseph and the variant girl, Skar.
    Asha liked to see the two hug and kiss, even if that kind of thing made her face turn red and she would turn away until they were finished. Yet it was moments like this, when they spoke quietly and laughed between them at some private joke, that she liked the best.
    Asha had never had a partner; yet it was something she dreamed about. “When I grow up,” she would often say to herself, unaware that at close to sixteen, she was more than grown up, and well past the age of partnering. Still, in her fantasies, she always envisioned herself in a relationship like the one shared by Esther and Caleb.
    Mostly, Asha wanted a baby of her own. She always hoped Esther would let her care for Kai; but Esther seemed to prefer Joseph instead. This made no sense to Asha, since he wasn’t even good at taking care of babies. Not as good as she was, that she was certain.
    Now she decided that she too would go off and explore the small town they were in. Pulling up her sleeve, she made a show of examining her wristwatch, a purple Swatch with a daisy pattern. It was something she had seen Joseph do many times, winding and adjusting the three watches he wore on his arm. Asha wasn’t sure what it meant, but it made her feel grown-up nevertheless. She decided that like Esther and Caleb, she too might be able to find food somewhere and bring it to the others. If she did, people were sure to look at her with approval. Maybe even Eli—who was always patient with her and would never dream of playing tricks—would say how smart she