Chapter 214 Chapter 214
Leah set the journal on the table and looked at everything set on it. Evanna had left little notes on top of things. She picked up the first one and read it. The water is bottled. Setting it down, she picked up a bottle and opened it. Smelling it, she paused to process that. Plastic, that’s all she could smell. Taking a small sip, she let it sit on her tongue for a second. It didn’t taste like plastic, but it did taste clean.
The next note said ‘try this’. Picking up one of them, she read it. Protein bar. Turning it over, she read the packaging and didn’t understand most of what the ingredients were. Opening it, she took a tiny bite, having no idea what to expect. It wasn’t bad at all, sweet, but not in a bad way. She took a bigger bite and savored it as she checked the next note.
Potato chips!
With eyebrows raised, she turned the small bag over and looked at the ingredients. The ingredients were at least things she recognized, mostly. She’d have to try those after her tea—and this bar.
Hovering over the rest, she randomly selected the next note. Juice. So good. It had been a long time since she’d had juice. Having it would have meant a trip down the mountain. Taking one of the small boxes, she lifted it closer to try to figure out how to get to the juice. There was a tiny straw in a package on the outside. Glancing at the teapot, she decided a treat of juice at breakfast would be okay. Stabbing the straw into the little foil spot, the juice squirted out all over her hand. She would have to do it slower next time. Taking a sip, she smiled. It was good. Looking at the label again, she decided fruit punch was something she liked.
Taking another bite of the protein bar, she washed it down with the juice. This was probably the best breakfast she’d had in a long time.
Spotting the little box, she picked up the note. Jesse gave me one of the painkillers in here. The headache didn’t leave, but it was much better. Opening the box, she looked at what was in it. Taking her time to read each thing. The contents of the box impressed her. Her grandparents hadn’t had items like this. Some medical supplies, yes, but these were miracle ointments and—she paused and did an internal assessment, her head wasn’t aching. There was always a headache of some degree present, but normally after she lost control and Minn burst free, she’d feel the sharp pains in her head for a few days.
Sitting down, she put everything carefully back into the box and closed it. The package beside the box had no note, but it plainly said Beef Jerky on it. She grinned. She’d missed the jerky that Papa Low made. No doubt Evanna was happy with this item as well.
Picking up the journal, she opened it again and found the page from yesterday. Moving just her eyes, she looked at the small box of those protein bars and took another out of it. There were plenty, another wouldn’t be missed.
She re-read the first part of what Evanna had written. Could it be true? Was there help for them? For Minn, could they really help her and Evanna with Minn? She closed her eyes and felt for her cat. She was there, calm, watching. She always watched, but calm wasn’t a word she’d usually use regarding her. Had the painkiller done that? She would have to ask about that.
Looking back at the journal, she re-read the second part Evanna had written. Honestly, it was the first personal thing she’d ever left her. That alone told her there was something about Jesse and the idea of leaving the mountain that had reached a part of Evanna that Leah had never been able to.
Leah I don’t know if it’s this painkiller or something else, but I’m relaxed and just sitting here thinking. I know, that’s normally your thing and not mine. I walked around and showed Jesse in the houses tonight. I like talking to him. He’s interesting and funny, but most of all I believe he really cares about what is happening to us. I know our grandparents did and Aunt Tillie too, but it matters more to me that he does and I can’t explain why.
I spoke on his phone! It was so clear. I talked to his friend (I can’t even imagine how her name would be spelled) Shaylyn? She’s a healer and she sounds super smart and really nice too. She told me there are many people out there that are like us and a lot of places that can help us. I did tell her you weren’t good going to places and being around people and she said if need be you could meet these people online and not in person. I’m not sure what that is, but I think we need to do this. Minn is getting harder for me to control and you know it exhausts me more and more each day, so if there is a way to help Minn, it would help us too.
Shaylyn also asked if it was just the three of us. I’ve listened a lot in the last day and I believe it is just us, do you agree? Let me know.
Tomorrow you need to help Jesse by telling him what absolutely has to leave with us. Everything else he says will be packed up and shipped to us, so this is good, right? It means we will still be in charge of looking after all of it. And if they do go to those addresses from the letter and some of our clan are there we will still have it for them.
I’m tired now. This has been a long day for me.
Please write back and know I will make sure you and Minn are safe on our new journey.
Ev
That was the most emotional thing Evanna had ever left her. It scared her to her core, but her head was telling her they needed to leave the mountain. She glanced at the food things on the table again. So many new things. She closed her eyes and felt for Evanna. Smiling she opened them. She was near, not close enough to influence her, but close enough to watch. “Okay.” she whispered, knowing she would hear her, “I’ll try to do this.” Closing the journal, she left it on the table so she could reply later. Getting up, she looked around. What couldn’t she live without? Biting her lip, she turned slowly, this was going to be hard.