The Prettiest Thing You Can Wear Is A Smile
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“So I’m not a pretty thing,” said Kiki. “Is that why you like me?”
He was sitting beside her on the floor, his arms wrapped around his knees and his head bowed over them. “I don’t know what it is,” he said in a low voice.
His hands were so large against the sides of his legs that they seemed to be holding him up, but when she reached for them, he let go easily enough, and when she touched them with her own, they were as warm as she’d imagined them would be. She couldn’t see any sign of burns or scarring, just smooth skin.
“You’re not a pretty thing,” she said softly. “But you’ll get there.”
He raised his face to look at her, smiling. It was a good smile—bright and warm and full of promise. And it made her think about what the doctor had told her yesterday morning: He can talk, and he’s very bright … except he doesn’t have an accent and he seems completely normal. That is kind of normal.
Kiki smiled back, feeling something soft and gentle growing inside her heart. The doctor hadn’t meant anything by it; it wasn’t as though this guy was going to make anyone forget all those dead children or their families. But Kiki liked having someone else who cared about her besides her parents.
Even if he didn’t know it. Or maybe especially then, because now there would be no reason for him to stop caring about her. If nothing else, he could be her friend.
They looked into each other’s eyes for a long time, and she tried to imagine what he must see looking out from hers, but he showed no signs of discomfort. When they finally broke apart, she saw that he was staring at the door where the others waited. “Are they still there?” she asked.
He nodded. “And they seem very angry.”
She sighed. “It’s too bad we can’t tell them to leave us alone and go away. We need more than five hours of sleep every night.”
“There will come a day when they leave you alone,” he said quietly. “Until then …” He shrugged. “We are here for you.”
His gaze went distant again, and she realized that he was thinking about his people. She understood how it felt. The world was a confusing place, and it never hurt to have friends who knew the way around. And she thought there might even be a little part of him that wished they were really here to help him instead of just making promises.
When he glanced at her again, he seemed calmer. He got up without a word and left the room, returning almost immediately with several items laid out across the blankets on the floor. They were small things, like a couple of pieces of bread cut into strips, and a few leaves of lettuce and carrots.
There was also a small piece of fruit leather and a half-full bottle of water. It was the best meal she’d eaten in months—the only one since being taken from the orphanage. She didn’t want to eat much, and he put away everything except the water, which he held out to her.
“You should drink your fill,” he advised. “There’s another bottle hidden somewhere. If we’re lucky, it won’t be empty when we find it.”
She took the water and sipped until her thirst was gone. Then she sat down beside him and watched him as he ate. He had a lot of trouble tearing off pieces with his fingers, and it took quite some time before he’d finished, but when he was done, he offered her the last of the food. “Eat up,” he insisted. “We can always steal more later.”
After a moment’s hesitation, she took a strip and bit off a small chunk of it, chewing carefully so as not to choke herself. It tasted good, and she felt her belly grow warmer with the warmth spreading out from her mouth. “You are good with your hands,” she said when she was done.
He grinned. “My mother is a seamstress.”
“What does she sew?” Kiki was suddenly fascinated, imagining a woman who sewed dresses and coats and shirts and skirts all the time.
“She makes clothes for the people of our village.”
For a second, Kiki couldn’t understand the words. Then it hit her: The people of the forest? They had villages like the humans did, but they lived outside the cities and towns? In trees?
The young man nodded eagerly, looking as happy as he ever had. “In the summer, she makes most of our clothing—shorts and tops and dresses, mostly.” He picked up one of the pieces he’d brought for her and showed it to her. “These are made from old bedsheets.”
Kiki blinked at him. She’d been wrong about him—about them. They were human! She’d imagined something completely different, but she hadn’t even known what she’d missed.
She was stunned, and for a while, she couldn’t say anything more, but after a little time had passed, she found her voice again.
“Can I live in one of your villages?” she asked.
The boy smiled. “If you wish to learn the ways of my people, I would welcome it.”
“I do!”
He reached over and pulled the blanket aside, revealing the sleeping bag. He lifted it and spread it out, inviting her to lie in it with him. His face was open and trusting. He wanted her to accept him … the same way he wanted to trust her.
But she couldn’t. Not yet, anyway. She was afraid. Of being trapped here in the dark and lonely woods, where there was no one to keep her safe. Of being hurt again, and losing herself to pain once more.
“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I can’t take your offer. We need to get back to the city and warn the others.”
“They’ll be safe soon enough,” he assured her. “Don’t worry yourself. When I return, we will see how well you can defend yourself against these nightmares. Then we will talk.”
That sounded like the start of an interesting conversation. But there were still things she needed to do first, and she was certain that he was capable of protecting himself until then.
So instead of agreeing, she turned her back on him and started for the door, but he stopped her before she could reach it.
“Wait.”
She hesitated. She knew he wasn’t going to leave her alone without asking permission.
“You’re very brave,” he said, sounding surprised by it. “I am glad to meet someone like you.”
It was such an unexpected compliment that it caught Kiki off guard. But then she realized that he was being honest—he really meant it. And maybe it wasn’t the worst thing she’d ever heard. So she decided to answer him honestly in kind.
“I don’t know if I’m brave,” she admitted. “Mostly I’m afraid.”
A smile curved his lips into the beginnings of a real grin.
“But I have a friend now,” she continued. “And he has taught me that sometimes when fear tries to hold us down, we must push it away.”
The young man looked up at her, puzzled, then suddenly brightened. He held out his hand. “I think that you may be right. And if we both put our fears behind us, together, we might stand a better chance than if one of us fought alone.”
When Kiki reached out toward him, he clasped her hand firmly between both of his. Their skin didn’t seem to feel hot or cold, but she had no doubt it was alive.
As Kiki looked at his eyes, she felt the truth of his words. There was something about this place; it gave her hope, and she was certain the feeling came from somewhere within her rather than coming from another person. That made it powerful indeed.
“Together, then,” she said. “Let’s fight them.”
***
The two men waited patiently while Kiki ate her last snack before beginning their journey home. They were armed with swords made from bone and steel, but Kiki was confident they would be enough to protect themselves, just as her arrows had protected them from the wolves.
At last, Kiki wiped her fingers clean and tucked the rest of the food under a bush, along with everything else that remained of the food they’d eaten. Then she handed a piece of dried fruit to each of them, and together the three started walking.
Kiki’s heart pounded inside her chest. She didn’t know much about the creatures who’d attacked the camp, but she knew enough to realize how serious the danger was. As long as she walked close to the older man and his bow, it would probably be all right, but if any of those things tried to jump over her head and catch up with the others, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
The only reason they were still alive was that her arrow had knocked the thing back … and they’d been lucky that none of the others had managed to grab onto the thing and pull it in front of them. If it happened again, they’d all be dead.
Still, it was worth the risk. She couldn’t abandon them.
She was too curious not to want to find out how these monsters worked, and there was also something else about this place—something she couldn’t quite define—that drew her here as if she had always lived here. She was certain that if she found the others, they would understand why she had to help.
The path wound through the forest, making turns and crossing itself over and over so that even though Kiki was certain she was headed south-southwest, she was never sure which direction she was really heading in. It took some time before she finally spotted the lights of the fire.
Then she stopped short. There were people there! And they weren’t alone … there were other creatures, too.
The old man cursed. Kiki glanced at him, startled, but he seemed unfazed. His expression was calm and thoughtful. He raised his bow, taking aim at one of the larger beasts.
Kiki watched as a spear flew into the monster’s body, piercing its side, pinning it to the tree, and then fell to the ground beside it. A few moments later, a second spear hit the creature squarely between the eyes, driving it completely still.
Another followed it, hitting the same spot on the third beast. Within seconds, both creatures were dead. The humans who’d thrown the spears stepped back from where they stood, waiting, but then a pair of small figures ran into their midst.
One of them threw a knife directly into the heart of the nearest of the creatures, then grabbed the spear it had flung and stabbed it twice more as it fell to the ground.
A woman jumped forward and snatched up the fallen spear. She pulled a sword from her belt, but before she could use it, a man with a strange weapon stepped between them and thrust it against the first creature. Sparks erupted from the blade. As he withdrew it, she turned toward her partner and nodded.
He did the same, and then they both moved off in opposite directions.
“That was quick thinking,” Kiki said to the old man, who was watching their retreats carefully. When he heard her, he smiled and said, “You’re very observant.”
“I try not to miss anything important.”
His laugh sounded like the wind blowing through dry branches, but Kiki had the sudden feeling that if she listened closely enough, she would hear something beautiful beyond the sound itself. It wasn’t unpleasant; it was simply a sense of peace washing over her. In fact, she realized it was almost soothing, although it was hard to explain exactly what it felt like.
“They must have some way to make their spears,” Kiki said quietly.
The old man shrugged. “It isn’t my job to worry about such things.” He turned away and motioned for her to follow, leading her deeper into the trees.
“So are we going back?” Kiki asked after several minutes of silence. “Are you planning to tell the others about us?”
“Why should I do that? It doesn’t matter.”
“But …” She hesitated. What would the other people think when they saw her? That she was just an innocent child who’d wandered in by accident or because she didn’t know better, and now she wanted to return home? She couldn’t bear the idea of being rejected again. Not by anyone.
“No one will ever find this place,” he interrupted gently.
“And yet they can come here.”
“Only if they walk in our footsteps. Otherwise, they’ll die instantly in contact with these woods. We won’t allow it. You understand?”
For a moment, Kiki considered telling him to shove the words up his ass. Then she thought better of it and nodded. This was a strange group of people and she understood nothing about them, except that they seemed friendly enough despite their strangeness. But they certainly looked strange.
When they finally came upon the camp, there was no sign of the other members of their little hunting party. They were obviously gone.
The old man motioned for her to wait a moment before entering. Then he ducked beneath the low-hanging branches of a tree and disappeared.
Kiki waited until she heard him moving closer, and then followed him inside the camp. It was smaller than she’d imagined it to be, and much brighter since there were candles lit around the room. She blinked at the sight, realizing that although the walls were made of solid stone, the ceiling was actually glass.
There were six men and three women sitting around the table. Two of the men had swords on their hips, while another carried a dagger in one hand and a flint-tipped arrow in the other. Their clothing was strange—not exactly odd, but different from anything she’d seen before.
The End