“What direction were you heading, Shepherd?”
“Southeast until I reached the middle of the country.”
“Perfect. We can stay hidden in the trees until we are outside the village.”
I kept my flock close with my calls as the girl cantered her giant stallion across the Abandoned Valley until it ended with a younger forest of trees.
The birds were already singing their morning melodies, which made a sharp contrast to the silence and absence of life in the Abandoned Valley and Ancient Grove.
A tension I didn’t know I held dissolved as soon as we were there.
We got inside the trees just in time.
The sun beneath the horizon began to lighten the sky, and already the sounds of men and women starting their work in the fields echoed through the air.
After a few more minutes, we came upon the manor that stood on the highest hill.
Even from the trees, there was enough light that I could see a splendid garden growing around this big white house gleaming in the light of dawn.
Although we were at the back of the estate where there were no paths leading to it, I saw the house overlooked the fields and orchards that gave this village its bounty.
The stranger girl paused as the manor came into view. There was pure anguish in her face as she stared at it.
So I had been right. She was the daughter of a Patron.
“Do you live there?” I asked cautiously.
“Not anymore,” she muttered.
The stranger girl clicked her tongue and the stallion took off at a run that was too much for the sheep.
She didn’t slow the horse down, but was conscious enough to circle round to the back of the flock and run them forward a few times.
I gripped her waist and held on by squeezing the flanks of the powerful animal. As fast as we went, I didn’t have to exert too much effort for the ride was smooth.
I sensed a powerful bond between the stranger girl and this magnificent equine. The beast really did whatever the stranger girl wanted, and I wondered if they could read each other’s minds.
By the time the sun came fully up, we were beyond the village and the manor where she grew up.
The stranger girl relaxed and slowed the horse down to an easy canter.
We traveled for the better part of the day until we came to a river with a gentler flow in the afternoon.
So that was how I met Woman, Adrianna.
Did you like the stories as much as you appreciated the drawings behind them?
****
The ethereal tones from the flute lingered through the air as I finished.
Adrianna had chosen a gentle instrument for my first night sharing some of my story of Woman.
The memory of the first twenty-four hours I knew her came out of me with ease, the angelic trills carrying me as I relived that night and the next day.
I couldn’t believe how easy it was to talk about Woman.
Adrianna had a genuine gift for spotting talent.
As were all the musicians who had played on our nights on the back patio, the flautist was one of her creative charges who lived in the dormitories.
She too had come from the orphanage. In her late teens, she had been at the Casa for four years; she was petite with a helmet of glossy hair and an earnest expression.
Unlike most of the creatives, Adrianna had originally intended to mentor her as a courtesan before she realized the girl suffered from remarkable shyness.
At the same time, Adrianna found the girl had a natural talent for the flute, and relaxed inside her skin as soon as she started to play. The girl closed her eyes and swooned back and forth as she played, losing herself inside the music, possibly more than her audience.
We leaned back in our seats, enjoying the heavenly pitch soaring the heights of the back patio and resonating all around us.
“Thank you, Shepherd, for opening up so much about Ella Bandita. You were much more descriptive and eloquent than I’d expected. I like surprises like that.”
Adrianna sat up in her chaise. Her large eyes held a gentleness I hadn’t expected.
I sensed she understood exactly how I felt in that moment. I nodded, too overcome to speak.
My story hadn’t taken so long to tell.
The fire still blazed in the stately fireplace of the back patio, and the two chimineas at our backs gave a welcome heat.
The snow had melted and spring was coming. But it was early in the new season and the night had a chilly sting to it.
Yet the stewards tended to our comfort very well, while the maids were bright-eyed, and the plates had been taken away as soon as the courses were eaten.
The night was in the early hours, and I was restless, having grown accustomed to Adrianna’s tales that took most, if not all, of the night to tell.
“Are you all right, Shepherd?”
I nodded.
Indeed, I was better than okay.
You were right, Wanderer.
I had been holding on to Woman by refusing to talk about her. Opening up my memories of Woman had not been as painful as I had expected.
I was unsettled and even edgy because talking about that night took me back there. But the sensations were not unpleasant.
My chest expanded in a way that made me realize how contracted I had been for so long.
I couldn’t remember any time when I wasn’t holding on and holding in. I became much lighter after I released a burden I hadn’t known I’d been carrying for too long.
“Adrianna, I haven’t thought about that night in so long, yet all that might have happened yesterday.”
“What a vivid memory, Shepherd. That night was more than thirty years ago.”
“It was.”
“How do you feel now that you’ve finally talked about Ella Bandita, Shepherd?”
“I’m surprised to say I feel very well.”
Adrianna smiled knowingly and gathered the half dozen sketches I had drawn of that night and used to tell her the story.
“Would you say you feel cleansed?”
“I feel lighter. Is that an effect of cleansing?”
“I believe so. Is that all?”
“To be honest, I feel restless.”
