Topic: Discord

Natalia Smith · Date: 2009-01-23 16:05 EST

"She can't do anything right!"

"Miserable, can't she see that nobody wants her? Why does she always smile?"

"Stupid goat girl should just go back to the farm."

The whispers had been getting louder every day. Even when there was no one around Natalia heard them. It was like a bug boring into her brain. Sometimes she just wanted to scream out loud.

"Tali you can't do that!"

"Stop acting like a grown up Natalia. You are just a little kid."

The voices of her family mingled with the voices of her schoolmates, adding to the discord. Her haven had become the tiny space at the bottom of her closet where she kept a small chest of precious mementos. When she closed the door behind her, she could almost shut out cruel words and focus on a second set of quieter whispers. She opened the chest and lifted out an item letting the soothing voices pour over her.

"You are one of the most talented assistants I've ever had Tal's. Did you know you even have regulars coming in to look for your work?"

Miss Wisper's voice had never been unkind. That shop had been her haven. But no one had even noticed when it vanished almost over night, replaced by something else. She set aside the little set of tools and the velvet bag of tiny crystals that had been her last gift from her boss and best friend before reaching for the next item.

" Such a pretty girl, In the right places you could sell yourself for a small fortune."

She didn't know why that stranger's words whispered on a lonely night when she was indulging in grief and alcohol kept playing over and over in her mind, but she kept the leather mask and garnet studded bands he had given her in her little chest. Her precious secret. Something no one else knew about her. She liked having a secret from all the frowning faces around her. It made her feel strong and mysterious, and quite grown up.

Tali closed the little chest of treasures and set it back into its hiding place. It would never do for Mother or The Sisters to find it. Tali didn't want to share those precious memories with anyone.

Natalia Smith · Date: 2009-01-23 16:45 EST

"Miss Smith, are you listening to me?" The teacher's tone was harsh, the sound of her ruler slapping Tali's desk as loud as a whip crack. " If you keep this behavior up I'll have no choice but to inform your guardians. This is unacceptable."

"You think they'd really care? It would be just another excuse to scold me to them." Tali slammed her textbook closed trying to ignore the snickering of her classmates. " When you inform them, do me a favor. Tell them I'm taking a trip. Tell them I'll come home when I'm grown up enough for them."

She slid her book into her bag and stormed out of the classroom leaving the teacher sputtering behind her. The poor woman had never had a student make a request like that. The students were in an uproar now leaving the teacher torn between going after Tali, or preventing a miniature riot.

Riot control won out when a textbook slammed into the blackboard behind her head.

Tali felt remarkably free as she exited the school building. She'd imagined doing just this a hundred times in the last few months, but had never quite worked up the courage. Having the teacher scold her for inattention yet again when she was trying her best to keep up with the difficult material was the last straw. Who really wanted a life where all they heard was criticism?

" I don't need them. Any of them."

She retrieved the bag she had hidden this morning from the corner of the schoolyard. Soap was there in the tiny travel cage Tali had saved to buy, with Cutthroat tied to the fence beside him.

" I can always count on you two to follow me anywhere can't I?"

She untied the puppy and and started walking, no destination in mind other than away. It would be almost twenty four hours later before the teacher thought again on Tali's request, and another six on top of that before she was free to contact the Smith family to check on Tali's welfare. By that time Tali had boarded a stage using the last of her savings, headed for a town called Destiny.

Natalia Smith · Date: 2009-01-24 01:32 EST

Destiny.

Tali had liked the sound of the place the moment the man at the coach station had read it off the destination list. It sounded like a place full of hope, and Tali was desperately in need of a little bit of that.

It was a dusty little town, just one step shy of being a ghost town. A single tavern and hotel, a small post station and a handful of houses. While it wasn't the type of place a girl could expect to find fame and fortune, she figured it would make as good a starting place as any. Her first stop was at the dingy white church at the end of the lane.

"Tal's if you ever go journeying, and find yourself short on funds, first thing you do is find a church." The whispers in her head had for the most part quieted down, leaving only the most fond ones as long as Tali stayed calm. She remembered the afternoon Miss Wisper and she had discussed Tali's secret wish to travel some. " There is nothing church folk like better than a stubborn little girl like you. You do with them just like you did me, march straight up and demand whatever work they are willing to give you."

"Well we won't know till we give it a try will we Soap? Even scrubbing a chapel floor sure beats not having supper tonight."

It was getting close to dusk when she walked up the three porch stairs to the tiny chapel. The doors were half propped open and a single figure was moving around inside, lighting a few candles around the room.

"Come in child, you're just in time for evening services. The men and women of town should be arriving any moment."

The priest was a kindly looking old fellow, white haired with wire rimmed glasses. The frames of the glasses were crooked and worn, even taped and wired together in places. It felt as if the wearer just couldn't bear to let them go at the end of their useful life.

Taking the words of her departed friend to heart Tali pointed to the worn frames. "Mister if you'll feed me supper after the service I'll mend those proper for you. I used to apprentice to a silversmith who taught me the proper way of doing such. I even have my own tools."

"Well now, that's a better offering than most travelers who stop by our humble church make. You give me a name and you have a bargain Miss."

Tali tried to ignore the expression on the mans face, the one that hinted that he would have fed her regardless. She was determined to do everything she could before she accepted charity from anyone. That was the point of this journey wasn't it? To prove to all those whispering Nay-Sayers that she had what it took to be regarded as an adult. That she wasn't just a useless child anymore.

" Talia Smith. And these are Soap an' Cutthroat." She couldn't leave the animals out, if the old fellow couldn't include them in the bargain she'd walk away right there.

"A true pleasure Miss Smith. Settle in there on that back bench with your companions and receive God's grace, and then we'll see about that supper."

Tali didn't have a chance to answer as men, women and children started filling the benches in the chapel. She took the instructed seat wrapping her arms around her puppy for comfort and warmth. As the sermon started she found herself nodding off, using poor Cutthroat as a pillow.

Natalia Smith · Date: 2009-01-27 04:12 EST

The sermon hadn't been a long one, but she and her travel companions had managed to sleep through the whole thing. When she woke the chapel itself was dark. She had been covered with a light blanket. Light and delicious smells came through the open door behind the humble pulpit. When she followed the light she found a kitchen there. Soap and Cutthroat were already settled in before the fire curled up in a ball of tri-colored fur.

The fire cast a warm orange glow over the tiny kitchen. The soup simmering there smelled strongly of pepper and garlic, and what Tali assumed to be the soft smoke scent of ham. It smelled delicious. She was seated at the worn planks of the priest's kitchen table. The planks were scarred from use, but had the golden gleam of something lovingly polished. Tali traced the whirl of the wood grain with a finger.

The old priest ladled out a bowl of the soup and set it in front of the tired girl along with a warm buttered slice of brown bread.

"Eat first, and then you can see about saving these old spectacles of mine." There wasn't a trace of doubt in his voice that the girl could do what she had said she would. Perhaps it was just the basic faith in humanity that came with being a man of god.

"Did you feed my friends?" Concern laced the words, battling with fatigue.

"Of course. God loves even his furred children, and I find the simplest expression of love is food."

"Food?" It was an interesting concept to the girl, she hadn't spent much time reflecting on love lately. All the negative voices in her head conspiring to keep any positive thought away.

"Yes food. What is the first thing a mother does with a new infant?"

Tali had to give that some thought before answering. "I guess that she puts them to her breast and lets them suckle."

The gentle priest just nodded and ate a spoonful of his soup. The rest of the meal was finished in contemplative silence. After it was over, Tali took the dishes to the sink and scrubbed them out. When she got back to the table she found the poor battered glasses laid out there, and the priest settled in a chair by the fire, scripture on his lap, the puppy and kitten curled around his feet.

She laid out the little kit of tools that had until recently lived in the chest containing her dearest treasures and started to work. All the tape and wire had to be carefully stripped. The wire itself was used to reinforce the weak points it had been used to hold together, this time being properly soldered into place. It took Tali until late into the night to finish. Her concentration was so intent, she hadn't noticed the priest laying out a pallet for her beside the fire, or leaving the room for his own.

Natalia was proud of the job she had done, the spectacles were almost as good as new. The edges of the mends were filed and polished smooth, the only sign of their presence was a faint difference in color from the original metal. She left them folded on the table and crawled into the pallet where Soap was already sleeping.

Natalia Smith · Date: 2009-01-27 04:16 EST

When she woke the next morning in the place of the glasses was a tiny leather pouch next to a larger cloth sack, all lying on a folded sheet of paper.

Miss Smith,
The village smith, a traveling tinker, and the physician who makes bi-monthly rounds of the village had all told me I would just have to accept the inevitable and purchase new spectacles. I had been carefully setting aside coin from my stipend every month for a year and praying they would last just a bit longer. God answers prayers in unexpected ways it seems.

In the sack you will find food enough for you and your companions for a three-day if you are careful. In the leather pouch is the coin I had set aside for new spectacles. It should be just enough for a stage ride, and a room at whatever destination you choose. Destiny is a beautiful town, but I imagine a young thing like you would get bored of it quickly. Be assured you are welcome to my hearth whenever you have need or want of it. I'm sorry I could not see you off this morning.

God go with you on your journey,
Father Augustin Clark.

Tali carefully folded the letter and tucked it in the bag containing her treasures. She slipped the pouch of coin into her pocket and tidied away the bedding she had used. Soap was tucked back in his carry-case, and Cutthroat put back on his lead. The three then headed back to the stage stop to wait for the next coach to somewhere.

Natalia Smith · Date: 2009-02-01 06:30 EST

There were seven people, two dogs, a cat and a parakeet on the afternoon stage, and Natalia was the youngest of them. She hadn't even asked the destination, just handed over enough coin to pay the passage and boarded. Among the other passengers was a girl perhaps two years older than Tali and her mother. Their travel clothes were neat and tidy, obviously pricey too. Every time they looked her way Tali couldn't help fidgeting. It was three days travel to the next stop, and she couldn't imagine that duo having anything nice to say to anyone that entire time.

"The young one's unhappy cause her Ma picked the gray travel dress over the pink 'un. Lil' Miss Priss make a right nice pigylett in pink dun' ya think?" The whisper came from the man in the seat beside her. In his twenties perhaps, and the owner of the other dog on the stage. He wore dusty worn hand me downs that hinted at at least a dozen prior owners. "Ma there is all uptight 'cause the pickled prunes she ate fer breakfast caused 'er ta bloat an now 'er cors'ts too tight."

Tali giggled, covered her mouth with her hands and blushed, then giggled some more.

" They ain't so scary if ya make up tall tales bout their lives Little Miss." He offered a hand with a grin " Name's Benjamin Greer, but most folk call me Brown Ben on accounta' my skin bein' all brown from the sun. The dog here is Rusty"

She shook the offered hand with a matching grin. "Natalia Smith, just called Tali. My dog's Cutthroat on account of his pirate patch, and my kitten's Soap cause he's a slippery little bastard."

"Right nice names those are. You stick close to Ol' Ben and I bet the five of us get ta be right good friends by the time we reach Promise."

"Promise? Is that where we are going?" Tali looked a little distant as she turned her head to the window. " Almost reminds me of home."

"Sounds like you've got a tale to tell Ol' Ben, Miss Tali. Mayhap its a good thing we met today."

Natalia Smith · Date: 2009-02-04 15:53 EST

"Its not much of a story really. I was just born in a place called Hope is all." Tali shrugged, leaning her forehead against the cool window glass. " Someone once told me that coming from Hope was a most fortunate situation. When we first came here I thought this would be a grand adventure. I'd never lived in a city before, we lived on a farm when I was little see. But Ma and Johnny insisted that moving to Rhydin was a good thing for all of us."

Ben leaned over to scratch Rusty's ears, using that as an excuse to look up at the girl's features from below. There was something infinitely lonely about the way she looked. It was a shame really, because he thought she was one of the prettiest girls he'd seen in a long time. Much better than Miss Piggy across the way and her Ma at least.

"The first few weeks I had so much fun exploring. I even found a part time job that I loved. Johnny had me enroll in school. I thought I'd make all sorts of friends there. The first couple weeks the other students pretended to be friendly, but then the pranks started. Little things at first like tacks on my chair and moving my schoolbooks when I wasn't looking. They got bigger and bigger, and started happening more and more often. And then the whispers started."

"No good."

"All she ever does is cause a disruption. I wish she had never transferred into my class"

"Tali stinks like Turnips, we should just call her Turnip Head from now on."

Tali covered her ears as if that could stop the whispers in her head, whimpering a little. She squeezed her eyes shut and continued. "The only times I was ever happy were when I was working. Miss Wisper my boss was only five years older than me, but she ran a real classy establishment. Delights was one of the premiere jewelery places in town. Even Johnny's work at the Silver Lark was hard pressed to match it. Miss Wisper and me, we were gettin to be real good friends while she taught me things. But one day I went to work, and everything was closed and locked. Miss Wisper had an accident while she was working alone at night, and died. Wasn't even a week later that the building was gone, and something else was built in its place."

"Right sorry to hear that Little Miss. Right sorry indeed." He was touched by the raw sorrow in her voice. It wasn't his way to be touchy feel-ish in public, but he couldn't resist reaching over and stroking the hair on the back of her head. " That had ta be tough."

A little choked sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob silpped out. Tali turned to face Ben, tears tracking down her cheeks. " Want to hear the horrible part? In all these months since it happened, you're the first person to say that." She gave into the sobs that she usually only indulged in when she was completely alone.

"Hush now Little One. Ol' Ben will look out for you till you feel a mite better now." he gathered the crying girl against his shoulder and just held her until the sobbing stopped.

Natalia Smith · Date: 2009-03-24 18:57 EST

" I don't remember when I first noticed it, this feeling like my skin was too tight for my body. Like everything was just a little bit off center. It was probably just after Johnny and Si got married though. I worked hard and saved to give them a nice wedding gift. A racing Peg'sus."

Tali and Ben had been traveling together for a couple weeks now. Sometimes they traded stories, sometimes they just sat together in comfortable silence. Today was a story day. It whiled away the hours while they worked odd jobs to get from town to town.

"Instead of getting thanked for the gift, Ma and the sisters scolded me for hanging out at the track instead of doing my schoolwork. Didn't matter to them that I was in the top of my class, they just didn't think it was the proper place for a little girl to be. Can't tell you how much I hate those words. Little girl. Like I'm some toddling babe without the sense to think for myself."

"Don't seem like a little girl to me at all most times Tali. Seem right proper grown." Ben wiped his brow as he set down one of the crates they were unloading for the general store in a town called Malady.

"That's what I keep trying to tell them. Si says they just fret cause they love me, but if they love me why can't they see me?" She flopped on the crate, scooping Soap up into her lap. "I feel invisible. Like I'm a stranger in a room full of close friends. Are all families like that Ben?"

"I dunno Tali." The farmhand looked right baffled by the question. "Can't say I've ever noticed that, but then I'm an only child. Ma and Pa tend to fuss at me a lot tellin me to be a man grown and get out on my own. That's why I'm travelin now. Pa said don't come back till I know for sure farmin's my one true love."

"When we met on the stage I never would'a guessed you weren't much older than me. You seemed so sure of yourself. And you kept calling yourself Ol' Ben. You ain't old at all."

"Aye but would you have trusted me ta just hold you like that if I hadn't said that? Never met a mite so in need of holdin' as you were just then."

Tali stuck her tongue out at Ben and set Soap back down. "We'd best be gettin back to work if we want paid in time to get supper before catching the next stage."

Ben chuckled at her flushed cheeks and hefted the crate again, moving it into the store with a satisfied grunt.

Natalia Smith · Date: 2009-05-05 19:24 EST

"Hey, wake up Squirt. Yer gonna miss the best part." Ben nudged Tali in the ribs with an elbow. She looked right cute slumped with her head on his shoulder like she was, but the sight outside the window of the stage wouldn't last long.

"What is it? I'm still sleepy Ben, and the sun's not even up yet." Her voice was a bit frogish, and she rubbed her eyes like a little kid.

"That's why you need to wake up Tal. We're crossin' the bridge ta Tomorrow, and the sun's just bout to break the horizon." The words were whispered so as not to wake the other passenger on the stage, a rather harsh looking type that Ben was fairly convinced was up to no good.

The stagecoach window filled with shades of pink and amber. The old warm timbers of the bridge were backlit by the most glorious sunrise Tali had ever seen. She watched for a few moments in silence before reaching for her pack and rummaging inside. She offered Ben one of the biscuits she found there.

"How'd you know that would be there Ben?"

"Easy enough. Our farm's just on the other side of Tomorrow." Ben grinned. "By supper time I aim ta be introducin' you to my Ma an Pa, Tals."

Tali grumbled a little but all in all she didn't mind that much. She had a feeling that Ben's family was a world apart from her family, and she was dying to meet them. Not that she'd tell him that just yet.