“This is a sad day for the village.” Udor’s voice boomed over the crowd. “We have lost one of our founding mothers. Truly, Sophia was a mother to all of us. Let us have a moment of silence to remember how she graced Hutton’s Bridge with her love and caring.”
Tressa wanted to kick him in the gut or punch him in the mouth, anything to get him to shut up. He’d never even liked Granna. No one loved her like Tressa had. She glanced through the people crowded in the square, their eyes lowered, some with their hands folded in prayer. Tressa wished for it all to be over, but she knew there were at least a few more hours she had to bear.
During the viewing, anyone who wanted could walk by Granna’s body. They might linger only for a moment, but in some cases, people would stop for a long while. Probably worried about their own mortality. To Tressa, it was torture. Everyone in her village knew everyone else, but no one knew Granna like she did.
“Take your time saying goodbye,” Udor continued.
Tressa drew her eyes away from the crowd to stare at him.
“In the meantime, I will be meeting with the elders to discuss the future of our village.” With that final declaration, Udor spun on one heel, his cape floating behind him, and strode into the meeting hall.
Tressa itched to run after him. Her fate depended on their decisions. The next day she would either step into the fog never to return, or stay put in a village that was suffocating her.
Chapter Five
Sunset was a strange time in Bastian’s village. The horizon was blocked by the fog, so the closer the sun traveled to setting, the fog turned a salmon color, just like the fish they cared for in the pond. It left their village bathed in an unsettling glow. They rarely had this much sun in the cool nights of late summer. Usually the sky was shrouded in low clouds, sealing the village in a tomb of misty tendrils.
Tressa’s eyes were trained on the fog. He knew what was going through her mind without even asking. He stood off to the side, sure she didn’t notice him.
She turned her attention back to Sophia’s prone body. “Oh, they’re gone.” Her voice carried over to where he was standing. She was right. Everyone except Connor, Sean, Geoff, and Adam had left.
“We’re going to put her to rest now. Do you want to come?” Adam beckoned to the younger men.
“I can’t,” Sean said. “I promised my mother I’d get back to work.” He turned to Tressa. “I’m so sorry.” He gave her an awkward hug, then took off in the opposite direction.
Adam looked around and saw Bastian. With two fingers cocked in the air, Adam motioned him over. Bastian looked to Tressa, but she’d already started toward the fog. If she wouldn’t object, then he was more than willing to help.
Bastian took over Sean’s position near Sophia’s feet. Connor and Adam took the lead. Tressa walked three paces in front of them. Sophia’s braid hung off the side.
The grass stood taller the closer they got to the fog.
Adam held his palm up. Connor, Geoff, and Bastian brought Sophia to a careful halt.
They all looked at Tressa, all except Bastian who looked at Tressa’s feet.
“Is there anything you want to say before we commend her to the fog?” Adam asked.
“Can I have a moment alone with her?” Tressa asked.
Adam nodded. They removed Sophia from the pallet and set her down gently on the ground, her back against a large rock.
Tressa took Sophia’s hand in hers again. She leaned over to whisper in her ear.
Bastian wanted to go to her side, lay a hand on her back, steady her, but Tressa wouldn’t have allowed it. The last thing he wanted was to interfere where he wasn’t wanted. If they had still been bonded, he knew his place would be next to her.
Tressa paused for a moment, just breathing, as if Sophia might speak if she hesitated long enough. Sophia’s chest remained still. Her eyelids didn’t flutter. It really was all over.
Tressa stumbled backward, a hand over her pink lips and a waterfall gushing down her cheeks. Bastian held out his arms. She fell into them, not even noticing who held her. Tressa’s head fell onto his chest, her eyes focused only on Sophia’s body as Adam scooped her tiny grandmother into his arms. His toes touched the fog and his arms passed through the tendrils of gray mist until he seemed armless. Her body disappeared. There was no noise. They didn’t know where the bodies went or if they lay just beyond their grasp. It was the way of the fog.
Bastian held tighter as Tressa’s trembles turned to gasping breaths.
“I love you.”
It was only a whisper. Bastian was sure he was the only one who’d heard Tressa tell Sophia one last time how much she meant to her.