Page 8 of Ablaze

“Too bad you don’t know where she is now. It sounds like it’s my friend,” I try to say casually and work it from that angle.

“I know exactly where she is.” George smiles with pride.

My heart beats so hard I can hear it in my ears. I’m losing my attempt to contain my excitement “Where is she George?”

“She got sick with the flu, at least that’s what we think it was. It was the night she was heading out to leave. She’s been in bed for a week. Been bringing up food and water myself. She’s only four doors down from you.”

All I can think is that he’s kidding me! This must be some kind of a joke. We are in the same building. My stomach instantly goes into knots. I’m scared and excited all rolled into one. I can’t believe it. I’ve finally found her.

Sadie

It’s taken me six days to finally start feeling normal again. I have found the strength to get out of bed. Now, I just have to wait for the sun to go down. My sleeping has been thrown off from laying down so much. I get up and walk to the curtain to peek outside. The sun is shining brightly, and it’ll be a few hours before it’s completely dark out. George has been so kind to me. I don’t know how to repay him. I paid for the extra days for my room and food, but without him, I wouldn’t have made it. I think I’ll offer to help him with his business tonight. It will give me a chance to test out my strength level.

Once I’m fully healthy, which I’m hoping will only be another day or two, I’ll continue my trip to the island. The setback in time has dampened my spirits, but I’m trying not to let it get me down. The time in bed has also given me time to think about all that I’ve learned about the island. George gave me a ton of information the night before I was going to leave, and so did the tradesman. I’m going with my gut, and I feel like I’ll find something out there. I just know there has to be something there that my mother wanted me to see.

I lie back down on my bed and rest for a little while longer. Before the sun begins to set, I get my items for the bathroom and make my way down the hall. I’m going to take a shower tonight since I haven’t for the last few days. This could be the last real shower I have for a while if I head out to the island tomorrow night. I make my way down the hall and get to the bathroom door. As always, I knock and wait to see if anyone comes out. I get this weird feeling someone is watching me.

I turn around and look up and down the hall. No one is there, but I can’t shake the feeling I’m being watched. I turn the knob and go inside the bathroom. I quickly get undressed and shower. I take note of the soap again and see it’s from the same hotel as before, The Peach Tree Inn. This time, I throw the label in the trash but make a mental note to ask George if he traded for the soap. Maybe this place used to be known as that. Once I’m dressed, I slip down the hall and get back into my room.

The sun is finally beginning to set outside. I move my curtains open and look at the street below. People are starting to slowly go outside and are coming out from the canvas that provided them shade. I keep the curtains open and tidy up my bed. I take my backpack out from under the bed and throw it on my shoulder. I’m going to see if George needs any help tonight and thank him again for everything that he’s done.

I walk down the hallway and head down the stairs. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been sick, but my backpack feels so much heavier than before. That’s when I remember, duh! It’s got all of my supplies inside it ready for the island. When I get into the tavern, George is already behind the bar smiling, and the door is open with people already drifting inside. I smile back at him and slide my backpack off my shoulder.

“George, can I sit this behind the bar? I didn’t want to leave it in my room because the door won’t lock properly,” I tell him.

“Course you can! If you want, you can take the key and lock your door from the outside. You’ll just need to come get the key again to get back in,” he tells me. He reaches up under the bar and extends the key to me.

I thank him and take the key from him. I pick my heavy backpack up off the floor and head towards the stairs. As I go up the stairs and turn to the left of the staircase, a man comes out of a room on the right. In this narrow hallway almost all of the doors are visible from the top of the stairs. I can see him stop outside of his door, and he just stands there staring at me. When our eyes meet, I put my head down and quickly walk straight to my room. I open up my door,

and I can see out of the corner of my eye he’s still standing in front of his. In the week that I’ve been here, I haven’t seen any of George’s other guests. He’s the first one and rather handsome, but he seems like an odd one with all the gawking.

I wait a few minutes in my room before I go back downstairs. I don’t want to take a chance on running into anyone in the hall. I lock my room and leave my bag safely inside. I get downstairs and the tavern is now packed with people. I have to wedge my way across the room to get to the bar. George is so busy that he doesn’t even notice when I put the key back under the bar. I stand behind the bar not knowing what to do. People are shouting orders over one another, holding items for trade in their hands, waving them in the air for attention.

When George realizes I’m behind the bar, he stops serving and comes over to me. He’s out of breath from working so hard. “What are you doing? You should still be lying down,” he stresses to me.

“George, I’m fine. I want to help you. Please let me repay you in some way. I know you need help. Look at this place,” I tell him as I look at the people getting more frantic by the minute.

George looks around the room and knows I’m right. This is too much for one person to handle day in and day out. Besides, before I got sick he was even offering me a job. “Okay, fine. You can help, but just for tonight. I know you have other plans.” He looks me in the eye. “Don’t take anything you can’t tell is real for trade. Don’t take food or water pills, only stuff you know will trade on the streets for other items. Got it?” he asks me.

“Got it! I’m good at trading,” I assure him. I don’t tell him that the majority of my items I’ve traded have only been water pills, maps and, more importantly, diamonds. He has no idea what’s in my bag, and that’s a good thing. But I dive right in and start taking items for beverages. The majority of the crowd wants water, and a few people here and there want hard liquor. I spend the next few hours serving. It takes half the night before the crowd starts to die down.

Now that it’s calmed down, I start to pick up items that fell on the floor during the rush. That’s when I notice a man sitting at the other end of the bar. I can see him in my peripheral vision. He’s looking at me, watching me closely. I look over at him, and our eyes meet. It’s the same man I saw earlier upstairs. When he sees me look his way, he drops his eyes back down to the bar top. His cheeks flush with embarrassment. He busies himself with the drink he’s holding. I go to walk over to him, but George crosses my path, stopping me in my tracks.

“You were great Sadie! Thank you so much. I forgot what it’s like to have help around here,” he tells me. He reaches out and gives me a giant hug. It’s unexpected and honestly, makes me feel a little uncomfortable. I haven’t had another person hug me since I said goodbye to my parents when I left for California. When he can see my face, he realizes my discomfort and releases me immediately. “Sorry… got carried away,” he says apologetically. “Remember, my offer still stands on the job. Just say the word. You can have your room for free,” he offers.

“No, I can’t stay,” I tell him. I try to stress this fact to him. “I really have to make it to the island. I’m planning on leaving after tomorrow’s sunlight.” I sneak a look at the man from upstairs. George is blocking his view of me, but I can slightly see him. He’s leaning toward us, trying to hear our conversation.

“I understand.” He nods sadly. “Besides, you’ve got a friend waiting to see you.”

“A friend? Who are you talking about?” I ask him, feeling left out of the loop.

“He came in late this morning just as the sun was coming up. Asked to rent out a room. We got to talking about how he was also trying to go to the island and then you came up. He said you sound like a friend he knows,” he tells me. He throws his head in the direction of the guy sitting at the end of the bar. It’s the same guy I saw upstairs earlier.

“Did he mention me by name?” I ask him.

“Nope, just said you sounded like a friend of his.”

I don’t know this guy, and we are definitely not friends. It could just be a coincidence that he’s passing through to the island, but I’m not sold. The fact that I got brought into his conversation makes me even more suspicious. My mother’s words ring into my ears, Don’t trust anyone. My mother’s advice has kept me safe, and I don’t see any reason not to follow it now. I need to find out if it’s me he’s interested in or if it was just a fluke him saying I could be his friend. There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to talk to him.

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