Page 42 of Fire in Stone

“Well, you can have my daughter’s room, then. There’s only one bed—”

“I don’t need a bed,” Elex announced cheerfully.

“He means one bed is fine,” I quickly corrected.

The woman headed up a worn stone path toward the front door of the house, gesturing for us to follow.

“I didn’t mind snuggling either when I was younger. Now, I need my space.” She opened the door, leading us inside. “Are you hungry?” I opened my mouth to reply, but apparently that was a rhetorical question as she continued, “You missed dinner. I’ve already cleaned the dishes and put everything away. Not starting all of that again now.”

“We’re good,” I said. “We’ve already eaten.”

We still had some fruit, cheese, and bread in the backpack. That would make a good enough dinner.

The house was small, with a low ceiling. A stone fireplace stood in the middle of the main living area. The woman climbed up a ladder next to it and slammed a trapdoor open.

“Up there you go.” She climbed down. “Like I said, my daughter used to sleep there, but she’s long left to live in the city. Young people don’t like staying where they’re born,” she lamented with a sigh.

I grabbed onto the ladder with one hand. “Thank you so much for letting us stay. Are you sure you don’t want the money?”

“No.” She shook her head adamantly. “Dollars or euros don’t have much worth here. I’ve no place to exchange them. But if your man doesn’t mind putting those muscles of his to work, I could use some help with fixing the rock wall behind the house. With just my husband and me, it’s been taking forever.”

“Oh…” I glanced at Elex. “What do you think?”

His eyes were fixed on the setting sun outside the window.

“Tomorrow,” he said.

“We could spare an hour or two to help you tomorrow morning,” I offered to our host.

“Better than nothing.” She nodded. “If you get up early enough, I’ll have breakfast for you.”

“We’ll be up at sunrise,” Elex assured her.

“Good.” She lingered by the ladder. “I’m Margret, by the way. My husband’s name is Magnus.”

“Thank you, Margret.” Elex shifted his weight to another foot impatiently.

She wouldn’t move, clearly expecting to hear our names in return.

“I’m Liz,” I lied. “And this is Alex.” The chances of someone coming to this tiny island looking for us were small, but I wasn’t going to risk it by giving her our real names. “Well, we better get out of your way.” Sensing Elex’s urgency to hide before the sun had set, I started climbing the ladder. “Thank you again for your hospitality.”

“Have a good night.” Margret shuffled away. “And try to be quiet up there.”

“I’ll be as still as a rock,” Elex deadpanned, following me up.

The upstairs room was right under the roof. The tilted walls met in the middle, barely allowing me to stand upright in the very center of the room. Elex had to hunch over significantly just to fit in.

A rock chimney rose from the main floor and through the roof outside. Warmth radiated from the heated stone.

“Oh, this is much better than sleeping outside.” I sat on the quilt-covered single bed by the round window in the gable.

Elex sat down on the floor by the chimney. Bending a leg, he rested an elbow on his knee.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Amber.” He sounded tired and a little apprehensive, as if unsure about what morning would bring.

He looked at the sky outside. The tiny sliver of the sun was shrinking, barely visible over the ocean. The blush-colored glow of the sunset tangled among the clouds above.

“Elex…”

---