A week passed. Myth and I were trekking through the Holding Moonlit, bound for its eastern border with Bramble. We had stopped the previous evening to camp beside a beautiful lake…
Oh! That is it, Buster! Stop bawling every time I use a word that begins with B. If you do not, I will keep using B words just to bother you.
I did not say the lake was beautiful because I was being a brat. Beautiful happened to be the best word I could use to describe that lake. Did that occur to you? No. You just went, “Boo-hoo! Izzy is giving me a headache.”
Anyway…
Um…
Blast it! I have forgotten where I was in my story. That’s your fault, Buster. So stop bellyaching and behave yourself.
Now… Where was I? Oh! We were camping near a beautiful lake…
Myth and I had formed the habit of erecting our lean-tos side by side. That way, we could place our pillows next to each other and chat for a spell before going to bed. Well… I did most of the chatting. Myth swore that some nights I fell asleep as I was still nattering away.
Anyhow, the next morning Myth awoke before I did. She must have slept well, because she was so rambunctious.
With a “Tap, tap, tap” upon my nose, Myth guided me into a new day.
But right then, I did not realize that it was Myth who had disturbed my slumber. Coherent thinking still eluded me. And my eyes absolutely refused to open. All I knew was that something was so rudely a-tapping upon my nose.
Whimpering, I brushed her hand away.
“Tap, tap, tap,” I felt upon my nose once again.
“Wake up, sleepyhead,” chirped Myth. “We still have a ways to go.”
I forced my eyes to open a wee bit, just enough to see a blurry vision of a beaming, bed haired Myth.
No, I told myself, it’s too early.
I shut my eyes once more. And I rolled onto my side, away from Myth in hopes of discouraging her from a-tapping upon my nose again.
Myth remained undeterred. She grabbed hold of my blanket and yanked it off me. “Come on, lazy,” she urged me. “Breakfast is ready.”
Whimpering again, I sat up and scowled at her.
Myth gasped and said, “Now that’s a grumpy face.”
Awake enough at last to realize that I was being rude, I sighed and said, “I’m sorry, Myth. I tossed and turned all night long and hardly slept a wink. But I shouldn’t take it out on you.”
Myth smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Izzy. We all have ‘those’ mornings.”
She wrapped my blanket around me. “Let’s spend the day here so you can rest. We’ll head out tomorrow morning.”
“No,” I replied. “I’m awake now.”
Just then, a big yawn disproved my assertion that I was ready to begin the day.
“We haven’t even started, and you’re already tired,” said Myth.
“But I don’t want you to have to wait for me,” I said, stifling another yawn.
Myth cocked her head to the side and grinned. “Don’t worry, Iz. We’re not going to miss the Beet Festival. So get some rest.”
I yawned again. “How did you know I was worried about that?”
“Because I know you, Iz,” replied Myth. “And I promise I’ll do everything I can to make sure we make it to the festival. I’ll even carry you to Bramble, if I must. Now, go back to sleep. I’ll be quiet for you.”
“Well,” I said as I lay down and closed my eyes, “if you’re sure…”
I must have dozed off immediately because that’s all I remember.
I awoke again a few hours later. Myth was not at our campsite. But she had left a plate of berries for me beside our fire. I giggled as I picked up the plate because Myth had arranged the berries into the likeness of a smiling face. She was always doing sweet things like that.
Then I noticed that Myth had left a note for me beneath the plate. Popping a berry into my mouth, I grabbed the note and read it as I ate:
Hope you slept well.
I am going to sit by the lake for a while.
—Myth
Once I finished eating, I set about doing some chores. We had settled into a routine when it came to household tasks. Myth handled all the cooking and washing up. I kept our campsite tidy and cleaned our laundry. After being a washerwoman for several years, Myth was happy to let me clean our clothes. And as I have mentioned, I was a terrible cook. So our division of domestic duties never caused an argument between us.
Chores done, I left our laundry drying on the clothesline and went to find Myth.