A Tinn’s tale

n the weeks that followed, the beehives weren’t on Lucs mind often. There was a lot of work to do and the new pleasures of being a teen kept him busy as well.

He had never thought that girls could actually be pretty interesting. But now he found himself being quite attracted to one girl in particular.

 

Mary Lewis. There was just something in the way she glanced at him, the way the point of her nose turned up, the way she so elegantly moved. She was just a little girl, just like he was just a little boy, but nevertheless she had awakened in him the desire to protect her, shield her. He wanted nothing but to pull her close, and yet he was frightened by this strange new desire.

Luc had madly fallen in love.

 

 

Mary didn’t think so highly of herself. As the only child and daughter of the irritable pastor, she had often seen his outbursts of anger. She had fallen victim to it once, when she was very young. She couldn’t recall what it had been about, but she now guessed it had something to to with her being a girl, instead of a boy.

Luckily it didn’t come to another argument after that one. Her mother restored the peace and guarded it like an angel. And she knew her father loved her anyway. He had his weak moments, but in the end she knew he only wanted the best for his family.

 

 

At the wedding of her friend Robyn, Mary had seen Luc. He was about as old as she, so it didn’t surprise her that he had grown since she had last seen him. But it struck her that he had grown so handsome.

She found herself blushing when he looked at her. He no longer was the little boy she knew and had even played with sometimes, but he had developed a hint of the attitude his father had always had. An air of doing what he pleased, even if the authorities didn’t like it.

 

 

When Luc had ventured into the woods one day and did not return, Mary was worried. She had found herself being quite attracted to the unusual boy. Now that he wasn’t around, she realized how much she had grown to care about him. She missed him.

Ofcourse she did know it could never happen - the two of them together - for he was the son of the banned man. Her father would never allow, let alone agree with such a thing. She also thought Luc would never like a bouncy little girl like her. But that didn’t stop her from dreaming.

 

 

Luc did not return after a few days and Mary was worrying herself sick. His family was having sleepless nights, too. But Mary was far more sorry for herself, as they had at least been able to tell Luc they loved him. If he was never to come back - Mary shuddered at the thought - he would never know about her.

 

 

Mary liked to think of herself as brave. Trouble was, she wasn’t, really. She liked braiding her hair and having nice dresses and drawing imaginary signs in the sand, and she didn’t think those were the kind of things a brave girl would do. A brave girl would at least have the courage to ask a boy on a dance. A brave girl would at least tell a boy if she fancied him.

Mary daren’t.

She did have her little adventures, like when a sheep had fallen into the moat. She had had the presence of mind to pull the sheep out, and afterwards she felt brave. She liked that feeling. And right now, she felt like she had the opportunity to be brave once again. It would be very different from rescuing a cat from the roof, ofcourse. But she liked to think herself brave and this was an opportunity a brave girl wouldn’t let go!

 

 

So, once Mary had swallowed several times and inhaled deeply, she grabbed the opportunity with both hands. She would go after Luc to try and find him.

Mary told her parents she was going for a walk, which was a part of the truth, she thought. She would never really lie to them.

At first the woods seemed light and airy, but it quickly got denser. And although Mary tried to remember the way she had come, every tree looked like all the others. There was no real path, except for a deer track that was hard to follow because it disappeared every now and then. But it was the only thing that appeared to make sense to Mary and she tried to follow it, which was the best thing she could have done.

 

 

Mary called out to Luc many times, but when she got no response at all, she realized how enormous these woods really were. Would she ever be able to find him? And if she could, how would they ever find their way back?

When Mary stopped to rest and looked around, an unfamiliar, horrible feeling came over her. She had no idea where she was.