Guardians by Susan Kim Page B

what the other boy looked like. Certainly, he had seemed as cold, unfriendly, and calculating as always. But he had also evinced a kind of toughness that might be considered attractive. He also possessed something Aras could never regain.
    Aras could not help but think back on his first partner. Min had abandoned him soon after he lost his sight. Esther, of course, was different: She did not care about such things, and in addition, had never known him any other way. Moreover, Aras was comfortable in his own skin; he rarely felt self-conscious. Yet for the first time, he wondered how he might compare with Gideon if the two were lined up.
    Then he shook his head.
    Aras hated this kind of thinking; it made him feel not onlywretched, but weak. Yet he didn’t know how to discuss his suspicions with Esther. He didn’t have the words.
    With any other girl, he would have left long ago and not looked back. Aras couldn’t do that now; he loved Esther and Kai too much. They had a new baby as well, a daughter who would need special care and attention.
    His right hand began twiddling at his side. His thumb ran over his second and third fingers, the way it did when he was nervous or worried.
    He caught himself doing it and forced himself to stop.
    It was as if Aras were rolling himself one of the special papers he had promised Esther he would never again smoke.
    Then he sensed something.
    Pilot had returned to his side, but he tensed and stood. His chain collar jangled as a low growl emanated from his chest, and Aras automatically reached for his lead.
    â€œHe gonna bite?”
    The soft voice was unfamiliar: a female, perhaps in her midteens.
    â€œNo. It’s okay, boy.” Aras made a low clucking sound in his throat and with reluctance, the dog settled back down.
    â€œYou Aras?”
    Aras hesitated. It was an innocent-enough question and the stranger appeared to be alone and harmless; still, experience had taught him to be wary of people he didn’t know seeking information. “Why you want to know?”
    â€œIt okay,” the girl said. “I seen you with Esther. I’m Nur.”
    He nodded, stiffly, even as he sensed the girl climbingunbidden onto the stool opposite him.
    â€œDon’t come down here much,” she remarked. “But it nice to get away.”
    â€œThat so?”
    A rustle of clothing indicated that she shrugged. “Sometimes it more lonely when you with others.”
    Aras exhaled. He was surprised to find that in the past few weeks, he had often felt the same way with Esther. Still, he wasn’t about to share that with a stranger. “So I’ve heard.”
    â€œYour dog is pretty. Some say they better friends than people.”
    Aras agreed with this, too, but still said nothing. He was distracted by the flowery scent that arose from the girl’s skin and hair. Although it was obviously fake and from a bottle, he decided he liked it; it had a sweet and delicate quality that went with her voice.
    Despite himself, he found that he was opening up.
    â€œThe District can be—I don’t know.” He gesticulated with one hand, struggling to find the right words. “Too big. Worse than outside. Outside, you can always find your way. Here, you can just be . . . lost.”
    The guide sensed the girl shift in her seat. She must have leaned over the table that separated them, for he could now feel her breath tickle his face. The sensation was intimate, yet not unpleasant: far from it. “That how I feel.”
    Talking to Nur reminded Aras of the old days, when he still had his sight and used to guide people to their destinations. Often, he would grow close to one of them like this:talking late at night, just the two of them, in soft voices. Then they would part. He would carry the private moments they had shared, yet never see them again. It became their secret.
    He tried to shake off the feeling, but it was too late.
    The girl’s words were