moment. Tears ran down her cheeks.
“Will you teach me to read like that?” he asked softly.
“I will teach you,” she said. “Even if I have only days left to live, I will pass on what I can. I will teach you for Helena's sake, because that is the way of readers.”
Chapter 02: Library
Bruce approached the crossroads beyond the village as the dark of night gave way to the first hint of the coming day. A faint orange glow sat on the horizon. At first, he thought Jane hadn't come, but she was there, dressed as a man. In the low light, he didn't recognize her until she came up to him and spoke in a harsh whisper.
“You're late.”
Bruce was taken aback by her appearance. Somewhat surprised, he didn’t say anything in reply. He followed Jane, fascinated to see her wearing a baggy shirt and farming trousers. Her hair was bundled up beneath a broad-rim hat. He was walking his horse, just as she had recommended, and had to hurry to keep pace with her as she marched off along the southern track. Although he doubted anyone would overhear them in the dark forest, he whispered in reply.
“Where are we going?”
A fine mist hanging in the cool air as they spoke.
“It's called a library,” she said, signaling with her hand for quiet as they marched along the path. “Once we clear the borders we can mount up, until then it would attract too much attention.”
Jane wasn’t taking any chances. They walked in silence as the sky lit up in blood red hues, slowly softening as the sun crept over the horizon. Birds called in the breaking dawn, which was a good sign as birds tended to be quiet when some large beast lurked nearby.
After an hour, they reached the old raised highway with its slabs of concrete slowly separating with each winter. The slabs had once been continuous, with just the narrowest of gaps between them, but over the decades the ground had shifted, moving the slabs on various angles, allowing grasses to spring up between them. Occasionally, the rusted hulk of a car or truck sat to one side, or off in the ditch, a casual reminder of a long, lost world that seemed more of a fairy tale than a past reality.
Bruce climbed up first, using a rope ladder to mount the huge horse. He reached down, helping Jane climb with her injured arm. She sat behind him with her arms resting gently on his hips. She didn't have to, the saddle was large enough for several people, with leather hand-holds spaced on either side, but he had no complaints.
“There was a time,” she said, pausing for a second, distracting herself with some other thought and he wondered what she was going to say.
“A time?” Bruce asked, curious about the past.
“There was a time when horses were small enough to fit through a doorway.”
“Really?” he replied, trying to get his head around the concept.
“Our horses are closer to the elephants of old, both in terms of their size and their nature. They can gallop a few hundred yards, but once they would run for miles and miles.”
“What’s an elephant?” asked Bruce, unsure what that creature was.
“I'll show you some pictures. But they were big, lumbering beasts, with tusks like a wild boar, only their tusks extended out in a curve over ten feet long. They were like spears on either side of their heads. And they had a nose that was anywhere up to fifteen feet long. Imagine that, a nose with the dexterity of a hand, a trunk as thick as your leg that could pluck a single blade of grass. Elephants used their noses to pull on branches and pick fruit.”
Bruce laughed. Such an animal was preposterous, unimaginable, like the fabled Griffin, the lion with eagle's wings.
“Surely, you're making this up?” he said. “Next you'll be telling me that dragons are real, flying through the air and breathing fire.”
“Oh, but they are. Or at least they were. They were called pterosaurs, and they lived hundreds of millions of years ago. There was one with a wingspan of 36 feet.”
“So
“Will you teach me to read like that?” he asked softly.
“I will teach you,” she said. “Even if I have only days left to live, I will pass on what I can. I will teach you for Helena's sake, because that is the way of readers.”
Chapter 02: Library
Bruce approached the crossroads beyond the village as the dark of night gave way to the first hint of the coming day. A faint orange glow sat on the horizon. At first, he thought Jane hadn't come, but she was there, dressed as a man. In the low light, he didn't recognize her until she came up to him and spoke in a harsh whisper.
“You're late.”
Bruce was taken aback by her appearance. Somewhat surprised, he didn’t say anything in reply. He followed Jane, fascinated to see her wearing a baggy shirt and farming trousers. Her hair was bundled up beneath a broad-rim hat. He was walking his horse, just as she had recommended, and had to hurry to keep pace with her as she marched off along the southern track. Although he doubted anyone would overhear them in the dark forest, he whispered in reply.
“Where are we going?”
A fine mist hanging in the cool air as they spoke.
“It's called a library,” she said, signaling with her hand for quiet as they marched along the path. “Once we clear the borders we can mount up, until then it would attract too much attention.”
Jane wasn’t taking any chances. They walked in silence as the sky lit up in blood red hues, slowly softening as the sun crept over the horizon. Birds called in the breaking dawn, which was a good sign as birds tended to be quiet when some large beast lurked nearby.
After an hour, they reached the old raised highway with its slabs of concrete slowly separating with each winter. The slabs had once been continuous, with just the narrowest of gaps between them, but over the decades the ground had shifted, moving the slabs on various angles, allowing grasses to spring up between them. Occasionally, the rusted hulk of a car or truck sat to one side, or off in the ditch, a casual reminder of a long, lost world that seemed more of a fairy tale than a past reality.
Bruce climbed up first, using a rope ladder to mount the huge horse. He reached down, helping Jane climb with her injured arm. She sat behind him with her arms resting gently on his hips. She didn't have to, the saddle was large enough for several people, with leather hand-holds spaced on either side, but he had no complaints.
“There was a time,” she said, pausing for a second, distracting herself with some other thought and he wondered what she was going to say.
“A time?” Bruce asked, curious about the past.
“There was a time when horses were small enough to fit through a doorway.”
“Really?” he replied, trying to get his head around the concept.
“Our horses are closer to the elephants of old, both in terms of their size and their nature. They can gallop a few hundred yards, but once they would run for miles and miles.”
“What’s an elephant?” asked Bruce, unsure what that creature was.
“I'll show you some pictures. But they were big, lumbering beasts, with tusks like a wild boar, only their tusks extended out in a curve over ten feet long. They were like spears on either side of their heads. And they had a nose that was anywhere up to fifteen feet long. Imagine that, a nose with the dexterity of a hand, a trunk as thick as your leg that could pluck a single blade of grass. Elephants used their noses to pull on branches and pick fruit.”
Bruce laughed. Such an animal was preposterous, unimaginable, like the fabled Griffin, the lion with eagle's wings.
“Surely, you're making this up?” he said. “Next you'll be telling me that dragons are real, flying through the air and breathing fire.”
“Oh, but they are. Or at least they were. They were called pterosaurs, and they lived hundreds of millions of years ago. There was one with a wingspan of 36 feet.”
“So
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