The Star Dwellers by David Estes Page B

given we’re
     talking about his missing ear, which is likely being examined by
     the star dweller soldiers as we speak. “Nah. Just the tip, I
     reckon.”
    “Oh, just the tip. No big deal then,”
     Roc says. “Sorry, guys, I’m not used to all this violence. I think
     I might just catch a transfer back to the Sun Realm at the next
     stop.”
    I laugh and it hurts my throat, but still
     feels good somehow. “Oh, I think you fit right in, buddy. I’m not
     sure what won you the battle—your clunky sword work, or the
     deranged look on your face while you swung that pointy hunk of
     metal like a madman.”
    “You taught me everything I know.”
    “I don’t remember the day I taught you
     Fearsome Expressions 101.”
    “Yeah, you were absent that day, so I had to
     do self-study,” Roc retorts. Elsey giggles. I can sense Roc
     grinning in the dark. Somehow we are always able to joke. Somehow
     it makes things easier.
    “Ben, can I ask you something?” I say.
    “I’ll tell you all about things later,” he
     says.
    “No, not that,” I say. “Something else. About
     Adele.”
    “Sure.”
    “Why’d you teach Adele to fight?”
    “Because she wanted to,” he replies simply.
     It’s not the answer I expected at all. I thought he might say So
     she could defend herself , or Because it’s all I know , or
     even Because it’s a dangerous world out there, son. I don’t
     know, something like that.
    “How’d you know that she wanted to
     learn?”
    “Because one morning I took Adele out back,
     behind our house, and showed her a few things. You know, how to
     kick, how to punch, that sort of thing. I was mostly just messing
     around, having fun with her. Roughhousing. The next morning when I
     went out back to train, Adele was already there, practicing her
     kicking. She always loved to kick. Every day after that she showed
     up, without being told. When Elsey was born, she never seemed
     interested, so I didn’t push her. We did other things together, but
     with Adele it was all about the training.”
    “I liked cooking with Mom,” Elsey
     interrupts.
    “And your doll.”
    “Molly!” Elsey exclaims. “Oh, dearest Molly,
     my only doll. She and I used to go on the most incredible
     adventures together. To defeat evil witches and dark wizards and
     meet fantastically handsome knights.”
    I can’t help but to laugh. Roc’s cracking up,
     too, and Ben’s deep chortle rises above us all. A proud father.
    “How’d you learn to talk like that, El?” Roc
     asks.
    “Like what?” Elsey says innocently.
    Ben chuckles. “She loved reading old
     throwback books with my wife, about princes and princesses and
     kings and queens. Something about the formal way they spoke just
     stuck with her.”
    “Well, I think it’s pretty silly,” Roc says,
     tickling Elsey on her stomach, which earns another squeal of
     laughter from her.
    We sit in silence for a few minutes, each
     lost in our own thoughts. I think back to what Ben said. Because
     she wanted to. He’s the opposite of my own father, who always encouraged us to do certain activities with the back of his
     hand or his belt. It was never a choice. Learn to fight or face his
     wrath. Ben is a good man. The best kind of man. A role model. I’ve
     barely just met him, but already I want to be like him. I’ll follow
     him to the molten core of the earth if he asks me to.
    I’m in the game.
     
    * * *
     
    A few hours later the lights come back on and
     the train slows, pulling to a stop next to a dimly lit stone
     platform. A half-dozen people are gathered to meet us. They remind
     me of Ben: strong and capable, heads held high, tight lips that are
     quick to smile and then spring back to serious again. They are each
     wearing various shades of brown tunics that have seen better days,
     littered with patches and ragged edges.
    To my left, Elsey is asleep on Roc’s
     shoulder, and he on her head. To my right, Ben is wide-eyed and
     alert, as if he