Spring Flutters

Damp wool,

metallic pine,

candle flicker,

eave sparrows,

creaky couch,

old fire,

cold mountain.

Start reading a book from a random page.

picked it up and a familiar voice spoke to her.

    "Can you hear me?"

    "You left this behind on purpose."

    "I did."

    "You're in exile, that means every part of you, you don't get to be a voice in my house."

    "You could turn off the comm."

    She said nothing, but he could see her pulse and heart rate through the comm sensors.

    "Why did you leave it behind?"

    "In case I got lonely," he lied.

    "Do you, though?" she asked.

    "These horse pirates your people dumped me on say so."

    "Because you're not playing any of their games?"

    "I won't dignify what they do as any sort of game."

    "Is this what you missed?"

    "Me getting pin-cushioned by you? Yeah, I guess it is."

    "I'm shutting you off now."

    "That's your choice, goodnight then."

    She clicked the comm off. The screen went dark. But was it really off? She didn't bother to tinker and dropped it in her shop box and shoved the box under her work table in the barn. 

    Tomorrow would be soon enough.

    Somewhere past Great Bear Lake, beyond the finger cities, he returned his comm to its holder and listened to the strains of an unfamiliar melody in the dim light of the horse pirate camp.