The Red Abbey Chronicles (15 page)

A
V
ALLERIAN
FISHING BOAT IS COMING
to take me tomorrow at dawn. I must sail with it to Muerio, the town where I first saw the sea. Then I will leave the sea behind and continue northward over land. Mother has arranged my transport for the first leg and from there I can find my own way. All the sisters and novices have promised to sing me off. They will stand in the Abbey’s yards and dress the stairs as I step aboard, and their song will gently sway me out to sea. It will be like Moon Dance, but this time I cannot turn around in the middle of the labyrinth and return to them. This time I must keep going forward until I can no longer see or hear my friends. My family.

This final evening I will let the ink dry on my words and then put my book back in the treasure chamber. Yes, I still call it that. Not even Sister Loeni’s seriousness has been able to dispel my childish
wonder at the treasures contained in all the Abbey’s books. Soon I will tear Ennike, I mean the Rose, away from her duties, and help Jai shirk the tasks given to her by Sister Nummel, and then the three of us will sit together in Knowledge Garden and talk one last time. They will always be my sisters, though I will never become a sister here myself. I do not know how I will cope in the outside world without their laughter and friendship. But so it must be.

A farewell feast will be held in Hearth House tonight. All the sisters and novices are coming, and I can already smell the tempting aroma of nadum bread. Eostre has promised me that Geja will be with us for as long as she stays awake. Geja’s blonde hair and curious eyes will be the image I carry with me as a reminder that life goes on. Whatever happens, life finds a way forward.

It is going to be a party to remember. I can hardly believe it is being held in my honour, when only seven years ago I came here as a little girl who licked doors and did not know how to behave herself. After the meal I will go down to the crypt and make an
offering to the Crone and bestow my thanks on the bones of the First Sisters.

Then, last of all, Sister O and I will sit together in the Temple yard and watch the sun set over the sea.

Thank you Travis for listening, Mia for reading and Visby for reinspiring me. Thank you Mother for believing in me from the very beginning and giving me the courage to dare to begin writing. And last but not least, thank you Sara for always supporting me, always spotting weaknesses in my texts and always tactfully pointing them out.