A Name and a Choice

The girl's eyes, one dark and one fire, stayed on Bob's face.

She tried to sit up. Her movements were stiff and slow. Like a doll that had been left in a box for too long.

Traveller took a step forward, a hand outstretched to help.

"Don't touch me," the girl's voice was a dry rasp, but it was sharp. It stopped Traveller in their tracks.

She tried to push herself up again and faltered.

Bob moved without thinking. He shuffled closer and offered his small shoulder for her to lean on. She looked at him for a long second, then accepted. She leaned on him, her body light but weak.

She looked down at the grey cloak wrapped around her. It was a snug fit. She started to push it away. "This is..."

Bob put his hand on hers to stop her. He pointed to his own chest. "Bob."

Then he pointed at the cloak. "Bob... cloak." He looked at her, his face serious. "You... cold."

The girl, Lum, stopped trying to take the cloak off. She looked at the small boy who had just given her his name and his warmth. Her flat, emotionless face softened, just for a second. A tiny, almost invisible smile touched the corner of her lips as she looked into his eyes.

"Bob," she repeated, her voice a soft echo. She tested the name. It seemed to fit.

She then closed her eyes. Her left hand, her only hand, came up to rest on her own chest. She was quiet for a long time. The only sound was the soft plink of water dripping into the star pool.

"This warmth," she said, her voice clearer now. "It is the blessing of Lady Veilon." She opened her eyes. They were fixed on Bob. "Why do you have it?"

Traveller took a sharp breath. "You know the name Veilon?"

Bob was confused. He looked at Traveller. "Veilon... who?"

Traveller hesitated. They looked from the strange, one-armed girl to Bob's curious face. "In the South," they said slowly, "some whisper tales of her. The Goddess of Secrets. The Lady of Mysteries. Not much is known. Most think she is just a story."

Lum ignored Traveller. Her gaze did not leave Bob.

She used Bob's shoulder to push herself to her feet. She was shaky, but she stood. She looked at the glowing corridor they had come from. She looked at the star pool. She looked at Traveller.

Then, her eyes came back to Bob.

She did not ask. She did not swear an oath. She stated a fact.

"I will follow you," she said to Bob. Her voice was flat. Final. It was a choice she had just made.

And so, there were three of them.

Traveller, a quiet mystery, now faced with a girl who knew the name of a god.

Lum, a broken girl from a glass prison, who had just made her first choice in a long, long time.

And Bob, who did not understand any of it.

He just knew he had a new friend.