“Are you from the Purlieus?” the woman asked Luke at the breakfast table.
“I am,” Luke answered calmly. The woman had no malice in her tone or expression.
“And what about you?” her husband asked Kamrin.
“I live here in Savannah as well, a little further west,” Kamrin answered, smiling at Luke. “He’s brought me all the way here from the Purlieus.”
Thanking the astonished couple, they two set off, refreshed for what they both knew would be the final day of their journey. Walking past Savannah’s lusciously grown and perfectly trimmed bushes, quaint stores, and flowers growing in the pavement cracks, Luke and Kamrin found themselves walking at the same pace and laughing at the same things in the blithe, crisp morning.
Luke realized that he’d miss Kamrin—apart from everything they’d been through together for the past week, he’d been irritated, amused by, and then grown to respect her serious manner of viewing the world, speaking about things that Luke, at age twenty, had barely begun to consider. He’d learned from her refined manners and unusual ability to see past the world she’d been brought up in, at the young age of eleven. He’d miss her inquisitive personality and childish stubbornness that balanced out her mature character, and also reminded him of his own younger self.
“You’re a smart kid, Kam,” Luke said casually, trying to convey part of these thoughts to Kamrin without giving away too much of his sentiments. “Do you know how much you’ve taught me? I’ve never seen a child as wise as you are. I think you’ll grow up to do great things.”
Instead of shyly accepting the compliment as Luke had expected her to, Kamrin began to praise him back instead. “Well, I think you’re charismatic, energetic, and most of all, very strong. You’ve been through so much, but you still act like a gentleman and care for other people.”
Completely floored, Luke answered, flustered, “Well, I’m not the only—well, I…Gee, thanks, Kam.” Laughing at his awkwardness, they walked on, weaving in and out of the golden tracks that had guided them this far, that would extend all the way around Graceway and all its diverse, beautiful boroughs in a never-ending circle.
“Savannah may be my favorite borough so far,” Luke said after a while. “It’s the most peaceful and well-kept. It’s a beautiful thing to have been born and raised here, Kam. You said each borough has an Official, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Who’s the Official of Savannah? He must be doing an awfully good job.”
“Official Austin Dalhaven,” Kamrin answered, looking up at Luke nervously.
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“You’re his daughter?”
“I…thought you might already have assumed so,” Kamrin said, smiling relievedly now that Luke knew.
There were many other things Luke wanted to say, but he ended up saying, “Well, I thoroughly respect your father for keeping Savannah so wonderful.”
Kamrin nodded. “I can tell him you said that. He and I are very close. He’s also a member of the government of Graceway…”
Shrieking with laughter as Luke walked away with his hands in the air, Kamrin grabbed his hand and dragged him back. “Luke, what are you so surprised about? That doesn’t change anything about me, does it?”
“About you? I suppose not,” Luke said, still shocked, “I’m just realizing that I’ve teased, yelled at, and threatened to leave the daughter of one of the highest men in Graceway City.”
“If knowing who my father was would have prevented you from doing those things, I’m glad you didn’t know,” Kamrin said decidedly. “I’m also glad, Luke, that my father is an Official. Do you know why?”
“Because you can tell him to put me in prison for making you sleep on the forest floor?” Luke said jokingly, although his heart was hammering.
“No, because he can give you anything you want!”
“What do you mean?” Luke demanded in bewilderment.
“Mother and father will be scared out of their minds for me,” Kamrin said a little sheepishly. “Of course, that’s my fault, but since I never would have made it back in eight days, or made it back at all, if it weren’t for you, as soon as I tell them that it was you who brought me back all this way, they won’t refuse you anything. What do you think you might want? I know you’re not someone to ask for money. Did you say your brother was rejected from getting a job here? You could live here and work here, maybe even become a member of the government someday…”
Having long-buried dreams so suddenly painted before his eyes by someone else was disconcerting. Luke needed a few minutes in dazed silence to be able to even think. Then he thought of something else, an idea that had been forming itself strongly and vividly in his mind for the past twenty-four hours. He said quietly, “Thank you, Kam, but I think I’d rather go back to the Purlieus and reconcile with my brother.”
Kamrin gaped at him, wide-eyed. “But your brother isn’t there! He’s in the mountains—how will you find him?”
“I’ll manage,” Luke said confidently, “I know my brother’s alive.”
“But—no one survives in the mountains, you said so yourself.”
“So I did,” Luke said, shaking his head at himself. “But my brother’s a born survivor. He’s probably become a skilled hunter, living in his own cabin.” Seeing Kamrin’s still disbelieving face, he said, “Come on, Kam. It can’t be any worse than the weather at Taurus, can it?”
Kamrin laughed, seeming resigned if not satisfied. Luke felt relieved in turn and, for the first time in five years since that terrible day, absolutely at peace with himself. In the forest that night, by briefly leaving him alone to regain control over his emotions, and then coming before him humbly and honestly to apologize, Kamrin had unknowingly taught him how strong a result such an apology could create. Luke had been able to play his brother’s role, and thus gain an understanding of how his brother must have felt that day. Luke had believed, every day since then, that his brother would despise him forever, but after that fight with Kamrin, he realized that perhaps, his brother was regretting what he said as well. Perhaps he had forgiven Luke. Perhaps he missed him.
Luke had given his brother his “hour” to calm and nurse himself in solitude. It had been five years. Now it was time to approach him humbly, and Luke knew that it would not be in vain. Luke had forgiven his brother over the last day, and realized that his heart had been ready to do so all along. He missed his brother deeply and felt a fierce longing to see him again.
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“Thank you for understanding, Kam,” Luke told her as they walked up to the grandest house on the street as the sun began to set prettily in the rosy, undisturbed Savannah neighborhood. It was Kamrin’s house, where her parents and her baby brother Nyle were likely waiting for any news of her.
“I hope you don’t mind me leaving you here,” Luke said quietly, pausing outside the front garden of Kamrin’s house, “I’ve already told you why I won’t accept a reward from your parents, and I’d rather not have to explain to them what I explained to you. It’ll further complicate things for them to see me with you.”
“But they’ll want to repay you, Luke. They’re not as ungrateful as you might think some Graceway people are. They won’t care that you’re from the Purlieus.”
“I’ve already been repaid, Kam,” Luke said gently, noticing her lips tremble. “I’ve been forced to tell you about my most painful memories, and that’s somehow led to healing. And I’m now more than excited to see my own brother again after five years. That’s more payment than what I could have dreamed of when I first volunteered to take you home.”
“But…after you find your brother, what will you do in the Purlieus?”
“That’s the part I’m not sure about,” Luke said, smiling a little dreamily. “First, I’m going back home to the Purlieus to explain everything to my aunt and uncle. Then I’ll go bring my brother back from the mountains. I’ve learned about the flaws of Graceway and the strengths of the Purlieus, and I think I could cultivate the Purlieus, find opportunities that I’ve never considered before…” he paused and grinned at Kamrin. “I’ll figure things out. There’s plenty of time. For now, I know what I’m going to do. If I ever decide I want to find a job at Graceway, then we’ll meet again. Thank you for the offer, Kam.”
Kamrin nodded, her eyes slowly filling with tears. “Then Luke, I promise that I’ll be working hard in Graceway, too. You’ve taught me how much I have, and I’m going to use that to make a change.” She paused. “I’ve been thinking, ever since you asked me in Kamrin borough… Do you think education is a good place to start? For the children in the Purlieus?”
Luke smiled and felt his heart thrill warmly at the idea of the Purlieu children, so wild and dusty, yet some of them undoubtedly the knowledge-starved creatures he was as a child, being provided with such an opportunity.
“That’s an amazing idea, Kam. Keep at it. And now,” he added, gratefully looking around at Savannah’s sun set gently around the neighborhood, “I think it’s time for me to leave you here. It’s been an honor to accompany you home, Kamrin Dalhaven.”
“That’s a lie,” she sniffled, “You almost got killed.”
Luke laughed. “So did you, for that matter. You were very brave.”
“You’re trying to flatter me so that I’ll feel better and let you go, aren’t you.”
Luke looked up heavenward in defeat. “Who taught you to be so smart, Kam!”
Kamrin, with tears rolling wildly down her cheeks, hugged him as ferociously as her spindly eleven-year-old arms could. Luke chuckled, but soon felt his throat ache as he embraced her back, stroking her warm head.
“That’ll do, Kam,” Luke said after a while, gently loosening her hot, thin, shaking forearms from around his waist. “Go hug your parents like this, all right? You’re lucky to have them.”
Kamrin nodded, taking a wet, shuddering breath as she roughly wiped her coarse, muddy sleeve across her eyes.
“And don’t rub your eyes with your sleeve, it’s dirty.”
“You’re such a mother goose,” Kamrin retorted, her voice still breaking.
Above them, early evening stars crept out and the sky turned a sweet blue. A wind stirred the ripe trees of the neighborhood.
Kamrin turned and slowly walked across her front garden. The bright, sensitive flower buds, so delicately tended to, quivered softly as Kamrin’s feet passed by them. They reminded Luke of Kamrin: young, vibrant, potent, and just beginning to bloom. And Luke himself, he felt like the hawk that flew over them at that moment across the glorious sky of Savannah borough: free, powerful, unstoppable.
The sunset sky breathed a tranquil air over the beautiful home, and Luke, with a soft envy and overwhelming delight for his young companion, watched Kamrin pause before her door, where her loving family awaited her.
Kamrin suddenly turned and smiled bravely at Luke. “Goodbye, Luke. Thank you for everything.”
“Goodbye, Kam,” Luke saluted her energetically and returned her smile brightly, but the rising crescent moon saw the young man remain rooted to the spot until the young girl knocked on her front door. The joyous sobbing and shouting reached Luke’s ears; only then, with a wistful and genuine smile on his face, was he able to turn.
Luke Hawking whistled as the sun set behind him, its final rays stroking the back of his head, where it left a warmth and vigor that would remain in his eyes as he turned to enter the Purlieus from there, through which he’d find his way back home. Graceway City brimmed over with the amber evening light, which spilled into the Purlieus and touched the mountains, where Luke’s brother, along with all their shared painful past and unbreakable love, was waiting.
– The End –
