Finding the Way by Stormie McLeod
***
She was walking up the street towards her home two days later when hearing steps behind she turned to see Oddgar coming towards her. She was still feeling out of sorts, particularly towards him. She could see he had no idea of her feelings as he caught her hand and swung it between them.”Are you and your grandmother able to come out with me this evening?”
She reluctantly suppressed her immediate thoughts of somehow punishing him for not telling her of his plans for his future.
“Yes, she has been really looking forward to it and she will not have anything else that will interfere with that.”
“Good, I'll call after supper. I must away now.”
He hugged her, placed a kiss on her forehead and was almost out of sight as Bridie realised what had happened. She was back in the hot confusion of her thoughts. She sat on a nearby stone step, her head in her fists. Several minutes passed but even with the cold seeping into her, it did not clear her head and she was no nearer to understanding him.
Bridie told her grandmother they were going out with Oddgar that evening and she was delighted with the news, hurrying through supper and fussing over what Bridie was wearing.
“Stop it Gran, I don't need to charm him. He’s not interested.”
“How do you know that, Hen?” Her grandmother always started with endearments when she was worried about her. Had she let slip how she felt in her tone?
“His cousin Bjorn told me on Saturday at supper that he and Oddgar are going to Canada.”
“Canada, why would he be doing that, he has a good position here.”
“I don't know Gran, he hasn't spoken to me about it.”
Her grandmother continued to grumble but Bridie shrugged and refused to say anymore on the subject.
They were standing outside in the low sun, which slanted through the clouds, watching Oddgar walk towards them. Bridie felt sad and her heart ached. She had powerful feelings towards this man and he was about to disappear from her life. He appeared in and out of shadows cast by the houses which mirrored her thoughts, clear one minute, dark the next. She pulled herself together for the sake of her grandmother and smiled as he came up to them. They fell into step after greeting each other and continued until they were well away from the town
Oddgar, pulled a leather pouch from the breast pocket of his jacket, carefully undid the tie and slid an oblong crystal into his palm.
“This is what the old sailors used to navigate.” He explained. “Hold this up and look through it towards the south, then pull it away from your sight and see what you can see.”
Bridie edged her grandmother forward to take the stone first. She did as he had instructed.
“Oh, my. Is it a yellow streak that I should see?” She asked Oddgar, pointing to the low clouds that now obscured the sun.
“Yes, exactly that.” She continued to put the stone up into her line of vision and down again.
“That's powerful magic that stone has.” She said as she handed the stone to Bridie who copied her grandmother's actions. She was astonished to see the same yellow streak.
“We don't need these stones now as we have compasses and chronometers but in the past these stones were accurate enough showing the place of the sun for navigation.” He said.
Her grandmother was bubbling with excitement and asked him questions about his family and its association with the stone. He answered them all, and Bridie was as interested as her grandmother until she heard her say,
“So, what’s this I hear? You are leaving for Canada with your cousin and just when will that be?”
Bridie's attention became acute. She held her breath not wanting to hear him agree, hoping that his cousin had not been right.
“Yes, that's right, but there is something I want to do first.” He reached out and put his arm around Bridie and said to her grandmother. “I want to court Bridie, and if she's of the same mind I want her to come with us.”
Bridie felt a rush of joy, she wanted to jump up and down. She was going to be with Oddgar and go to Canada, maybe other foreign places. Her grandmother smiled saying as she put her arms around them both pulling them all together in a big hug, “I know now for sure, that stone has magical powers.”
The End
Thank you for taking the time to read this short story. I can be found at my facebook page “Stormie MacLeod Writer”