How Leigh is found by Säde
Sep. 23rd, 2011 09:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
allthesamemaskShe sat up suddenly, woken by the rumble of a car. Better move before someone pulled over and-
“Are you all right, girl?”
Oh, no.
She looked up at the woman in the car, window rolled down. Blonde, probably rich going by the lines of the car, older but not elderly. Get her away before she realizes.
“I-I’m fine. I’m fine, ma’am,” she amended to her hasty stuttering. “I was just- I was just resting. I’m going now-”
Too late. The woman had caught her shoulder. No squirming was getting her out of this iron grip. “Are you hungry, girl? Or thirsty? I have water, and sandwiches.” Sensing her reluctance and beginnings of panicking, the woman added in a gentler tone, “I’ll stay inside here. You can sit outside and- and talk to me, if that’s all right. I can pass you the food and water from in here. Yes?”
At her nod, the woman let her go. She would have bolted, but she had been walking for too long and her stomach was contracting too painfully to allow herself to miss any opportunity for nourishment. She watched the woman rummaging in her bag to produce a rather squashed pair of egg salad sandwiches and an unopened bottle of water.
The woman might have been a little stunned to see how quickly she got down the sandwiches, barely pausing to unwrap them first. She choked on the water, which had the woman breaking her promise, coming out and thumping her gently on the back until her throat was clear.
“Drink slowly,” the woman told her. “You need as much of it as you can get.” She watched the woman with wary eyes as the woman rose and- slid back into her car. Huh. That was unexpected.
“Do you have a name, girl?” the woman asked, while she drank slower and more carefully. She did a jerky nod before taking the water away from her lips.
“It’s- I’m L-Leigh. Yeah. My name’s Leigh.” It was close enough. It was enough, surely. It had to be.
The woman didn’t press for more. “My name’s Sahd,” she said. “I live about thirty miles east of here. If you need a place to stay, or a ride to wherever you’re going to…”
She didn’t know where she was going. She only knew that she was going. And the food hadn’t tasted funny and the water had been fine and Sahd had even gotten back into the car once she’d been sure Leigh had stopped choking.
And you were supposed to take a chance on things sometimes, weren’t you?
Leigh managed another jerky nod. Sahd smiled then, and opened the door, sliding back into the driver’s seat. “Come in, then.”
“Are you all right, girl?”
Oh, no.
She looked up at the woman in the car, window rolled down. Blonde, probably rich going by the lines of the car, older but not elderly. Get her away before she realizes.
“I-I’m fine. I’m fine, ma’am,” she amended to her hasty stuttering. “I was just- I was just resting. I’m going now-”
Too late. The woman had caught her shoulder. No squirming was getting her out of this iron grip. “Are you hungry, girl? Or thirsty? I have water, and sandwiches.” Sensing her reluctance and beginnings of panicking, the woman added in a gentler tone, “I’ll stay inside here. You can sit outside and- and talk to me, if that’s all right. I can pass you the food and water from in here. Yes?”
At her nod, the woman let her go. She would have bolted, but she had been walking for too long and her stomach was contracting too painfully to allow herself to miss any opportunity for nourishment. She watched the woman rummaging in her bag to produce a rather squashed pair of egg salad sandwiches and an unopened bottle of water.
The woman might have been a little stunned to see how quickly she got down the sandwiches, barely pausing to unwrap them first. She choked on the water, which had the woman breaking her promise, coming out and thumping her gently on the back until her throat was clear.
“Drink slowly,” the woman told her. “You need as much of it as you can get.” She watched the woman with wary eyes as the woman rose and- slid back into her car. Huh. That was unexpected.
“Do you have a name, girl?” the woman asked, while she drank slower and more carefully. She did a jerky nod before taking the water away from her lips.
“It’s- I’m L-Leigh. Yeah. My name’s Leigh.” It was close enough. It was enough, surely. It had to be.
The woman didn’t press for more. “My name’s Sahd,” she said. “I live about thirty miles east of here. If you need a place to stay, or a ride to wherever you’re going to…”
She didn’t know where she was going. She only knew that she was going. And the food hadn’t tasted funny and the water had been fine and Sahd had even gotten back into the car once she’d been sure Leigh had stopped choking.
And you were supposed to take a chance on things sometimes, weren’t you?
Leigh managed another jerky nod. Sahd smiled then, and opened the door, sliding back into the driver’s seat. “Come in, then.”
