Emyr's Smile by Amy Rae Durreson Read Free Book Online Page B

aware
that the winter pilgrims were starting to arrive. They had filled
the old part of the hostel already, and half Father Cian’s
volunteers had switched duties to tend the sick. The others were in
the rooms Heilyn had finished, varnishing over the pictures.
    Today he was putting in
the very last details on the long wall in the biggest dorm. This
was the most complex picture of the lot, showing the market wharf,
from the ships sliding down from the sky to the bustling crowds and
the shops and inn along the sides of the square. He had painted in
all the familiar faces: the fishermen, Elin in the inn doorway,
Math and his brother squabbling by the fountain, Emyr by the door
of the trade office, watching the world go by with thoughtful eyes.
Father Cian was there, with his daughters flitting around the
market, and all of the volunteers who had worked on the walls. They
had all been charmed and quick to suggest more island personalities
who would want to be included.
    “Heilyn, are you in
here?” It was Emyr’s voice which was surprising because he never
ventured into the hostel, but Heilyn was so close to finishing that
nothing could distract him. He just grunted a little and focused on
touching up the shadows on the sails.
    “The wind turned and
the Colomen sailed early,” Emyr said, his voice drawing
nearer, “so I brought you lunch from the inn and I thought… Oh.
Oh.”
    “Amazing, isn’t it?”
said Arianell, one of the volunteers. “Have you not seen it before,
Emyr? I’d have thought you’d be here all the time. Heilyn,
sweetheart, your man’s here for you.”
    “Ssh,” Heilyn said,
sliding along to frown at the edges of the inn roof. “I’m almost
done.”
    “For the day?” Emyr
asked, his voice still filled with a soft wonder. “It’s early for
you.”
    “No!” Heilyn snapped.
“I’m almost done!”
    “Oh,” Emyr
breathed.
    Arianell giggled and
said, “Leave the artist to his work, Emyr. I’ll give you a tour
while we’re waiting for him to finish up. It really is wonderful,
what he’s done.”
    Their footsteps faded,
and Heilyn lost himself in the work again. There was a particular
kind of urgency that came with the end of a long project, one which
quivered through him and drove him onward with a growing sense of
anticipation. Soon, soon, it would be done, and he stopped thinking
about what he was doing and trusted instinct to guide his hand in
the last few strokes.
    The very final detail
was his name, touched in along the curving side of a cloud in the
topmost corner. That done, he put his brush and palette down
carefully and sat back to look at his work. Done. He was done.
    It felt a little like a
dream, wonderful and rather hollow all at once. What in the world
was he supposed to do now?
    Turning round, he saw
Emyr standing in the middle of the room with his hands clasped
behind his back. He was facing away from Heilyn, gazing quietly at
the walls. As Heilyn stood there, overwhelmed by joy and loss, he
turned around slowly, taking a few steps forward to look at some
detail.
    “Emyr.”
    It came out a little
plaintive, and Emyr finished his circle in a few swift steps,
turning to face him. His lean face looked softer than usual, and
his eyes were bright.
    “I’ve finished,” Heilyn
admitted.
    “And it’s wonderful,”
Emyr said. The corners of his mouth were relaxing slowly, and his
eyes were crinkled at the corners. “I listened to you talk about
it, but I never imagined… It’s beautiful, Heilyn.”
    “Beautiful?” Heilyn
echoed, and the shock of finishing began to give way to triumph,
great swooping waves of it.
    Emyr’s lips were
curving up now, an unexpected dimple suddenly appearing in his
cheek. “It’s going to make people happy.” He grabbed Heilyn’s hand,
pulling him along the wall. “Look at Llinos in the market
there—she’s here every winter with her arthritis, and she’ll love
it. And there’s Dilys, and you put her cats in with