Promise: The Scarred Girl

Promise: The Scarred Girl by Maya Shepherd Read Free Book Online Page A

Book: Promise: The Scarred Girl by Maya Shepherd Read Free Book Online
Authors: Maya Shepherd
will take her to be freed from her shackles and then to grab her backpack could cost her crucial seconds. So she agrees and Zippi provides the backpack. For this, he takes Nea’s compass from her coat pocket and leaves the tent, without even turning around. No, “Good luck” or anything like it comes from his lips. Nea’s not even sure if he wanted it because he likes the way it looks or because he wanted a compass.
    The stake is shaking now; she can now pull her hands under it. Her shoulders ache as she gets up. The dog stands in front of her and looks at her questioningly with ears and tail wagging. If she now manages to escape, she will probably have to return the favor.
    Nea grabs at her knife on her waistband as she hears voices from outside the tent. She quickly puts on the backpack and runs from the tent. As soon as she does, she sees Luica and quickly retreats back inside. Luica follows her into the tent. The moment she sets foot inside, the dog starts biting Luica’s leg. Luica screams and tries to kick at the dog. Nea uses this time to knock over the tent pole, so that the whole tent collapses. She quickly crawls under the tent and runs as fast as she can. She pays no attention to the dog, because if the dog has made it this far on his own, it would also be able to free itself from under the tent.
    Nea runs straight into a high meadow. She listens as Luica and Harold cry out for her. Nea runs without aim and without rest. She runs on and on and allows herself no chance to rest, pushing her legs further and further, while the backpack beats against her back. The tall grass finally clears and she finds herself in the forest. She wants to keep running, but now she is so exhausted that she trips over a root on the ground and crashes, no sooner has she fallen onto the ground that she wants to continue running, even though her heart beats wildly. But then she sees that only the small dog is standing behind her, panting, she falls back to the ground and takes a deep breath to calm her breathing.
    Her gaze wanders to the sky. The deciduous trees conceal the true sight, but their gentle swaying allows the bright blue sky and sun to shine down magnificently. In addition to her own breath, she hears the chirping of birds and the gentle wind blowing through the leaves. A gentle breeze sweeps over her face and dries the sweat on her forehead. Nea closes her eyes and breathes deeply, in and out. Here in this peaceful spot, she knows that she managed to escape. Briefly she considers what will happen to Luica, Harold, and Zippi when they come to the Carris without any goods. But soon she rejects the idea. Like Lucia said, everyone looks after their own self. While lying there, she notices how tired she is and closes her eyes for a moment.
    The grass tickled on her bare feet and got caught in her hair. She carefully looked over at Miro, who was lying next to her. They were so close their arms touched. He had his eyes closed. On his lips was a slight smile.
    Nea shielded her eyes with her hand and looked up at the bright blue summer sky. Small white clouds passed through the magnificent blue. Previously they made up stories about the clouds, how they were princesses, dragons, castles, and heroes. Today they would have been heroes.
    Silently, Nea designated Miro as her “hero.” Without him, she would certainly have died long before. She could not light a fire, nor did she know how to defend herself. No matter what it was, he would always rush to her aid.
    But Nea would never tell him how grateful she was and how much she needed him, because his ego was big enough already. It would feed his arrogance. He always treated her condescendingly, as if she were still a stupid little girl. He was only a few years older than her, hardly worth mentioning.
    She tried to relax and closed her eyes. The wind gently caressed her cheeks. She could feel the sun through her closed eyelids. She breathed in the scent of grass and

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