Lauren--Part Twenty-Nine

Splog # 90

Twenty-Nine

   The ridge was empty and there seemed to be no movement anywhere in sight. Lauren looked especially at the grass all around her, trying to note anything that would suggest the slithering of a snake. But everything seemed quiet and motionless.

   "I think I'd be able to tell if that snake was moving around out there. I can't see anything, but that doesn't mean that it isn't there. It could be asleep or just lying somewhere. But I don't think it would necessarily be coming this way. I guess it's ok to go back and have some lunch."

   She waited for the camel to respond to her suggestion, but it just stood there, staring at the ridge before it, as if expecting someone or something to appear there at any moment.

   "Would you mind getting down again for a moment, so I could get off? I don't mean to be a bother but I'm a little hungry and I should probably get something to eat before I keep on going...Well, I don't really know where I'm going but I'm s'posed to stop at an inn and maybe this is it. Though I do have to admit that it doesn't seem very inn-like."

   As she voiced this last thought, Lauren looked back at the edifice and found that it resembled nothing so much as a giant nut of some kind, or maybe a berry. Oh, who knows what it was!

   She shifted again but the camel remained motionless, except for its jaws, which continued their chewing motion, moving not so much up and down as side to side. Lauren looked down from where she was perched and found that it didn't seem as high as when she was trying to get up. Besides, she knew gravity would come to her aid and the grassy earth looked pretty soft. So, before she could think too much about it, she brought one leg over the camel's neck and then let herself slide to the ground. No problem! She looked at the camel's face but it paid no attention to her, just gazed at the ridge and chewed. She put a hand on its neck and rubbed a little bit.

   "I'm just going back there to have a bite to eat and then I guess I'll be off. Thanks for the little ride. It was fun."

   Then she patted the camel a couple of times and walked back around the whatever-it-was. As she walked, the first thing she noticed was that, in the highlands way up ahead of her, there seemed to be a reddish-orange glow, as though something up there was being consumed with flames. In the light of the day the glow didn't stand out very much but it was still plain to see in the distance. She wondered if it had been there when she had come up onto the ridge. She hadn't noticed it and she thought that she had taken a good look at the landscape. Anyway, it didn't make a difference, it was there now. And maybe it gave her a direction to be walking in.

   She turned back to the table and stopped short when she saw a group of children sitting at it and watching her as intently as she had been gazing at the glow in the mountains. There were four boys on one side and four girls sitting on the other side of the table, with plates and cups and utensils in front of them. There was food on the plates and some of the children had a fork or a spoon in their hands. One boy was holding a mug halfway to his mouth. It seemed he had either just taken a drink or been preparing to take one when he saw her come wandering from the other side of the strange edifice.

   No one said anything for a few moments. And then Lauren started walking towards the table.

   "Hello!"

   Eight voices responded "Hello!" in various tones and styles. Some of the greetings emerged with a smile and some with a solemn look of wonder. Some were questions and some were mouthed around food that was being chewed when the speaker was greeted.

   The boy on the farthest end of the table from Lauren and the girl nearest to her both got up and came towards her. The boy had taken a napkin from his chin and left it near his plate. He stretched out his hand to shake hers and at the same time sketched a slight bow.

   "Hello. I'm Bart and this is Jane."

   Jane also shook hands and dipped into a tiny curtsey.

   "I'm Lauren and I wonder if this is the inn I was supposed to come to..."

   Bart and Jane looked at each other and then back to their companions. They all seemed to be about the same age, around seven or eight. Of course, since Lauren was ten, she couldn't help but think of them as children.

   "Well, it's not really an inn..." Bart started to say but Jane interrupted him.

   "We were just starting to eat if you're hungry..."

   "Oh, I am!" Lauren looked at the table. "But there are so many of you. Are you sure you have enough food? I don't know if there's room at your..."