Chapter 268: Chapter 231: A Little Zest

Saphira straightened and stretched, resting her hands on her lower back as she peered over the horizon. The late afternoon sun glimmered on the ocean waves, and a cool breeze brushed the thin tendrils of hair from her face. 

The crops were coming in well this year. She was looking forward to harvesting the rubenesco and pak choy for tonight’s dinner. Her sea beets and spiny potatoes were larger than usual, and the onyans had remained blessedly free of locusts. There was a bit of trouble that had cropped up the month before when one of the irrigation pipes connected to the nearby pond cracked a leak. Espada, Saoirse bless her, had come to the rescue in just a few days’ time. 

All of her livestock were still producing well, and her own health was a blessing in itself. There was so much to be happy for. But there was still something missing. Well, alright, someone. 

Matt, please come home.

A joyous giggle sounded over her shoulder, interrupting her thoughts.

“What is it, Marie?” Saphira smiled and slowly slid the leather satchel from her back, turning the baby kitten to face her. “What’s got you giggling?” She murmured her question with a playful, bouncing timbre.

“Aaaah!” Marie shrieked with another giggle. A pink butterfly fluttered from the nearby meozuna stalks, then danced in circles around the red tufts of Marie’s ears.

“Oh? Is that a butterfly you’ve found? What a clever kitten!” Saphira shifted Marie in her grasp, resting the tiny kitten in one forearm. Saphira held her fist closed with her index finger pointed straight and stalwart. “Shhh. Let’s see if we can win her over.”

“Oooh,” Marie crooned quietly, covering her mouth with both little hands. She stared wide-eyed at the butterfly; her hazel gaze sparkled gold in the afternoon sunlight.

The butterfly hesitated at the edges of Marie’s ears, then decided to fly south, ignoring Saphira’s finger and choosing to instead rest on the kitten’s nose. Marie breathed a tiny gasp behind her hands, her eyes as big as saucers.

“Look at that. You’ve made a new friend,” Saphira whispered. “A butterfly kiss is lucky, you know.”

Marie held her breath, her gaze locked on the butterfly’s wings as they steadily opened and closed. 

She looks so much like you.

Marie had Saphira’s light brown hair that fell in waves around her face. A dark red tipped the edges and her ears, like the streak in Matt’s bangs. Her eyes had Saphira’s shape and Matt’s color. Freckles sprinkled her nose and cheeks like a hundred butterfly kisses. She was perfect.

“Saphira!” came a faraway shout.

The butterfly flew away, and Marie shrieked with joy as she pawed at the air. Saphira turned to see an orange head bobbing up and down over the meozunas. She stepped away from the rows of stalks in the field onto the dirt path leading back to her house.

“Hello, Goose!” Saphira waved. Marie looked at her mother, then mimicked the wave.

Goose’s cropped orange hair had shocks of white, much like her ears and tail. Her brilliant green eyes reminded Saphira of fresh pak choy leaves, and she loved to wear canvas coveralls whenever she visited the farm. They’d been neighbors since they were kittens, and Goose made for a wonderful impromptu nyanny after Marie was born.

“How’s my favorite kitten?” Goose hopped forward and tickled Marie’s sides. “Oh, you’re just so cute I could die!”

Marie laughed and waved her hands wildly in the air while squinting up at Goose. “She’s just as excited to see you!” Saphira handed the small bundle to Goose.

“Hello, sweetness. Yes, hello!” Goose nuzzled her face to Marie’s, then kissed her forehead. “Have you been a good kitten today?”

“She’s a dream.” Saphira stretched her arms out in front of her, sighing with bliss as her back cracked. “She loves to be outside with me, I think.”

“Who wouldn’t love it out here? It’s paradise,” Goose said. She turned her nose up and inhaled deeply, her tail flipping excitedly back and forth behind her. “I can smell the whiskerberries!”

“Good nose.” Saphira nodded. “They’re coming back in season, and I’ll have them in my shop again soon.”

“Wonderful. My Bells are burning holes in my pockets.”

“Don’t you dare pay for anything in my stall, Goose,” Saphira chided gently. “You’ve never accepted payment for watching Marie.”

“That’s because she’s really watching me to make sure I stay out of trouble. Isn’t that right, sweetness?” Goose held Marie closer to her chest, and the kitten crooned her agreement. “See? You should actually be paying Marie!”

Saphira frowned, but there’d be no winning this argument. Not with Goose. “At least come over for dinner tonight?”

“Now that’s an offer I’m happy to take you up on.” 

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“Wonderful. I’m glad.” Saphira touched a nearby pepper bush, where red and green sprouts had just begun to bloom. How long ago was it when Matt left? Months, it seemed. She’d just started to prune these bushes the day before he—

Goose glanced up from Marie and studied Saphira’s face. “What’s wrong, Saphira?”

Saphira started. She blushed and raised her hands to her shoulders. “N-nothing! Everything’s fine!”

Goose pursed her lips. “It is not fine. Your stall was closed yesterday and this morning. You never do that.”

“I… I was just feeling a little under the weather, that’s all.” Saphira touched the braided bun on the back of her head, tracing the woven threads that composed it. Was she allowed to miss a man?

“That’s why you’re out here working, hm?” Goose asked with a knowing grin. “Come on, you can tell me! We’re practically sisters.”

Saphira poked her tongue into the side of her cheek, watching Marie tug at one of Goose’s many necklaces that she liked to wear. Hundreds of brightly colored beads on leather cords or chains. She had a habit of buying a new one every time the merchant ship came to Ni—ever since she gained the ability to change her Class. Dozens more hung on hooks in her house.

If she couldn’t trust Goose with this, then who could she tell?

“I wish I knew if Matt and his Party were safe,” Saphira admitted quietly. “It’s just been so long since they were here.”

Goose blinked and tilted her head. “Isn’t that what men kinda do, though? Protect us and give us kittens?” She scratched Marie between the ears. “We got the second part, so now he’s protecting us, yeah?”

“I think so.” In their last meeting, he’d mentioned his travels to Shi and San. Something about bringing the men together. It sounded very important, but it also troubled her. Matt had only just arrived on Ni Island before he left. As far as Saphira knew of the men her mother and grandmother had talked about, they typically stayed around for at least a little while before traveling to Nyarlothep or otherwise. “I know. It’s silly. They’re probably fine.”

“It’s not silly.” Goose stepped forward and touched Saphira’s shoulder. “You really miss him, don’t you?”

Saphira blushed and hid her face behind her hands. “He just… he’s like family. I want him to meet Marie and feel the same joy she gives us. I want to talk to him again and hug him again.”

“I think that’s normal, Saphira,” Goose murmured.

“But Saoirse—” 

“Saoirse says a lot of things, sweetness.” Goose loosely grabbed Saphira’s wrist and tugged her hand away from her face. “We can follow her guidance and still feel things. I mean, I’d miss you if you were gone for a long time, too.”

“I know. I just don’t want anyone to think that I want to keep him to myself,” Saphira admitted. The words sounded strange out loud. She kept expecting one of Saoirse’s divine tails to appear from the sky and wring her neck. “I would never be so selfish.”

“I don’t think anyone would believe that.” Goose shook her head. “You are the most selfless catgirl in Nyarlea, honey.”

Saphira blinked against the burning in her eyes. She’d been holding her feelings in for so long that she hadn’t realized how desperately she needed to talk about them. “Thank you, Goose.”

“Of course. Any time.” She turned back to Marie. “Don’t worry, sweetness, you’ll meet your daddy soon.”

“Da…ddy?” Marie mouthed the word carefully. “Daddy!”

Saphira swallowed her tears and took Marie back into her arms. “Yes, love. We’ll keep waiting together for Daddy.”

Please come home safe, Matt.

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