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Kendra slowly rocked her newborn child on the porch. She was sitting on a rocking chair, a simple wooden one that had been built by her husband the fall before. She was comfortable, the air warm and sticky in this late spring afternoon. She was watching her little boy as he fed at her breast, making small sucking sounds as he ate. She stroked his cheek with one finger, marveling at the softness of his skin. Her porch faced the west, and the late afternoon sun was beginning to descend toward the ridge of the mountains.
She had been aware of the approach of visitors long before she saw them. Now Kendra watched three horses turned onto the dirt road leading to the house. They had been going along a path on the side of the property for the past half hour, and now were turning onto the one that led straight to her farmstead. Kendra was a bit surprised. She had sensed two people approaching, and knew one of them very well. But the sight of a third rider was unexpected.
The riders pulled their mounts up alongside the house at the end of the a long walkway, on the outside of a small wooden fence, painted blue. As the riders dismounted Kendra arose, covering herself, and walked down to greet them, baby in her arms. One was her friend, Captain Lee McKnight. She recognized the woman as well, the captain's lady-friend Denijin. It was the third person in the party that fascinated Kendra.
He was large, intimidating. He was over six feet tall, with a barrel-shaped chest, his arms ripped with muscle. His hair, blonde with many streaks of grey, hair flowed about his shoulders and halfway down his chest and back. His beard, also blonde and grey, tied into two braids, and also fell down over his chest. His sky-blue eyes were half-hidden by a large bushy eye-brows. He was clothed in the brown leather pants and vest, and beneath the vest was a shirt of dark black. The outfit looked very hot, especially for this day, but the weather did not look like it affected him.
"Hello Captain," she said, joy in her voice. She had thought about Captain Lee McKnight often since she and Matthew had left the colony. He was the one friend she missed, the one that left a whole in her heart. "It has been a long time. I've missed you."
Looking to the captain's friend, she smiled. "You are always welcome at our home as well Denijin. How have you been?"
"I have been well," the lady replied in her soft, velvety voice. As usual, the lady's dark hair was frizzy, out of control. Kendra found that trait endearing. "Congratulations," Deni added, looking with excitement on the infant in Kendra's arms. "I was told you had a little one on the way."
"Where can I tie up the horses?" Lee asked, taking the reigns of all three mounts.
"We have a barn around back,” Kendra replied. "Keep following the path. It goes around to it."
The captain gave the lady by him a quick kiss. "I'll be right back," he said, and led the mounts away.
As he was rounded the corner of the house, Kendra called after him, "Be sure the door is latched. We do have predators around here." A moment later she heard his acknowledgment.
Once he was out of sight, Kendra turned to her third visitor, a look of consternation creasing her brow.
"I don't know you," she stated.
"We have never officially met," the man said, his voice the rumble of deep thunder. He approached, extending his hand, but the much smaller girl retreated a step.
"What is wrong, young lady?" he asked.
"I... I don’t know how much you know about me. But, well, I cannot sense you, at all."
The man smiled.
"You have never sensed me, but I have been around. You are not the only one with gifts, Lass."
There was a sound of laughter in his deep voice, and his eyes twinkled, as though he was sharing a long-kept secret with her. Kendra focused on him, reached her mind towards him, but... there was nothing there. It was like he was a hologram, or an image on a video. Hollow. There was no light, and no darkness, about the man. He was an empty slate.
The man smiled in wider. "With me, Lass, you are going to have to live like the rest of us. In the dark. I like my privacy."
Kendra smiled apologetically. "You are not alone. This world's natives, the Maletis, I cannot sense them either. It is like they do not have spirits."
"Oh, they have spirits Miss, just not the kind that you can sense. But I have seen them."
At the look of concern on the girl's face, the man added, "You didn't think you were one of a kind, did you? The only one that could sense the other side?"
DENI'S REACTION TO THE EXCHANGE
CAPTAIN REAPPEARS
"YOU'LL HAVE TO FORGIVE MARCUS. HE LIKES TO BE MYSTERIOUS."
"IF I GIVE AWAY ALL MY SECRETS, NO ONE WILL BE INTERESTED ANY MORE."
-*
INSIDE
Kendra puts on a pot of coffee, manually lighting a stove (similar to lighting an old fashioned lantern)
"Where is Matthew?" the captain asked.
"He's helping a neighbor plant a field. He should be back in the next hour or so. The sun will be going down soon. Would you and your companions like to come in?" She asked. "You can tie your horses up in the barn. They should be safe there, even with some of the animals that wander about."
Captain McKnight looked back at the man that had ridden with him, and with a nod, the other man turned to walk the horses off to the barn.
"How are you making out here?"
"It isn't an easy life out here, especially since nothing technical works in this land," Kendra told her friend. "But there are benefits."
"Benefits?" Marcus questioned. "And what benefits would those be?"
-*
"I am your guardian angel, Lass. At the captain's request, I have been watching over you for quite some time now."
"It's true." MORE