Messenger - Lois Lowry [26]
His voice became bitter. "Who knows what will happen now?"
They had arrived at the house and could hear Frolic scratching at the door and woofing in excitement at the sound of their approach.
Matty didn't want the conversation to end here. He wanted to tell the blind man about himself, about his secret.
"So you don't have a special gift, like Leader, but other people do?"
"My daughter does. She told me of it that night, the night you took me to her."
"Kira? She has a special gift?"
"Yes, your old friend Kira. The one who taught you manners."
Matty ignored that. "She must be all grown up now. I saw her last time I was there, but it's been almost two years. But, Seer, what do you mean..."
The blind man stopped unexpectedly on the steps leading to the door. "Matty!" he said with sudden urgency.
"What?"
"I've just realized. The border will be closing in three weeks."
"Yes."
Seer sat down on the steps. He put his head in his hands. Sometimes he did that when he was thinking. Matty sat beside him and waited. He could hear Frolic inside, throwing himself against the door in frustration.
Finally the blind man spoke. "I want you to go to your old village, Matty. Leader will be sending you anyway, with the message.
"He'll no doubt send you to several places. But, Matty, I want you to go to your old village first. Leader will understand."
"But I don't."
"My daughter. She said some day she would come here to live, when the time was right. You know her, Matty. You know she had things to accomplish there first."
"Yes. And she has, Seer. I could tell when I was last there. Things have changed. People take good care of their children now. And..."
He hesitated, unable to speak for a moment, because the memory of his own abuse had returned. Then he added simply, "Kira made things change. Things are better now."
"There are only three weeks left, Matty. After the border closes it will be too late. She won't be allowed to come. You must bring her here before that happens.
"If you don't, Matty, I will never see her again."
"It always seems strange to me when you say 'see.'"
The blind man smiled. "I see in my heart, Matty."
Matty nodded. "I know you do. I'll bring her to you. I'll leave here tomorrow."
Together they rose. Evening was coming. Matty opened the door and Frolic leaped into his arms.
11
"Tuck it inside your shirt, Matty, so it won't get rumpled. You have a long journey ahead."
Matty took the packet of folded messages in the thick envelope, and placed it where Leader indicated, inside his shirt next to his chest. He didn't say so to Leader, but he thought that later, when he gathered his traveling things, he would probably find a different place for the envelope. He would put it with his food supplies and blanket. It was true that here, inside his shirt, was the safest and cleanest place. But he had planned to carry Frolic there, against his chest.
There was not time, in three weeks, to make journeys to all the other places and communities. Some of them were many days away, and a few places could be reached only by riverboat. Matty was not qualified to go by river; the man called Boater was always the one who took messages and trading goods by that route.
But it had been decided that the message would be posted on every path throughout Forest, so that any new ones coming would see it and turn back. Matty was the only one who knew all the paths, who was not afraid to enter Forest and travel in that dangerous place. He would post the messages there. And he would go on to his own old place as well. There had been ongoing communication between that place and Village for years; now they must be told of the new ruling.
Leader was standing now at the window, as he so often did, looking down at Village and the people below. Matty waited. He was in a hurry to be off, to begin his long journey, but he had a feeling there was something that Leader wanted to tell him, something still unsaid.
Finally Leader turned to Matty, standing