Chapter 4: Thera
I made dinner for us. Sayid ate hungrily, raving all the while about the meal.
"What is this? It?s amazing..." he said.
"Just boar," I said simply.
"You're not very talkative, are you?"
"No."
We sat in silence again. I sighed; I knew the man was confused by me. I didn?t blame him, really, in his position, I would have felt the same. But it was more complicated than he realized. I hadn?t been around people in years?my solitary habits were hard to overcome.
?So, who are you? No, not your name, I know that, you, where are you from? What was life like?? I asked
?It is complicated?? he said, eyes shifting nervously. I knew immediately there was a reason he didn?t want to answer.
?Isn?t life? It?s alright, keep your little secret, I was just trying to talk,? I said, adding with a bitter smile, ?Trying to work on my manners.?
Silence for a moment. Then Sayid asked, ?So what about you? What happened, how did you get here??
?Its complicated?? I mimicked. I had developed a wicked tongue from talking with the Others.
But then Sayid looked at me with his big brown eyes. And they said things words couldn?t. They said he cared. And I don?t know why, but I suddenly found myself telling him everything. About my parents, who were archeologists. About the accident on the way back from a dig. All three of us had survived the crash; we made a camp, and we waited for someone to save us. No one ever did. My dad went out hunting and never returned. I later found out he had been captured, but I didn?t know who did it. They killed him, and they killed my mother later. But I had been young when we crashed, and I learned the ways of the island more quickly than my parents, so I was able to keep out of the clutches of the ones who had killed my parents. And they left me alone for the most part. By the end, I was crying softly, and I tries to wipe away the tears.
?And Ethan?is he one of these Others?? he asked.
?Yes?he was the one that did it?? I said softly.
Suddenly I stood up. Angrily, I glared at Sayid.
?Why did I tell you that? You shouldn?t know, I shouldn?t have told you!? I roared.
?Thera??
?Don?t call me that! Just leave!? I yelled.
?I?m sorry, I didn?t mean to upset you,? he apologized, ?I didn?t have to great of a time, either. I fell in a bad way, and had to join the Republican Guard. But you don?t know what that is, do you? It was the army of the leader of our country. The things we had to do?? he shuddered.
I calmed down. I sat down and looked at Sayid, really looked at him. He had been through some awful things as well. But he confused me almost as much as I confused him. I felt deep down, like a tug, or an ache, that I didn?t understand. I didn?t know why I?d told him anything. But suddenly it didn?t matter as much. It had felt good to talk to someone after so many years.
?I?m sorry, Sayid,? I said.
?Its alright, I don?t blame you, you?re only a child?? he said softly, ?It is a sad thing, little miss; you had to grow up to fast.?
He put his arm around me, and I allowed myself to be pulled to his embrace. I started to hum, it was a song my mom had taught me, a long time ago. Sayid recognized the tune, also from his youth. Suddenly he started singing, in his native language. And I joined in, in my English tongue. And we harmonized together, two very different songs with the same thread, both lost in the darkness.
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