Livora Gracely

That one arrived in sunshine.

A Good Place

Gigi had found a good place to sit.

“There’s plenty of shade,” she called.

Tali followed her across the grass, carrying a little water jug. Gigi had brought a cloth for them to sit on and was already spreading it beneath a tree.

“Here?” Gigi asked.

Tali looked at the cloth. One corner lay in the tree’s shadow. The rest was in the sun.

“The shade is over there,” she said.

Gigi looked down.

“Oh. It’s smaller than it seemed from up here.”

She gathered the cloth and moved it closer to the trunk. Tali put down the jug and stepped onto one corner.

“This is better.”

Gigi sat beside her. The cloth slid over a root, and the jug tipped slightly.

Tali caught it before any water spilled.

“Perhaps the jug needs a different place,” Gigi said.

“Or we do.”

They looked around the tree.

Gigi stood. “There’s a level patch on the other side.”

“Can you see it from up there?”

“Yes.”

“Can you see whether it has roots?”

Gigi lowered her head.

“Not yet.”

A Little More Shade

They carried everything around the tree. Gigi held two corners of the cloth, and Tali carried the jug.

The patch looked level from above. From beside it, Tali could see a small stone in the grass.

“If we put the jug here, it might lean again,” she said.

Gigi bent her long neck to look. “I couldn’t see that.”

“I nearly missed it too.”

They moved the stone together. Gigi nudged it with her nose while Tali steadied it with one foot.

“Far enough?” Gigi asked.

“A little farther.”

Gigi pushed. The stone rolled into a shallow hollow.

“Now?”

“That’s good.”

They spread the cloth again. Tali placed the jug on the ground beside it. This time it stood straight.

Gigi sat down carefully. Tali settled near her, with the jug within reach.

A narrow patch of sunlight lay across one corner of the cloth.

“Is that bothering you?” Gigi asked.

Tali stretched one foot towards it, then drew the foot back.

“Not yet.”

They sat for a moment, listening to the leaves overhead.

Then the patch of sunlight moved across Tali’s back.

“It might be bothering me now,” she said.

From Down Here

Gigi stood and lifted the cloth once more.

“We’ve moved this farther than we walked to get here.”

“The first part of the walk didn’t include the jug,” Tali said.

They both looked up through the branches. The leaves moved in the breeze, opening and closing little spaces for the sunlight.

“There’s a wider shadow beside that root,” Gigi said.

Tali walked over to inspect it.

“The ground is flat,” she called. “And the root can keep the jug from rolling.”

Gigi carried the cloth across. She held one corner while Tali pulled the other straight.

“Is there enough shade?” Gigi asked.

“For me, yes. What about you?”

Gigi sat down. Her legs and most of her body were beneath the tree, but a small circle of sunlight touched the yellow spot near her shoulder.

Tali pointed.

“You have some sun.”

Gigi bent her neck. The yellow spot shone between the darker ones.

“So I do.”

“Would you like to move again?”

Gigi looked at the cloth, the jug, and the clear space beside Tali.

“I think I’ll keep this bit.”

“The sun?”

“The spot. It seems to have found a good place.”

One Patch of Sun

Tali poured water into two little cups. Gigi lowered her head to take hers.

From where she sat, Tali could see the yellow spot clearly. As the leaves moved, a thin shadow passed over it and slipped away.

“It’s back,” she said.

“Which part?”

“The sun.”

“I thought you meant the spot.”

“That never left.”

They drank their water. A breeze lifted one edge of the cloth, and Gigi held it down with a hoof.

Tali moved the jug a little closer to the root.

“Does it need more shade?” Gigi asked.

“I’m making room.”

“For what?”

“Your spot. We should be polite to our third guest.”

Gigi turned to look at the empty space.

“Will it need a cup?”

“Only a small one.”

Gigi offered the last drop from hers. She tipped the cup towards her shoulder, then stopped.

“It’s difficult to reach.”

“I can help,” Tali said.

She lifted her own cup. Gigi watched carefully as Tali held it near the yellow spot.

“No closer,” Gigi said. “It hasn’t asked for water.”

Tali set the cup down.

They sat until the patch of sunlight shifted away. Gigi looked at her shoulder.

“Our guest has gone,” she said.

Tali glanced around the cloth.

A small circle of light had appeared on the ground beside the jug.

“Not far,” she said.

Gigi moved her hoof so it would not cover the light. Tali settled back against the root.

For a while, neither of them moved the cloth.

Livora Gracely ♥