Mother Taliah's Tale
By beasts let them not be consumed
The following is the eleventh installment of my serial novel, ALO & WYOME. If you missed chapter ten, you can read it here, or if you’re just starting out, you can read the first installment of ALO & WYOME here.
A last, late frost fell over the widow’s hollow. The cabin became cold, and Wyome stirred in the chilly morning.
“It is freezing in here,” Wyome said. She could see her breath crystalize as she spoke. “It was so warm when we went to bed I would have never thought to light a fire.”
“How odd,” Alo said. “Want me to start a fire?”
“No, I don’t want you to leave. Just come closer.” Wyome pulled at Alo. He rolled over and enveloped his bride with his leaden arms. She faced him and put her head to his chest.
“Have you had any dreams?” Alo asked.
“No, actually. I haven’t had any dreams since we came here, now that you mention it. Have you?”
“Yes, my dreams kept me up all night. I was afraid that I might have woken you, too?
“What of? What is troubling you?”
“This place. I had a dream last night. It was so vivid. I could have sworn that it actually happened. I went to bathe alone in the creek, and Clover caught me, and—”
Alo was interrupted by a knock on the door to their hut. No one entered, but spoke to them from the outside.
“Good morning,” Clover cried. “I wanted to let you know that the snow has altered our plans. We won’t be needing any help making repairs today.” She spoke with none of the menace or seductive sweetness that Alo recalled from their encounter in his sleep.
Naomi’s voice came after.
“You both take the day off and rest.” You’ll be leaving tomorrow.”
“You look like you just saw a beast,” Wyome said after she heard the two widows leave. His face had gone pale, and his lips pulled apart in an uncomfortable-looking snarl. He shook the expression off as soon as she drew attention to it.
“Sorry. Like I said, I didn’t sleep well.
