It was a broad road, lined by a ditch and low walls of stone. There was nothing to hide a boy, a girl, a mare, a dog, a monkey and a huge brown bear from sight. They could see a man working in one of the fields, and a woman out in the garden of her cottage, gathering herbs. As soon as Emilia and Luka stepped out from the shelter of the trees, they would be seen. A long, low grumble of thunder. A gust of cool air that lifted Emilia’s tangled curls and cooled the back of her neck. She glanced behind her. Thick grey clouds were pouring over the top of the hill. She had never seen clouds move so fast. Within moments they were spreading halfway across the sky. The woman in the garden looked up, shading her eyes, her apron flapping in the breeze. She called to her children, who were playing nearby, and hustled them back inside the cottage. The man shouldered his tools and hurried home, having no desire to be caught in the storm. ‘It’s raining,’ Emilia said wonderingly, putting out her hand to catch the first big, fat drops.
