The valley was silent, and it took her several minutes to remember her conversation with Iros the night before. Swearing, she leaped to her feet, tripped over her blanket that was still tangled around her legs, and fought her way free. Then she hurried out the door. “Iros? Iros?” she whispered loudly as she approached his hut. It looked exactly like hers, which meant there was no door and no glass on the windows. She couldn’t hear snoring, and there was nowhere to knock. She stuck her head through the doorway, scratching uselessly against the wood. There was no answer, and she couldn’t quite drum up the courage to go inside without being invited, so she turned away. Not knowing what else to do with herself, she wandered the valley, finally thunking herself down on a thick tree root. It had been a long time since she’d had nothing to do. No homework, no physical therapy, no college applications or obligatory social crap. So long since she’d been free to do… what?
