New Life

On the morning after the letter came, she had been alone with her father, sitting on the bench on top of their house, in the city community where Celia had spent her whole life. Her father had said that there was a new house waiting for them that the doctor would let them live in. He had said that there was work for them on a near-by farm and that they would be learning the trade of agriculture. He had said that Celia could finish school there and that Celia's mother could recover her strength from the disease that had been wearing her down. This was all Celia had been told about her suddenly changed future. She had, however, gathered small bits of conversation about country life during her three-and-a-half years of schooling. She had come to understand that anyone could find a better life in the country on the agricultural mainland of Tipeck. More people did not do it, however, because it required a few things. One thing was a lot of hard work, so the person had to be willing and healthy. The second thing was the ability to find a job, which was very difficult, or, even harder, was to buy property to work on, because land was expensive. On the other hand, if you did have these opportunities, like her family did now, there was plenty of food, fresh air, and other luxuries to be had on the mainland. Still, Celia had not expected to find herself in such a large house. She thought a worker's house would not be much bigger than her one room cement bungalow in the city. This two story house was four times the size of her old one. She had also supposed that she'd be able to see her neighbor's houses, or that there would be farms around her, not forests. In plain words, she had thought there would be more people. Celia was not exactly sad to leave her life. It was true that going into unfamiliar land among unfamiliar people made her nervous, but she so wanted her mother to be feeling better, and for her brothers to have better opportunities for their future, that she didn't mind the change. The only thing that made her uncertain was school. Celia knew that mainland schools were smaller, so it would be harder for her not to draw attention to herself. Plus, she would be new, and the thought of that made her stomach turn. She would be the only person who didn't know anyone. She also knew that mainland school libraries and resources, though very good, were usually limited, and that if she wanted a job in the city, it would be much harder to get a good internship with a less rounded education. She sighed and told herself that she would not think of those things right now. She would especially not think of her friends. She would not, she would not. Suddenly, right in front of her, was a small fluffy animal on the branch of a tree. Celia lifted herself up, removing her elbows from the window sill, and at her sudden movement it took fright and scurried behind the tree. What a strange creature it had been! It had such a long and bushy tail! There was also that noise coming from outside, the tweeting and singing. There must be many kinds of birds in these trees. And what else? On the day before, as they rode through the forest, she had gotten glimpses of bigger animals. This was not time for so much contemplation Celia realized, she wanted to be out in those trees, exploring! Celia turned on her heel and skipped over to the duffle bag sitting on the floor next to the door. The stiffness in her muscles was fading, but her rear end still hurt from where it had been resting on that horse for hours. She squatted slowly down and only then did she notice the small cloth package on top of the duffle bag. She recognized that cloth; it was her brother Antoni's. She carefully grabbed the corner of it with two fingers and pulled it back. Then she smiled, giving a little gasp of surprise. Laying there was one of the soft, sweet biscuits filled with cream that they had eaten on the boat. It was Antoni that had gotten those biscuits. Celia had been awfully hungry on the afternoon that they crossed over on the boat, but she hadn't told anyone. She knew they had very little money left after purchasing the boat tickets and the passage on the horse train. She had decided that she would wait until dinner, which they would get when they got off of the boat, but it had been hard because the smell of those sweet biscuits was filling the passage that they were traveling in. They were freshly made and smelled so sweet and good! Antoni, who was always talking to people anywhere they went, had started talking to the girl selling the biscuits. Celia had been watching him. She knew he had no money, but she had seen him slip a bracelet out of his pocket. He was always making little trifles like that from scraps he found around, and they were very pretty. This one had been particularly special to him. He had been waiting for a good reason to give it to someone, but instead he traded it for those sweet biscuits. Antoni returned to the family with a biscuit for each of them. Mom had been so surprised, and dad had smiled at him warmly. Antoni always managed surprises like that. Celia had delighted in the biscuit, eating it as slow as she could bear, considering her hunger.