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<div style= "font-family: 'Crimson Text', serif; font-size: 72px;">BETWEEN</div><div style= "font-family: 'Crimson Text', serif; font-size: 20px;">By Firozah Najmi</div>
<div style= "font-size: 20px; line-height: 100%";>It's been several months since you took over your late grandfather's farmstead, and you're still getting used to the scarcely forgiving landscape of the Icelandic countryside. A fateful encounter, spurred by a runaway sheep, brings you closer to the heart of Iceland—and the truth about your grandfather—more than ever before.</div>
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The creeping dawn along the dark horizon signals the beginning of a new day. It's time to let the animals graze.
(click: "graze")[The barn door creaks open and the eager bleating of your herd rings out against the otherwise silent landscape. The flock hurriedly beelines for [[pasture.]]]Spring, having finally arrived, means your mornings consist of letting the sheep out to pasture. It's a smaller flock than most. Your grandfather subsisted by mechanically spinning the sheeps' wool into yarn and selling them to a local clientele. As he got older, he ended up selling off some of the herd to neighboring farms—the workload began to weigh on him in his old age. Instead of opting to sell the flock to slaughter, you maintain the remaining herd—you think that is what he would have [[wanted|Reminisce]].As you reminisce about your life these past few months, you take a quick head count of your flock to make sure no one sheep was left in the barn.
(click: "barn")[It appears you're one short.]
(click: "short")[ [[Check the field]]
[[Check in the barn]]]You walk back to the barn and open the door.
(click: "door")[It's empty.]
(click: "empty")[You decide to [[head back to the field|Check the field]] for a recount.]You walk out to the field and examine your flock again.
(click: "again")[You're still one sheep short.]
(click: "short")[It's possible that one wandered off.]
(click: "wandered off")[ [[Walk down to the riverbank]]
[[Check near some boulders]]]It's been several months now since you took over your late grandfather's farm.
(click: "farm")[After his passing, your family seriously considered selling off the patch of land and the remaining herd. It's inconveniently far from the city—and most everything else.]
(click: "else")[Hugging a riverbank, it's a fertile enough piece of land to maintain livestock. Dotted with rock formations and hilly in slope, it's definitely got [[character.]]]You, in your prime, decided that it was time for a change. A change from the bustling cityscape; a new direction. Five years ago, if someone told you you'd end up a sheep herder on an isolated farm, you'd have scoffed. But things change, and it turns out this is exactly the kind of respite you needed at this point in your [[life|Spring]].You head down to the riverbank. The slope descends steeply.
(click: "steeply")[You stop to listen once you reach the riverbank.]
(click: "stop to listen")[You can hear a faint bleating over the rumbling of the river.]
(click: "rumbling")[ [[Follow the noise]]]You head uphill, to an area dotted with rock formations.
(click: "formations")[Your grandpa never had them removed—he was superstitious, after all.]
(click: "superstitious")[You think you hear a faint bleating coming from behind a cluster of boulders further inland.]
(click: "inland")[Was that [[boulder]] there before?]You walk along the riverbank, following the faint bleating.
You whistle in the direction, hoping to beckon your missing sheep back.
As you travel along the path, you notice a rock formation along the hillside that seems out of place.
(click: "out of place")[In fact, the bleating seems to be coming from behind the [[boulder]].]You make your way to the large boulder. It's massive.
So why don't you remember it being there?
(click: "remember")[You stand before the boulder.]
(click: "the boulder")[The bleating was coming from behind it—]
(click: "behind")[As you make your way around, you start to feel [[dizzy]].]You put a hand to the boulder to steady yourself. It's not unusual, considering you've just been trudging along the hillside after a blasted sheep.
(click: "unusual")[You close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths.]
(click: "deep breaths")[The piercing sound of your sheep bleating almost sends you reeling, and your eyes snap open.]
(click: "open")[And right in front if you is the culprit! You wonder how he could have wandered so far off in such a short [[time|Revelation]]—]At once, you realize that your surroundings seem different than before. You're comforted by having located your lost sheep, but the landscape looks unfamiliar.
You couldn't have walked more than a quarter mile away from the farm, so why does the landscape seem so strange?
(click: "strange")[ [[Retrace your steps]]
[[Get some directional bearing on your location]]]You try to backtrack, but you can't help panicking.
The sky is lightening now, daybreak in full swing. How long has it been?
(click: "been")[Wandering back down the slope, you listen for the cue of the babbling riverbank.]
(click: "riverbank")[Sheep in tow, you head for the direction that you think you came from.]
(click: "from")[But the landscape is rocky, and you don't want to risk your sheep taking a tumble. How did the little rascal even make it up here, [[anyway|Riverbank 2]]?]You look up towards the sky; as the sun peers over the horizon, you get an idea of east from west. Not that it helps much.
Perhaps the [[flow of the river|Riverbank 2]] can guide you best.Finally, you make it down to the riverbank, having found a safe-enough ledge to lead your sheep down. Finding that path led you even more off-course, though.
You start to head back in the direction of your farm—or what you <i>think</i> is the right direction, based on the river's flow.
(click: "river's flow")[10 minutes pass, and it feels as though you've gone too far—but you haven't, or you would have run into signs of the farmstead by now.]
(click: "by now")[Sighing, you try to reorient yourself. You remember being on the left bank of the river; you remember passing [[rock formations|SHEEP!!]]...]You perk your ears to the familiar sound of a bleating flock. It's not coming from the little guy beside you, and it gives you hope that you're nearing the farm.
(click: "nearing the farm")[When you trudge up the slope, away from the riverbank, sheep in tow, though, you realize the bleating isn't coming from your farm.]
(click: "your farm")[It's coming from a farm—that's certain—but you don't recognize this farmstead.]
(click: "farmstead")[Have you really gone that off-path, to happen upon a farm you've never seen before? You didn't go out of your way to greet all your neighbors after you took over the farm. You suppose it's possible.]
(click: "possible")[ [[Ask for directions at the mysterious farm]]]Making your way uphill and depositing your sheep at what you think is a particularly appetizing-looking patch of grass, you reach the mysterious farmhouse and [[knock on the door.]]The door opens after a few moments. You look down to see a child, barely taller than the door handle itself, looking back up at you with a curious gaze.
(click: "a curious gaze")["Hello there, are your parents home?" you ask. The child looks up at you, unblinking. The child closes the door, practically in your face.]
(click: "face")[You wait a few moments, unsure of what to do next. But before you can backtrack, the door swings open again:]
(click: "again")[This time, a young woman answers the door. You've never seen her before; you'd remember a face like that. Her features were particularly [[sharp and slender|Elf Woman]].]"Are you lost?" the woman asks.
(click: "asks")["I'm afraid so. My farm should be nearby, but I seem to have lost my sense of direction," you tell her. "I'm still getting acquainted with this part of the country," you explain.]
(click: "you explain")[The woman smiles—not that this was a matter to be smiling over. You were rather distraught by this point, your day spoilt by a renegade sheep.]
(click: "sheep")[She lets you in, takes your coat and points you to a chair. The home is rustic, with dated wooden furniture. The smell of fresh-baked bread fills the one-room abode—almost offensively—and you can feel your mouth water. How long has it been since you've eaten?]
(click: "eaten")[As though the woman read your mind, or perhaps picked up on your overactive salivary glands, she offers you a hunk of the still-warm loaf. Gratefully, you take a piece.]
(click: "a piece")[It's the most comforting thing you've eaten in [[weeks|Elf Woman 2]].]As you gobble down the piece of bread, and then seconds, the woman stares silently, watchfully, with a small smirk on her face. The child plays by the fire, clearly uninterested in the grown-ups.
(click: "uninterested")[Once your hunger is satiated, it dawns on you that you've barged into this woman's home without so much as a defense for doing so. You've heard tales of country folks' hospitality, but it was difficult to wrap your head around the premise of feeding a complete stranger in your home before you even knew their name.]
(click: "name")["It's not often we get travelers around these parts," she began.]
(click: "travelers")[Her choice of words confused you. You're sure you told her your farm was nearby.]
(click: "nearby")["Actually, I'm surprised we haven't yet met. Perhaps you knew my grandfather?" you ask. "I took over his farm after he passed."]
(click: "he passed")[For a brief moment, an indiscernible expression washed over the woman's face. So quickly did it pass that you can't be sure it was [[ever there at all|Elf Woman 3]].]"That is a very noble thing to do," said the woman, her voice taking on a slightly different tone than before—pained, perhaps? Whatever the tone was, her face mirrored no sign of it. You brush it off.
(click: "brush it off")[I smiled gratefully at the compliment, but before we could exchange any more words, she rose suddenly and motioned for me to wait a moment. She exited the barn, leaving the door ajar in a suggestion that she would return shortly.]
(click: "shortly")[A few moments passed, and I decided to look around the farmhouse. Small enough to house the woman and child, no doubt, but probably not comfortable for any added company.]
(click: "company")[Bushels of wool yarn lay in a basket beside the bed. The home has that "lived-in" feeling.]
(click: "lived-in")[The woman returns, and your reflection on your neighbors' decorating skills abruptly ends. She is holding something in her fist, and offers it to you.]
(click: "offers it")[You extend your hand to receive the gift. It's a small bell with a worn red cord.]
(click: "red cord")["For the sheep," the woman said, grinning. You take it that she means for you to tie this on your escape artist of a sheep, so you can hear its movements before it has a chance to run off. You assure her that it's the first time such a thing has happened; you don't really know what got into it.
She dismisses your defense, uninterested. Instead, she walks back towards the door and motions for you to follow. She points out the door as you stand beside her, wordlessly directing you back home. She seems unflinching, confident in her directions; you suppose she knew your grandfather well enough to [[pinpoint your farm|Goodbye, Elf Lady]].]You gratefully consider her directions, thanking her for the warm bread before you head out. She nods in gratitude. The expression she wears is complex, despite being a woman of few words. It's almost refreshing to do away with the small talk, you think.
You wave to her, heading towards your sheep before orienting yourself homeward. You tie the red cord and bell around your sheep's neck; it bleats in what sounds like protest, but you decide his antics today merit no pity.
(click: "today")[You turn around towards the farmstead one last time to wave to the woman, but the door is already shut. You decide you'll return someday with a gift as thanks.]
(click: "thanks")[You follow the woman's directions, and end up at a familiar sight: the boulder from before. It's not much help, as this is the point at which you became disorientated previously.]
(click: "previously")[You lead your sheep around the boulder, hoping to get an alternate view of the landscape from the other side of it.]
(click: "other side")[ [[...]]]A moment of clarity; the other side of the boulder looks over a familiar section of the riverbank. You're sure you can find your way back from here.
(click: "back")[It's not long before you make your way back to the farm. It's midday by the time you get back, the sun directly overhead. But it feels like you've been gone for much longer.]
(click: "much longer")[Your sheep hurriedly rejoins the pack, bell dingling, and you plop right down in the pasture nearby, taking in the brisk breeze and warmth from the sun. What a day it's been.]
(click: "What a day it's been.")[You can't put the encounter with your neighbor out of your head. Your exhaustion is enough to explain away all the questions you have about the episode. Most of all, you're embarrassed by your ability to get lost so close to [[home|Dream]].]After you park your flock in the barn for the evening, you heave a relieved sigh.
Jumping into bed has never felt like such a relief.
(click: "relief")[Your dreams are accompanied by the faint smell of baked bread that night.]
(click: "night")[ [[END|Title]]]