"Michelle Levigne - Sunsinger Chronicles Book 01 - Sunsinger" - читать интересную книгу автора (Levigne Michelle)

“Yes, Ma'am.” Bain looked up from his boots. “Ma'am, could I go to the cemetery?”

“Finished with your lessons?”

Bain nodded, and she waved for him to leave. He almost ran when he left her office, because he felt
good even in the heat and dust.

Chapter Three
“I'm going off-planet,” Bain whispered.

He always whispered when he visited his parents’ graves. Just like he always whispered his prayers to
Fi'in. His parents and Fi'in had no bodies, so ears didn't limit them. They could hear everything,
everywhere. Other children teased him about the things he thought, so he didn't tell anyone what he
believed, anymore.

The quiet of the cemetery felt cool and peaceful. Everywhere else on Lenga, the quiet had a hot, sweaty,
worried feeling. Bain thought he would miss this place when he left the colony. He would miss the tall,
dark green trees and the spicy smell of the grass growing in the shade, and the smooth, glossy stones
marking the graves. He thought it was odd that the only cool place on the whole planet was a place no
one visited. Bain was glad; it meant he could visit without anyone pestering him.

A boot kicked a stone somewhere close, making it rattle down the gravel path. Bain got up from his
knees and looked around. He caught a flash of blue, crimson and emerald, and then saw the person who
walked down the path.

What was Captain Lin Fieran doing in the cemetery? He ducked down and hid behind the bushes at the
head of his parents’ grave. Through a gap, he watched Lin walk slowly down the gravel path, coming
closer.

Across the path sat the chapel. Not really a building, just a sloped roof and pillars on a raised platform,
built of golden silver-speckled sandstone. It had benches inside in the shade, and a little computer so
people could find the names of the people buried there.

When Bain was little, before his parents died, he had wondered why there was a chapel in the cemetery.
Dead people didn't need it to pray in. His parents had explained to him long ago that when people died,
they went to be with Fi'in and could talk with Fi'in face to face.

Then, after Bain's parents died, he understood. The chapel was for the ones left behind.

He watched Lin climb the short steps and go into the shadows of the chapel. She knelt at a bench, resting
her elbows on the seat, and hid her face in her hands for a little while. Bain counted slowly to fifty. Then
she stood and came down one step. She just stood there, looking at her feet. Then she smiled a little.

“You can come out. I don't bite, even if I do growl,” Lin said without lifting her head.

Bain's face got hot. He stood and pushed his way through the bushes, his steps slow.

“Your parents?” she asked, lifting her head. Lin's smile made him think she understood. He nodded, not
quite trusting his voice yet.