Young Writers Society

Evaline paused in thought. She wondered if this was something that truly bothered him and had been weighing on his mind lately.

"Most people don't care or know you enough to warrant much of a reaction," she said carefully. "You can be James here. Since people had multiple names back then, you can say Matt is a middle name, or a nickname. It's up to you."

James walked beside Evaline, trying to find some way to object. Surely, people would be upset, right? Did people really not care? Even if they didn't know his wanted status, him changing his name wouldn't have him marked as a liar? They wouldn't see him as untrustworthy?

"I..." he paused, struggling to grasp how simple Evaline made it seem. "I guess... you're right."

Evaline watched James from the corner of her eye, waiting for him to elaborate further, but he didn't. She didn't want to force this decision upon him, but she did want him to know that it was an option. Whenever he was ready to make the switch, he certainty could if he wanted to.

"Just let me know if you need help making the switch," she said, drifting off the path. "Since we're here, I'm going to show you a few foraging plants."

The next hour was filled with her talking about different types of plants, but she mostly mentioned plants he should avoid. Since they were off the path, there was poison oak everywhere, and she pointed it out any time they came across it. Neither of them had exposed skin near their feet, so she wasn't worried if he accidentally did brush upon it.

There were a few poisonous berries and fruit around, and she showed them to James as well as its non-poisonous comparison. The difference was subtle, but one of the berries had more seeds and were rounder than the poisonous counterpart.

James seemed to take in everything even in his drowsy state. Evaline wanted him to sleep more because, frankly, it was good for the mind and the body, and they had plenty of time. But she didn't want to force it.

She did want to help, though.

A lot of their time was spent gathering various berries and nuts that they collected in a thin cloth bag she brought with her, but she did have him dig around a tree for a specific root. He didn't ask why; he must have assumed it was also for eating. The two of them quietly cut out a portion of the root with their knives, and after doing this for a few times, Evaline led him down a different path.

She approached a tree that was infested with the small white hovering birds. She liked to think they were a cross between birds and bees, but they were louder, bigger, and lazier. They were chirping loudly, and she stood in front of the tree with James by her side.

"Here, take out a few berries and hold it out on your hand," she instructed, opening the bag for him to reach into. "They'll eat it right out of your palm. Don't worry, they're not aggressive."

James took mental notes on the plants to avoid, and the ones that were safe to eat. It wasn't too difficult for him to not the differences in different plants since it was something he was accustomed to looking for - and now that he knew what to look for, he could.

He didn't mind spending the time to forage with Evaline, and he was glad she explained things to him.

When they stopped beneath the tree that seemed to belong to a hive of tiny birds, he found himself a little apprehensive. Anything that seemed to buzz normally put him on edge, but Evaline didn't seem worried about them.

She wanted him to... feed them?

He nodded slowly, pulling out some of the berries. Carefully, he lifted his hand with an open palm, cupping the berries.

A couple birds that were the size of a fingernail quickly drifted down to James's hand. A few of them seemed to hover in front of him with wings flapping so hard it was hard to see them, but they were all attracted to the berries he was holding. There were about ten on his palm, with a few birds chipping away per berry.

Evaline lightly smiled, watching James as the birds snacked on his palm. She made sure to keep the bag closed next to her so that no birds would sneak in there.

"Like I said," she said. "Not aggressive."

James watches at the group of tiny little birds hurried to the berries in his hand. They were so, so small. They seemed so fragile, but it seemed that was the biggest they ever got. He tried to keep his hand very still so as not to scare them, but he found himself tempted to try to pet one. But he didn't want to crush it.

He hesitantly inched his free hand closer, trying to reach out with his pointer finger to one that was poking at a berry at the edge of his palm. Gingerly, he patted its head.

Evaline watched as James reached out and patted a bird's head, acting as if it would spontaneously shatter like it was made out of glass. The bird he pet seemed to carry on like nothing was wrong, but it did stop to screech at James some more before continuing to eat away. For having such small bodies, they were so loud.

And of course, they were hardly fragile. Their wings may be during flight, but their bodies may as well have been made out of rubber. There were far too many times that Evaline leaned back on trees and accidentally crushed the little guys, only to find out they bounced away from her and resumed flight.

So while James was distracted, she dumped the bag's contents on top of his head, and birds started to fly in droves towards him to eat them.

James had to keep himself from jolting when the little bird screeched at him, but he realized it wasn't upset, just vocal. The moment he reached out to pet it again, suddenly he felt the pitter-patter of berries against his head and shoulders. Several of them he could feel falling down the collar of his jacket or shirt, or in his pockets, and other crevices of clothing. Instinctively, his shoulders scrunched up and he drew his head down, but it was far too late to duck.

The moment Evaline had released the berries all over him, dozens more of the little birds started swooping down, burrowing into his collar to get to the berries.

Their fast-moving little wings and round little bodies tickled as they started dancing all over his head and shoulders.

When he turned around to look at Evaline, it occurred to him that though she said she had forgotten many memories, there must have been one she didn't forget.

It was in their first week together. He'd pelted her with the dust-berries of Nye, taking her by surprise.

She was really getting back at him after all these years, wasn't she?

When he saw the look on her face, his expression softened. She was suppressing a smile.


He broke eye contact, suppressing a laugh as a little bird perched on his ear.


He reached into his collar and plucked a berry out. He walked over to Evaline and placed it carefully atop her head, all the while the little birds were still swarming him.

Finally, after five years, she felt like she won the berry fight.

Yesterday night was tense. Evaline knew that. It was partly her fault for assuming James wasn't interested in talking about their history, and so she didn't expect them to have that discussion so soon. She could tell that he was still a little tense this morning, so she hoped a lighthearted moment like this could cheer him up.

Evaline was pleased it worked. For being unreadable, he was awfully readable right now. He looked like he was holding back a laugh. Part of her wished he didn't hold back so that she could remember what it looked like. Another part of her didn't mind that he held it back.

She watched with a smirk as James approached her and slowly put a berry on her head. He was being swarmed by the little blobs of birds, and a few more flew from him to her. She could feel the berry roll down her head and get lost in her hair, and she felt a bird trying to dig in. But she didn't mind.

"I think we're even now," she said as she cupped her hand out to capture a bird hovering in front of her. It always fascinated her how they were able to hover with their small wings and their big bodies.

James smiled a small, tired smile. A part of him wished he could smile more. Bigger, brighter, to let her know that he appreciated it. Even if he was still a walking birdhouse. But he didn't seem to have it in him. There was still a pit in his stomach and a hole in his chest where an emotion was supposed to be.

He let his gaze linger on Evaline a little longer, watching as the tiny bird burrowed into her hair to find the berry. He watched as she caught one, seemingly without regard for their size. Maybe they weren't as fragile as he assumed.

"I guess so," he said softly.

He squinted his eyes as a bird fluttered right by his eyes, and then went cross-eyed as one landed on his nose. He reached up and caught it between his forefinger and thumb, and held it in front of him, still wearing the ghost of a smile on his face.

It was nice to see James smile, even if it was small. Although Evaline wasn't very expressive herself, she didn't try to actively block out emotions anymore. She didn't know what James was thinking most of the time, but she achieved her plan to see him enjoy himself in a non-forceful way, even if it was very minor.

A small amused smile tugged at her lips as James went cross-eyed. When he caught the bird, she held the bird that she had between her fingers. It turned its head to look at her before screeching again.

"I have no idea what these are called, but I call them bumble birds," she said, studying the little guy. "They reminds me of bees, but also, they bumble around like so."

Evaline reached out and gently placed the bird on his hand, but before letting go, she gave the bird a little push and it rolled around his palm.

James hummed a quiet little laugh in the back of his throat as the bird rolled around like a little ball and then he poked it in the belly with his pinky, making it screech again. His smile grew just a little more, briefly showing his teeth.

"Bumble birds," he said softly. "They're cute."

Even if he was covered in them, currently.

Evaline was pleased that she was able to make James smile, even wider this time. She studied him for a moment as he poked the bird in wonder, and then she bent down to pick up some of the spare berries that fell on the ground. The ones that haven yet been eaten or flocked to, anyways.

"They are cute," she agreed. "But if you don't get them all out now, they might follow us to our next destination. I wouldn't want to tear them away from their home."

Still kneeled down, she tossed a couple berries high in the air, and it landed a few feet away from them. That seemed to get some of the birds' attention off James and into the new spot it landed on.

"They have short attention spans, so if you throw some farther away, they'll fly over there," she explained.

"I see," James said, bending and scooping some berries off the ground, tossing them a few feet away. But he could still feel some of the little birds burrowing somewhere in his jacket.

He decided to just slip his jacket off for a moment, and he shook it out. Five or six birds stumbled out of it with bumbling flight.

As she watched the birds tumble out of his jacket, it occurred to Evaline that there were probably more birds stuck under his clothes than she thought. She tossed a few more berries to the side for extra measure.

"Do you still feel some under your clothes?" she asked. "It can tickle, sometimes. Especially when they try to fly away."