Messenger by Lois Lowry Page B

should go. I haven’t packed my things yet. And I want to stop by and tell Jean I’m going, so she won’t wonder where I am.”
    Leader kept him there within the comfortable curve of his arm. “Matty, wait,” he said. “I want to . . .” Then he gazed through the window again. Matty stood there, wondering what he was to wait for. Then he felt something. The weight of the young man’s arm took on a quality of something beyond human flesh. It came alive with power. Matty felt it from the arm, but he knew, as well, that it was pervading all of Leader’s being. He understood that it was Leader’s gift at work.
    Finally, after what seemed an unendurable few moments, Leader lifted his arm away from Matty. He exhaled. His body sagged slightly. Matty helped him to a chair and he sat there, exhausted, breathing hard.
    â€œForest is thickening,” Leader said when he could speak.
    Matty didn’t know what he meant. It sounded ominous. But when he looked through the window, to the row of underbrush and pines that was the border of Forest, it looked no different to him.
    â€œI don’t understand it exactly,” Leader said. “But I can see a thickening to Forest, like a . . .” He hesitated.
    â€œI was going to say like a clotting of blood. Things turning sluggish and sick.”
    Matty looked through the window again. “The trees are just the same, Leader. There’s a storm coming, though. You can hear the wind. And look. The sky is turning dark. Maybe that’s what you saw.”
    Leader shook his head skeptically. “No. It was Forest I saw. I’m sure. It’s hard to describe, Matty, but I was trying to look
through
Forest in order to get a feeling for Seer’s daughter. And it was very, very hard to push through. It was—well,
thick.
    â€œI think you had better not go, Matty, I’m sorry. I know you love making your journeys, and that you take pride in being the only one who can. But I think there may be danger in Forest this time.”
    Matty’s heart sank. He had hoped to be given his true name, Messenger, because of this trip. At the same time, something told him that Leader might be right.
    Then he remembered. “Leader, I
have
to!”
    â€œNo. We can post the messages at the entrance to Village. It will mean new ones will have to turn back after terribly long journeys, and that’s tragic. But—”
    â€œNo, it’s not the messages! It’s Seer’s daughter! I promised him I would go and bring Kira home. It will be her last chance to come. His last chance to be with her.”
    â€œAnd she will want to come?”
    â€œI’m sure she will. She always intended to someday. And she has no family there. She’s old enough to marry, but no one would want her. Her leg is crooked. She walks with a stick.”
    Leader took several deep breaths. “Matty,” he said, “I’m going to try again to see beyond Forest. I’m going to try to see Seer’s daughter and her needs. You may stay with me now, because whether you make this journey will depend on what I learn. But be aware that it is very hard for me to do this twice in a row. Don’t be distressed as you watch.”
    He stood again and went to the window. Matty, knowing he could be of no help, went to the corner where Frolic was asleep and sat down beside his puppy. From there he watched Leader’s body tense, as if he were in pain. He heard Leader gasp and then moan slightly.
    The young man’s blue eyes remained open but no longer seemed to be looking at the ordinary things in the room or through the window. He had gone, eyes and whole being, far into a place that Matty could not perceive and where no one could follow him.
    He seemed to shimmer.
    Finally he slumped into the chair, shaking, and tried to catch his breath.
    Matty went to him, stood beside him, and waited while Leader rested. He