In Which Louanne Meets an Old Friend

“Hey! Louanne?” said a familiar voice, “Long time no see!”

Louanne turned and gasped at what she saw. “Belarosa?” The last time she had seen Belarosa was at least six years ago. “Oh my Lord, hi! It’s been ages!”

Belarosa grinned. “Oh good, it is you! How have you been?”

“The years have been kind,” Louanne replied, a rote response that she didn’t mean at all. Her husband had finally passed on just a few months prior, and then everything went to shit. There was an accident in the town she lived in, and her entire neighborhood had gone up in smoke. Thankfully she wasn’t home at the time, but her neighbors weren’t all so lucky, and all her collected ephemera, including the book her husband used to haunt, burned. Separately, her children were all gone - two dead, one missing-presumed-dead, one disowning her in eir grief and becoming a sailor. She had nothing left.

That’s why she was here, on this greatboat. Going to the Upper Continent. Leaving everything behind, so to speak, since there was nothing to leave behind. Nothing except graves.

Anyway.

Not really something to put on an acquaintance from more than half a decade ago, even one who she got along as well with as Belarosa.

Something in her sad smile told Louanne that Belarosa knew the gist anyway.

“If it’s your first time on a greatboat you can come to me with any questions,” Belarosa said. “I swap continents all the time, since I work on the Upper and my family lives on the Lower.”

“Oh, thank you! I didn’t know you lived on the Upper Continent,” Louanne said in genuine surprise, “I’m moving there permanently, but I’ve never been. What’s it like?”

Belarosa shrugged. “It’s just a place, I guess. There are a lot more elves.”

The two continued chatting for a time, eventually realizing their rooms were right next to each other. They agreed to meet up again the next day, and the next, until that was just what they did.

Two weeks into their month-long journey, on a clear, bright, evening, Belarosa approached Louanne with a soft smile.

“I want to show you something,” she said, and she led Louanne to the very top deck of the greatboat.

“What a view,” said Louanne, “Water for miles. No land to be seen.” Belarosa laughed at that. “What, what’s so funny?”

Belarosa shook her head. “Just, what I wanted to show you. Look up,” she said, pointing, and Louanne did.

She gasped.

Above her, faded against the night sky but too familiar to mistake, was the Lower Continent outlined in pinpricks of light.

Louanne turned to Belarosa, who was still looking up. “I don’t know why you’re on this boat,” Belarosa said, “but it can’t be any good reason. I just wanted to... I don’t know.” She looked at Louanne, finally, meeting her gaze firmly. “If you were gone, I wouldn’t know to miss you, Louanne, but I would. I would anyway. That’s... It’s how I work. How my family works. Always, there would be someone who would miss you, even just a little.” She looked back skyward, toward the East. “I’m so bad at this,” she mumbled, “I don’t know how he does it.”

Louanne didn’t hear that last part. She was too teary. Not really crying, just... feeling. She sunk to the deck, and Belarosa sat beside her. Eventually, she brought herself to say something.

“I have nothing left,” she said. Her voice was choked, her throat was dry. “I lost everything, so quickly, I had to leave.”

“I get that,” Belarosa said softly. “Where are you going to be staying?”

Louanne shook her head. “I don’t know. This wasn’t a very well planned trip.”

“Would you like to stay with me? I have plenty of space.”

“I... If it’s not an imposition.”

“It won’t be,” Belarosa said with a soft smile. Then her smile turned sharp, though was still somewhat fragile. “You’ll have to learn Upper Common and Greater Whela, at least, though. Probably Whibitik.”

Louanne laughed wetly. “Oh, Lord, I didn’t even think of that. Lord. I’m doomed.”

“I don’t know,” Belarosa mused, “I think you’ll do just fine.”