"Asiza." Yara hurried toward him just after the young man slipped away. Asiza on hearing her voice stood from the chair and straightened his shirt.
"Oh what are you doing here? Is everything alright?" His voice sounded dull, and after a quick smile, he pressed his lips together.
Yara stepped closer, grinning widely.
"Nothing serious." She tapped his arm lightly and gave a small giggle.
"I just missed you," she added, folding her arms behind her back and shrugging.
"That's nice, but my afternoon shift is about to start. Maybe I'll see you later?" His expression held a patient edge as he waved past her, tilting his head.
"If you want." Yara's gaze shifted to the ground for a few seconds.
"I have to go now." A strain crept into his voice. His eyes darted sideways before he raised his eyebrows and forced a wide smile.
"It's alright. See you later." Yara smiled and gestured behind her with her thumb.
"I'll head back to the shop," she said, turning around to walk away while Asiza slipped off in another direction. Her heart pounded faster as she walked, but she tightened her chest and held on to a thin smile.
When she reached the spot where the young man had been waiting, she thanked him and tried to give him some money. He refused. She said nothing about Asiza.
"Go. Run," the young man urged, his voice steady.
Yara followed the path he directed and began to run without looking back. Sweat gathered beneath her clothes, and the cloth covering her head slid onto her shoulders.
The sun's rays beat harshly against her face. She ran for many minutes until she crossed into the next village a sparsely populated place with hardly any person in sight. Then, in an instant, a male figure appeared in front of her, dressed for a long journey, with leather buckles on his arms and thick soled shoes.
He seized her arm, and their eyes met. Yara's eyes widened, her lower lip parted, but before she could speak, his hand clamped over her mouth.
"Shhhhh. Men have been sent to find you. You're a girl anything could happen now," he whispered, scanning the area before pulling her into a sprint through a bushy path. As he prepared to leap over a shallow drainage ditch ahead, something struck his temple. He collapsed instantly, silent.
Yara skidded to a stop, the earth slipping beneath her heels. She gasped for breath, trembling as her eyes swept the empty surroundings. No one. She snatched his small bag and wallet, then ran on.
"Thank you, Hosea," she repeated as she fled.
Once Yara disappeared, the priest stepped calmly out of the bushes, stroking his beard. He approached Hosea and rolled him onto his back.
"You foolish boy. How many times have I warned you to stay away from that girl?" he muttered, grinding his teeth. He looked up at the sky, then back down at Hosea.
"You're old and still unmarried no wonder you're confused." He clicked his tongue and tapped Hosea's forehead. Then he pulled out a tiny bottle of alcohol, poured a little into his palms, rubbed them together, and held them over Hosea's nose.
Hosea's head jerked up immediately, his eyes snapping open as if startled from a dream.
"Dad what did you do?" He struggled to his feet, rubbing his neck.
"I swear I just got here. Something simply… led me." The priest shifted his leg carefully so the alcohol bottle slipped back into his inner pouch.
"Of course. A high priest never lies," Hosea said with a nod, his mouth dropping open in a bright, toothy grin.
"This is why I avoid interfering in your life you never believe me." The priest looked away, lips pressed together.
"I think you should just openly be with your lover too," Hosea teased, picking up the pebble that had struck him. He clenched it in his hand.
"You are a very stupid boy," the priest grumbled and began walking off. Hosea ran ahead of him and handed him the pebble.
"We can't leave this here. You know how to keep it safe," Hosea said with a wink. His father smoothed his lips into a line and slipped the pebble into his side pocket.
"I don't even know how that thing fell out of my pocket," the priest muttered as he looked around and continued on.
By evening, posters exiling Yara were plastered everywhere one even reached Asiza's workplace. He said nothing and carried on with his day.
When darkness crept in, Phinehas arrived at Laoni and immediately spotted the posters. Shock hit him, and he ordered the carriage driver to stop. After paying his fare, he stepped out, goosebumps rising along his skin.
He clenched his fist and smacked it into his left palm.
"How am I supposed to get the stamp now?" he muttered through heavy breaths, heading toward the shop. It was still open, and Egen was inside. Phinehas turned away and lingered around the area, drifting between shops and playing small games with people.
Eventually, Egen closed the shop and went home. Phinehas fixed his gaze on the shop for a moment. With a spare key and most people gone, he strode over, unlocked the door, slipped in, and bolted it shut. Just as he did, he heard voices outside.
He pressed his ear to the door as someone ordered the posters to be hung on every shop. After the voices faded, he slipped out with all the stamps and notebooks. Locking the door behind him, he glanced at a poster newly pinned beside the hook.
"Smuggler Wanted."
Yara's face was on the poster. His jaw dropped and his eyes scanned around quickly.
"You foolish man," Phinehas whispered, lips curling.
"Eki, you've pressed the wrong button."
He sprinted back to the carriage stage and negotiated with one driver and offered a hefty sum to be driven back to the border. He arrived late into the cold night. Meanwhile, Yara, wrapped in her outer tunic, with Hosea's bag and wallet next to her curled up in a temporary hideout and fell asleep.
The moon glowed, but the night felt warm.