Samhain Publishing Ltd, Ebooks and Books in Print

The town was bright and big and noisy, but Noisy Girl was beginning to accept those things as a natural part of the Loud-Talking People’s world.

She would be noisy too, she decided. She’d said her new friend’s name, and other words would follow as soon as she could learn them.

She pointed to things as they walked and Jeff said their names for her. She listened carefully to the sounds and tried to repeat them, but they didn’t sound right. It didn’t matter. She was beginning to shape the sounds that until now had held no meaning for her. It was a good beginning.

The place they walked through reminded her of the summer fair, when tribes of the White Fur People met to trade goods and news. Her people always brought bags of dried fish that they traded for fruits from the inland tribes. Other goods would be spread out on blankets on the ground, and the people would barter over them, fingers flying as trades were negotiated.

Here, many shopkeepers had set up their wares on canopied tables, and buyers looked over and picked through them. Sounds flew back and forth, staccato, almost rhythmic, until goods changed hands.

Noisy Girl stopped beside one booth to watch, fascinated, as a man traded several small pieces of green paper for a basket of nuts. Elsewhere, tables were draped with cloth, or piled with fruits and vegetables. Each table seemed to be in front of a small building. They must go inside to ply their wares when the weather was bad.

Fascinated, yet nearly overwhelmed, she clung to Jeff, holding his arm as they walked among the tables. His presence calmed her somehow, made everything seem less intimidating. For a moment, she wondered why she felt so comfortable with him, then decided she’d rather enjoy the feeling than worry.

Suddenly she stopped, staring. The table in front of them was covered with brightly colored clothing. She’d never seen cloth in such beautiful colors before, and when she reached to touch, its softness amazed her.

Without thinking, she picked up the top-most garment from the nearest pile. It was beautifully bright—red, yellow, blue and green in bold geometric patterns—and when she held it against herself, the impossibly fine fabric fell past her knees.

The man behind the table began to speak to her. Suddenly afraid she might have done something wrong, she looked at him. He was smiling, making expansive but meaningless gestures. She smiled back and looked at Jeff. He touched her arm the same way her mother might have, and she understood that, no matter how strange it all seemed to her, everything was all right.

Jeff spoke to the other man, his voice adopting the cadence that seemed to be associated with bargaining. His sounds captured her as she listened to the tones and rhythms, her hand stroking the soft incredible fabric against her body.

Finally he laughed, shook his head and handed a small card to the other man. Noisy Girl smiled at his laughter. It was a good sound, natural like the wind or moving water, not strange like the talking sounds. Voices were all different, she realized—Fire Hair’s higher-pitched and lilting, Long Nose’s a lower range with textures that reminded her of tree bark, and Jeff’s lowest of all with undertones that made her think of fog, or the smell of smoke. The man behind the table had a voice that sounded like ice cracking in the springtime.

She focused on Jeff’s voice, not sure why the sound calmed her, then noticed he was looking at her, smiling. She raised her eyebrows and made a questioning gesture. Before he could answer, she realized what it must be. She still held the marvelous garment. It wasn’t hers—it belonged to the merchant man. Reluctant, she laid it on the table, folding it carefully.

Jeff’s hand touched hers, stilling her movements. When she looked up, he took the garment and handed it back to her.

The action was unmistakable. He’d purchased it for her. What had he traded for it? It must have been something marvelous, that he could barter it for this beautiful thing. She wanted to tell him she couldn’t possibly accept such a valuable gift from him, but she didn’t know how. And what if he saw her refusal as an insult? She couldn’t bear to have him think badly of her, or to think she thought badly of him.

She held it against her, smiling, hoping to show her thanks. It didn’t seem enough. Looking down again at the bright cloth, she realized what she should do.

Laying her pretty new clothes aside, Noisy Girl shed her old furs, then slid the new garment over her head. The fabric was so soft it felt like she was wearing water, and the bottom edge floated gently against her shins.

There. Now Jeff would know how much she liked his gift. She looked at him, beaming. He had an odd expression on his face, but then he smiled as if to reassure her.

She’d done something wrong, she was certain, but she didn’t know what. She turned to the other man to judge his reaction. His face had gone strangely red, but he said nothing as he handed her a cloth bag to put her furs in.

Whatever she’d done, it must not have been too awful, she decided. With her new, bright clothes on and her old white furs in the bag, she took Jeff’s hand and they went on.